Ji Mian finally saw his new roommate, who was across from him in the dorm.
Upon seeing the other person for the first time, his thoughts were similar to Xie Heng’s: as Chen Xu said, he was indeed a handsome guy.
“Hey.” He greeted Xie Heng and walked over to sit down in his spot, but he didn’t immediately turn to do his own thing.
Ji Mian turned his chair to the right at an angle, leaning sideways to look at Xie Heng, with his arm resting on the back of the chair. “I’m Lu Zhou. Are you also in economics?”
Xie Heng nodded. “Mm.”
“Well then, the three of us are in economics.” Ji Mian pointed around the three beds, excluding Chen Xu.
Bed one was occupied by a boy wearing glasses named Jia Wenbo, who had a rather introverted personality and hadn’t said much all day.
However, when Ji Mian mentioned “the three of us,” he still turned his head and shyly smiled at the two.
“Damn, am I the only one in architecture?” Chen Xu said, feeling hopeless.
The number of students each college admits isn’t always a perfect multiple of four, so every year there are a few unfortunate ones forced to share a room with students from other departments.
“Sorry to hear that.” Ji Mian smiled to comfort him.
He looked back at Xie Heng. Xie Heng’s desk was quite bare; there were only two books on the shelf, and on the desk, a power strip and a desk lamp.
He had seen minimalism before, but not to this extent.
“You don’t have much stuff?” Ji Mian asked.
It wasn’t that Xie Heng had brought few things; he just hadn’t planned on living in the dorm for long.
Having never lived in a dorm before, Xie Heng wasn’t very accustomed to the communal life of sharing a room and a bathroom with four people. Before coming here, he had planned to find a place to live nearby.
However, at the beginning of freshman year, there were many trivial matters to take care of, making it a hassle to move out immediately. Plus, he needed time to look for a place, so he decided to stay in the dorm temporarily.
He intended to move out once he found a suitable apartment.
This was also why Xie Heng didn’t bring too much to the dorm; moving things around was very inconvenient.
After thinking for a moment, he chose not to mention his plan to live outside.
The atmosphere among the other dorm members was quite harmonious, and mentioning his intention to move out would dampen the mood.
So he simply responded with “Mm.”
“Having fewer things is indeed convenient,” Ji Mian said. “I came here by myself and brought two large suitcases; unpacking has exhausted me like a dog.”
After speaking, he couldn’t help but laugh, his smile dazzling.
[Don’t laugh, don’t laugh! Are you in elementary school?] In his mind, the system was exasperated: ["What’s so funny about ‘exhausted like a dog’?]
Ji Mian tried to suppress his bright smile and communicated with the system: [Sorry, I’m still a bit unaccustomed to it.]
[You’ve been here for ten years, and you still haven’t adapted?] If the system had a physical form, it would surely be shaking its head and sighing with a look of melancholy at that moment.
[You also laughed when you cursed at Chen Xu just now. When will you be able to change this habit?]
Ji Mian assured it: [I’ll work hard; I promise not to laugh next time.]
The system didn’t believe him but chose not to say anything more.
After all, when he first arrived, even saying a harmless “damn” would make him blush for a long time.
Ji Mian hadn’t had friends his age during his youth.
In this world, he had spent over ten years mingling with a group of energetic boys from elementary school through high school, finally managing to fit in.
“That storage shelf…” Xie Heng reminded him.
Now, there were three suitcases beside the storage rack—two belonged to Ji Mian, and one belonged to Xie Heng. All three suitcases were empty, and the storage rack was also empty, creating a slightly comical scene.
“Oh, I’m fine with anywhere. Feel free to choose a shelf for your suitcase, and we can share one shelf. Just leave the rest for me.”
Xie Heng’s eyebrows lifted again, realizing that Ji Mian was letting him choose his spot first.
He wasn’t often treated this way…
At 1.87 meters tall, he had a commanding presence wherever he went, yet here in the new dorm, he was being given deference by a peer.
He got up and walked to the storage rack, picked up his suitcase, and effortlessly tossed his empty case onto the top shelf. Then he turned to Ji Mian and said, “You can use the bottom shelf; I can reach it.”
The luggage rack in the dorm had three levels, and the top shelf was quite high.
