What was going on? A few days apart, and he already had a rival

Since Chen Fan lived in Dormitory Building 8, which was in the women's dormitory area,

he simply cut through Building 8 and headed to Building 7 behind it.

He had already found out that the first-year female marketing majors lived in this building.

But since he didn't know anyone here, Chen Fan had no one he could ask.

All he could do was stand outside the dormitory entrance and wait, hoping Su Ruochu would show up.

He waited for ages without seeing Su Ruochu. Instead, the freshmen passing by all stared at Chen Fan curiously.

This guy had come running to the women's dormitory on his very first day of college, checking out every girl who walked past.

Wasn't he a little too desperate?

Before long, a rumor began circulating through Building 7.

There was a pervert at the entrance downstairs, staring at every girl who came out.

As a result, some of the girls who came out afterward instinctively covered their necklines or held down their skirts as they passed Chen Fan.

An hour later, Building 7's dorm supervisor came outside.

She ordered Chen Fan to leave immediately, threatening to call security if he didn't.

Chen Fan gave a wry smile. "Ma'am, I'm just here looking for someone."

"My girlfriend lives here."

But the woman didn't believe a word of it.

"Don't give me that."

"Do you know how many years I've worked here? I've seen plenty of students like you."

"I'm warning you, if you want to pursue a girl, be open about it and have the courage to ask her out. Don't pull these sneaky little tricks."

"Get going. Otherwise, I really will call security."

Unwilling to argue with her, Chen Fan could only shake his head with a wry smile and turn to leave.

But after just a few steps, he spotted Su Ruochu in the distance.

The excitement on his face lasted only a few seconds before he froze.

Because there was someone standing beside Su Ruochu.

A tall, well-built guy.

Judging by the way he was dressed, he clearly wasn't a freshman.

And he was carrying a bag of fruit, obviously meant for Su Ruochu.

Seeing the two of them chatting and laughing, Chen Fan was stunned.

What was going on?

It was only the second day of college, and he already had a romantic rival?

Was someone trying to steal his girlfriend?

Su Ruochu rounded the street corner with the guy, never noticing Chen Fan across the road.

Chen Fan even saw her laughing and chatting with him, looking as though they knew each other very well.

He had wanted to catch up and say hello, but in the moment he hesitated, Su Ruochu had already waved goodbye to the guy and entered the dormitory alone, carrying the fruit.

Chen Fan stood where he was, watching the guy pump his fist excitedly before walking past him, humming a tune.

To be honest, he trusted Su Ruochu.

Chen Fan knew her very well. Given the kind of person she was, she would never do something like that.

But caring too much made it hard to think straight. Whenever something involved Su Ruochu,

Chen Fan couldn't help getting nervous.

What if the unlikely happened?

After hesitating for a while, Chen Fan glanced at the guy ahead and decided to follow him.

He followed him all the way to Dormitory Building 10, then turned back only after watching him go inside.

As soon as he entered his room, Chen Fan pulled Wu Di aside and asked,

"Which school do the students in Dormitory Building 10 belong to?"

"Building 10?"

Wu Di thought for a moment.

"I think the students over there are sophomores and juniors, right? They're from our school."

Chen Fan blinked. "Our school? The School of Economics and Management?"

"Yeah. Do you know someone over there?"

Wu Di asked curiously, "So, Number Four, which pretty girl have you got your eye on? Got a photo? Let us have a look."

Chen Fan didn't answer. He just looked puzzled.

How did Ruochu know a sophomore?

That afternoon's military training still consisted of formation drills and standing at attention.

During the breaks, the instructor organized a singing contest between the companies.

For a while, thunderous chants echoed across the huge sports field.

"Red flags fly, green flags fly! Boys who won't sing are useless guys!"

"Southeast winds blow, battle drums roar! Who could scare our Seventh Corps?"

"Third Company, give us a song! One, two, three, four, five-we've been waiting far too long..."

"..."

