Starting School Early and Planning to Rent a Place

The bespectacled young man's seat was right between Zhao Rui and the girl. As soon as he sat down, he smiled and struck up a conversation with her.

"Hi. Are you going to Jizhou for school too?"

The girl tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and smiled faintly. "Yes!"

"What a coincidence! Me too. Let's get acquainted. Cui Yuan, Jizhou University!"

"Hi, Cui Yuan. Could you do me a favor?"

Her beautiful eyes blinked lightly, her long lashes like a breeze brushing willow branches, bright with the spirit of spring.

"Of course! Just say the word!"

Cui Yuan heard that the beauty needed his help and figured she must consider him a close acquaintance. His face lit up, and he readily agreed.

"Could I switch seats with you?"

The girl spoke gently.

Cui Yuan froze for a moment, then smiled and said, "You don't like the window seat, do you? No problem. I'll sit on the aisle."

With that, he stood up magnanimously and switched places with her.

As they crossed paths, the girl's fragrance drifted into his nostrils in wisps, stirring his heart.

His mind was already filling with beautiful scenes: chatting happily with her during the journey, exchanging contact details when they got off, and gradually becoming a couple.

Once they had switched seats, the girl lowered her eyes and murmured, "Thanks."

"No problem! No problem!"

Hearing her soft, gentle voice, Cui Yuan rubbed the back of his head, looking unusually bashful.

The girl, Zhan Yan, smiled. She was like a proud plum blossom, blooming in the early spring breeze despite the snow and frost!

Cui Yuan was so excited that he was about to pick a topic and warm up this chance encounter when he saw the girl turn slightly, her beautiful eyes gazing affectionately at the young man by the window.

"..."

Cui Yuan instantly felt as if he'd been tossed about in a gale.

"Tell me, don't you think we're fated to meet?" the girl asked, looking at Zhao Rui with a knowing smile.

"Do we know each other? I've been busy with exams lately and forgot. Who are you?"

Zhao Rui played dumb.

"Boys really are all such heartless pigs. You've already forgotten me!"

The girl's willow-leaf brows filled with sorrow, and her limpid autumn eyes seemed about to spill tears, stirring one's compassion.

Hearing her words, Cui Yuan felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. His face fell.

"Oh, now that you're acting all coy, I remember. You're my girlfriend! Sorry about that!"

Zhao Rui's swordlike brows lifted slightly, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth as his right hand reached for her delicate hand resting at her side.

At his words, the girl rolled her eyes. This guy was just as shameless as ever.

"Didn't we break up? Look, you've forgotten again!"

Before her words had even ended, her left hand formed a spell sign and sliced toward his wrist as fast as lightning.

Zhao Rui bent his elbow to dodge and was about to counterattack, but she moved faster. Her five fingers curled into a claw and shot toward his thigh.

Zhao Rui hurriedly held his fingers together like a sword and jabbed at an acupoint on her wrist, forcing her to dodge.

She twisted her wrist and evaded him. When her first strike missed, she stopped attacking, and the claw technique that had been brimming with killing intent instantly became a delicate, slender hand.

"Right. We broke up!"

Zhao Rui hadn't expected that in the short three months since they'd last met, this woman's martial arts had improved just as rapidly as his, and she was in no way inferior to him.

The girl seemed just as surprised. A flicker of astonishment flashed through her eyes as she looked at Zhao Rui.

Their exchange had taken place in a flash, almost unnoticed, but Cui Yuan, sitting in the aisle seat, had been listening from the side, still unable to accept what he'd heard.

When he heard Zhao Rui casually say that he'd forgotten his girlfriend, he stared over in shock.

And what he saw made things worse: the girl's pale, jade-like hand was reaching toward Zhao Rui's thigh. Cui Yuan's hopes crumbled.

He cursed under his breath: "Slut!"

He turned away, simmering with resentment, no longer in the mood to pay attention to the neighboring pair "showing off their affection."

"What are you going to Jizhou for? School? First year?"

Since they couldn't tell who would win after a move or two, the girl naturally wasn't going to have a real "spar" with Zhao Rui in public. Instead, she leaned toward him slightly, like an old friend, and chatted about everyday things in a soft, gentle voice.

"Yeah, first year. What about you? What are you going for?"

"I told you. Do you want to hear?"

"Forget it. I don't."

At that, Zhao Rui shook his head.

The girl's peach-blossom eyes lifted slightly, amusement in her gaze. "At least you know your place!"

Zhao Rui smiled faintly and said nothing more.

