Wang Shuo was finally being discharged from the hospital.
This was a big event for Dormitory 403, yet strangely, Wang Shuo didn't receive a visit from any of his three brothers from the moment he woke up in the morning until the doctor completed his check-up and finished the discharge procedures.
Calls to them went unanswered, leaving Wang Shuo clueless about what they were up to.
On the other hand, Chen Xin arrived early in the morning to see him and even brought him a long-awaited breakfast.
She even used her own car to drop him off at the school gate.
This touched Wang Shuo deeply. If it weren't for the presence of others, he would have been tempted to cry out about the loneliness of being misunderstood.
Watching the Mercedes-Benz van drive away, Wang Shuo shook his head with some contemplation.
Returning to the school gate, Wang Shuo felt as if he had experienced the saying "a day in the cave, a thousand years in the world." He couldn't help but feel that his mindset seemed a bit old.
This was understandable, as he had first gone through the baptism of the compressed history of the humanoid civilization, which spanned thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Then, he spent over a dozen days in the hospital, barely going out during this time.
Students came and went at the school gate, consisting of young, beautiful girls and boys. Although the girls weren't as pretty and eye-catching as Chen Xin, they made up for it with their revealing attire, showcasing their slender figures, long legs, and fair skin.
Chen Xin, despite her beauty, had become immune to Wang Shuo's gaze due to frequent encounters. Moreover, Chen Xin was a representative of the conservative faction, always wearing long skirts that covered her knees, only revealing two segments of her fair, tender calves. Wang Shuo wanted to appreciate the sight, but he simply didn't dare.
After a month of being confined to the hospital, Wang Shuo's eyes were now met with a myriad of fair thighs shimmering before him.
By the time he reached the dormitory building, it was already twenty minutes later.
As he reminisced about the numerous young girls he had seen along the way, he took out the dormitory key from the dormitory aunt and opened the door.
As the door opened, Wang Shuo was stunned. What... what was going on here?
The originally clean and tidy dormitory had undergone a dramatic change. It was now covered with colorful paper and balloons in every corner. Above the door to the opposite balcony hung a large bedsheet with a few words roughly written in black ink. As for what the words were... Wang Shuo couldn't make them out. Perhaps the ink was too thick, as the smudges had engulfed the letters themselves, leaving behind streaks of black that stretched towards the edges like claws.
To an outsider, it might have looked like a scene from a ghost story.
The room was empty, but behind Wang Shuo, a voice of surprise was heard.
"Hey? Bro, is your room haunted?"
Wang Shuo turned to see a strange guy with glasses looking at him curiously, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Yeah!" Wang Shuo gritted his teeth. "Not just one, but three!"
"Three ghosts?" The guy with glasses looked incredulous. "No wonder I thought your forehead looked dark and you seemed unlucky. You're in for some bad luck."
Wang Shuo rolled his eyes internally and entered the dormitory, tearing down the balloons and colored paper from the walls and collecting them into a bag.
"I say, bro, you can't take bad luck lightly. Do you need me to help you get rid of it? It's very effective."
Wang Shuo looked at him speechlessly. "Who are you?"
"Oh." The guy with glasses seemed to just remember, patting his head and smiling. "I'm also a freshman in the computer science major. My name is Li Zongqiang."
"Li Zong... strong?" Wang Shuo smiled inwardly and nodded. "Indeed, you can't get in without being strong in comprehensive sciences. Hi, I'm..."
"Bro, wait a minute," Li Zongqiang interrupted him. "I'm really good at guessing names. Let me give it a try." He looked at Wang Shuo with a mysterious expression. "Although I haven't seen you before, you have a unique face and seem to be surrounded by bad luck. Hmm, your surname must be Wang, and your first name is Shuo, right?"
"Wow." Wang Shuo was surprised. "You're pretty good at guessing."
Li Zongqiang smiled proudly and said, "Of course, you wouldn't know, but I've been studying under the Zhengyi Taoism since I was six years old. I'm best at reading faces and calculating futures."
"I wasn't lying just now. Have you been experiencing a lot of bad luck recently? I have genuine talismans that have been blessed. You should get one to ensure your safety."
Wang Shuo smiled and shook his head. "I just didn't expect that after being away for a month, I've become so famous. One really can't become popular too quickly. By the way, Li, you're not in the same class as me, are you?"
Li Zongqiang's proud expression suddenly froze, and then he looked disheartened. He asked Wang Shuo, "Was it that obvious?"
"Not really." Wang Shuo looked at him with a smile. If it were the old him, he wouldn't have noticed: "Did the counselor call my name again today?"
"No." Li Zongqiang said dejectedly, "The counselor already remembers your name. Why would she need to call it? If you want to report to her, you'd better hurry. I think it's going to be difficult."
Wang Shuo furrowed his brows.
"A woman?"
Li Zongqiang looked surprised but nodded.
