Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Ji Mian finally saw his new roommate across from his bed.

At first glance, he thought the same as Xie Hang: just as Chen Xu had said, he was a handsome guy.

"Hey," he greeted Xie Hang, walked over and sat down in his spot, but didn’t immediately get to his own tasks.

Ji Mian swiveled his chair a bit to the right, leaning sideways to look at Xie Hang, with his arm resting on the back of the chair: "I’m Lu Zhou. You’re in economics too?"

Xie Hang nodded. "Yes."

"So, it’s just the three of us in economics," Ji Mian pointed around the three beds, not counting Chen Xu.

The guy in bed number one was Jia Wenbo, a bespectacled guy, pretty quiet and hadn’t said much all day.

But when Ji Mian mentioned 'the three of us,' he turned and gave them a shy smile.

"Seriously, am I the only one in architecture?" Chen Xu sounded defeated.

Not every college admits a number of students that’s a multiple of four, so every year, a few unlucky students end up rooming with people from other majors.

"Tough break," Ji Mian comforted him with a smile.

He turned back to Xie Hang. Xie Hang’s desk was bare—just two books on the shelf, a socket, and a desk lamp.

He’d seen minimal setups, but this was next level.

"You’ve got so little stuff?" Ji Mian asked.

Actually, it wasn’t that Xie Hang didn’t have much. He just didn’t plan on staying in the dorm long.

Xie Hang had never lived in a dorm and wasn’t used to sharing a room and bathroom with three other people. He’d planned to find an off-campus place before coming.

But with all the chaos of freshman year, moving off-campus right away was a hassle. Plus, he needed time to find a place, so he decided to crash in the dorm for a bit.

He planned to move out once he found the right spot.

That’s why Xie Hang didn’t bring much stuff to the dorm. Moving things back and forth was a pain.

Xie Hang thought for a moment and didn’t mention his plan to live off-campus.

The atmosphere among the other dormmates was very harmonious, and saying he was going to move out now would be quite a downer.

So he just replied with a "Yes."

"Having fewer things is indeed convenient," Ji Mian said. "I came by myself, brought two big suitcases, and was almost exhausted after unpacking."

After speaking, he couldn’t help but laugh, his smile dazzling.

[Don’t laugh secretly, don’t laugh secretly! Are you an elementary school student?] In his mind, the system was exasperated: [What’s so funny about "exhausted like a dog"?]

Ji Mian tried hard to suppress his bright smile and conversed with the system: "Sorry, I’m still not quite used to it."

"It’s been ten years, and you’re still not used to it?" If the system had a human form, it would surely be shaking its head and sighing, looking melancholic.

"You also laughed secretly when you swore at Chen Xu. When will you ever fix this habit?"

Ji Mian assured it: "I’ll try harder, next time I definitely won’t laugh."

The system didn’t buy it, but it didn’t push further.

After all, when he first transmigrated, even a harmless “wow” would make his host blush for ages.

Ji Mian hadn’t had friends his age growing up.

From elementary to high school in this world, it took him a decade of hanging out with those rowdy boys to finally fit in.

“That storage shelf...” Xie Hang pointed out.

Now there were three suitcases by the storage shelf—two Ji Mian’s and one Xie Hang’s. All three were empty, and so was the shelf, making the whole thing a bit ridiculous.

“Oh, I’m good with anywhere. You pick a layer for your stuff, and we’ll share one. The rest can be mine.”

Xie Hang’s eyebrows shot up, realizing Ji Mian was letting him pick first.

He wasn’t used to being treated like this...

At 6’2”, he usually intimidated people, but here, a peer was going out of his way to accommodate him.

He got up, walked to the shelf, hoisted his suitcase, and effortlessly tossed it to the top layer. Turning to Ji Mian, he said, “You take the bottom. I can reach it.”

The dorm’s luggage rack had three tiers, the top one way up high.

Ji Mian was 5’11” and could just barely reach it. But with anything in the suitcase, lifting it up there would’ve been a workout.

