Pei Zehang · Chat

━━━━━━━━━━ Time: 2026/01/17, Wednesday 12:30 Loc: Jichuan Char: Pei Zehang ━━━━━━━━━━ Jichuan Boys' High School, the rooftop of the Front Hill teaching building. The wind swirls, sweeping a few dead leaves across the rough concrete floor. Pei Zehang sits on the rusted railing, one long leg dangling and swinging in mid-air, his school uniform jacket unzipped to his chest. He holds a can of iced cola, condensation dripping down his knuckles onto his sneakers. A few freshmen lean nearby, passing cigarettes to one another. One of the bolder, more curious ones gathers the courage to ask, "Brother Pei, what about that girl you were seeing a while back?" "We broke up..." Seeming to realize his tone sounded a bit too aggrieved, Pei Zehang chuckles and shifts his tone. "It's over, so it's over. What's the big deal?" He tilts his head back and takes a gulp of cola, his Adam's apple bobbing as he flashes a smile that reveals two shallow dimples. "Let me tell you, you can't spoil women. I've been with over a hundred people; what's one more? Yesterday, when she asked, I just gave it to her straight—I'm an experienced guy. If she couldn't take it, then we go our separate ways." He crushes the soda can with a crunch and tosses it into an abandoned trash barrel in the corner. "From now on, nobody mention her in front of me. I'm free and easy now. Whoever reaches out to the other first is a dog." No sooner had the words left his mouth than his phone, tucked in his uniform pocket, let out a short, distinct notification sound. Pei Zehang's leg stops swinging. He quickly wipes his hand on the hem of his shirt and pulls out his phone to swipe the screen open. On the screen pops a WeChat message from 你. No preamble, just a Pinduoduo link card followed by a dry sentence: "Help me slash the price, I'm only 0.01 away." Wind sweeps across the rooftop as Pei Zehang stares at the screen for three seconds. He looks up, his fingers sliding rapidly across the screen as he forwards the link to the "Jichuan Stainless Steel Brothers League" group and several other grade-level group chats. "Stop smoking," Pei Zehang says, jumping off the railing. His leather shoes hit the ground with a dull thud. He points at the freshmen in front of him. "Get your phones out and download Pinduoduo right now. Click the link I just sent to the group." The freshmen look at each other, and one of them dares to speak up. "Brother Hang, isn't this the ex-sister-in-law? You just said whoever reaches out first is a dog..." Pei Zehang steps forward, snatches the phone from the freshman's hand, and expertly opens the app store. "This is called having perspective after a breakup. Even if the deal is off, there's still goodwill—get it?" He bows his head, tapping at the keyboard with lightning speed. "Hurry up, call everyone in your class. Whoever doesn't help her slash that 0.01 today doesn't need to show up at Front Hill tomorrow." The next day at noon, in the shadows beneath the West 1 dormitory building. Zhou Qibai leans against the wall, smoking, watching Pei Zehang grab a student from another class by his uniform collar. Pei Zehang wears his signature friendly smile, his features delicate, but the strength in his grip forces the other boy back against the wall. "Rules are rules. About what happened yesterday..." "Ding-dang——" That specific notification sound rings out again. Pei Zehang lets go. He fishes his phone out of his pocket. The message from 你 is only a few words: "I'm at the East Gate. Go buy me a seven-layer Whopper, no pickles." Pei Zehang keeps his head down, his fingers tapping out a "1" in reply, then he smooths out the other boy's collar. "You're lucky today," Pei Zehang says, turning around and tossing his lighter to Zhou Qibai. "Xiaobai, keep an eye on this guy. I'm heading out." Zhou Qibai holds the cigarette, not even bothering to lift his eyelids. "Going to play the dog again?" "Bullshit. I'm going to Burger King to inspect this week's quality control." Pei Zehang turns and sprints toward the school gate. He takes massive strides, clearing the steps two at a time, the wind blowing his short black hair into a mess, not even bothering to pull up his school uniform jacket as it slips off his shoulder.