Chapter 257: Dorm Life Awakening

In Southwest Building, Room 3103.

Bright and early, ‘Top Student Bro’ Jiao Tianbo was already up, making a racket with his clattering.

Hong Xiaoqiang, sleeping farthest from him, was the first to wake up annoyed and turned over in bed.

Xu Chen sat up in bed, glanced at the clock—it was just past seven—and flopped back down.

Today’s schedule only had the school’s 2006 freshman orientation at nine, so no need to rush.

Last night, he and Fang Jun’s sister had been drinking late, and now he was in that hazy post-hangover fog, not wanting to get up at all.

Fang Jun was leaving Shanghai today; the office at Tonghai Creative Design Building was all set up, ready for Xu Chen to use anytime.

She’d even stashed some good booze there and specifically warned Xu Chen not to sneak any.

Fang Jun’s sister had also sorted out the Hu A license plate quota for him; within six months, Xu Chen could buy a car and register it.

Xu Chen rubbed his neck and lay back down to sleep.

Down below, Jiao Tianbo kept clattering away.

Hong Xiaoqiang couldn’t take it anymore and grumbled,

“Dude, can you keep it down? It’s only six or seven— what’s the rush?”

Jiao Tianbo: “Sorry…”

I have to rehearse for the opening ceremony and go on stage for the student representative recitation.

I need to get up early and change clothes first.”

His tone was casual, but it felt like he was deliberately spelling it out, wanting everyone to know.

Xu Chen lay in bed, feeling a wave of speechlessness inside.

The low-EQ, proud top student still craved recognition from others.

He didn’t get up but played along, saying,

“Wow… Jiao Tianbo, you’re amazing, getting to perform at the opening ceremony.”

Chen Wenyi had woken up too and sat up, murmuring,

“Yeah, that kind of spot—probably not many freshmen get it, right?”

Jiao Tianbo said breezily,

“Out of all the freshmen, six were picked total; I’m one of the three undergrads and the only one from our department on stage.”

Chen Wenyi kept up the flattery:

“Jiao Tianbo, you’re really something!”

Hong Xiaoqiang rolled over and muttered under his breath,

“Yeah, really something…”

His tone had a sarcastic edge.

Jiao Tianbo pressed on,

“Oh, and I’m also getting the freshman scholarship—might go up for that award too.”

Hong Xiaoqiang: “…”

Chen Wenyi: “Jiao Tianbo, you’re really something!”

Xu Chen: “Top Student Bro, that’s worth a celebration—dinner’s on you!”

Jiao Tianbo didn’t respond, just said quietly,

“I’m heading to rehearsal now; you guys should get up soon too, don’t waste your youth.”

With that, he marched out full of energy.

Hong Xiaoqiang sat up in bed, rolling his eyes so hard they nearly hit the ceiling.

Xu Chen chuckled,

“Jiao Tianbo’s quite the character.”

…

Around eight, Xu Chen, Hong Xiaoqiang, and Chen Wenyi left the dorm together.

Right outside, they bumped into the guys from the next room: Huang Hao, Qian Xin, and Pei Qian.

Last night’s dinner had brought the two rooms close, so they chatted and headed downstairs as a group.

Chen Wenyi asked, “Where’s Huo Dashan?”

“Stock Guy” Pei Qian replied, “He’s representing the department with a sign, already headed to the sports field.”

Hong Xiaoqiang joked, “He gets to represent the department? Sounds like he’s already a ‘leader’!”

Xu Chen couldn’t help but smile; he’d thought Hong Xiaoqiang was just a tech nerd into computers, but he was quick with teasing jabs.

Local Shanghai guy Huang Hao said, “He hit it off with the teachers yesterday, probably just a last-minute pick.”

Hong Xiaoqiang went on,

“Jiao Tianbo and Huo Dashan are our class’s go-getters.

Last night, Jiao Tianbo already ‘announced’ he’s going for dorm leader.

If I guess right, Huo Dashan’s your dorm leader too!”

Huang Hao didn’t say anything but nodded with a grin.

…

The six of them took their time, grabbing breakfast at the cafeteria first.

The guys’ chat naturally drifted to the girls in their class and department.

They were still discussing the female classmates.

Xu Chen hadn’t paid much attention yesterday, and now their talk didn’t ring any bells for him.

“Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince” Qian Xin seemed really into a girl named Min Siyang.

From his description, she was a quiet, pure type from Sichuan Province.

Chen Wenyi and Pei Qian both hyped up a girl named Su Rong, apparently a wealthy one from Jiangsu Province.

Hong Xiaoqiang and Huang Hao chatted about two Shanghai girls, Chen Qiong and You Li.

They sounded stylish, curvy, and eye-catching.

