4

 At noon, the dormitory door swung open, and the sound of the chubby guy's chattering filled Xiang Ran's ears.

“Help me!”

“When's my daily dose of entertainment getting updated?”

“Not even a sick leave note? Is the author so lost in their fantasy that they're abandoning the story?”

“They’re not a workhorse; can’t they take a couple of days to brainstorm?”

Qi Dong’s voice came from behind; he was a temporary member of the student council, just there to lend a hand. At least he was better than the dorm leader, who was hardly ever around and at least allowed for some nap time.

The chubby guy and Qi Dong had a wide range of interests in the dorm, especially the chubby guy, who was a huge fan of various romance comics and dubbed himself the "Pure Love Warrior." The series he was discussing had taken the top spot on his annual list after its release and was a constant topic of conversation.

After the chubby guy’s enthusiastic recommendation, Xiang Ran had taken a peek at it himself. He found it a bit too sugary; he preferred adventure and action genres over sweet romances.

“You’re not wrong,” Xiang Ran said, poking his head out from the upper bunk. “As a single dog author of a fantasy romance comic, they must spend a ton of time idealizing the female lead. After all, anyone would get tired of manually adjusting every day.”

“Why are you so sure the author is a single dog?” The chubby guy, still munching on a bag of chips right after lunch, shot back.

“What’s fantasy romance? It’s got to be a female lead that doesn’t exist in real life!” He gestured with his phone, excitedly showing Xiang Ran. “Just look at this female lead—her looks, her figure, and then calling you ‘master’! Where do you find that in reality?”

“If you don’t believe me, ask Brother Dong. Didn’t his ex-girlfriend call him ‘master’?”

Qi Dong, caught in the crossfire, rolled his eyes but had to admit that his ex’s catchphrase was indeed “I’m the boss here.”

“Therefore, based on the evidence above, I conclude that this manga author must be a long-time single, seasoned otaku! Probably the kind who gets shy around girls in real life, just like us!”

“...”

Xiang Ran barely registered their chatter, his gaze fixed on the screen. There was a girl at an easel, her long hair cascading to her waist. She wore a pure white shirt that accentuated her curves, a gray short skirt highlighting her waist, and black knee-high socks that revealed a hint of her fair thighs.

And that word, “master”—how much it reminded him of Liu Shuyao!

This realization nearly made Xiang Ran drop the chubby guy's phone.

This is ridiculous!

How could he think like that? It seemed that mere self-affirmation wasn’t enough; he needed to pull out the big guns.

In the next moment, he quickly switched the phone screen to images of the computer science giants, finally calming his racing heart.

After settling the debate about the manga author’s gender, Qi Dong began sharing some gossip he’d heard while volunteering.

“I’ve got a little scoop: the dance department has teamed up with the literature department for the school celebration, planning a breathtaking masterpiece that will shock the heavens and move the spirits.”

The chubby guy, intrigued by such gossip, immediately pushed the chips toward Qi Dong, urging him to continue.

In school, literary events are usually led by the arts departments, capturing everyone’s attention, since no one wants to see engineering students reciting poetry on stage.

“The literature department can’t be that important! They don’t have many guys; shouldn’t this kind of opportunity go to our computer science department?” The chubby guy clearly didn’t get what “masterpiece” meant.

“East’s point is that the dance department plans to incorporate elements of traditional culture,” Xiang Ran kindly added.

“This type of dance drama is quite popular nowadays. For instance, the recently popular ‘Only This Green’ combines the poetry of ‘A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains’ with dance.”

“Wow! The dance department is going to win big this time!” The chubby guy immediately pictured it in his mind, especially since that ‘Only This Green’ was trending on short videos.

But then he had another question: “What about the art department?”

“What do those two have to do with each other?” Xiang Ran asked, confused.

“The feud between the art and dance departments is famous across the school!” The chubby guy noticed Xiang Ran's blank expression and realized he hadn’t been following the forums.

