The days slowly drifted toward mid-March, and Xie Chun grew more anxious with each passing day.
Watching him pick at his cuticles and bite his nails, Xu Yanghe laughed teasingly. “What’s wrong now?”
“Last month’s payments were so… scattered,” Xie Chun said. First, two hundred was taken in the back alley, then he’d transferred several thousand in bits and pieces, and on New Year’s Eve, they’d come to the door for ten thousand. “I don’t know how the interest is calculated. I don’t know how much I have to pay this month.”
Xu Yanghe turned the calendar toward him. “Today is March 15th. If those scammers haven’t come for you today, what does that tell you?”
A look of joy bloomed on Xie Chun’s face. “It means my letter to the Mayor’s Mailbox worked!”
“Or it means they’re just low-level scammers,” Xu Yanghe countered. “They know you left the old spinning mill communal housing. They can’t find you, so they don’t dare try to squeeze more money out of you.”
Xie Chun’s eyes went wide as he sank into a complex spiral of thought.
“Alright,” Xu Yanghe slapped him on the back. “Off to class.”
Both had full schedules. Xie Chun didn’t start his part-time shift at Blue Sea until 10 PM, so during the few hours of downtime in between, Xu Yanghe would drag him home for a meal.
…
The Anti-Fraud Seminar
That day, after class, Xu Yanghe intended to find Xie Chun directly. On his way, he noticed a crowd gathering at the entrance of the School of Engineering. Instructors were holding clipboards, calling out names.
This was a seasonal spectacle for freshmen: the mandatory class seminar.
Xu Yanghe’s sharp ears caught a specific word in the bustle: “Anti-fraud.”
He felt a spark of interest and walked over to read the promotional banner by the door.
Keynote Speaker: Officer Zhao, Lead of the Anti-Fraud Unit, Haicheng Criminal Investigation Bureau. Topics: Job Traps, Fake Investments, Loan Shark Scams… A dozen real-life cases to help students identify scams and stay safe.
This is perfect for Xie Chun, Xu Yanghe thought. He immediately sent a message.
[Xu Yanghe: Come to the School of Engineering entrance.] [Xie Chun: Okay]
Xie Chun arrived quickly, scanning the crowd with his backpack slumped over one shoulder. The freshmen were complaining loudly about the school’s mandatory attendance policy.
Xu Yanghe approached and, before Xie Chun could sense danger, grabbed his backpack strap. He pulled Xie Chun toward him and locked an arm around his shoulders.
“I’m not going to a seminar!” Xie Chun cried out in horror.
“Just consider it ‘accompanying me,'” Xu Yanghe said.
“My elective credits are already full!” Xie Chun yelled.
Dragging him inside, Xu Yanghe reasoned, “We’re not doing this for credits. Isn’t it good to learn some anti-fraud tips?”
Reluctantly, Xie Chun was forced to sit in the back row of the large lecture hall. As the Dean of Engineering began droning on with opening remarks, Xie Chun whispered, “I’m already hungry.”
“We’re having beef rib noodles for dinner,” Xu Yanghe promised, holding him in place.
After twenty minutes of trivia about the engineering department, two officers in crisp uniforms finally took the stage. Xie Chun was busy chatting with Yao Xiaofeng. Xu Yanghe reached over and tapped Xie Chun’s phone screen off. “Pay attention.”
Officer Zhao introduced himself to thunderous applause.
“You are all polite, educated, and brilliant top-tier students. But would you believe it,” Officer Zhao said with dramatic emphasis, “statistically, at least two out of every hundred people in Haicheng have fallen victim to a scam? That means in this room, at least four—no, five—of you have experienced a scam!”
“Do you believe it? Is there anyone here who has actually been through it? Raise your hand.”
Xu Yanghe stared at Xie Chun.
Xie Chun looked back: “?”
Xie Chun shook his head—No…—but Xu Yanghe had already grabbed his hand and thrust it high into the air!
“Don’t!” Xie Chun hissed, swatting at Xu Yanghe’s arm.
Seeing them, other students followed suit, forcibly raising their best friends’ hands as a joke. In the chaos, about a dozen people “volunteered.”
“Good, good. Everyone put your hands down,” Officer Zhao said, pleased with the engagement. “I’ll pick a few students to share their experiences.”
He first picked a boy in the front. The boy vividly described how he almost sent his tuition money to a fake “senior” online. He hadn’t even realized it was a scam until his roommate called the counselor. That roommate—the one who just forced his hand up—had claimed the title of his “Godfather” ever since.
Next, a girl shared how she and her three roommates found a part-time job that turned out to be a trap, and they all had to flee…
“As expected of K-University students, very clever,” Officer Zhao praised. “I’ll pick one last student.”
His eyes swept the room. Everyone who had been forced to raise their hand tried to melt into their seats.
