With a creak, the door let out a dull sound of opening and closing as Rong Xuanyu drifted in like a wandering soul.
The dormitory was very quiet. Chen Jiafeng and Li Guanqi's curtains were drawn tightly shut, with only the faint rapid clatter of keyboard typing filtering through.
Rong Xuanyu glanced over, assuming someone had already turned in for the night, so she tiptoed to her own bed and sat down.
The apartment had only two old-style bunk beds—Li Guanqi and Chen Jiafeng shared one, while Rong Xuanyu and He Yan shared the other.
Sensing He Yan approaching, Rong Xuanyu shifted slightly to make room for him on the ladder.
Unexpectedly, He Yan handed her a notebook, his gaze darting away. "Rong Xuanyu, the mechanical structures lecturer asked me to give this to you."
Rong Xuanyu took it and habitually said thanks. But to her surprise, the tall, robust Alpha not only didn't leave but stood frozen in shock by her bed.
"…?" Rong Xuanyu.
"."
Alright, Rong Xuanyu suddenly understood why He Yan had that expression.
After all, given the original owner's abysmal character, it would have been impossible for her not to take advantage of such an honest person. The He Yan before her had kindly helped her bring back assignments, yet the original owner not only failed to show gratitude but had repeatedly brazenly asked him to do her share as well.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Rong Xuanyu felt the keyboard clatter and page-turning sounds across the room go quiet, a faint scent of gunpowder hanging in the air.
"…"
Rong Xuanyu weighed her words for a second, then said directly, "Sorry for troubling you so many times before."
The dozen-square-meter dorm room instantly grew even quieter—the sound of someone adjusting their position across the room came to an abrupt halt.
"Huh?" He Yan couldn't believe his ears. Was this still the same stupid, selfish Rong Xuanyu?
Rong Xuanyu understood why he wore that expression. After all, someone as prideful as the original owner would never realize her own mistakes, let alone apologize.
But Rong Xuanyu preferred to settle today's matters today—not leave today's conflicts for tomorrow, or the rift would only grow wider.
What might be a trivial matter in the present could become a life-or-death crisis in another Weimian.
Rong Xuanyu's experience told her: never overlook any detail that could snowball into a major mistake.
Having lived through too many days of bloodshed and mutual suspicion, she too grew weary and wanted to experience what a normal person's life was like.
The female Alpha had typical Eastern features—deep, bright pupils beneath sharp brows and spirited eyes, radiating vigor and heroism at first glance.
She had just finished washing up, her jet-black hair cascading loosely around her shoulders. Her expression was calm and earnest, carrying a quiet charm that made people instinctively trust and follow her.
At that moment, He Yan inexplicably felt she had even more presence than Li Guanqi, who came from a scholarly family.
Almost against his will, he blurted out, "Then… are you coming to class tomorrow?"
Hearing this, before Rong Xuanyu could respond, Chen Jiafeng on the lower bunk across the room kicked the bunk frame.
With a bang, the long-decayed, battered bed frame let out a groaning creak of its last breaths.
Chen Jiafeng roared as if struck where it hurt: "He Yan, why bother with her? She can come or not, who cares!"
He Yan and Rong Xuanyu exchanged a glance.
The male Alpha seemed to think of something, gave Rong Xuanyu an awkward smile, and fell silent.
Rong Xuanyu immediately understood—the original owner had dug her a deep, deep hole.
Two weeks had passed since the new cohort's enrollment, and of the two weeks of closed training, the original owner had skipped a week and a half.
If it were just her own problem, that would be one thing. But the training adopted dormitory-based team competitions, and the original owner had single-handedly dragged a team whose average strength could have contended for first place down to dead last.
Even if she had done nothing at all and simply shown up dutifully, it wouldn't have come to this. She wouldn't lift a finger for the hard work, but when the team won honors, she'd shamelessly show up to feed off the spoils.
There was no one more loathed by both people and dogs alike.
At that thought, Rong Xuanyu answered solemnly, "I'll be there tomorrow."
He Yan's foot paused on the ladder step, then he climbed up as if nothing had happened. The dormitory was utterly silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Rong Xuanyu knew they'd all heard her. She stretched her back, drew her curtain shut, and pulled a notebook from the shelf, but hesitated, pen hovering without writing.
