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"Since so many of us are buying together, is there a discount?"

"Of course there's a discount, but I need to ask my mom."

"The problem is, with so many chamber pots, where are we going to put them after buying them? There isn't enough room behind the door."

"Isn't that easy? Put them under the beds. The two people sharing each bunk can keep theirs under the bed."

"Wouldn't that be bad? The dorm will stink of urine."

"Just put up with it. Anyone who doesn't want to can use the bathroom."

"Peeing is one thing, but what if you need to take a dump at night?"

"You can use the chamber pot for that too."

"Where did Liang Kui go? Has anyone seen him?"

Lights out... Liang Kui still hadn't returned.

Su Yan was bathing beneath a waterfall when he heard his phone ring. He hurriedly climbed out.

"Who is this?"

"It's me."

"Liang Kui?" Su Yan asked curiously as he wiped his dripping hair.

"That's right, it's me. I called the homeroom teacher, but his phone was off. So I called you, Class Monitor. I need to make this clear: I've climbed over the school wall and left the dorm. I'm catching a ride to stay at my cousin's place. Please help explain things to the homeroom teacher tomorrow."

"Why did you leave the dorm?"

"If I didn't fucking leave, I'd have been drowned in shit and piss!"

Suppressing a laugh, Su Yan deliberately said, "They're boys. How clean do you expect them to be? Smelly socks, farting, burping—that's all normal. You'll get used to it slowly."

"Fuck your fart! What the hell do farts matter? They bought chamber pots! They were even discussing buying twelve of them, one for each person, to keep in the dorm! Taking dumps and pissing in chamber pots! You try living there for a day, then tell me you don't want to die!"

Su Yan snickered, and Liang Kui panted as he cursed, "What the hell are you laughing at? If I ever live in that dorm again, I won't be named Liang!"

Su Yan cleared his throat. "I can help you smooth things over for today, but whether you live in the dorm or not, you need to discuss it with the teacher. As long as your mom agrees, everything can be worked out."

"Got it." Liang Kui hung up angrily.

Su Yan could not help laughing. Only then did he suddenly remember that, in his previous life, Liang Kui seemed to have said that living in a dorm was the most miserable fucking thing in the world. Even staying for one day was enough to leave a lifelong impression. That was how Liang Kui had been in his previous life too—he had stayed in the high school dorm for only one day before moving out. Su Yan had heard that Liang Kui later moved in with a teacher.

The next day, Su Yan and Liang Kui went to speak with the homeroom teacher about the dorm. Seeing Liang Kui's haggard appearance, the teacher could not bring himself to scold him and could only say, "I'll pay special attention to dorm hygiene. Liang Kui, talk to your mother about your situation. Once you've settled it, have her call me."

Two days later, Liang Kui moved into the home of an elderly teacher at the school. Only the teacher and his wife lived there, and it was clean and tidy. Though moving into a teacher's home was not what Liang Kui wanted, he had at least escaped the dorm, and he was completely satisfied.

It was evening self-study dismissal again. Su Yan squatted beside his bicycle as Lin Qiang said furiously, "This is going too far! Pulling out the valve cores for half a month wasn't enough; now they've actually slashed the tire. Su Yan, stop putting up with it. Tell the teacher tomorrow. We need to find a way to catch whoever did this."

There was nothing they could do now. Su Yan carried his bicycle to get the tire patched. The repair shop owner clicked his tongue. "Kid, you must've offended someone."

"Please fix it as quickly as you can," Su Yan said.

"Sure, I'll hurry."

Patching a tire was not something that could be done in an instant. Su Yan bought five yuan's worth of dried tofu and sat eating with Lin Qiang. When they were nearly finished, Su Yan said, "You should head home first. It's getting late, and your parents will worry." He checked his phone and added, "It's almost ten. Go on."

Lin Qiang hesitated, so Su Yan urged, "Go. You don't need to keep me company."

"...Then be careful."

For Lin Qiang, it really was too late. His mother waited up every night until he came home before going to sleep. If he was even a little late, she would question him endlessly. If he delayed by half an hour or an hour, she might even come looking for him at school.

After watching Lin Qiang leave, Su Yan bought another plate of grilled chicken feet and ate them slowly. By this hour, the first- and second-year students had already left the area around the school, and the snack stalls were quiet.

Su Yan was eating happily when more than a dozen teenagers suddenly gathered at the barbecue stall—delinquent youths with brightly colored hair.

When Su Yan looked at the youth leading them, his pupils contracted slightly.

The youth looked unwell. He loudly ordered beer and tipped back half a bottle in one go, all the while cursing about matters involving women.

Su Yan paid and got to his feet to leave.

"Stop." The youth called out to Su Yan.

Su Yan turned around calmly. "What is it?"

The youth gave Su Yan a cursory look. Su Yan was strikingly handsome, the type girls liked. The youth frowned, his tone unfriendly. "What year are you in?"

"First year."

"What's your name?"

"Su Yan."

"Which class?"

"Class Two."

"Class Two!" The youth's eyes lit up. He moved closer to Su Yan and asked excitedly, "You're in the same class as Chen Wanwan?"

"Yeah."

"You know Liang Kui, then?" The youth's expression turned gloomy.