The Tongtong River flows eastward.

The dormitories for undergraduate students at Kyoto University are very good. They are four-person rooms with bunk beds and desks underneath. Instead of a 90-degree vertical iron ladder, there are small wooden steps to get to the beds. There are elevators for going up and down the floors, and the dormitory building is also equipped with a gym.

Hu Tong, who had never lived in a dormitory before, was very satisfied with the situation, but she was not so satisfied with her roommate.

In their dormitory 303, there were four people: two were students admitted through special competitions and the other was the top scorer in the province.

For the first time, Hu Tong realized that the title of top city scholar could be modified with the word "only".

However, when introducing herself, Hu Tong did not choose to use modest words. She said, "My name is Hu Tong, Hu of the ancient moon, Tong Tong of the river flowing eastward. I am from Jinshi. Welcome everyone to visit Jinshi."

The lively dormitory fell silent for a moment, then was quickly filled with fake laughter. The roommate with her permed wavy hair and crescent-shaped eyeliner put down her phone, looked her over for a moment, and calmly said, "Jiao Yuhong."

Hu Tong knew her name before she introduced herself.

When Hu Tong arrived at the school, two counselors were chatting under the college tent. Hu Tong overheard them saying that there was a new student with a very important background who, instead of registering first, went to the dean's office for tea with his parents.

Jiao Yuhong.

The name slipped out during a whisper between the two counselors and was overheard by Hu Tong.

Hu Tong also knew that Jiao Yuhong was an informatics competition student who started competing in junior high school and won a gold medal in the National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI) in her first year of high school.

As Hu Tong's gaze swept over Jiao Yuhong's red five-flower bracelet and enamel ring, he had to admit that there were indeed people like this—good-looking, from good families, and with exceptional personal abilities, so exceptional that they incurred the wrath of both heaven and man.

Thinking of his mediocre performance in the math competition preliminary round, Hu Tong sighed inwardly.

However, she was quite satisfied with the effect of her self-introduction. A minute before pushing open the dormitory door, Hu Tong specifically searched on her phone—what poems contain the character "Tong"?

She chose Qiu Jin's poem, and efficiently memorized only the first line containing the character "潼": "The surging waters flow eastward..."

Hu Tong did not notice that the last line of this seven-character quatrain is: "The flowers on the bank are scorched, yet red remains."

She didn't know the origin of her roommate's name, so she casually shrugged and said to Jiao Yuhong, "Oh, you already introduced yourself."

Jiao Yuhong gave a cryptic chuckle and looked away.

The four girls chatted briefly, exchanged contact information, and then sat in their respective seats without speaking.

Hu Tong looked at her phone, noting the friends she had recently added: counselor, Jiao Yuhong, Zhou Min, Zhang Xianyu, phone card seller, blanket seller, volunteer supposedly welcoming new students but actually selling cards...

Just then, Zhang Xianyu from the next bed spoke up. Her voice was sweet and crisp, like a white date in a fruit shop, with a pool of water droplets like crushed diamonds on its green and red skin. When you bite into it, you can feel the coolness of the skin, the crispness of the flesh, and the sweetness of the juice. "Yu Hong, did you go to Switzerland for your summer vacation? The photos on your WeChat Moments are so beautiful."

"Hmm." Jiao Yuhong responded softly, "The scenery is beautiful, but it gets a bit boring after a while."

Hu Tong listened and opened Jiao Yuhong's WeChat Moments, but could only see two lines and a dot in the line.

It's been blocked.

"Is this your special ability, Xianyu?" Hu Tong held up his phone. "You can actually see the scenery from the two lines and one point."

"What?" Zhang Xianyu was stunned for a moment, her gaze fixed on the phone screen, and then she slowly let out an "ah," it was unclear whether she was answering or begging for mercy.

"..." Jiao Yuhong tapped twice on her phone and said without changing her expression, "Sorry, I haven't had time to move you into the classmate group yet."

Hu Tong smiled and replied, "It's alright."

Jiao Yuhong narrowed her eyes slightly, seemingly trying to determine whether Hu Tong was genuinely saying it was okay or just being sarcastic. Her short, neatly trimmed nails tapped lightly on the back of her phone.

Tap, tap, tap.

The knocking echoed in the room, as if the faucet on the sink hadn't been turned off properly. Zhang Xianyu gripped her phone tightly, feeling inexplicably anxious. She gave Zhou Min, who wore black-rimmed glasses, a pleading look.

Zhou Min, the top scorer in the province, pushed up his glasses and asked in a serious tone as if he were speaking on stage, "Shall we go to Hengzhiyuan for dinner later? I heard they have Jinshi specialties there. Hu Tong, you can try it. And tell us if the cafeteria ladies make it authentically."

“Sure, I had airplane food for my last meal, so my mouth is pretty much tasteless. Perfect for being a taste tester,” Hu Tong readily replied.

After resolving one unstable factor, Zhou Min turned to Jiao Yuhong and said, "Are you going, Jiao Yuhong? When I went to pick up our class's freshman handbook today, I saw that the flower beds outside Hengzhi Garden were full of yellow cosmos. I can take pictures for you using your phone. If you don't like any of the photos, just delete them."

Zhou Min's ability to mediate conflicts isn't particularly high, and her topic transitions are somewhat abrupt, but her strength lies in her fearlessness of awkwardness. Everyone can see her intentions and her efforts, so they can't bear to criticize her too much.

"That's a good idea," Hu Tong said objectively, looking at Jiao Yuhong. "You're very photogenic."

A slight smile finally appeared on Jiao Yuhong's arrogant face, whether because of Zhou Min or the oblivious Hu Tong, it was unclear.

The anxious, dripping tapping stopped. Jiao Yuhong put down her phone and tossed a strand of her wavy hair behind her shoulder. She said calmly, "No, I have an appointment."

"Besides, phones aren't for taking pictures. I never take everyday photos,"

Jiao Yuhong yawned, resting her chin on her hand and her elbow on the table. Her weary gaze drifted slowly toward Hu Tong. "Just a photoshoot."

"If we have the chance, our dorm can book a photographer together to take pictures. I've recently been following a pretty good photographer."

Zhang and Zhou readily agreed.

Jiao Yuhong's arrogant tone annoyed Hu Tong. Listen to this, a mobile phone isn't just for taking pictures! A mobile phone is used for what it's supposed to do!

She could make phone calls whenever she wanted, take photos whenever she wanted, and look at Xiao Huang whenever she wanted... cough, anyway, Hu Tong got angry.

She pursed her lips and said sarcastically, "No, for me, a mobile phone is omnipotent. I only take everyday photos."

Jiao Yuhong was speechless for a moment. The phrase "You must look great on camera too" was like a fishbone stuck in her throat, impossible to swallow or utter.