5: Chapter 5 For Youth

"Alright, Xiaolan. Didn't he pay for our cab fare?" Qin Xiaoting laughed.

"Do you think I'm the kind of young lady who lacks those few dozen yuan?" Qin Lan widened her eyes, put her hands on her hips, and glared at Qin Xiaoting.

"Alright, alright, alright. Our young lady Qin Lan doesn't lack this pocket change; she lacks the big money." Qin Xiaoting held back her laughter and put her arm around Qin Lan's waist. "Young lady, let's hurry up. Your sweetheart is going to get impatient waiting."

Qin Lan proudly raised her head. "Let them wait a while. It'll stop them from making snide remarks about us later."

Though she said that, her body was honest, and she started walking along with Qin Xiaoting. She looked a bit travel-worn.

On the other side.

"Summer Afternoon KTV… Summer Afternoon…" Suddenly, Wang Shuo's eyes lit up. Not far away, several large, glaring neon characters indicated the words 'Summer Afternoon Club'.

Wang Shuo, who was starving, dashed toward the entrance.

"Sir, please stop." Just as he ran to the entrance, Wang Shuo was politely stopped by a security guard.

Wang Shuo was a bit surprised.

"May I ask if you have an invitation?" the security guard asked in a friendly manner.

"An invitation?" Wang Shuo was even more surprised.

"This is a private entertainment club, sir. Unless you have an invitation, you have no right to enter. May I ask if you have one?"

"So I can't go in without one?"

"It's not that you can't, but you need to present our club's platinum card." The security guard was very polite, courteous, and patient.

"What if I have friends inside?" Wang Shuo asked, unwilling to give up.

"You need to contact your friends and have them come out to pick you up… Sir, please stay here…"

Behind Wang Shuo, a very young-looking boy arrived. The security guard stopped the young man as usual.

"I was invited by Miss Qin to attend the party. This is the invitation." The young man took out a black and red card. Wang Shuo noticed that there was an inconspicuous golden leaf pattern on the card.

The security guard took it, examined it, returned it politely to the young man, and stepped back to signal that he could enter.

Consequently, the young man puffed out his chest and strode into the club. Just before entering, he gave Wang Shuo a faint glance, which seemed to carry a hint of mockery.

Wang Shuo was dumbfounded. I'm just here to eat; who did I offend?

Feeling depressed, he took out his phone and called the dorm leader.

"Beep… Beep…"

"Hey, Er Gouzi, where are you?" As the call connected, the dorm leader's vulgar, loud voice came through. "Let me tell you, Fourth is treating us today. All kinds of delicious food! Awesome! Hahaha! If you don't come, don't blame us for being disloyal; we'll eat everything up!"

In just half a day, Wang Shuo already had a nickname.

"Leader, what's the place you're at called? I'm lost!" Wang Shuo asked, suppressing the urge to beat Zheng Jun to death.

"Where? Wait a second, let me ask… Fourth! What's this place called? Oh! Summer Afternoon KTV! Did you hear that? Third floor, three 8s, hurry up!"

Before Wang Shuo could speak, he heard Zheng Jun shouting again: "Fourth said, if anyone blocks your way, just say 'three eights'!"

"Beep, beep, beep…"

Wang Shuo was speechless. He looked at the security guard in front of him and said, "Do you have room 888 on the third floor here?"

"Are you Young Master Chen's guest?" The security guard sized Wang Shuo up and then said, "Please go up. The elevator is on the right. Have a pleasant time."

With that, he stepped back and cleared the entrance, not even giving Wang Shuo a chance to speak.

Thus, Wang Shuo entered the club, feeling dumbfounded.

Turning the corner, there was a huge lobby. The decorative style wasn't filled with the nouveau riche atmosphere of typical KTVs; it felt very comfortable.

On the right side of the lobby, a row of four elevators was neatly arranged. At the entrance of each elevator stood a greeter, wearing a smile that felt like a spring breeze.

Wang Shuo sniffed, walked to the elevator entrance, and under the enthusiastic service of the greeter, arrived at the third floor.

