"Lili, are you ready?" At the entrance of Wang Li's apartment complex, Xu Chen, carrying a backpack, was on the phone with Wang Li. Wang Li's anxious voice came through the phone, "Ah, Chenchen, you're here? I'm almost there, I'll come down as soon as I finish my makeup." Hearing this, Xu Chen immediately understood. He found a milk tea shop by the roadside, sat down, and opened his game, playing for about half an hour. Finally, Wang Li hurriedly came downstairs. Xu Chen closed the game, walked towards Wang Li, and smoothed her messy hair. Wang Li said to Xu Chen apologetically, "Chenchen, I'm sorry." Xu Chen said softly, "It's okay, beautiful women have the privilege of making people wait." Then he took Wang Li's arm and got into a taxi heading to Beijing.
In the afternoon, the two managed to stay on time for school registration. Xu Chen and Wang Li searched for their respective departments on campus. When Xu Chen arrived at the History Department, he caused a small commotion. Among the female students, he was the only tall and handsome guy they'd seen in the past few days. The registration process went smoothly, though Xu Chen felt a little embarrassed by the stares. After getting his dorm key, Xu Chen headed to his room. Along the way, he saw smiling parents accompanying their children, the campus seemingly filled with joy. Upon arriving at his dorm, he found the other three already there, frantically shouting "Wait, wait, wait!" around a laptop. Xu Chen leaned closer and saw it was Yuan Shen! Intrigued, he watched the screen with interest. Purple lights flashed across the screen, followed by a much-anticipated golden light. He clicked the skip button and saw a little girl in blue clothes. The two surrounding her were gloating, while the person who had drawn the card looked dejected. Suddenly, they noticed another person standing behind them. The tall man said to Xu Chen, "Finally here! We've been waiting for you." The other two nodded. Xu Chen shook hands with them, tossed his backpack onto the bed, and said, "Hello, I'm from Xingcheng, Hunan Province. My name is Xu Chen." The tall man said, "Hello, my name is Zhao Weimin." The man who drew the card also greeted him, "Hello, my name is Li Wei." The remaining brothers also greeted him, "Hello, my name is Wang Aihua." Xu Chen nodded, glanced at his watch, and said, "Let's go out for a meal together? It's time." Zhao Weimin and the others tidied themselves up and said to Xu Chen, "We've been waiting for you." Then the four of them went out to eat together.
In a restaurant near the school, the four men raised their glasses and drank heartily. There were many parents of students present, and the restaurant and hotel were packed. However, two of Xu Chen's roommates were well-connected Beijing residents who had booked a private room with a single phone call. Xu Chen, carrying Maotai liquor, didn't stand on ceremony and said heartily to his three roommates, "Brothers, I can't resist alcohol, just like I can't resist beautiful women. I'll drink first as a sign of respect, so I won't stand on ceremony with you." Li Wei quickly said, "Xu Chen, save some for us." He had fought his way through countless hardships from Henan Province to get into Peking University. For someone from an ordinary family like him, Maotai was something he might only have the chance to drink a small glass of when well-off relatives returned home for the New Year, so naturally he wanted to drink a little more. Zhao Weimin and Wang Aihua exchanged a smile and said in a friendly tone, "Brothers, drink well, there's plenty of liquor." Xu Chen, thinking, "Wow, these guys are rich!" immediately poured himself another large glass, and Li Wei even tried to take the glass from him. After dinner, the group returned to school satisfied. On the way, Zhao Weimin asked Xu Chen, "Brother Chen, you have a good alcohol tolerance! Looks like I'll have to bring you along to my gatherings more often." Xu Chen's appearance hadn't changed at all; he still looked like he was sixteen or seventeen, so everyone assumed he had just turned eighteen and treated him like the youngest brother. Xu Chen didn't mind and replied, "I've been learning to drink from my teacher since I was little; he taught me how to drink." Wang Aihua chimed in, "Your teacher must be a very sentimental person." The group chatted and laughed as they returned to their dormitory.
