Chapter 31

On Friday, as Sunday drew closer, Tong Yan listed a very detailed plot outline in his notebook. He believed that with such a clear mind, he could definitely type at lightning speed, though he wasn't sure if he could reach 2,500 words per hour.

But on this day, Tong Yan heard a very ominous rumor.

Zheng Jing: "Did you hear? We have to go to school on Sundays from now on."

Tong Yan's roommate, Zheng Jing, was the gossip of Class 2, well-informed about many small and big news items.

"Do you hear that from someone reliable?" another roommate, Qi Delong, asked skeptically.

Tong Yan also perked up his ears.

"Of course it's reliable!" Zheng Jing said seriously, "A buddy of mine was caught reading a pornographic novel in class by Iron Man. He overheard it while standing outside his office as punishment."

"Why?!" Since it concerned him, Tong Yan couldn't help but ask.

"Maybe they think we still have potential to be squeezed. Some people play ball all day on Sundays..."

Qi Delong awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"...Some people sleep all day..."

Wang Ping's face turned red.

"...And some people go to great lengths to leave school to play..."

Tong Yan felt uneasy, as if his thoughts had been seen through.

"...But few people study in the classroom as the teachers suggest."

At this point, Luo Xiaoxu was unhappy, "I do study in the classroom."

Zheng Jing laughed, "Reading magazines and novels in the classroom counts as studying?"

Luo Xiaoxu was speechless.

Zheng Jing continued, "So, the school has made a unified plan for us. Everyone will study in the classroom on Sundays, including the day students, and there will be roll calls."

"This is too much! We won't have any free time left," Tong Yan said indignantly, thinking about how he would write his novel in the future!

Luo Xiaoxu said indifferently, "I don't think it matters. I usually go to the classroom to study anyway."

Wang Ping also said indifferently, "I don't mind either. I sleep better in the classroom."

Qi Delong also didn't care, "Not playing basketball won't kill me. Chatting about the NBA with the guys in the classroom is pretty good too."

Zheng Jing, of course, was even more pleased. With everyone in the classroom, his gossip would have an audience.

Seeing how quickly everyone accepted their fate, Tong Yan still held a glimmer of hope. After all, it was just a rumor, and it might be false.

However, the rumor was confirmed that evening. During the evening study session, Old Song personally announced the bad news.

"I know you might resist, but there's no choice. This is a decision made by the school leadership after careful consideration. You should know that the No. 2 and No. 3 High Schools in our city have been doing this for a while, and it has been effective. This is the trend."

"However, the school is still humane. Although you have to study on Sundays, you don't have to do morning exercises. You can sleep in on that day."

After Old Song left, Tong Yan said to Dong Mian, "Mian, I remember you said you lived in the dormitory for a while in junior high, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I ask you, what did you do when you felt like playing games back then?"

"I could endure it."

"Never gave in?"

Dong Mian tilted his head and thought, "No."

Well, someone who could rank first in the grade must have extraordinary self-control, able to resist such a strong urge.

Dong Mian added, "But I had a few teammates who couldn't resist. They climbed over the wall at night to go online."

Tong Yan wanted to ask about this, "Is climbing over the wall at night reliable? Is it risky?"

"They were never caught. The most important thing is to keep the other roommates quiet. If someone reports to the homeroom teacher, even the best wall-climbing skills will result in a Game Over."

That made sense. The school's wall wasn't very high. Tong Yan grew up in the countryside, where climbing walls and trees was a daily routine, and he still retained those skills.

To write his novel, Tong Yan was willing to take the risk. Though he occasionally rebelled, it was usually just not turning in homework. Sneaking out at night to go online was a first for him. To put it mildly, he was nervous, but there was also a sense of excitement. In their novel-writing terminology, his blood was beginning to boil.

Back in the dormitory, the passionate Tong Yan started practicing his nighttime escape plan.

The lights in the dormitory were turned off at 11 PM, and teachers would check the rooms around that time. As long as it wasn't Old Song's shift, no one usually entered the boys' dormitory of Class 2. Old Song, as the head of the Chinese department, had a prestigious position and only worked one night shift a week, usually on Wednesday or Thursday, which didn't conflict with Tong Yan's plan.

He couldn't go out right after the lights were turned off, as the teachers were still checking strictly. Tong Yan kept an eye on the clock. Around 11:20 PM, the sound of teachers' shoes in the hallway disappeared. In the dormitory, Wang Ping and Zheng Jing were still having a pillow talk, discussing everything from national affairs to school beauties.

Tong Yan stood silently by the window in his shorts, looking at the empty school grounds, playing with a coin in his hand. He accidentally dropped it out the window, and it made a clear sound on the cement ground.

"What's wrong?" Qi Delong, who was by the window, asked.

"Oh, nothing, my money fell out."

Their dormitory was on the first floor, and there were no security bars on the windows. Tong Yan naturally said, "I'll go pick it up," and jumped out. The one-meter drop was no problem.

Zheng Jing laughed, "Is one yuan worth that much?" and continued discussing with Wang Ping whether the top beauty in the senior class was Old Song's daughter, Song RAO, or her friend, Zhao Ying.

Jumping out the window went smoothly. Since it was a practice run, Tong Yan decided to explore a bit more. He walked around the dormitory building and didn't see any teachers, so he climbed back into the dormitory with peace of mind.

When Tong Yan returned to the dormitory, after a while, someone else jumped out of the first-floor window, cursing, "Damn, who was that person just now, walking around, it couldn't be Iron Man, right!"

"Today Iron Man isn't on duty. It's probably an intern teacher. Let's go, let's go."

"Will it be okay?"

"Definitely, let's go."

Soon, the two figures disappeared into the night.

Lying in bed, Tong Yan planned to walk around the school the next day to see where it was easier to jump out. But the most pressing issue now was to get the support of his dormitory brothers.

"Cough, cough, I want to say something," Tong Yan interrupted Wang Ping and Zheng Jing's discussion.

They both stopped and waited for him to continue, "Can you help me with something?"

...

The next day was Saturday. Normally, Saturday was followed by a rest day, but now it was a study day. After the evening study session, the students were generally in low spirits. The four roommates in Dorm 121 were not only low but also a bit nervous because their five-person dormitory now had only four people.

Tong Yan thought about it. Since he had to go to class the next day, he had to leave the internet cafe by 7 AM. If he climbed out after the lights were turned off, he would have only seven hours to write, which was not enough for him to write 20,000 words, even if he had a burst of inspiration. So he decided to escape before the lights were turned off, which was riskier. This required his dormitory brothers to bear more pressure. If someone asked why one person was missing from the dormitory, they had to have a unified response to cover for Tong Yan, as they had promised him.

Now, many day students were gathered at the school gate, a good opportunity to slip out, but there were definitely teachers from the guidance office watching. As a good student with a high presence like Tong Yan, he would be easily noticed, so he decided to stick to his original plan of climbing over the wall.

The wall was two meters high. Tong Yan had already checked it out during the day. There was usually no one outside the wall near the small forest in the playground, but the small forest itself was quite busy. Choosing this spot as the breakthrough should be undetectable.

He ran, jumped, and grabbed the wall, then pushed off the wall and stood on top. Without hesitation, he jumped down.

Tong Yan could somewhat understand the feeling of the protagonist in "The Shawshank Redemption" after escaping from Shawshank Prison. He loved the feeling of freedom, a single word: exhilarating!

It was only 10 PM, and Tong Yan immediately sprinted to Spider Internet Cafe, still holding the notebook with the plot outline...

[PS: Bai Fo has always been a good student and has never gone online at night. If there are any unprofessional parts, I hope to get corrections from experts.~~]

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