The conditions of the student dormitories are very rudimentary. They were temporarily converted from a warehouse next to the school cafeteria, with a total of four rooms.

The two rooms from the left are male dormitories while the two rooms from the right are female dormitories, with one room shared for each grade.

Song Haowen’s sophomore male dormitory is the second room on the left.

The Wall dividing between the two dormitories is made of single bricks, it doesn’t provide much sound insulation.

Some male students, usually timid in front of female students and their face turns red like a monkey butt before they even speak up, But when they return to the dormitory they become loud and boisterous, constantly making off jokes and trying to attract the attention of the female students next doors.

As someone with experience, Song Haowen finds these behaviors too childish and laughable. Such behavior is unlikely to win the favor of female students.

Even most of the male students in the same dormitory would sneer at them, mocking them as socially awkward and overly forward.

The area of Song Haowen’s dormitory is not very large, less than 100 square meters, but it is densely packed with over forty bunk beds arranged like a maze. The beds against the wall are relatively better, but they are still connected head to toe.

The four rows in the middle not only connect head to toe but also side by side. Eighty or so people squeezed into one room, with no personal space at all.

When the boarding students return to the dormitory at night, the students would first wash up then chatting and making jokes, some are already too tired and directly fall asleep, sleep-talking, and snoring.

Before his rebirth, Song Haowen, due to his single-minded dedication to studies, he was a bit uncomfortable for a few days when he first moved into the dormitory, but he quickly adapted.

Besides, he woke up early and slept late every day, engaged in fatigue warfare. When he returned to the dormitory, he would just collapse into bed, oblivious to everything.

When Song Haowen returned to the dormitory, none of his classmates from the same class had arrived yet. However, students from the Science Class 3 and Arts Classes 1 and 2 of the sophomore year had mostly returned.

Because students in these three classes understood that, due to their lower grades, this year’s college entrance examination was just an experience for them. If they wanted to pursue their dreams of further education, they would have to wait until the next year or even several years later.

Therefore, they didn’t work as hard under pressure as the students in Class 4 of the sophomore year. Instead, they lived relatively relaxed and carefree lives.

Song Haowen’s bed is in the center of the room, at the intersection of two aisles. He sleeps on the top bunk, and his desk-mate Zhou Lei sleeps on the bottom bunk.

Zhou Lei wears glasses, he’s short, has dark skin, low self-esteem, and is two years older, He’s ranking is ten places behind in his grades.

In his previous life, Song Haowen remembered that Zhou Lei repeated three years, got into Renmin University, continued to pursue a master’s degree after graduation, taught at the Party School, and later entered politics, rising to the rank of a provincial-level official. At that time, no one could have imagined Zhou Lei’s future achievements.

Above Song Haowen’s bed hangs a 60W incandescent lamp. For the convenience of everyone, this lamp is not turned off at night.

Before his rebirth, he took some pride in this because it meant he could read without using a flashlight on his bunk. Besides, his home didn’t have electricity back then, relying on kerosene lamps for lighting, so electric lights were a luxury for him.

It’s now June in the Gregorian calendar, and the nighttime temperatures have risen. When Song Haowen returned to the dormitory, a strong smell of fried noodles mixed with sweat and stinky feet greeted him.

Song Haowen frowned but thought he would get used to it in a while and didn’t mind. After washing he immediately lay down on his bed to rest.

Due to the thrilling experiences of the day, Song Haowen felt a bit exhausted and struggled to stay awake.

Closing his eyes, ready to drift off, he suddenly caught a familiar sour smell wafting towards his nose. In the past, he wouldn’t have cared, either too fatigued to bother or suspecting the odor came from himself.

Although he wasn’t as neglectful as Zhou Lei, who often went for one or two months without washing, he could go several days without washing his feet, and there would always be some strange smell in his bed.

Song Haowen originally intended to ignore the strange smell, but it seemed to be emanating from under his pillow, making it impossible for him to sleep.

In that case, he had to investigate. He got up, leaned over to check under the pillow, and was almost outraged: someone had stuffed several stinky, tattered socks under his pillow!

Song Haowen’s anger flared up! Thinking about how many nights he had unknowingly smelled the stench of socks in his previous life, he wished he could immediately confront the prankster, beat them up, and then stuff the smelly socks into their mouth for a thorough taste.

Just as Song Haowen was about to explode, he realized that without catching the culprit red-handed, they would never admit to it. He forcefully suppressed his anger and decided to deal with the matter when he found the culprit.

So, Song Haowen gave a cold glance at his busy classmates in the dormitory, rolled the smelly socks into a ball, threw them into a small ditch behind the dormitory, and then nonchalantly returned to bed. Feeling insulted for no reason, he found it deeply frustrating.

The next morning, as soon as Song Haowen opened his eyes, he heard someone exclaiming, “Where are my socks?” Immediately, two other classmates started shouting, one missing a pair, the other missing one sock. The commotion woke up everyone in the dormitory.

The dawn was breaking, and many students, who had returned late from their studies and were sleeping soundly, were suddenly awakened and couldn’t help but curse loudly.

