Back in his car, Chen Kai stared blankly at the roof. A sad whimper left his tired soul. It was the sound of pure mental strain.
"System, can't you steer me on a path free of unreasonable people?"
[Apologies, dear host. Won't that be living too much of an easy life? Your encounter can be considered normal.]
He couldn't respond. What the system was right.
"The best way to save energy is to ignore them all," he exclaimed, clenching his fists with determination.
In less than ten seconds, that determination disappeared when he came to the conclusion that trouble finds you no matter how far you hide.
Brushing off the crazy scenario at the store, Chen Kai made his way back to campus. He made an order of takeout from KFC during the drive knowing it will reach him after he arrive. The day was too much and he couldn't focus on finishing or starting the projects.
The dorm room won't be a good place for that. It will be tense. The best thing to do will be to finish packing and leave the next day. During the day, he received a few messages from Zhu Dong. The guy was more affected by the breakup than him. If he does tell his dorm mate about the poisoned meal, would he believe him?
Chen Kai scoffed. "Even I won't believe myself," he muttered. It's best to be like every other main character and lie on the fly.
When he found a spot in the parking lot, he stayed seated for a while and then gathered his backpack, one of the new external hard drives, and leftover snacks from the girls.
Before leaving the car, he tucked his purchases behind the front seat and lowered the upper part of it to be horizontal. It will cover it in a natural way.
By the time he walked to the side entrance to meet up with the food delivery guy. The call from him came in when he was a few steps away. The transaction was quick and convenient, giving him enough time to stroll towards his dorm.
The ending of the day held a light breeze and a calm environment. The campus was quiet. A newcomer will think that it was vacation time but they wouldn't feel the stressful atmosphere. It was finals for the lower classes and graduating projects for the seniors. The most stressful moment of a college student's life.
Chen Kai sort of feel bad that he was lazing around while everyone was working hard to get great results for their future. Meh, it won't take long to create that application I thought of. I can do it at home, he thought to himself.
For the seniors, they will enter a crazed state if they heard his thoughts. A few of them are already working, well interning, at jobs they wish to be full-time at and others are aiming for a good passing result in their major. There was pressure everywhere.
Nearing his dorm, he met a few guys who were leaving at the same time he was entering. When they got nearer, he heard them snickering and glancing his way.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen," one began.
"What do you mean, Brother Shun!" another pushed.
"Eh. You don't understand? Isn't it shameful that one of the school's elite lost his woman to his rich brother?"
"You're right. Tsk, tsk. This proves it. Money does make the world 'round. You can be smart as fuck and still can't keep their precious girlfriend."
Chen Kai ignored the childish taunts. It was an eye-opener on how invested they were in his relationship. Sifting through the saved memories, he realized the past Chen Kai knew something was off in the relationship with Zhang Rui but still tried to make it work. He held some affection for her but not to the full extent of love. Those feelings withered when he was poisoned.
'Damn! She was willing to kill for luxury. Maybe I should write, {most likely to be a black widow} in her yearbook,' he mused inwardly.
Walking further away from the guys without a response, they were embarrassed and angry to see Chen Kai look so proud as he walked down the hall completely unbothered.
"You may be on top here but you will amount to nothing with that stinky pride of yours!"
"You're just another poor wimp when you leave this campus. Sister Zhang was right in cutting ties with you. You will only pull her down if she stayed with you."
Their wordy insults filled the hall, he was sure the occupants can hear it all. To prove it, a few peeked their heads out to see what was happening. When they saw Chen Kai walking leisurely toward his room, they were confused as to why he wasn't defending himself.
He simply entered his room and made his way to his bunk.
In the room, whatever conversation the occupants were having stopped the moment he entered.
'Awkward!' he exclaimed inwardly.
Chen Kai was amusing himself silently as he moved around the room. On the bunk below his was Zhu Dong doing his studies. On the other side of the room was Li Sheng sitting on the floor as he spoke to Lin Shen.
Mr. Congeniality was on his bunk with a visitor, his new girlfriend Zhang Rui.
It was so hard not to laugh.
The new couple was now making exaggerated lovey-dovey noises, probably waiting for Chen Kai to react.
No matter how loud and nauseating they were, they couldn't make him eat the dog food they were offering.
