005. School
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Another rainy day.
Summer rainstorms never fail to show up, drenching Lin Nan to the bone this morning as he stepped out unprepared.
Today was the first day of school. Bright and early, he hopped on a train with Chen Yao, heading to their school hundreds of kilometers away.
These two are dorm buddies. Back in senior year, they both had similar grades, and when it came time to fill out college applications, they coincidentally picked the same school and major. They even ended up in the same dorm!
They boarded the train at eight in the morning, but by the time they reached their destination, it was eleven. The weather that had greeted them on departure was sunny and cheerful, but now they found themselves in the midst of a torrential downpour.
As they dashed out of the train station to catch the bus, they were already soaked to the skin, awkwardly huddling under the bus stop shelter.
“d*mn it! Why is our luck so terrible?” Chen Yao swore, glancing nervously at his non-waterproof suitcase, fearing his clothes and laptop might also be drenched.
Lin Nan stood beside him, yawning and rubbing his eyes; he had slept through most of the train ride and was still a little dazed.
“Lin Nan, can you check if the bus is here yet?”
“Got it. Why not take a taxi?”
“Have you seen the line for taxis? It’s crazy!” Chen Yao groaned. He hated taking the bus. “From here to our dorm is a two-hour bus ride. We might not even get seats.”
Lin Nan didn’t mind the long journey. With another yawn, he pulled out a pack of tissues from his pocket to dab at the water dripping off his hair.
Chen Yao had long gotten used to Lin Nan’s feminine mannerisms. After all, the guy looked stunning in girls’ clothing, and Chen Yao sometimes questioned whether Lin Nan actually boiled his brain the last time he had a fever.
Maybe due to the rainy weather, the train station wasn’t jam-packed with people. The bus was surprisingly manageable, and they managed to find seats without hassle. One played on his phone while the other continued to doze off.
By the time they reached Ocean Academy’s bus stop at one-thirty in the afternoon, the rain was still hammering down.
This place was on the outskirts of the city, but the main road looked quite impressive—a wide six-lane road lined with low-rise buildings that made up the Urban Village. Opposite the bus stop, right in front of a massive electric sliding door, the words “Ocean Academy” stood out prominently.
It was the start of the school year! Waves of returning students, loaded with bags and rolling suitcases, flooded into the school like ants returning to their nest.
Before long, Lin Nan and Chen Yao joined the throng, slowly making their way to the dormitory.
While this university wasn’t exactly top-tier, compared to the crummy middle school and high school Lin Nan had attended, it was practically sprawling.
After entering through the main gate, a straight path lay ahead. To the left was a massive playground big enough for three soccer fields, while to the right stood a three-story cafeteria and a fenced-off student dormitory block. Further ahead, several teaching buildings sprawled out in a cluster, and in the very center, there was a garden roughly the size of a soccer field…
As they walked into the familiar dormitory area and greeted the elderly dorm supervisor lounging in a rocking chair by the entrance, they trudged upstairs with their heavy bags.
Room 432 in Building A—Lin Nan’s and Chen Yao’s home for now.
The dorm was a four-person shared space with bunk beds and desks below, plus a private bathroom on the balcony. While a little cramped, it was still a significant improvement over the eight-person dorms with double-decker metal beds from high school.
The dorm hadn’t seen other roommates yet, so Lin Nan grabbed the towel he left over from last semester and went on a cleaning spree, wiping down the desks and bamboo mats.
He had planned to wash the bedding, but with the rain pouring outside, it seemed he’d have to settle for a smelly blanket tonight.
Once Lin Nan finished cleaning up his side of the room, Chen Yao was already hooked up to the internet.
“Ahh, back in the dorm feels just like home—so cozy!” He plopped down in his newly bought gaming chair, fired up the browser, and started watching videos on the twenty-seven-inch screen.
Lin Nan could only watch in envy; by now, everyone in their class likely had laptops, while he had to rely on his roommate’s Wi-Fi every day.
Just as he was about to join Chen Yao in watching the video, the dorm door swung open, and a burly guy at least six feet tall rolled in with a suitcase.
“Nan Nan, you’ve gotten prettier!” He exclaimed, completely deadpan, right when he entered. “When are we going to Thailand? I’ll crowdfund for you.”
“Get lost!”
This giant was Tu Junhui. In his freshman year, he weighed over two hundred pounds, but during the last semester, he shed a solid thirty pounds, and thanks to his gym membership, he was packing some muscle now. Standing next to Lin Nan, he looked like a wall.
Unfortunately, after a summer off, he seemed to have inflated back up like a balloon.
Tu Junhui ignored Lin Nan’s rude comment, chuckling as he tossed his suitcase in a corner. He sat down without caring that the chair had gathered dust for two months, propping his leg up and continuing to tease Lin Nan. “Honestly, you look way lighter—you even seem a tad shorter!”
“I do not!” Lin Nan shot back with a deadpan expression.
Deep down, they were good friends. Tu Junhui was straightforward and a bit of a clumsy oaf, but he was a decent guy.
Tu Junhui liked calling Lin Nan “Nan Nan,” which sounded all cute and feminine, while Lin Nan playfully referred to him as “Tu Tu,” like a little kid.
He must have been worn out from the journey because he started yawning right after sitting down but still managed to perk up and ask Lin Nan, “Where’s Xiong Da? Not here yet?”
“Go ask the group chat,” Lin Nan replied casually. Then, realizing Chen Yao’s video wasn’t that interesting, he trudged back to his own seat, pulled out his phone, and connected to his roommate’s laptop Wi-Fi.
The last missing roommate was Xiong Da. His name lent itself to some playful teasing, so everyone called him “Xiong Da.” Just as Tu Junhui inquired in their dorm group chat, Xiong Da quickly responded he’d only show up tomorrow.
Being second-year students, they had it easy: attendance relied on the class monitor, and tuition was taken care of by their bank cards, so as long as they made it back to school before class, they were golden.
Xiong Da was a tall, lanky guy who loved wearing hats. Although he looked somewhat charming, he had inherited a receding hairline, leaving the front half of his head practically bald. If it weren’t for that, Lin Nan might have even considered him a bit of a looker.
But alas, he was a balding guy.
Who knows whether it was the stress of exams before university or late-night gaming that led to his unfortunate hair situation? When his hat came off, he often got mistaken for a programmer, despite being just nineteen.
In no time, Tu Junhui was fully recharged and started tidying up his side of the room while casually teasing Lin Nan.
“Honestly, Nan Nan, have you gotten paler?”
“Nope.”
“Feels like your eyes are a bit bigger.”
“Nope!”
“When are you going to get surgery and marry me?”
“Are you out of your mind? I’ve noticed ever since you hit the gym, you’ve been acting way more… uh, flamboyant?”
