The old man remained half-reclined in his chair, watching them leave through half-open eyes.
"What a pity..."
If not for the constraints of his status, he would have wanted to recruit these people into the Sea God Pavilion.
He had even proposed bringing them into the Sea God Pavilion as retainers.
After all, these were formidable figures capable of severely wounding the Holy Spirit Cult. He told himself that even at his peak, he could not have accomplished that, which showed just how powerful they were.
However, Xuan Zi had rejected the proposal because he had discovered that these people were very likely the Cao Clan's death warriors. Their loyalty went without saying, and poaching them from the Cao Clan was simply impossible.
Moreover, Shrek did not want to offend a faction capable of raising such powerhouses. They could only choose to build friendly relations, hoping these people would lend a hand if the academy encountered difficulties in the future. This was already the best approach.
However, many people had guessed the identities of these black-clad figures incorrectly, and Cao Yu could not be bothered to correct them. He would just let them keep being wrong. It was not as though he would lose anything anyway.
When they reached the entrance of the white building, Huo Yuhao said, "Brother Yu, I'll head upstairs first."
"All right. Be careful, and remember to call me if anything happens."
"Okay, Brother Yu."
They parted at the dormitory stairwell, and Cao Yu followed Tang Ya and the others down the first-floor corridor.
The student dormitory was a corridor-style building. A long hallway stretched before them, with dorm rooms on both sides and a communal bathroom at the end.
The facilities were rather old and clearly had been used for many years. They were not much different from the school dormitories in his previous life.
They were essentially cast from the same mold. Walking through here, Cao Yu felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Those youthful student days were back again!
After opening the dorm room door and waiting a moment, Tang Ya and the others went in first, each carrying cleaning tools.
Tang Ya frowned and said, "Nobody's lived here for just a month, and there's already so much dust. Little Yu, wait outside for now. Come in once we're done cleaning."
"Wouldn't that be a bit much? What if you get yourselves dirty? Let me do it instead."
He was just about to squeeze inside when Jiang Nannan and the others pushed him back out, gently reassuring him.
"Be good, Little Yu. This is what your big sisters should do. Just stand outside and leave it to us."
"That's right, Young Master. We girls are quicker with our hands and feet. We'll have it clean in no time, so please wait outside."
Ah... the profound love of these big sisters.
This damned decadent life. Cao Yu stood helplessly in the corridor. Since they had arrived so early, there was no one else around yet.
Next to Room 108 was a larger dorm room, but its door was already open, and the inside had been cleaned.
There was still someone inside this room. After checking with Cao Yu, he handed over the room key.
"Young Master Cao, this is the room the academy prepared for those seniors. Everything they'll need for their stay has already been prepared, so they can move in whenever they like."
"All right. Thanks for your hard work."
"I was going to clean Room 108 next, but I didn't expect you to arrive so early."
"That's all right. My big sisters are already helping clean it."
"Then I won't disturb you any further."
Once he left, Cao Yu began examining the surroundings.
Every corner had been cleaned until not a speck of dust remained. It seemed they took these so-called seniors of theirs quite seriously.
Cao Yu could more or less guess Shrek's purpose in doing this. They simply wanted to build good relations with the Cao Clan so that, when trouble arose, they could ask them to lend a hand.
Cao Yu did not blame them. After all, no one was stingy with their care toward the strong, while the weak were naturally met with indifference. That was all human nature.
He ordered these Shadow Clones to stay in the room, locked the door, and left.
With nothing to do, he left the dormitory building and went to the student supply shop, planning to buy some everyday necessities.
He picked things out as he went, then bought three or four bottles of chilled drinks. Once he was sure he had not forgotten anything, Cao Yu brought his purchases to the counter.
"Miss, how much is everything?"
The shop assistant was a girl with delicate features who looked no older than sixteen. She was probably a fifth- or sixth-year senior student working part-time here.
The shop assistant began counting the items on the counter. In fact, she had already noticed the boy when Cao Yu first came in.
To be honest, in all her years working part-time here, this was the first time she had seen such a handsome boy, and he was so polite too.
Her heart had already been stirred, so she could not help asking.
"Little brother, did you just come to register?"
"What's your name?"
Cao Yu replied, "My name is Cao Yu. See you, miss."
After paying, he put everything into the Ring of Destiny. Without lingering, he left the student supply shop.
Seeing him leave in such a hurry, the young woman could not help feeling defeated. She was not ugly, so why was he not interested in her?
He had not even asked her name.
When he returned to the dormitory building, Tang Ya and the others were still busy cleaning. After nearly ten minutes of work, the room looked brand-new.
After all that work, they had also broken into a sweat.
Their clothes were somewhat soaked and clung to their bodies, outlining their exquisite, perfect figures. Their cheeks had also flushed from the heat.
Only then did Jiang Nannan say, "Young Master, you can come in now."
Tang Ya grinned and said, "Well? Clean, isn't it?"
The dorm room was so clean that no dust could be seen with the naked eye. Cao Yu could only take those chilled drinks out of his Storage Soul Tool to reward them.
"Big sisters, thanks for your hard work. Here, have a drink. They're freshly chilled."
Ning Tian praised him. "Little Yu, you really know what you're doing!"
"You even picked my favorite drink. Mwah~ Here's a reward."
Before Cao Yu could react, a sweet kiss landed on his cheek. Naturally, Tang Ya refused to be outdone.
Jiang Nannan watched them enviously, silently thinking, If only I had met Young Master a little earlier too.
After a few sips of the icy drinks, their fatigue was swept away. Tang Ya and the others regained their vigor and promptly pulled Cao Yu along as they left the dormitory building together.
"Come on, Little Yu. We'll take you to the cafeteria for a meal."
"Little Yu, let me tell you, every serving window in the cafeteria has different prices, and the flavors aren't quite the same either. They get more expensive from left to right."
After arriving at the cafeteria, Cao Yu began looking around, but before long, he was disappointed.
There was not even anywhere to sit while eating, and a notice at the cafeteria entrance stated that no food could be taken outside.
It was even worse than in his original world!
At least the school cafeterias in his previous life had seats. He had not expected Shrek to be so damned stingy that they could not even bear to buy tables and chairs.
After finally finishing a meal and waving goodbye to Tang Ya and the others, Cao Yu returned to the dormitory building alone.
(End of chapter)