Chapter 7

Sam’s suggestive wink instantly piqued my curiosity. “Zihan, in South Africa, boys our age have all played ‘the grown-up game’,” Sam said with a lecherous grin, making me even more intrigued.

“What exactly is the ‘adult game’? Is it like real-life CS shooting?” I really had no idea what Sam was talking about, even though I enjoyed watching girls on TikTok striking poses.

“You really don’t know? Zihan, is education in China that backward?” Sam widened his round eyes, looking as if he was shocked that I didn’t understand what he meant by the “adult game.”

“I really don’t know...” I rolled my eyes at him. I’ve received a proper, traditional education since I was young, so how could I possibly know what Sam meant by this game, especially one played by adults? “Hehe, Zihan, I’m worried I might corrupt you. Don’t tell Mom,” Sam squinted his big eyes and whispered mysteriously. “Of course I won’t tell Mom. I’m not that bored,” I rolled my eyes at him again. If he had something to say, he should just say it instead of dragging it out.

“Alright, it’s a deal,” Sam started grinning mischievously again. “The ‘adult game’ is a game played between men and women. In short, it’s sex.” Sam said this with a straight face, even gesturing with his hands. “Sex? You mean when a man and a woman use their ... reproductive organs to mate?” I understood that much—my middle school biology classes weren’t for nothing.

From middle school biology, I knew that the male reproductive organ is called the penis, and the female reproductive organ is called the vagina. When a man’s penis enters a woman’s vagina, after a certain process, the penis releases sperm, which combines with the egg released by the woman in her vagina. After further reproductive development, a fertilized egg forms. Everyone goes through this biological process, eventually becoming the fully formed individuals we are, with heads, faces, hands, and feet.

“Right, so you do know, Zihan,” Sam looked at me. “If the adult game is sex, then isn’t sex something you only do when you want to have a child?”

I was still a bit confused. Even after going through compulsory education, I still didn’t fully grasp Sam’s meaning.

Sam said he often played the “adult game” with his girlfriend in South Africa. Didn’t that mean he had a lot of children?

“No, Zihan. Sex is indeed the process of having children, but you can have sex without having children,” Sam opened his big eyes wide. The whites of his eyes looked much whiter than those of us Asians, probably because he’s Black. Apart from his eyes, mouth, and the palms and backs of his hands, the rest of his skin was dark.

“Then you just have to make sure the sperm doesn’t enter the woman’s vagina, otherwise she’ll definitely get pregnant,” I said. Although middle school biology taught that sperm doesn’t always combine with a woman’s egg 100% of the time, there’s still a chance, especially during a woman’s ovulation days, when it’s very easy for her to get pregnant.

“Exactly, so you have to take protective measures during sex. You know about condoms, right? They’re worn on a man’s penis so that when he ejaculates, the sperm doesn’t enter the woman’s vagina.”

Sam explained this to me very seriously.

“Oh right, how could I forget about condoms?” I suddenly realized. Condoms are exactly for preventing pregnancy.

“Since you already know, how about I show you some videos of the games adults play, huh?” Sam came over to me, winking and grinning with his thick, sausage-like lips curling upward. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve entered what they call puberty, but I really want to learn about these things and feel a sense of longing. Naturally, my thoughts drifted to our class monitor, Li Xiaojun.

“Uh, it’s pretty late now, I’m not really in the mood to watch,” I said, even though I actually did want to see. I just didn’t want Sam to think I was some kind of troublemaker. After all, when he said “games adults play,” he meant sex—putting a guy’s penis into a girl’s vagina. Isn’t that just porn?

But a little fun never hurt anyone, right? I thought I’d watch secretly when I was alone, just like how I secretly watched those TikTok girls shaking their butts and showing off their cleavage.

“Alright, Zihan. Let me know when you want to watch. I’ve got plenty of fun stuff here,” Sam said, returning to his bed and giving me a sidelong glance. “Okay, Sam, let’s go to sleep. Goodnight,” I replied, looking at him before pulling up the covers, closing my eyes, and trying to drift off.