Chapter 5: The Gathering

“I also think the mixer is a good idea, I agree,” Liu Hua nodded in assent.

“We can’t let Second Brother down, he put a lot of effort into organizing this,” Wang Bing said.

“Fourth Brother, what do you think?” Yang Po turned to Jiang Zheng, who hadn’t spoken yet.

“I’m fine with anything,” Jiang Zheng replied.

Going out for a walk might spark some inspiration.

“We’re only missing Sixth Brother now. Should we send him a message?” Yang Po asked.

“Forget it. If you message him, he probably won’t see it. Last time, Third Brother and I went to the internet café, and on our way back it started pouring. I messaged Sixth Brother to bring us an umbrella, but we waited two hours and never got a reply,” Zhou Quanyi said.

“Sixth Brother is busy preparing for the postgraduate exam. When he’s studying, he puts his phone on airplane mode,” Jiang Zheng explained.

He knew a bit about the situation.

“So how do we ask him? Go find him in the library?” Yang Po asked.

“We could, but he might not even be there,” Jiang Zheng replied.

“Whether he’s there or not, I still have to ask. Otherwise, if we go and leave him behind, it wouldn’t be right.” With that, Yang Po walked out of the dorm.

Zhou Quanyi and the others continued gaming, while Jiang Zheng lay back down, deep in thought.

He pondered for a long time, but couldn’t come up with anything.

He decided to browse for new books, hoping for some inspiration.

Time slipped by slowly.

Unconsciously, a few hours passed.

Zhou Quanyi’s phone rang. He picked up and, after a moment, set it down and said, “Brothers, Second Brother just called. He wants us to head out.”

Jiang Zheng checked the time—just past four, not yet five. It wasn’t even dinnertime on campus.

“So early? Won’t dinner be a bit premature?” Jiang Zheng asked.

“No idea. Anyway, Second Brother said we can set off,” Zhou Quanyi shrugged.

Jiang Zheng said nothing more. If it was time to go, then so be it.

The four tidied up, since they weren’t just representing themselves, but their dorm as well.

Besides, the other side of this mixer was Yang Po’s girlfriend’s dorm. If they left looking sloppy, it wouldn’t reflect well on Yang Po.

As they stepped out, Jiang Zheng asked, “What about Sixth Brother? Is he coming?”

Zhou Quanyi replied, “Second Brother said he’s not coming. His mind is entirely on the postgraduate exam.”

Jiang Zheng nodded, saying nothing more.

They all knew Yu Qingkui’s priorities; since he didn’t want to come, no one would force him.

Leaving campus, the four took a taxi.

The restaurant was a bit far; walking was out of the question, and the cab fare was thirty or forty yuan.

Upon arrival, Jiang Zheng and the others walked in to find Yang Po already waiting, with a girl beside him—undoubtedly his girlfriend.

Jiang Zheng and the others hadn’t seen much of Yang Po’s girlfriend, since he often broke up and changed girlfriends.

“This is Li Sha, my girlfriend. These are my roommates: our dorm leader Zhou Quanyi, Third Brother Liu Hua, Fourth Brother Jiang Zheng, Fifth Brother Wang Bing, and Sixth Brother who isn’t here,” Yang Po introduced.

The four nodded to Li Sha as a greeting.

After they took their seats, Zhou Quanyi whispered, “Where are the others?”

Yang Po replied softly, “They’re on their way, they’ll be here soon.”

Yang Po kept the atmosphere lively; Li Sha was outgoing, quickly warming up to the group.

At that moment, Li Sha took a phone call. After a brief exchange, she turned to the group, “They’ve arrived, I’ll go meet them.”

Yang Po stood up promptly, “I’ll go with you.”

Zhou Quanyi and the others sat upright, hoping to make a good first impression.

Jiang Zheng, however, was distracted, still pondering his novel.

Soon, Yang Po pushed open the door and Li Sha returned with three girls.

As the three girls entered, Zhou Quanyi and the others' eyes lit up.

Li Sha introduced, “This is Jiang Qianyue, this is Tao Luna, and this is Liu Xiao.”

The most stunning among them was Jiang Qianyue. Bright eyes and white teeth, skin like porcelain, radiant and lively—simply standing there, she drew all eyes.

The other two girls were pretty, but compared to Jiang Qianyue, both their looks and poise fell short.

Zhou Quanyi and the others’ gaze lingered mostly on Jiang Qianyue.

After the introductions, Li Sha introduced Jiang Zheng and the others to Jiang Qianyue and her friends.

The moment Jiang Zheng saw Jiang Qianyue, he was momentarily dazzled, but he quickly looked away and paid her no further attention.

Everyone took their seats, and the food was served.

Zhou Quanyi and Yang Po took the lead in stirring up the atmosphere, playing off each other and enlivening the table.

Jiang Qianyue kept a gentle smile and remained quiet throughout, eating in small bites and sipping her drink only lightly.

Jiang Zheng was also quiet, mostly focused on his meal.

His mind wasn’t on the mixer at all, nor did he plan to pursue a girlfriend anytime soon.

Dinner passed quickly. After eating, Yang Po suggested, “It’s still early—why don’t we go sing karaoke?”

“Sure!” Li Sha, Yang Po’s girlfriend, was the first to agree.

Zhou Quanyi and the others nodded eagerly. Jiang Zheng had no opinion either way.

Jiang Qianyue and her friends were hesitant, but with Li Sha’s persuasion, they agreed.

Yang Po picked a place on his phone and prepared to call a cab.

The girls went ahead, and Zhou Quanyi asked, “Second Brother, why are there only three?”

Yang Po replied, “Only those three are single. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Zhou Quanyi said nothing further.

At the karaoke venue, they booked a medium-sized room—small rooms couldn’t fit their group of nine.

Once inside, they started singing.

With each song, Liu Xiao and Tao Luna gradually loosened up, becoming less awkward around Zhou Quanyi and his friends.

Jiang Zheng sat in a corner, never competing for the microphone. He knew his singing wasn’t pleasant, so he refrained from subjecting everyone to it.

On the other side, Jiang Qianyue also sat quietly on the sofa, listening to the others sing.

After another song, Li Sha suddenly piped up, “Qianyue, sing one for us!”

Tao Luna laughed, “Yes, Qianyue, your singing is so beautiful, come sing a song!”

Jiang Qianyue smiled and replied, “No, it’s fine. You all sing, I’ll just listen.”

“Come on, everyone’s sung, Qianyue, you should sing one too,” Li Sha urged.

Seeing Li Sha’s insistence, Jiang Qianyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Alright, I’ll sing one.”