Chapter Sixty: No Return Without Intoxication

The fleeting year of preparatory life vanished in the blink of an eye, and in just a few days summer break would arrive. This also meant that the companions who had shared this year together would each go their separate ways. Though it had only been a single year, the bonds among us had grown strong. At some point, a faint sense of parting sorrow began to linger in the dormitory.

After dinner, everyone sprawled across their beds, making last-minute preparations for the upcoming English exam. I was growing drowsy when Zhang Tao suddenly put down his textbook, looked up, and blurted out, "The exam is over tomorrow and then it’s break—no matter how much we study, this is as good as we get. Why not go to Student Street for some farewell drinks?"

"No way! I’ve only memorized half the translation for tomorrow’s exam. If I go out, I’ll never finish…" Before any of us could respond, Chen Li had already objected.

"What’s the point of cramming at the last minute?" Zhao Gang, lying on the bunk beneath Chen Li, gave his bed a sharp kick.

"Fine, whatever, I don’t care. There’s a generation gap between us," Chen Li replied, as provocative as ever.

"So are you coming or not?" Lin Jie had already leapt down from his bed, impatiently stomping over and yelling with mock severity.

"Fine, fine, fine…" Under Lin Jie’s threats and bribes, Chen Li had no choice but to close his textbook and reluctantly climb out of bed.

With summer break approaching, all the restaurants on Student Street were packed with students gathering for farewell meals. Between clinking glasses and shared laughter, the air was thick with reluctant goodbyes. We wandered up and down the street several times before finally finding seats in a secluded barbecue joint.

We asked the owner to bring over two cases of beer, lining up six glasses in a row. Lin Jie bit off the bottle caps and filled each glass to the brim.

"Come on!" Everyone raised their glasses. "The first toast is for the brotherhood of Dorm 213 this past year—bottoms up!" Lin Jie was our dorm leader, and his words were law. We all drained our glasses in a single gulp.

After a few drinks, the steaming barbecue arrived. Lin Jie raised his glass again: "This one’s for everyone passing tomorrow’s English exam—cheers!"

Honestly, none of us felt confident about the exam. Downing this glass did nothing to help, but at least it offered some small comfort. Perhaps sometimes it’s not so bad to indulge in a bit of wishful thinking.

"As for the third toast…" Lin Jie held his glass for a long while, searching for the right words, before finally managing, "This third one is for smooth sailing for all of us in the undergraduate division."

Something about his words felt oddly familiar. Suddenly, it hit me—wasn’t this the line Eric Tsang said to his boys about to enter the police academy in "Infernal Affairs"? Fantastic. Now we were all Lin Jie’s lackeys.

"Lin Jie, you’ve watched 'Infernal Affairs' one too many times." Words like that shouldn’t be thrown around lightly. We all mocked him and forced him to drink three penalty glasses.

With the alcohol flowing, the mood grew livelier. Some shook dice, others played rock-paper-scissors, and we were having the time of our lives. Our main mission tonight was to get Chen Li drunk. Even though he kept protesting, "No more! This is the last glass!" our relentless toasts and encouragement wore him down. Before long, his resistance crumbled, and he began slurring his words as he swayed back and forth.

Mission accomplished, we drank with even more abandon.

"Tao, what major are you planning to choose?" Zhao Gang asked, munching on a skewer of squid and squinting at Zhang Tao.

"Of… of course International Trade. Isn’t that our school’s… strongest major?" Zhang Tao seemed tipsy, his words coming out indistinct.

"So you’re going for International Trade? Looks like we might end up in the same class." Monkey, as we called him, let out a loud beer burp and raised his glass to Zhang Tao. "Here’s to us both in International Trade—cheers!"

"Cheers my foot, can’t you see I’m already drunk?" Zhang Tao grumbled, but there was no escaping this toast.

"I still don’t know what major to pick. My mom might make me go to the Old Campus. Ugh, I’ll really miss the New Campus," Lin Jie hugged his beer bottle, complaining to no one in particular.

"Come on, Lin Jie, what’s so bad about the Old Campus? All the majors I want are there," I replied, tilting my head dismissively. "Just look at the Old Campus—so many trees, a real academic atmosphere, it actually feels like a university. Now look at the New Campus—bare trees, scorching sun in summer, just looking at it makes me uncomfortable…"

"As if that matters. Even with all that academic atmosphere, you still sleep through class and play on your phone," Zhao Gang cut in.

Damn Zhao Gang, he didn’t have to make it so obvious, even if it was true. How embarrassing!

"Yeah, and the student street on the Old Campus is so far from the dorms, you have to walk fifteen minutes just to eat. Nowhere near as convenient as the New Campus. No way am I going to the Old Campus!" Lin Jie nodded in agreement.

"Tastes differ, so do ambitions. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained. I’m definitely set on the Old Campus. We probably won’t see each other much anymore—come, let’s drink to that!" I’d made up my mind to go to the Old Campus the very first day I arrived. The thought of strolling beneath those leafy canopies with my girlfriend felt impossibly romantic.

"I… I want to go to the Old Campus too…" Chen Li, who had apparently revived, lifted his head and managed to say this before promptly vomiting all over the place, flooding the air with the sour stink of alcohol.

Leaving the barbecue joint, all of us except Chen Li were still relatively clear-headed. Lin Jie and Monkey took charge of dragging him, and we staggered back to the dorm, supporting each other the whole way.

Just as we reached the entrance, Liu Bo from the neighboring room came hurtling down the stairs and rushed straight into the bathroom to throw up. When he finally emerged, we ran into each other.

"Hey, what took you guys so long? Get up to the rooftop! Everyone’s up there drinking!" Liu Bo called as he ran back upstairs. More drinking? We exchanged uncertain glances.

But there was no helping it. It was the last night, after all—if we were going to get drunk, we might as well do it thoroughly. With our minds made up, we hauled Chen Li back to the dorm and dumped him on Zhao Gang’s bed. After resting and drinking some water, we all headed up to the rooftop.

The rooftop was already a raucous mess. It wasn’t just our class—nearly every male student in the prep program was there. Whether acquaintances or strangers, everyone toasted each other, the next morning’s exam long forgotten.

Those who got drunk were carried back to their dorms, only to be replaced by fresh revelers. In the end, there was no escaping tonight’s fate.

(Chapter revision completed on September 10, 2010)