With the arrival of spring, temperatures gradually warmed up. Though it was not hot yet, some girls at Jiangcheng University had already started wearing short skirts.
It was three in the afternoon. Xing Zhen sat on the field, watching the occasional pair of long legs pass by. His expression was calm, and his heart remained utterly unmoved. He was clearly spacing out.
Suddenly, another boy patted him on the shoulder and laughed behind him. "Fatty, wanna play some soccer?"
Hearing this, Xing Zhen turned around. The person behind him was his roommate, Zhang Zhicheng.
That name might have been a little hard to remember, but he also had an easier nickname: Brother Dog.
As everyone knew, in a boys' dorm, an adjective plus the word "brother" could become someone's nickname for all four years of college.
"Brother Dog, I feel empty inside," Xing Zhen said absentmindedly.
"What's wrong? Got dumped again?"
"No."
Xing Zhen shook his head and said quietly, "Ever since the owner of that bookstore across from campus left, I've realized their Braised Chicken Rice Noodles don't taste as good as before."
"I heard the owner left the recipe behind before leaving, didn't they?"
"It's different. Maybe regular customers can't taste the difference, but as a seasoned Braised Chicken Rice Noodles addict, I can tell there's still a huge gap between the two. It's not that the current ones are bad, they just don't suit my taste."
Because of that, Xing Zhen found every day unbearably boring now. In this enormous school, he did not feel any sense of belonging at all.
"I get it."
Brother Dog pondered for a moment before suddenly saying, "You've been single for too long. Looks like it's time to consider finding you a girlfriend."
"Get lost. I'm not interested in that stuff."