"While I appreciate your company, you should probably leave before I scream for campus security. Isn't stepping foot near a girls' dormitory against the school code?" Lin Cheng smiled. He found this angry girl adorable, but didn't know why.
He held his hands up and backed down.
"Alright, fine, scary woman! Can you tell me your name at least?" Nuwa grimaced.
'Lin Cheng, unfortunately there will be many more opportunities for you to learn my name.'
She thought solemnly, remembering the situations he created in the past. She shook her head and ignored him as she walked away.
"No. I'm screaming in five seconds, so you better start running if you don't want to be caught." Lin Cheng did not move, thinking she was bluffing. However, five seconds later he saw her turn her head and start yelling.
"Help! I see a strange man who's exposing himself– get someone please!" Lin Cheng's eyes shot out of his head as he began to hear a commotion. From behind Lei Nuwa, security guards were running after seeing his figure in the distance. He let out a sharp laugh and then began to run away, easily outrunning the heavy security guards. When he was sure he had lost the guards behind him, he fell to the grass laughing.
Purple eyes seemed to cling onto his thoughts, no matter what he did.
***
When Lei Nuwa arrived in her room, she sighed from relief. At this school, everyone was given their own room and conjoined bathroom. No one here to worry her, to hurt her. She began to set up her things, taking out her basic necessities and hanging her uniform up. She was glad to have avoided Liu Yichen and Shi Qian. In her first life, she pathetically followed Liu Yichen, riding with him after begging to carry his and Shi Qian's bags. When she had arrived at the school, he had humiliated her in front of all the new students and sent her to the infirmary on the first day.
In her second life was when she had met Lin Cheng. As bad as he was, Liu Yichen was worse.
Scholarship kids had different dorms than those who could pay to attend. They were smaller, had minimal amenities, and even had a rodent problem. In the winter, the students would share beds in order to create heat, as there was no furnace. In the summer, kids slept on the ground in order to receive the coolness from the hardwood floor. Still, they did not care– especially Lei Nuwa.
Comfort, they always said, was a small sacrifice for freedom.
As she was unpacking, she heard a knock on her door.
"Lei Nuwa! You disappeared, part of me was convinced you were just an illusion created from the heat, but you are a couple dorms down from me. Fate is funny, isn't she?"
'You have no idea,' Lei Nuwa thought miserably.
"Hi Lan– sorry, I must have lost you in the crowd. I'm just settling in, how are you doing?" As Zhou Lan saw the small amount of things Lei Nuwa brought, she had a puzzled face. Nuwa saw it, but didn't say anything. Luckily, neither did Zhou Lan.
Instead, she left and came back with a small electric fan.
"Here– I must have packed an extra. I hate the color of it, please take it." Lei Nuwa was touched, and her heart hurt like it always did when someone did something thoughtful for her.
"Thank you so much, but I can't take it. There is record-breaking heat outside, you need it." Zhou Lan would not budge.
"Hmph. I am leaving it here whether you use it or not. It's an eyesore– consider it my revenge for leaving me to find the dorms all by myself. I got lost and ended up in the rich kids area! I practically saw my life flash before my eyes." Lei Nuwa was not sure how to react, but she stood up and embraced Zhou Lan.
"Then I thank you even more." Zhou Lan giggled.
"Lei Nuwa, you are so strange! You make me seem normal by comparison." Nuwa gave her a look that said 'I'm not so sure about that'.
"Sure, Zhou Lan."
"Ai, you are so mean to me." But the warmth in her voice comforted Lei Nuwa. In this life, it seemed she would not be so alone. She stared first at the girl rambling on about the school's luxury, and then to the bracelet that lit up and then dimmed again.
Although he was hundreds of miles away, it seemed Zhang Fengge was thinking of her. Lei Nuwa blushed and pushed away the thought.
As she thought more about the ones who had helped her in this life, Lei Nuwa grew more uneasy. She felt a sudden chill and an overwhelming sense of dread; she was terrified that she was dreaming, and tomorrow she would wake up in the same miserable life.