Chapter 3

Liang Zhixia pursed his lips, his slender brows furrowing slightly in a clear show of dissatisfaction.

A University’s campus was enormous. He’d already gotten lost twice, so why on earth had he bumped into Lu Quan again?

Their gazes met in the air, and Liang Zhixia hastily dodged away with his eyes.

He suspected that even with the summer heat bearing down, no one next to Lu Quan would need air conditioning—the chill radiating from him was more than enough.

At that moment, the person standing beside Lu Quan let out an unreserved laugh, instantly drawing Liang Zhixia’s attention. He heard the man say, “Liu’er, even you have a day like this. Looks like today is one for the books.”

Noticing the young man’s gaze, Xu Cheng took the initiative to introduce himself. “Third-year from the Sports Institute, Xu Cheng.”

Liang Zhixia fell silent as he eyed the sturdy builds of the two men across from him, a flicker of retreat stirring in his heart. He shouldn’t have been so impulsive just now.

Xu Cheng spoke up at the right moment. “I’m not getting involved in whatever grudge you two have.”

On the contrary, he was rather enjoying the show.

Lu Quan shot a cold glance at his friend’s schadenfreude-ridden face, his voice as icy as if dipped in frost. “We’ll spar later.”

Xu Cheng’s face stiffened. He coughed tactically a couple of times. “I was just kidding.”

Sparring with Lu Quan? He’d probably be wrecked by tomorrow.

Watching their exchange, Liang Zhixia thought to himself that Lu Quan treated his friends with the same icy expression.

He was like an iceberg, one no one had yet scaled to claim the summit.

Those deep, dark eyes finally settled on him. Meeting Lu Quan’s intensely aggressive gaze, Liang Zhixia mustered his courage and said, “Aren’t you going to apologize?”

Lu Quan’s voice was frigid. “You ran into me.”

The retort on Liang Zhixia’s lips died instantly. If they got technical about it, he really had collided first.

But he couldn’t lose on momentum. If he backed down this time, the other guy would think he was an easy pushover.

“Did anyone see me hit you first? If you don’t want to apologize, I won’t force you.”

It was his first time spouting such a twisted argument, and Liang Zhixia’s nerves made his long lashes flutter wildly, his eyes glistening like those of a startled forest fawn.

Lu Quan was just about to respond to the other’s obviously shaky tone when he inadvertently caught sight of the young man’s reddening eye sockets. Frowning, he said, “Xu Cheng, apologize.”

The spectating Xu Cheng up front: “?”

So this was how you used a brother. Eye-opening.

Without any hesitation, Xu Cheng offered an apology. He felt only a second of guilt upon seeing the bewildered shock on the young man’s face opposite him.

He and Lu Quan had known each other since childhood and understood his personality inside out. He might seem aloof and taciturn, but he was just too lazy to deal with people—his true nature was downright nasty.

He had no idea how the boy in front of him had managed to irk this finicky young master.

Liang Zhixia had indeed been stunned the moment Lu Quan spoke. Silently, he set his first university goal in his mind.

He absolutely had to make Lu Quan apologize to him someday.

And mean it, too.

He cleverly rolled his eyes, looked at Lu Quan, and magnanimously declared, “Fine, I’ll let it slide this time.”

Everyone present knew exactly who that “you” referred to.

Sharp-tongued and quick-witted—Lu Quan overturned his initial impression of his new roommate. Not some meek little lamb after all.

Liang Zhixia had originally planned to keep needling Lu Quan, but then he suddenly remembered his original purpose.

Asking for directions.

He hurriedly checked the time. Only five minutes left!

Running into Lu Quan really was bad luck.

When important matters were at stake, he knew when to bend.

“Senior, how do I get to the Moral Education Building? Please?”

Stared at by a pair of dewy, fawn-like eyes, even the hardest heart would soften.

Anyone except Lu Quan.

Xu Cheng said, “…The second building up ahead is the Moral Education Building.”

Still time.

Liang Zhixia hurriedly promised to treat the seniors to a meal next time and dashed off.

Xu Cheng turned to Lu Quan with curiosity. “You know the underclassman?”

Lu Quan was acting a bit off today, talking more than usual.

Lu Quan replied coldly, “Roommate. Not close.”

“So that’s your new roommate.” Xu Cheng rubbed his chin. “He seems pretty well-behaved. You don’t like him?”

Lu Quan said, “Why would I like him?”

Xu Cheng winced, thinking of such an obedient boy being tormented by Lu Quan. He felt a pang of sympathy.

“How about I have him move to our dorm? We’ve got an empty bed.”

Lu Quan’s mind flashed to the other two jocks in Xu Cheng’s dorm. Indifferently, he said, “Whatever.”

“Report.”

Liang Zhixia had run fast and hard, his palm-sized face flushed bright red, but he was still a minute late.

The counselor was a young man wearing glasses. He glanced calmly at Liang Zhixia and said, “Come in. Don’t be late next time.”

Liang Zhixia struggled to steady his panting breaths and whispered, “Yes, sir.”

The back seats were all taken, so he pressed his lips together and sat in the first row on the left, his pale ear tips tinged red, his toes curling against the floor. He hadn’t expected his first meeting with classmates and the teacher to be such a mortifying social suicide.