"Young and with a bad temper?"
Li Zongqiang nodded again, adding mysteriously, "Very young, only twenty-six, I heard. She stayed at the school after graduating with her master's. You've been skipping class and didn't attend military training, so you're already a key person under her surveillance."
He patted Wang Shuo on the shoulder, giving him a comforting look. "Good luck, Wang. Take care of yourself!"
Finally, he leaned in with a mischievous smile and whispered, "Wang, are you really not considering getting a genuine Zhengyi Taoist talisman? It'll protect you from bad luck and bring you good fortune!"
Wang Shuo smiled and shook his head.
"Such a pity." He clicked his tongue and stopped pestering, opening the door and leaving.
A few minutes later, Zheng Jun and the others returned. When Wang Shuo saw them, they were each holding a large box, standing at the door, looking at him with surprise.
"Old... Er?"
"How come you're back so early? We haven't finished decorating the dormitory..."
Zheng Jun was stunned for a moment before putting the box aside. He wanted to show Wang Shuo their handiwork but then noticed that most of the balloons and colorful decorations they had spent so much time pasting on the wall were gone, leaving only a few scattered ones hanging, looking rather pitiful. As for the white welcome banner, it was unreadable, with only four dark ink stains and black streaks remaining.
"Wh... Who did this? Were we robbed?"
"And this... What happened to the banner?"
Wang Shuo spread his hands.
"Old Four! Look at the characters you wrote! I told you to use less water, but you didn't listen! Look, can you even recognize the words 'Old Two, rise up'?"
Wang Shuo was covered in cold sweat. No wonder he couldn't recognize the words; they weren't "Welcome home" as he thought, but...
Wang Shuo looked at Zheng Jun with resentment.
Seemingly feeling Wang Shuo's gaze, Zheng Jun rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and explained, "Old Two, don't misunderstand... This... This was all Old Four's idea. Ask Old Four."
Chen Cheng, still holding the box with both hands, blinked his eyes, giving an innocent look.
Li Li had an indescribable expression on his face.
Wang Shuo instantly felt his temper dissipate. Faced with these three characters, what could he say? He changed the subject.
"These boxes..."
"Oh, these are leftover props from the mixer. We borrowed some to give you a surprise, but we didn't expect you to come back so early."
"The mixer?" Wang Shuo felt like a country bumpkin, confused by everything he heard.
"The freshman costume mixer! It was organized by the Student Union."
Zheng Jun seemed to regret missing out, licking his lips as he said, "You can't imagine the scene... It was incredible. Everyone wore masks and dressed up in bizarre costumes. There were no rules, just free interaction. If you could successfully hit on... I mean, connect with a girl, you could add her on WeChat, chat, hold hands, all in just one night."
Zheng Jun looked at Wang Shuo with pity: "It's such a pity you missed it, Old Two."
"You wouldn't believe it, not only did Chen Cheng, but even Li Li, this guy, quietly hit on a girl. He not only added her on WeChat but also started dating her!"
"Unfortunately, I hunted all night and only added one WeChat contact, and she just wanted me to be her big brother..."
Wang Shuo looked at Li Li in surprise. Li Li's face reddened, a rare sight, and he gave a shy smile that seemed rather... smug to Wang Shuo.
Wang Shuo felt like he had missed out on a fortune.
"But don't be too upset, Old Two. You still have Miss Chen. Cheer up and win her over. From then on, Old Four will follow you!"
Zheng Jun laughed heartily and patted Wang Shuo on the shoulder, trying to console him.
However, the clueless Zheng Jun didn't realize that his words had offended both Wang Shuo and Chen Cheng.
Wang Shuo and Chen Cheng exchanged glances, silently nodding to each other, and then...
"Die, you... Big Brother (Pervert King)!"
A moment later...
Wang Shuo and Chen Cheng sat on the bed, each sporting a black eye, gritting their teeth and looking at Zheng Jun, who stood beside them unscathed and appeared concerned. They felt a mix of frustration and amusement.
"Big Brother, your combat skills are just too..."
"And why do you hit so hard?"
Both winced in pain as they touched a sore spot.
"Haha... it's a reflex, a reflex..." Zheng Jun rubbed his head, embarrassed. "Are you guys okay?"
Wang Shuo and Chen Cheng both lifted their heads proudly, giving Zheng Jun a full view of their nostrils.
"Oh, nobody wants something like this to happen. It's not my fault you guys suddenly hugged me. It was a completely instinctive reaction, and look..." Zheng Jun pointed to the scraped skin on his elbow. "I got hurt too, and I even bled."
Both rolled their eyes in unison.
From now on, they would never mention anything about fighting in front of Zheng Jun again. Both of them had been taken down by an elbow strike and two punches during their ambush.
It was... embarrassing.
Wang Shuo and Chen Cheng looked at each other, and for the first time, they saw a sense of mutual admiration in each other's eyes.