Mo Xiangwen silently apologized to the President in his heart before continuing his search for the dorm.
Luckily, he had only brought a single backpack, filled mostly with clothes and light enough to carry. Otherwise, just locating the right building would have been more than enough trouble for him.
Thanks to the helpful seniors who pointed him in the right direction, he managed to avoid getting lost on the sprawling campus.
Mo Xiangwen glanced up at the number plate on the dorm door, confirmed it was Dorm 503, and pushed the door open.
Inside the dorm, a young man about his age was tidying up his bed. When he saw someone enter, he greeted him with a casual, “Hey.”
“Hey.” Mo Xiangwen stepped inside and took a quick look around. The place had already been cleaned.
The dorm had four bunk beds in total, each with a desk below, plus a balcony and a bathroom.
At the moment, only one bed remained without sheets or blankets, though it looked like a helpful roommate had already wiped down the mattress for him.
There was no real choice in spots anyway, and it didn’t matter—all positions in a four-person dorm were the same.
Mo Xiangwen ran his hand over the mattress and found it spotless, without a speck of dust. He set his backpack down on it right away.
“Let’s get acquainted, bro. I’m Mo Xiangwen.” He extended his hand.
“Hey, I’m Qin Yongfeng.” Qin Yongfeng adjusted his glasses, gave it a quick shake, and said, “Bit of bad timing—the other two just stepped out.”
Qin Yongfeng struck him as the quintessential tech nerd: a clean flat-top haircut and a loose, breathable solid-color shirt.
“No worries, no rush.” Mo Xiangwen grinned. “This dorm got cleaned so fast?”
“I got here early and handled it myself. It’s not that big anyway.” Qin Yongfeng nodded.
“What about my bed, then…”
“No big deal.”
“Cool, thanks.” Mo Xiangwen nodded. “I’ll grab you a drink later.”
“Small stuff.” Qin Yongfeng glanced at the lone backpack on the bed and chuckled. “You didn’t bring much.”
“Home’s too far—hauling it all here would’ve been a pain. Easier to buy stuff locally.” Mo Xiangwen shrugged. “I checked online beforehand. This campus is special; it even has its own mini commercial street.”
“I forgot to look that up ahead of time.” Qin Yongfeng grimaced. “Dragging all that luggage from home nearly killed me.”
Mo Xiangwen patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Hey, at least you saved money doing it at home.”
“True, and the prices at the School Commercial Street aren’t bad anyway.”
“Good to know—now I can relax.” Mo Xiangwen stretched his limbs a bit. “Still, shopping there means hauling it all back to the dorm. Sounds like a hassle.”
“Add me on Tencent. Hit me up if you need a hand later.” Qin Yongfeng pulled out his phone, and they friended each other.
“Thanks. I’m off to shop, then.”
“Go for it. Oh, and they mentioned grabbing dinner at a spot on the commercial street tonight to get to know everyone.”
He wasn’t sure about the girls’ side of things, but in guys’ dorms, it was common for newcomers to head out for a meal and chat on the first evening.
“Sounds good. Catch you later.”
When he emerged from the dorm and reached the School Commercial Street, he couldn’t help feeling a little awed.
He had glimpsed it from the Little Square earlier, but stepping inside revealed just how much it packed into such a compact space—small but stocked with everything you need.
From lamb hotpot to Kaifeng-style dishes, it had all the popular food spots.
And that was just the start. He even spotted a KTV and internet cafe. Talk about impressive.
Of course, everyone here was an adult. No need to sneak around for a gaming session.
Besides, weren’t dorms basically mini internet cafes anyway?
With new students flooding in, the little supermarket knew how to cash in—they had piled up all sorts of daily essentials right outside.
No signs needed; any freshman could tell at a glance that this was the place for what they wanted.
“Xiangwen.” A familiar voice called from behind him. Mo Xiangwen turned to see Yan Nuoya, whom he’d parted from less than an hour ago.
“Shopping for daily stuff?” he asked.
It was an obvious question, but it made for a good icebreaker.
“Yeah, and there’s a fair bit of it. Kind of a pain.”
Mo Xiangwen eyed the bags in her hands. They didn’t look much bulkier than what he’d planned to buy.
Weren’t girls supposed to need way more living supplies than guys?
Yan Nuoya seemed to read his mind and nodded. “Yeah, I still need to grab some other things, but not right now.”
He half-expected her to tease him about it, but when she didn’t, he relaxed a little. Tentatively, he offered, “Want me to help carry some down to your dorm building?”
“Really? Sure!” Yan Nuoya blinked, flashing a smile. “I figured you’d steer clear of the girls’ dorm.”
“Just to the entrance downstairs, of course. No way I’m going inside.” He sighed as she poked fun at him right after he’d let his guard down, then stressed, “You’d still have to take it up yourself.”
“What’s the big deal? I could just tell them you’re my boyfriend.”
“Nope, hard pass. Getting stared down by a bunch of girls? Torture.” Mo Xiangwen shut that down firmly.
“Fine, then. Appreciate the help.”
And so, he helped Yan Nuoya lug some daily necessities to the foot of her dorm building.
He had braced himself with excuses to fend off her roommates.
To his surprise, though, Yan Nuoya opted to make several trips up and down on her own to finish the job.
They were halfway to being friends, sure, but not close enough for him to pry into why.
Maybe her roommates hadn’t arrived yet?
“You’re spot on—my roommates aren’t here yet.”
He snapped back to attention and met Yan Nuoya’s violet eyes. She gave a soft laugh. “But thanks for worrying about me anyway.”
…Did this woman have mind-reading powers?
“As if. No mind-reading here.” Yan Nuoya shook her head. “Now it’s my turn to help you carry yours over.”
“No need. I’ll get it to the dorm building, and my roommates can help from there.” He turned her down. “You’ve already made enough trips—go rest.”
“Macho pride?” Yan Nuoya teased. “Can’t have that.”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“Then how about I take it to the guys’ dorm entrance?” She leaned in slightly, gazing at him with a smile. “Pretty fair, right?”
“…Fine.” He couldn’t come up with a good reason to refuse, so he caved.