"Brother Chen, do you play Yuan Shen?" Li Wei picked up his phone and sat down next to Xu Chen. Xu Chen nodded, and the group exchanged smiles. Li Wei continued, "Brother Chen, I suggest you try your luck with the new Hu Tao character in Yuan Shen; she's really good." Xu Chen opened the game and gestured to Li Wei, "Is this the character?" A girl in black clothes appeared on the screen. Li Wei nodded, then coaxed Xu Chen, "Brother Chen, why don't you recharge your first time?" Xu Chen nodded. Meanwhile, Li Wei, out of Xu Chen's sight, whispered to Zhao Weimin and Wang Ai... Hua gestured, and Zhao Weimin leaned over. Watching Xu Chen recharge his account and start drawing cards, Xu Chen knew their little tricks—they just wanted to see him get bad luck. That was impossible. Xu Chen mentally said to Xiaobai, "Xiaobai, can you change the card draw rate in this game?" Xiaobai replied, "No problem." Then, Xu Chen, as if performing a ritual, piled up books on the table to form a makeshift altar, actually waiting for Xiaobai's reply. His roommates wanted to laugh. A moment later, Xiaobai replied that she was ready. Xu Chen immediately started drawing cards, and his roommates gathered around. Ten minutes later, Zhao Weimin exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Chen, you're so lucky! You haven't gotten a bad card every time!" Xu Chen said with feigned profundity, "I have to thank Li Wei. He's the one who suggested I draw the cards." Li Wei looked on with envy and jealousy, "Brother Chen, can you help me draw cards next time?" Xu Chen walked over and patted him on the shoulder, slowly saying, "Mystery doesn't change." Zhao Weimin and Wang Aihua burst into laughter, remembering the miserable scene of Li Wei getting bad cards every time.
A short while later, the counselor came to the dormitory to inform the group to attend a class meeting. She said it was to collect military training uniforms and for self-introductions. Xu Chen and his three friends, looking at the map on their phones, rushed towards the meeting location. When they arrived, they found the classroom mostly filled with girls. Besides Xu Chen and his friends, there were six boys sitting together. Xu Chen and the others chose their seats, and the class assistant began speaking on stage. Then, students came up one by one to introduce themselves. A few were visibly nervous and stammered, while most were confident. When it was Xu Chen's turn, he straightened his clothes. Some of the girls in the class paid him considerable attention. Once on stage, Xu Chen said in a strong voice, "My name is Xu Chen, from Xingcheng, Hunan Province. My hobbies... well, drinking... and playing the xiao (vertical bamboo flute)." The class assistant was a delicate-looking girl with a distinctly Jiangnan (southern China) style. She was well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Hearing that Xu Chen could play the xiao, after some hesitation, she called out to him before he even stepped off the stage, "Xu Chen, could you play a tune for us?" She took out her xiao, which was in her small backpack. Li Wan'er didn't know what was wrong with her. She said those words out of nowhere, and then, even more inexplicably, took out her flute and gave it to Xu Chen. "Is it because he's handsome?" Li Wan'er thought shyly. Xu Chen hesitated for a moment and said somewhat awkwardly, "Senior, isn't this inappropriate?" Li Wan'er's friends noticed that something was wrong with her. They pinched Li Wan'er's arm, signaling her to turn around and look at them. Seeing the blush on her pretty face, they teasingly said to Xu Chen, "Since it's yours, just play it." Seeing that Li Wan'er nodded, Xu Chen stopped worrying. The xiao (vertical bamboo flute) was the only instrument his master had taught him besides cultivation. He had played it for over a hundred years—not continuously, but occasionally during his travels or after meditation within the sect. Taking Li Wan'er's xiao, he began to play a piece he had just heard on Earth. The students below, initially indifferent, were now wide-eyed. Several girls listened intently, their beautiful eyes sparkling with admiration as they gazed tenderly at Xu Chen. "He must have been playing the xiao since birth! It's so beautiful," one student who knew the xiao exclaimed. Li Wan'er listened intently, completely absorbed. Just as Xu Chen stepped forward to return the flute to her, Li Wan'er said earnestly and shyly, "Junior Xu Chen, I'll give this flute to you." Xu Chen's roommates, seeing this, secretly lamented why he hadn't showcased his talent on stage, resulting in the beautiful senior falling for Xu Chen. Then they were happy for Xu Chen, wondering, "Is Fourth Brother finally finding a girlfriend?" "He has to treat us tonight." Xu Chen shook his head, "Senior, I can't accept it. A gentleman doesn't take what belongs to others." Hearing Xu Chen's words, the girls in the class breathed a sigh of relief. Li Wan'er looked disappointed, took the flute, and hesitated for a moment, but then composed herself and finished the class meeting.
After the meeting, Zhao Weimin said with some regret, "If I had known, I wouldn't have learned the piano back then. The xiao (vertical bamboo flute) is so beautiful." Wang Aihua and Li Wei looked down on Zhao Weimin. Wang Aihua said jokingly, "I think it's not that the xiao is beautiful, but that the senior is pretty, right?" The group burst into laughter, took their military uniforms back to the dormitory, ordered takeout, and prepared to play online games in preparation for tomorrow's military training.
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