Chapter 6: The First Intimate Encounter (Part 1) The young men of Wuling, to the east of the Golden Market, rode their white horses with silver saddles through the spring breeze.

Fang Yu gritted his teeth, cursing as he slammed the wardrobe shut. He hopped onto his bicycle and rode to the city center’s pedestrian street. The sweltering summer heat had scared off most tourists, and the shop attendants inside were listless, slumped or leaning against shelves as they dozed.

He felt the small stack of cash in his pocket and, on a whim, stepped into a relatively upscale clothing store.

“These, and these—I want them all. Is there a discount?”

The young saleswoman, seeing a handsome young man before her, forced herself to smile and stepped forward.

“Sir, these all suit you very well. For our summer collection, the second item is twenty percent off, and the third is forty percent off.”

Fang Yu picked and chose, finally buying two T-shirts, a pair of cropped pants, and a pair of jeans. He then went to the barbershop he used to frequent, posing in front of the mirror.

“Right, shave that part off, leave the top, make it a bit fluffy. Yes, yes, just like that…”

The young barber had grown from apprentice to owner under Fang Yu’s watchful eye over the years, though he was still quite young.

“Sir, this hairstyle is really cool—where did you learn it? Is it popular abroad?”

Fang Yu waved his hand proudly.

“I designed it myself. Looks good, doesn’t it?”

“Absolutely. I’ll have to recommend this style to my regulars from now on. I doubt anyone in the city has it yet.”

An hour later, Fang Yu returned home humming a tune, posing in front of the mirror, thoroughly pleased with his new look. At eighteen, he had no worries about thinning hair and plenty of room to experiment.

In the afternoon, Fang Yu dialed Cheng Chen’s home number. Cheng Chen, who was lazily plucking leg hair at home, grew wildly excited upon hearing his voice.

“Damn, Fang Yu, you finally called! Any plans? I’m getting depressed sitting around at home!”

“Don’t you have my pager number? Why didn’t you call me first?”

“Uh, you know my memory’s terrible. I dialed the wrong number a few days ago.”

“Seriously, you managed to forget eight digits? Anyway, are you free tomorrow? I’ve arranged to go claw machine hunting with Qin Lu. In the morning, we’ll take part in the KFC Cup tournament. She’ll probably bring Zhou Xiaoxia, the eternal third wheel. Come help me out.”

Cheng Chen perked up immediately.

“No problem! But just so you know, I don’t have money for the claw machines. My parents hardly give me pocket money during summer break.”

“Alright, enough chatter. How do I find you tomorrow?” Fang Yu scratched his head; Cheng Chen didn’t have a cell phone yet, and he found the primitive arrangements of 2005 a bit inconvenient.

Cheng Chen replied breezily,

“Just come find me downstairs in the morning and call out.”

“Got it, that’s settled!” Fang Yu hung up somewhat disgruntled, then showed off in front of the mirror again before carefully folding his new clothes and placing them by the bed.

As evening fell, Baozi called as usual, wanting to play ball—though his real aim was to freeload cigarettes, drinks, and everything else. Fang Yu turned him down mercilessly.

Once his parents had retired to their room, Fang Yu cautiously took out an envelope from his desk drawer, containing all his savings.

“Damn, even the money from 2005 disappears so fast!” he grumbled, staring at the remaining 2,600 yuan, which included 300 from his father. He’d spent nearly a thousand just on shopping that day.

Thinking of his upcoming meeting with his classmate, the object of his affections, Fang Yu gritted his teeth and stuffed another thousand into his wallet. He couldn’t go on a date empty-handed, could he?

Late at night, he lay in bed with his hands behind his head, listening to the relentless cicadas singing summer’s chorus outside the window as he softly hummed a pop song.

“Recalling the hazy days of childhood, clouds drifting across the blue sky…”

Suddenly, a bold idea leaped into his mind.

“Damn, I could just steal songs like they do in movies—after all, it’s only 2005!”

But he quickly dismissed the thought. He wasn’t trained in music; he couldn’t compose, barely recognized musical notation, and even with Cheng Chen’s help, he doubted it would work.

Lying in bed, Fang Yu was so frustrated he nearly rolled over. Thirty-five years of life, and not a single skill to show for it. If only back then… but there was no point thinking about it.

With a heavy heart, he gradually drifted off to sleep. When he awoke, daylight streamed through the window. He grabbed his pager from the bedside; fortunately, it was only 7:30 in the morning. After twelve years of schooling, his biological clock was not easily changed.

He quickly got up, washed, and after his parents left for work, enjoyed a leisurely shower. Once he was dressed in his new outfit, he rode his bike to Cheng Chen’s building.

“Whoa, your clothes are awesome! Super trendy—when will you let me borrow them?” Cheng Chen stared enviously at Fang Yu’s fresh ensemble.

“Enough already, let’s go. First stop, the gym; I’ll call Qin Lu.” Fang Yu pulled out his pager.

On the other end, Qin Lu sounded cheerful.

“Fang Yu, are you out already? I might be a bit late—Zhou Xiaoxia hasn’t arrived yet. Is 9:30 at the gym okay?”

“Sure, of course. Our match is at ten, so plenty of time. I’ll head over now. See you soon.” He hung up and urged Cheng Chen out the door. They cycled for half an hour and, by nine, arrived at the city gym right on time.

“Hey, Cheng Chen’s here too! No He Jia today?” Baozi had arrived early and was standing at the entrance, belly out, scanning the crowd.

He Jia was Cheng Chen’s high school girlfriend, but they broke up when he went to college.

“Fang Yu said he’s going out with Qin Lu today, so I’m here as his wingman,” Cheng Chen replied bluntly.

Baozi’s beady eyes darted mischievously at Fang Yu.

“Fang Yu, you’re not being fair—going out with Qin Lu and not inviting me. After the match, I’ll tag along with you guys.”

The chubby guy knew that if Fang Yu was meeting his dream girl, he’d be carrying some cash—there was no better time to freeload.

Fang Yu didn’t get angry; he just nodded vaguely.

“We’ll see. Let’s head in. Qin Lu and her friend won’t arrive until 9:30. Who are we playing this morning?”

“Let me think… Some team called Glacier, I think. Never seen them at the sports center before—probably college students.”

The KFC Cup’s three-on-three basketball tournament for students required players to be between sixteen and twenty years old, so plenty of college students participated, making it rather unfriendly for high schoolers.

But today, Fang Yu didn’t care about any of that. Within ten minutes, their teammates Chen Hao and Huang Fei arrived, and everyone was itching to win their first match perfectly.