Early the next morning.
After treating Yellow from the ground floor of the dorm with leftover instant noodles and ham, Cloud Hao contentedly rubbed the dog's head before heading to the classroom with his shoulder bag.
Zheng Xueqian, the first person to arrive, had already reserved seats for the three of them. He was sitting there flipping through the book and reading up in advance. When he saw his three roommates coming in one after another, he calmly closed his book.
"…Why do other schools have military training, but we have to attend lessons here?" Dressed in a plaid shirt and looking like an otaku, Zhou Xuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and said while yawning, "Any of you with a pen, lend me one."
"What did you do last night?" Zheng Xueqian stuffed a pen to the guy sitting one row in front of him. When he saw the dark circles on Zhou Xuan's face, Zheng Xueqian was taken aback. "How did you end up like this?"
What the f*ck?
Did you pull an all-nighter to study?
"Are you talking about this idiot?" Seated next to his roommate, Wang Ziyi scoffed and leisurely spun and turned the pen in his hand. "These two guys refused to admit defeat and insisted on comparing scores with me, so he ended up playing all night…"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan immediately got upset and was invigorated. He argued loudly, "F*ck you! Didn't I win in the end!?"
"Noob!"
"You're the f*cking noob!"
Zheng Xueqian was dumbstruck as he watched these two buffoons argue with each other. He said in a daze, "Comparing… scores?"
He Ping pushed his glasses up and said in a bored tone, "2048, a game of stacking numbers."
Zheng Xueqian nodded blankly.
"Oh…"
So they're competing in a game.
When he heard that it was a game, Zheng Xueqian, who was feeling a little tense at first, instantly heaved a sigh of relief.
In the past few days after coming to River Town University, he had been living in fear and on edge. Having barely made it with low scores, Zhen Xueqian felt that he was surrounded by smart people and was terrified of being left behind.
But now…
Doesn't seem like it's all of them?
"It would be great if I could play it on the phone," Zhou Xuan glanced at the professor at the lectern, who had started the lecture, and mumbled under his breath, "This game feels more suited for mobile phones than computers."
This time, Wang Ziyi nodded in agreement and didn't argue with him.
"That's true. Each game takes thirty to forty minutes, just perfect for one class. Then, there's a break between classes."
He Ping gave his two roommates a sidelong glance without saying anything. He then continued reading the book, which you could tell was difficult to understand just from its name.
As for the advanced mathematics textbook…
He didn't even bother bringing it because it was too simple.
Cloud Hao was sitting in the row behind dorm room 402. He opened the textbook listlessly without joining in the conversation and yawned involuntarily.
He didn't stay up all night to play 2048, but he did read up on music theory using his mobile phone.
Although there were two points for musical talents in his attribute column, it was still quite difficult for him, a layman in music, to perfectly reconstruct the accompaniment of "The Fleeting Fireworks".
That was despite the accompaniment sheet music, singing method, and technique being imprinted in his mind.
His phone vibrated. Cloud Hao, who was about to listen attentively to the lecture, picked it up and glanced at it. Instantly, his brows twitched unnaturally.
Creditor: [Pay back the money!]
Noticing Cloud Hao's unusual expression, Zheng Xueqian, who was also not paying attention to the professor, immediately glanced over.
"Brother Cloud, which girl is sending you messages?"
Liang Ziyuan cast a glance in their direction, then uninterestedly turned his gaze away.
"Get lost, get lost." Pushing Zheng Xueqian's head back, Cloud Hao held the phone screen and quickly typed a line in reply.
[In class]
[6 pm in the grove next to Teaching Block A]
[Talk when we meet!]
This time, the other party was silent for a long time.
[Why, why is it at night? (°ー°〃)]
F*ck!
This woman is full of nonsense.
Cloud Hao cast a quick glance at the professor before swiftly typing his reply.
[Full-day classes today!]
[Do you want it or not? If you don't, then let me owe you for a while more?]
After he sent the message, the other party responded within seconds.
[I want!]
Looking at the message on the screen, Cloud Hao nodded in satisfaction and put the phone back in his pocket.
Feels great!
Sure enough, the person who owes the money is the one in charge.
…
In fact, generally speaking, it was rare to have full-day classes in the freshman year. However, the first two weeks of school would no doubt be a bit hectic.
