Chapter 9: Not Simple

All dormitories were assigned before registration, with personal information posted on them; Yang Tianxing looked at the familiar Dorm 312 and the familiar bed, still on the side near the balcony.

Yang Tianxing looked again at his familiar roommates.

"It really is quite nostalgic."

Yang Tianxing strode into the dorm, put down his luggage, and while handing out cigarettes, said with a grin: "My name is Yang Tianxing, from Jinzhou in this province. Which fellow Daoists are you brothers?"

Seeing that the last roommate had arrived and had greeted them enthusiastically, the remaining five people began to introduce themselves one by one.

"My name is Fu Yiming, from Huanglong Prefecture, Liaobei." Fu Yiming stood up, tall and sturdy, and generously passed around a round of cigarettes.

Yang Tianxing took a cigarette and lit it, incidentally lighting one for Fu Yiming as well, memories rising in his heart.

Old Fu was his best friend in college in his previous life; after graduation, he went abroad to develop, was like a fish in water in the crypto circle, and eventually married a foreign woman and settled abroad. When Yang Tianxing went abroad on business, he often looked him up, and the two would get dead drunk together.

Then, the second person to light a cigarette smiled, cupped his hands, and introduced himself: "I am Song Fei, from Shangdu, Zhongzhou Province."

A person who had been holding a wooden guitar and wearing long hair, looking quite artistic, said: "From Spring City, Dian Province, my name is Li Ainan."

The last to be introduced were two "little brothers" who looked quite young.

"Qian Jiale, from Jiangmen, Yuedong."

"I am a local from Chang'an, Yi Min."

Why call these two "little brothers"? The two of them were holding cigarettes, wanting to light them but not daring to.

In the end, Fu Yiming said: "We're all adults, what's there to be afraid of? The dorm is a private space, smoke."

Yi Min said stubbornly: "I'm not afraid, it's just that I usually smoke Zhonghua or Su cigarettes."

Once this was said, Fu Yiming's expression didn't look too good, as if it were saying the cigarettes he smoked were inferior.

Yang Tianxing watched with a smile, thinking to himself, still as silly as in his previous life; they could stir up conflict over the smallest thing, truly foolish to the extreme.

"Thick cigarettes or thin cigarettes, anything that can produce smoke is a good cigarette."

Yang Tianxing smiled and changed the subject: "Our dorm seems a bit dirty. How about everyone lend a hand and we clean it up?"

Fu Yiming was straightforward and diligent by nature, so without a second word, he picked up a broom and started sweeping the floor.

Yang Tianxing also took a rag to wash it, preparing to wipe off the dust in a moment.

Seeing that both of them had started moving, the other roommates responded one after another, and Yi Min, who had wanted to slack off, also felt embarrassed and started looking for something to do.

Yang Tianxing took out a pack of Furongwang he had swiped from Old Yang, and threw it on the table: "To refresh your mind, have one if you're tired."

Fu Yiming casually picked one up and stuck it in his mouth, sweeping the floor while exhaling smoke; the others were also infected by this atmosphere and slowly began to join in this casual activity.

"That's more like it."

Yang Tianxing curled his lips; he was originally a person who liked liveliness, and if the dorm was unpleasant, the atmosphere for these four years of college would be disgusting.

Since he had been reborn, he naturally wanted to live happily; for those he had good relationships with before, he would maintain them or even make them better, and for those with poor relationships, he would change them, trying his best not to cause conflict—this was Yang Tianxing's idea.

…………

After the boys fussed about, the dorm became clean and tidy; several people were a bit exhausted, but the smiles blooming on their faces could not be fake.

College students, after all, are the cleanest, most hot-blooded, and easiest-to-fool group in the world; one small incident was enough for the cohesion of these few people to slowly take shape.

"Let's all go take a shower first, then arrange our next activities," Yang Tianxing said, taking off his short-sleeved shirt.

"Yang Tianxing is right. It's not easy for us to gather here from all corners of the country; we really must have a good get-together tonight."

Fu Yiming was the first to voice his support.

The others felt there was no problem with that and also expressed their agreement.

Thus, that night, the table in 312 was set with stir-fried dishes and beer; the six men sat together and began to brag and chat, and they even ranked themselves by age.

The oldest, Fu Yiming, claimed to be the eldest brother; as for Yang Tianxing, he didn't originally want the title of second brother—those who know, know—but he ranked second in age; next were Song Fei, Li Ainan, Qian Jiale, and Yi Min.

Originally, Yi Min was not convinced that he was the youngest, the sixth brother, but under the "deterrence" of the other five in the dorm, he could only agree reluctantly.

Other boys' dorms in the class were full of envy when they heard the commotion coming from 312; they were still in the stage of having just shed their "high school student" identities and hadn't yet grasped the essence of the college lifestyle.

Originally, Qian Jiale and Yi Min were also a bit panicked; drinking in the dorm was something they hadn't thought of, and they were very afraid of being caught by the teacher.

Yang Tianxing sneered when he heard this: "It's fine, if they really check, I'll take the blame."

After this was said, the two little brothers felt a bit more at ease and agreed to the gathering in the dorm.

Some of the bolder boys from other dorms ran over and poked their heads into the doorway, and Yang Tianxing invited them all in; before long, 312 was almost too full to sit.

"Creak—"

The wooden door of the dorm was suddenly pushed open, and the counselor Xie Yu'an walked in; in an instant, the boys in 312 quieted down, and the air seemed to congeal.

Only Yang Tianxing stood up with a smile and said: "Teacher Xie, doing room checks so early?"

Xie Yu'an nodded: "Is this a boys' gathering?"

"Yes, it's not easy for everyone to gather here from all over, we wanted to get familiar with each other first."

"Well, don't drink too much; military training starts tomorrow."

Xie Yu'an finished saying this with a smile and prepared to leave.

The boys had just caught their breath when, unexpectedly, Yang Tianxing invited: "Teacher Xie, come sit for a while too; consider it holding a small meeting for the boys in advance, and incidentally supervise us drinking."

After Yang Tianxing said this, the other boys looked at him in surprise; there was actually such a move? The teacher was about to leave, and he called them back to eat together?

Xie Yu'an was also a bit surprised and looked back at Yang Tianxing; his face was full of sincerity.

"Well, you can't get me drunk."

As soon as Xie Yu'an said this, the boys roared with excitement.

Yang Tianxing took 300 from his wallet and handed it to another boy in the dorm named Liu Lei: "Leizi, go buy some more stir-fried dishes and get some beer; remember to get more meat dishes."

Liu Lei nodded; at this moment, Yang Tianxing's prestige had already been slowly established. Calling the boys to drink, having just shouldered the responsibility, and finally inviting the teacher—this set of operations made the little brothers who had just started college admire him to no end.

Xie Yu'an sat next to Yang Tianxing, smiling and nodding as he scanned the dozen or so boys in 312, thinking, this is really not a simple student; in one afternoon, he could pull together almost an entire class of boys and establish a leadership position without anyone noticing.

Furthermore, when Yang Tianxing took out the money just now, no one mentioned splitting the bill, and he didn't bring it up himself.

"It seems this student who gives me a sense of familiarity is not a simple character."