After exiting the elevator, a deafening sonic boom suddenly erupted. Wang Shuo actually recognized the flavor of Zheng Jun in it—this voice, this timbre, this volume; it could be no one else but Zheng Jun.

Wang Shuo accurately found room 888 and pushed the door open to enter.

If it was deafening outside the door, the room was simply a disaster scene. Wang Shuo felt his entire head was filled with Zheng Jun's loud voice, and there was no other sound besides it.

"I want to live another five hundred years!!!"

After finishing the song, Zheng Jun smacked his lips, still unsatisfied. He put down the microphone and happened to see Wang Shuo, who had just entered. He grinned widely, took a long stride to Wang Shuo's side, and put his arm around Wang Shuo's shoulder.

"I say, Second, you came just in time! How about it, how was my singing?" Before Wang Shuo could speak, he pointed to Li Li and Chen Cheng, who were covering their ears, and said, "Third and Fourth have already been conquered by me. Do you want to challenge me?"

Seeing the eager look in Zheng Jun's eyes, Wang Shuo gave a thumbs up.

"Deafening, it sounded great. But Leader, I'm starving now. I sprinted all the way here and burned plenty of calories. Can I replenish some energy first?"

"Hehe, sure, you eat first. I'll order another song for us." Zheng Jun patted Wang Shuo on the shoulder and went to order a song.

Li Li and Chen Cheng's faces turned green, and they quickly said, "I say, Leader, you've already sung four songs in a row. Let's slow down and take a break."

"It's fine, it's fine. You guys eat; I'm not tired." Zheng Jun waved his hand, looking as if they could rest easy. Under the desperate gazes of Li Li and Chen Cheng, he skillfully selected a song and then skillfully turned up the volume.

And then...

A bursting sound suddenly exploded. The voice was wild yet hoarse, hoarse yet heavy, heavy yet… In short, Wang Shuo couldn't find any adjectives to describe it. He only felt as if ten thousand firecrackers were exploding in his ears. A bite of meat in his mouth, and he couldn't even taste what it was for a long time.

Looking at Li Li and Chen Cheng, these two had already timidly plugged their ears tightly, while opening their mouths wide and constantly rolling their eyes at Wang Shuo to signal him.

Eye contact, silence. Wang Shuo silently swallowed the barbecue in his hand, and then covered his ears as well.

Am I here to eat, or to be abused?

Watching Zheng Jun standing in front of the stage, intoxicated, Wang Shuo couldn't help but start contemplating life. It seems like nothing has gone smoothly for him today?

First, he was taken to the police station on a charge of intentional injury because of some inexplicable matter, then he slept for an afternoon because of some inexplicable matter, then he had a splitting headache because of some inexplicable matter, and finally, he inexplicably ended up here listening to Zheng Jun sing.

Thinking of this, Wang Shuo looked at Li Li and Chen Cheng with sympathy. He had just arrived, but these two had already endured the devastation of four songs and were still standing tall. Truly… impressive!

After finally waiting for the song to end, seeing that Zheng Jun still seemed eager to try, Li Li and Chen Cheng quickly ran up to take the microphone and refused to hand it back no matter what.

Zheng Jun had to give up for the time being and sat sullenly on the booth seat.

Chen Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, selected a piece of light music, and played it. The whole vibe suddenly changed, as if it had returned to the right track.

"I say, Second, the songs from today aren't my signature songs. I have another specialty; do you want to hear it?" Zheng Jun probed.

Li Li and Chen Cheng immediately became nervous.

"This…" Wang Shuo gave a bitter smile. "Leader, we already have a deep understanding of your singing voice; there's no need to reinforce the impression for now."

"Right, right, right." Chen Cheng quickly echoed, "Leader, Third and I have both witnessed your strength; it is truly astonishing and unforgettable. We estimate that we won't have the confidence to show off our singing voices for quite a long time."

"Is that so?" Zheng Jun seemed a bit confused.

"Yes, yes." Li Li nodded in agreement, albeit inappropriately.

