71. Chapter Seventy-One

Ethan Young's palm was still a bit sticky. He glanced at a message, casually set his phone aside, and pulled out two tissues to wipe his hands.

The sweater he was wearing was freshly changed after his shower, but there was something on the hem as well. It looked rather suggestive, and some kind of scent was mixed with the smell of laundry detergent.

As Ethan Young wiped, he thought again of how Henry Howard had lost control just now, biting down on his shoulder at the climax, teeth dull but sinking in.

Ethan Young's movements paused.

Judging by the nature of this game, what usually followed would be some official events, like “Warmly celebrate the return of the Quiz Masters Clash app, thirty sets of rare practice questions randomly distributed,” or “Answer questions for rewards, let’s soar together in the ocean of learning.”

After Ethan Young finished wiping carefully, he picked up his phone again and saw a private message titled “Quiz Masters Clash Offline Meetup.”

“”

A benefit for veteran players! On your journey of learning, have you ever felt lonely, ever felt lost, ever tried hard to find good partners to grow and study with?

The organizers have decided to hold an offline meetup! To thank our loyal users, anyone who registered as part of the Quiz King family during the summer break can participate in this meetup. Let’s share our learning experiences face to face, and with a heart that loves learning, meet more like-minded friends.

Ethan Young clicked on the next unread message with a blank expression.

It was a formal invitation, clearly stating the time, place, and schedule for the meetup.

The time was this Saturday at 10 a.m., location: Century City.

The schedule was quite full. Besides group homework sessions, mutual Q&A, and sharing your favorite set of test papers or study materials—these odd activities—there was also a group movie viewing in a small theater: “The Birth of Einstein.”

The invitation ended with a dignified line: We look forward to your arrival.

Like hell I’m going.

Ethan Young skimmed a few more messages, losing patience to read further.

The rest were probably more details about the meetup, but his gut told him that none of those lunatics active in the chat channel would miss it.

Sure enough, the chat channel was buzzing.

Normal people, when meeting online friends in real life, would mostly worry about what to wear, tidying themselves up, and making a good impression.

But not this group.

“Serve the Motherland”: Has everyone decided which set of test papers to bring to the meetup?

“For a Better Tomorrow”: Already decided, it has to be the classic, timeless “Five Years’ Simulations, Three Years’ College Entrance Exams.” This set of papers has a special power—once you open it, you can’t stop yourself from doing practice questions.

“Study, Study, My Life Is Only”: Then I’ll bring “Tianli 38 Sets.” We can all discuss together then.

“English Class Rep”: Me? My favorite is “Complete High School English Grammar.” Full coverage of all grammar points, a unique grammar learning experience, expert guidance, breaking through misconceptions.

Ethan Young sat on the edge of the bed, raised his hand to take off his sweater, planning to shower again.

In the dim light of the private bathroom, water hit his shoulder, stinging just a little. Only then did Ethan Young realize, belatedly, that idiot really had bitten him hard enough to break the skin.

Right after, Henry Howard’s words about “the future” started echoing in his ears again.

A future with you.

Ethan Young closed his eyes and sighed.

Maybe it was because the water was a bit cold, but after showering he felt much more awake. No longer sleepy, Ethan Young hesitated over whether to go answer a few more questions in the Quiz Masters Clash game.

He’d seen during the last update that there was a set of “Famous Teacher Real Questions” in the question bank, supposedly written by real experts invited by the organizers, resulting in a few exclusive sets of papers.

In just the time it took to shower, the Quiz Masters Clash chat area had already switched topics.

“I Love Studying”: Has the showdown between x-god and No Shame ended yet?

“Strive Upward”: No, and the organizers haven’t announced the final Quiz Master winner either.

“Study, Study, My Life Is Only”: Didn’t you see the announcement? The organizers sent them both private messages, saying they’ll keep following up.

Seeing this, Ethan Young’s finger paused as he searched for test papers.