He took out one of the combo meal boxes in his hand and gave it to Zhu Dong. "Thanks, Brother Chen," he responded.
It wasn't hard to hear the wariness in the guy's voice. A few things popped into Chen Kai's head but he didn't let it bother him. Earlier in the day Zhu Dong was like a supportive brother, now he was a distant cousin. He ignored them all and climbed onto his bunk. His clothes were all on his bed ready to be packed into the two suitcases on the floor. Thinking bout it, ordering new clothes will be best.
As he ate and went through with his laptop, Li Sheng spoke up.
"Brother Chen, that was a bit petty you know."
"Oh? What was?" Chen Kai asked as he stuffed his mouth with a spring roll.
"You know everyone is busy with their projects yet you only bought a quick dinner for one of your brothers. Is it because of the mishap between you and Brother Lin?" Li Sheng shamelessly said.
Chen Kai laughed but didn't respond.
"Such a selfish idiot. No wonder I chose to leave you," Zhang Rui said and hugged Lin Shen's arm. Chen Kai kept smiling at their little taunts. How can they be so shameless? Why the fuck he will be a caterer for the entire room when Mr. Moneybags can do it? N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
Nope. His money was smart.
They will be graduating in three months, and all projects were due in three weeks yet they were lazing around and putting their noses into his business. Who has time to nurture relationships at this time?
Blocking out their noise and provocative words, he transferred what he deemed important on the laptop onto the hard drive and did some start-up work on the remaining projects. The finance project was in the final stage and it was safely on the hard drive.
He drafted the two theses for each major and then saved them. Before he leaves school, he will visit the counselor and his teachers. It's best to stay away from this place until graduation.
He can feel it. They can't contain their hostility.
The air in the room was thick and uncomfortable. He didn't have a good connection with three people and the fourth is avoiding him like a plague.
'Do I have to sleep with one eye open?' he asked himself.
Being uneasy, Chen Kai began to fold the clothes he will keep and place the ones he will donate in a garbage bag.
"Won't it be best to save those rags? You can save up for your rent money," Zhang Rui said aloud.
"My actions don't concern you. It is very commendable that you know how to save a few yuans. I hope you can remember your words for the future," Chen Kai answered without hesitation. To be honest, he didn't realize that she was still in the room.
"Your tongue is as sharp as ever Chen Kai," Lin Shen commented.
"It's a result of a smart mind," he retorted. The comment was lazy but the veiled insult struck home.
Lin Shen heard it clearly. It was known how average his grades were and how far his father's money carried him to be a graduate. That's why he needed Chen Kai's work to offset his performance. If he submits it, the review will clearly state Lin Shen's perseverance to do better to enter the working man's world made him produce such great work.
Chen Kai was oblivious to this and if he did hear the guy's over-the-top plans, he would immediately question the guy's mentality. After the laptop data was transferred, he packed away the hard drive and cleaned up everything else. The room became uncomfortable and it was starting to annoy him. He wasn't in the mood for whatever they had planned. Leaving out his clothes for the next day, he packed up his suitcase and was about to leave the dorm.
"Brother Chen, can I borrow your laptop? Mine just stalled during research, you know I can't waste any time." Zhu Dong gave him an apologetic smile paired with a helpless look.
Chen Kai returned his smile. "Of course, Brother Zhu. I'm heading to the donation bin and car, you can use it since I'm busy."
"Thank you."
When Chen Kai was out of the hallway, Zhu Dong placed the laptop on the desk and accessed it. He found the folder xxxxxxx University - Final Year and opened it. It was Chen Kai's Finance, Media Studies, and Multimedia projects along with various URL links and photos. He looked over his shoulder to see Lin Shen's conniving smile.
"Send it to me first," Zhu Dong demanded.
Zhang Rui softly laughed and made her way to Zhu Dong's side.
"Your job isn't complete," she stated.
Zhu Dong gritted his teeth and snatched the thumb drive from Li Feng's outstretched palm. "Hurry it up and don't forget the next thumb drive. Insert it right after you eject the first one." Lin Shen's orders were precise.
When he returned his attention to the laptop, Li Feng raised his phone and recorded him stealing Chen Kai's work and planting the virus. The video was cut when the device on the desk faded to a black screen with the words 'Code Error'.