The girl was none other than the "male infertility hardening engineer" he'd encountered in the alley before—the beautiful woman who knew the Netherworld Ghost Claw.

Several months had passed in a flash. He hadn't expected to run into her here.

"Give me your WeChat."

Though Zhao Rui wasn't paying her any attention, the girl still seemed in the mood to talk. She took out her phone from her crossbody bag and opened WeChat.

"Miss, we barely know each other. There's no need. Once we get off, we can go our separate ways..."

"You're overthinking it. I just think you're annoying and want to beat you up!"

"..."

Zhao Rui's cheek twitched. He readily opened his WeChat and added her as a friend.

He'd worry about whether she'd beat him up later. At least her Netherworld Ghost Claw was tempting.

This was a proper demonic martial art, an advanced technique passed down through a sect.

All at once, a string of messages arrived from a WeChat account named Youyou, along with an animated image that said, "I respect you for being a man."

"Heh."

Zhao Rui was speechless. He brushed her off with a "heh," then turned to look out the window.

Seeing that, the girl didn't say anything more. She leaned back slightly and closed her eyes to rest.

The trip from Lincheng to Jizhou wasn't far. By high-speed rail, it took only two short hours.

Zhao Rui watched the scenery flash past outside for a while, then closed his eyes to rest, just like the girl beside him.

For someone who practiced martial arts, walking, sitting, or lying down could all be opportunities to train. Only constant practice could build up strength for a sudden breakthrough.

He wasn't close to the girl in the first place, so there was no need to say much.

They could each mind their own business.

Cui Yuan, sitting in the same row, had a particularly turbulent journey.

At first, he'd thought the two of them were a couple. But later, when he saw that neither paid the other any attention, as if they didn't know each other, his thoughts began racing again.

He wanted to talk to the girl and show off his charm, but once she closed her eyes, she didn't open them again.

He was so anxious he could hardly sit still.

It wasn't until the train arrived at Jizhou High-Speed Railway Station and the announcer announced their arrival that the girl slowly opened her eyes.

Just one glance made Cui Yuan feel a chill run through him, as though he'd fallen into an endless abyss.

Her bright eyes gleamed with cold light, their icy depths seeming to seize his soul. She looked like a celestial maiden descended to earth, and yet like a demoness from the underworld.

There wasn't a trace of emotion in them.

He couldn't help shivering. When he looked again, her gaze had already softened, like autumn waters veiled in mist, tender and alluring.

It must have been an illusion. It had to be.

"We're here. Meeting by chance must be fate. Could I add you on WeChat?"

Cui Yuan asked nervously, his eyes still darting now and then toward Zhao Rui, who was resting with his eyes closed.

"Of course!"

The girl smiled radiantly and readily agreed.

"Huh? Oh!"

Cui Yuan was instantly thrilled. He hurriedly opened his phone and added her on WeChat.

Soon, the train slowly came to a stop on the tracks.

The passengers getting off stood up one after another, gathered their luggage, and prepared to leave.

Cui Yuan eagerly took the girl's suitcase down from the luggage rack. Seeing that Zhao Rui didn't care, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Looking at the girl's graceful figure and pretty face, his heart burned even hotter.

As the train pulled in and the passengers began filing out, the girl followed Cui Yuan down the aisle, one after the other.

Zhao Rui, meanwhile, waited until the very end before leisurely leaving the carriage.

That woman was bad news. He didn't want to have too much to do with her.

Carrying his suitcase out through the exit, he immediately spotted several school reception booths set up there.

As one of the top universities in the provincial capital, Dongqi University's reception booth naturally stood out.

Zhao Rui carried his suitcase over. A senior student quickly came up to greet him and led him to the shuttle bus, where he waited for enough passengers to gather before they set off together.

It was no different from his experience starting university in his previous life.

By eleven thirty in the morning, Zhao Rui had reached the Dongqi University campus on the shuttle.

After getting off, he followed the crowd toward the college's new-student reception desk.

Dongqi University's campus was vast, and the colleges were far apart from one another.

Following the map and the signs along the road, Zhao Rui walked for quite a while before reaching the office building of the College of Accounting.

This year, the College of Accounting's new-student registration desk was set up on the small plaza in front of the office building.

Around a dozen upperclassmen stood beneath a sunshade, warmly welcoming the first-year students as they arrived.

Many students had come alone, while some had been brought by their parents. Altogether, forty or fifty people had gathered in front of the reception desk.