008 quietly popped out and poked Rong Xuanyu's spiritual form. [Host, host, are we not having the baby anymore?]
Rong Xuanyu had been lost in thought, but the interruption made her laugh out loud. She reached through the energy barrier, pinched 008 out, set its round little body on the desk, and idly poked it with the tip of her pen.
008, wearing its newly purchased angel wings, wobbled and bounced around while indignantly protesting:
[I'm mad, I'm really mad! This is my brand-new skin!]
Hearing that, Rong Xuanyu laughed even harder.
They were supposedly angel wings, but to her they looked more like two plucked chicken wings, somehow giving off the vibe of thermal underwear riding up in the crotch.
The little system had quite the temper—a few words were enough to make it flush red with anger, and it charged headfirst into the relay station, refusing to come out no matter how much Rong Xuanyu called.
After all that horseplay, Rong Xuanyu no longer felt flustered. With effortless grace, she wrote in her notes:
【Task One: Eliminate the protagonist Xu Weiyan, clearing all obstacles for the villain.】
Having a child was out of the question, but the kid still needed protecting. How old was he, after all? Rong Xuanyu had lived for so many years that she wasn't morally bankrupt enough to lay a hand on a child.
In just half a day, Rong Xuanyu had gained a basic understanding of both the protagonist and the villain.
Though the child had a temperamental personality, his heart was pure. In Rong Xuanyu's eyes, he was like a child who couldn't get the teacher's attention—as long as she indulged him a little more and spoiled him, he would naturally shed his tendency toward extremism.
Rong Xuanyu could tell he was faking his drunkenness, but so what?
The Female Alpha tapped the desk, starlight-like amusement shimmering in her eyes. After a moment's thought, she continued writing below:
【Task Two: Be an ordinary person.】
Her eyes glimmered faintly as her fingertips traced the shallow and deep marks on the page, smoothing away all the traces of hatred, regret, and things she could never let go of that were rooted deep in her heart.
That night, Rong Xuanyu slept deeply, her body feeling lighter and more relaxed than ever before.
But she quickly realized this feeling was anything but simple.
When the military bell rang and the dormitory filled with the sounds of everyone tidying up, only Rong Xuanyu lay there like a frozen salted fish, stiff and motionless.
How could this be?
Rong Xuanyu yanked at her hair in frustration, staring at the situation with bitter resentment.
At that moment, a certain part of her was propped up in an unmistakable arc, flaunting its presence with arrogant defiance.
What was she supposed to do? Just walk out like this? Rong Xuanyu wanted to cry but had no tears.
She had never hated open-concept bathrooms more than she did at this moment. She finally endured until everyone had finished washing up, then wrapped her coat around herself and dashed into the bathroom like a gust of wind, slamming the door shut.
Bang!
The three roommates exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding what had gotten into her now.
Chen Jiafeng frowned and checked the time, his face dark as iron, cursing angrily: "That bootlicker—she'd better not be standing us up again!"
Yes, a bootlicker—and a clueless one at that. When she'd first enrolled, she'd acted haughty and arrogant around her three low-key young masters, only to turn around and fawn over someone wearing a fake gold chain.
Because of this, Rong Xuanyu had once been voted onto the "Downlow A Forum" annual cringe list.
Time flew by. Chen Jiafeng grew both anxious and furious, and finally just kicked the bathroom door.
"Are you coming out or not?"
There was a moment of silence inside, followed by an apologetic voice: "Sorry, I might need a bit more time. You all go ahead first."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi, who had been watching from the sidelines, turned cold and walked out without looking back.
Chen Jiafeng couldn't let it go and kicked the door again, warning: "Rong Xuanyu, if you dare mess with me, I'll skin you alive when I get back!"
With that, he stormed out, slamming the door so hard it rattled. A flicker of disappointment passed through He Yan's eyes, and he silently left as well.
Inside the bathroom, Rong Xuanyu was sweating profusely, staring at her reflection in the mirror with a look of utter despair.
At this moment, the spirited fellow had been tormented until it was red and swollen. The Female Alpha gave it a frustrated squeeze, swallowing the cry of pain that rose in her throat.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
It wouldn't go down, and she couldn't pee either.
Suddenly, the Guangnao let out a pleasant notification chime.
Rong Xuanyu pulled it out and looked:
【'Jiang Buli' has sent you a friend request. 'Accept' or 'Decline'?】