Chapter 17: Roommates

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was overcast and gusts of hot wind blew; people came and went on the asphalt road that led straight from the overpass to the dormitory buildings.

After a busy day, the parents who had come to drop off their children for registration let out a long sigh of relief after saying goodbye to them.

Having toiled for half a lifetime, they had finally raised a university student.

They assumed that this was the end of it, little knowing that it was only the beginning.

Shen Yan was assigned to Dormitory Building 8, directly opposite Building 9; its exterior was in the typical style of the Jiangnan region, warm in winter and cool in summer, with the only drawback being the abundance of mosquitoes.

On both sides of the dormitory were lush green lawns, and in the center of the lawns grew thickets of shrubs, which were perfect for airing out quilts.

After getting the key from the dormitory manager, Shen Yan tugged at his backpack and found his dormitory, Room 115 on the first floor.

As soon as he entered, four bare-chested, rough-looking men stared straight at him; it felt like being watched by four hungry wild wolves, and he felt completely uneasy.

The layout of the dormitory was the same as the girls' side, a standard six-person room; on the right were two bunk beds with sturdy, reliable iron frames, and on the left was a setup with beds on top and desks below, arranged in groups of three, with six seats in a row and two beds on top.

At this moment, a dark-skinned, short boy was there scrubbing a straw mat, while another tall, thin, and fair-skinned boy was playing Dota in front of a laptop.

Seemingly angered by a teammate's clumsy play, he began to complain, "Fuck! What the hell, you're 1-6 and you have the nerve to call me a noob."

Good grief! He had already gotten into the zone.

There was also a boy who looked more mature, standing by the window with a cigarette in one hand and a mobile phone in the other, speaking in a fluent dialect; he was likely from Yunnan.

The last one, who looked refined, was tying up a mosquito net on his bed.

Perhaps because it was the first day, they were all unfamiliar with each other and everyone was busy with their own tasks.

When Shen Yan entered, the boy holding the cigarette had just finished his call; he came right up and offered Shen Yan a cigarette, saying in a heavy accent, "Brother, where are you from? Did your parents not bring you here?"

The smoking boy was named Tang Song, from Chuxiong, Yunnan; he was Yi, dressed plainly, and his steady face revealed a maturity that did not match his age.

"Thanks! I don't really smoke."

"My name is Shen Yan, from Wencheng, Zhe Province. As for registration, I can handle it by myself."

Shen Yan glanced at the Nanjing cigarette pack in his hand and formed a rough assessment of Tang Song's basic situation.

Tang Song was slightly surprised; a local from the province, his family background should be quite good, yet he had come here all by himself—he was quite bold.

Besides Tang Song, the other three also stood up belatedly to greet him; the dark-skinned, short, but sturdy-looking boy was from Fushun, Liaoning, a Manchu, and when he spoke Mandarin, it also carried a thick local accent; his name was Zhu Baoping.

The boy playing Dota, who was fair-skinned with black-rimmed glasses on his nose, was somewhat handsome and wore designer clothes; he was from Shanghai and had a faint sense of superiority in his speech.

The refined, bespectacled boy tying the mosquito net was named Liu Haijun, from Hefei, Anhui.

According to the introductions, except for Liu Haijun and Zheng Chuan, who hadn't arrived yet, all of them were majoring in Chinese Language and Literature, while the four of them, including Shen Yan, were in Law Class 1.

"You just brought a backpack? Where's your luggage?"

Looking around the room, Lin Yang felt that Shen Yan's family background must be good, given his Adidas outfit, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"I didn't bring luggage because it's a hassle; I'll just buy whatever I need later," Shen Yan replied casually, placing his backpack on the empty chair next to Lin Yang.

"That's true."

Lin Yang couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed; exactly, what can't you buy if you have money? It was all his mother's fault for preparing a whole pile of things, otherwise he wouldn't be as tired as a dog.

The six beds were first-come, first-served; the bunk above Lin Yang was still empty, and it was prepared with a bundled straw mat and a bag of bedding.

After tidying up a bit and making his bed, Shen Yan was just about to sit down and rest when Yu Youwei called at the right moment, saying she was going to top up her meal card with her roommates and asking if Shen Yan wanted to join them.

"Youwei? It's a girl."

Lin Yang, who was nearby, immediately pricked up his ears; although he couldn't hear the content of the conversation, he leaned slightly toward Shen Yan.

This guy is so handsome! Could it be his girlfriend?

Damn!

When he noticed the striking Apple logo on the back of the phone, Lin Yang was dumbfounded; it was confirmed, Shen Yan was definitely a rich kid.

Lin Yang's father had just bought an Apple phone a while ago, with a starting price of five thousand; Lin Yang was very clear about that.

After Shen Yan hung up the phone, Lin Yang asked impatiently, "Old Shen, you're something else, willing to buy such an expensive phone."

With that one sentence, the focus of the entire dormitory shifted over.

Zhu Baoping, who came from a rural area in the Northeast, took a look at the phone; he was like looking at flowers in the fog, not understanding, so he asked, "I've never seen this phone before. Is it very expensive?"

A trace of disdain flashed in Lin Yang's eyes—a country bumpkin is a country bumpkin—and after coughing twice, he explained, "This is the most high-end phone on the market right now, an imported product; the starting price is over five thousand."

"Ah? So expensive!" Zhu Baoping's hand trembled; thinking of the dilapidated second-hand Nokia in his pocket, a sense of inferiority welled up.

That was five thousand yuan, enough to cover his living expenses for a whole year.

Why didn't he have such a good family background?

He assumed that such an expensive phone must have been bought for Shen Yan by his family.

Tang Song and Liu Haijun also showed looks of surprise; Shen Yan's extravagance exceeded their range of understanding.

Sensing the shift in their emotions, Shen Yan waved his hand and said, "I earned some money working during the summer vacation, and my family chipped in a bit. I gritted my teeth, stomped my foot, and bought this phone on a whim."

So that was it.

The others felt a bit more balanced internally and felt that Shen Yan was a bit pretentious, putting on airs; he was at the point of having to work to earn money, yet he still bought such an expensive phone.

What else could he be doing besides showing off?

Tang Song, however, did not believe it; based on his observations, Shen Yan was not the type of person to be vain, and he spoke very calmly, as if he were talking about an insignificant matter.

He must be saying that because he wants to keep a low profile.

Shen Yan didn't care about what they were thinking; he took a lollipop out of his pocket, tore open the wrapper, put it in his mouth, and asked, "I'm going to top up my meal card, is anyone coming?"

"Let's go!"

In university, the meal card was a pass; it was used for almost everything, from showering and the library to eating, so everyone agreed in unison.

Lin Yang asked with a suggestive look, "Old Shen, were you talking to a girl just now? Your girlfriend?"

The topic among boys was nothing more than girls; hearing this, everyone looked at Shen Yan.

Everyone was new here; you're handsome, so it's no surprise you can find a girlfriend, but at least give us brothers a chance to catch our breath—you moved so fast, how are we supposed to live?

Can we still be each other's little angels?