Chapter 1

In September, under the scorching sun, the ox in Wu panted at the sight of the moon.

The hottest months of the year had pushed the heat to its peak. In the evening, the trees on both sides of the road provided a canopy of green shade over the asphalt, and a bus numbered 762, like a loyal old ox, was stuck in the middle of the road.

It was time to return to school, and the originally wide two-lane asphalt road was packed with private cars, leaving even the bus to slowly inch forward in the traffic. A few hundred meters seemed slower to cover than on foot.

"Driver, I want to get off!"

A gentle but determined voice rang out near the rear door of the bus. The speaker was a rather handsome young man with slightly long hair and delicate features, his face now showing impatience.

The driver glanced at the surveillance screen and recognized the handsome young man, but did not grant him any special treatment. He said calmly, "There are still a few hundred meters to the stop, please wait a bit longer."

Su Yuan looked out the window at the stationary scene, took a deep breath, and firmly declared, "I want to get off right here!"

The driver did not respond. Just as Su Yuan thought he wouldn't open the door, "Click!" the door opened, and a wave of heat rushed in. The stifling heat outside contrasted sharply with the cool air inside the bus.

"Be careful of the cars behind you when you get off." The driver shook his head and kindly reminded him. These students were really hard to please; he didn't know what they would do if he didn't let them off. Seeing the congested road ahead, he understood the young man's urgency and decided to let him off.

"What a stubborn uncle!" Su Yuan evaluated the driver, dragging his suitcase off the bus. At that moment, he found the driver rather endearing.

Su Yuan was a sophomore at Binhe University of Science and Technology, from a neighboring city not far from Binhe. After a year of university life, he was considered a seasoned student.

The high education zone of Binhe City was located on the outskirts of the urban area, far from the city center, thus avoiding the heat island effect. With good greenery, the environment was quiet and pleasant, though it was still quite hot.

"Thanks to you, classmate!" Turning back, he saw four students, both male and female, who had followed him off the bus. One of the boys was smiling at him. Su Yuan smiled back, thinking it was a small matter. He quickly dragged his luggage through the traffic, leaving them behind.

"Such a cool aura!" One of the boys, seeing him stride confidently through the gaps in the traffic, was impressed. He didn't seem to care about the danger of being run over.

"Aura" is a mysterious thing. At that moment, Su Yuan's confident actions clearly exuded a strong presence to the freshmen. A gentle breeze blew, ruffling his bangs, and he naturally brushed them aside, a gesture that seemed to say, "A simple brush of the bangs, hiding great achievements."

"I wonder if the guys in the dorm have returned yet." Entering the school gate and looking up at the quiet dormitory buildings, he wondered if he had come too early.

The dormitory buildings were divided into north and south zones, separated by a wide road. On both sides were shops, like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, close but rarely meeting.

The north zone could be called the "male zone," mostly male dormitories, with a few female dormitories separated by a river and green belts. The south zone was a different world, filled with female dormitories, and also housed the faculty dormitories.

Sometimes Su Yuan would think, somewhat mischievously, whether the school had arranged this to accommodate some young, unmarried teachers. Of course, this was just a thought. Teachers, such a noble profession, were too busy nurturing the country's future to have time for such base thoughts. Even if such thoughts crossed their minds, they would feel guilty for days.

Only someone as introverted as Su Yuan would occasionally entertain such thoughts.

Su Yuan's dormitory building was like a large apartment building, with two buildings sharing a common lobby. Several dorm managers were stationed in the center, and spiral staircases on both sides led to the dormitories.

"Su Yuan, you're back so early?" A muscular boy, bare-chested and wearing shorts, called out to him while munching on an apple.

"Yeah." Su Yuan smiled at him. This was Wang Ping, a staff member of the school's sports department, with a physique like a gorilla and considerable strength. Su Yuan often interacted with him, and they had a good relationship.

An apple flew toward him, and he caught it.

"I heard you're getting a promotion this semester?" Wang Ping asked casually.

