Lei Tiantian was instantly overwhelmed by the special favor. He looked up, and in his blurry vision, saw the person he had almost crashed into earlier. He pressed his lips together and got another mouthful of dust. “Tha—”
Jiang Wu had already pulled the person out. He knew basic first aid and was about to check Lei Tiantian’s injuries, but Lei Tiantian had already scrambled up, clutching his backside. Despite the massive accident, he was practically uninjured.
Lei Tiantian’s rear end was a little sore. He whimpered a complaint but, glancing at Jiang Wu, silently swallowed it back. He was about the same height as Jiang Wu. Embarrassed, he scratched his head, immediately kicking up a cloud of dust. He then frantically tried to brush it off Jiang Wu. “S-sorry…”
Jiang Wu shook his head, turned, and left.
Once inside the school, signposts lined the entire route. Jiang Wu quickly found the new student registration area. A broadcast at the entrance played on a loop: “Parents and butlers, please stop here. Students, please proceed to complete the check-in procedures on your own.”
The scene was exactly like Jiang Wu’s first day of university registration. A long line stretched before the registration office.
Jiang Wu discreetly observed his new classmates. Their appearances were all normal human, with exceptionally fine features. It was similar to the entrance scenes of a film academy or a drama school in the real world.
The only one completely out of place was Jiang Wu. His ugliness in the line was strikingly conspicuous.
Whispers occasionally drifted by.
“Who’s that guy?”
“No idea.”
“Are the Devils that ugly?”
“Are the Divines that ugly?”
“He looks so ordinary no matter how you see it. Could he be a regular human?”
“My dad said that because of the joint enrollment expansion between the two clans, there are regular humans in the student body.”
“Ah! But still, not this ordinary! The Cloud-Step Lunar Realm is the Divine Clan’s highest academy. The Devils’ descendants only get to bask in its glory because of this cooperation with them. Regular humans—their family businesses at least need to be in the Global 100 to be qualified to come here!”
“I don’t recognize his clothes. Some niche, handmade brand?”
…
Jiang Wu listened silently, absorbing the completely foreign information.
“No cutting in line.”
“Who’s cutting? He’s my friend! We were queuing together!”
A clamor of arguing arose.
Jiang Wu looked over. In less than half an hour, an endless line had formed behind him. With insufficient space, the queue snaked around three bends. At the second bend, a black-haired boy with wheat-colored skin, half a head taller than everyone around him, held a small luggage bag in one hand, blocking another boy trying to cut in. His low voice carried a slight regional accent. “When I queued, he was the only one in front of me.”
The boy being blocked was decked in luxury brands. He gave a light snort. “Can’t I go to the bathroom?” He deliberately drawled his words. “Oh, I know what that fishy, rancid smell is. You’re from the Southern Sea Dragon Clan, right? I heard your family runs a food stall selling seafood now. So desperate to earn a few measly coins, you’re used to holding it in. You think everyone’s like you and doesn’t need a toilet break, huh?”
Laughter rippled through the queue.
The next second, the Dragon Clan boy raised his foot and kicked directly into the luxury-brand boy’s abdomen. The boy was sent flying far back, crashing heavily to the ground. The Dragon Clan boy didn’t even lift his eyelids. He just spat out three words: “No, you can’t.”
Answering the luxury-brand boy’s earlier question.
The laughter stopped abruptly. Everyone present was stunned by the Dragon Clan boy’s actions. Just then, a stern voice boomed from the broadcast: “Long Lin, report to the Academic Affairs Office, 2nd Floor, Building 1, Zone B, immediately!”
The Dragon Clan boy walked out of the line nonchalantly, turned, and left.
“Hey, so he’s Long Lin of the Southern Sea!”
More murmurs reached Jiang Wu’s ears. “My brother said a prodigy emerged from this generation of the Dragon Clan, named Long Lin! He beat the Devil Clan’s 10th-ranked expert when he was 10. That expert is over 300 years old now!”
“I know Long Lin! You guys better not provoke him. He’s a fierce fighter, and his temper is even fiercer!”
With Long Lin’s episode over, the topics in the queue quickly shifted to other things.
The line slowly crept forward. After queuing for about another hour, it was finally Jiang Wu’s turn.
Inside the office, a long table was set up. Behind it, a woman was inputting data, and a man was lowering his head to verify admission notices.
Jiang Wu handed his admission notice and tuition waiver certificate to the man. The man glanced up. He had a small black mole near the tip of his left nostril, and a nameplate pinned to his chest pocket—Han Que, Academic Affairs Office.
Han Que stared at Jiang Wu for a moment before lowering his head. He pulled open a drawer, took out a single student card with a dorm number stuck to it, tossed it in front of him, and then said with a smile, “Next.”
Jiang Wu had already heard Han Que thoughtfully reminding students to carefully read the enrollment guide countless times while waiting in line.
He said calmly, “Mr. Han, you forgot to give me the enrollment guide.”
Han Que’s fingertips paused. He then picked up an enrollment guide and handed it to Jiang Wu, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Sorry, too busy.”
Jiang Wu took the enrollment guide. His mouth also curved up. “No problem.”
Han Que watched Jiang Wu walk away, his mood souring to the extreme.
He had recommended two students this time, but one of the spots was taken by that old man Li Dao for this Jiang Wu!
A completely ordinary human with no family background, mediocre to the extreme!
Just then, his pocket vibrated; a call was coming in. Han Que took out his phone; the screen flashed “Little Yuan.”
It was the younger brother from a prominent family he had recommended. Han Que smiled as he answered the call. “Qingyuan, you’re here? Alright, wait right there. Brother will come pick you up. You don’t need to register. I’ll take you directly to your dormitory. Don’t worry, I got you the best dorm and the best roommate.”
