CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 64: LORD DUMPLING’S STUBBORNNESS

It was another bright morning.

Zhou Li opened his eyes. The entire dormitory was very quiet. He checked the time; it was only seven o’clock.

The blanket was moving.

A soft, warm little thing crawled from his waist to his chest, its four paws tickling him. Then, a small head poked out from under the blanket and quietly asked him—

"Are you awake?"

"Mm."

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Mm."

"Lord Dumpling didn’t sleep well."

That’s really pitiful...

Zhou Li picked up Tuanzi and placed her aside, pulled back the blanket, sat up, and looked around the dorm room.

He was the first to wake up.

Last night was the first night in Dormitory 502, and it hadn’t left Zhou Li with a great impression. He had gone to bed early, but the lights were still on. Chang Xiaoxiang and Chen Yang were talking. Later in the night, Chen Yang snored while Chang Xiaoxiang ground his teeth. The two sounds rose and fell, almost like a concert.

Luckily, he wasn’t too picky about his sleeping environment.

Lord Dumpling, however, was much pickier. Unable to sleep, she started strolling on Zhou Li’s body.

Getting out of bed, Zhou Li began to wash up.

Tuanzi leaped onto the washstand and stared at him, her small eyes wide and round. Tilting her head, she asked, "Is this fun for you humans?"

Zhou Li nodded.

Tuanzi thought about it. Indeed, all the humans she had ever seen did this, some even several times a day.

"Get one for Lord Dumpling too!"

"Mm."

After washing his face, he felt refreshed.

Zhou Li hung up his towel, turned, and walked back to the dormitory room. A series of tiny footsteps followed him. Then, under Tuanzi’s watchful gaze, he pulled off several sheets of toilet paper and held them in his hand.

Suddenly—

WHOOSH!

Tuanzi leaped down from the stool, transforming into a white blur.

Zhou Li was baffled.

When he reached the bathroom door, he saw Tuanzi standing inside, waiting for him. Her head was held high, and she stared at him without blinking! Zhou Li was speechless.

A moment later, Tuanzi struggled in his hands, "Why are you kicking Lord Dumpling out!"

"Lord Dumpling wants to be in there too!"

"Let go of Lord Dumpling!"

"..."

Zhou Li placed Tuanzi on the stool. But Lord Dumpling was no ordinary creature; the moment he loosened his grip, she vanished.

He went to the bathroom, and they resumed their staring contest. Zhou Li was exasperated. Forget it! I’m not going!

Zhou Li decided to go out and buy breakfast.

Tuanzi followed him and asked, "Where’s Huai Xu?"

"He hasn’t come back yet."

"Where did he go?"

"He stayed out overnight."

"Oh."

"By the way, I’ve already found a house. We can go clean it up this afternoon. Why don’t you and Huai Xu move in first? I can only move over after my military training is done."

"Lord Dumpling is not going."

"Well, what will you do? You can’t stay in the dorm during military training." Zhou Li frowned. The key issue was that with Tuanzi sticking to him and Huai Xu having gone to sleep at the furniture mall, he couldn’t even use the bathroom.

"Lord Dumpling can take care of herself."

"Are you going off to run your scams again?"

"Watch your words!"

"But you did hurt others’ feelings."

"Lord Dumpling brought them joy! As repayment, what’s wrong with them playing along with Lord Dumpling a bit?"

"That’s not good."

"None of your business." Tuanzi lifted her chin defiantly. "Lord Dumpling is only doing this so as not to implicate you!"

"Alright then."

So Zhou Li decided not to bother about it.

Considering it was the first time all four dorm mates were present, he also brought breakfast for each of his roommates. He thought about moving out later. Even if he returned to stay for a day or two occasionally, he might inevitably feel estranged. Therefore, he felt he should make an effort to contribute more.

If he couldn’t even get along with his roommates, it would be even harder to connect with other classmates.

Upon returning to the dorm, everyone was still asleep.

He placed the breakfast on the table, pulled out his phone. Surprisingly, someone had added him as a friend last night. The request note said ’Ji Ran’.

Zhou Li accepted and changed the contact name.

Baozi: Morning.

Zhou Li: Morning.

Baozi: Got something to tell you.

Zhou Li: Mm.

Baozi: You might be my cousin.

Zhou Li: Hm?

Baozi: My dad is also from Yi Province. He came to Chunming many years ago to do business. His biological older sister is named Ji Qingqiu. What’s your mom’s name?

Zhou Li: Ji Qingqiu.

Baozi: What a coincidence.

Zhou Li: Quite a coincidence.

Baozi: My dad said to bring you over for a meal.

Zhou Li: Let me process this...

Baozi: Okay.

Just as Zhou Li was about to put away his phone, he received a message from Brother Nan.

Li Daimao: Hahahaha!

Li Daimao: See! Following Brother Nan really does have its perks! Look, on the very first day of school, Brother Nan found you a little sister!

Li Daimao: How are you going to thank Brother Nan?

Zhou Li thought for a long time.

Zhou Li: I’ll give you the insulated box.

Li Daimao: [Emoji]

Li Daimao: It’s your first time living in the dorm. How are you getting along with your roommates? No one’s been bullying you, right?

Zhou Li: Pretty good.

Li Daimao: If you get bullied, don’t just endure it, okay? Even if you can’t win a fight, tell me. I’ll help you talk some sense into them.