Suddenly, a tissue was passed from beside him. He looked up to see a boy with his hair tied in a ponytail smiling at him.

He took it and whispered, “Thanks.”

The counselor on stage opened the PPT and pointed to the content. “We’re mainly covering these few things today. Oh, and the classmate who just came in— which dorm are you in?”

The flush on Liang Zhixia’s face, which had just faded, returned in full force.

“Emerald Bamboo Garden, sixth floor—”

Before he could finish, whispers erupted in the classroom.

“Emerald Bamboo Garden?”

“What’s that? Different from ours?”

“Wow, his voice is so nice.”

“Blushing like that, he’s adorable.”

The counselor called for quiet before saying, “I was planning to pick a guy from the boys to handle all the guys’ dorm matters. How about you take charge of yours? Can you do it?”

“Sure.”

He had just sat back down when the boy beside him leaned over. “You live in Emerald Bamboo Garden?”

“Is something wrong?” Liang Zhixia instantly thought of those creepy campus legends, a chill running down his spine as if something unclean had latched onto him.

“Doesn’t that mean you live in the same dorm building as the School Grass? You’re so lucky!”

A girl from behind leaned in, looking at him excitedly.

“…”

Liang Zhixia clamped his mouth shut, vowing not to tell them for the next four years that his roommate was Lu Quan.

The normal education major already had more girls than boys, and nearly everyone around him was female. Several wanted to pump him for info on Lu Quan, but fortunately, the counselor shot a cool glance their way, and they quieted instantly.

He had just breathed a sigh of relief when the counselor announced, “Military training starts the day after tomorrow. Pick up your military training uniforms afterward. Next, we’re electing class officers. Anyone interested, come up and give your pitch.”

Over the next half hour, most people went up to speak. Liang Zhixia stayed put like a rock, even sneaking a message to Zhuzi in the meantime.

“Don’t you want to run for any position?”

He replied without thinking, “No.”

Liang Zhixia looked up to see the counselor gazing down at him. His face heated up, and he stammered, “I… I don’t have any strengths.”

The counselor raised a brow. “Class officer positions earn you credits.”

Liang Zhixia had no idea why the counselor had zeroed in on him. Embarrassed, he mumbled an “oh.”

With the last speech done, it was time to vote.

The results came out quickly.

Class president was a short-haired girl who looked sharp and capable—the perfect teacher’s pet.

The other positions filled up too, and Liang Zhixia only half-listened before tuning it out.

He was hungry.

Once everything was covered, the counselor stood at the podium, looking out at the youthful students below. “That wraps it up. I wish you all success over these four years. If you like someone, go for it—dating’s allowed in college.”

Laughter rippled through the room.

Afterward, Liang Zhixia headed to pick up his military training uniform before grabbing dinner.

The boy next to him turned and asked if he wanted to go together. He agreed at once.

After collecting the uniform, they went to the cafeteria for dinner.

A University had tons of cafeterias, with affordable prices and plenty of regional specialties.

Liang Zhixia loved spicy food. A bowl of spicy hot pot left sweat beading on his forehead until he chased it with a gulp of ice water.

He licked his slightly swollen lips and looked at Jiang Ling, who was touching up his makeup.

“Jiang Ling, thanks for eating with me.”

Jiang Ling shrugged with a smile. “Then thanks for eating with me too. Don’t give me that look—I’m not pumping you for Lu Quan intel. I’m not interested in him.”

“You don’t like him?”

Liang Zhixia was a bit surprised.

Jiang Ling capped his lipstick and arched a brow. “He’s not my type. I prefer someone like you.”

Liang Zhixia blinked innocently, his ear tips turning red, at a loss for words.

Jiang Ling burst out laughing and pinched his cheek. “Kidding. How are you this easy to tease? Blushing like that is too cute.”

What had been just red ears now spread to his whole face. He rubbed his ears and muttered a protest. “Not cute.”

Jiang Ling good-naturedly agreed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The guys’ dorms and girls’ dorms were in opposite directions. Before parting, he and Jiang Ling swapped contact info—his new account finally had its first friend.

The sweltering summer heat was unbearable even in the evening. The moment Liang Zhixia returned to his dorm room, his first order of business was a shower.

He’d rushed to the academic building earlier and picked up his clothes along the way, leaving him covered in sticky sweat that made him thoroughly uncomfortable.

After his shower, he lay comfortably on his bed.

If he could sit, he wouldn’t stand. If he could lie down, he wouldn’t sit.

That was his life motto—go with whatever felt most comfortable.

The air conditioner had automatically adjusted to the perfect temperature. His face, fresh from the shower, looked dewy and tender. Out of curiosity, he pinched it, and sure enough, it was incredibly soft to the touch—absolutely fantastic!

With classes just starting and nothing much to do, he lay bored on his bed. The message he’d sent to Zhuzi still hadn’t gotten a reply.

His WeChat contacts were still pretty sparse. After scrolling through them aimlessly, he ended up opening his chat with L.

[Baby, is your face soft? Can I pinch it?]

[Can it be just for me to pinch?]

[Curious kitten.jpg]