Chapter Thirty-Seven: Stirring Up Trouble

“I believe you! You and Xu Hao really do have different personalities. I was always a bit puzzled—how did you two, with such opposite temperaments, end up such good friends?” Kang Ge squinted, leaning in to scrutinize Zhuang Fukai. “To be honest, don’t you find it noisy dealing with someone like Xu Hao? No offense, I just like to talk. Keeping quiet would suffocate me. After we chatted that day, I realized Xu Hao’s personality is a lot like mine, which made me really curious. I’ve never dared approach quiet or introverted people, afraid they’d find me annoying.”

Zhuang Fukai pressed his lips together and edged half a step back, clearly uncomfortable with Kang Ge suddenly moving so close. “Not really. I’m already this quiet—if I only hung out with people like myself, there’d be no need to interact at all. No one would ever say a word.”

“That’s true!” Kang Ge nodded approvingly. “By your logic, Xu Hao really is suited to be your friend! Otherwise, with his personality, if he found someone just like him, the two of them together would tear the roof off! They’d be bound to cause trouble!”

Zhuang Fukai gave a faint tug at the corner of his mouth, as if considering a smile but thinking better of it. “Xu Hao… sometimes he really is a bit childish. He’s impulsive, like a kid, just does whatever he feels like. He doesn’t think things through, just acts on his mood. If I hadn’t stopped him before, he almost got into a fight with Xu Wenrui in our dorm. He never thought about the fact that he’s already on his counselor’s radar, while Xu Wenrui is a favorite of that counselor. If they really fought, who’d lose more? Would it be the pain from a few punches, or the risk of getting a disciplinary record right before graduation?”

“What nearly made them fight? Was it something serious?” Yan Xue asked.

“Not really, just some trivial matter.” That conflicted look appeared on Zhuang Fukai’s face again, as if he didn’t want to elaborate. But the conversation had come this far, so he forced himself to continue. “One day, Xu Hao was bored in his own dorm and came to hang out in ours. He was telling me something, while Xu Wenrui happened to be napping in the room. You’ve met Xu Hao, right? I don’t need to explain how loud he is. Maybe he was a bit noisy, plus Xu Wenrui seemed unwell or in a bad mood that day, so his tone was harsh. He told Xu Hao to either shut up or get out.”

“Usually Xu Hao is easygoing and laughs everything off, but if he gets angry, his temper flares. So when Xu Wenrui snapped at him, Xu Hao snapped right back, telling Xu Wenrui if he cared so much about personal space, he should go rent his own place, since a dorm is a shared space. Or, if he couldn’t stand it, just poke his own ears deaf.”

“Wow! That’s like a match thrown into a powder keg!” Kang Ge exclaimed.

“Yeah, they started arguing, Xu Wenrui yelling about coming down to fight, Xu Hao daring him to try. When Xu Wenrui didn’t actually get up, Xu Hao wanted to go up and drag him down. I had to hold Xu Hao back with all my strength, telling him I was heading to the library and he should go back to his own dorm. I finally managed to talk him into leaving.”

“I didn’t expect you to stick up for Xu Wenrui. I thought you didn’t like him,” Yan Xue said, feigning surprise.

“I really don’t like him, you can say that.” This time, Zhuang Fukai was frank. “He and I are completely different people, and he doesn’t think much of me either. But dislike is one thing—no matter how much I dislike someone, I’d rather keep things simple, just arrange my own life and avoid trouble.

“If I hadn’t been in the dorm that day, then even if they fought, it would’ve had nothing to do with me. But since Xu Hao came to our dorm specifically to find me, if I hadn’t stopped them and they really did fight, I might’ve been held responsible. At a time like this, I don’t want to risk anything.”

“Boys! At this age it’s normal to have some conflicts and arguments,” Kang Ge sighed, turning to Yan Xue. “You don’t get it—guys are different from girls. Sometimes we don’t get along, maybe even get into a fight, but afterwards, we talk it out and become friends.”