Excited, he pulled out his phone to show him the prominently displayed "Ningzhou University Beauty Contest."

“In the past, the top three spots for school beauty were almost always taken by the dance department, since they had the advantage. Until last year, when Liu Shuyao from the art department burst onto the scene. During military training, she won the title with a blurry candid shot, overshadowing all the polished photos from the dance department, and she hasn’t come down from that spot since!”

Xiang Ran only vaguely knew about Liu Shuyao’s rise to fame and wasn’t interested in the backstory. Hearing her name out of the blue made him want to avoid the topic, so he didn’t pursue it further.

The chubby guy was used to this reaction from him and leaned over to the bed, pulling out a few photos of Liu Shuyao to show him.

“Brother Ran, life needs a balance between work and rest. Having your head full of code isn’t good for your mental health. Sometimes, even if you know there’s a galaxy between you and the school beauty, it doesn’t stop us from appreciating her, right? At least find someone you like to make life a little richer.”

Xiang Ran frowned and glanced at the chubby guy's phone screen, which showed a photo of Liu Shuyou during a presentation, with a watermark in the corner, likely taken from some public account.

Liu Shuyou looked cold and distant, her ponytail tied low, with no hint of emotion in her eyes.

She couldn’t compare to how she looked the day she linked arms with him, her eyes glistening with emotion.

Xiang Ran was suddenly startled by his own subconscious comparison; moments ago, he had been thinking about comic characters, and now he was faced with the real person.

So this time, he really threw the chubby guy's phone away and turned to unlock his own phone to show him.

“Who says I don’t have someone I like?”

“Oh wow~” The chubby guy was intrigued and leaned in quickly, but when he saw the black-and-white photo on the screen, featuring three serious-looking men, he felt there was no saving Xiang Ran.

“You’ve become so detached that you set Turing, Babbage, and von Neumann as your wallpaper?”

Xiang Ran nodded woodenly, his heart unwavering.

At this point, the chubby guy had lost all interest in talking to him, waving his hand in rejection before turning back to chase after Qi Dong to dig for more gossip.

“So will the school flower also perform a dance?”

Qi Dong genuinely didn’t know. “I’m not sure, but the school hopes to encourage cross-department collaborations this time, so there might be some new surprises.”

“Doesn’t that mean we have a great opportunity?”

“What opportunity do you have? Are you hoping the school flower will come on stage and illustrate the code you wrote?”

Qi Dong’s blunt comment shattered the chubby guy's dreams of collaboration.

For a moment, the only sound in the dorm was the crunching of chips, filled with bitterness.

Then, suddenly, Xiang Ran's phone rang twice.

Seeing it was Wang Hao calling, he quickly answered.

“Hello, dorm leader!”

Wang Hao’s voice on the other end was a bit garbled but sounded urgent.

“Brother Ran, can you help me bring over the event planning materials from my desk? We have a meeting soon, and I don’t have time to go back and get it.”

“Okay, no problem. I’ll bring it over right now.”

“I’m in Room 206 of Wenbei Building.”

Xiang Ran didn’t dare to delay, immediately rolling out of bed. Qi Dong, having heard the phone conversation, turned around and handed the materials to Xiang Ran, unable to stop himself from commenting.

“This school anniversary is a big deal—ten years, and with the pandemic opening up, the school is taking it seriously. Our dorm leader will probably be busy for at least another month.”

While talking, Xiang Ran had already changed clothes and was putting his laptop in his bag.

“Aren’t you coming back?”

“Not coming back. I’m going to the study room to revise some code.”

The sound of the door closing echoed, and Qi Dong sighed.

“Xiang Ran’s life, focused solely on studying, is simple and dedicated. Even if there’s no love, at least there’s Turing!”

“Would you be willing to live with Turing?” The fatty finished a bag of chips and was eyeing the snack box again.

“I’m just an ordinary person!”

“Exactly! So help out your brother. At this rate, Xiang Ran will graduate and become a monk!”

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