After the morning classes ended, Lin Xinyuan asked Dorm Leader Xiong Wei for the key in advance and headed back to the dormitory first.
Except for Qin Nanfeng and himself, the other roommates had all gone to the cafeteria.
Lin Xinyuan’s campus was the new campus of Tianbei University, located in the newly built university town.
Although it wasn’t as convenient as the old campus… it did have its own advantages, especially when it came to the dormitories.
The dormitories at the new campus all had the classic upper bunk and lower desk setup, with a great environment and complete facilities.
As for the old campus, he’d seen the dorms there on Tieba before.
They couldn’t quite be called “Lou Shi Ming,” but they were definitely not great, far worse than the new campus by more than just a little bit.
That’s why he’d always felt lucky—lucky to have chosen his current major…
As soon as he got back, Lin Xinyuan immediately turned on the air conditioner.
It was mid-October in Tianbei City, just after the National Day holiday, and the weather was still hot.
Sitting in his chair, he turned on his computer, planning to find an anime to watch first. Hmm… it’d be good to have something to eat while watching later…
To be honest, he didn’t play games much.
Most of his time was spent on anime and novels, and he genuinely preferred those over games.
He watched a lot of domestic anime, and as for Japanese anime, he’d seen a few classic sports and shounen series, but they were all pretty old.
Like that certain “Ace” series, or “Major” about baseball and the like.
That annoying yellow-haired guy came back right after him, not just because he’d gone to make a call, but also because Lin Xinyuan had intentionally avoided going with him.
He was probably calling Xiaoxue…
Xiaoxue… sigh…
He thought of his first love again.
Even though he knew it probably wasn’t Qin Nanfeng’s fault, Lin Xinyuan just couldn’t help but dwell on it.
It was so rare for his heart to flutter, but it ended so quickly!
It wasn’t that he’d loved so deeply, but rather that he just couldn’t accept it…
Absentmindedly listening to the anime’s theme song, Lin Xinyuan glanced, seemingly unintentionally, at Qin Nanfeng, who had already returned.
The guy was lazily leaning back in his chair, fingers flying as he chatted enthusiastically.
Seeing this, Lin Xinyuan curled his lips and stopped looking at Qin Nanfeng, not wanting to add to his own annoyance.
“Dormitory 308! Hey, your delivery’s here.”
Before he could focus on his anime, the food delivery arrived.
“Thanks.”
The dorm door was open.
He walked over, took the food from his classmate at the door, and thanked him.
He took out one portion and walked over to Qin Nanfeng, placing it on his desk.
“Qin-ge, I’ve put your food here.”
No matter what he felt inside, Lin Xinyuan’s expression stayed perfectly normal, showing nothing out of place.
“Oh, got it.”
Qin Nanfeng’s fingers never stopped, not even looking up as he replied offhandedly.
Tch!
Acting all cool!
What, do you think you’re some domineering CEO?
Lin Xinyuan was the type who’d go soft after accepting favors, though he hid it well.
After a brief moment of annoyance, he went back to his seat, opened his own food, and enjoyed his lunch while watching anime.
After eating, waiting for his food to digest, and with still some time before one o’clock, Lin Xinyuan got ready to climb into bed.
The air conditioner was blowing steadily, and the four “good sons” below had already returned.
As soon as these guys finished eating, they’d come back and immediately started gaming—switching from mobile MOBA to a certain well-known MOBA on PC.
Just then, for some reason, a teammate said something to Chen Ze, and Chen Ze started trash-talking back.
When Xiong Wei and the other two joined in, they actually managed to hold their own in a four-on-one argument.
To take on four at once—truly terrifying!
Lin Xinyuan didn’t pay any mind to the noise. He picked up his phone and opened his writer’s account.
There were no classes scheduled for the afternoon, so he planned to write a few chapters for his lovely, hungry readers.
Lin Xinyuan’s family wasn’t well-off. Both parents worked out of town, and although their salaries were decent…
A few years back, his grandfather had an accident and the family got into debt—a huge sum even by today’s standards—and it had only just about been paid off in recent years.
A few years ago, the family had even taken out a mortgage to buy an apartment in the county, so they still had to pay the loan every month, which meant his living expenses weren’t exactly generous.
You could say the money his family gave him was just enough for meals.
That’s why he started earning money early on, so he wouldn’t have to be so strapped for cash.
Maybe it was because he’d been reading web novels since elementary school, but he was really drawn to the industry, so he gave it a try.
The result? His first two novels flopped, didn’t even get signed, but he still forced himself to finish them, and because of that, he gained a small group of readers.
