Club recruitment

At lunchtime, Luo Ye and his three roommates arrived at the Third Canteen, exhaustion written all over their faces.

They had two long lectures that morning, running from eight thirty to eleven fifty, and classes started again at two in the afternoon. There was barely any time to rest.

Hellish Monday certainly lived up to its reputation as the toughest day of the week.

The food at the Third Canteen was many times better than at the First Cafeteria, and its decor made it a social media hotspot. Most importantly, the Third Canteen had two floors and was three times the size of the First Cafeteria.

Wang Dachui and Li Haoyang wolfed down their meals like a pair of bottomless pits.

Anyone who wasn't enthusiastic about eating had their priorities wrong.

"By the way, Coach, Movie Star, Wild Kid, club sign-ups are about to start. Which clubs do you want to join?" Wang Dachui suddenly asked.

"I'm not joining any," Shen Qiao said, shaking his head.

"Obviously, I'm going for a sports club. Even better if there's a fitness club," Li Haoyang said with an earnest smile.

Luo Ye hadn't decided yet, so he simply said, "No idea. I'll leave it to fate."

Seeing how casual all three of them were, Wang Dachui looked exasperated at their lack of ambition. "My sons, your father must remind you that we need extracurricular credits. Joining clubs and attending their activities is a much easier way to earn them."

At that, Shen Qiao gave him an amused look. "Forgot who's the dad here? Want to watch that video again?"

"Fake! It was definitely fake! We're all computer science students. Editing a video would be child's play! You unfilial son, how dare you frame your father!"

"Dad!"

Shen Qiao suddenly pulled out his phone and played the video. Wang Dachui's loud cry of "Dad!" rang out from the speaker.

He had even made it his alarm tone, which went off in their dorm at eight sharp every morning.

"Shen Qiao! For all four years of college, you and I are sworn enemies!"

Luo Ye and Li Haoyang both burst out laughing.

"We have three days to sign up for clubs. We're busy today, so why don't we go have a look together tomorrow?" Li Haoyang suggested.

Every club had set up a recruitment booth beside a campus walkway to promote what it offered and invite new students to join.

"You guys go. I'll pass."

Shen Qiao looked utterly uninterested.

As it happened, Shen Qiao had already become famous at Jiangda.

Among the freshmen was a fresh-faced campus beauty named Tang Enqi. But with Su Baizhou around, Tang Enqi could only be the freshman campus beauty, not the beauty of all Jiangda.

Among the boys, there was also a heartthrob whose looks were nothing short of stunning: Shen Qiao.

The movie star of Dorm 515 had the looks and build of a young idol, leaving countless girls infatuated.

Although Shen Qiao wasn't cold by nature, he could certainly be called a loner. Apart from his three roommates, he barely knew anyone, even in his own class.

"Great. Tomorrow, we'll see which club has the most girls." Wang Dachui looked excited.

Perhaps every dorm had a resident lecher. Before he even opened his mouth, his expression told everyone what he was about to say. Yet he only dared act that way in the dorm; the moment he stepped outside, he became a perfect gentleman.

Before long, it was the following afternoon.

It was the second day of club recruitment, and the computer science students had a rare day without classes.

The three of them walked among the recruitment booths, taking in the dazzling variety of club performances. Wang Dachui couldn't tear his eyes away.

Especially from the Dance Club and the Anime Club.

Wang Dachui rushed straight over to a girl cosplaying Asuna and asked with a solemn expression, "Excuse me, beautiful, can I join the Anime Club?"

"Of course! The Anime Club always welcomes new students."

The girl dressed as Asuna was incredibly gentle. With a single sentence, she had Wang Dachui basking in her warmth.

Then a group of senior girls in cosplay began performing an otaku dance at the Anime Club's booth. Wang Dachui joined them, and although he wasn't wearing a costume, his superb dancing outclassed every member of the club.

A genius!

Wang Dachui was the greatest prodigy the Anime Club had seen since its founding!

Luo Ye and Li Haoyang watched, utterly speechless.

Only his roommates knew that Wang Dachui wasn't a genius. He was just an otaku.

And an utterly shameless extrovert at that.

Li Haoyang headed to the Fitness Enthusiasts Association, while Luo Ye went to the Literature Club.

The Literature Club and the Magazine Club had neighboring recruitment booths. As Luo Ye stood between them, the senior girls recruiting on both sides immediately lit up.

What a handsome, fresh-faced young guy.

A senior girl from the Magazine Club and a senior girl from the Literature Club approached either side of Luo Ye. They eyed each other like opponents facing off from two mountaintops, ready to begin a duel that would shake the world.

Luo Ye felt an invisible pressure building around him.

Should... should I not have come here?

Both girls stepped forward at the same time, each grabbing one of Luo Ye's arms.

"Hey, freshman!" ("Hey, freshman!")

"Join the Magazine Club!" ("Join the Literature Club!")

Hearing each other, both girls' eyes widened in anger. They glared fiercely at one another and launched into a heated argument.

"Your Magazine Club already snatched the last guy. This one belongs to the Literature Club."

"What kind of logic is that? Are we supposed to take turns recruiting people? Our Magazine Club is better than your Literature Club. Isn't it only natural for him to join us?"

"The Literature Club is Jiangda's number one club, you knockoff!"

"The new always overtakes the old. The Magazine Club may not have been around as long, but we're definitely better than the Literature Club."

"What did you say?"

"The Magazine Club is better than the Literature Club. If you disagree, bring it on. We'll get a higher like rate on the next issue of the campus paper again."

The two similar clubs had to split the funding the university allocated to them each month, so their rivalry was fierce.

Caught between them, Luo Ye didn't know what to do.

Just then, someone slowly walked over.

"What are you doing?"

At the sound of that voice, the two senior girls from the Magazine Club and the Literature Club changed expressions and immediately became meek little girls.

They let go of Luo Ye's arms and lowered their heads like children caught misbehaving. "Senior Su," they said quietly.

They were second-years, but Su Baizhou was already a third-year, and she was also president of the Student Union.

She was their direct superior.

"No fighting over freshmen during club recruitment."

"Sorry, Senior Su. We understand."

The two retreated to their respective booths, but neither wanted to give up on such a handsome freshman.

"Where do you want to go?" Su Baizhou asked Luo Ye softly.

"I... I haven't decided yet. I'm just looking around."

He was a webnovel author, so he had wanted to check out the arts and literature clubs first.

But the moment he arrived, the enthusiasm of these two clubs had scared him off.

"Are you here to keep order?" Luo Ye asked.

"No, I'm here to recruit members."

"I'm the president of the Hanfu Club," Su Baizhou said calmly.

With that, she walked around Luo Ye and headed toward the Hanfu Club's recruitment booth.

She was carrying a red hanfu outfit in her arms. She must have been in a hurry and hadn't had time to put it on yet.