Zhu Dong threw both thumb drives to Lin Shen; seconds later a bell chime sounded from his phone.
~ You have received $500,000 Yuan to your account ending with xxxx xxxxxx xxx590~
He released a sigh of relief and then deleted the SMS message.
"Oops ~" Zhang Rui's voice cut through the quiet. When they saw the reason, Li Feng and Lin Shen laughed. Zhu Dong's eyes widen in disbelief. That snake woman emptied the last of his drink onto the laptop, on her face was a pleased smile for her little 'mistake.'
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He couldn't believe she will do that. They already disabled the laptop internally why go so far? He knew better than any of the other three how hard Chen Kai worked to purchase the laptop secondhand. The virus can be removed but the time frame was unknown. With liquid entering it, it's beyond repair. He rushed towards it to get some of the drink out of it but his actions worsen the damage. The device was plugged in, and when he shifted it at an angle some of the drink flowed towards the power cord input.
A spark ignited, startling Zhu Dong and the orders. The laptop fell to the floor with a bang. The loud clatter punctuated their disbelief at the unexpected situation.
"Heh! Looks like you don't have to go with that excuse anymore. I did you a favor," Zhang Rui said as she grabbed her bag.
Lin Shen got up and kicked the laptop. "Nice going, Brother Zhu. You really know how to put one hundred percent into your job. I will make sure you get a great position in our finance department." He patted Zhu Dong's shoulder in full mockery and walked past him with Zhang Rui clinging onto him.
Li Feng snickered like a third-rate lackey and followed his boss out the door.
Zhu Dong was at a loss for what to do. He stood frozen on the spot for an unknown time. It wasn't until he heard a deep voice filled with disdain that he noticed the time.
"I don't think that's how you use a laptop."
He spun on his heel and face the door.
There stood Chen Kai with a fierce expression on his face.
He took a step back but that was a mistake. That step was on the broken open laptop. The sound of broken glass filled the air. The screen was shattered.
Chen Kai began to laugh but there was no humor in it. He watched the messed up device on the floor and silently thanked his perception.
How petty can one be?
"Good job, Brother Zhu! Good job!"
Back in his car, Chen Kai stared blankly at the roof. A sad whimper left his tired soul. It was the sound of pure mental strain.
"System, can't you steer me on a path free of unreasonable people?"
[Apologies, dear host. Won't that be living too much of an easy life? Your encounter can be considered normal.]
He couldn't respond. What the system was right.
"The best way to save energy is to ignore them all," he exclaimed, clenching his fists with determination.
In less than ten seconds, that determination disappeared when he came to the conclusion that trouble finds you no matter how far you hide.
Brushing off the crazy scenario at the store, Chen Kai made his way back to campus. He made an order of takeout from KFC during the drive knowing it will reach him after he arrive. The day was too much and he couldn't focus on finishing or starting the projects.
The dorm room won't be a good place for that. It will be tense. The best thing to do will be to finish packing and leave the next day. During the day, he received a few messages from Zhu Dong. The guy was more affected by the breakup than him. If he does tell his dorm mate about the poisoned meal, would he believe him?
Chen Kai scoffed. "Even I won't believe myself," he muttered. It's best to be like every other main character and lie on the fly.
When he found a spot in the parking lot, he stayed seated for a while and then gathered his backpack, one of the new external hard drives, and leftover snacks from the girls.
Before leaving the car, he tucked his purchases behind the front seat and lowered the upper part of it to be horizontal. It will cover it in a natural way.
By the time he walked to the side entrance to meet up with the food delivery guy. The call from him came in when he was a few steps away. The transaction was quick and convenient, giving him enough time to stroll towards his dorm.
The ending of the day held a light breeze and a calm environment. The campus was quiet. A newcomer will think that it was vacation time but they wouldn't feel the stressful atmosphere. It was finals for the lower classes and graduating projects for the seniors. The most stressful moment of a college student's life.
Chen Kai sort of feel bad that he was lazing around while everyone was working hard to get great results for their future. Meh, it won't take long to create that application I thought of. I can do it at home, he thought to himself.
For the seniors, they will enter a crazed state if they heard his thoughts. A few of them are already working, well interning, at jobs they wish to be full-time at and others are aiming for a good passing result in their major. There was pressure everywhere.
