Ever since getting drunk had exposed that strange habit of his, Wang Cheng had started avoiding Chu Yifeng a little. But he was responsible for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast could be bought early and left in Chu Yifeng’s apartment, but dinner could not, so they still had to see each other.
Eventually Wang Cheng decided that if he was going to die of embarrassment, he might as well get it over with and reincarnate sooner. Then, as if even heaven were helping him, Chu Yifeng suddenly had business that required him to leave Shanhai City, with no definite return date. That meant Wang Cheng would not have to face him for a while. The news left him both delighted and conflicted. In the end, he simply stopped thinking about it. So what if two men had kissed? It was not as though one of them were a woman.
Chu Yifeng did not look like some shameless playboy, but there were surely plenty of women around him. There was no way his first kiss had survived until now. As for Wang Cheng himself… better not to mention it. The thought only made him want to die more. His own first kiss had probably been lost to the old monk ages ago.
Despite what had happened, Wang Cheng had still sent Chu Yifeng a message yesterday, telling him he was taking two days off to accompany his sister to the capital for university. If Chu Yifeng returned to Shanhai City early, he would have to take care of his own breakfast and dinner.
Chu Yifeng had not replied. Wang Cheng had assumed he had finally come to his senses and decided he no longer wanted anything to do with a lowly employee like him. He had not expected Chu Yifeng to remember after all.
Wang Cheng immediately sent a reply. Since his boss was not holding that accident against him, Wang Cheng would simply pretend it had never happened.
〈We’re at the hotel. We already ate dinner. Eldest Brother arranged for his assistant to pick us up. Boss, are you back in Shanhai City?〉
A little over ten seconds later, his phone chimed again. This time, Chu Yifeng replied quickly.
〈Not yet. Which hotel?〉
“Second Brother, what are you doing?” Wang Ziyu had finished looking at the maps. When she turned around, she saw her brother staring at his phone with shining eyes, looking strangely excited.
“Nothing. Go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow I’ll take you to Jing University, and once you’re settled in, we’ll go to the mall and buy whatever else you need. Make sure your hair is dry before you sleep. There’s a hair dryer in the bathroom.” Wang Cheng did not even look up, his fingers continuing to tap at the phone keyboard.
“Okay.” Wang Ziyu tossed aside the towel and went back into the bathroom. Before long, the sound of the hair dryer came from inside.
Meanwhile, Wang Cheng sent Chu Yifeng the name of the hotel. He certainly did not think Chu Yifeng would come to Jinding Hotel. Just because the big boss was not in Shanhai City did not mean he was in the capital. Besides, the capital was enormous. After studying the maps earlier, Wang Cheng had realized it was large enough to fit two or three Shanhai Cities inside it.
Chu Yifeng sent another message asking what he planned to do the next day.
Wang Cheng briefly told him his itinerary.
Chu Yifeng did not reply again. More than two hours passed, and Wang Cheng was almost asleep when a message finally arrived telling him to go to bed early.
Lying on the bed, Wang Cheng sank into thought.
“Second Brother.” Wang Ziyu’s clear voice suddenly sounded.
“What is it?”
“I can’t really sleep.” She was about to enter the university she had dreamed of attending, and her excitement had driven away every trace of sleepiness. Her large, dark eyes were still clearly visible in the darkness.
“Then let’s chat.”
“Okay. About what?”
“No idea.”
“…”
The next morning, Wang Cheng opened his eyes and immediately checked the time. It was only six-thirty. In an unfamiliar place, there was nothing to do this early, so he simply lay back down. He did not crawl out of bed again until nearly seven-thirty. Wang Ziyu was still asleep. The two of them had talked until after eleven the night before.
Wang Cheng went into the bathroom to wash up. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, and cups had all been provided. Unlike ordinary hotel rooms, the amenities in a deluxe twin room were better quality and did not have the questionable cleanliness people sometimes complained about.
By the time he finished washing up and came out, Wang Ziyu was awake. Her hair was fluffy and disheveled, and she wore a sleepy expression as she yawned again and again.
“Morning, Second Brother.”
“Morning. Go wash up. We’ll head downstairs for breakfast afterward.”
Wang Ziyu brushed her teeth and washed her face quickly. Unlike some girls who spent half an hour applying skincare products after washing, her skin was fair, tender, and rosy without any help, the genuine article. When she came out, she took a change of clothes into the bathroom and changed out of her pajamas. Only then did the siblings go downstairs to eat.
Breakfast was complimentary and served in the restaurant on the first floor. There was congee, soy milk, eggs, bread, steamed buns, griddle cakes, and more, arranged across two long tables pushed together. The selection was broad and plentiful, and guests could take whatever they liked.
Several female servers stood nearby. When they saw Wang Cheng piling food onto his plate without hesitation, the stack quickly reaching a remarkable height while he showed no sign of stopping, they fought hard not to let their mouths twitch in front of a guest. They had certainly seen people take more food than they could finish, but Wang Cheng was a first. His younger sister even asked whether he wanted to borrow her plate for more. Very soon, the servers realized how wrong they had been. Wang Cheng, blessed with an enormous appetite, cleaned up every last thing before walking out of the restaurant under their stunned gazes.
The two returned to their room, collected Wang Ziyu’s luggage, and took a car to Jing University.