For example, on Monday this week, the national defense education class and the safety knowledge training at the start of school happened together.
Cloud Hao spent the whole afternoon in a sleepy state until the class president, Zhu Kening, went up to the lectern.
"Classmates, the class advisor asked me to inform everyone that this year's military training will last for about one month from October 1."
Rubbing his eyes, Cloud Hao woke up and yawned.
Was it the National Day?
The National Day of Country Xia in this world was also October 1, quite similar to China in his previous life.
Though having the military training in October is a bit late.
"If you can't participate for physical reasons, you need to provide a valid medical certificate issued by a hospital. Of course, if it's just a minor injury or illness, I hope everyone will participate actively. After all, this is related to the national defense education and the honor of our class…"
Brother Kening's speech style was by and large like this. The first two sentences would be the key points, and it didn't matter if you listened on after that.
Perhaps it was because of this that although everyone disliked listening to him, they didn't find it exceptionally annoying.
At most, it was just a bother.
The sound of chairs pulling away resounded in the classroom, and the students who had finished packing up left the room.
Zhu Kening did not mind them. You do your thing and leave; I'll do my thing and talk. As long as I don't feel awkward, the awkward one won't be me.
Although he wanted to give Zhu Kening a bit of face, Cloud Hao still packed up his things as he had something else planned. He took long strides out of the classroom and rushed to the grove next to Teaching Block A.
When he arrived there, a ponytailed girl in a white T-shirt and a pair of sandals was standing under the tree and looking around. Although it wasn't anywhere remote, she didn't even bring her roommate with her. Cloud Hao didn't know whether she was calm and collected or it was something else.
He spotted her at a glance. Cloud Hao went forth and handed over the black plastic bag in his hand.
"Take it."
Staring at the bag, Lin Mengmeng blinked and said in a daze, "This is…"
"It's a Dami p6+ mobile phone, the same as that phone of yours. Be careful when walking around with such an expensive mobile phone."
When he saw her lack of reaction, Cloud Hao sighed. He grabbed her wrist and turned it over before slapping the phone down on her hand. His series of actions startled Lin Mengmeng, who was not prepared at all.
"Ah!"
Looking at Lin Mengmeng, who had jumped back in fright, Cloud Hao's brows knitted together.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Mengmeng hid the phone behind her, blushed, and said in a soft voice, "…It's nothing. I just didn't expect you to buy me a new one."
"Wasn't that what you wanted?"
Looking at Cloud Hao's dumbfounded expression, Lin Mengmeng continued to mutter in a low voice, "That's true, but later on, didn't I say that you just have to pay for the screen…? I'm not an unreasonable person."
F*ck!
Looks like it was all one-sided on my part.
The thought of this mobile phone costing more than 10,000 yuan made Cloud Hao's heart ache. He couldn't even bear to use such an expensive mobile phone for himself.
However, though he felt anguished, he didn't regret spending that money.
After all, just like the system said, there was karmic retribution. He was the one who broke her phone. If he didn't pay her back, Cloud Hao's heart would feel uneasy. Furthermore, she had lent him 2000 yuan for his start-up capital. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the money to buy this phone now.
He would just take it as ending this karmic cycle.
"It's okay, I'm the one who delayed you for so long," Cloud Hao said with a sigh. "But I only managed to raise the money recently and immediately returned it to you. I didn't have the intention to delay and default on payment."
Lin Mengmeng looked him straight in the eyes and nodded.
She suddenly felt that this junior was not that bad. At least, he was still reasonable.
"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."
Seeing that Cloud Hao was about to leave, Lin Mengmeng quickly called out to him, "Wait a minute!"
Cloud Hao halted in his tracks and turned his head back, looking at Lin Mengmeng who had stopped him.
"Is there anything else?"
"Um… you won't go back and eat instant noodles, right?"
Instant noodles?
Cloud Hao was momentarily stunned.
"What's wrong."
Indeed, he did stock up on some instant noodles in his dorm room when there was a discount, but he probably wouldn't buy it again after he finished eating them.
However, a certain someone obviously misunderstood.
Lin Mengmeng misunderstood him as so poor that he could only eat instant noodles for paying her back the money. She suddenly felt grief for him and guiltily mumbled, "Nothing, nothing. Since it's dinner time…"
"How about… We have a meal together?"
