A Day on Campus

October arrived, but the weather showed no sign of improving.

"Super Typhoon Shark is expected to make landfall along the Jiangzhou coast in the coming days."

"All residents should take precautions against the typhoon and stay indoors unless necessary..."

The campus broadcast played steadily.

The boys' dorms in Peach Garden were usually quiet.

Zhang Yuhang, the chubby one, was addicted to online games. Chen Kang was an online-game addict too, just better-looking. After class, they generally headed straight back to the dorm to play.

Fang Xian had heard that Chen Kang was getting close to Pan Meng, the girl from the last debate. Chen Kang wouldn't say a word about it, so Fang Xian had no idea whether it was true.

Wang Dashan didn't seem to be making any progress with Gao Lu. He sighed all day long, and whenever he opened his mouth, it was to say, "There's no way. I don't stand a chance."

Fang Xian was sick of hearing it.

"Fang Xian! Fang Xian!"

A scholarly-looking young man came through the door.

It was Li Yang, the class representative for Fang Xian's class.

His entrance score at Jiangzhou Normal University had been high—the highest in their class.

Fang Xian got along well with him because Li Yang's girlfriend was in the discipline inspection department, which checked whether freshmen arrived late or left early.

Fang Xian had no shame about asking Li Yang to mark him present.

Morning study was perfectly normal for a freshman.

But running from the Peach Garden dorms to Building Twenty-Three for morning study was absurd. Fang Xian hadn't bought an electric scooter or a bicycle, so every morning he had to compete with everyone else for a shared bike.

So... he simply stopped going.

That was Fang Xian's reasoning, anyway.

"What's up?"

Fang Xian was keeping Xiao Jiu company while she slept. He looked up, casually making sure his new Star-brand Phone was on display.

"You bought a new phone?"

"Those cost a fortune. Ten thousand yuan, right?"

Li Yang looked surprised.

Chen Kang and Zhang Yuhang were used to it by now. They kept playing their shooter game as Chen Kang said, "That bastard Fang Xian's been secretly rich all along, acting like he's one of us."

Jealousy.

Pure, naked jealousy.

Fang Xian fiddled with the phone he had swiped from Zhu Shuang.

He had used a few less-than-legal methods to remove its ID.

And just like that, he had become a true Star Phone owner.

Wonderful.

Li Yang remembered why he had come. "Right. Fang Xian, Chen Kang, Zhang Yuhang—the humanities and music schools are holding a joint welcome gala the night after tomorrow. Want to go?"

Fang Xian raised an eyebrow. "Come on, look me in the eye. Are we in humanities or music?"

Zhang Yuhang looked up. "Who cares about our school's performances? We're going to see the pretty girls."

"Song Yizhou from the School of Literature, Ji Kangkang from the law school, He Qiao from the music school..."

"Think the university planned it that way?"

"Put all the pretty girls in one place just to get us there?"

Fang Xian pointed at Zhang Yuhang.

The guy had it bad.

Really bad.

"Put that way, I guess there's a reason to go."

"But I'm not that bothered about the gala. It'll depend on the weather."

Fang Xian was being honest.

Li Yang thought for a moment. "True. If it's pouring, we're better off staying in the dorm. They'll livestream it on Tremble anyway."

"Either way, I need to let my girlfriend know first."

Fang Xian toyed with his phone and said casually, "Say hi to her for me. My stomach's going to hurt tomorrow morning, so have her sign me in. Mwah."

[Urban Legend Compendium activated].

Fang Xian couldn't say when it had happened.

The label beside [Murder Weapon] had changed from [Dangerous] to [Extremely Dangerous].

Together with the weather outside, it left him vaguely uneasy.

Jiangzhou looked peaceful, but beneath the surface, currents were churning as fiercely as the approaching Shark.

Two days earlier, Fang Xian had gone to No. 1 Central Primary School in Binhai District to track down Zhu Shuang.

To his surprise, Zhu Shuang's homeroom teacher said his family had come in on Monday to arrange his transfer.

"Where did he transfer to?"

Fang Xian asked.

