In 2008, the Hengshui model had not yet swept across the country, and No. 2 High School was only a district-level school, so the students’ lives were much more relaxed.
Many years later, when Shao Wu returned to his alma mater as a geography teacher and looked at students getting out of evening self-study at eleven at night, with little notes on their desks saying things like “Wuhan University, wait for me” and “PKU, wait for me,” his feelings were complicated.
In 2008, No. 2 High School was the best high school in Yongchuan. Evening self-study ended at eight-thirty. Students left in twos and threes. Some went home, some went for a late-night snack, and some took off their school uniforms and slipped into internet cafés.
A small river ran right past the school gates. Tall osmanthus and pine trees lined both banks, along with a night market and cramped little shops. At night, the whole area became lively. After evening self-study, Shao Wu would pedal slowly home along the river. In summer, he often bought a serving of lianggao from a roadside stall to take home because his mother liked it.
Sometimes, he slipped into an internet café after evening self-study too.
Not to play games, but to download English songs.
Shao Wu liked English. In his first year of high school, he saved three months of allowance and asked a cousin studying at university in Chongqing to buy him a Sony MP3 player. It was a small, square black thing with a narrow screen that could not even display lyrics. After downloading songs at the internet café, he still had to copy the lyrics into a notebook line by line.
The first time Shao Wu saw Yang Shuyi was in an internet café.
They had not yet been divided into humanities and science tracks, and the two of them were not classmates. Yang Shuyi was obviously a regular. Xinxin Internet Café required customers to pay before using a computer, but when Yang Shuyi walked in and sat directly beside Shao Wu, the attendant automatically turned on a machine for him.
Shao Wu could not stop sneaking glances at him because he had not even taken off his school uniform.
Was he a first-year too? Shao Wu did not think he had seen him before.
Yang Shuyi started playing a game, Fantasy Westward Journey. Shao Wu had seen his cousin play it before.
On the seventeen-inch monitor, Yang Shuyi guided his character around outside Chang’an City. Dressed in white and holding a folding fan, the character looked like an elegant young gentleman. It was only much later that Shao Wu learned his name was Xiaoyaosheng.
Much later still, many years afterward, Shao Wu began playing Honor of Kings and used Humeiren as his ID.
A friend laughed at him. “What the fuck, are you pretending to be a girl so you can bait straight guys?”
Shao Wu laughed too, but said nothing.
In Fantasy Westward Journey, Xiaoyaosheng’s romantic counterpart was Humeiren.
Of course, all of that came much later.
Shao Wu kept peeking at the screen. Eventually, he forgot to hide it and simply stared.
The game did not seem to be the kind where people constantly fought and killed one another. The handsome young man in white simply walked around, stopping here and there while dialogue boxes occasionally popped up on the screen.
“Do you need something?” Yang Shuyi suddenly asked.
Shao Wu had been completely absorbed. He jumped and looked up, meeting Yang Shuyi’s lowered eyes directly. Yang Shuyi’s gaze pressed downward, his expression not particularly pleased.
“I… uh,” Shao Wu said awkwardly. “What game is that?”
“Fantasy Westward Journey.”
Yang Shuyi was still going through his voice change, so his voice was slightly hoarse.
“Oh, Fantasy Westward Journey… It looks pretty fun.”
Yang Shuyi did not answer.
Shao Wu withdrew his gaze in embarrassment.
The last thing he remembered about Yang Shuyi was his arms. Yang Shuyi had pushed the sleeves of his school jacket above his elbows, exposing wheat-toned forearms. When he struck the keyboard hard, the muscles tightened, making his arms look long and firm.
Before long, Shao Wu finished downloading several English songs, copied down the lyrics, and got up to leave.
When he left, Yang Shuyi, though Shao Wu did not know his name yet, was still playing with a focused expression.
That night, Shao Wu dreamed about him.
It was not an erotic or romantic dream. In it, Yang Shuyi still wore the same cold expression and still had his uniform sleeves pushed above his elbows. He stood outside the school gates amid a crowd of noisy students.
He asked Shao Wu calmly, “What’s your name?”
When Shao Wu woke, he thought with some regret that he should have asked that boy’s name.
After all… after all, they went to the same school.
Unfortunately, Shao Wu never saw him again until the humanities and science tracks were divided in their second year.
Elio’s Notes: Xiaoyaosheng (逍遥生) and Humeiren (狐美人) are characters from Fantasy Westward Journey. Their in-game pairing gives Shao Wu’s later choice of username a little extra meaning.
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