"Truth be told, I'm really going to miss you," Fujimiya Hiro said with a smile, patting Chen Yu on the shoulder.
After spending two and a half years together, their bond had deepened significantly, given they trained together every time.
Fujimiya Hiro was no longer just the physics professor filled with knowledge but had become a robust Professor Fujimiya.
"I'll miss this place too, but my home is in another world," Chen Yu sighed.
As a young man with both parents, Chen Yu wasn't like those who grew up in orphanages with no attachments.
"I understand..." Fujimiya Hiro nodded, smiling, "So all I can wish for you is a smooth journey."
"Yeah, let's hope we meet again, Fujimiya."
Taking his suitcase, Chen Yu waved goodbye to Fujimiya Hiro and then responded to the game prompt from two and a half years ago.
"Leave the instance."
The next second, Chen Yu, along with his suitcase, vanished in front of Fujimiya Hiro, as if a TV screen was suddenly turned off.
...
When Chen Yu appeared in the hotel room, he felt somewhat disoriented, as if the two and a half years spent in another world were just a dream.
However, the muscles on his body and the suitcase in his hand reminded him how real it all was.
Glancing at the clock on the bedside, he confirmed that, just like the last time he entered the game instance, only three hours had passed.
"Last time I stayed in the game instance for three days, and three hours passed by. Now, after staying for two and a half years, it's still only been three hours."
As Chen Yu pondered, there was a knock on the room door.
"Is anyone there? Your room reservation is about to expire. Would you like to extend your stay?"
The voice sounded like it belonged to a hotel staff member, but Chen Yu was puzzled.
Although he had experienced a long time in another world, he remembered that his room was not a hourly rental, and it shouldn't expire so soon after just three hours.
"Could it be..."
Realizing a possibility, Chen Yu quickly checked his phone and found that the date seemed off.
He had made the room reservation on the 4th, but it was now the 5th!
This meant that not only three hours had passed in the real world while he was in the instance, but one day and three hours!
As he was still surprised, the door was knocked again.
Chen Yu quickly responded: "No need to extend the stay, I'll check out now and leave in ten minutes!"
"Okay then."
The hotel staff at the door replied and left, no longer disturbing Chen Yu.
After packing up a bit, Chen Yu left the hotel and headed towards the school.
Using his student ID to enter the campus, Chen Yu carried his suitcase to the dormitory building. The aura he developed from martial arts training made him stand out, especially among the girls, who gave him high second looks.
Ignoring the gazes of others, Chen Yu went upstairs and returned to his dorm room.
Finding it empty, as usual on weekends this time of the afternoon, he locked the door after entering and opened the suitcase he brought back from another world.
Most of the contents were equipment Chen Yu had asked Fujimiya Hiro to purchase for him in the other world.
For example, a bulletproof vest and a small laser gun invented by Fujimiya Hiro himself.
After thinking it over, Chen Yu decided not to take out the equipment or the laser gun but locked them in the suitcase.
The only thing he took out was a photo of him with Fujimiya Hiro.
After placing the photo in the cupboard, Chen Yu lay on the bed to check his game messages.
The instance draw was still on cooldown, and it would end next Sunday.
At night.
Since it was Monday the next day, his roommates returned to the dorm.
Yang Wen, who had been working part-time all day, was too tired to notice Chen Yu already in bed and fell asleep on his own bed.
The other two roommates also returned to the dorm one after another, chatting about strange campus tales and their experiences taking their girlfriends out.
"Wang Jing, Liu Yuan, you're back."
Hearing their voices, Chen Yu woke up and sat up in bed.
Yang Wen wasn't planning on sleeping long, as napping too much in the afternoon could lead to insomnia at night. He also woke up hearing the noise.
The two roommates turned towards Chen Yu's voice, shocked, and then asked simultaneously:
"Who are you, handsome guy?"
"I'm your daddy, my dear sons," Chen Yu said flatly.
"Are you really Chen Yu?" Wang Jing, with a look of surprise, approached Chen Yu's bed and asked, "Did you change your hairstyle?"
Chen Yu realized his hairstyle was indeed different from before. Previously, he had longer hair, but for martial arts training, he had switched to a neat and tidy short haircut.
"Did you go for a hairstyle change or plastic surgery?" Liu Yuan was also bewildered, "Your hair is different, but why do I feel like your face has become more... mature and composed? And you've gotten much handsomer!"
"Ah, you guys don't know what your dad—I've been through!" Chen Yu pretended to be sad, "I climbed mountains for two whole days to train my body. Two days!"
"Really? But your skin does look sun-kissed." Liu Yuan said skeptically, "And... I'm your daddy!"
"Um..." Yang Wen, noticing Chen Yu's arms, paused and said, "Chen Yu, you managed to build such strong muscles in just two days?"
"Whoa, abs!" Wang Jing caught a glimpse of Chen Yu's abdomen, "Have you been secretly hitting the gym to look this handsome? Which campus beauty are you planning to pursue?"
"Sigh, it seems my secret training of two and a half years has finally been discovered," Chen Yu sighed, "To think you, my unworthy descendants, never noticed. I'm heartbroken!"
"You're talking nonsense. We've only been at this school for a year and a half, and you say you've been training for two and a half years!" Liu Yuan pinched Chen Yu's arm, "But damn, your muscles are really solid. When are you taking me to the gym? Which female trainer did you find?"
"Let's go together some time, and bring your girlfriend too. Let her watch you and the fitness trainer work out together."
"… You're a dead man!"
With his roommates, Chen Yu managed to brush off the subject.
After all, although they shared a dorm, they didn't overly interfere in each other's private lives.
The three just assumed Chen Yu had secretly been working out at the gym and only now revealed his toned muscles.
No one really paid attention to how much muscle anyone had on their body before.