Chapter 48: Ordinary Friends

Xu Zheng and Guo Zi were just like that—always big talkers. When they reached the classroom door and heard the girls’ voices outside, they instantly wilted.

He silently slowed his pace, and thus Xu Qingzhou immediately found himself at the front.

Total coward.

Xu Qingzhou sighed and strode toward the classroom. This year, the School of Mathematics admitted 151 students, divided into four classes. Xu Qingzhou was in Class One.

The classroom was crowded; there were six girls, all seated to the left of the front door, while the rest sat scattered about.

Zhang Shu stood at the door, holding some materials.

“Xu Qingzhou, Xu Zheng, you’re here,” Zhang Shu waved to greet them.

After picking up the military training uniforms, we’d have one day to rest, then training would begin the next day.

Read! {

He realized Song Yao’s persona had completely collapsed—where was the aloof campus beauty he’d been promised?

Another five minutes passed, and Zhu Sitong walked in.

After everyone finished their self-introductions, they went to collect the military uniforms. Kong Xian finally got his chance to shine—he was chosen as the male representative to hand out the uniforms.

“Really?” Xu Zheng perked up, staring intently at the girls, but the six of them were whispering among themselves and hadn’t turned around.

The four of them sat by the window and began quietly discussing the girls in the class.

“He’s just an ordinary friend,” Song Yao explained.

Xu Zheng asked anxiously, “Old Xu, I was in a rush earlier and didn’t get a good look at the girls. Any beauties?”

“Your taste is terrible, Old Kong.”

“Actually, I think…” Xu Qingzhou had been about to say “average,” but seeing their expectant stares, he felt a pang of pity and nodded: “Fine.”

Song Yao didn’t deny it. Zhang Qiong propped her chin on her hand, sighing: “Too bad I wasn’t here—I really wanted to see what kind of guy made our Song the beauty so flustered.”

“What did Old Xu go do?” Xu Zheng had been watching the girls out the window and hadn’t heard Xu Qingzhou.

Zhai Ziqiang looked miserable—even from two meters away, Xu Qingzhou could feel his tension; his face was stiff, and he was already walking with mismatched steps.

“Having dinner with a high school classmate,” Kong Xian said, still reading *Mathematical Analysis I*.

Zhai Ziqiang, flipping through Advanced Algebra, replied: “Said it was a guy he used to eat with all the time in high school.”

School of Mathematics, Room 4102.

Now Xu Zheng and Kong Xian were united.

Song Yao placed her phone face-down on the desk and shook her head. “Nothing.”

“That’s ‘fine’?”

Xu Qingzhou glanced at Shen Yueqing and Xue Ying. Both were similar—Shen Yueqing leaned toward intellectual boldness, wearing a crop top; Xue Ying was gentle and demure, nowhere near stunning, and certainly no match for Song Yao.

!.

“It’s the guy who dropped you off, isn’t it?” Teng Xiaojuan smiled lightly.

After speaking, she glanced at the boy pretending to walk past the classroom door but secretly watching them, then sighed: “Too bad—all those boys hoping to make a move are doomed to disappointment.”

“Boy or girl?” Xu Zheng asked warily.

As another new student arrived, everyone else turned to look—especially the girls, their eyes sweeping over the four boys.

Xu Qingzhou rolled his eyes, thinking these people had clearly never suffered from love.

Then each student went up to give a self-introduction.

Meanwhile, in another teaching building. Clearly, by the start of the semester, she’d already memorized everyone’s face.

Xu Qingzhou noticed Kong Xian kept glancing at Zhang Shu by the door—he must be eager, seeing how Zhang Shu was now a “probationary assistant” to the counselor.

Xu Zheng lost interest and chuckled: “Thought Old Xu was going on a date with the guys. Maybe tonight we’ll have a social event in the dorm.”

Song Yao frowned, staring at Xu Qingzhou’s two-word reply, her teeth grinding—“average”? What did that even mean? How was she average?!

Kong Xian chimed in: “I still prefer Shen Yueqing—she’s definitely department-level beauty material.”

“Didn’t notice,” Xu Qingzhou shook his head.

The two of them stalled, then turned to Xu Qingzhou for his opinion: “Old Xu, who do you think looks better?”

Xu Zheng turned to Kong Xian and Zhai Ziqiang: “What about you two?”

Compared to Zhai Ziqiang, they felt Xu Qingzhou’s opinion would carry more weight.

And he’d even taken a photo of him!

“Classmates, hello, I’m your counselor,” Zhu Sitong wrote his name and phone number on the blackboard.

“Little Yao, what are you staring at? You look so forlorn,” someone leaned over.

Kong Xian and Zhai Ziqiang were worse off—even Xu Zheng couldn’t compare.

After Xu Qingzhou finished his self-introduction and sat down, he saw a message from Song Yao: a photo, asking if he thought she looked good.

He first welcomed everyone to Jingda, urged them to cherish their time—four years seemed long but flew by in a blink—then went over Jingda’s rules and military training guidelines.

He sighed and reluctantly replied, “Average.”

Xu Zheng had already been lost in that “handsome” call; he instinctively puffed out his chest. Kong Xian adjusted his glasses, clearly used to such spotlight moments, and sat elegantly beside Xu Qingzhou.

Xu Zheng protested: “Old Xu, you’re just sour grapes.”

“It’s your taste that’s broken.”

Xu Qingzhou walked calmly toward an empty seat.

Zhang Qiong nodded, correcting: “Alright, I’ll adjust—I want to see what this ‘ordinary friend’ of Song the beauty is like.”

Zhai Ziqiang stayed silent, stammering, but Kong Xian mused: “Four of them—all good-looking.”

“Handsome!” a girl whispered.

“Xue Ying might be worth pursuing, but Shen Yueqing… forget it. Girls like her won’t lack boyfriends. Let’s be realistic.”

“Who says the School of Mathematics has no beauties? Xue Ying’s gorgeous!” Xu Zheng’s eyes lit up; as this girl gave her self-introduction, he’d already picked out names for their future children.

The girl was Zhang Qiong, her roommate—outgoing and blunt. When Xu Qingzhou arrived yesterday, she’d been out with her parents touring campus.

Everyone carried their uniforms back to the dorm. Xu Qingzhou had just finished washing clothes and planned to eat with his roommates, but then he got a message from Song Yao inviting him to dinner. For the sake of a meal, he decisively abandoned Xu Zheng and the others.

Xu Qingzhou sighed—he wasn’t wrong. Of the four of them, Xu Zheng was the most flashy, but clearly a greenhorn.

Kong Xian patted Xu Qingzhou’s shoulder and comforted him: “Old Xu, be confident. Sure, you’re not as good-looking as the rest of us, but if you work at it, you might still land a pretty girlfriend.”

Among these three roommates, she actually got along better with Zhang Qiong.

“Social?”

The two reading students looked up.

“Yeah, the girl from the Business School I mentioned—she agreed to have dinner tonight. I’ll see if I can get her whole dorm to come.”

(Content still messy—can be revised within these two days. Apologies.)

(End of Chapter)