Chapter 3

"Sorry, I woke you up."

Under the bed in bed number four, Gao Jun was packing his tools. Seeing Su Yuan's head pop out, he knew it was his fumbling that had woken him, so he smiled apologetically.

Su Yuan waved his hand, took out his phone to check the time—it was four in the afternoon. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his waist and a warm sensation. Reaching out, he realized the jade had slipped under his body.

The jade, having absorbed enough heat, felt warm and smooth to the touch. He casually threw it to the side of the bed and looked down, noticing that Ji Yehao had also arrived at some point. A light blue suitcase was still unopened beside the chair, and he was engrossed in a physical novel borrowed from an outside bookstore.

Hmm, from this angle, Su Yuan suddenly found that this guy was indeed quite handsome, almost matching himself. But why hadn't such a handsome person found a girlfriend yet? It was truly puzzling.

While reading and eating sunflower seeds, the shells had piled up like a small mountain on the table. Ji Yehao had plenty of free time.

"When did you guys arrive?" Su Yuan climbed down from the bed, tore open a box of cookies, and asked while eating.

"I got here at two, and Gao Jun arrived half an hour ago." Glancing at Gao Jun, who was rummaging through his toolbox, Ji Yehao immediately returned his gaze to the novel. This guy had recently become obsessed with online novels, and in this regard, Su Yuan was his mentor, having introduced him to the genre.

Su Yuan nodded. He and Ji Yehao were from the same hometown, Haizhou City. Su Yuan had attended Haizhou No. 1 High School, while Ji Yehao had attended No. 2 High School.

Su Yuan then fell silent, and the dorm room was filled only with the sound of Gao Jun organizing his things and Su Yuan munching on cookies.

After about ten minutes, Gao Jun finally finished, wiped the sweat from his face, and walked behind Su Yuan, placing a hand on the back of the chair. He saw that Su Yuan had a large book in front of him, with symbols resembling tadpoles, exuding an air of nobility and coldness.

"You actually have the mood to read advanced mathematics..." he said in surprise. In the dorm, Su Yuan was always too lazy to touch his textbooks. He then put on a smug smile, "Could it be... you failed last semester?"

Hitting a sore spot, Su Yuan slammed the "Calculus" textbook face down on the table and coldly replied, "Shut up! Do you think everyone is like you? Advanced mathematics is a tough subject!"

"Alright..." Gao Jun, intimidated by his glare, reluctantly withdrew his hand. Seeing the smug look still on Su Yuan's face, he felt a surge of anger.

"Really failed?" Gao Jun took a bite of an apple.

"Failed."

In the last semester, Su Yuan had performed poorly in the Calculus exam, barely passing. The math teacher had generously given him a retake pass.

Su Yuan regretted not having a good relationship with the math teacher.

Gao Jun pursed his lips and wisely remained silent. Without his chatter, the room was peaceful. Spreading out his notebook, which contained theorems and formulas for differentiation and integration copied diligently from the book, Su Yuan buried himself in solving problems.

Calculus, in itself, wasn't difficult; it was just a mathematical tool. However, due to a lack of deep understanding, he often made small mistakes in calculations. After a summer break, he had forgotten most of what he had learned. Su Yuan felt like crying, but he knew he had brought this upon himself.

The retake was scheduled for the next afternoon, and Su Yuan had only one day to cram. Perhaps the summer had given him some insight. When he picked up the "Calculus" book again, he initially forgot everything he had learned last semester, but upon a second look, he found that he understood much more, even more deeply than during the final exam.

This boosted Su Yuan's confidence, and he exclaimed that heaven had not abandoned him. He then immersed himself in the problems, his pen constantly moving on the notebook, leaving marks.

As the sky outside grew dark, the three of them went out for dinner together. Afterward, Su Yuan continued to review intensely until nearly nine o'clock.

"By the way, we can't go online, right?" Ji Yehao, who had been in a meditative state since dinner, finally finished his borrowed novel and tried to go online but found no connection.

Su Yuan, holding his pen, replied without turning around, "We couldn't go online yesterday either. The software might have been blocked by the telecom company."