Ji Mian hesitated for a second but didn’t argue.

“Sure, thanks.”

He put his two suitcases on the bottom, leaving the middle layer—the most convenient height—for them to share daily essentials. But given how little Xie Hang had brought, there probably wasn’t much to put up there anyway.

“Oh, by the way,” Ji Mian added, “I’ve got everything—daily stuff, meds, you name it. If you need anything, just ask.”

Xie Hang’s eye twitched. Why did it feel like he was being babied?

“…Sure.”

He grabbed his phone and headphones, heading out for a run. His roommate across the bed was a little too eager for his taste. Nice guy, but Xie Hang wasn’t used to it.

Before leaving, Xie Hang paused and asked, “Is the playground at the west gate open at night?”

He immediately regretted it. Everyone was new here—of course, no one would know.

Chen Xu and Jia Wenbo, predictably, shook their heads.

“No idea.”

“Haven’t checked it out.”

Ji Mian chimed in, “The west gate one’s closed at night. The second playground near the supermarket’s open till 9:30, though.”

Xie Hang looked over, somewhat surprised, “You know?”

“Nah.” Ji Mian waved his phone, showing a QQ group chat, “I just asked around in the grade’s chat for you.”

——Damn.

Xie Hang was losing his composure.

"Heading to the field? To play ball?" Ji Mian asked him.

"No, just going for a run."

Xie Hang had a habit of running at night, almost every night.

"I was planning to go to the field to play some basketball too. Let's head over together," Ji Mian said, taking the basketball bag hanging on the cabinet.

Xie Hang: ...

He regretted asking.

Chen Xu, hearing their conversation, leaned in and asked Ji Mian, "Playing basketball? Do you have anyone to play with?"

It's just the beginning of the semester, where would you find friends to play with?

"No. Just walk around the field and you'll find someone."

Chen Xu: ...

He thought he was quite outgoing, but he didn't expect there to be an extremely outgoing person in the dorm.

Ji Mian, holding the basketball bag, tilted his head towards Xie Hang: "Ready to go?"

"...Let's go."

*

At the field, they split up.

An iron fence separated the basketball court from the running track. The large floodlights on both sides of the field were very bright, but the area where the court and the track met was very dark.

This dim area was filled with couples strolling and girls watching the boys.

Ji Mian raised his hand to Xie Hang: "See you, Xie Hang."

"Yeah."

Xie Hang hadn't worn his earphones earlier but now he put them on.

Before turning to leave, he took a quick look inside the court.

There were quite a few people playing inside, all seniors who seemed to know each other.

He wondered how Ji Mian would fit in.

He watched Ji Mian walk away. Ji Mian had already entered through the side door.

"——Hey!" Xie Hang heard Ji Mian shout loudly. Everyone turned to look at him.

Ji Mian, under the gaze of dozens of people, waved towards the court: "Hey seniors! Need one more?"

Damn. Xie Hang's eyes widened.

This guy is something else.

*

The first class of the semester was advanced math, and no one dared to skip it.

Ji Mian got there pretty early, but the freshmen, still riding that high school hustle, had already filled half the classroom by 7:40.

Ji Mian's hair naturally had a hint of brown, his skin was fair, and he wore a striking earring on his left ear. When he entered through the front door of the classroom, the whole room lit up.

The girls in the front rows noticed him; they weren’t even looking at their textbooks anymore, sneaking peeks at him.

All the seats in the first three rows had been occupied by the go-getters who were dead set on acing everything. Although within a month, the front rows would become the most deserted spots in the classroom, you had to give these freshmen props for their energy.

Ji Mian scanned the room, and upon spotting a familiar face in the middle row along with a few empty seats nearby, he headed right over.

"Mind letting me through?" he politely said to the boy sitting on the edge.

The boy sitting on the outside was tall and thin, with teenage acne scars on his forehead.

