Chapter 01

When Bai Zining and Cai Yu returned to dorm 206, Cai Yu’s sharp eyes noticed that the curtains of bed number three were drawn.

He turned his head and gestured toward Bai Zining, signaling him to keep quiet. Bai Zining gave a small smile and nodded to show he understood.

The next second, however, he threw the two thick books in his hand onto his desk with a loud thud, collapsed into his chair in a crooked, slouching posture, and let out a long sigh. “The sun is really blazing today! In a couple of days, it’ll be time to wear short sleeves.”

The noise was so loud that Cai Yu began to doubt himself. Was the Bai Zining who had just nodded at him merely a hallucination caused by attending too many heavy-duty classes?

He tiptoed over, pressing his index finger to his lips in a “shush” gesture, urgently stopping Bai Zining from saying anything further.

Bai Zining glanced at him but didn’t respond in any way. Instead, he opened his wardrobe. The metal door slammed against the iron steps of the bunk bed’s ladder, producing a deafening clang.

At that moment, the sound of someone turning over came from bed number three, followed by a swift swish as the curtain was drawn back.

A handsome face appeared behind the curtain. The boy had a high, straight nose and thin, slightly pursed lips. Likely disturbed from his sleep, his expression was serious, giving him a somewhat intimidating look.

His clear eyes fixed on a certain point below the bed. If not for a tuft of hair sticking up slightly, it would have been hard to believe he had just woken up.

Bai Zining emerged from the wardrobe, hunched over, and glanced up at the person on bed number three. He let out a playful “Oh no!” with an exaggerated look of surprise.

“Sorry about that, buddy. I really didn’t know you were in the dorm.”

His tone, however, carried little genuine remorse.

He had deliberately wanted to wake him up.

Cai Yu cried out silently in his heart, Oh, my ancestor, and quickly tried to smooth things over. “Brother Zhou, didn’t you have a class this afternoon? You didn’t go?”

The boy referred to as Brother Zhou gave a nonchalant hmm, turned over, climbed down from the bed, and shuffled toward the bathroom in his slippers to wash up.

The entire time, he didn’t spare Bai Zining another glance.

As the bathroom door closed, Bai Zining rolled his eyes dramatically. Such a pretender.

“You really need to stop stirring things up. We’re only in the second semester of our freshman year, and we still have more than three years to live together. Don’t keep provoking him,” Cai Yu said, glancing at Bai Zining’s comparatively thinner frame. The words ‘If it really comes to a fight, you’re no match for him’ stuck in his throat. If he dared to say that, Bai Zining would be the first to jump up and hit him.

To be fair, it hadn’t always been like this. When they first started school, the two weren’t so antagonistic. While they weren’t close, they at least exchanged nods in passing and would even greet each other if they met on the road. But at some point, things turned hostile, and now it was constant tit-for-tat.

To say it was mutual hostility wouldn’t be entirely accurate. It was mostly Bai Zining unilaterally provoking Zhu Shizhou, while Zhu Shizhou, for the most part, remained indifferent, which only infuriated Bai Zining even more.

Cai Yu couldn’t understand it. Bai Zining was usually a pretty easygoing guy, always cheerful and friendly with everyone. What exactly had Zhu Shizhou done to provoke him?

He’d asked Bai Zining about it many times and even tried to persuade him to let it go, but the only answer he ever got was, “I just can’t stand him.” When pressed for specifics, Bai Zining would hesitate for ages before slamming his hand on the desk in frustration and yelling, “I hate everything about him! Zhu Shizhou’s entire being, from the tips of his hair to the soles of his feet, there’s nothing about him I find agreeable!”

As soon as these bold words left his mouth, the bathroom door opened, and Zhu Shizhou walked out. The two people in the dorm exchanged looks of alarm.

Thankfully, Zhu Shizhou was wearing earphones at the time, so it wasn’t clear if he had heard anything.

Judging by his lack of follow-up or any intention to pick a fight afterward, he probably didn’t.

The dormitory assignments at A University were arranged alphabetically by the first letters of students’ surnames. Bai Zining’s surname started with “B,” and Cai Yu’s with “C,” so logically, they should have been grouped with other students whose surnames began with “Chen” or “Cao.”

However, due to an unfortunate coincidence, the Software Engineering major in the neighboring Computer Science Department ran out of dormitory slots, leaving only two students with surnames starting with “Z.” As a result, they were placed in the same dorm as the first two students from Bai Zining’s department.

Among the common surnames like Zhang, Wang, Li, and Zhao, two of the most frequent “Z” surnames in the Hundred Family Surnames, Bai Zining found it unscientific that there wasn’t a single Zhang or Zhao in the two classes of Software Engineering.

When school started, Bai Zining was the last to arrive at the dorm. The other three had already picked their beds, leaving bed number four for him. However, the dormitories in this A University campus were brand new, with uniform layouts of an upper bunk and a lower desk, so there wasn’t much difference between the beds.

He greeted his three roommates warmly, and during their chat, he learned that he and Cai Yu were in the same major.

