College Roommates

"Huh?"

Hearing what Yao Lan said, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help laughing in surprise.

He said, "Isn't the class monitor supposed to be elected by the students in the class?"

Zhou Yuwen looked so innocent that Yao Lan smiled and agreed. Yes, yes, the class monitor was elected by the students.

"But if you want to be class monitor, Zhou Yuwen, I can help you make a case for it."

"I can tell you're a good kid. I'd feel reassured leaving the class in your hands."

Yao Lan looked at Zhou Yuwen with such sincerity that he didn't know how to refuse for the moment and could only agree for now. "Then I'll give it a try."

But he added that he had never been a class monitor before and didn't know whether he could do a good job. If there was a more suitable candidate, there was no need to insist on him.

"Because as you know, Ms. Yao, I still have novels to write and my own things to keep me busy. I'm afraid I won't do a good job."

Yao Lan said it was fine. Young people had to be willing to try.

"Since you write novels, you should be trying out different experiences all the more. I believe in you."

After chatting with Yao Lan for a while longer, Zhou Yuwen saw that it was nearly two in the afternoon and asked if she wanted to go back to school. He could give her a lift since he was going that way.

Yao Lan waved the offer away, saying she had other things to do at home.

"Then I'll head back to school first, Ms. Yao?"

"Go on ahead."

Yao Lan took Zhou Yuwen by the arm and saw him downstairs. She said she thought highly of him, that he was clearly a good kid, and that once he became class monitor, he should help his teacher out at school.

And so, Zhou Yuwen left Yao Lan's home.

When Zhou Yuwen returned to school that afternoon, he went through the main entrance. Traffic held him up at the gate for a little while before he slowly drove into Nanjing Forestry University.

On that September afternoon, sunlight filtered through the plane-tree branches and leaves, casting flickering patterns of light and shadow on the asphalt.

The plane-tree avenue cast a canopy of shade that blotted out the sky and sun, and there were many students on both sides of the road.

They were all freshmen carrying backpacks or dragging suitcases.

They wore different clothes and had different expressions.

Some students were alone, weighed down by bags big and small. They looked a little tired, but their eyes held determination. Their clothes weren't very nice, making them look like refugees fleeing from somewhere.

Others came with their families in tow. Some girls wore exquisite makeup and fashionable clothes, some in short skirts and others in shorts, freely showing off their long legs beneath the cool shade of the plane trees.

The plane-tree avenue was especially lively today. Besides the freshmen coming and going to register, there were upperclassmen and upperclasswomen in little red vests volunteering their help.

It took Zhou Yuwen almost twenty minutes to drive down the plane-tree avenue alone. Only after he emerged from it did the traffic get a little better.

There were still freshmen dragging suitcases along the roadside, but the noise gradually faded into the distance.

After he passed a few more bright classroom buildings, the lush, layered green of the dawn redwood grove behind the college came into view.

Zhou Yuwen's dormitory was Building A9. Since it had been converted from the university's former guesthouse, it stood apart from the other dormitory buildings.

Most of the newer dormitories were standardized buildings planned in clusters, while A9 stood near the dawn redwood grove at the back of campus. Setting aside its years of disrepair and the many mosquitoes and insects, it was a quiet retreat amid the bustle, with peaceful surroundings.

Built in the style of a small Western-style residence from the Republican era, with gray bricks and black roof tiles, it had a four-story central building and three-story wings on either side. A well-equipped parking lot lay directly in front of the main building.

Zhou Yuwen parked his newly bought Mercedes-Benz in plain sight in front of the dormitory building, then went upstairs.

It was already three in the afternoon. He pushed open the door and went in, only to find that two roommates had already arrived.

One was a tall, dark-skinned young man making his bed. He was dressed simply, and an enormous army-green duffel bag sat by his feet, looking rather old.

The other was fair and clean-cut, somewhat thinner, and wore a pair of round glasses that gave him a refined look. He sat quietly by the window reading.

The tall one was more outgoing. He looked up, saw Zhou Yuwen greet him, and immediately grinned. "Brother, is that made-up bed yours?"

"You cleaned the dorm too, right?"

"You're Zhou Yuwen. Let me introduce myself. I'm Gao Qiang, from Northeast China! We'll be roommates from now on! Here, have a smoke!"

As he spoke, Gao Qiang casually picked up the pack of Daqianmen cigarettes on the table and pulled one out to offer Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen looked at the big young man before him with amusement. His skin was a little dark, but his teeth were very white, and there was a touch of goofiness to his smile.

Zhou Yuwen said he didn't smoke.

"How come you don't smoke either?"

Hearing that, Gao Qiang looked a little troubled. One didn't smoke, and now two didn't smoke.

"Don't tell me I'm the only one in this dorm who smokes?" Gao Qiang said worriedly.

"Isn't there still Tang Yi?" Zhou Yuwen said. "He probably smokes."

"Ah, hope so."

The names had all been written on the dorm assignments: Zhou Yuwen, Gao Qiang, and Lu Cancan, who was sitting by the window reading.

The one who hadn't arrived yet was Tang Yi.

But hearing Zhou Yuwen say it so naturally, Lu Cancan found it a little strange. He hadn't said a word, so how did Zhou Yuwen know he was Lu Cancan?

He looked at Zhou Yuwen suspiciously.

"Hello," Zhou Yuwen said with a smile, greeting Lu Cancan as he sat down on the edge of his own bed.

Lu Cancan nodded. He came from Zhejiang Hangzhou. He was a fair, clean-cut young man, just a little short, around 163 to 165 centimeters. The exact figure was hard to remember.

He was very popular with girls throughout his four years at university and never lacked apples on Christmas Eve.

The two were just wondering how to get to know each other.

Then they heard a commotion outside the door.

"I actually saw a brand-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class downstairs just now."

"They even have a Mercedes-Benz E-Class out here in the countryside."

"I'm fucking losing it. What kind of dorm did they assign me? My grandma's place in the countryside is better than this."

"What a dump."

"Such a fucking dump."

"And they call this Nanjing? What the hell is this?"

The voice drew closer and closer. Soon, the door opened.

A rather skinny young man stood in the doorway, dragging a suitcase. He wore a loose black T-shirt and matching knee-length shorts.

His shirt and shorts were the same brand, printed with a golden eagle spreading its wings.

On his feet was a pair of red-and-white Air Jordan 1s.

Overall, he gave off a very flashy impression.

He didn't hurry inside. Instead, the moment he saw the dorm, he frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with it.

"Hello? Hey, say something?"

He was on the phone, and the person on the other end was still urging him to speak.

"All right, all right, I'm not talking anymore. I'm at my dorm, so I'm going to unpack first."

After Tang Yi entered the dorm, his expression wasn't very pleasant.

There were two bunk beds in the dorm.

Three beds had already been claimed, leaving one lower bunk.

Tang Yi looked from side to side and glanced around at the three people in the dorm, then asked in carefully enunciated Mandarin, "There's only a lower bunk left?"

"If you're not used to sleeping in one, want to swap with me?" Gao Qiang asked.

"Thanks so much, brother. I'm not used to sleeping on a lower bunk. Thanks, brother," Tang Yi said quickly.