012. Class Time
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Monday, the official start of school.
The class leader had heroically lugged all the boys’ textbooks back to the dorm yesterday, and the schedule had finally been handed out.
Back in senior year, Lin Nan always heard that in college there were fewer classes, more freedom, and you could party all day. But aside from the freedom part, college is pretty much high school with heavier backpacks.
Looking at the schedule, there are only five classes a day in college, but each one lasts about two hours, which translates into leaving the dorm at eight in the morning and returning at eight at night. Between that, you’ve got a glorious two-hour lunch break and a half-hour for dinner.
Luckily for the sophomores, every Tuesday afternoon is a holiday. So, generally, Tuesdays only have two morning classes, leaving the afternoon for all sorts of activities—like basketball games and health inspections (because who doesn’t want to be inspected?).
Lin Nan had been in college for a year now, but he could only name about ten classmates. The rest were just faces he recognized but couldn’t match to names—those classic “I know you, but who are you?” situations.
Having gotten used to late-night parties during the summer, suddenly being forced to wake up at eight for class was a rude awakening. He dragged himself out of bed, yawning and rummaging through his stuff for the textbooks he needed that morning.
Only Chen Yao was awake in the dorm; the other two were snoring like chainsaws.
“Aren’t they planning to wake up?” Lin Nan grumbled, slipping off his oversized shorts and digging through his wardrobe for long pants.
He usually slept in a T-shirt the night before, which meant he just had to change shorts to get ready for class. In this sweltering summer, though, he figured he could wash up daily, since what’s two identical T-shirts in a week, right?
Chen Yao glanced at his two sleeping roommates but couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on Lin Nan’s legs.
He’d seen them before, but this time—oh boy, the smoothness!
Those legs were so white and slender, just a touch of meat, and the feel of them…
He coughed lightly, scared to look any higher, and quickly diverted his eyes.
Recalling the time he’d seen Lin Nan dressed as a girl, he lamented inwardly: FML, I really do like pretty things more than actual girls!
Chen Yao, unable to control himself, grabbed a towel and rushed to the balcony.
Lin Nan noticed Chen Yao seemed to be dodging something but shrugged it off, changing into his pants and heading out to wake Tu Junhui and Xiong Da.
“Tu Tu, Xiong Da! If you don’t get up, we’re gonna be late!” He patted their pillows. With no response, he decided to hit the balcony to tidy up.
“What time did they crash last night?”
On the balcony, while brushing his teeth alongside Chen Yao, Lin Nan asked curiously.
“At least three or four, right? They were still gaming away when I hit the hay at two,” Chen Yao shrugged, giving Lin Nan a quick once-over. “Have you put on a few pounds?”
“Wait, what?”
“You’re showing a bit of skin.”
Lin Nan looked down, twitched his mouth awkwardly, his face turning beet red as he tried to play it cool, “Must be the AC’s too cold.”
“Oh,” Chen Yao finished up, wriggling past Lin Nan with his toothbrush, heading out.
By the time they were ready to roll out the door, Tu Junhui and Xiong Da were just waking up. Lin Nan, panicking about being late, called out to Chen Yao and rushed ahead to the classroom.
The school buzzed with life as students filtered out of dorms around eight in the morning, chattering and laughing while heading towards the teaching buildings or cafeteria.
It was a big lecture, with Lin Nan’s class joined by Class Three, from the same department. By the time they reached the classroom, most of the students were already there. They dashed to the last row and plopped down, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their teacher.
Lin Nan spotted some friends from the dorm in front—their dorm would occasionally come over for gaming sessions, so they had a decent rapport.
Ahead of him was a row of girls. Lin Nan didn’t recognize any; he’d never even chatted with them, let alone learned names.
The classroom was a tiered one, Lin Nan’s class on the left and Class Three on the right. Last year, he thought it was high-tech, but now it felt like torture without air conditioning—freezing in winter, scorching in summer.
A classmate in front turned to shout at Chen Yao to play a mobile game, but then spotted Lin Nan and grinned, “Hey, Nan-ge, did you get hotter?”
Finally, someone who could talk!
Lin Nan beamed, nodding, “Yep, definitely!”
“Your skin looks way better than last semester!”
“Right?!” Lin Nan shot a glance at Chen Yao, who was pitifully trying to convince their dorm-mates that Lin Nan looked pretty all the time.
“Your eyes look bigger too!”
“Of course!”
“Never noticed you were this good-looking, dress up a bit and you could be the campus heartthrob! Dude, if only you knew how to dress…”
“Come on, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
Lin Nan was on cloud nine over the compliments, trying to play modest while failing to hide his grin, while Chen Yao smirked and said, “Seriously, Zheng Xiang, stop buttering Nan Nan up. He’s even worse at games than you are; letting him play for you would be a disaster!”
“Chen Yao, how could you say that about my idol! He just needs more practice!” Zheng Xiang turned back to Lin Nan, “Right, idol?”
“Soon I’ll help you reach Platinum!” Lin Nan declared, thumping his chest confidently, a little lost in the praise.
“Thanks, idol! You’re the best!”
Chen Yao couldn’t be bothered with their antics and pulled out his phone to ask Zheng Xiang, “Aren’t you playing ‘Honor of Kings’? I’m logging in, invite me.”
“Sure!”
Lin Nan had never been too into mobile games, but the five-man team was finally complete, so he lounged on the desk aimlessly, curiously peeking at the Class Three students.
His major was graphic design, and the boy-girl ratio in his class was perfectly balanced, but Class Three had noticeably more girls who seemed to be a touch better at dressing up.
His gaze suddenly landed on the back of a girl’s head in the front row.
Though he couldn’t see her face, that racing heartbeat returned, leaving him dizzy.
Wait a minute! Didn’t he sit with Class Three last semester without feeling this way? What’s going on?