The students were having a blast, their faces full of excitement, but Chen Fan stood in formation with his mind elsewhere.

After spending the afternoon looking, he finally located Su Ruochu's group.

Chen Fan's class was in the Third Company, while Su Ruochu was in the Seventh. They were quite far apart.

Several times, Su Ruochu looked up and glanced around. He wondered whether she was looking for him.

At last, the afternoon session ended. As soon as they were dismissed, Chen Fan was about to rush over to find Su Ruochu.

But Wu Di grabbed him.

"Stop running around. Let's hurry up and eat. The counselor and instructor are coming to inspect our rooms tonight."

Chen Fan thought it over. He didn't really have to see Su Ruochu right this instant.

Besides, his roommates were going together, and it wouldn't look good if he skipped out.

So he abandoned the idea and headed to the cafeteria with his roommates.

A little after eight that evening, the counselor and instructor arrived at Dormitory Building 8.

Their class counselor was a very young man, reportedly a new teacher who had just graduated from a teachers' college himself.

Standing beside Chen Fan and the others, he was almost indistinguishable from the students.

The advantage of a young teacher was that he was approachable and easy to talk to.

He read out the cleanliness regulations and the things they needed to keep in mind during military training.

Then he asked the instructor to show everyone how to keep their room in order.

First, they went into the washroom, where he showed them how to arrange their towels, cups, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

Then they returned to the room, and the instructor looked around.

"Find me a sleeping mat."

Ma Xiaoshuai immediately pulled his mat off his bed.

"And a quilt."

This time, Chen Fan reacted before anyone else, quickly pulling down his own quilt and handing it over.

The instructor crouched down and folded the quilt into a neat block while explaining the process.

"Did you remember all the key points I just explained?"

Seeing them nod, the instructor stood up. After a moment's thought, he was about to unfold the quilt.

But Chen Fan quickly stepped forward and discreetly slipped a pack of cigarettes he had prepared earlier into the instructor's pocket.

"Heh, thanks for your hard work, sir. I'll take care of the quilt myself. Sorry for the trouble."

The instructor glanced at Chen Fan, then suddenly gave him a knowing smile.

He turned and left with the counselor, heading for the next room.

As soon as the instructor was gone, Chen Fan carefully lifted the quilt with both hands, raised it above his head, and placed it reverently on his bed.

Ma Xiaoshuai was the first to catch on.

"Damn, Fourth Bro, that's pretty shameless."

"The instructor used my sleeping mat, you know."

"No way! We're taking turns putting that quilt on our beds, one day each."

Chen Fan pulled a blanket out of his wardrobe.

"My woman and my quilt are not available for loan."

Ma Xiaoshuai laughed and cursed. "What if I mess up your quilt while you're out?"

Chen Fan immediately changed his tone.

"Xiaoshuai, we're good boys. Don't go learning bad habits from Second Bro."

He had barely finished speaking when Luo Wenjie, who was standing on the balcony with a cigarette between his lips, shouted excitedly.

"Hey, come look!"

"There's a pretty girl changing in the room on the right, fifth floor of the dorm across from us!"

"As if we'd believe you!"

The guys in the room laughed and mocked him.

But Luo Wenjie kept watching, excitedly beckoning them over.

"It's true! Look! She's taking it off, she's taking it off..."

There was a sudden rush.

In less than a second, all five of his roommates were there, crowding behind Luo Wenjie.

"Where? How come I can't see her?"

Sun Hao craned his neck, anxiously looking around.

Wu Di shoved Sun Hao aside.

"You already have a girlfriend. What are you joining in for?"

Then he swiftly snatched the binoculars from Luo Wenjie's hands.

"Damn. You had high-tech gear like this and didn't bring it out sooner?"

"Remember to share the good stuff with your brothers from now on. We'll let it slide this time, but next time you'll face house punishment!"

With that, he eagerly aimed the binoculars at the dormitory across from them.

"Which floor? Let me appreciate this with a critical eye..."