Nearing his dorm, he met a few guys who were leaving at the same time he was entering. When they got nearer, he heard them snickering and glancing his way.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen," one began.
"What do you mean, Brother Shun!" another pushed.
"Eh. You don't understand? Isn't it shameful that one of the school's elite lost his woman to his rich brother?"
"You're right. Tsk, tsk. This proves it. Money does make the world 'round. You can be smart as fuck and still can't keep their precious girlfriend."
Chen Kai ignored the childish taunts. It was an eye-opener on how invested they were in his relationship. Sifting through the saved memories, he realized the past Chen Kai knew something was off in the relationship with Zhang Rui but still tried to make it work. He held some affection for her but not to the full extent of love. Those feelings withered when he was poisoned.
'Damn! She was willing to kill for luxury. Maybe I should write, {most likely to be a black widow} in her yearbook,' he mused inwardly.
Walking further away from the guys without a response, they were embarrassed and angry to see Chen Kai look so proud as he walked down the hall completely unbothered.
"You may be on top here but you will amount to nothing with that stinky pride of yours!"
"You're just another poor wimp when you leave this campus. Sister Zhang was right in cutting ties with you. You will only pull her down if she stayed with you."
Their wordy insults filled the hall, he was sure the occupants can hear it all. To prove it, a few peeked their heads out to see what was happening. When they saw Chen Kai walking leisurely toward his room, they were confused as to why he wasn't defending himself.
He simply entered his room and made his way to his bunk.
In the room, whatever conversation the occupants were having stopped the moment he entered.
'Awkward!' he exclaimed inwardly.
Chen Kai was amusing himself silently as he moved around the room. On the bunk below his was Zhu Dong doing his studies. On the other side of the room was Li Sheng sitting on the floor as he spoke to Lin Shen.
Mr. Congeniality was on his bunk with a visitor, his new girlfriend Zhang Rui.
It was so hard not to laugh.
The new couple was now making exaggerated lovey-dovey noises, probably waiting for Chen Kai to react.
No matter how loud and nauseating they were, they couldn't make him eat the dog food they were offering.
He took out one of the combo meal boxes in his hand and gave it to Zhu Dong. "Thanks, Brother Chen," he responded.
It wasn't hard to hear the wariness in the guy's voice. A few things popped into Chen Kai's head but he didn't let it bother him. Earlier in the day Zhu Dong was like a supportive brother, now he was a distant cousin. He ignored them all and climbed onto his bunk. His clothes were all on his bed ready to be packed into the two suitcases on the floor. Thinking bout it, ordering new clothes will be best.
As he ate and went through with his laptop, Li Sheng spoke up.
"Brother Chen, that was a bit petty you know."
"Oh? What was?" Chen Kai asked as he stuffed his mouth with a spring roll.
"You know everyone is busy with their projects yet you only bought a quick dinner for one of your brothers. Is it because of the mishap between you and Brother Lin?" Li Sheng shamelessly said.
Chen Kai laughed but didn't respond.
"Such a selfish idiot. No wonder I chose to leave you," Zhang Rui said and hugged Lin Shen's arm. Chen Kai kept smiling at their little taunts. How can they be so shameless? Why the fuck he will be a caterer for the entire room when Mr. Moneybags can do it? N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
Nope. His money was smart.
They will be graduating in three months, and all projects were due in three weeks yet they were lazing around and putting their noses into his business. Who has time to nurture relationships at this time?
Blocking out their noise and provocative words, he transferred what he deemed important on the laptop onto the hard drive and did some start-up work on the remaining projects. The finance project was in the final stage and it was safely on the hard drive.
He drafted the two theses for each major and then saved them. Before he leaves school, he will visit the counselor and his teachers. It's best to stay away from this place until graduation.
He can feel it. They can't contain their hostility.
The air in the room was thick and uncomfortable. He didn't have a good connection with three people and the fourth is avoiding him like a plague.
'Do I have to sleep with one eye open?' he asked himself.
Being uneasy, Chen Kai began to fold the clothes he will keep and place the ones he will donate in a garbage bag.
"Won't it be best to save those rags? You can save up for your rent money," Zhang Rui said aloud.