Song Haowen observed coldly, unable to determine whether these classmates shouting about missing socks were genuine victims or simply trying to divert attention.

He had an idea, so he took out two one-yuan meal tickets from his pocket, wrote the letters “XT” on the back of each ticket with a pen, and placed them under his pillow, then calmly left the dormitory.

Once outside, instead of heading to the classroom or the playground to review lessons, Song Haowen quickly circled around the back of his dormitory and peered inside from the north window.

At this moment, most of the classmates in the dormitory were still lazing in bed, and the few early risers didn’t notice the north window. Before long, Song Haowen’s eyes lit up. He saw Zhu Yuanyuan, who slept on the bottom bunk near the door in Class 3 of the sophomore year, wearing only shorts.

Zhu walked to Song Haowen’s bed, glanced around to ensure no one was paying attention, and quickly reached under the pillow in front of him.

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanyuan seemed to pause, probably not finding what he was looking for. Immediately, he lifted the pillow to check.

When he saw the meal tickets under the pillow, he grabbed them without hesitation, then pretended nothing happened and went back to his bed, lying down again.

Seeing the opportunity, Song Haowen didn’t hesitate. Swiftly circling around from the back of the dormitory, he first checked that the meal tickets weren’t under his pillow and then turned to confront Zhu Yuanyuan, sternly asking:

“Zhu Yuanyuan, why did you steal my things?”

Startled by Song Haowen’s sudden shout, Zhu Yuanyuan jumped, feeling a bit panicked as all eyes in the dormitory turned towards them.

Trying to defend himself, he retorted, “Nonsense! You punk, stop making baseless accusations! When did I take your stuff?”

Song Haowen knew that Zhu Yuanyuan had been untrustworthy in his previous life, later engaging in provocations and bullying after entering society. He even received a ten-year prison sentence for theft.

There was no need to be lenient with such scum. Coldly, Song Haowen said, “You stole the two-yuan worth of meal tickets I had under my pillow.”

Zhu Yuanyuan, facing the onlookers, said, “It’s a wrongful accusation. Where did you see me steal from you? Did you catch me in the act? Besides, you’re not the only one with meal tickets.” He lifted the quilt and jumped off the bed, spreading out the meal tickets he held in his hand, presenting them to Song Haowen.

“Open your eyes wide and see, I have two-yuan worth of meal tickets here. Are they yours? If they are, make them admit it to you!”

Unperturbed, Song Haowen calmly responded, “If it’s proven that these are mine, what will you say?”

Feeling a bit anxious, Zhu Yuanyuan was afraid there might be the other’s name on the tickets. He lowered his head to check, found nothing, and then relaxed.

He confidently declared, “If it’s proven they’re yours, I’ll be your servant. If not, kneel down and kowtow to me, calling me Dad!”

Some classmates nearby joined in, teasing, “This is getting interesting. Someone has to play the role of the son.”

Zhou Lei, who slept on the bed below Song Haowen, had dressed and come over. Knowing that Zhu Yuanyuan was a troublemaker, he was afraid Song Haowen might get into trouble and quietly advised, “Let it go. It’s just two yuan worth of meal tickets. It’s not worth making a big fuss.”

In that era, two yuan was still a significant amount. Zhou Lei’s suggestion wasn’t because he didn’t care about the money but because he feared the situation might escalate into a physical confrontation between the two.

Boarding students had a morning and evening meal, each consisting of a large spoonful of watery rice porridge (sometimes clear enough to use as a mirror), equivalent to two grains in food stamps.

Salted vegetables were self-provided, and for lunch, students used their own grain, which they steamed in their lunch boxes. No processing fees were charged for these. As for cooking, it required food stamps, costing around one dime per portion.

Among the students, those who were thrifty might mix some vegetables such as dried sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, and barley in their lunch boxes, in addition to rice. Those with better conditions could add some salty pork or sausages, spreading the aroma of meat throughout the dormitory.

Zhou Lei’s family faced significant difficulties, and he had developed a thrifty nature. He spent at most fifty cents on groceries each month and was reluctant to eat vegetables during meals.

He only drank plain broth, which cost one cent per bowl. The broth, apart from a few pieces of green vegetable leaves, had nothing else.

Although Song Haowen’s family situation was a bit better than Zhou Lei’s, it was still limited. For half of the year, they relied on coarse grains to get by. The two yuan was equivalent to his monthly budget for groceries.

How could he not take it seriously? Moreover, since he dared to let the other steal it, he had a plan to retrieve it and tarnish the thief’s reputation.

Ignoring Zhou Lei’s advice, Song Haowen taunted Zhu Yuanyuan, saying, “If you want to be my son, I’d be ashamed. If I win, I won’t ask for anything else. Just publicly admit in front of all the dormitory mates that you’re a thief.”

Zhu Yuanyuan was about to retort when their class teacher, Mr. Dong Xing, entered the dormitory. He had come to wake up the students for early self-study and coincidentally stumbled upon the argument.

“Why are you all gathered here? Aren’t you getting ready for the morning self-study?”