Ji Mian’s body was 1.80 meters tall, so he could only reach it with his arm fully extended. But if there were items in the suitcase, it would be quite a hassle to place them up there.
Ji Mian paused for a moment and didn’t insist.
“Alright, thanks.”
He placed his two suitcases on the bottom shelf, leaving the middle shelf for both of them to share common items. However, seeing how few things Xie Heng had brought, it seemed unlikely that there would be much to store on the rack.
“By the way,” Ji Mian said to Xie Heng, “I brought plenty of stuff, including some everyday medicines. If you need anything, just let me know anytime.”
Xie Heng’s eyelids twitched.
Why did he always feel like he was being taken care of?
“...Okay.”
He took his phone and headphones, preparing to go for a run. This dormmate across from him was a bit too enthusiastic; he was a nice person, but Xie Heng wasn’t used to it.
Before leaving, Xie Heng thought for a moment and asked in the dorm, “The playground at the west gate should be open at night, right?”
As soon as he asked, he regretted it.
Everyone was new here; it was a needless question.
As expected, Chen Xu and Jia Wenbo both shook their heads, indicating they didn’t know.
“I don’t know.”
“Never been there.”
Ji Mian spoke up at this point: “The west gate one isn’t open at night; the second playground near the supermarket is open until nine-thirty.”
Xie Heng looked over, somewhat surprised. “You know?”
“Nope.” Ji Mian shook his phone, showing a chat log from a certain penguin group. “I just asked in the class group chat.”
—What the hell.
Xie Heng was having a hard time keeping his composure.
“Are you going to the playground? To play ball?” Ji Mian asked him.
“No, to run.”
Xie Heng had a habit of night running, which he almost never skipped.
“I was also planning to go to the playground to shoot some hoops; we can go together,” Ji Mian said, taking down the basketball bag hanging on the cabinet.
Xie Heng: …
He shouldn’t have asked that extra question.
Hearing the conversation between the two, Chen Xu leaned over and asked Ji Mian, “Playing ball? Do you have anyone you know to play with?”
It was just the start of the school year; where would he find familiar friends to play ball with?
“Nope. I’ll just take a walk around the playground, and I’ll find some people there.”
Chen Xu: “…”
He considered himself fairly extroverted, but he hadn’t expected that there would be a super social butterfly in the dorm.
Ji Mian, holding the basketball bag, tilted his head towards Xie Heng. “Shall we go?”
“...Sure.”
—
When they arrived at the playground, they split up.
There was a metal fence separating the basketball court from the track. The bright floodlights illuminated both sides of the playground, but the area where the basketball court and track met was quite dark.
In this dim area, there were quite a few couples strolling and some girls watching the boys play.
Ji Mian raised his hand and called out, “I’m leaving, Xie Heng.”
“Mm.”
Xie Heng hadn’t worn his headphones on the way there, and he was now leisurely putting them on.
Before turning to leave, he took a glance into the basketball court.
There were quite a few people playing inside, all upperclassmen who appeared to know each other.
He was a bit curious about how Ji Mian planned to join in.
His gaze followed Ji Mian’s figure, who was already entering through the side door of the basketball court while carrying the bag.
“—Hi!” Ji Mian shouted, his voice bright and clear, instantly drawing the attention of everyone around him.
Ji Mian waved to the people on the court, “Seniors! Need an extra player?!”
What the hell. Xie Heng’s eyelids twitched violently again.
This guy was really something.
—
In the first math class of the freshman semester, which was notoriously difficult, no one dared to skip class at this time.
Ji Mian had arrived very early, but the freshmen, still holding on to the enthusiasm they had from high school, filled half the classroom by seven-forty.
Ji Mian had naturally brown hair, fair skin, and wore an eye-catching earring on his left ear. When he walked through the front door, it was as if the whole classroom brightened up.
The girls in the front rows noticed him, their textbooks forgotten as they secretly admired him.
All the seats in the first three rows had already been claimed by students who had sworn to study hard since the start of the semester. Although in less than a month, the front rows would become the most deserted spots in the classroom, the current spirits of these freshmen were still commendable.
Ji Mian scanned the classroom and spotted a familiar face in the middle rows along with a few empty seats next to him, so he walked straight over.
“Excuse me, can I get through?” he politely asked the boy sitting at the end.