"My actions don't concern you. It is very commendable that you know how to save a few yuans. I hope you can remember your words for the future," Chen Kai answered without hesitation. To be honest, he didn't realize that she was still in the room.
"Your tongue is as sharp as ever Chen Kai," Lin Shen commented.
"It's a result of a smart mind," he retorted. The comment was lazy but the veiled insult struck home.
Lin Shen heard it clearly. It was known how average his grades were and how far his father's money carried him to be a graduate. That's why he needed Chen Kai's work to offset his performance. If he submits it, the review will clearly state Lin Shen's perseverance to do better to enter the working man's world made him produce such great work.
Chen Kai was oblivious to this and if he did hear the guy's over-the-top plans, he would immediately question the guy's mentality. After the laptop data was transferred, he packed away the hard drive and cleaned up everything else. The room became uncomfortable and it was starting to annoy him. He wasn't in the mood for whatever they had planned. Leaving out his clothes for the next day, he packed up his suitcase and was about to leave the dorm.
"Brother Chen, can I borrow your laptop? Mine just stalled during research, you know I can't waste any time." Zhu Dong gave him an apologetic smile paired with a helpless look.
Chen Kai returned his smile. "Of course, Brother Zhu. I'm heading to the donation bin and car, you can use it since I'm busy."
"Thank you."
When Chen Kai was out of the hallway, Zhu Dong placed the laptop on the desk and accessed it. He found the folder xxxxxxx University - Final Year and opened it. It was Chen Kai's Finance, Media Studies, and Multimedia projects along with various URL links and photos. He looked over his shoulder to see Lin Shen's conniving smile.
"Send it to me first," Zhu Dong demanded.
Zhang Rui softly laughed and made her way to Zhu Dong's side.
"Your job isn't complete," she stated.
Zhu Dong gritted his teeth and snatched the thumb drive from Li Feng's outstretched palm. "Hurry it up and don't forget the next thumb drive. Insert it right after you eject the first one." Lin Shen's orders were precise.
When he returned his attention to the laptop, Li Feng raised his phone and recorded him stealing Chen Kai's work and planting the virus. The video was cut when the device on the desk faded to a black screen with the words 'Code Error'.
Zhu Dong threw both thumb drives to Lin Shen; seconds later a bell chime sounded from his phone.
~ You have received $500,000 Yuan to your account ending with xxxx xxxxxx xxx590~
He released a sigh of relief and then deleted the SMS message.
"Oops ~" Zhang Rui's voice cut through the quiet. When they saw the reason, Li Feng and Lin Shen laughed. Zhu Dong's eyes widen in disbelief. That snake woman emptied the last of his drink onto the laptop, on her face was a pleased smile for her little 'mistake.'
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He couldn't believe she will do that. They already disabled the laptop internally why go so far? He knew better than any of the other three how hard Chen Kai worked to purchase the laptop secondhand. The virus can be removed but the time frame was unknown. With liquid entering it, it's beyond repair. He rushed towards it to get some of the drink out of it but his actions worsen the damage. The device was plugged in, and when he shifted it at an angle some of the drink flowed towards the power cord input.
A spark ignited, startling Zhu Dong and the orders. The laptop fell to the floor with a bang. The loud clatter punctuated their disbelief at the unexpected situation.
"Heh! Looks like you don't have to go with that excuse anymore. I did you a favor," Zhang Rui said as she grabbed her bag.
Lin Shen got up and kicked the laptop. "Nice going, Brother Zhu. You really know how to put one hundred percent into your job. I will make sure you get a great position in our finance department." He patted Zhu Dong's shoulder in full mockery and walked past him with Zhang Rui clinging onto him.
Li Feng snickered like a third-rate lackey and followed his boss out the door.
Zhu Dong was at a loss for what to do. He stood frozen on the spot for an unknown time. It wasn't until he heard a deep voice filled with disdain that he noticed the time.
"I don't think that's how you use a laptop."
He spun on his heel and face the door.
There stood Chen Kai with a fierce expression on his face.
He took a step back but that was a mistake. That step was on the broken open laptop. The sound of broken glass filled the air. The screen was shattered.
Chen Kai began to laugh but there was no humor in it. He watched the messed up device on the floor and silently thanked his perception.
How petty can one be?
"Good job, Brother Zhu! Good job!"
