Chapter 4

In the high-end restaurant, Xu Cheng propped his chin on one hand, idly toying with an exquisite wine glass as he glanced at Lu Quan beside him.

His eyes flicked to Lu Quan’s bowl, which was pristine, as if it hadn’t been touched. He frowned deeply. “Having one of your episodes again?”

“No,” Lu Quan replied coldly.

Xu Cheng visibly relaxed and helped himself to a bite of food. As long as the Young Master wasn’t in the middle of an episode, it was no big deal.

“Then why do you look so irritated?”

Lu Quan said nothing. He kept his head down, switching away from WeChat and then back again. His gaze landed on that message about a handsome guy, and a chill crept into his eyes.

Once Xu Cheng had eaten his fill, he shot a frustrated look at his friend, who was still glued to his phone. “Can’t you eat something? Keep this up, and I’ll have to report you to your mom.”

Seeing no reaction, he nagged on. “This place is spotless. I even had the boss disinfect the private room before we came.”

He talked until his mouth went dry, but his good brother didn’t spare him a glance, utterly absorbed in his phone.

Xu Cheng was determined to see what was so captivating on that screen—it had completely bewitched Lu Quan.

Just as he sneaked a peek, Lu Quan looked up, his thin lips curling slightly. “Stay away from me. You’re filthy.”

Ding-dong.

It was the sound of an incoming message.

Lu Quan glanced down at it, and the coldness in his eyes gradually melted away.

[Not soft.]

Xu Cheng was about to launch into another round of persuasion when he saw Lu Quan actually pick up his chopsticks and start eating.

Thinking back to that phone notification, his curiosity was truly piqued now.

“Were you holding off on eating just to wait for a message?”

The Young Master shot him a sidelong glance, as if he were looking at an idiot.

Xu Cheng smiled at him, then suddenly remembered something else. “Are you heading back to the dorm tonight?”

The icy Young Master gave him a two-word answer.

“No.”

Lu Quan owned plenty of properties, including ones right near A University, so Xu Cheng wasn’t worried about his friend having nowhere to crash.

The two parted ways at the restaurant entrance. Once back at his own dorm, Xu Cheng received a message from his buddy.

Lu Quan had sent him a document.

He opened it to find page after dense page of text—dozens of pages in all. When he backed out and saw the file name, his vision went black.

Four bold characters: Dorm Regulations.

[You don’t seriously want me to send this to your roommate, do you?]

Mm, came the reply.

Xu Cheng: “…”

[I don’t even have your roommate on my friends list. Send it yourself.]

The next second, a transfer notification popped up on his phone.

[Got it, Young Master.]

Xu Cheng’s dorm wasn’t far from Emerald Bamboo Garden. He ruffled his hair casually and called out to his roommate.

“Leave the door open for me.”

Meanwhile, Liang Zhixia was bored out of his mind, propping his feet up as he chatted with Zhuzi.

[Zhuzi: A four-person dorm would be fine, but a two-person one? I strongly suggest you switch rooms. From what you’ve said, your roommate sounds like he’d deck you with one punch.]

He hugged the Bread Hug Pillow beside him, rubbing his cheek against it.

“We’ll see. He probably won’t come back to the dorm much. Rich guys like him always buy places near campus.”

Besides, a four-person dorm would be even riskier—not ideal for his drawing sessions.

[Zhuzi: Maybe. You said your roommate’s super handsome—how handsome exactly? Not as handsome as me, that’s for sure! Got a photo?]

Liang Zhixia was well acquainted with Zhuzi’s level of narcissism. The corner of his mouth quirked up. “I don’t have a photo of him, but I could dig one up from the campus forum for you.”

He was just about to open the forum when he heard a knock at the door.

“Zhuzi, someone’s here for me. Talk later ^-^”

He hurriedly slipped on his slippers and ran to open the door. Standing outside was the guy he’d seen that afternoon.

“He’s not here.”

Xu Cheng looked at the docile young man with a touch of sympathy. “I’m not here for him.”

Liang Zhixia: “?”

Xu Cheng: “Can we add each other as friends first?”

He had no idea what this was about, but the guy had kindly given him directions that afternoon, so he pulled up his QR code.

“Sure.”

With a beep, they were friended. His friend count jumped from 1 to 2.

Then he saw the message the other had sent him.

“This is… what?”

Xu Cheng declared righteously, “It’s something Lu Quan asked me to pass along to you.”

Liang Zhixia got it—Lu Quan didn’t want to add him directly, so he’d roped in his friend as a middleman.

He took it in stride, his lips curving into a smile. “Thanks, senior. I’ll read it carefully.”

Xu Cheng left Emerald Bamboo Garden with a worried expression.

This kid was way too agreeable. How could Lu Quan not like him?

Then again, Lu Quan didn’t really like anyone.

After seeing Xu Cheng off, Liang Zhixia switched on the small desk lamp and curled up in his chair, phone in hand, to read.

He’d mentally prepared himself for the dorm regulations, but clearly, he hadn’t prepared enough.

The list went on and on.

