Chapter 7: Arrival at Campus, Preparing for Upload

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the train arrived at Huizhou Railway Station.

Cao Sheng and Tan Lei got off with the crowd; Cao Sheng carried only one suitcase, while Tan Lei brought both a suitcase and a bag.

She made no pretense of politeness—when getting off, she not only had Cao Sheng take her suitcase down from the luggage rack, but also made him carry it off the train.

Cao Sheng didn't mind this small favor.

Out of consideration for their classmate relationship, he helped her carry the suitcase out of the station.

After exiting the station, Cao Sheng had planned to take a bus to school, but Tan Lei got into a taxi and waved at him repeatedly, urging him to join her, saying she would pay the fare.

From this, Cao Sheng concluded: her family must be fairly well-off, at least better than his own.

In this day and age, anyone willing to take a taxi when traveling abroad usually came from a decent background.

"Hey! I suddenly really want to eat the beef noodles outside our school—you said on the train you'd treat me to a meal, right? Let's go eat beef noodles!"

After the taxi started moving, Tan Lei suggested this with a bright smile.

Cao Sheng glanced at her and nodded with a smile.

"Alright, fine."

He remembered the beef noodles outside their school were indeed delicious, but they cost five yuan a bowl—much more expensive than the cafeteria meals.

But today, Tan Lei had paid over ten yuan for his train ticket; now, asking him to treat her to a bowl of noodles was actually saving him money.

Still, Cao Sheng didn't want to take advantage of her.

So when the taxi stopped in front of the beef noodle shop, he rushed to pay the eight-yuan fare first.

When they got out, Tan Lei scolded him a couple of times for rushing to pay.

Inside the noodle shop, they ordered two bowls of beef ramen.

The portions were generous, and there was plenty of beef.

Aside from being expensive, there were no other drawbacks.

The taste was still the same as Cao Sheng remembered, just a bit spicy.

Dishes in Huizhou were generally spicier than those in his hometown.

Cao Sheng, who had only attended university here for one semester in this timeline, still found it hard to adjust.

After eating just a few bites, sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Seeing this, Tan Lei, sitting across from him, couldn't help laughing and naturally reached out, tore off a strip of tissue, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The tissue felt rough.

In this era, the tissue in small shops was usually coarse roll paper—not individual sheets, but torn off as needed.

When wiping sweat with such rough tissue, it often left behind a bit of paper dust.

Tissues shedding paper powder was a hallmark of this era.

Indeed, after wiping him twice, Tan Lei noticed paper dust lingering on his forehead, paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Cao Sheng didn't understand why she was laughing.

He was merely surprised she would take the initiative to wipe his sweat—this gesture was clearly intimate.

"Thank you."

He said thanks.

Tan Lei suppressed her laughter, discarded the tissue, and gently rubbed the paper dust from his forehead with the pad of her finger.

The touch of skin against skin sent a faint ripple through Cao Sheng's heart.

In that moment, he felt a flicker of doubt.

He thought: maybe he should just pursue her—after all, his young body now had strong physical desires.

But reason warned him: don't casually target a high school classmate! If things don't lead to marriage, he'd never have the face to meet his old classmates back home.

All his high school classmates were from his hometown.

Someday, he might even bump into one or two while walking around town.

If he harmed an old classmate, how could he ever face them again?

…

After finishing the beef noodles, at Tan Lei's request, Cao Sheng dragged her suitcase to her dormitory building and bid her farewell.

Then he carried his own bag back to his dorm.

He lived in an eight-person dorm room.

He slept in the top bunk by the window.

When he entered, three roommates were already cleaning and making their beds.

Seeing Cao Sheng, they greeted him warmly.

Cao Sheng began making his own bed, wiping his desk and wardrobe.

By afternoon's end, all eight roommates had arrived.

In the evening, they planned to go together to the cafeteria for dinner.

Walking through the familiar campus, Cao Sheng looked left and right, feeling as if he were dreaming—he never imagined he'd return to this campus as a student in his lifetime.

His roommates still looked young.

Some were cheerful and open, some quiet and reserved, some carefree, some unable to meet others' eyes.

All kinds of personalities.

In the original timeline, Cao Sheng had been quiet and reserved.

Because he lacked inner confidence.

Aside from being somewhat good-looking, his academic performance and family background were nothing to boast of; had he been carefree, he might have lived carelessly—but since childhood, he'd had a strong sense of pride and could keenly sense how others treated him.

Thus, in the original timeline, he could never be cheerful; most of the time, he was quiet and reserved.

But now?

As a transmigrator, his mindset was relaxed.

When he looked at his roommates, it was as if he were watching a few children; although he still spoke little, his brow was loose, his lips always curled in a faint smile, giving off an overall air of calmness.

"Hey! Third brother, why are you smiling so much today? Did you find money?"

In the cafeteria.

While lining up for meals, the roommate ahead of Cao Sheng, Guan Zhi, turned around and glanced at him twice, then suddenly asked this.

Before Cao Sheng could answer, another roommate behind him, Xu Fengmao, let out a light laugh and chimed in: "Exactly! I've noticed too—Third brother's been smiling ever since he walked into the dorm. I don't even know what he's laughing at—it's like a weasel sneaking into a chicken coop, grinning so slyly!"

This remark made everyone else laugh.

Cao Sheng couldn't help but chuckle twice.

"Can't I laugh? You're being way too domineering!"

He retorted with a smile.

Another roommate teased: "Of course you can laugh! But you've laughed way too much today, so you've got to be honest—what are you laughing about? Did something good happen? I'm telling you, if something good really did happen, you've got to treat us all! What do you say?"

"Right!"

"Exactly!"

"Then Third brother, treat us to dinner tonight!"

"Good! I agree!"

…

The roommates clamored with overlapping voices.

Someone who didn't know might truly think Cao Sheng had hit some good fortune and ought to treat everyone.

Cao Sheng, of course, would never play the fool.

This semester's meal allowance had to cover part of his online novel submissions; his food budget was already tight—how could he possibly treat all his roommates over a joke?

The roommates joked and laughed as they each got their meals, sat together eating and chatting, but Cao Sheng noticed their gazes were almost entirely fixed on the girls coming and going in the cafeteria.

None of them were decent guys!

After dinner, back in the dorm, Cao Sheng quietly picked up his new manuscript, took two pens and a cup of tea, and voluntarily went to evening self-study.

Before midnight tonight, he planned to write two more chapters.

After midnight, he'd find an internet café for an all-night session to upload some of his saved manuscripts online.

The sole reason he decided on an all-night session? It was cheaper.

Normal internet access cost four or five yuan per hour; an all-night session saved a lot.

His monthly living allowance this semester was limited—he'd save wherever he could.