Chapter 114: The Game of the Brave (Guaranteed First Update)

It was nearly dark; after returning to Peking University with Melinda, Wei Ming immediately disappeared into the darkroom to develop photos, several rolls of film capturing the efforts of these past days.

The first photo was taken at the Great Wall; Wei Ming, who had been there eight hundred times, climbed it again for Melinda, and met many foreigners, asking them to take pictures of the two of them.

The foreigners thought Wei Ming was a high-quality tour guide and translator, and all asked for his contact information.

This one was taken of her in Jingshan Park, with the entire Forbidden City in the background; because it had snowed two days prior, the palace was draped in white, more beautiful than usual, and Melinda, dressed in a full mink coat, looked even more radiant, her skin as pale as snow.

This one was taken of Melinda at the square, where she had bought a cap with a red star.

Because the square was packed with people, the pair of a Chinese man and a foreign woman drew crowds; they were photographing the scenery, yet they themselves became someone else’s scenery.

This photo was taken while the two were ice-skating at Shichahai; Melinda came from a bitterly cold place, so ice-skating was easy for her.

At Shichahai, if you’re with a beautiful girl, people might pick a fight with you; but if you’re with a beautiful foreign girl, everyone keeps their distance—even the patrolling police officers watch you closely, terrified of causing a diplomatic incident.

Interestingly, this photo was taken by Zhen Zidan, who was skating nearby at the time; he was now an American, conversed naturally with Melinda, exuding a natural affinity between English and American speakers, but when Wei Ming asked to take a photo of the three of them, he flatly refused.

Dandan: Damn, this foreigner’s taller than me!

This photo showed Melinda wearing a qipao; Wei Ming bought the fabric himself, took her measurements, and had Biaozi’s mother and her master make it for him—he’d started preparing days ago.

But when she put it on, her figure was so curvaceous it looked slightly sensual; Wei Ming didn’t let her wear it outside, fearing she’d get arrested walking down the street.

He quickly snapped a photo and took it off, but she could wear it privately.

Wei Ming developed two copies of every photo; with departure looming, looking at these photos truly stirred his heart.

Though they’d only known each other for two months and been together for over a month, it was their first time; gazing at the red-haired girl in the photos, Wei Ming felt a pang of sadness—they might never meet again, scattered across the world.

As Wei Ming was processing these photos, Yang Hao, the campus magazine’s photographer, arrived.

He glanced at Wei Ming’s photos and whistled: “Damn, what good fortune you’ve had, Tom! Even if it’s about to end, you still had it.”

“What photos are you developing?” Wei Ming casually asked as he left.

Yang Hao: “Oh, Professor Yang Zhenning gave a lecture at Peking University today—huge crowd, people spilled out of the classroom, even many Tsinghua physics students came over.”

He showed Wei Ming his photos of the scene and a close-up of Yang Zhenning; he was still under sixty, solid and healthy.

Wei Ming thought bitterly: What a shame—I missed the chance to take a photo with Old Yang, lost a chance to connect with the science circle!

The next day, Melinda’s final day before departure.

She began distributing the belongings she’d accumulated over two years at Peking University.

Some books she couldn’t take were given to Xiao Cha; the risqué Playboy magazines she couldn’t take abroad were given to younger female students.

By day’s end, only two suitcases and a backpack remained in her dorm: a small one for her personal essentials, a large one filled with various Chinese paintings.

But she’d bought too many; even one suitcase couldn’t hold them all, so she asked Wei Ming to pick a few to keep as mementos.

She also gave him her tape recorder and let him choose several cassette tapes from Queen and the Carpenters.

Even Zhao Debiao and Mei Wenhua received two Hollywood movie magazines; though not as revealing as Playboy, they still featured many sexy female stars—enough to draw moral condemnation if shown publicly, but not enough to cause trouble.

Before the women’s dormitory locked up, Melinda stayed busy saying goodbye to friends, visiting both male and female dorms, exchanging messages and contact details.

Many international students were leaving; they came from different countries, and this farewell might be final—but everyone hoped for another meeting.

Even nations with ancient enmities set aside their grudges that day, bidding each other farewell with utmost goodwill.

Wei Ming locked the dorm two hours late, giving graduating international students more time to say goodbye; some hadn’t returned by midnight—they’d probably spent the night in the men’s dorm across the way.

It was only natural; Melinda planned to stay the night with Wei Ming instead of returning to her room upstairs—after all, everyone knew about them.

Wei Ming waited and waited for the manuscript, then fell asleep.

No sooner had he closed his eyes than she arrived; to his surprise, she was wearing the qipao.

Wei Ming’s hands slid around her waist, the fabric pressed tightly against her skin.

