Chapter 12 - Conflict
Chapter 12: Conflict
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
With beds made and wild conversations had, it was now almost dinner time.
Wu Longjiang started mumbling about which cafeteria had the best food when Cao Jianhui called everyone’s attention by waving his colossal arm while saying, “Come, let’s go out and have dinner. My treat. Today is our first day together and we should all be happy. No one is skipping booze! No one is coming back sober!”
Wu Longjiang and Li Fuming cheered and agreed immediately. Luo Ziling hesitated for a while but ended up agreeing. However, he told them that he wanted to buy a phone first.
Li Jing had asked him for his contact number. He had been feeling guilty about not being able to give it to her since he had no phone to contact her.
The first day on campus and he wants to acquire a mobile phone.
He remembered her contact and he would tell her his own contacts after he had acquired a new phone.
After expressing his wish to buy a phone to his three roommates, they quickly agreed to join him.
Along the way, the three asked about the phone Luo Ziling was planning to buy.
The three came from families with decent financial backgrounds so their phones were rather high end.
Cao Jianhui owned an iPhone 7S. It was a gift from his father for enrolling in the university. To convince Luo Ziling into buying the same phone he had, Cao Jianhui promoted the phone’s extensive features and its social standing benefits.
Wu Longjiang owned a Huawei P9. He thought the phone was good and he too, promoted the phone to Luo Ziling.
Li Fuming owned the latest Xiaomi 6, a phone that had only just recently been introduced into the market. He too, like the rest, thought that his phone was the best and tried to persuade Luo Ziling to buy the same phone.
The three started comparing their phones and the comparison turned into a heated argument. It was becoming awkward and uncomfortable for Luo Ziling to listen to any of them.
As the three continued to bicker about which phone was the best, Luo Ziling came to a mobile booth outside the campus and bought himself a cheap Redmi phone.
When he left the village, his grandfather had not provided him with too much cash. He did give his grandson a bank card but Luo Ziling did not check how much balance it had.
This was Luo Ziling’s first time venturing into the outside world alone. He dared not be too extravagant. At the very least, Luo Ziling needed to have a plan when it came to spending.
He was not bothered about his roommates’ advice, so when he chose a cheap Redmi phone, the three of them were rather infuriated.
However, after just one or two ventings later, they were done. There was not much to be angry about since everyone there was simply students. Their allowance came from their parents. Luo Ziling’s family might not be as financially well-off so buying a cheap phone only made sense.
Luo Ziling took everyone’s contact numbers and logged them into the phone. After that, he recalled Li Jing’s number from memory and keyed that in as well.
Seeing as how Luo Ziling did not understand the phone’s function, Cao Jianhui proactively offered to help and taught him about the phone’s features. QQ, WeChat, and many other apps were downloaded and installed. He even helped Luo Ziling to register a new QQ and WeChat account.
When Luo Ziling acted like an idiot when he was introduced to the smartphone’s features, the other three could not react properly as they were speechless about it.
How could there be such a freak in this era? Had he only been plastering his face on books for the entirety of his childhood and high school years?
Facing the disdainful gazes of the trio, Luo Ziling felt incredibly ashamed. It felt like he was too disconnected from modern society by a huge gap.
It was no wonder why his grandfather wanted him to leave the village and to see and learn new things from the big city itself.
After purchasing the phone, the four of them marched away from the campus to a nearby local restaurant and enjoyed a luxurious meal.
Dinner was done and booze was drunk. The trio, Cao Jianhui, Wu Longjiang, and Li Fuming had their arms around each other’s shoulders as they chat and headed out of the small restaurant.
Luo Ziling was not clinging to them as he was fiddling with his new phone, discovering and learning its functions and features.
There were many others walking on the streets with their heads down. Luo Ziling was playing with his phone with such fondness but no one thought that it was weird. Not even the trio made fun of him.
…
Not far from the restaurant, the roaring of a red sports car could be heard as it zoomed across the small street.
Luo Ziling was too preoccupied with his phone that he did not notice the incoming speeding car. He only caught on when the car was very close, shocking him dearly. The phone in his hands dropped and hit the red sports car.
The car only stopped after a few meters.
“Hey! Are you blind? You should move away when you see a car coming!” cried a beautiful young lady as she wound down the driver’s window. She was sporting a pair of black sunglasses and was screaming angrily at Luo Ziling.
“You actually hit my car with your phone? If there’s a dent, could you even pay for the repairs?”
Luo Ziling ignored the beautiful lady’s screaming as he ran panicky to pick up his phone.
The screen of the phone was utterly destroyed; turning into a series of spider web-like cracks. And with the beautiful lady screaming at him at the top of her lungs, Luo Ziling got even more furious.
“Is that how you drive? There are so many people walking on the street, but you drive that fast? I just got this and now it’s broken! You are going pay for this!”
Even though it was just a few hundred dollars, the Redmi phone was the first phone he had ever owned. Even so, it was his treasure and now that his treasure was destroyed, it was only expected that he would be angry.
He was very furious.
Yes, she might be beautiful…
But what did beauty have to do with the situation?
While Luo Ziling and the beautiful lady were arguing with each other, Cao Jianhui, in his drunken state, saw the beautiful lady and got incredibly excited. Like a man at sea having drifted far too long and suddenly discovering land, he ran up to the car and shoved his face to the beautiful lady, saying, “Hey there, may I have your contact number? My name is Cao Jianhui, a first-year student at a nearby medical school. Can we be friends on WeChat?”
The other two drunken men were not as daring as Cao Jianhui. They remained afar, not coming any closer.
Cao Jianhui reeked of alcohol, so much so that the woman quickly frowned in disgust. The young lady, repulsed by his smell and behavior, raised the car window promptly.
Cao Jianhui’s nose was grazed by the rising glass with a disgusted glare from the beautiful lady, he awkwardly stood back up.
Just then, he noticed how Luo Ziling’s phone was destroyed and how he was yelling angrily at the driver to replace it.
At that moment, Cao Jianhui brushed his nose. Shame turned to anger and he immediately aligned himself with Luo Ziling’s cause. He stood in front of the car, blocking the driver from leaving.
“You hurt my friend and broke his phone! You need to take him to the hospital! And replace his phone as well!” Cao Jianhui yelled along.
Wu Longjiang and Li Fuming joined the fray, standing in front of the car to block her from driving away.
The streets were already filled with people before the incident happened and now, with the addition of a beautiful lady driving a rather lavish sports car as well as a loud argument taking place, more eyes started to turn and people started to gather at the scene.