He glanced at Zhuang Fukai for confirmation, as if afraid Yan Xue wouldn’t believe him. “Am I right?”

“Not in their case.” Zhuang Fukai didn’t spare Kang Ge’s feelings. “They were always at odds. After almost fighting that time, things only got worse between them.”

“So did Xu Hao’s ghost prank in the bathroom happen before or after the fight?” Kang Ge asked.

“After.” Mentioning this seemed to surprise Zhuang Fukai. “I can’t believe Xu Hao told you about that—he really has no filter. Before he pulled that stunt, he told me about it. He’d heard from someone that Xu Wenrui had a heart condition, so he wanted to scare him. I was shocked and told him not to do it. I don’t care about his pranks, but what if he went too far and something serious happened? That’s not something you can undo. Xu Wenrui is the kind of person who talks a lot of nonsense—you never know what’s true or not. Most of the time he just exaggerates, boasts, and puts on a show. So when he said he had a heart problem, I didn’t know if it was real or just an act. I really tried to talk Xu Hao out of it.”

“So it looks like Xu Hao didn’t listen to you this time either!” Kang Ge laughed. “He still went through with the ghost prank. But if Xu Wenrui wasn’t close to him, how did Xu Hao know about his heart problem?”

“Don’t you know?” Zhuang Fukai looked at Kang Ge and Yan Xue in surprise. “There’s nothing you need to dig for with Xu Wenrui—he loves sharing everything online. Whether he’s happy or not, real or fake, he’s always posting. Sometimes he even livestreams singing in the dorm. I find him too noisy—most nights I don’t go back until the library closes.”

“So it seems Xu Wenrui really wants to become famous online! Then why would he want to pursue graduate school?” Kang Ge was puzzled.

Zhuang Fukai rolled his eyes instinctively, his expression as dark and wooden as ever. “Who knows what he’s thinking.”

“You’re the top student in your major. Do you think he stands a chance at getting into grad school?”

“Who knows. He’s good at networking, comes from a well-off family—maybe he has some connections.”

“Does Xu Wenrui get much attention when he livestreams his singing?” Yan Xue asked.

At this, a faintly mocking smile crept onto Zhuang Fukai’s face. “Depends how you look at it. If you count the people in our dorm who have to listen, you’d think he was a superstar. In reality, it’s a different story.”

“What do you mean? Have you seen his actual follower count?”

“I couldn’t care less. Xu Hao checked once and told me—there were maybe thirty or fifty people watching, all silent, not saying a word. But Xu Wenrui would still put on a show as if he was interacting with a huge audience.”

“By the way, Xu Hao seems to keep close tabs on Xu Wenrui. Does he know Xu Wenrui is actually dead?” Kang Ge suddenly remembered, asking Zhuang Fukai. “We didn’t give him any hint yesterday. Did you tell him today?”

“No. I was in class in that lecture hall all morning. I heard people in the back row gossiping, then you guys found me right after class to ask about it. I haven’t had a chance to contact Xu Hao or tell him anything. Whether he’s heard from someone else, I don’t know, but I doubt the people in the back row are the only ones who know Xu Wenrui died.”

As he spoke, perhaps to prove his innocence, he fished out his phone and handed it to Kang Ge. At that moment, a message popped up, plainly visible to both Kang Ge and Yan Xue.

“Where are you in class? Got any plans later? I’m in a good mood today—let’s hit our usual spot for some barbecue and a drink at noon!”

“This Xu Hao really is a sunny guy! Is he always like this—cheerful, treating himself to good food and drink?” Kang Ge glanced at the message and handed the phone back.

Zhuang Fukai didn’t reply. Muttering to himself, he typed back to Xu Hao: “I have class this afternoon... even if I didn’t, I’d need to study at the library. Drinking isn’t for me... I’m not in the same situation as him...”