But as the saying goes, hard work pays off. His third book finally got signed—even if it was just the most basic contract, he still made a bit of money.
After a few years, although he wasn’t making much yet, it was enough to supplement his living expenses, and since his lifestyle was frugal, he even had a bit left over.
He even managed to scrape together enough to have someone assemble a usable computer for him!
Of course, that was mainly because he needed it for his studies; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been willing to buy a computer…
Lin Xinyuan didn’t like typing for too long at his desk—it made him uncomfortable. He preferred writing on his phone in bed, even if it was slower.
He only used the keyboard when someone sent a tip urging him to update, or when he was rushing a draft.
Despite the yelling and shouting around him, Lin Xinyuan stayed focused.
He never made detailed outlines for his novels; the plot was always made up as he went along.
So it took him several hours just to finish a little over two chapters.
By then, it was already past six in the evening, and the four roommates had played themselves tired and gone to bed, not that he’d even noticed.
He sat up, stretched a bit, and got out of bed.
It was Friday, and with no classes tomorrow, Lin Xinyuan planned to get dinner, then head to the track later for a run—a habit he’d kept up throughout college.
Qin Nanfeng wasn’t around, and the others were sound asleep, so Lin Xinyuan didn’t want to wake them. He just ordered a relatively cheap delivery meal for himself.
While waiting for his food, he read some novels to pass the time and maybe pick up some inspiration for his own writing.
By the time he finished eating and rested a bit, it was already after seven in the evening.
Lin Xinyuan put on his running shoes and got ready to head out.
“Old Six, heading to the track?”
“Yeah, why?”
Xu Wentao grinned, “Bring me back two egg pancakes when you come back! Love you, dad!”
Lin Xinyuan put on a helpless expression, “Fine.. My good son is so obedient!”
“Daddy… I want some too.. And bring this humble wife a large portion of chicken collarbone and a cup of matcha milk tea~ Oh, and make sure the chicken is super spicy, so spicy it kills me”
Chen Ze’s eunuch voice made Lin Xinyuan shiver. He couldn’t help but curse, “Get lost!”
“Okay~”
“Ah Yuan, bring me a small serving of Fuding pork slices, I’ll transfer you the money later.” Wen Yuanshan was more normal, his desk covered with all sorts of figurines, his computer playing some unknown Japanese anime.
“OK!”
As for Dorm Leader Xiong Wei, he had a girlfriend and had already gone out on a date, so he wasn’t in the dorm at the moment.
Lin Xinyuan left the dorm, went downstairs, and headed straight for the track.
The track wasn’t far from the boys’ dorm—about a seven or eight-minute walk, which wasn’t much for such a huge Tianbei University campus.
When Lin Xinyuan reached the edge of the track, he started warming up, loosening his muscles after lying in bed for so long.
Not far from the track was the basketball court, with the constant sound of sneakers squeaking on the floor, and shouts and exclamations echoing.
Inside the track, plenty of people were walking or sitting together, some couples among them, and many, like him, there for exercise.
After warming up, Lin Xinyuan started jogging along the track.
His physical fitness was decent, thanks to this habit he’d kept up throughout his first year of college.
The track was a standard 400 meters. He ran eight laps in a row, already a bit out of breath.
Thinking he’d do one more lap to finish for the day, Lin Xinyuan kept running, though he’d slowed down quite a bit.
“Ow! Who’s so careless?!”
Something suddenly hit him on the head, making Lin Xinyuan clutch his aching scalp and curse.
The track was on the edge of campus, with a wall and tall, old trees along the border.
This made it the darkest spot on the track at night, and some couples even hid there for make-out sessions, so there weren’t many people passing by.
Naturally, his cry of pain didn’t draw any attention, and besides, he kept his voice low—after all, Lin Xinyuan thought it would be embarrassing for a grown man to cry out too loudly.
“Which bastard—seriously, I’m ***!”
Lin Xinyuan hissed, rubbing the spot where he’d been hit, his face twisted with pain.
“What the heck?”
It was dark here, but he could still make out the shape of what hit him. He picked it up.
It felt smooth and cool to the touch, but pleasantly so.
It looked like… a Hand Ring…
No, it was definitely a Hand Ring.
Which uncivilized idiot threw this thing around?
Holding the Hand Ring-like object, Lin Xinyuan glanced around, as if trying to spot the culprit.
But unfortunately, after searching for quite a while, he didn’t find any clues, nor did anyone come to claim it.
Whatever… guess I’m just unlucky!
Ugh… better head back…
Lin Xinyuan could only accept his bad luck, and had no desire to finish that last lap…
💍 🚺♀️