Straight Royal Flush

Straight Royal Flush

To be honest, Shen Muwei didn't hear what the two boys were whispering about, but she caught a few words from their intermittent, sometimes louder, tone.

Her sixth sense told her that the two people were probably talking about her.

She tried hard not to pay attention to the two people, but her ears still obediently perked up in that direction. Even though she didn't actually hear any of the crucial information in the end.

The barbecue was quickly prepared. Shen Muwei took the packaged bag from the owner, finally having a legitimate reason to look over, only to discover that Zhou Chengming had left sometime earlier. Only Xiang Zhixing remained, standing casually and smiling at her.

It was a smile that looked like an apology for the little incident that had just happened.

She smiled too.

The snack street was actually quite close to the school, and Shen Muwei belatedly realized that it was entirely possible to walk back to school from there.

His roommate was just here, why didn't he just go back with his roommate?

Where is your roommate?

"I'm going back."

Why don't you just ride back with him?

"..."

Xiang Zhixing paused for a second, awkwardly adjusted his hat, and said with a slightly aggrieved expression, "I...I'm scared..."

I almost forgot, of course he'd be scared!

She hung the barbecue on the handlebars of her electric scooter and smiled at him, saying, "Then I'll take you home. If you're unhappy or scared when you get back, just text me and I'll keep you company."

"I sleep quite late, is it okay if I contact you anytime?"

"Yes, that's fine. I've been keeping my phone on vibrate lately, so I can hear you if you call or text me. I'll reply as soon as I see your message."

"Wouldn't that be too much of a bother for you?"

What kind of talk is this? It's definitely disturbing. But there's nothing I can do; I have to bear and pay for the sins I've committed.

Though unwilling inwardly, he smiled and said, "No, it's alright."

Under the streetlights, Shen Muwei believed that she must be smiling in a harmless way.

She was right; her smile was indeed harmless, even revealing a hint of naivety—the kind of naivety where someone is being sold out but still helps them count the money.

On the way back, Xiang Zhixing remained silent. Shen Muwei ignored him, and was already excited about going back to the dormitory to eat barbecue, watch movies, and gossip with her girlfriends.

She drove Xiang Zhixing back first. After parking the car downstairs in front of his dormitory, she noticed that he didn't react for a while before reminding him, "Xiang Zhixing, we're here."

He then seemed to wake from a dream as he got out of the car, adjusting his hat as he did so: "Thank you for bringing me back."

Shen Muwei couldn't understand why such a tall guy like him was so timid.

"You're welcome." Just as she was about to leave, she thought for a moment and added, "Don't lose that red cloth bag, it's quite important to me..."

Hearing her say that, Xiang Zhixing casually touched his pants pocket and found that the thing was still there. He nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of it. Thank you for lending it to me."

He said "borrow," not "give," which put Shen Muwei at ease.

He smiled with genuine relief: "Okay, goodnight then. Just message me if you need anything. I'm off, bye!"

After saying that, she sped away like a gust of wind, without a backward glance.

Xiang Zhixing stood outside the dormitory building, watching her figure on the electric scooter gradually shrink into a small dot, and finally disappear into the shadows of the trees before going upstairs.

Xiang Zhixing's steps as he went upstairs were slightly heavy.

Reaching the corner staircase on the second floor, he suddenly felt too heavy to walk any further. He simply took off his hat and sat down on a step. His hair was pressed against his forehead by the hat. He reached out a hand to touch his hair, brushed the stray hairs behind his head, and fanned himself with the hat.

He sat there dejectedly in the stairwell, where the lighting was dim and the incandescent bulbs were showing signs of breaking, flickering occasionally and creating a slightly eerie atmosphere.

Footsteps came from downstairs, very rhythmic, and soon they were getting closer. When they reached Xiang Zhixing's floor, the man was so startled that he took two steps back.

"No, buddy, you're scary sitting here."

Xiang Zhixing was feeling irritable. He glanced at the other person and stared at him intently.

The man sensed that the visitor had ill intentions and dared not say anything more. He stepped back and walked close to the wall.

Xiang Zhixing let out a heavy sigh, feeling somewhat irritated. After a while, he took out his phone and sent a message to Shen Muwei:

xzx: [Have you arrived at the dorm yet?]

At that time, Shen Muwei was eating barbecue skewers with her roommate, chatting idly as they ate.

Just as Shen Muwei was mentioning that she had lent her childhood talisman to Xiang Zhixing, she received a message from him.

"Wait, let me reply to this message and we'll talk in detail later."

She didn't even have time to put down her skewers; she typed and sent the message with one hand.

Movie: [daole]

She was only thinking about continuing to eat barbecue and chat with her roommates. In her haste, she accidentally tapped the English mode and, too lazy to switch back, sent the message directly in Pinyin.

Then he tossed his phone aside and continued chatting with his roommate.

Xiang Zhixing stood up and walked up to the dormitory building only after receiving her message.

The screen displayed pinyin, and he didn't think much of it, assuming the person had forgotten to switch to Chinese-English input.

Li Gan was the only one in the dormitory. He was playing games with his headphones on and didn't notice that Xiang Zhixing had returned.

Not long after Xiang Zhixing sat down, Zhou Chengming also rushed in.

Upon seeing Xiang Zhixing, he asked curiously, "Hey, you're back so soon?"

"Oh," Xiang Zhixing replied casually.

"Oh, what does 'oh' mean?" Zhou Chengming was a little hot, so he pulled at his collar and fanned himself before standing under the air conditioner to enjoy the cool breeze.

