On Saturday afternoon, Zheng Qing moved back from Qingqiu Mansion to Dormitory 403.
He wanted to make the dorm feel a little lived-in before tomorrow's registration day, to prove to his roommates that he had behaved himself throughout the winter break.
Though he had always been well-behaved to begin with.
Despite having been empty for weeks, the dorm was not as cold and desolate as Zheng Qing had imagined. Several fresh sunflowers stood on the desk, and a few little elves lay lazily upon their enormous flower heads. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the glass window, falling across the petals and their wings, diffusing enchanting halos of light. Tuantuan's plump body was curled into a ball beneath the sunflowers' shade, his head pillowed on his paws. His long, rumbling purr made anyone listening want to grab him and give him a squeeze.
"I'm back!"
The young publicly funded student spread his arms and shouted, thoroughly ruining the atmosphere.
Tuantuan's purring stopped abruptly. He twitched an ear without opening his eyes, then turned around with extreme rudeness, pointed his enormous backside at Zheng Qing, flicked his tail, and resumed his afternoon nap.
Flutter, flutter!
A flock of little elves flew out from the curtains around the boys' beds, chattering excitedly. Delight and exhilaration appeared on their delicate little faces. The few on the sunflowers, however, remained listless and sluggish, looking utterly dispirited.
"What's wrong with them?"
Zheng Qing did not mind Tuantuan's discourtesy—so long as the fat cat could restrain his temper and avoid leaping up to scratch him twice, Zheng Qing considered him very friendly—but the wilted little elves made him sense that something was amiss.
Chitter!
Chitter chitter!
Several brighter little elves beat their wings and landed before the boy's nose, waving their arms as they tried hard to describe