Chapter 5: The Author Shares a Dormitory with Me

This “surprise” came a bit faster than what Shao Huaizhi had said, tears welled up in Ling Geng’s eyes as he stared at Shao Huaizhi without blinking, looking like a bullied puppy, very pitiful.

Shao Huaizhi looked at him with concern, “Does it hurt?”

Of course, it hurt. He had just hit it hard. He nodded. After a few minutes, he felt embarrassed to make a fuss over such a minor injury and shook his head.

Shao Huaizhi smiled helplessly at Ling Geng’s nod and shake of the head. “Forget it. After the meeting, I’ll buy an ice pack for you to apply for.”

“Okay.” Ling Geng leaned back in his chair.

Reflecting on the awkward moment just now, if it weren’t for Shao Huaizhi’s quick response, promptly adding, “In the coming month, I hope we can progress together and get along pleasantly,” all the attention in the class might have been on him, which would have been even more awkward.

At the end of the meeting was the annual change of class committee members. Ling Geng wasn’t particularly interested in such matters and didn’t want to listen. He only half-listened to a few sentences before letting his mind wander.

In the end, it was Shao Huaizhi who pulled Ling Geng up and out of the room.

As they approached the door, the class teacher walked ahead and glanced back, as if wanting to speak to Shao Huaizhi alone. However, when his gaze fell on Shao Huaizhi and Ling Geng, he seemed to realize the inappropriateness of it and subtly changed course.

Shao Huaizhi nodded slightly in that direction, neither confirming nor denying anything.

Ling Geng was curious. When the class teacher had moved away a bit, he asked quietly, “What’s up? Do you know our class teacher?”

Before today, they certainly didn’t know each other. Shao Huaizhi shook his head. “No. Don’t you remember how he introduced me just now?”

Ling Geng tried to recall. “Senior? Professor Li’s student?”

Shao Huaizhi looked at him with a hint of approval in his eyes. “The emphasis is on the second sentence you said, ‘because of Professor Li’. You know Professor Li’s reputation in the industry. There are many people who want to befriend him. Isn’t it easier to start with his students?”

“I see… But are you really Professor Li’s student?” Ling Geng remained skeptical.

Although Professor Li used to teach undergraduate courses some years ago, he hadn’t been an advisor for undergraduate students for a long time. If Shao Huaizhi was his student, he should have started as a graduate student at least. But judging from Shao Huaizhi’s appearance, he didn’t seem like a graduate student…

Shao Huaizhi’s eyebrows lifted. “You don’t believe me? If I weren’t Professor Li’s student, how do you think I would have ended up at your class meeting today?”

After parting ways with Ling Geng earlier, Shao Huaizhi went to find Professor Li. He wanted to immerse himself in the campus atmosphere to gain inspiration for writing. The best way to relieve campus life was to actually live it.

Professor Li had been his mentor before. Shao Huaizhi asked for Professor Li’s help, and with a plausible reason, Professor Li arranged for him to join the class. This fulfilled Shao Huaizhi’s requirements without raising suspicion.

According to Shao Huaizhi’s plan, he was supposed to officially start attending classes with Ling Geng next Monday, which would have been a surprise. But unexpectedly, because of his identity as Professor Li’s student, the class teacher introduced him to the entire class during today’s meeting. This surprise came earlier than expected.

Ling Geng still didn’t quite understand. “But even if you are Professor Li’s student, even if it’s for a research project, he has so many students. There’s no need for him to go to such lengths for you. Giving you a fake identity… How important are you?”

Shao Huaizhi looked in the distance, his gaze deep. “This is something your class teacher also wants to know.”

Ling Geng wanted to ask further, but Shao Huaizhi stopped him as they reached the shop front. “Wait here for me.”

Just a few minutes later, he came out of the shop holding an ice pack.

Applying the ice pack to the spot where Ling Geng had hit his chin felt incredibly cool, almost itching.

Shao Huaizhi’s movements were gentle. They were so close that Ling Geng could hear his breath clearly, rhythmic and orderly, each exhale and inhale feeling like a knock on his heart. For a moment, he was stunned, a bold thought forming in his mind.

What if… What if Shao Huaizhi also liked men…

“All done.” Shao Huaizhi stopped, his tone gentle. “Does it still hurt?”

Like a child caught playing with a phone in class, Ling Geng hastily lowered his head. “No, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” What nonsense was he thinking? Shao Huaizhi couldn’t possibly like men! It must be his imagination!

“What’s wrong?” Shao Huaizhi placed a hand on his shoulder, lowering his gaze to meet Ling Geng’s eyes, looking at him strangely. “Why are you blushing?”

“Nothing.” You’re the one blushing, not me! You and your whole family are blushing!

Ling Geng took a step back, feeling almost frantic. “It’s probably… probably because it’s too hot.”

He raised his right hand, pretending to fan himself. “By the way, you went through all this trouble just for inspiration to write? Isn’t that too much of a sacrifice?”

The topic was shifted abruptly, and Shao Huaizhi indulged him without revealing the truth. “I don’t see it as a sacrifice. For me, writing is meaningless if I can’t empathize with the characters in my story. I’ve been away from campus for too long. The current me can’t recreate the feelings I had back then. So, experiencing campus life again is essential.”

After Shao Huaizhi finished speaking, he paused, looking at Ling Geng seriously. “Although I entered the school for writing inspiration, choosing Class 9 was for you.”