"I'm not sure... I think it was Yan Prefecture. Who are you?"

Fang Xian stayed calm in the face of the teacher's wary look.

Yan Prefecture was far away, almost beyond Daxin Pass.

Lucky you ran fast, you little shit.

Jiangzhou Normal University.

The girls' dorms in Apricot Garden.

Song Yizhou was familiarizing herself with the script.

That was right.

Their very own Song Yizhou was the female host of the joint welcome gala.

The music school would naturally carry an event like this.

Otherwise, what were they supposed to do, send students from the School of Literature up to recite poetry?

Song Yizhou had originally planned a pipa solo, but once she heard it would be held jointly with the music school, she dropped the idea.

Why go up there just to embarrass herself?

It was gloomy outside.

The rain still hadn't come, and that made Song Yizhou uncomfortable.

She sat up straight at her desk and continued reviewing the script.

Creak.

The door opened.

Lü Yaoyao stormed in with Hong Ye.

"I'm so mad. I'm so mad!"

"I can't stand the sight of Xu Wanyi."

Gao Lu looked up from her bed. "What did Miss Xu do this time?"

Lü Yaoyao snapped, "Seeing her makes me angry. Is that not enough?"

Gao Lu chuckled. "Same here."

Song Yizhou watched them helplessly.

Xu Wanyi was a law student who lived next door.

She was pretty to begin with, and she knew how to dress, do her makeup, and dance. She had attracted plenty of admirers during military training.

She had clashed with Lü Yaoyao and Gao Lu during some freshman competitions.

What exactly those clashes had been about was anyone's guess now.

The point was, Xu Wanyi was someone who could make Lü Yaoyao and Gao Lu set aside their rivalry and join forces.

Song Yizhou never said so, but she saw it clearly.

"Try not to let it get to you, Yaoyao. In the end, getting angry only hurts you."

Song Yizhou spoke softly, tapping her fingers against the desk with effortless grace.

Lü Yaoyao sat down beside her and turned to Gao Lu and Hong Ye. "Girls, let me tell you what happened."

"I ran into Xu Wanyi today. She'd bought the latest Star Phone, and she made a point of showing off her new bag."

"Everyone knows how many boyfriends she's had since starting university."

"Every one of them a rich kid."

"What gives her the right to show off to me?!"

"It isn't even her money."

Lü Yaoyao and Xu Wanyi had somewhat similar styles, though Lü Yaoyao was clearly much more restrained.

Song Yizhou found it a little funny but kept a straight face. She patted Lü Yaoyao's shoulder as though soothing a child. "There, there. Don't be angry."

Lü Yaoyao had initially tried to get close to Song Yizhou on purpose. But after Song Yizhou had covered her with a coat when she wet herself, Lü Yaoyao realized Song Yizhou was genuinely kind, without a trace of arrogance. She had come to like her.

Lü Yaoyao leaned against Song Yizhou. "Oh, right. I saw Xu Wanyi moving her things earlier. It looks like she's moving out."

"Are freshmen allowed to live off campus?"

"I'm going to report her!"

Xu Wanyi had put on her prettiest makeup and was waiting for her ride with her suitcase.

A demure smile rested on her face.

She thought of her new boyfriend.

It still felt like a dream.

That man...

He had a great body. He was tall, handsome, and incredibly rich.

Incredibly, incredibly, incredibly rich!

He was the perfect boyfriend!

The Star Phone 15 Pro Max 2TB in her hand was a gift from him.

Xu Wanyi knew perfectly well that this was her chance to move up in the world.

Before long...

An eye-catching Meiher luxury car appeared on Garbage Street, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

A Meiher cost more than six million yuan by the time it was on the road.

That was more than many people would earn in a lifetime.

With every eye on her, Xu Wanyi felt her life had been worth it.

"Ah Yuan, you're here."

Xu Wanyi bent down and gave the man behind the lowered car window her sweetest smile.

The handsome man in sunglasses wore an odd smile as he gestured for her to get in.

Jiangzhou's behemoth.

The Red Dragon Group.

Its heir—Qi Yuan.