The Great Worm Lich

The business talk went smoothly. When the three girls approved Zhang Lisheng’s ’51st State of the United States’ Plan unanimously, the four of them discussed the specific implementing method until late at night. It was only until when they had finished all the edible fruits and vegetables in Tina’s refrigerator that Sheila and Trish finally left in a hurry, somewhat unsatisfied.

After that, Zhang Lisheng did not make love with his girlfriend nor did he cultivate the secret cultivation method, but instead slept. He held Tina until the next morning, and when the girl opened her drowsy eyes, she realized that she was still in her boyfriend’s arms just like how it was when they fell asleep last night. At once, tears brimmed in her eyes, but she did not make any comment. Planting a sweet kiss on her boyfriend, she greeted, “Good morning, baby!”

“Good morning Tina.” Looking back at the girl’s shining eyes, Zhang Lisheng said with a smile, “Shall we get up or continue to stay in bed for a while?”

“Of course we’ll get up now! We’re watching the game today so the time is very short. Don’t you know, baby? One of the most exciting parts of the football game is to catch good seats at the beginning of the game and the surprising program during the middle break. That’s why we can’t be late!” Tina paused for a while. “Of course, no matter how big the surprise is, it still won’t be able to beat the fact that I just woke up from your arms in the morning. I love you, baby!”

After saying so, the girl kissed Zhang Lisheng again and crawled out of the bed.

When the two of them washed up, they changed into red couple shirts that still looked oversized on the young man and wore the Puritans’ round cap before walking out of the door.

As luck would have it, the door of the room next door was also silently pushed open while a young couple wearing couple shirts also walked out from inside. After the girl locked the door and turned around; she inadvertently saw Tina and smiled in astonishment. “Oh, Tina dear, good morning! Look who has just flown back to Boston from the Mediterranean.”

“Oh God, Ellen, you’re back!” When Tina, who was immersed in love, heard this greeting, only then did she realize it and ran over in a daze to hug and kiss the girl’s cheeks. “When did you come back? I didn’t know at all!”

“My flight was yesterday afternoon. I was going to call you, Sheila and Trish but in the end, I met Hoff in the airport…” The girl pointed to the male partner beside her. “Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce you two. Tina, this is Hoff, the prince and Junior Brother who I fell in love with at first sight. Hoff, this is the beautiful, intelligent, and sexy Tina, one of my best friends at Harvard.”

“Good morning, Hoff!” Tina smiled and waved.

“Hello, Tina, thrilled to meet you! What a pity. If I had seen you before I met Ellen yesterday, I’d have said that you’re the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life! But today, I can only say that you’re one of the most beautiful girls instead.” Hoff, who had long arms and short legs but still looked well-proportioned and buff, smiled brightly.

“Oh, thank you, Hoff! Even though it won’t work on me anymore, I’d still like to thank you,” Tina said with a brighter smile on her face. To a young and beautiful girl, regardless of whether she was single or not, a compliment from a handsome fellow would always be very pleasing.

“Oh, look! What a sweet talker he is! His mouth is really sweet!” Ellen by the side lovingly tiptoed a kiss on the man’s cheek as she told Tina. “Tina, I was just about to press your doorbell, but I didn’t expect you to appear in front of me. Let’s go watch the football game together. Call Sheila, Trish, and their boyfriends. Hoff is the main player from the school rowing team, so he can take us in advance to sneak in through the cheerleading area…”

“Wait a minute, Ellen.” Tina pointed at Zhang Lisheng who was behind her and interrupted the girl. “It’s my turn to introduce you to my boyfriend. This is the love of my life, Zhang Lisheng. Don’t you want to get to know him first?”

“The love of your life? What a grand prefix that is! His name is… Oh yeah, so he’s the ‘US miracle’ that the three of you Harvard’s Sisters always mentioned!” Astonished, Ellen shifted her gaze to Zhang Lisheng to scan him from his head down to his toes before passionately waving a hand to him.

Then, the girl whispered in Tina’s ear and joked, “Oh I’m sorry, dear. It’s still too early now, and it’s quite dim in the corridor, so I didn’t see your ‘little miracle’.”

“Ellen, even though Lisheng is not tall, he’s not as inconspicuous as you said.” Tina shrugged. “But don’t worry, in truth, how I wish all young girls in this world would find him inconspicuous except for me!”

“Oh, it looks like you’ve really fallen in love, Tina! Since that’s the case, you should manage the relationship of yours and your ‘US miracle’ well. After all, the two of you don’t get to meet often…”

“This is why I plan to take him to watch the game alone. Thanks for your kindness, sister!”