Cloud Hao reflexively blurted out, "Your treat?"
Lin Mengmeng looked at this guy in stupefaction.
Although she indeed had this plan, she didn't expect him to be so blunt. Still, Lin Mengmeng gritted her teeth and nodded. She squeezed out her words through clenched teeth, "Fine! My treat…"
…
Lin Mengmeng didn't break her promise. She brought Cloud Hao to a nicely-decorated restaurant at the school entrance and paid the bill right after ordering.
The appetizer and two cups of cold drinks were served first. Cloud Hao did not stand on ceremony with her and dug in straight away.
During the meal, he realized that this girl was one year above him, born in the 17th year of the New Calendar. Thus, she was considered his senior.
However, she wasn't studying software engineering but music.
"You are in the music faculty?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Oh…"
The chopsticks in his hand froze in mid-air, and Cloud Hao stared blankly at the top of her head.
[Talent: Acting Genius]
[Hidden Potential Stat: 9]
F*ck, yet another big shot with a 9-point talent?
Why was there no system notification previously, yet it popped up now?
Is the condition for triggering it to eat together?
But when my roommates and I first met, we weren't eating…
"I thought you were from the acting faculty…"
"Huh? Why's that?"
Lin Mengmeng was stunned. She even stopped biting the straw in her mouth.
Could it be…
Is he complimenting me for looking pretty?
Oh my, that's so kind of him.
Are the junior boys nowadays all such sweet talkers?
"Intuition? Anyway, I just get that feeling."
"This, this somehow makes me embarrassed."
Cloud Hao was puzzled.
Although he didn't know what she was imagining in her mind, she seemed happy, so Cloud Hao didn't want to break her bubble. He temporarily set her aside and pondered about the triggering conditions for the system's "skills identification".
Unfortunately, even after racking his mind for a long time, he still couldn't find anything out of the ordinary that he had done to her.
However…
At any rate…
It's always good to have more people to use as pawns.
Cloud Hao composed himself and continued, "Speaking of which, do you have lessons in singing?"
Lin Mengmeng rolled her eyes. She sucked on the straw while biting down on it.
"You don't say?"
"Where do you guys usually practice?"
"The music room, of course. That's where we train our vocals and rehearse on instruments. We can't practice in the dorm room now, can we?"
Cloud Hao wanted to prove her wrong. After all, he had a roommate who did exactly that.
However, there was something else that he was more concerned about at the moment.
"Can students who are not majoring in music participate?"
Lin Mengmeng warily shrank back. "What are you planning to do?"
"Nothing. I'm just… interested in music?"
"Interested in music?" Casting a doubtful look at Cloud Hao, Lin Mengmeng skeptically continued, "Well… Students who are not in our faculty don't have access cards. You won't be able to enter the music room."
Cloud Hao said in disappointment, "I see."
"Don't be discouraged, though. Although the school's music room isn't available, there are many similar training institutions, including pay-to-use music rooms just along the commercial street in front of our school. There are even professional recording studios, et cetera. If you want to practice, isn't it better to be under the professionals' guidance rather than practicing alone?"
Cloud Hao nodded in agreement. "That's true."
After staring at him for a while, Lin Mengmeng released the straw in the cold drink. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Hey, do you really want to learn music, or are you just pretending?"
Cloud Hao asked, "…Is there a difference?"
Lin Mengmeng's eyes widened, and she said, "Of course. If you're doing it to impress me, I advise you to give up right away. I know that in the Hundred Tricks to Love, it says that if you want to date someone, you should start from their interests. But let me tell you this, they're all lies!
"Although it's true that I have a good first impression of you, you're not my type. Don't waste your energy!"
She poured out everything she wanted to say in one shot. Then, after catching her breath, she suddenly realized that her words might have been too harsh. She carefully glanced at Cloud Hao and said in a slightly more relaxed tone, "Don't be sad. Although I don't have any special feelings for you, you have a pretty good personality. It's nice to be friends with you! I just don't want to… go beyond friendship? Anyway, it's not just what I'm saying. You should also use your head and think."
Cloud Hao did not speak. He looked at her dumbfoundedly with his mouth agape.
This woman…
What on earth is she talking about?
————