On his desk lay a calculus textbook, opened to about a third of the way through, with many sections marked in black and red ink. He was deep into scribbling on the pages when Ji Mian approached.

It seemed he had already self-studied quite a bit.

Hearing Ji Mian's request to pass, his bushy eyebrows scrunched up in irritation.

Only then did he reluctantly stand up to let Ji Mian through.

He didn’t look too happy, but Ji Mian figured he was just annoyed at being interrupted and didn’t pay much attention.

Once he successfully made his way to the middle, he plopped down in the empty seat and greeted the familiar face beside him, "Morning, this seat free?"

Xie Hang glanced at him. Although he wasn’t used to his roommate's familiarity and enthusiasm, seeing Ji Mian take the initiative to sit next to him, he answered politely, "Morning. It's free."

Xie Hang's desk also had a textbook on it. Ji Mian noticed and asked, "You got your book already? That was fast..."

Most of the course materials at University A needed to be purchased by the students themselves, and the class group just sent out a notice to grab the books two days ago.

"I snagged it on registration day, so it came quick."

"Oh, I see."

Xie Hang thought for a moment and automatically slid the textbook over to the space between them.

"Thanks, Bro Hang!" Ji Mian smiled at him, smoothly addressing him as 'brother'.

Xie Hang: ...

"Lu Zhou," someone from the left aisle called out softly to Ji Mian, "Is that seat next to you free?"

Ji Mian looked up and saw it was Jia Wenbo, standing at the edge of his row.

"Nope!"

With another person about to squeeze in, Xie Hang could feel a headache brewing.

Xie Hang didn’t mind hanging out with people, but he had always been used to being alone since childhood.

But looking at the situation, it might soon turn into the entire dormitory moving together.

He figured he should start apartment hunting sooner rather than later.

"Mind letting me through?" Jia Wenbo said to the tall, thin boy.

The boy kept his head down, ignoring him for several seconds, seemed totally absorbed in solving a problem.

Jia Wenbo thought the guy hadn’t heard him, so he called out "classmate" again, and the lanky guy suddenly stood up, his face darkened as he stepped aside.

"...Thanks."

"Ugh, so annoying." After sitting down, the lanky guy frustratedly flipped through his book and muttered, though he didn’t look at Jia Wenbo, his words were clearly aimed at him.

Jia Wenbo’s expression immediately turned awkward.

Ji Mian also heard the guy's remark, his smile faded as he looked at him: "You’re annoyed just from getting up to let someone pass?"

"If it’s such a bother, sit in the middle instead of the edge!" He didn’t hold back, speaking in a volume that wasn’t low, and people around turned to look.

Curious glances turned toward the guy and Ji Mian.

The lanky guy was taken aback by the comeback, and the stares around him made him feel embarrassed.

He likely hadn’t expected things to go this way, after all, Jia Wenbo seemed like the quiet type who’d stay silent when confronted.

He didn’t expect Jia Wenbo not to retort, but instead, the guy with the earring who’d come in earlier had his back.

Though annoyed, Ji Mian didn’t seem like someone to mess with, so the guy had no choice but to keep quiet.

Jia Wenbo then sat down next to Ji Mian.

After a while, the elderly professor, a man in his fifties, arrived, walked onto the podium, and quietly set up his lecture materials.

When the bell rang, the professor opened the first slide of his presentation, which had his name, phone number, and professorial title.

After a quick introduction, he sternly moved to the next slide, which outlined the grading structure.

"...The final exam accounts for seventy percent, and the remaining thirty percent is based on attendance. I only take attendance twice a semester, so missing once means zero for the attendance grade."

Compared to the tricks university teachers use with attendance grades, only taking attendance twice to get the full thirty percent is quite merciful.

"Now I'll take attendance," the old professor flipped out the attendance sheet.

"Wang Donghua."

"Here!"

"Chang Xiaoshuang."

"Here."

...

"Song Yu."

Ji Mian’s eyes flicked up at the name.