Keep clothing neat and tidy in the dorm. No loud noises. Wear headphones when gaming. Maintain cleanliness—no trash on the floor. Empty the garbage bin daily. Wash dirty clothes the same night. Shower every day. No bringing guests back. No strong-smelling food. No physical contact. Don’t go through others’ things…

Hygiene rules dominated the list, but what shocked him most was that an auntie would come clean every day, with a deep clean every three days.

The worldly inexperienced Liang Zhixia flipped to the last page, where it was emphasized in bold: none of this would cost him a dime—not even water or electricity. All he had to do was stay quiet, keep things clean, and be tidy.

From these rules, he could guess why Lu Quan was doing this.

The guy had germaphobia.

No wonder there were several air purifiers in the dorm and the floor was so spotless it could double as a mirror.

He read through every rule. They were strict, sure, but the perks were generous.

If he followed them to the letter, Lu Quan would even cover his dorm fees.

He’d assumed Emerald Bamboo Garden’s rates were the same as the other students’ in his class, but Jiang Ling had told him over lunch that they were several times higher.

There were multiple grad dorms, but Emerald Bamboo Garden had the best facilities—and the highest price tag. Most residents were either rich or influential.

In cases of system mismatches like this, students could apply for a four-person room or stay put, but the costs differed.

Faced with these benefits, Liang Zhixia had to admit he was tempted.

His tuition and living expenses came from summer jobs after the college entrance exams, plus what he earned from drawing comics.

He took the occasional commission, too—that was his income.

But it was barely enough.

Cradling his phone, he chose his words carefully and sent a message to Xu Cheng.

[Senior, I can accept.]

The next day, Liang Zhixia cracked his eyes open. His slightly curly hair was tousled, giving him a lazy air. He nuzzled the soft Bread Hug Pillow, his long lashes fluttering, the corners of his eyes tinged with a faint red flush.

Being in a new environment, he hadn’t slept well.

After getting up, he stood in place for a bit, then squatted and rose repeatedly, going through a full set of radio calisthenics.

Once he’d washed up, he felt fully awake. Grabbing his phone, he headed out in search of food—A University’s breakfast was supposed to be amazing.

A full stomach made him drowsy. He stepped out of the elevator and had only taken two steps when he spotted the dorm door ajar. His heart skipped a beat.

Had Lu Quan come back?

No matter what, Lu Quan was basically his sugar daddy now. He’d have to hold it together—be polite, smile.

He practiced his smile in advance, only to find a middle-aged woman inside the room.

She looked up at the sound. “You must be the Young Master’s roommate. Just call me Auntie Wang. I’m here to clean.”

Liang Zhixia called out obediently, “Hello, Auntie Wang.”

He noticed she was wearing gloves, along with a full array of specialized cleaning tools.

His unmade bed had already been neatly folded, and everything on his desk was arranged perfectly.

People occasionally passed by in the hallway, seemingly used to the routine—some even greeted Auntie Wang.

Liang Zhixia stood awkwardly in the doorway, peering inside with pursed lips. “Auntie Wang, is there anything I can help with?”

She glanced at him. “No need.”

Feeling politely dismissed, he retreated to the small self-study room at the end of the hall to wait until she was done.

He took a seat by the door, where he had a clear view of the dorm entrance.

After some time, he looked up and saw Auntie Wang emerge. He stood quickly—at the very least, he should thank her.

Auntie Wang seemed to be waiting for him and handed him a bag.

“What’s this?”

“Something the Young Master instructed me to give you.”

Liang Zhixia peered inside curiously. It was a set of clothes.

“Why give this to me?”

Auntie Wang replied, “The Young Master said your pants were too short. You need new sleepwear.”

Liang Zhixia: “…”

Auntie Wang finished up and left. He swapped his slippers for a clean pair from the shoe cabinet at the entrance before going inside.

He set the bag on the desk and ran his fingers over the fabric. It felt incredibly soft and luxurious—very expensive.

But Auntie Wang had said it was already washed, and no one else could fit the size.

If he didn’t take it, she’d throw it out immediately.

Having grown up frugal, Liang Zhixia decided to accept it.

He planned to earn the money and transfer it to Lu Quan—through Xu Cheng, of course.

He let out a slow yawn, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.

In his mind, he apologized to Auntie Wang, then rolled himself up in the quilt and drifted off to sleep.

At the school gate.

Xu Cheng propped himself against the car door, letting out a yawn as he shook his head. “Why’d you drag me out here so early?”

The man sitting inside had a profile that was cold and aloof, his face betraying no emotion at all. He tilted his chin up slightly, his voice flat and indifferent.

“If your girlfriend says goodnight to you every single night, but she skipped it last night, why?”

Xu Cheng raised a hand to block the morning sunlight. “I’m single right now.”

Lu Quan frowned. “Hypothetically.”

Xu Cheng drawled lazily, “She got sick of me, obviously.”

Lu Quan curved his lips in a smile, the thin arc at the corner of his mouth even chillier than ice and snow. His voice dripped with sarcasm, pulling no punches.

“No wonder you burn through five girlfriends every half month.”

Xu Cheng was speechless.

“You can’t just come at me like that. I gave them all breakup money, and none of them even looked upset.”

Suddenly, he leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a curious murmur. “Why are you even asking? Didn’t you say you’d never fall in love?”

Lu Quan replied coolly, “I haven’t.”