Wei Ming’s first words: “Aren’t you cold?”

Wei Ming noticed she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

Melinda pulled Wei Ming’s head to her chest: “Once you move, you won’t be cold.”

Wei Ming pulled her onto the bed: “I slept all day; I’m not sleeping tonight.”

Melinda: “I was thinking the same.”

The box of condoms grew emptier; the six-pack dwindled to just one before they finally stopped.

It had been intermittent; now the rooster was crowing.

Melinda toyed with the last remaining Durex.

The ones her mother had prepared before she left had long been used up; they’d gone through them too fast, so Melinda restocked once at Friendship Store.

Because Wei Ming said he couldn’t stand the domestic brand. She smiled: “Then I’ll leave this one for you—I’ll mail you a few boxes when I get back home.”

Wei Ming: “No need. Who would I use it with after you leave?”

Melinda interpreted it as: When you leave, I’ll lock my heart and never find anyone else.

“Fool,” Melinda suddenly grew emotional, “Why don’t you marry me? I can take you to Britain.”

Wei Ming smiled: “I’m only nineteen—it’s not legal.”

Of course, that was just an excuse; he couldn’t imagine living abroad.

Melinda laughed: “I almost forgot—you’re still a little brother.”

Wei Ming: “Call me big brother.”

Hmph, only three years older and already so bold—what if he were eight or nine years older?

Seeing Wei Ming completely spent, Melinda sighed; by the end, she was worn out too, even in pain, sustained only by passion.

She first folded the qipao and put it away, then changed into her pajamas and lay beside Wei Ming, waiting for dawn.

!

So caught up in talking, she’d forgotten to give her the last gift—but giving it at the airport was fine too.

Before Wei Ming opened the dorm door, Melinda went upstairs for her final preparations.

After handing over his shift to Aunt Wang, Wei Ming went to the campus shuttle fleet.

Since many international students were leaving for the airport today, the school had arranged a special shuttle.

Wei Ming, leveraging his connection with Old Liu of the shuttle fleet, asked if there was room for him.

But when Old Liu heard Wei Ming was seeing off an international student, he immediately volunteered himself.

“Lao Zhao, I’ll take this run—give me the keys.”

Old Liu had been following the gossip between Wei Ming and Melinda for a long time—he naturally wanted to witness the grand finale.

He also told Wei Ming there was still no news about the motorcycle.

Wei Ming wasn’t in a hurry: “Even if you let me buy one now, winter break’s coming—I’ll be home for days. I can’t leave a car here unattended.”

When time came, Old Liu picked up Wei Ming and a female teacher from the international office.

The teacher nodded upon seeing Wei Ming, asking no questions.

She’d been anxious, fearing Wei Ming and Melinda might cause trouble—say, Wei Ming insisting on moving to Britain with Melinda.

He was now a rising writer with growing influence; his name appeared often in major newspapers. If something like that happened, it’d be international news.

Now, at last, things had settled peacefully—why not see her off properly?

The shuttle stopped at Shao Yuan gate; most international students leaving today were Europeans and Americans heading to Hong Kong for connections—about a dozen, with dozens more seeing them off.

Wei Ming and Melinda sat together; Old Liu had deliberately saved them the front seats so he could watch closely.

As soon as they boarded, Melinda sat right beside Wei Ming and held his hand; other students smiled knowingly.

After the shuttle started, Wei Ming pulled out the gift he’d been working on nonstop.

“What’s this?”

Wei Ming: “A children’s adventure novel—short, and the main character is a foreigner. See if you can translate it easily.”

“So this is what you’ve been writing all this time? I thought you were working on a screenplay,” Melinda said, surprised as she took it.

She opened the first page—the title read: “The Game of the Brave.”

Because of the line from “The Duck Who Knew First”: “The brave enjoy the world first,” Wei Ming was privately called the bravest writer in Chinese literature; even international students who hadn’t read the novel had heard the phrase and strongly identified with it.

In Melinda’s eyes, he was brave too—who else would dare sleep with her? So was this his own story?

But as she began reading, she realized it wasn’t quite that—the protagonists were siblings; the sister was simply named Melinda, the brother Mei Ao; Chinese readers would assume it was set in China.

When she reached the board game called “The Brave’s Challenge,” Melinda exclaimed: “Did you get the idea from our game?”

Wei Ming: “Yes, so thank you.”

Melinda kept reading, growing more delighted—the board game was magical; once started, it couldn’t be stopped until the final square was reached.

When a player landed on a square marked with a bat, real bats appeared in the house; when they landed on a lion, an actual lion leapt out!

Later came floods, and the appearance of a previous player trapped in the game.

“Wow, what a cool setup!”

(Last day—please vote for monthly tickets!)

(End of chapter)