The boy sitting at the edge was tall and skinny, with acne scars left over from his teenage years.
The tall, skinny boy had a calculus textbook open on his desk, flipped to about a third of the way through, with many notes scribbled in black and red pen. When Ji Mian approached, he was engrossed in writing and drawing on it.
It seemed he had already self-studied quite a bit.
Hearing Ji Mian say he wanted to pass, the tall, skinny boy frowned impatiently, his thick and messy eyebrows knitting together.
After a moment, he reluctantly stood up to make way for Ji Mian.
His expression didn’t look very pleasant, but Ji Mian assumed he was just unhappy about being interrupted while studying and didn’t think much of it.
Once inside the middle row, Ji Mian quickly sat down in an empty seat and greeted a familiar face beside him, “Good morning! Is there anyone next to you?”
Xie Heng glanced at him. Though he wasn’t used to this dormmate’s friendliness and enthusiasm, seeing Ji Mian take the initiative to sit next to him, he politely replied, “Good morning. No one.”
Xie Heng also had his textbook on the desk. Seeing it, Ji Mian asked, “Did your textbook arrive? So soon…”
Most of the textbooks at A University needed to be purchased by the students themselves. Just the day before, the class group had sent out a notification to buy books.
“I bought it on the day of orientation, so it arrived early.”
“Oh, I see.”
After thinking for a moment, Xie Heng pushed the textbook toward the gap between them.
“Thanks, Xie Ge!” Ji Mian smiled at him, calling him "Ge" in a friendly manner.
Xie Heng: …
“Lu Zhou.” Someone in the aisle to the left called out to Ji Mian in a low voice, “Is there anyone next to you?”
Ji Mian looked up and saw that it was Jia Wenbo standing beside him in the same row.
“No!”
Having another person next to him was a bit of a headache for Xie Heng.
He didn’t mind socializing, but he had always been used to being independent.
But judging by the current situation, it seemed that they might end up doing everything together in the dorm.
He should check out the housing situation soon.
“Excuse me, can I get through?” Jia Wenbo asked the tall, skinny boy.
The other party had his head down and didn’t respond for several seconds, seemingly focused on solving a problem.
Thinking he hadn’t heard, Jia Wenbo called out again, “Excuse me,” and the tall boy suddenly stood up with a dark expression, making way.
“...Thanks.”
“Damn, so annoying.” After sitting down, the tall boy flipped through the pages of his book irritably, mumbling under his breath. Although he didn’t look at Jia Wenbo, it was clear he was targeting him with his words.
Jia Wenbo’s expression immediately became awkward.
Ji Mian also heard the boy’s comment, and the smile on his lips faded as he looked at the other person, “You think it’s annoying to just get up and let someone pass?”
“Then don’t sit on the edge if you find it annoying!” He didn’t give the other person any face, his voice loud enough for everyone around to hear, and many curious gazes turned their way.
Numerous odd looks fell on the boy and Ji Mian.
The tall boy was momentarily taken aback by the retort, and the attention from those nearby made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
He probably hadn’t expected things to escalate like this, especially since Jia Wenbo seemed like the type to be meek and silent in the face of confrontation.
He hadn’t anticipated that the earring-wearing boy who had entered earlier would actually step up to defend Jia Wenbo.
Though annoyed, the tall boy realized Ji Mian didn’t seem like someone he could provoke, so he begrudgingly fell silent.
Only then did Jia Wenbo sit down next to Ji Mian.
After a while, the old professor for the class arrived. He was a man in his fifties who stepped onto the podium and began preparing his course materials without saying a word.
Once the bell rang, the old professor opened the first page of the presentation, which displayed his name, phone number, and title.
After briefly introducing himself, he maintained a serious expression as he moved to the next slide showing the grading breakdown.
“...The final exam accounts for seventy percent, while the remaining thirty percent is based on daily attendance. I will only take attendance twice during the semester. So, if you miss even once, your daily score will be zero.”
Compared to the arbitrary grading methods used by university teachers, having only two attendance checks for a full thirty points was quite lenient.
“Now I’ll take attendance.” The old professor flipped through the roll call book.
“Wang Donghua.”
“Here!”
“Chang Xiaoshuang.”
“Here.”
“…”
“Song Yu.”
Upon hearing this name, Ji Mian lifted his eyes.
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