Han Que’s eyes narrowed smugly.
He had also arranged the “best” dormitory for Jiang Wu. Enjoy it well!
Han Que hung up the phone, called someone to replace him, and got up to leave the registration office.
~
The enrollment guide consisted of a class schedule and a school map.
Jiang Wu was in no hurry to look at the class schedule. He studied the map, searching for the library.
He was well aware that the Heavenly Book Lu Sheng mentioned was no ordinary object. The chance of it being in the library wasn’t high, but he had no leads at all. He decided to try his luck at the library first.
He quickly located it—in Zone C, covering 5,000 acres…
Jiang Wu’s eyelid twitched a few times. He then started looking for his dorm.
The dormitory number stuck on his student card was Building 8, Zone F, Room 506.
However, Jiang Wu flipped the map over and over but couldn’t find Zone F. Zones A and B were teaching areas, Zone C was the library, Zone D was the cafeteria, Zone E was a large swath of mountains marked with the word “Forbidden,” and then there was Zone G for dormitories. No Zone F.
Jiang Wu paused, considering for two seconds the possibility that ‘G’ had been miswritten as ‘F’. He traced his index finger across the map, finally stopping on the small blank area between Zone E and Zone G.
Jiang Wu followed the map towards that blank area.
On the broad campus avenue, green shuttle carts, resembling sightseeing vehicles, occasionally zipped by, full of newly registered students just like Jiang Wu.
On both sides of the road were lakes stretching endlessly out of sight, planted full of lotuses. But the season was wrong; the lakes were covered in withered lotus leaves. The climate seemed roughly the same as the real world. A few leaves here and there still held unmelted snow.
Jiang Wu walked straight along the roadside, turning from the main avenue onto a smaller path. The sky had already darkened. He passed through a patch of snowy woods and finally spotted a precarious, ready-to-fall signboard standing in front of a pitch-black, six-story dilapidated building.
“Building 8, Zone F.”
There was no moon tonight. Jiang Wu turned on his phone’s flashlight to illuminate the stairs. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as he thought. The moment his foot hit the floor, the stairwell lit up.
Sound-activated sensor lights.
Jiang Wu turned off the light and pocketed his phone. Under the orange glow, the fallen leaves and dust in the stairwell were clearly visible. It probably hadn’t been cleaned in a while.
Jiang Wu unhurriedly climbed to the fifth floor. He could tell the previous renovation had been nice—wooden floors, exquisite wall lamps. But years of disrepair left a strong musty smell.
The wall lamps were dead too. Using the sensor lights from the hallway, Jiang Wu found Room 506.
It seemed he was the only one living here.
Jiang Wu was actually quite satisfied with Han Que’s deliberate provocation. He hadn’t lived on campus before; his classmates had disliked and isolated him, so he’d gotten used to being a loner. Living in a dorm would’ve felt strange.
The door had a sensor lock. Jiang Wu swiped his student card. As soon as he pushed the door open, a sudden loud bang erupted from inside.
“Bang!”
The sound exploded next to Jiang Wu’s ear. He put down his luggage and fumbled along the wall, quickly finding the switch and pressing it.
The dormitory lights flickered on, gradually brightening. Diagonally ahead, a stunned face looked at Jiang Wu. On the floor lay a wooden board.
“It’s you!” Lei Tiantian sprang up from the bed frame. The ceiling was low, and he was tall, almost hitting the ceiling. The light bulb was behind him, blocked by a large portion of his light. He was all cleaned up now; his palm-sized face was fair and clean, his eyes very dark, radiating a clear, naive silliness.
“Hello.” Jiang Wu was also surprised to actually have a roommate. He walked in carrying his luggage. “My name’s Jiang Wu.”
“Like the fog/mist?” Lei Tiantian hurriedly climbed down from the bed frame. He stretched his hand halfway out, then pulled it back to rub it vigorously against his pant seam before reaching out to Jiang Wu again, grinning a mouthful of white teeth. “I’m Lei Tiantian! Lei as in thunder, Tiantian as in ‘fill in the blank’.”
Jiang Wu paused. He put down his luggage, also rubbed his hand on his jacket, then shook Lei Tiantian’s hand. “Jiang as in the river, Wu meaning a horse galloping fast.”
After the introductions, both fell silent, busying themselves with their own tasks.
Lei Tiantian had a lot of luggage, but he’d stuffed it all under his bed, not taking up any public space.
Jiang Wu walked over to his bed, opposite Lei Tiantian’s. He could feel Lei Tiantian’s gaze following him.
He took out his bed sheet; Lei Tiantian quickly pulled out his own sheet. He put on the pillowcase; Lei Tiantian followed suit immediately.
By the time Jiang Wu had made his bed, Lei Tiantian had also finished. Jiang Wu took out his phone to check the time. Just past 7 o’clock. According to the enrollment guide, the library didn’t close until 10 PM.
He patted his pillow to make it fluffier and was about to leave. At the same time, the sound of a pillow being patted came from across the room.
Then Lei Tiantian’s hesitant voice sounded. “Are you going to the cafeteria? Can I come with you?”
Jiang Wu looked over. Lei Tiantian gently patted his pillow again, smiling very sheepishly, revealing a pair of dimples. “It’s my first time living in a dorm. I’m not very good at this.”
Jiang Wu smiled. He nodded. “Yes, you can.”
At that very moment, the library administrator received a phone call. “Closing at 8 PM tonight! Did something happen? It’s always been 10 o’clock closing… What! That old gentleman is coming? Mhm, understood! I’ll clear the place immediately!”