"Alright then…" Zheng Jun agreed very reluctantly.

"Actually, compared to singing, don't you think we're missing a very important program, Leader?" Chen Cheng smiled.

"Could it be?" Zheng Jun widened his eyes, looking at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng smiled and nodded.

"I say, Chen Cheng, is that appropriate?" Zheng Jun looked troubled and seemed a bit embarrassed. "We're all minors, and we're students. Isn't it inappropriate to do that?"

Chen Cheng opened his eyes wide: "Minors? Students?"

"Don't you think doing that is morally offensive? In such a high-end place, doing some filthy things?"

Chen Cheng's eyes widened even more: "Filthy things?"

"Mom, Dad, and teachers have taught us since childhood that we should be open and honest, and not go against our conscience. So, let me be honest with you: although I really want to try it, twelve years of schooling have told me that people shouldn't be too indulgent, especially since we've just escaped the sea of bitterness of books and arrived in a new world of freedom. We must demand more of ourselves."

Chen Cheng was completely dumbfounded: "What the hell? I say, Leader, I just wanted you to organize us to do self-introductions. Is that so difficult?"

"Self-introductions?" This time it was Zheng Jun's turn to be dumbfounded. After being stunned for a long while, Zheng Jun suddenly burst into laughter: "Ha… Hahaha, I was talking about self-introductions too! Ahem, although we have initially met in the dorm, we don't have a deeper understanding. As brothers in the same dorm for the next four years, it is absolutely unacceptable not to know each other! So, I think Chen Cheng's suggestion is excellent. Let our brotherhood begin with a profound self-introduction!"

Looking at the three dumbfounded people, a rare blush appeared on Zheng Jun's face. He scratched the back of his head and said awkwardly, "Since Chen Cheng brought it up, let me start first."

"I, named Zheng Jun, nineteen years old this year, from the Northeast, height 1.87 meters. My mom and dad are both soldiers, so they hope I can join the army and serve the country in the future. There's nothing else."

Before Zheng Jun finished speaking, Chen Cheng cried out: "Leader, this won't do! Isn't this the same as before? Our introductions this time are very grand. Besides your name, gender, date of birth (which is age), height status, and family background, don't you need to emphasize your interests, hobbies, romantic history, whether you're a virgin, whether you've watched porn, what positions you like…"

Seeing Chen Cheng going further and further off track, Wang Shuo, as the second in the dorm, stood up as a matter of course. "Ahem, the leader has finished; now let me introduce myself."

Chen Cheng said sourly from the side: "Seeing the leader's performance just now, don't you understand yet? The leader definitely has a story! I was just about to get it out of him!"

Ignoring him, Wang Shuo continued to introduce himself: "My name is Wang Shuo, male, Han ethnicity, eighteen years old, 1.74 meters tall, no romantic history. I had a crush on a girl in high school, but we haven't been in contact for a long time; I'm currently single. My dad is an ordinary engineer, my mom is unemployed; she used to do some small business, but now she's at home. I don't have any major hobbies; right now, I just want to study hard, work part-time, and reduce the burden on my mom and dad."

"Clap, clap, clap." Chen Cheng took the lead in applauding: "Second knows how to introduce himself. Let's proceed according to this pattern. Third, you go."

Li Li nodded: "My name is Li Li; the name doesn't have any special meaning. Eighteen years old this year, haven't had a girlfriend, like programming."

Chen Cheng: "I say, Third, what about your parents? What do they do?"

Li Li was silent for a moment: "My father passed away early, and my mother raised me."

"This… I'm sorry, I didn't know." Chen Cheng realized he was wrong and looked apologetic.

"It's okay, it's all in the past." Li Li smiled, "I was young when my father passed away; I don't remember what he looked like, so I don't feel much about it."

He said it very calmly, but everyone knew that these things were probably always in Li Li's heart.

"I say, it's not easy for us to come together. Before I introduce myself, shouldn't we have a drink first?"

Chen Cheng raised his red wine glass, "Let's… toast to youth!"

"To youth!"

"To our ideals!"

"To… the future!"