It was the thirty-first. By this hour, it was no longer particularly early, and many students had also arrived ahead of time to report to Jing University. When the siblings reached the campus, a banner had already been hung across the entrance, and upperclassmen stood near the gate welcoming new students. Many of the freshmen pulling suitcases had come with their families.
Since Wang Ziyu had completed the registration procedures the previous day, she did not need to register again. Just as they were about to pass through the gate, an older female student walked toward them.
“Hello. Are you first-year students?”
Wang Ziyu nodded. “I’m a freshman.”
“I’m a third-year student. Would you like me to take you to registration?” Tang Xin smiled gently and sweetly. Her pretty face naturally made people feel more favorably toward her.
Wang Cheng noticed several male students looking over, their gazes drifting toward Tang Xin now and then. She was indeed fairly attractive, though in his opinion she still fell a little short of his sister. And however pretty her face was, she was still wearing a layer of light makeup.
Wang Ziyu looked at her second brother.
“No need. We came yesterday and already know where to go, so we won’t trouble you,” Wang Cheng declined.
“All right. If you run into any problems, you can come find me directly. I’m Tang Xin from the Finance Department. Just give them my name.” It was the first time someone had refused her, yet Tang Xin’s expression did not change.
After the siblings walked away, two other third-year girls immediately crowded around her.
“Xinxin, who was that? He actually turned down your offer to lead them around. You’re one of Jing University’s campus belles. Who knows how many guys would love an excuse to get close to you?” Fan Qingqing had overheard their conversation and was even more surprised than Tang Xin herself. Quite a few male freshmen had been competing for Tang Xin to guide them just moments earlier.
“I think it’s perfectly normal.” Tang Xin shook her head.
“Tang Xin is right. They could be boyfriend and girlfriend. What man would dare cozy up to another woman right in front of his girlfriend?” Ma Miao agreed. “But that guy really is handsome. What a pity. If he were a Jing University student too, he could probably become the school’s number-one campus heartthrob.”
Tang Xin smiled as though she did not particularly care. “All right, let’s get back to work. There are more freshmen than usual this year. If something goes wrong, none of us will hear the end of it.”
Wang Cheng and Wang Ziyu quickly found where they needed to go and successfully completed the dormitory check-in. After receiving the key, they were led to the residence hall by a female university student.
Jing University’s dormitory buildings had been constructed only two years earlier and still looked very new. There were rooms for four, six, or eight students. The four-person rooms were larger and better equipped and were even said to have air-conditioning, though they cost twice as much as the eight-person rooms.
Since money was no longer an issue for them and they wanted Wang Ziyu to have a more comfortable university life, they had chosen a four-person room in advance.
The dormitory door stood wide open, and people were already inside. Beds had been assigned beforehand, so arriving early or late made no difference. Fortunately, Wang Ziyu had been given a lower bunk. An upper bunk might feel novel at first, but a lower bunk was much more convenient, something Wang Ziyu knew especially well after spending all three years of high school living on campus.
While Wang Ziyu organized her sleeping area, Wang Cheng looked over the people who had arrived before them.
They had also come with family. One girl wore black-framed glasses, and the eyes behind the lenses looked slightly sharp. She gave the impression of being good at calculating every little expense. She was a little shorter than Wang Ziyu and very slim, but looked energetic. She was organizing her belongings while her parents stood nearby giving her reminders.
Another roommate was a chubby girl. The person accompanying her was her mother, who wore gold and jewelry and looked wealthy at a glance. She had almost the same build as her daughter, so it seemed to run in the family. The mother was also giving advice, including telling her daughter not to eat too many snacks. The girl nodded obediently while continuing to eat, saying one thing with her head and another with her mouth.
After a while, the mother approached Wang Ziyu with a large bag and a broad smile.
“Hello, I’m Pang Chunjuan’s mother. If our Chunjuan causes you any trouble in the future, please be patient with her. These are some specialties we brought from home. Have a taste, and don’t be polite with us.” Mama Pang directly stuffed the bag into Wang Ziyu’s hands.
Wang Ziyu froze for a moment. Once she recovered, she looked slightly awkward and said gently, “Auntie, you really don’t have to be so polite. We’ll be roommates for four years. Of course we should look after one another.”
Mama Pang’s eyes immediately crinkled with delight. This girl had a good temperament. It looked as though Chunjuan would make a good friend. With her eye for people, she was confident she had not judged wrong.
Off to the side, Pang Chunjuan stared at the food in the bag with visible pain. There was one packet of dates and one packet of walnuts. The walnuts had already been shelled and fried until golden, and one sniff was enough to tell how fragrant they were. Both were nourishing treats. She had only brought so much, yet her mother had given away two packets in one go. Worse was still to come. If Wang Ziyu received some, how could the other two roommates possibly be left out?
Sure enough, Mama Pang took another two packets and walked over to the girl with glasses.
The girl had a rather distinctive name. Her surname was Mi and her given name was Li, so her nickname was probably “Rice Grain.” The fourth roommate arrived later. Mama Pang did not meet her before leaving and could only remind her daughter to make sure she got along well with the girl when she arrived.
Elio’s Notes: Mi Li’s name, 米丽 (Mǐ Lì), sounds like 米粒 (mǐlì), meaning “a grain of rice,” which is why “Rice Grain” is the obvious nickname.