These two even had a nickname: ‘Shanghai Double Beauties.’

As in, incredibly stunning figures.

Xu Chen looked at Huang Hao and grinned, “Weren’t you saying you like Bai Miao from senior year? How’d you switch to sexy types?”

Huang Hao laughed, “Liking Bai Miao doesn’t stop me from appreciating others.”

With that, he pulled a poster photo from his pocket.

Everyone glanced at it—it was Bai Miao herself.

“You’re dedicated!”

Huang Hao chuckled, “The opening ceremony’s this morning, and the department welcome event’s this afternoon, so I might catch Bai Miao.

Maybe I can get an autograph or something…”

Xu Chen, who also needed to find Bai Miao, didn’t mention he knew her; he just said casually,

“Count me in then.”

He figured if Huang Hao couldn’t get it, he could help out.

But usually, people want that chance to connect with their idol, so Xu Chen didn’t want to interfere.

Plus, Huang Hao went to the same high school as Bai Miao—maybe they already knew each other…

Xu Chen didn’t have Bai Miao’s contact info anyway; he’d have to track her down in person.

Back in May, when he came to Shanghai for the competition, at that hotel buffet, ‘Shanghai Twin Stars’ introduced him to Bing Ge, and Bai Miao had wanted to swap numbers, but the possessive Bing Ge blocked it.

This time, Xu Chen wanted to find Bai Miao to pass something to Xie Bingran.

When he left Tiancheng and said goodbye to his father Xu Zhiquan, Old Xu had mysteriously pulled out two Peace Talismans from his pocket.

One for Xu Chen, one for Xie Bingran—they were specially blessed from the mountains.

Old Xu wasn’t the superstitious type, but getting those showed how much he cared about the kids.

Xu Chen had planned to give it to Xie Bingran in Osaka, but figured she could use the protection on her trip there.

Of course…

It was mostly just a way to send his thoughts.

…

After breakfast, they headed toward the December 9th Sports Field.

“Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince” Qian Xin jangled his car keys, looking smug as he said,

“Who’s riding with me!”

Xu Chen thought about how far the sports field was and grinned,

“I’ll take a seat.”

The other two spots went to Hong Xiaoqiang and Pei Qian.

That flashy red Mazda 3 was parked behind West Garden Cafeteria.

Qian Xin walked with a spring in his step, leading Xu Chen and the others to the car and sliding into the driver’s seat with style.

Once in, Hong Xiaoqiang joked,

“So, Qian, what’s your family’s business? This is some serious luxury.”

Xu Chen recalled how Hong Xiaoqiang had shown a hint of disdain when he first heard about this flashy ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince’ yesterday.

He wasn’t sure if this was genuine praise or sarcasm.

Qian Xin slipped on his Ray-Ban aviators and said modestly,

“Oh, it’s not much—just some factories back home.”

Compared to the north, in the early 2000s, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were full of hidden wealth with booming private businesses.

Even many farmers there quietly ran processing factories, pulling in hundreds of thousands a year—it was prosperous country.

Hong Xiaoqiang was from Zhejiang too, but his parents were in public service and teaching, no family business.

He probably felt a mix of envy or jealousy toward fellow Zhejiang guy Qian Xin…

Hong Xiaoqiang’s parents were intellectuals of that era, while a lot of those wealthy bosses started as uneducated farmers.

But financially, those bosses had the upper hand.

So, many intellectuals felt off-balance seeing their rural neighbors rake in cash.

…

These past couple of days, Xu Chen had kept things low-key, not showing off.

But his classmates could tell he was doing alright—last night’s big dinner tab, that pricey laptop, and hearing he started his own company…

Xu Chen sat in the back of the Mazda 3, feeling it a bit cramped and stuffy.

It was just a compact car under 200,000 yuan, nothing special to him.

He’d rented bigger mid-size cars lately, all over 200,000 yuan.

So he thought, when he bought his own, he’d skip compacts.

Taking Xie Bingran out, her long legs would cramp up.

Of course, he wouldn’t diss Qian Xin’s ‘pride and joy’—instead, he threw in some admiring comments to amp up the guy’s ego…

Xu Chen mulled it over; maybe he’d car-shop this weekend.

He hadn’t decided on a model yet, but with a 500,000 yuan budget, even with 2006’s higher prices, he could snag a nice mid-size SUV.

…

As they neared the sports field, they saw groups of students walking over.

Qian Xin slowed down on purpose.

He rolled down the window, one hand on the wheel, the other arm draped out, like he wanted everyone to notice.

Xu Chen quietly found it amusing—that youthful show-off vibe.

But they pulled into the parking area without running into anyone they knew, especially not the girls from their class or department.

The ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince’ missed his chance to strut.

He looked a bit disappointed.