"No wonder I didn't hear the usual howling from the neighboring dorm!" Ji Yehao realized. At the time, "World of Warcraft" was very popular, and the neighboring dorm was always full of players, whose noise could be heard even through closed doors.

Putting down his pen, Su Yuan glanced at him, "Boss, can you be any more naive? How could you only notice this now?"

Ji Yehao frowned, calmly closed his laptop, and ordered Gao Jun, "Fatso, I give you one night to write a new software. I'll go offline for now and wait for your good news."

Su Yuan chuckled in agreement, thinking no one was more suited for this task than Gao Jun.

Gao Jun's face darkened, and he exclaimed, "One night? Boss, even a workhorse can't be that diligent! And why me?"

"Because the capable should do more," Ji Yehao said elegantly, flicking his fingers. Su Yuan quickly added, "Don't look at me. Do I look like someone who can write programs?"

If you could write programs, pigs would fly.

Gao Jun gritted his teeth and resisted, "No, I've never written this kind of software before, I don't know how."

"Aren't you a tech geek? How can you not know this?" Ji Yehao raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Everyone has their specialty, you know?"

Ji Yehao sighed, "Then it looks like none of us can go online."

"Alright, I surrender. I do know some programming, but it will take at least a week."

"A week? The flowers will be withered by then!!" Su Yuan protested before Ji Yehao, needing the internet less for the next two days but more after the retake.

Gao Jun pouted and argued, "At least three days!" Suddenly, he glared, "Su Yuan, stop following Ye Hao's lead and get back to your 'Calculus.' Do you want to retake the course next year?"

"Don't jinx me!"

Retaking the course would be too demoralizing.

"GO! GO! GO!"

Su Yuan closed his textbook, grabbed a pen, a few books, and a notebook with key points, and walked out. At the door, he raised his fist and declared, "I'm going to the all-night classroom. I won't rest until I conquer 'Advanced Math Lady' tonight!"

Ji Yehao gave him an approving look, "Good luck!"

"Thanks for the good words!" Su Yuan clutched his books under his arm and left the dorm.

The all-night classroom at Binhe University of Technology, as the name suggests, was open to students all night. During the final exams or a few days before retakes, these classrooms and the library were often packed. If the school leaders inspected the campus at such times, they would be proud of the intense learning atmosphere.

Stopping by the supermarket to buy a can of coffee, it took him about ten minutes to reach the classroom. It was already full, with both men and women gathered. Su Yuan found a spot in a corner near the back door.

Spreading out his textbook, he listened to the rustling of pages and the "squeak" of pens on notebooks, creating a serene atmosphere. Inspired, Su Yuan sat up straight and began to study diligently.

The night was peaceful, and the all-night classroom was bustling with activity.

A few air conditioning vents blew cold air, and the distant sounds of freshmen's military training could be heard, sometimes faint, sometimes loud, gradually fading away. The night training must have ended...

In this scholarly atmosphere, Su Yuan had unknowingly reached the last page of his textbook. He yawned, unable to resist the drowsiness, and rested his head on the table.

...

After an unknown amount of time, his head slipped from his crossed arms onto the hard desk. Checking his phone, he saw it was already 1:30 AM.

The room had emptied, with only a few students still studying diligently.

"Ugh? My head hurts!" Waking up, Su Yuan found his head throbbing. He rubbed his forehead, yawned, and realized that all-night studying was exhausting. He resolved not to do it again.

His stomach felt bloated, signaling that he needed to use the restroom. He remembered there was one about thirty meters outside the classroom. He quietly slipped out the back door and entered the men's room.

The toilet light was broken, and the room was pitch black, as deep and dark as the nearby landscape. Although he wasn't superstitious, some strange thoughts crossed his mind—according to ghost stories, the most dangerous places were hallways and toilets.

"Damn, I shouldn't be thinking about this, it's making me more nervous!" Perhaps due to his imagination, the toilet seemed unusually quiet, with the sound of dripping water amplified. He nervously glanced around, feeling a chill and goosebumps.

"Amitabha, may all the Buddhas protect me!"

For some reason, he felt something was off.

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