The Bitter Struggles of Out-of-Favor Post-80s Youths: A Record of Desires by Author Ma Geda

Chen Hui was addicted to online games during his university years, neglecting his studies; he graduated with difficulty and struggled in the vast sea of job seekers, encountering repeated setbacks. He yearned for a pure love, but passed by those he liked one after another. In a difficult life, driven by desires, evil thoughts arose... The originally naive college student endured the trials of life. How would his temperament change? In the complicated world affairs, could he maintain the clarity of his heart?

Volume One My University (1)

Three years ago, when I first entered university, I would suffer from insomnia at night for no reason. Perhaps it was because I had never lived in a dormitory before, and at home, I would sleep at around 10 o'clock and get up at 5:30 in the morning to memorize books. After entering university and starting a communal life, the lights in the dormitory wouldn't turn off until 11 o'clock, and some people would still chat, making a lot of noise. They would talk about who's family is rich, which girl is pretty, who likes whom, or they would discuss Jin Yong's martial arts novels, like who has the highest martial arts skills and who is their favorite protagonist. I was also interested in these topics, and as I listened, I joined the discussion. Class monitor Feng Yan had never read Jin Yong. I said, "Really? I envy you." He asked curiously why. I said, "You don't know, if you haven't read it, how excited you will be the first time you do!"

Volume One My University (2)

After the start of school, I attended classes obediently for a few days, though I wasn't completely focused. Wen Tao talked to Peach every day about "Jian Xia Qing Yuan," another online game they played after "Diablo". They would talk about how powerful the Heavenly King was, or lament how weak Wudang was, or discuss what great equipment they got today. It sounded quite interesting. On Saturday, I accompanied them to take a look, and eventually couldn't resist the temptation and started playing too. Since I planned to take the graduate entrance exam of my own school, I didn't need to study too hard. They, one being a Heavenly King and the other Wudang, started to bring me along. I heard that the Heavenly King sect was the most bizarre, so I also created a Heavenly King character, a big fat man wielding a hammer, named "The Gentleness of That Hammer."

Volume Two Life Elsewhere (1)

Finally, I graduated, and all the hidden worries, self-reproach, and resentment within me were washed away, leaving me once again as a pure soul. I said to myself, "Starting today, I will be a different person, a brand new person. He will sprout anew, bear ears, bloom, and finally bear abundant fruit."

As the school collectively cleared out students, there was no way I could stay in the dormitory anymore. I packed my quilt and mattress, sold my math books by weight, and stuffed all other miscellaneous items into a patterned plastic bag. When tidying up the iron cabinet, I found a brand new mosquito net, white and dazzling. During my university years, I had never used it. On one hand, I was always staying up all night and not in the dormitory, and on the other hand, mosquitoes didn't seem to like me. Peach said, "You only take a bath once a year, the mosquitoes are probably scared away by your smell."

Volume Two Life Elsewhere (2)

To make the old lady believe me even more, I confessed further, "Let me be honest with you, I didn't want to say this at first, but he doesn't work night shifts, he stays up all night watching movies and playing games. I don't know what's so fun about doing that all the time." The old lady said, "Really? Where does he get the money?" I said, "Where else? He asks his family for it. He's already an adult, yet he still spends his family's money, shameless."

It was only then that I realized I was also spending my family's money, and my face turned red involuntarily, feeling a bit feverish as if I were sitting by a fire. Fortunately, we were talking in the dim corridor, and she must not have noticed. I continued, "It's actually not wrong to spend a little of the family's money right after graduation, but the key is that he makes no progress every day, just staying up all night."

Volume Two Life Elsewhere (3)

My relationship with Zhao Juan was purely professional until it advanced due to a Korean drama. That day, I went to her proofreading room across the aisle with a stack of manuscripts. She was engrossed in watching the Korean drama "Full House". Unwilling to disturb her, I stood behind her for a long time. Occasionally looking back, she flashed a look of terror, then upon seeing it was me, she closed her eyes, sighed deeply, patted her chest, and said, "You scared me to death, I thought it was the editor-in-chief."

I smiled at her and said, "Is the editor-in-chief as tall and mighty as me?" She said, "That's true, that short guy, but he is indeed fatter than you." I laughed and said, "Don't let Mr. Du hear that, he's just in the next room." She said, "No worries, he's not here, he's attending a meeting in Henan." I asked, "How do you know?" She said, "He came yesterday to print advertisements, saying he would go to Henan today."

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