Among the pile of private messages he’d half-read earlier, there really was news about Quiz Master. Ethan Young scrolled down and saw a “Summer Tournament Notice.”

Dear user “jsdhdax,” in the summer tournament, your season points are tied with user “Quiz Master,” with no winner decided. As the season has ended, the competition rules can no longer be applied. We hope you and “Quiz Master” can resolve this privately.

Ethan Young read it twice, making sure he hadn’t misread.

Resolve it privately.

In his friends list, the username and avatar for “Quiz Master” were grayed out, status: offline.

Ethan Young had thought this was pretty much over, maybe the lunatic had already deleted the game, but the next morning he was woken by the broadcast, and when he logged in again, he unexpectedly received a message from the other party.

Sent after eleven last night, the first line was just two words.

[Quiz Master]: Forget it.

The mad dog was still giving his motivational speech on the broadcast. Even though there weren’t any exams coming up, that didn’t stop him from looking ahead to finals: “Don’t think you have plenty of time. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow—countless tomorrows will bury you. Classmates, today, it’s today, take action now!”

Ethan Young propped himself up with one hand, thinking, looks like he and No Shame are on the same wavelength.

What’s there to resolve, what’s the point of fighting over this.

Then Ethan Young scrolled down and saw two more lines.

[Quiz Master]: Admit defeat.

[Quiz Master]: I’ll let you off.

Just three short sentences, but the arrogance was off the charts.

Ethan Young couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. He already had a bit of morning grumpiness, especially when woken up like this—anyone would be ready to explode.

Back when Ray Jones came to find him in the mornings, if he knew Ethan Young wasn’t up yet, he wouldn’t dare enter the room, just shout through the door and run off right after.

So all the online users of Quiz Masters Clash saw the usually silent x-god, for once, actually speak in the chat.

“jsdhdax” to “Quiz Master”: Dumbass.

“jsdhdax” to “Quiz Master”: Saturday, Century City. If you don’t show, you’re a dog.

When Henry Howard knocked on the door, Ethan Young had just angrily typed the last punctuation mark.

The wailing continued outside.

The mad dog’s motivational speech had run five minutes overtime today, and he’d started reminiscing about his own youthful days, unable to stop: “Back in high school, I got up at five every day to memorize vocabulary, no matter how cold it was, not even my warm bed could keep me in…”

In the dorm across the hall, a few guys couldn’t take it anymore and started banging on the wall: “Enough already—just let those countless tomorrows bury me.”

Other classmates cried out from the soul: “Why did I ever think it was a good idea to live on campus?”

Ethan Young didn’t look too happy when he opened the door.

Henry Howard was leaning against the doorframe, not surprised at all, and naturally reached out to smooth his hair: “You’re always this grumpy in the morning, little one?”

Ethan Young: “Ran into a dumbass, want to beat him up.”

Henry Howard didn’t get it: “What dumbass?”

“Nothing, just someone online,” Ethan Young turned away, heading to wash up, and added, “Come in and close the door.”

Ethan Young wasn’t someone who liked chatting online.

Henry Howard had seen his QQ account—it was like a dummy account. Back when Wanda wanted to add him as a friend, he tried several times with no luck. In the end, he had to muster up the courage to ask in person, only to find out Ethan Young never even checked friend requests.

Wanda was exasperated: “Yu-ge, I added you eight times, and you didn’t see a single one?”

Ethan Young: “Really didn’t notice.”

He only had a few more friends on WeChat.

Henry Howard thought about this, figuring his boyfriend must have seen some weird news or comments first thing in the morning: “Anyone can get online these days, bound to be some idiots.”

Ethan Young finished washing his face and hung the towel back up.

Henry Howard habitually sprawled on Ethan Young’s bed, half-lying there watching him look for clothes in the wardrobe.

Yesterday’s school pants hadn’t been washed yet, and the other set was still wet. After searching for a while, Ethan Young had no choice but to wear casual clothes, grabbing another sweater.

As Ethan Young changed, Henry Howard thought to himself that he really knew how to make trouble for himself.