Among the three, the first person Bai Zining noticed was Zhu Shizhou, mainly because he was very handsome, and tall. A rough estimate put him at least 1.85 meters.

However, compared to the warm and enthusiastic Cai Yu and the talkative Zuo Xingwei, Zhu Shizhou spoke very little. He only introduced himself by name, his face devoid of much expression. A cold and aloof handsome guy, Bai Zining thought.

Bai Zining placed his newly purchased mattress on the edge of his bed and squatted down to start unpacking his luggage. But before he could stabilize his belongings, something slipped. Just as it was about to fall, Zhu Shizhou, from the neighboring bed number three, moved over first, extending his arm to catch the falling mattress.

Bai Zining expressed his gratitude, “Thanks, classmate Zhu.”

Zhu Shizhou gave a simple hmm in response and went back to organizing his clothes.

Although he had a cold demeanor, he seemed quite helpful. Bai Zining’s impression of him improved even further.

But Bai Zining quickly changed his mind. That act of kindness turned out to be like a once-in-a-century shooting star—suddenly appearing, dazzling at first glance, and then disappearing without a trace.

After that, whenever Bai Zining tried to strike up a conversation or ask Zhu Shizhou something, he was either ignored or met with a cold response.

Bai Zining didn’t enjoy the feeling of being snubbed after putting himself out there. After a few failed attempts, he gave up on the idea of becoming friends and barely spoke to Zhu Shizhou in the dorm thereafter.

The real falling out with Zhu Shizhou could be traced back to the end of the first month after school started.

That afternoon, the cafeteria was crowded and packed. After queuing up for their meals, Bai Zining and Cai Yu struggled to find a seat. Cai Yu, with his sharp eyes, spotted two vacant seats not far away. He quickly informed Bai Zining and went ahead to claim them.

Then Bai Zining watched, stunned, as another boy squeezed his way toward Cai Yu. Just as Cai Yu set his tray on the table, the boy deliberately knocked over the small dish in his hand, spilling its contents all over Cai Yu.

Screams erupted from nearby classmates. Bai Zining quickly ran over, handing Cai Yu some tissues while questioning the boy, “What’s your problem?”

The boy was tall and skinny, almost like a black bamboo pole. With a cheeky grin, he said, “Sorry, classmate. It’s too crowded, and I couldn’t hold it steady. How about you go back and change your clothes first?” As he spoke, he casually placed his own bowl on the table.

Cai Yu was inclined to do just that, but Bai Zining didn’t budge. He continued glaring at the boy and snapped, “Just a simple apology, and that’s it? You can hold a bowl of scalding hot soup steady, but not a small dish?”

Cai Yu, ever the peacemaker, leaned close to Bai Zining and whispered, “Let it go. He didn’t do it on purpose.”

Not on purpose? Bai Zining fumed inwardly. Did he grow eyes on the top of his head? From where he stood, he had seen everything clearly that the boy was obviously gunning for that seat.

“So, what do you want to do?” the boy sneered with a dismissive laugh. “Call the police and have me arrested?”

“Please apologize sincerely for your actions and refrain from using such underhanded tactics to steal a seat in the future. It’s just a seat. Anyone watching might think you can’t eat unless you sit here,” Bai Zining said sternly, his expression serious.

“It’s just a trivial matter. Is this really necessary? Don’t be so unforgiving,” the boy retorted, clearly annoyed after having his intentions called out.

Bai Zining raised his voice slightly. “I said, apologize.”

By now, a small crowd had gathered to watch, and some passersby were whispering among themselves. The boy, seemingly embarrassed by the situation, reached out to shove Bai Zining. However, before he could touch him, a hand shot out from the side and grabbed his wrist.

Bai Zining watched as the boy let out a cry of pain, his expression shifting from anger to agony. The owner of the hand gave a firm yank in the opposite direction, causing the boy to stumble backward a few steps.

It was then that Bai Zining got a clear look at the person who had stepped in, it was his roommate, Zhu Shizhou.

Just as Bai Zining was about to thank him, Zhu Shizhou narrowed his eyes at him and spat out two words, his tone so contemptuous it was as if he regarded no one as worth his attention.

Bai Zining froze for a moment, processing what he’d just heard. If he wasn’t mistaken, Zhu Shizhou had just said: “Incompetent loser.”

Incompetent loser?

Bai Zining felt his blood rush to his head. What did he mean by that? Was Zhu Shizhou implying he was overestimating himself? Mocking his height or build? But before he could voice his questions, Zhu Shizhou had already turned away, watching the other boy flee in panic. Without saying another word to Bai Zining or Cai Yu, he left with his friends.

Staring at Zhu Shizhou’s indifferent back, Bai Zining tried to convince himself not to get angry. Stay calm. Be magnanimous. Harmony in the dorm is important.

At the same time, he came to a realization that Zhu Shizhou wasn’t just cold, but he was also incredibly arrogant.

But what happened next made it impossible for Bai Zining to maintain his composure or magnanimity.