Huayu: Returned Overseas Chinese

"Whether it's interesting or not, we'll find out after dinner when we get back to the dorm, just call with your phone."

The group went to a restaurant together. Wang Hao walked beside Chen Jingming, put his arm around Chen's shoulder, and spoke with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming reached out and slapped the arm off his shoulder, saying irritably:

"Get lost! Phone bills aren't cheap. A hundred yuan for over an hour of chatting? Does money grow on trees?"

Chen Jingming didn't care about the phone bill, but he couldn't just throw it away like that. Wang Hao just chuckled and didn't argue. For students at the Beijing Film Academy, money really wasn't an issue; those who could get into art schools generally came from well-off families.

Chatting and laughing all the way, the group leisurely arrived at their familiar Sichuan restaurant. Everyone knew the place well, some carrying beer, others ordering food. After all, they had been eating there for almost two years and were quite familiar with the owner.

Amidst clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, the meal didn't end until eight o'clock. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they left the restaurant. Except for Liu Tiejun, who was still full of energy, the others were somewhat tipsy and slowly walked back to their dormitories, supporting each other.

Back in the dorm, everyone had barely sat down to recover from their fatigue when Li Yang eagerly pulled out his phone. Several of his buddies immediately surrounded him, with Chen Jingming also among the crowd.

Li Yang dialed the number, and after a few rings, the call was quickly answered.

"Hello, welcome to Youth Station voice chat. I'm 'Wanwan,' on duty tonight. Where are you from?"

A girl's sweet voice, with a touch of softness and a hint of lisp, slowly came through the phone's microphone.

"Hello, I'm Doraemon. What do you guys talk about here?"

Li Yang responded without revealing his real name, instead making up a nickname on the spot.

"We can talk about anything here. Whatever you want to talk about, I'll talk to you about it."

Upon hearing this, Wanwan replied confidently. People who can work as voice chat customer service representatives generally have a broad knowledge of various topics. She had a lot of scripts in front of her, so even if she encountered a topic she didn't understand, she could quickly find a way to respond.

Li Yang turned to look at his roommates, who all shrugged, indicating that he could decide for himself. After a moment's hesitation, Li Yang spoke:

"Then tell me a few of the most famous internet jokes recently."

Upon receiving the request, Wanwan didn't hesitate at all and immediately spoke up:

"Cuihua, bring out the pickled cabbage."

"A chicken that doesn't want to cross the road isn't a good chicken."

"You're such an idiot—your brain works slower than an old computer."

One internet joke after another comes out of their mouths; they are the most popular internet slang of this era. Many young people will copy them down and use them as their QQ signatures.

After listening to a few funny jokes, Li Yang, feeling playful, handed the phone directly to Chen Jingming. Chen Jingming was taken aback, then took it, pondered for a moment unsure what to ask, and casually said:

"Are you aware of the Chinese national football team's recent performance in the World Cup?"

Wanwan noticed the change in chatter, paused briefly, then quickly realized what was happening and exclaimed:

"Sigh, don't even mention it, it's all tears. Three consecutive losses, 0-2 Costa Rica, 0-4 Brazil, 0-3 Turkey. My sister and I stayed up all night watching the Chinese national football team, we were so angry we wanted to smash the TV."

Chen Jingming was slightly surprised upon hearing this. He had only asked casually, but he hadn't expected the other person to know so much. It seemed that these voice chat companions had a good foundation of basic knowledge and often kept up with current events. After a brief remark, he handed over his phone.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Hao took the phone and continued chatting with Wanwan on the other end. The two talked about a number guessing game, using internet slang terms like 250, 886, 9494, and 7456. Many of these terms were still in use for more than a decade afterward.

The relaxed chatter continued for a while, then Wanwan suddenly spoke in a soft, sweet voice:

"Hey bro across the street, could you request 'Blue Lotus' for this pretty girl?"

