Normally, for an optional outing like this, as a bona fide shut-in, he would definitely choose not to go.
But then again.
It might count toward the credits for practical quality education.
And since they were going out to have fun, there would be a chance to mooch food and drinks off Brother Bai.
Could anyone pass up a chance to freeload a meal and still call themselves human?
Besides, it would not interfere with grinding mobile games. He just needed to bring a couple more power banks.
And so, their travel group instantly expanded to five people.
The four-man group from Room 510, Building 7 of the men's dorms, plus Chen Yusheng.
As for who would be the captain of this group.
Xue Tao and Chu Mingzhe got into quite an argument.
Both thought they were the most suitable.
They started debating over dinner in the cafeteria and kept going all the way back to the dorm.
In the end, by eight-thirty that evening, a winner had finally been decided.
The reason they settled it was quite coincidental.
Chu Mingzhe and Xue Tao started shouting in the social mixer group, saying their travel squad already had five people—four guys and Chen Yusheng—and that they were recruiting a few more girls.
Then Chu Mingzhe emphasized his experience traveling abroad many times since elementary school, having visited over a dozen countries, and posted quite a few photos he had taken.
To be honest, Chu Mingzhe's photography was pretty good.
Hu Ye really did have some taste.
He actually attracted several girls from the Academy of Arts, who added him to discuss travel and photography.
After all, being able to travel abroad from a young age meant his family was well-off, and knowing photography meant he knew how to have fun. It was easy to pique the interest of some girls.
Unfortunately, the girls were not much to look at.
Chu Mingzhe went through the photos in their social media feeds one by one, wearing an expression that said, "Old man, subway, phone."
"Where are the art students we were promised? Why do they all look like this? I thought broadcast hosting majors had appearance requirements. Who knew... sigh!"
"Is it really that bad?" Wang Haoran, bored out of his mind, leaned over for a look. "Aren't they all pretty decent?"
"That's after makeup and photo editing. They're barely passable even then. I don't dare imagine what they look like bare-faced in person."
"I see. I don't get it. All real-life women look the same to me. I have face blindness." Wang Haoran made a shut-in remark. "They're not as good as Raiden Shogun."
Xue Tao also leaned over to look for a while, then suddenly cried out, "Hu Ye, why are they all adding you just to chat? Why won't they agree to join the travel group?"
"I have no idea. What's going on?" Chu Mingzhe was baffled too. He had chatted with several girls, but whenever he brought up the trip, they politely declined, saying they had other plans.
"Brother Bai, what do you think?" Wang Haoran asked.
Su Bai thought for a moment, then said lazily, "They probably think our group looks too strange—four guys plus Chen Yusheng. Someone like Chen Yusheng, a cool and aloof top-student type, naturally gives off an aura that keeps people at arm's length. It's usually not easy for her to get close to other girls."
Everyone agreed that Su Bai's analysis made sense.
Although Su Bai usually kept a low profile, he was quite clear-headed when it came to certain things.
Xue Tao said unhappily, "Damn it, Hu Ye, you're too weak. Let me do it!"
And so it was Xue Tao's turn to chatter away in the group.
"Hello, everyone. The biggest feature of our group is that we're planning a self-driving trip. After all, attractions around River City aren't convenient with a tour group, and getting around by ride-share is troublesome too. Driving ourselves is actually the best option... Though I'm no one special, I do own a Magotan 330 that I can use freely at any time..."
To be fair, although the local guy's bragging was a little deliberate.
It actually worked.
A girl with a sticky rice ball avatar spoke up:
There's really a car we can ride in? That's great. We don't want to squeeze onto the subway. There will definitely be a ton of people during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, so a self-driving trip would be best.
Xue Tao perked up and hurriedly added the girl in a private message.
After some brief conversation, he learned that her name was Wan Xinyan, and she had an older sister named Wan Xinyue, who was in the same class.
The two were twin sisters, and both had somehow gotten into Jiangcheng University's broadcast hosting program, which was quite rare.
The sisters were used to acting together and had been considering which group would be more comfortable to travel with when they saw Xue Tao bragging about his Magotan 330.
It was also pretty rare for a university student to have a car.
They looked it up. It was not some amazing car, but it was not bad either.
At any rate, it was definitely enough for a useful tool they could take advantage of during the trip.
So Wan Xinyan accepted Xue Tao's friend request.
After chatting a little.
She felt that this guy was very enthusiastic, though he did not seem particularly bright.
Not being bright was good. It would make him easier to manipulate and use.
Thus, the two sides hit it off immediately.
However, Wan Xinyan still thought of one issue:
If you add us, that makes four guys and three girls. One car won't fit everyone, will it?
Xue Tao had anticipated this and replied:
No big deal. I'm planning to rent another car. One of my dorm mates can drive too, so he can drive it. Two cars for seven people will be easy.
Wan Xinyan replied with satisfaction: That's great. Xue Tao, you've thought everything through so carefully. You feel much more mature than most guys.
After receiving the girl's compliment, Xue Tao practically floated into the air. With a lecherous grin, he mumbled to himself, "Hehe, do you think these twin sisters might both fall in love with me?"
"You've been watching too much Romance of the Three Kingdoms, haven't you? Both fall for you? You think way too highly of yourself." Chu Mingzhe poured cold water on him.
"Anyway, our travel group is starting to take shape. It's fine for just these seven people to go. If we can add one or two more girls, that works too. Two cars can seat ten people anyway."
Watching Xue Tao show off.
Chu Mingzhe felt awful.
How had this old bastard gotten to do all the showing off?
Could it be that his refined character—having traveled through seventeen countries at such a young age, seen so much of the world, and mastered photography—could not attract girls?
Forget it. Whatever.
Chu Mingzhe had another important task.
Invite Jiang Qiuran to join the group.
To be honest, he had no confidence at all.
After all, he had never had any interaction with Jiang Qiuran.
And every day, she was fawned over by a crowd of rich guys. She was practically the most popular girl in the Goddess Dormitory.
But precisely because this task was difficult, Chu Mingzhe had to find a way to complete it.
That way, he would definitely outshine the local guy.
You little country bumpkin, let Hu Ye show you what he can do!
Just as Chu Mingzhe's ambition was about to flare up.
Su Bai, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke. "Shengsheng just told me that Jiang Qiuran asked her whether she could hang out with us during Mid-Autumn Festival. I agreed on everyone's behalf?"
"No, bro, what the hell... Why did she suddenly want to join on her own?" Chu Mingzhe's face twisted in frustration.
"Oh, should I turn her down?" Su Bai glanced sideways at him.
Xue Tao hurriedly said, "Turn her down my ass. Come on, welcome, welcome!"
After saying that, he gave Su Bai a strange look.
Although he did not know why Jiang Qiuran had taken the initiative to join them, it was a good thing that she was coming. Xue Tao was certainly happy to welcome her, because Jiang Qiuran was the most perfect campus belle in his heart!
Before you continue