Chapter Twenty-Eight: What the Hell

After getting off the plane and retrieving his luggage, Lu Mingfei followed the crowd out of the airport.

Compared to the clarity of his hometown, the summer in the Imperial Capital felt overcast and stifling. The air seemed filled with dust, leaving Lu Mingfei’s throat feeling parched with every breath.

However, Liu Miaomiao and the others seemed completely oblivious to this, regaining their high spirits the moment they landed, acting like a flock of energetic children. A few of the boys even took deep, enthusiastic gulps of the capital’s air.

Watching those reckless boys, Lu Mingfei wondered if he should give them a lecture on the concept of PM2.5.

Still, Shilan High School lived up to its reputation as an elite institution; they had even arranged for airport pickups for their hotel stay.

Just as Lu Mingfei emerged from the arrival gate, he saw two men—whether they were bus drivers or hotel staff, he couldn't tell—holding a banner that read, "Welcome Students of Shilan High School Grade 9 (X) to the Black Prince Hotel."

The group had barely stepped off the plane before they were ushered onto a bus.

This time, however, Lu Mingfei did not sit with Liu Miaomiao; she had taken a seat with Qiao Yiran and a few other girls.

Ever since the "Liu Miaomiao Shoulder-Sleeping Incident," a very subtle atmosphere had developed between them. It wasn’t that their relationship had necessarily improved or worsened, but it was clear that the two were temporarily unable to speak to one another.

"Ho baby, say a little more sweet talk,
If you miss me, take another look.
Show a little more,
So I can really see..."

Damn it, this was not the time to be blasting Cyndi Wang’s "Love" from an MP3 player.

The bus rattled along until it reached the Black Prince Hotel. Lu Mingfei consulted the map provided by their homeroom teacher, roughly figuring out the hotel's location. It was within the Second Ring Road, near the northwest corner of the Temple of Heaven. It was within walking distance of the Temple of Heaven and Dashilan, and not far from Wangfujing either.

With a screech of brakes, the bus pulled up to the entrance of the Black Prince Hotel.

It was a building dominated by a black facade, and at a rough glance, it looked to be over twenty stories tall.

The entrance featured a revolving door, the kind seen in high-end hotels in Hollywood movies. Lu Mingfei couldn't understand why they would design it that way; having people go in and out one by one really hindered efficiency.

But he immediately realized that such high-end luxury hotels didn't expect a large volume of guests anyway, so they didn't need a high throughput. They were designed specifically to serve those one or two elite clients.

Upon entering, the first thing one saw in the spacious lobby was a white piano surrounded by a man-made fountain, which clearly didn't come cheap.

The reception desk was on the left side of the lobby, right next to the elevator bank. Passing through the corridor by the elevators, one side led to the gym, and the other to the hotel's hot spring area. The swimming pool was located on the roof terrace.

As Lu Mingfei read these amenities in the hotel brochure, he frantically calculated the estimated nightly cost, and the result made his heart bleed.

Fortunately, before he left, his uncle had stuffed a card into his hand and insisted he keep it safe. He figured there must be some money on it; otherwise, he might truly end up homeless on the streets of Beijing.

"Sigh, I really need to put making money on the agenda as soon as possible," Lu Mingfei lamented.

Actually, he wasn't a person with particularly high material desires, but he needed enough money to get by when necessary; he couldn't just be constantly strapped for cash.

However, at this point in time, he didn't have many ways to make money.

The internet? It was certainly the future trend, but the return cycle was too long. Not to mention that as a middle school student, dropping out to start a business was impossible, and even if he wanted to, he lacked the startup capital.

Bitcoin? That would be a highly profitable business, but that wouldn't appear until 2010—it was still too early.

After thinking it over, the only legal way to earn money would be to buy lottery tickets. Specifically, sports lottery tickets.

Although Lu Mingfei didn't care much for sports and couldn't remember the results of every athletic event, and the only result he did remember—the 2006 Germany World Cup—had already concluded.

But as a veteran internet-addicted teenager, there was one sporting event result he definitely remembered.

That was the 2006 WCG, where the top Chinese esports player, the "Human Emperor" Sky (Li Xiaofeng), once again captured the world championship in *Warcraft III*.

Although Sky would fail to achieve a three-peat in the 2007 WCG due to a slump, his contribution to the rise of Chinese esports and helping break down ingrained prejudices against the industry remained immense.

Just as Liu Xiang had done in the field of track and field, shattering the prejudice that people of Asian descent couldn't excel in athletics, Sky had done the same for gaming.

Today was July 15th. If Lu Mingfei remembered correctly, the WCG World Finals were in November, but the WCG China qualifiers should start between August and September—less than a month away.

And it would be during the summer break.

If things went smoothly, he could achieve financial freedom by the time school started in September.

From then on, there would be no more "Loser Lu" at Shilan High School; there would only be "Legendary Lu!"

Lost in his fantasies, Lu Mingfei didn't notice someone calling his name.

"...Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingfei."

"Huh? Yeah? What? Are you calling me?"

"Who else would I be calling?" Qiao Yiran rolled her eyes and shoved something into Lu Mingfei's hand.

Lu Mingfei opened his palm to see a black key card.

Seventh floor, 0717.

"Usually, the group leaders are supposed to collect the cards and distribute them to their members, but Miaomiao refused to give it to you herself and insisted I do it."

Lu Mingfei instinctively scanned the area and immediately spotted Liu Miaomiao standing far away in the lobby.

Qiao Yiran put her hands on her hips, looked at Lu Mingfei guardedly, and said, "Tell me, what kind of bad things did you do to Miaomiao on the plane? She doesn't even want to see you now."

What bad things could I have done? If anything, she was the one doing bad things to me! She slept on my shoulder the entire flight! My shoulder is still numb!

"You have the nerve to say that! When you asked to see my boarding pass, you must have already planned to pull that stunt with Liu Miaomiao."

Qiao Yiran immediately avoided Lu Mingfei's gaze, twiddling her fingers and whistling nonchalantly.

"Don't play innocent!"

"Alright, alright. I was just trying to help you and Miaomiao get together. Miaomiao is too shy to take the initiative in romance, and you’re always so gloomy and reserved—someone had to give you guys a nudge."

Qiao Yiran spread her hands. "If Miaomiao weren't my best friend, I wouldn't bother getting involved in this mess. You have no idea how uncomfortable that business class seat was.

"There was this cocky guy sitting next to me, pretending to check the time every two minutes just to show off that tacky Submariner watch on his wrist. He even switched it from his right hand to his left just to make sure everyone saw it. So what if he has a little money? As if no one else does."

Huh, why did that behavior sound so familiar?

At that moment, the revolving door at the hotel entrance creaked again. A group of boys and girls carrying backpacks and suitcases bustled into the hotel, looking about the same age as Lu Mingfei’s group.

It seemed they were also students visiting the capital who had booked the Black Prince Hotel.

"Damn! What the hell!" Qiao Yiran suddenly cursed in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Speak of the devil," Qiao Yiran muttered, pointing at someone in the crowd. "That pretty boy in the Armani suit is the cocky guy I was talking about from business class. Everyone else is in casual clothes, but he’s wearing a suit while traveling—what a pretentious creep..."

Lu Mingfei followed her finger and looked at the person in the crowd, his eyes widening immediately.

"Damn! What the hell!" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but repeat.

The cocky guy Qiao Yiran was talking about was actually Zhao Menghua?