“That student in the white shirt,” Officer Zhao pointed at Xie Chun. “The very first one to raise his hand. Can you share your story?”
Xie Chun stood up and looked around. Dozens of curious students were staring at him. Xu Yanghe stood up as well, resting a hand on Xie Chun’s back. “Speak.”
“I wasn’t scammed!” Xie Chun announced loudly.
Officer Zhao’s expression immediately turned grave. “Is this…” a scam currently in progress?
“It was a scam,” Xu Yanghe cut in. “Don’t worry, Officer, I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Student, can you give us some details?” Zhao asked.
Xie Chun relented. “One day, they came to my house and said I owed money to a loan shark and had to pay it back.”
“Did you borrow money from them?” Zhao asked.
“No,” Xie Chun said.
“And did you pay them?”
“Yes.”
Officer Zhao: “Ah…”
In the silence, a boy in the front row snorted. “What an idiot.”
Xu Yanghe frowned. He reached out and covered Xie Chun’s ears. Taking advantage of the back-row seating, he grabbed a crumpled ball of paper from the desk—a “relic” left by some previous student, covered in dust—and flicked it with pinpoint accuracy at the boy’s head.
However, the whispering had already begun. Though the engineering students didn’t know Xie Chun well, he was a top-scorer in the provincial entrance exams with a stellar GPA and national competition awards; many recognized him by reputation. Some, more prone to malicious gossip, knew there was a “weirdo” in the School of Science—brilliant, but apparently a bit “slow” in the head. And gay.
“Haha, well, we have a schedule to keep. To make sure you all get to dinner on time, let’s move to the next topic,” Officer Zhao said, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
Xu Yanghe began to regret it. Maybe bringing Xie Chun here was a mistake.
Xie Chun nudged Xu Yanghe’s shoulder. “Are you sad?”
“No,” Xu Yanghe said instinctively.
“Oh,” Xie Chun replied. Then, he pulled out his phone and sent a message.
[Xie Chun: Everything they said is right. I am gay, and my brain has some issues.] [Xie Chun: But I really wasn’t scammed!]
Xu Yanghe let out a long sigh. “Just listen to the seminar.”
…
The Smoking Incident
Late that night, Xie Chun got off work earlier than usual. Fortunately, Xu Yanghe had prepared a midnight snack: tender, fragrant beef ribs stewed in a rich broth over hand-pulled noodles.
“Smells so good…” Xie Chun dropped his things and followed the scent into the kitchen.
“Eat in the dining room!” Xu Yanghe emerged carrying a large platter.
While Xie Chun ate, Xu Yanghe asked, “Why are you home so early?”
Xie Chun grinned. “Some rich kid bought out the whole bar. Hehe, we hit our sales target early and even got a bonus. We closed up after he left.”
“Oh,” Xu Yanghe said dryly. For the first time in his life, he felt a strange, alien emotion: inferiority.
I used to be the ‘rich kid’ who could buy out the whole bar.
He brushed the thought aside and went to tidy Xie Chun’s bag. As he moved it, several small square boxes fell out of the side pocket.
“Xie Chun!” Xu Yanghe yelled. “What is this?”
Xie Chun ran over and picked them up. “Cigarettes.”
“Where did you get them?” Xu Yanghe interrogated.
“A customer gave them,” Xie Chun gathered the boxes and went back to his noodles. “He gave us several cartons to distribute to the staff. The supervisor opened them up and handed them out.”
Xu Yanghe sighed. He knew the nature of Xie Chun’s workplace all too well. Should he be grateful it was cigarettes and not condoms?
Xie Chun looked over the pack while eating. “I think these are menthol capsules…”
“You seem like quite the expert.” Xu Yanghe gritted his teeth, his inexplicable annoyance deepening. He sat down beside Xie Chun. “I won’t have the smell of smoke in this house.”
“Oh,” Xie Chun said nonchalantly. “Then I won’t smoke them here.”
Xu Yanghe clenched his fists under the table. He had assumed Xie Chun was going to resell them. He actually intended to smoke them?!
“You actually know how to smoke?” Xu Yanghe asked, his tone sounding like a challenge.
“Capsules?” Xie Chun replied as if answering a math problem. “Of course. It’s very simple.”
“Let me see you smoke one, then?” Xu Yanghe didn’t even know why he said it.
Xie Chun was confused. “You just said I couldn’t.”
“One is fine,” Xu Yanghe said.
Then, he watched as Xie Chun skillfully tore open the pack, tapped one out, and rolled it between his fingers before putting it in his mouth. Squinting his eyes, he shielded the flame with his palm and took a deep drag. The tip flared bright orange. A moment later, white mist billowed from his nose and mouth.
Xie Chun took a single puff and looked at Xu Yanghe with drooping eyelids, simply “showing” him as requested.