Chapter 37: Forced Conscription

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When does one become an adult?

In truth, it’s when one’s high school tests have been completed!

After the conclusion of the final paper, English, it is an indescribable sensation to walk from the examination hall, and then inhale a deep breath. In that moment, you might find yourself looking kindly upon even your most hated enemies!

Once the finals were over—truly over—the whole world just seemed so wonderful!

As he left the room, Yu Luocheng had the urge to race over to the classroom down the corridor, seize Yang Qianqian up in his arms, and plant a huge kiss upon her round, pink cheeks!

It would be nice to see Yang Qianqian running towards him, as well.

The two of them would meet in the middle of the corridor, gazing at each other with profound meaning from across the distance. And then they would begin to run towards each other, each seeing no one but the other.

At last, they would throw their arms around each other, and burst into anguished tears!

How tragic that reality could be so different from imagination.

With his heart in his throat, Yu Luocheng ran over to where Yang Qianqian was, but she hadn’t been waiting for him at all. With a flick of her long, silken hair, she walked away with some other girl!

Since she was already walking with somebody, Yu Luocheng couldn’t very well sidle up to her.

However, it was obvious that Yang Qianqian was still upset about what happened yesterday. Otherwise, the moment the finals were all over, she should have been running, running towards him…

Never mind, Yang Qianqian wasn’t the sort to stay mad for long. Yu Luocheng’s heart was light, thinking about how he’d be playing League of Legends throughout the holidays!

***

“Yu Luocheng, Yu Luocheng!”

With a wide grin plastered across his face, Yu Luocheng had been on his way out the school gates when he heard an excited voice calling out his name.

“What’s up?” Yu Luocheng turned to find Wang Qin behind him.

“Tournament—there’s an LoL tournament!” Wang Qin exclaimed with delight.

“Yeah, I know.”

“We’ve all signed up for it. All that’s left is for you to join us!”

“Nope, I ain’t got the time.” Yu Luocheng shot down Wang Qin’s invitation without hesitation.

Yu Luocheng had faith in his own abilities, but League of Legends was the sort of game where, no matter how good you might be yourself, if you got stuck with a bunch of imbeciles, there would be no hope of victory.

In his eyes, Wang Qin and company were said bunch of imbeciles. If he entered that tournament as a part of their team, they’d all be eliminated in the first round—a complete waste of time.

“Well, even if you’re not going, we are! It should be worthwhile to see how the real pros play!” It was obvious that Wang Qin was really looking forward to it.

***

Somehow, word about the Coca-Cola Cup spread like wildfire. On the street, Yu Luocheng kept overhearing people chattering excitedly about it. Many were those who’d signed up for it, every one of them feeling good about their chances.

Yu Luocheng thought it was mighty pretentious for a bunch of high-school kids to talk about what sort of placing they were hoping to get in that tournament.

That night, there was a gathering for the whole class. This involved a combination of drinks, tearful embraces, heartfelt apologies, and hopeful confessions.

By the end of it all, it had already gotten rather late, yet no one seemed in a hurry to say goodbye.

Many of them had never experienced staying the night away from home before, and this was their big chance. Hence, the class splintered into groups, looking for a place to have a second round, or going to the karaoke, or even an all-night session at the cyber café!

Naturally, this last group comprised of the LoL players. They logged into the accounts that they would be using for the tournament, intent on getting in some practice before the real thing.

Of course, Wang Qin was the pack leader for Class 8. Yu Luocheng wasn’t joining them, having already left much earlier in the evening.

***

The moment he set foot on the bridge that would take him home, the phone in Yu Luocheng’s pants pocket rang.

The phone was a gift he’d received from his mother barely a couple of days ago. She’d said it was for him to use when he was in university. This was the very first day that Yu Luocheng was carrying it around on his person. So far, there was only one person he’d given his number to.

That meant it could only be none other than that person calling him now!

“Where are you?” a cold, feminine voice came over the line.

“I’m on the way home now,” Yu Luocheng answered honestly.

“Stop by my place for a bit,” Yang Qianqian commanded.

“What for?”

“One of my classmates is being a pest. He keeps hovering around, going on about how much he likes me. I’ve told him a million times that I’m not interested ¹ .” Yang Qianqian did sound annoyed.

“Got it, I’ll be there right away! Where are you?” Who was this damned fool, who dared to mess with his girl?

The call over, Yu Luocheng became a demon of fury, and raced towards his destination with blazing speed.

***

It hadn’t been any big deal, really—just some guy who’d had a little to drink, and that had given him the courage to make some moves on Yang Qianqian.

Once Yu Luocheng had arrived on the scene, that guy lost his nerve and slinked away—and here Yu Luocheng had come prepared for a fight.

Yang Qianqian was particularly enchanting today. The tight-fitting sleeveless blouse she wore served to highlight the full curve of her bosom. A short denim skirt bared luscious, creamy white legs that inspired the imagination to run wild.

In contrast to her long, straight legs, the sudden swell of her tight round butt was a distraction which could not be ignored.

Small wonder that drunkard would gravitate towards her. Faced with a beauty like Yang Qianqian, was there anything one wouldn’t do to win her over?

“Will you be going home tonight?” Yu Luocheng asked.

“What would I be doing, to the point of not going home?” Yang Qianqian snapped in reply.

“Oh, there are lots of possibilities…” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Forget it. I’m going home, bye!” Yang Qianqian spun around and walked away.

Of course, there was no way Yu Luocheng could just let her go like that. Shamelessly, he gave chase.

“Why are you following me?” Yang Qianqian fumed, glaring at him.

“You’re the one who summoned me. Surely you don’t think you’ll get rid of me just like that?”

“You could have declined.” She turned away, refusing to even look at him.

“Alright, let’s not fight. It’s not really that big a deal for me to enter that tournament.”

“Really?” At this, Yang Qianqian whipped around to face him, her eyes lit up in the most adorable way.

Yu Luocheng gaped. She changed faces so quickly… was she Alt-Tabbing between screens?

“Sure, just for fun,” Yu Luocheng said.

What he was planning to do was simply join some random team and blunder through a couple of games. Without a strong team, he wouldn’t make it very far anyway. It was all just for the sake of cheering up Yang Qianqian.

“You should have just listened to me from the start.” A smile danced upon her face, and it almost seemed as though two little horns had popped up from her head.

Now that Yang Qianqian wasn’t mad at him anymore, it was a lot more pleasant to walk home together. Neither was in a hurry for the walk to end, and they took several detours through the city, as well as a few parks along the way.

To be honest, there were several times when they’d passed by outside a hotel, and Yu Luocheng had wanted to gallantly invite her in with him. Unfortunately, each time, Yang Qianqian would glance over, and then make as though she wanted to step inside, but ultimately she would just continue down the street, leaving Yu Luocheng’s heart careening in distress.

In the end, Yu Luocheng escorted Yang Qianqian all the way back to her home, with all manner of clever pick-up lines remaining unused in his head.

***

Yes, there was something in common between picking up chicks and playing League of Legends: the last step always involved a big push. The Towers, the Inhibitors, the enemy base itself… the only way forward was through!

At least tonight’s walk through the city sort of counted as a date for the two of them.