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Another bright and refreshing morning lecture.
In the classroom, students in the front rows listened attentively to the teacher.
In stark contrast, those in the back were either sleeping or playing games.
Everyone seemed to have an unspoken agreement: the front seats were for those who wanted to study seriously.
Compared to high school life, university was much freer.
As long as you didn’t interrupt the teacher during class, it didn’t matter if you played games or slept; the teacher would turn a blind eye.
Unless you were in a special situation like Jiang Yichen, who brought a pillow to class to sleep and hoped to sneak out when called on…
In the back row of the classroom, the F4 of the boys’ dorm sat together.
Their postures varied.
Zhang Wei was peeling a tea egg, chewing on a steamed bun. “Not bad, Lao Jiang, your breakfast choice today suits my taste.”
Zheng Mingcheng took a sip of soy milk and gave a thumbs up.
Shen An, however, hadn’t started eating; she snapped a photo of her breakfast and posted it on her social media.
“Packed,” Jiang Yichen said, biting on his straw as he opened his phone to check Qin Ling’s social media.
Professor Qin’s WeChat nickname was simply “Qin Ling,” and her profile picture featured a minimalist lily.
Jiang Yichen felt that it resembled something a middle-aged lady in her thirties or forties would use…
If Professor Qin changed her nickname to something like “Flourishing Flowers,” it would be even more fitting.
He proceeded to browse through her social media posts.
Tsk tsk.
Body shots.
Artistic photos.
Travel snapshots.
All breathtaking.
It was clear that Professor Qin had a great love for life.
However, all her captions consisted of just timestamps.
For example, “[September 2, 2024, 21:30]” accompanied by two pictures.
The most recent one was a selfie taken last night at a bar.
In the photo, Qin Ling held a tall glass, exuding elegance.
Jiang Yichen savored the images.
He spent an entire class period looking at Qin Ling’s social media.
Professor Qin’s account had no time restrictions.
The earliest post dated back nine years.
Jiang Yichen browsed through all of Qin Ling’s posts from the past nine years.
“Indeed…”
“The character design is different, but the worldview background is the same…”
Jiang Yichen sighed softly.
Her social media radiated a love for life, while the original Qin Ling was quite pessimistic and had never posted a thing.
However, the earliest post caught his attention; it was a missing person notice for someone named “Shen Lang.”
There were no photos, just brief identity details.
Interestingly, the birthday mentioned was the same as his—October 10, 2005.
“Lao Jiang, what are you mumbling about? What character design, what worldview? What are you watching in class?” Zhang Wei asked curiously.
“I’m reading a novel,” Jiang Yichen replied.
“A novel? What novel? Let me see,” Zhang Wei leaned over, but Jiang Yichen’s phone was set to a privacy screen.
“Nothing interesting.” Jiang Yichen quickly locked his screen.
Thankfully, he had bought a privacy screen.
Otherwise, if his friends found out he had spent an entire class looking at Professor Qin’s social media, they’d definitely get angry.
Zhang Wei looked as if he had figured it out. “Got it, you brought something colorful, didn’t you?”
Jiang Yichen: “Are you sick? Who would look at that in class?”
Zhang Wei: “I don’t believe it. Lift your shirt so I can see.”
Jiang Yichen was speechless: “You’re crazy.”
……
After the morning classes ended, Jiang Yichen and his friends went to the small cafeteria again to buy a serving of spicy hot pot.
It was great when there were many people; splitting the bill made it very affordable.
Having learned from past experiences, they didn’t chat this time.
They uniformly started with the meat dishes first.
Jiang Yichen wished he had three heads and six arms to keep up.
His friends ate way too quickly!
Especially Zhang Wei, who didn’t follow any rules. He was already grabbing more food before even finishing his meat.
After a hearty lunch, they all went to their computer desks to play games.
Suddenly, Zhang Wei remembered this morning and shouted, “Which idiot set an alarm clock so early? Woke me up!”
Shen An also got angry. “Who set the alarm? Come out and confess. We’ll be lenient if you do, but if you resist, we’ll be strict!”
“Exactly! Who is so heartless to set an alarm so early in the morning!?”
Jiang Yichen joined in the outrage.
Then he stared straight at Zheng Mingcheng.
Zheng Mingcheng was focused on his daily tasks, confused by the comments. Morning? Did someone set an alarm? He hadn’t even noticed. It sounded like everyone else had been woken up.
But with all three of their gazes on him, he felt puzzled. “What are you all looking at me for?”
Zhang Wei was the first to stand up, cracking his knuckles as he walked towards Zheng Mingcheng. “Damn it, Lao Zheng, I’ve tolerated you for long enough! Using that annoying high-pitched voice to make calls in the dorm every night? Just wait until I peel your skin off today!”
Shen An quickly followed suit. “Why are you even talking so much? He doesn’t even know what he did wrong!”
Jiang Yichen was the last to stand up but took the biggest strides, quickly getting behind Zheng Mingcheng and covering his mouth. “Let’s handle this directly. I’ll cover his mouth!”
Sorry, Cheng Ge, but death to friends, not death to the Tao.
“No!?” Zheng Mingcheng hadn’t even realized what was happening.
One person covered his mouth, another tied his hands, while one more reached out to tickle him.
The boys’ dorm erupted into laughter.
After a while.
Zheng Mingcheng looked as if he had been thoroughly played.
Zhang Wei sighed in relief. “Next time, you better keep it down! Go to the balcony to make your calls at night.”
Shen An: “Let’s see if you dare set an alarm this early again.”
“Ah?!” Zheng Mingcheng looked like he was about to cry. “I didn’t, I didn’t…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Yichen covered his mouth again. “Hey, Cheng Ge, you really should be careful. Why set such an early alarm?”
Zhang Wei and Shen An returned to their computer desks, one playing a game and the other watching a drama.
Jiang Yichen patted Zheng Mingcheng on the shoulder. “Cheng Ge, honestly, it’s not all your fault. Your phone’s a fruit model, right? It’s probably not reliable. Maybe Siri set the alarm by itself. I recommend you switch to a rice phone like mine.”
Zheng Mingcheng sat there, looking bewildered about life.