“W-What? Watch the game alone? This is not a candlelight dinner for the two of you to spend your time alone. Of course, it’d be much more interesting when there are more friends watching a football game together… Oh, oh, I understand now. You two want to get ‘romantic’ in the game, huh? Listen to me, dear Tina, even though it’s very thrilling to do that kind of thing on the audience’s seats, it’s definitely not a good idea, particularly in a football game that would be full of people…”

“What are you talking about, Ellen?” Tina laughed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, “This didn’t cross our mind at all!”

“Then you should cheer for the football team’s fellows together with your friends! Besides, for a pretty girl like you, you can also avoid a lot of trouble. Remember the riots last year? The audience doesn’t consist of only Harvard and Yale students.”

“Oh yeah, you have a point, Ellen.” Tina was stunned for a while before turning her head to ask Zhang Lisheng, “Baby, what do you think about watching the football game together with Ellen and the others? We can even enter early to get a better seat.”

“As long as you’re happy, Tina. I don’t have any objection,” Zhang Lisheng casually replied.

After receiving a positive reply from her boyfriend, Tina turned her head and shrugged at Ellen. “OK, dear Ellen. I’ll call Trish and Sheila and let’s leave together…”

Just like this, their plan to watch the game in their lonesome changed to become a big gathering of friends. It took a full 40 minutes for everybody to gather together. Wearing the same red shirt printed with the simple ‘Harvard’ sign, they took the bus and headed to the Harvard stadium.

Sitting next to the window on the bus, Zhang Lisheng looked outside and saw many Harvard people gushing out continuously from the buildings on both sides. There were old and young people, and the hats, hair bands, T-shirts, and jacket that they wore were all bright red, dying the entire street into an ocean of red that rippled its waves all the way to Harvard Square before going across Charlie Bridge through Harvard bridge and finally reaching Harvard Stadium.

“Isn’t it only a football game, Tina? This is too crazy!” Even though Zhang Lisheng had already experienced the crowding experience on the campus yesterday and knew that today’s spectacle would be even more magnificent, he could not help but whisper to his girlfriend’s ear when the bus stopped and got down onto the hard ground, drowned among the ocean of red, staring at the fully armed police who were on duty outside the stadium that could accommodate tens of thousands of people.

“Baby, this is not just a football game. This is also the dream carnival that many people at Harvard dreamt to see! There are many famous alumni who have long been eager to use such an opportunity to return to their alma mater to reunite with their former friends. To Harvard University, this is also an opportunity to raise money from the alumni. It’s a season of harvest so of course, it’d be better if the scene is bigger,” Tina whispered and explained to her boyfriend.

“Ah, it’s actually driven by interests. I understand now!” A pang of realization hit the young man and nodded.

“Dear Lisheng, you should talk louder when you speak so you can attract everybody’s attention, and we can enter the stadium earlier to get a better spot!” Sheila, who was by the side interjected in a whisper as she chuckled, causing an uncomfortable expression to creep up on the face of Fred, who had an arm on her waist.

Now that Zhang Lisheng was warned, he shrugged and put a finger on his lip as a silent gesture. At this time, Tina, who was holding his arm, pointed at the main player from the school rowing team and said, “Alright, let us follow Hoff closely or otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to enter early anymore. What a pity! I originally wanted to enter the stadium by queuing up and having my ticket clipped like a regular university couple today, but I guess I can’t get my wish now.”

The football game was very popular, and the ticket was scarce. Harvard’s first to fourth-year undergraduates could book free tickets using their student cards, but other people would have to buy using their own money. This applied to Harvard’s graduate students and faculty members.

However, everything had its loopholes. Even though theoretically, even Harvard’s president would have to buy his own ticket to enter the stadium, this did not mean that there was no other shortcut for other people.

With a few athletic friends of his, Hoff calculated the suitable time and took Zhang Lisheng, Tina, and the others to walk along the outer wall of the 114-year-old Harvard Stadium, bypassing the ticket-checking police and came to a slightly remote street. After a while, several school buses that were transporting cheerleaders arrived.

After stopping the car, the team’s athletes and the familiar cheerleading drivers and team members chatted a while, allowing Zhang Lisheng and the few others to mix into the car and easily avoided the strict security to enter the stadium early. By the time the other audiences entered the stadium excitedly after going through the ticket checking and bag security one by one, they were already seated in the ‘cheerleading area’ that had the best seat in front of the field.

It was no longer early. The sun in the sky began to exude a scorching brilliance that resonated with the fiery atmosphere in the Harvard stadium that was slowly filling with people, causing the people to get excited.

After a while, the stadium broadcast resounded and young, strong men equipped with both intelligence and wisdom while wearing armor-like protective gear ran into the field in a formation, setting off earth-shattering cheers.

After that, the tens of thousands of people in the stands were automatically divided into two sides. The Harvard and Yale’s school orchestra played and sang their songs. Fans waved the flags around, cheering loudly, rooting for their team. The cheerleaders by the sidelines danced and jumped. The players on the field charged vigilantly and fought fiercely.

And just like that, the game began.