Upon hearing the song request, Li Yang's expression changed, and he immediately grabbed his phone and hung up. This unusual behavior puzzled Chen Jingming, who then asked:

"What's wrong? It's just requesting a song, why are you getting so worked up?"

"How could I not be excited? Haozi's phone was disconnected yesterday because he kept ordering songs. It costs three yuan a song, but voice chat is only three mao a minute. Once you order a song, they will keep trying to get you to order more songs and spend more money."

Li Yang put away his phone, pursed his lips, and said helplessly. Yesterday, everyone was still confused, but they only realized it today after checking their phone bills. Just a dozen or so short song clips had used up their credit, and all of them were the climaxes of the songs; none of them were complete.

After hearing this explanation, Chen Jingming suddenly understood. It seems that in every era, there are ways and means to amass wealth by becoming a top influencer.

After this little incident with the voice chat, the brothers sat together and chatted for a while. After a quick wash, they all went to bed to rest.

He slept peacefully through the night, and the next morning, sunlight streamed into his dormitory room through the window. Chen Jingming slowly woke up, rubbed his eyes, and pulled his phone from under his pillow. He glanced at it and saw it was already past eight. He was startled and sat bolt upright, shouting:

"Guys, it's already past eight o'clock, we're going to be late."

Li Yang, Wang Hao, and Zhang Lei sat bolt upright, while Liu Tiejun remained fast asleep. Zhao Wenbo slowly sat up, shook his groggy head, and said irritably:

"Jingming, what are you shouting about? It's the weekend, don't you know?"

Chen Jingming, Li Yang, Zhang Lei, and Wang Hao were all taken aback upon hearing this. After realizing what was happening, they all lay back down on their beds with peace of mind. They slept comfortably until after 11 a.m.

When Chen Jingming woke up again, the dormitory was quiet, with only Zhao Wenbo remaining. He casually asked:

"Bo'er, where are the others?"

Upon hearing this form of address, Zhao Wenbo instantly became displeased. He immediately picked up the book in front of him and threw it at Chen Jingming, then stood up and glared at him, saying:

"I told you, don't call me Bo'er, it makes me sound like your son."

Chen Jingming caught the book with lightning speed and chuckled, teasingly saying:

"What's wrong? You used to call me 'Dad' so readily when you asked me to bring you lunch, but now you're not happy about it? Sure enough, love can fade away."

"Go to hell."

Speechless after being retorted, Zhao Wenbo pounced on Chen Jingming and climbed onto his bed. The two immediately began wrestling and playfully fighting. After a while, Zhao Wenbo leaned against the wall, panting, and said:

"They all went out on dates, leaving me all alone in the dorm."

"Dating?"

Chen Jingming was shocked and immediately asked:

"When did this happen? How come I didn't know? Where did they get girlfriends?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenbo rolled his eyes and said irritably:

"You only spend a few days at school each semester, and you're often out and about, so it's normal that you don't know these things."

Filled with curiosity, Chen Jingming continued to press, "Tell me, what's the situation? Why didn't you find someone?"

Last night I saw a few people chatting enthusiastically on the phone. I thought they were just killing time, but I didn't expect that they had already secretly started dating.

"Well, Tie Jun started dating a girlfriend first, and coincidentally, she was from the same hometown in Northeast China as him. Later, our dorm and his girlfriend's dorm had several joint events, and before long, these guys started hooking up with each other."

Zhao Wenbo first sighed and lamented, but when he talked about himself, he immediately raised his head and looked arrogant. "Who am I? A handsome man, I don't care for those pretty girls, so I've just stayed single."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming curled his lip in disdain and joked:

"You call yourself a handsome man? Take a good look in the mirror. Don't you know what you look like? I bet nobody would even look at you."

These words thoroughly enraged Zhao Wenbo, who immediately lunged at him again. Chen Jingming forcefully pushed him away, laughing and cursing:

"I'm a man, I like women. If you're going to mess around, go pounce on someone else, don't keep pounce on me."