Chapter 18: Dating Event

Cao Sheng and his eight dorm mates walked out of campus in a loud, boisterous group; eight big guys walking together drew stares, and outsiders might have thought they were heading to a gang fight.

Along the way, anyone who encountered them instinctively stepped aside.

What they didn't know was that seven of these eight were single, and six of them tonight's sole strategic goal was simply to win favor from some girl.

It was basically a simp's grand campaign.

Only Guan Zhi and Cao Sheng were relaxed in attitude.

Among them, Guan Zhi had a girlfriend.

Cao Sheng, in his roommates' eyes, had a girlfriend—he'd even admitted it himself—but in truth he was still single, and he had no interest in any of the girls tonight.

More accurately, with his living expenses growing tighter and his career still unsuccessful, he had absolutely no desire to date.

All he wanted now was to make money.

……

Laughing and chatting, the group arrived at the small restaurant where Guan Zhi had already reserved a private room.

The restaurant was called Huizhou Renjia.

On the way there, Guan Zhi had explained that although the place was small, the food was excellent, portions were generous, and it was economical and practical.

Upon arrival, Guan Zhi led everyone to Room 1 on the second floor, had the server bring tea, then went downstairs to wait for the girls.

A moment later, the fourth-year, Wei Dongming, also went downstairs under the pretense of using the restroom, smiling as he joined Guan Zhi, chatting idly while waiting for the girls to arrive.

In the private room upstairs.

Cao Sheng sipped the free tea, listening to his roommates chatter.

But his mind was on his submitted manuscript, "I Wish to Become an Immortal"—how many days until he got a reply?

What would the editor at the publishing house think upon reading this book?

Would they be struck by its novelty?

Or would they furrow their brows, utterly unable to appreciate this xianxia cultivation novel?

Cao Sheng had never been lucky—he'd never experienced good fortune before his rebirth—so now he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

He worried his book might face obstacles in getting published.

He had confidence in its subject matter and quality.

He only feared the editor was too conservative, too afraid to greenlight his book.

His greatest fear was that before his living expenses ran out, no publisher would agree to print his book.

If that happened, he might have to take a job washing dishes at a small restaurant just to survive.

He imagined how miserable he'd feel then.

"Hey! What are you thinking about?"

Suddenly, Song Chao, sitting beside him, leaned over curiously.

Cao Sheng looked over, smiled, and shook his head. "Nothing. Just zoning out."

Song Chao blinked. Since entering university, he'd slept in the bunk below Cao Sheng and got along well with him—perhaps he felt their bond was special. He lowered his voice: "Everyone says you're dating. You even admitted it yourself last time. But we've never seen your girlfriend. When are you going to bring her out and show her to us? By the way, what's her name? Freshman? Sophomore? Junior? What's her major? You two have been checking into hotels pretty often lately! Can your kidneys even handle it? Hehe."

Cao Sheng: "..."

He was speechless.

In this timeline, he was still a virgin—he'd never even properly touched a woman's hand—and now his roommates were asking if his kidneys could keep up.

I'll top your lungs!

Cao Sheng mentally cursed, but smiled sweetly and said: "Who cares if my kidneys can handle it? You wanna be topped by me?"

Song Chao rolled his eyes. "Forget it. I'm not gay!"

Cao Sheng was about to tease him further when a flurry of footsteps and a group of girls' laughter suddenly reached the room.

Among them was Wei Dongming's joking voice.

Instantly, every male's gaze turned toward the door—including Cao Sheng's.

A few of the more eager ones had already stood up instinctively.

Cao Sheng remained seated.

This was what "desirelessness brings strength" meant—he was living it.

First into the room came Guan Zhi and his girlfriend Xu Ling; the other girls paused at the doorway, sizing up the boys inside with varied expressions.

Wei Dongming stood beside the girls, smiling broadly as he chatted with a petite, delicate-looking girl with clear, pretty features.

"Come in, ladies! What are you doing standing at the door? Guys, give them a round of applause!"

Guan Zhi greeted them cheerfully, then turned to urge his roommates to clap.

The roommates obliged enthusiastically, clapping loudly and warmly, each grinning, eyes gleaming as they scanned the girls outside, clearly sizing up which one might suit them.

Only Cao Sheng clapped half-heartedly, his gaze calm—he only hoped the food would arrive soon so he could eat a few more bites.

Still, everyone admired beauty—he couldn't help glancing twice at the most beautiful of the girls.

She had a long, oval face, stood tall and graceful, and her skin was noticeably whiter than the others by at least a shade.

Her looks and figure were class-babe quality.

But her expression was cold, her face devoid of smiles—she gave off the vibe of a distant, icy goddess.

In the original timeline, this girl had been unanimously recognized by Cao Sheng's dorm as the prettiest.

He still remembered her name.

—He Xinglan.

Under Guan Zhi and the others' enthusiastic invitations, the girls stepped into the room—some with cool expressions, others smiling warmly.

Some stood tall and elegant, others petite.

Some seemed frail, others had a bold, commanding aura.

For a moment, Cao Sheng's several roommates were dazzled, looking at this one, then that one, as if every one of them had come down with a case of indecision.

But aside from Guan Zhi's girlfriend Xu Ling, the gazes of the other seven girls kept drifting toward Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng's good looks were simply undeniable.

He was unrivaled in the entire dorm.

And this kind of co-ed dorm mixer was originally meant to give both sides' members a chance to escape being single; in a setting like this, the men and women would naturally each notice the best-looking person in the other dorm.

At this moment, two servers came in from outside, handed over the menus, and asked everyone to order.

The gentlemen were very polite and asked the girls to order.

Some of the girls demurred, while others unceremoniously marked a few dishes on the menu; finally the menu made its way to Guan Zhi's hands, and Guan Zhi added a few more dishes, and also ordered a case of beer and two large bottles of drinks.

After the two servers left with the menus, Wei Dongming suggested letting Guan Zhi introduce everyone.

Guan Zhi didn't refuse, stood up with a face full of smiles, and began introducing the guys' side.

When he got to introducing Cao Sheng, Wei Dongming suddenly cut in: "Guan Zhi! No need to introduce Cao Sheng, right? He already has a girlfriend!"

At these words, the expressions of the girls all showed a bit of surprise.

They all turned to look at Cao Sheng.

The guys' side, meanwhile, all chimed in, saying Cao Sheng had a girlfriend.

Cao Sheng just smiled and didn't argue.

And on the girls' side, it was plainly visible that several of them had lost their smiles.

After Guan Zhi finished introducing his several roommates, he gestured to his girlfriend Xu Ling beside him to introduce the girls.

Then a comical scene unfolded.

As Xu Ling introduced the roommates one by one, three girls in a row, when it came to their own introductions, raised their hands to declare that they already had boyfriends.

Now it was the guys' turn to look increasingly taken aback.

This was completely different from what Guan Zhi had said back in the dorm—Guan Zhi had said earlier that in their dorm, aside from Xu Ling, none of them had boyfriends.

What was going on now?

Xu Ling's expression grew a bit awkward; she gave a small cough, glared at those three girls, then shot a look at the other girls, and only after that, when introducing the remaining four girls, did no one finally say they already had a boyfriend.

The atmosphere in the private room finally improved a bit, but Wei Dongming didn't have a single smile left, because among those who had just declared they had boyfriends was the petite girl he had been working hard to make a good impression on.