Summer in An City was truly scorching.
Looking at the track field completely exposed under the blazing sun, Yun Su almost felt sorry for the freshmen.
Tsk, by the end of military training, they would all be tanned beyond recognition.
After walking outside for so long, Yun Su herself was starting to sweat from the heat.
She didn’t linger and continued along the shaded path until she finally reached the dormitory building.
At the dorm supervisor’s desk, she collected her key and found her assigned room according to the number.
When she opened the door and stepped inside, the dorm was empty.
It was a four-person room, fairly spacious, with a good environment and complete facilities.
Out of the four beds, three were empty, and only one showed signs of being occupied.
Since freshmen started earlier, they had already been in military training for several days.
Yun Su noticed a set of training uniform hanging on the balcony. It seemed the occupant of that bed was a first-year student.
As for the other empty beds, she wasn’t sure if anyone else would move in. After all, students from other years wouldn’t vacate their dorms unless, like Ye Congshuang, they had special circumstances requiring reassignment.
Yun Su chose an inner bed, placed her backpack on the desk, and sat down.
Now she needed to sort out her situation properly, so she wouldn’t end up in awkward situations like before.
She opened her bracelet, pulled up a blue screen, and began reviewing her identity information.
Ye Congshuang, 21 years old, no family, raised in an orphanage in a small, obscure county called Yong County. She had only left her hometown for the first time when she was admitted to university and came alone to An City.
During university, she had excellent grades, had won multiple scholarships, and had supported herself through part-time work. After finishing her second year, she took a year off due to health reasons.
The background was simple, which suited Yun Su perfectly. The simpler it was, the less she had to deal with acquaintances.
After reviewing everything, she thought of Gu Yan.
The grown-up Gu Yan.
Where would he be?
She opened his location on the bracelet, and a red dot blinked on the screen.
Zooming in, it read: An University track field.
Just as expected, he was a freshman at An University.
Currently being roasted under the sun.
Yun Su had anticipated this. At his age, university was exactly where he should be, and it made sense they would be at the same school.
Her fingers were still moving across the screen when she heard the sound of a key turning in the door.
Someone was back. She quickly closed the bracelet.
Looking toward the door, she saw a girl in a military training uniform walk in.
The girl clearly hadn’t expected someone to be in the dorm and paused in surprise.
Yun Su stood up from her chair and spoke first. “Hello, I’m Ye Congshuang.”
The girl quickly recovered and smiled. “Hello, senior. I’m Meng Zhixue.”
Meng Zhixue had just come in from outside, her forehead covered in sweat, her face slightly flushed from the sun. When she smiled, two small dimples appeared on her cheeks, making her look rather cute.
Standing beside her, Yun Su, who was 165 cm tall, appeared slightly taller. Meng Zhixue was probably around 160 cm.
“I heard this dorm would be mixed. I’ve been living here alone for a week, and finally a senior moved in,” Meng Zhixue said happily. “What year are you in?”
“Third year.”
Meng Zhixue took off her cap, placed it on the table, and wiped her sweat with a tissue.
Noticing Yun Su’s bed was still empty, she asked, “Senior, didn’t you bring any daily necessities?”
“I’ll go buy them later,” Yun Su replied. She walked to the balcony, closed the window, then added, “It’s so hot, why don’t you turn on the air conditioner and rest for a bit?”
Meng Zhixue picked up the remote and turned on the AC. Cool air quickly blew down, and both of them felt much more comfortable.
Yun Su sat down and began familiarizing herself with her phone.
There were very few contacts on her social apps, fewer than a hundred, and there were no chat records. The contacts were neatly divided into three groups: classmates, teachers, and Yong County.
It was simple and straightforward.
At that moment, Meng Zhixue asked from behind, “Senior, have you eaten lunch? Want to go together?”
Yun Su turned back. “Sure.”
The two of them left the dorm and headed toward the cafeteria.
It was already past peak mealtime, and many students were returning after eating.
As they walked, Meng Zhixue complained bitterly, “Senior, how did you manage to get food during military training before? There are so many people. I always wait until everyone finishes before going.”
“It’ll be better after training ends,” Yun Su comforted her.
At the same time, she wondered whether Gu Yan had managed to eat.
She then asked, “By the way, how long is your lunch break? Do you still have time to rest if you eat now?”
“Two and a half hours. I can still get some rest afterward. Our dorm is close to the cafeteria, so it’s quite convenient,” Meng Zhixue said, sounding somewhat reassured.
Yun Su had checked the campus map earlier. The university was vast, with six cafeterias spread across different areas, and there was one near their dorm.
When they entered the cafeteria, there were still quite a few people, though it was no longer crowded.
They ordered their meals and found a seat to sit down and chat.
Meng Zhixue seemed to have finally found someone to talk to and spoke endlessly.
It wasn’t surprising. Living alone in a four-person dorm, talking to walls and silence every day, anyone would feel lonely.
Meng Zhixue was quite indignant about it.
“Senior, why were you assigned to a mixed dorm? Shouldn’t dorms have already been arranged?”
Yun Su explained, “I took a year off. My original classmates moved to a new campus and changed dorms, so I was reassigned.”
Meng Zhixue looked shocked. “You took a year off? Why?”
“I wasn’t in good health, so I rested for a year.”
Please don’t ask what was wrong, she didn’t know either.
“Oh… then are you okay now? Was it serious? If you need any help or have any inconvenience, you can tell me.”
The junior was kind and didn’t pry further.
Yun Su smiled. “I’m fine now.”
Just as Meng Zhixue was about to say more, their number was called at the counter.
They went to pick up their food and returned to their seats.
Both had ordered boiled pork slices. Yun Su chose mild spice, which looked much lighter compared to Meng Zhixue’s dish, whose red, oily broth looked extremely spicy.
“This level of spice is the best,” Meng Zhixue exclaimed, then asked, “Senior, can’t you handle spicy food? Where are you from?”
After swallowing her bite, Yun Su replied casually, “I can’t eat too spicy. I’m from a small, remote county. You’ve probably never heard of it, Yong County.”
Meng Zhixue looked blank. “Nope, never heard of it. But my hometown is just as remote, you probably haven’t heard of it either.”
Yun Su asked casually, “Where?”
“Dongping, in XX Province. It’s really far from An City.”
Yun Su froze, her chopsticks pausing mid-air.
She had heard of it.
Not only had she heard of it, she had been there, and even lived there for a month or two.
Seeing her reaction, Meng Zhixue sounded surprised.
“Senior, do you actually know Dongping?”