My name is Chen Ye. I’m a third-year college student, majoring in finance and betting on soccer on the side. There’s nothing shameful about a college student having a side hustle these days. The cafeteria aunties barely give you any food, so you have to make money yourself. My school is on the outskirts of Shanghai, and I live in a six-person dorm. I have the bed by the window, while Old Huang on the top bunk snores every night like a tractor taking a dump. That’s how rough real life is, but betting on soccer makes me feel like there’s still hope. When I win, I get braised chicken over rice with an egg. When I lose, I make do with three-yuan instant noodles. I’m not trying to get rich. I just can’t stand being ground into the dirt by life. The betting group is called Comeback Kings. All five hundred members are unlucky bastards hoping to defy fate. The group owner, nicknamed Dog, says he can get inside betting odds. I believe half of what he says, and leave the other half up to luck. The world isn’t full of that many feel-good comeback stories. It’s just endless Huabei bills and gambling debts that keep piling up. But I’ve got a short fuse, and if someone owes me money and won’t pay, I’ll corner them right outside the school gates. Even the academic counselor avoids me. Reality makes it hard to breathe, but I’m still alive, and I still dare to curse the world. That’s enough for me.
I don't even understand the rules. Isn't this writing nonsense?