Cheng Lu brought him to the literary and art department's meeting room instead of the activity room.
As soon as she unlocked the door, Xu Xiuwen immediately rushed in.
Once inside, he headed straight for the sofa, collapsed onto it, and fell into a deep sleep.
For nearly a month, he'd been waking up early and going to bed late, and today had been especially exhausting.
He was so tired that he couldn't make it back to his dorm room and had to settle for sleeping here for the night.
Before falling asleep, Xu Xiuwen vaguely heard Cheng Lu shouting at him, "Don't sleep here, you'll catch a cold! Hey, are you listening to me?"
Xu Xiuwen slept soundly.
In his dreams, he vaguely felt something falling onto his shoulder.
He didn't know how long he'd slept, but he finally woke up.
The first thing he did upon waking was check his phone; it was 5:30 AM.
Xu Xiuwen didn't pay much attention to the time and was about to go back to sleep when he suddenly realized he wasn't in his dorm room.
He immediately became alert.
Just as he was about to get up, he noticed a jacket draped over him. He sniffed it lightly; it had a particularly pleasant scent.
It was Cheng Lu's scent.
Xu Xiuwen also recognized that the jacket was Cheng Lu's.
Looking around, he quickly spotted Cheng Lu.
She was curled up at the other end of the sofa, leaning against the armrest, asleep in just a short-sleeve T-shirt.
Xu Xiuwen knew that, despite her cold exterior, Cheng Lu was actually very warm-hearted.
During the preparation for the event, she had taken care of everything without ever slacking off.
If anyone encountered difficulties, she would always help.
Seeing her give him her jacket and choose to endure the cold herself made Xu Xiuwen both touched and concerned.
Afraid she might catch a cold, he quickly woke her up and returned her jacket.
Afterward, he opened the meeting room door, and the two of them walked out together.
The literary and art department meeting room was just a few minutes' walk from Cheng Lu's dormitory.
The early morning air at Jiaotong University was still quite cold.
A gust of wind blew, and even with his jacket on, Xu Xiuwen shivered.
Ignoring his own discomfort, he quickly asked Cheng Lu, "Are you cold?"
Cheng Lu looked at him and said something that surprised Xu Xiuwen greatly.
"Silly! What do you think?"
"Silly" is not something you'd normally call a classmate; it's usually reserved for close friends or couples teasing each other.
Xu Xiuwen was delighted and laughed happily.
Cheng Lu rolled her eyes at him and said nothing more.
In no time, they arrived at the girls' dormitory.
Cheng Lu stopped and turned to face him, asking, "The event was a great success. Are you happy?"
Xu Xiuwen nodded, "Yes, of course, I'm happy."
Cheng Lu smiled, her lips curving slightly, "I've helped you so much, how do you plan to thank me?"
"I'll treat you to dinner."
"All you think about is food, silly!"
Cheng Lu rolled her eyes at Xu Xiuwen again, then giggled, and ran back to her dormitory.
Watching her retreating figure and listening to her laughter, Xu Xiuwen felt a warm sensation in his heart.
Leaving Jiaotong University and returning to his dorm, the other five in room 412 were still asleep.
Xu Xiuwen quickly took off his clothes and climbed into bed to continue sleeping.
He hadn't slept well recently.
Finally, everything was over.
Xu Xiuwen no longer worried about the time and slept without any concerns.
...
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
Sunlight slanted in through the dormitory balcony window, casting shadows on the wall.
All five roommates were in the dormitory: Wang Juncai was gaming as usual, Shi Xiangming was reading a novel, and the others were busy with their own activities.
Dong Jun suddenly pushed the door open and entered.
As soon as he came in, he shouted, "I saw the counselor this afternoon. He highly praised last night's event, said the school leaders were very satisfied. Tonight, I'm treating everyone to dinner. No one is allowed to miss it."
The other five naturally agreed enthusiastically.
Dong Jun looked around, not seeing Xu Xiuwen. He was about to ask when he noticed someone lying on the bed.
Dong Jun walked over to the bed and called out twice, waking Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen sat up in a daze.
He had been dreaming about Cheng Lu, and the dream was about to turn romantic when Dong Jun woke him.
Seeing Xu Xiuwen's dazed look, Dong Jun asked, puzzled, "Xiuwen, are you still giddy from last night?"
Then he added, "I'll text the dinner location to Jin Haonan later. Everyone must attend, no excuses!" With that, he left.
At this moment, Xu Xiuwen's mind was filled with thoughts of Cheng Lu.
He wanted to slap himself awake but decided against it, fearing the pain and doubting its effectiveness.
He sat quietly on the bed for a while.
As he sat, he suddenly smiled.
Then he quickly got out of bed, washed up, changed clothes, and left the dorm alone.
His heart was racing; he was about to do something important!
Xu Xiuwen ran all the way to the girls' dormitory at Jiaotong University.
He went around to the back of the dormitory building, stood under room 301, and took out his phone to send Cheng Lu a message.
But after waiting for a long time, he didn't receive a reply.
Unable to hold back any longer, he shouted up at the window of room 301, "Cheng Lu!"
He called out her name several times.
Suddenly, the window of room 301 opened, and Cheng Lu stuck her head out, looking down at Xu Xiuwen, "What do you want?"
Her tone was a bit cold, but Xu Xiuwen was used to it. He found her cool demeanor quite pleasant.
Xu Xiuwen grinned and waved at her, "Come down."
Seeing his silly smile, Cheng Lu smiled slightly and asked, "Tell me why you want me to come down first."
The commotion Xu Xiuwen caused drew the attention of the girls in the dormitory, with many sticking their heads out to watch.
With so many people watching, Xu Xiuwen felt awkward, so he continued to call out, "Just come down first."
Finding his anxiousness amusing, Cheng Lu teased, "Who knows what you're up to? I'm not coming down."
Hearing this, Xu Xiuwen said, "If you don't come down, I'll come up."
Cheng Lu chuckled.
She thought Xu Xiuwen was joking.
She rolled her eyes at him, "If you can come up, I'll agree to come down."
With that, she pulled her head back in and returned to her room.
Cheng Lu didn't really want to stay up; she was just wearing her pajamas and wanted to pick out a nice outfit before meeting him.
Xu Xiuwen, unaware of her intentions, felt helpless. Cheng Lu's personality wasn't as easygoing as Tang Weiwei's.
He circled back to the front of the dormitory and stared at it for a while, wondering how he could get up there.
Then he noticed three girls chatting nearby.
Xu Xiuwen quietly approached and, hearing their accents, realized they were from Feidong.