Zhao Rui wasn't in a hurry and waited patiently. It wasn't until after noon that he finished registering. Then, accompanied by an upperclassman and an upperclasswoman, he headed to the dormitory with seven other students.

The College of Accounting had four majors: Accounting, International Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Management.

Only one of the seven was an Accounting major, and she was a girl.

As for her looks, the kindest thing one could say was that her greatest advantage was her youth.

If nothing unexpected happened, she would be one of Zhao Rui's classmates, either in his class or his department.

But the girl seemed rather timid and awkward around people, shrinking back nervously.

After walking along the campus path for seven or eight minutes, the boys followed the upperclassman into the dormitory building.

"Room 126, at the far end of the west side of the first floor."

Zhao Rui checked the information notice in his hand, picked up his suitcase, and headed over.

The door was half-open, and someone was clearly inside.

Zhao Rui knocked and stepped in.

Two roommates were already making their beds. One of them had a parent there helping him.

"You're the new roommate, right? We just got here too!"

The young man who was making his bed alone smiled and greeted Zhao Rui. He was tall and sturdy, with thick brows and big eyes.

"Good thing I'm not the last one to arrive!"

Zhao Rui smiled and shoved his suitcase into the wardrobe.

He hadn't bought any bedding yet. He'd planned to wait until he knew his room before going shopping.

"Another new roommate!"

As soon as Zhao Rui finished speaking, the parent who was making the other roommate's bed smiled and greeted him.

He didn't just greet him—he even held out a cigarette.

Zhao Rui hadn't been much of a smoker in his previous life, and he'd never smoked in this one, so he smiled and declined.

"You'll all be roommates now. You'll live together for four years, like brothers. Our Leilei is a little introverted, so please be patient with him. Let's all have lunch together. Uncle's treating!"

"Thanks, Uncle, but there's no need. We just got here and need some time to get used to the place. We don't want to put you out!"

Before Zhao Rui could politely decline, the tall, burly young man who'd arrived first turned the offer down.

The parent was about to say a few more words when the door opened again. The last roommate entered, backlit by the fierce midday sun streaming through the window in the corridor.

"Perfect, everyone's here. You boys can have lunch together. Uncle's treating."

"I'll pass. I have something to do at noon. Thanks, Uncle!"

The last roommate to arrive refused the parent's offer without hesitation.

Zhao Rui glanced at the two roommates who'd answered. Since neither of them was going, he naturally wouldn't go either.

"Don't bother, Uncle. We'll all be roommates from now on. We'll have plenty of chances to eat together. You go ahead and take care of your business."

Zhao Rui smiled. What he meant was clear: since they'd be sharing a room, they'd naturally look out for each other, so the parent didn't need to be so formal.

The middle-aged man hadn't expected the students to be so indifferent to an invitation, and could only say helplessly, "All right, then. When you get the chance, come visit Yecheng. Uncle will treat you then!"

"Thanks, Uncle!"

Zhao Rui and the other two hurriedly thanked him.

The family spent quite a while tidying up the dorm, then chatted on and on before finally leaving, reluctant to go.

During that time, Zhao Rui had called home to let his family know he was safe. He also took a short video of the dorm and sent it to them.

Once the parent had left, the tall young man asked everyone their ages and names.

After they'd all given their ages, Zhao Rui found out that he had the same ranking as his father: second.

He was definitely the second brother!

The oldest was the tall young man. He looked mature for his age and was the eldest too, already nineteen.

Of the other two, one was named Le Bin. He'd been the last to arrive and was handsome, with delicate features, red lips, and pearly teeth. If he'd been in Thailand in his previous life, he would definitely have been a beauty in the making.

The other was named Chu Yunlei. He was ranked fourth and was the only one who'd brought a parent to the dorm.

Chu Yunlei was on the skinny side, looking rather frail. He wasn't much of a talker, either; ask him a question, and he'd give you an answer.

After the four of them had sorted out their ages, they chatted about their grades and the things they'd seen along the way. Since Zhao Rui and Le Bin hadn't brought bedding, they talked for a while, then left the dorm together to buy bedding and toiletries.

Their dorm was fairly full already, with everyone arriving at school a day early.

The first day of school wasn't until tomorrow. Today didn't count.

After returning to the dorm, making up his bed, and tidying his new little nest, Zhao Rui headed out alone.

He was a Martial Arts Student, so he definitely wouldn't be able to stay in the communal dorms for long.

Sooner or later, he'd have to rent a place!

Zhao Rui planned to check out the nearby residential complexes first and see if there were any martial arts schools around where he could pick up a part-time job.