"Oh, it means you're back," Xiang Zhixing said.

"So, how far has your plan progressed? Has she agreed yet?"

Xiang Zhixing turned to look at him and uttered a single syllable from his throat: "Hmm."

"Holy crap, she really agreed! I'm so excited!" Zhou Chengming pulled up a stool and sat down next to him: "Tell me about what happened."

“I told her directly, and she agreed.”

"That simple? No, are you kidding me? Your place isn't exactly a great place, and she just agreed like that? Without a single hesitation?"

He recalled her smile and was touched. She was such an innocent person, yet he had been deceiving her.

“No,” he replied.

"Alright, alright, things have been going smoothly so far. Get ready, and when the time is right, tell a few of us, and we'll be ready to help you get revenge!"

Zhou Chengming was very excited, rubbing his hands together and twisting his neck, looking ready to go.

However, he soon noticed that Xiang Zhixing looked somewhat listless.

Sensing something, he suddenly patted Xiang Zhixing, the hollow pat making a hollow sound.

"What's wrong? Why are you so listless? Don't tell me you don't want revenge anymore. You were the one who came up with the idea in the first place."

Xiang Zhixing coughed as he was slapped: "No, I didn't say we wouldn't follow the plan."

"Then why are you so listless?"

What could be the reason? Of course, it's because he felt that what he did was a bit excessive; he wouldn't go so far as to bully a girl.

"Can't I say that because I'm sleepy?" He was actually a little guilty about saying that. Let alone being sleepy, he couldn't fall asleep even if he were lying in bed right now.

“Sure, of course, your name is fine, anywhere is fine.” Zhou Chengming got up, took off his T-shirt, grabbed some clothes from the closet, and headed to the bathroom.

"I'm going to take a shower."

A moment later, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.

The dormitory was not quiet. On one side, Li Gan was playing games and cursing under his breath, while on the other side, the sound of Zhou Chengming taking a shower was making him restless.

He stood up, picked up his phone, and went to the balcony.

The disturbing sounds in the dormitory gradually subsided, and a cool breeze blew on him, causing his earlier agitation to dissipate.

He opened his phone, and the screen was still showing his chat with Shen Muwei.

At the very bottom of the page was still a message from Shen Muwei, simply spelled "Arrived".

He hadn't replied to her message yet. He tapped the input box, and the keyboard appeared. He hesitated for a moment, thinking. He had only intended to reply with a casual "okay," but now something else came to mind.

He had to admit that Zhou Chengming's words did make him hesitate.

xzx: [That's good. Are you free now? I'm a little scared, can I give you a call?]

His eyes were lowered, and he didn't exit the interface, quietly staring at the chat page.

Soon the phone displayed "The other party is typing..." at the top.

It only displayed for five seconds before reverting to her original WeChat nickname.

He saw that the two forms were constantly bouncing back and forth above.

Two minutes later, Shen Muwei replied to the message:

Movie: [Okay, should I call or will you call?]

Xiang Zhixing cleared his throat and replied: 【I'll call.】

He waited a couple of minutes before making the call, which was a WeChat call.

The call wasn't answered immediately; it rang for a while before being picked up.

With the receiver close to her ear, her clear voice entered.

For some reason, Xiang Zhixing could hear a hint of suppressed joy in her voice.

He'd only been pretending for two days, but it seemed so natural to him; his voice was incredibly aggrieved the moment he opened his mouth.

"I'm scared..."

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid," Shen Muwei quickly reassured her, "Tell me, what do you see now?"

He was about to answer that he was on the balcony and saw the dormitory building with its lights on, but then he suddenly realized what he was doing and answered somewhat guiltily, "There was a woman in white standing in the corner staring at me."

Shen Mu hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "You, you, you... don't look at her, she's fake, you know, she's not real..."

When Xiang Zhixing heard her voice, he couldn't help but lower his head and raise the corners of his mouth, imagining her face turning red and her big eyes blinking twice to cover up her guilty conscience.

“But I’m still scared. Wherever I go, she goes…” Xiang Zhixing said, his tone changing as he suppressed his laughter.

After listening, Xiang Zhixing reached down with one hand, took out the red cloth bag, rubbed it with his thumb a couple of times, and replied, "It seems that your red cloth bag is somewhat useful. Holding it does make me feel much more at ease."

"Right! That thing is the work of a master, it must be of some use."

He smiled again and replied, "Mm."

Shen Muwei: "Um, I have something to do here, should I hang up first? I'll call you back later?"

"Can."

He kept holding the phone up, waiting for the girl on the other end to hang up.

All I could hear was static from the phone on the table; the girl's voice was no longer close to the microphone, but rather distant.

Xiang Zhixing thought there was something wrong with his phone, so he took it off and looked at it, only to find that the screen was still showing a call.

She didn't hang up? Is it inappropriate to keep listening?

Thinking this, she put the phone back to her ear and suddenly heard Shen Muwei's loud voice: "Hahaha! You bunch of trash, I'll crush you all! 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A! Anyone want it? Nobody? Sorry, royal flush!"

Several girls' complaints came through the receiver.

Just then, Zhou Chengming came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, a blue towel draped over his shoulder. He was wearing a loose T-shirt and slippers that were still wet. He asked, "Hey, by the way, do you still have to go to the hospital to have your head checked tomorrow?"

Xiang Zhixing felt a rush of blood to his hand, his body stiffened as he hung up the phone, turned off the screen, and said coldly, "Yes."