While he was paying for the hour session, Lan Yuning watched the yells of young students and adults smashing the keyboards, complaining in their mics.
"We can go to the arcade floor first," Gu Xiao suggested and pushed him down a level.
There was an entire arcade below the internet café, with many unusual games he had never seen in person before. Vibrant colours flashed in the dim-lit space, and the noise was even louder than above.
"Hey, Gu Xiao!" a group of students called.
They were still dressed in their uniform. Some had their red jackets slung over their shoulders, while some tied them around their hips.
He turned around and waved. "You guys are here?"
"I thought you moved neighbourhoods since you never came anymore."
"No, I just don't have time. Don't you know? Unlike some people, I actually care about my studies," he said while blinking rapidly, attempting to put on a serious demeanour.
"That was a good joke! Well, fresh face? Where's the group?"
"It's not a joke. But yes, I'm going to play with him tonight, so I won't be with the group. Bye-bye," he said and quickly pushed Lan Yuning away. "Sorry for that. They can be a bit loud."
Lan Yuning, who was still sipping on the milk, mumbled to himself, "You're louder than all of them combined."
As always, those words never made it to his ears, so Gu Xiao pulled him to what seemed to be a shooting game and handed him the gun prop.
"Why am I playing?"
"Because I said so. You should relax a little bit! How about I'll complete a practice exam paper each time you win one game?"
With the surprising suggestion, Lan Yuning's stone eyes shifted to something piqued by interest, and Gu Xiao quickly took his offer back.
"Actually, I'll only do one question from the multiple-choice. A whole paper is too much."
"No. You said one paper."
Gu Xiao's face paled, and he complained, "That's too much for one game! Do you know how long it takes just to complete half a paper? It takes me at least two weeks."
"Too late. Start the game."
"Well, do you see that rank? The top one is me. Let's see if you can even get over 90000," he smirked.
It had been a long time since Lan Yuning actually played any type of game, but all he had to do was follow the rules, right?
...
In the end, Gu Xiao won. Even though he won, he gaped at the leaderboard when he saw Lan Yuning's name placed third.
While they were playing, kids and other students gathered around them and watched their game from the side.
The previous students also joined the crowd with their mouths widened at the numbers. Although their ranks were now pushed below, the others couldn't help but admire this person who Gu Xiao brought in.
"How come he never came with you before?" the group from before asked.
"How should I know?"
Lan Yuning stepped off the platform and watched him and his friends talk. Noisy. It was indeed always loud every time he was around.
"Student President, you pick a game next," he said and waved his hand to beckon Lan Yuning to walk over.
"Student President? Is this the person you were talking about?"
Lan Yuning's ears suddenly became attentive to their conversation, and he strolled over.
"I thought you said your student president only studies. Did you lie?"
"What? I don't even know anymore," he said before asking, "Student President, are you sure this is your first time playing?"
"Maybe if I imagined those zombies were your face, I would have gotten higher," he muttered.
"Wait, what? Who did you imagine in the first place?"
He didn't respond. Looking around the arcade, a small game that laid in the corner caught his eyes and he pointed to it.
It was the wack-a-mole game. Gu Xiao was surprised that Lan Yuning would choose that game, since it didn't suit his calm character.
They started playing the game, with Gu Xiao going first and then Lan Yuning, and this was when he saw his life slip through his fingers. Lan Yuning had actually beaten him.
"What is this?" Gu Xiao exclaimed. He wasn't sure if he should feel happy or feel confused about why Lan Yuning was good at playing wack-a-mole.
Lan Yuning's eyes remained indifferent, but a subtle smile formed on his lips. Immediately, he slowly straightened his mouth as though he was hoping the bustling noise covered his expression.
But it was too late.
Gu Xiao saw the smile on his face and offered an even brighter laughter back. Lan Yuning hurriedly walked away, not taking a second glance back as the heat in his chest continued to whirl inside.
"Student President! Wait for me."
✎✎✎
Their one-hour session was up, but they didn't return home just yet. Gu Xiao decided to use all his money tonight, so he dragged the boy to go karaoke and sang the hell out of his voice.
Lan Yuning's ears wanted to pour out blood the more Gu Xiao continued singing, or rapping, or yelling, or whatever he was doing.
Not only were Lan Yuning's ears going to vomit out blood, but his nosebleed felt like it was going to return as well.
After karaoke, Gu Xiao took him to eat some fried pancakes and cold-skin noodles. Gu Xiao knew this was probably the first time the student president had ever eaten food from street stalls, let alone go near one. And it was true.
After always dining at restaurants or at home, this was something Lan Yuning never thought he would even experience.
Sitting under an umbrella on plastic chairs and foldable tables, the sauce and oil staining his fingertips. It was so foreign, but it was strangely refreshing.
There were some slight speculations or curiosities Lan Yuning had with Gu Xiao. He appeared to be so readable, yet not at the same time.
The expressions he wore tonight were different from the other times, though others may have said otherwise. His knowledge was not as bad as what everyone made it out to be.
Now that he thought about it, Gu Xiao wasn't stupid. He was just lazy.
Or perhaps there was something more to it than just laziness. That was when he realised something peculiar.
It wasn't like Gu Xiao couldn't understand or learn, but he refused to. Not learn, but something else.
He was always a jokester. Only one or two students took him to be arrogant since he rarely behaved obediently in class, but in fact, he was remarkably considerate and an open-minded person.
After watching Gu Xiao for a few moments, Lan Yuning noticed he would always steer the conversation in a direction where everyone involved would be comfortable with his jokes and words.
However, there wasn't once where he would step over the boundaries. He knew how far he should go and when to stop.
He was skilled in adjusting the air around him based on the atmosphere and personalities of those involved, as though he had been practicing this pretentious skill from the very beginning.
Noticing the accumulation of his thoughts, Lan Yuning shook them off. This was none of his business. He couldn't get ahead of himself.
The only reason the two were still talking was because the teachers needed to separate Zhang Yongyin and him due to his poor grades. If his reports were lifted, everything would return to how it was last year. His life would once again be silent.