“Hmm?” Ling Geng tilted his head slightly, blinking in confusion.

Why did that sound strange?

Before he could fully process this statement, Shao Huaizhi delivered the next bombshell.

“Ling, it seems like you were zoning out during the class meeting just now. For the next month, I’ll be attending classes, eating, and living together with the students. But who do you think I’ll be living with?”

Ling Geng watched as Shao Huaizhi’s smile grew more pronounced, his brain working quickly.

If they were to live together, then Shao Huaizhi would definitely be assigned to Class 9’s dormitory. Currently, the only available space in the boys’ dormitory in Class 9 was the one shared by him and Yu Xun.

So, living together…

Would it be with Shao Huaizhi?! 

Ling Geng:!

Living with the prodigy?! 

For real?!

—

Shao Huaizhi entered the classroom 10 minutes early.

Monday mornings were quite crowded with classes. Students arrived early to secure seats, especially those in the middle rows.

When Shao Huaizhi entered the classroom, he quickly scanned the room and noticed that only the first two rows and the last row had vacant seats.

He made his way straight to the back and chose a seat in the last row.

The dormitory arrangements had been somewhat last-minute, and Shao Huaizhi wasn’t prepared, so he hadn’t moved in last night. Instead, he drove directly from his residence to the 

school this morning.

It was probably a good thing he hadn’t moved in yet. Otherwise, considering Ling Geng’s level of shock, he probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep all night.

From the moment Shao Huaizhi entered the classroom, Ling Geng’s gaze involuntarily followed him as he moved towards the back.

The last row had only Shao Huaizhi seated there.

Ling Geng couldn’t help but feel that Shao Huaizhi looked a bit lonely. So, following the principle of idol worship, he pushed Yu Xun towards his girlfriend and voluntarily moved to the last row.

As he was flipping through his book, Yu Xun, who had been inexplicably pushed away, wondered, “Ling?”

“Shao?” Ling Geng said simply, explaining his purpose, “I came over to accompany you.”

One sentence captured the spirit of helping others and generously dispelling worries.

Ling Geng felt quite proud of himself.

Shao Huaizhi smiled but didn’t respond.

If the kid wanted to help, then let him be.

Ling Geng’s enthusiasm for helping others continued into the afternoon.

According to the schedule, Monday afternoons were reserved for Professor Yu Zhan’s lab sessions.

Ever since he lost points for participation last time, Ling Geng had become very sensitive to the name “Yu Zhan.” Whenever he saw his class on the schedule, he would almost instinctively leave early, afraid of being late. Even his dorm mate, Yu Xun, had to adjust his schedule according to Ling Geng’s.

Since Shao Huaizhi hadn’t moved into the dormitory yet and wasn’t in the cafeteria for lunch, Ling Geng couldn’t find him and had to send him a message.

Unexpectedly, Shao Huaizhi didn’t reply.

Ling Geng was initially worried that Shao Huaizhi might be late and criticized by Yu Zhan. He was considering calling to remind him when he saw Shao Huaizhi and Yu Zhan walking into the lab together, one after the other.

Yu Zhan, who was known for being strict with students, was equally demanding of himself. He expected students to arrive early, and he himself never arrived late. He always arrived at the classroom before the scheduled time. Today was the first time he had ever done a pre-class inspection like this.

The reason was simple.

Although Shao Huaizhi had said his current residence wasn’t too far from the school, he had only bought the house less than a year ago and hadn’t even lived in this city before. When you count the years, Shao Huaizhi and Yu Zhan hadn’t seen each other for several years. It was only natural for old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time to want to catch up.

So they picked lunchtime to have a meal together. They had such a good time that they decided to visit the lab together.

But Ling Geng didn’t know about their relationship and thought the sun had risen from the west.

What surprised him even more was that the lab session was organized in pairs. Ling Geng was originally worried that Shao Huaizhi might struggle with the sudden addition to the class and might not adapt well to doing experiments alone. He wanted to help out of kindness, but he saw that there was more than one person at Shao Huaizhi’s workstation.

He witnessed the normally intimidating Yu Zhan smiling warmly at Shao Huaizhi, chatting with him, and even patiently guiding him through the experiment, almost teaching him step by step.

“Huaizhi, the parameters here need some adjustment. The stimulation interval should be set smaller. And as for this concentration, 20% should be sufficient.” His tone was gentle and guiding, and he even took the initiative to adjust the instrument settings for Shao Huaizhi.

Ling Geng was furious. Wasn’t Yu Zhan a teacher? Shouldn’t he be gently guiding and taking things step by step? How could he directly adjust the settings for him?!

“And this part, secure it first. Be careful during anesthesia later, don’t hurt yourself.” Seeing that Shao Huaizhi seemed unfamiliar with the procedure, Yu Zhan took his hand and indicated the spot for anesthesia injection. “Inject into the abdominal cavity here.”

Shao Huaizhi hadn’t done experiments in a long time, so he was a bit rusty starting again. However, he still had the basics he learned in college, so it’s not like he didn’t understand anything. He just listened attentively to Yu Zhan’s instructions. “Got it.”

But to Ling Geng, all of this didn’t seem so innocent.

As a teacher, you can teach, but how can you hold his hand?! That’s the hand of a prodigy! Won’t you make other students misunderstand by doing this?!

Ling Geng gritted his teeth in anger, and the pen he was holding snapped in half.