"How did you know?" Su Yuan, holding the apple, was surprised. He had indeed heard about the promotion. After a year as a secretary in the student council, he was about to take a step forward, a rare opportunity.

Wang Ping said, "It was already spreading in our department at the end of last semester. What position are you getting? Is there a chance you'll come to our sports department? If you do, remember to help me out."

Su Yuan shook his head and smiled, "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I won't be going to the sports department."

"Then...?"

"Probably the deputy head of the external affairs department."

"Hmm, not bad, a deputy head already." Although Su Yuan not coming to the sports department disappointed Wang Ping, he still looked happy for him.

"It's just a nomination, not finalized yet. Even if it is, you know, the external affairs department is all about networking and sponsorships, doing thankless work. If I had a choice, I'd rather be a deputy head in your sports department!"

Wang Ping nodded, "You have a point."

"Let's not talk about it. I'll go put my luggage away." He waved goodbye to Wang Ping.

Room 330, Building 17, removing the seal, inserting the key, and pushing the door open, a musty smell greeted him. After months of vacancy, it felt like entering a decades-old house. Su Yuan waved his right hand in front of his nose to clear the stale air.

The table was covered in a thick layer of dust, and a swipe of his finger left a gray streak!

"This is going to be a lot of work." He shook his head, placed his suitcase in the center of the room, and quickly opened the windows to ventilate. He filled a plastic bucket with water from the bathroom and began cleaning.

...

Room 330 housed four people. The layout included a bathroom, a room, and a balcony. Inside were four bunk beds, with study desks, bookshelves, and wardrobes below. The bookshelves held a stack of books, but they were also covered in dust.

The room was littered with discarded paper and bottles. Su Yuan threw them into the trash bin and wiped the tables with a damp cloth.

Bed 1 was his, and by rule, he was the dorm leader. Bed 2 belonged to Ji Ye Hao, a tall and handsome boy with a good personality. Su Yuan had never seen him angry in a year. His only flaw was a slight obsession with cleanliness.

Lacking flaws is the biggest flaw, Su Yuan thought, and knew he wasn't a simple person.

Bed 3 was usually unoccupied. If it weren't for a classmate named Yang Xiaowei occasionally returning to assert his ownership, it would seem like only three people lived in the dorm.

Bed 4 belonged to a fat boy named Gao Jun.

Actually, Gao Jun wasn't fat, weighing only 140 pounds, but compared to Su Yuan and Ji Ye Hao, he was considered "fat." He spent his days dealing with electrical components and had long ago vowed to become an outstanding tech enthusiast. However, he was unexpectedly assigned to the same biological engineering major as Su Yuan, moving further away from his tech dreams.

"This lazy fatso, not even cleaning up before leaving, what a waste of my high opinion of him!" Compared to Ji Ye Hao's handsomeness, Gao Jun was rather clumsy, and Su Yuan had given him a "good guy card" more than once.

Cursing, Su Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the newly cleaned dorm. He was very satisfied with his work; this was a place fit for living.

As the saying goes, if you can't clean your own room, how can you clean the world? A man in the world should aim to change the world, but also to keep his room tidy for guests. Start with the simple things, and it feels good to look at.

The dorm was now spotless, the floor like a mirror, and the tables neatly arranged, no longer dusty. Su Yuan didn't touch Gao Jun's table because it was too cluttered.

Soldering irons, copper coils, voltage regulators, digital megohmmeters, desktop digital multimeters, function generators, and a pile of instruments and parts he couldn't identify. Seeing these, Su Yuan felt a headache. Who knew what a biological engineering student needed all these unrelated things for.

If he used a damp cloth, he was afraid he might damage them.

By the time he finished, the beds were made, and the sky had turned dark.

The ceiling fan rotated slowly, like a nodding donkey in an oil field, operating in a fixed cycle.

"Rumble..." Feeling his stomach protest, Su Yuan decided to go eat something.

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