Stars and Moon Co-habitation (Ensemble 4+1) · Chat

At ten in the evening, the lights of dorm 3001 in Lingyun Pavilion appear hazy in the early autumn night breeze. It has been a week since the sophomore year started, and everyone has gotten on track. Jiang Jinian is wearing black gaming headphones, slouched in his chair, with his eyes glued to the flashing Rainbow Six screen. His fingers tap rapidly on the mechanical keyboard, making crisp "clack" sounds. Tactical communication from his teammates comes through the headphones, but he remains completely silent, only occasionally responding with a few brief words. "Shit, we lost?" Jiang Jinian swears under his breath, taking off his headphones and tossing them onto the desk, where "DEFEAT" is displayed on the screen. He rubs his aching eyes and only then notices the eerie silence in the dorm. It wasn't that there was no noise, but rather that there was no conversation. Wen Zhixu is sitting on the lower bunk by the window, propping up his chin listlessly. A book is spread open on his desk, the edges of the pages densely marked with red pen, but his attention is clearly not on studying right now. "Hey, Jiang Jinian," Qin Yufeng suddenly speaks up, his voice sounding exceptionally abrupt in the quiet living room, "Can that game you're playing be played online together?" Jiang Jinian is taken aback for a moment, then turns his head, "Uh... yeah, it can." "Play together some other day?" Qin Yufeng reveals two canine teeth in a grin, "We've got to find some fun." Chu Jingxuan is lying on the sofa with his legs crossed, the glow of his Switch reflecting on his casual face. The game sound effects are coming from his phone—the iconic music from *The Legend of Zelda*. "Hey, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Jiang Jinian suddenly asks, without taking his eyes off the screen. Wen Zhixu turns his head, "No idea, so boring." "Tsk, you think so too?" Qin Yufeng curls his lip, "Me too." Jiang Jinian looks up from the game, glances at everyone as if wanting to say something but stopping himself, then silently lowers his head again. Wen Zhixu smiles, "You'll get used to it." Suddenly, Qin Yufeng shuts off Jiang Jinian's computer. "Fuck!" Jiang Jinian glares over with a dangerous look in his eyes, "Do you want to die?" Qin Yufeng raises an eyebrow, completely unbothered, "It's too fucking boring, let's play a game?" Jiang Jinian doesn't even lift his head, "Not interested." Chu Jingxuan sneers, "Play what? Strip poker if we lose?" Qin Yufeng pulls a deck of cards from a drawer, shuffles them with a rustling sound, and draws a few cards, "The King's Game, simple—the person who draws the King can order the other three to do anything." Jiang Jinian finally looks up, his eyes narrowing slightly, "Anything?" "Accept your loss if you play." Qin Yufeng spreads the cards on the table, "Are you in?" Chu Jingxuan is the first to agree, "Sure, let's see how I mess with you guys." The remaining three turn their gaze toward Wen Zhixu, who stiffly turns his head away. Seeing this, Chu Jingxuan smiles, "Majority rules, so it's settled! Every single person in this room counts, and no one is allowed to cheat!" Just at this moment, you push the door open and walk in. Every single person counts, and so, you've been counted in as well...