As other members began their individual pursuits, only Wang Chao has loads of free time. Particularly because Xie Zhuxing has to go to class every day, staying at home alone is even more boring.
After being kicked out by the instructor last time, he is too embarrassed to attend the class with Xie Zhuxing. Since Xie Zhuxing still hasn’t bought a car, he decided to drive him to and from class every day. He’d send Xie Zhuxing to class, play mobile games in the parking lot for two or so hours, and once Xie Zhuxing’s dismissed, they’d leave together.
He did so for over a week.
Then one day, when he’s about to end his gaming session, he noticed that Xie Zhuxing still hasn’t come downstairs. When he called him, he didn’t pick up either. So, he decided to check upstairs.
None of the students in his class had left yet. They were still chattering in the classroom. Wang Chao peeked inside – Xie Zhuxing wasn’t among them.
They were all popular young artists. There’s no downside to making a new connection. As Wang Chao has been to the class before, someone recognized him immediately, “Leo, are you waiting for Tomas again?”
“The teacher called him outside. He should be in 201. You could go check?”
Wang Chao didn’t want to see the teacher. “Where does he sit?” He asked.
That person pointed to him: a window seat by the left of the classroom.
Xie Zhuxing’s backpack with all his class materials was still there. His textbook and notebook were still on the table too.
Wang Chao then went over, shoved the textbook and notebook into the backpack, and rummaged through the other items. Besides the textbook, his headphones, some tissues, a pack of gum, one of the pockets of the backpack contained a couple of old receipts. He was bored, so he took them all out to check what was on them.
Those were all receipts from the previous summer or even spring. A 26 yuan meal of beef noodle soup, 42 yuan worth of groceries, and 9.9 yuan worth of discounted toilet paper.
Wang Chao couldn’t help but chuckle while flipping through the receipts. He recalled that when they first met, Xie Zhuxing wore a shabby, black duffle bag. He took the metro to every booking and wore his black t-shirt even after it’s been washed so many times it’s turned white. Besides his looks, he really had nothing going for him.
But he couldn’t laugh anymore when he flipped to the last receipt.
78888 yuan, a diamond ring.