Zhou Li: Got it.

At that moment, Liu Zhengming woke up. Zhou Li turned to him and said, "I bought breakfast, come down and eat."

Liu Zhengming said with feigned cheerfulness, "That’s so nice of you!"

Zhou Li nodded.

Soon after, Chang Xiaoxiang and Chen Yang also woke up.

「At noon」

Dormitory 502 finally gathered for a meal.

They ate in Southern Capital. Because it was a peak mealtime, all the restaurants were packed. Not wanting to wait in line, they randomly picked a dry pot restaurant that didn’t seem to be doing much business.

No one drank except for Chen Yang.

Chen Yang’s face turned red after just half a bottle of beer. He made an excuse that since no one was drinking with him, it wasn’t lively enough, so he stopped drinking.

Chang Xiaoxiang, kind-hearted as he was, decided to accompany him.

In the end, Chen Yang still didn’t finish his bottle.

Huai Xu said he was a fake ex-convict.

「In the evening」

There was a freshman class meeting in a large lecture hall. All the freshmen from the Life Sciences Institute were there, and it was packed shoulder to shoulder.

Chang Xiaoxiang had figured out the location that morning and even acted as a free guide for several neighboring dorm rooms. After arriving at the classroom, the occupants of Dormitory 502 found seats near the door.

Life Sciences was considered a premier discipline at Cai University. This year, they implemented generalized admissions, enrolling students under a broad academic category. All first-year students in the department would take the same foundational courses and then choose their majors in their second year.

Of course, they still had to be sorted into classes.

For ease of administration, all freshmen were divided into four administrative classes. Zhou Li was in Class Three, and Brother Nan was in Class Four.

However, they still attended lectures together.

The occupants of Dormitory 502 arrived early. The three of them sat there, observing the students coming and going, and quietly exchanged comments.

"This girl looks strong!"

"This one’s really tall. Probably from the north, right?"

"This one’s not bad. Curvy!"

"Look at that one, the one in the red dress!"

"Eh~~ Nope!"

"Oh, I’m nearsighted."

"Zhou Li, why aren’t you saying anything?"

"Um, I, I’m looking," Zhou Li said reluctantly.

"Just tell them straight," Huai Xu chuckled beside Zhou Li. "Say that these girls aren’t as pretty as Li Daimao, not as handsome as me, and not even as good-looking as yourself. You’re just not interested."

"Hmm..."

As they were speaking, a flower suddenly bloomed among the reeds.

It was a tall figure. Snug jeans outlined the long, straight curves of her legs. She wore a white cartoon T-shirt under a thin, casual jacket, her hands tucked into its pockets, walking briskly.

The small, antenna-like cowlick on top of her head trembled slightly with the rhythm of her steps.

Brother Nan’s appearance was truly eye-catching. Almost as soon as she entered, a buzz arose around Zhou Li.

"Sister Li!"

"Sister Li is here too!"

"Wow, isn’t that the senior sister who greeted us?"

"..."

Most of the boys were too shy to strike up a conversation with Brother Nan. Instead, a girl asked first, "Sister Li, what are you doing here?"

Before Brother Nan could reply, a boy chimed in, "Are you going to lead our meeting?"

Brother Nan, however, declined his attempt to help, saying, "Last semester, the department was selecting class assistants for you all. I figured I had some free time, so I applied. Therefore, from now on, you should call me Teacher Li. Got it?"

Zhou Li was expressionless.

He couldn’t even hear what Huai Xu was saying.

Later, Brother Nan walked past him, merely winking at him without a greeting.

Ji Ran, however, walked up to him, stopped, and asked stiffly, "Have you had dinner?"

Her baozi-like face was set in a serious expression, making one want to pinch her cheeks.

"Yes, have you?"

"I have too."

"Good."

"Hmm."

The girl with the baozi-like face then left.

Zhou Li checked the time; it was almost 8:30 PM.

Chang Xiaoxiang, beside him, widened his eyes. "How do you know this girl too? Does being handsome mean you can just do whatever you want?"

"Cousin."

"You even brought a cousin to college with you?"

"Seems so..."

"Your cousin is really pretty!" Chen Yang exclaimed. "It’s rare for our department to have such a beautiful girl. Looks like your family has really good genes."

"Sister Li knows him well too!" Chang Xiaoxiang added.

"Is that so?" Chen Yang’s expression was quite intriguing.

From this, Zhou Li deduced that Chen Yang, as Brother Nan’s prospective Little Brother, likely knew Brother Nan’s true identity. However, Chen Yang probably thought that everyone else, including Zhou Li, was being kept in the dark. He was keeping Brother Nan’s secret and visibly trying to suppress a laugh.

This guy is a bit mischievous, Zhou Li thought.

At 8:30 PM, two teachers, a man and a woman, along with several student council members doing the heavy lifting, entered on time. Someone turned on the projector.

The female teacher was rather stout. She walked up to the lectern, cleared her throat, and her voice was surprisingly gruff, "Everyone quiet down, please. Show a little respect. I’ll just briefly cover some matters regarding enrollment and military training. It won’t take long. Those who don’t want to listen can play on your phones."

The room quieted down.

Zhou Li noticed Senior Sister Wang Dan discreetly waving at him, and he responded with a smile.