Assembly Order
In September in Jiangcheng, the power of the autumn tiger has not yet dissipated.
The leaves of the camphor trees were shiny from the sun, the cicadas were chirping at the top of their lungs, dragging the tail end of summer, and the air was filled with sticky heat waves, sticking to the faces of every freshman who was dragging a suitcase and whose faces were full of longing.
"Classmates, Building 6 of Zhixing Academy, come this way!"
Amidst the clamor, Lu Yu, with his exceptional sense of direction and boundless energy, swiftly thanked the student union guide at the intersection. He didn't ask for help from the helpful seniors, and he single-handedly carried two overflowing 28-inch suitcases up to the sixth floor without even a breath.
"Huh... 602, this is it."
The dormitory door was unlocked. Lu Yu pushed it open and was greeted by the scent of brand new wood and a hint of paint. It was a standard four-person room, with a bed above and a desk below, two beds on the left and two on the right, and an aisle in the middle. This was the best dorm setup at Jiangda University. Fortunately, the private balcony and bathroom made the space seem much more spacious than expected.
At this moment, the dormitory was empty.
Lu Yu put his suitcase in the corner, looked around, and without hesitation chose the spot on the left next to the balcony. Good lighting, wide view, perfect.
He pulled a bottle of mineral water from his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and drank most of it. His Adam's apple rolled up and down, and sweat dripped down his neat short hair, past his sharp jawline, and onto his sweat-soaked white T-shirt. After a two-minute rest, he began to move like a fully wound motor.
I opened the windows to ventilate the room, wiped my desk with tissue paper until it was shiny, then unpacked my suitcase and hung my clothes one by one in the closet. In less than half an hour, I had my little world in perfect order.
Just as he was humming a song and tidying up, there was a polite knock on the door.
"Please come in." Lu Yu turned around.
A boy walked in, dragging a silver suitcase and carrying a square backpack. He wore a pair of black-framed glasses and had a serious expression. There wasn't even a wrinkle on his gray T-shirt.
"Hello! My name is Lu Yu, and I live in this dormitory too." Lu Yu immediately flashed a standard, sunny smile with eight teeth and took the initiative to greet him. "I'm from the School of Cultural Relics and Historical Architecture. How about you?"
The boy pushed up his glasses and glanced around the dormitory with a scrutinizing gaze before looking at Lu Yu. He nodded and said in a steady tone, "Sun Rui, School of Finance."
Be brief and to the point.
Lu Yu's enthusiasm was like a punch hitting cotton, but he didn't care. He pointed to the bed opposite him and said, "Then you can sleep opposite me? This side is also next to the balcony."
"Okay," Sun Rui said, pulling his suitcase to the right, near the balcony. The first thing he did wasn't to pack his luggage, but to take out a pack of disinfectant wipes from his backpack and carefully wipe his desk, chair, wardrobe door handle, and even every step of his bed ladder.
Lu Yu was stunned and thought, this roommate... is quite something.
Sun Rui was clearly a man of action. After wiping, he began sorting the contents of the suitcase into their respective categories with a precision that almost resembled planning. Books were arranged by height, and clothes were stacked by color. The whole process was quiet and efficient.
For a moment, the only sounds in the dormitory were the rustling of clothes and the incessant chirping of cicadas outside the window.
The slightly depressing atmosphere was broken by a loud and powerful wail.
"Oh my god! There's no elevator on the sixth floor. This is killing me!"
The voices arrived before the person arrived. A chubby figure appeared at the doorway, one hand on the doorframe, the other pounding his waist, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. Behind him were two equally large suitcases, one of which was covered in stickers of various anime characters.
"Brother, give me a hand!" The chubby boy made a look for help towards Lu Yu.
"Coming!" Lu Yu responded with a smile, took three or two steps over, and easily helped him carry the two boxes in.
"Thanks, thank you. My name is Jiang Xiaoshang, but you can just call me Xiaopang." He plopped down on his suitcase, panting heavily. "I'm from the Cultural Heritage Department. Buddy, what's the WiFi password? Have you tried the campus network? Is it laggy? Is there a lot of lag when playing games?"
A series of soul-searching questions made Lu Yu laugh uncontrollably: "I just arrived too, so I don't know anything yet. My name is Lu Yu, and this is Sun Rui."
Fatty Jiang turned his gaze to Sun Rui, who seemed to have his own barrier, and then looked at his spotless desk. He whispered to Lu Yu, "Academic tyrant?"
Lu Yu mouthed two words silently in reply: "King of Rolls."
Fat Jiang immediately gave an "I get it" expression. He chose the bed on his left, next to the bathroom, because "it's close to the bathroom and the door, so it's convenient for grabbing takeout."
Then, he solemnly opened his suitcase covered with stickers. There was not a single piece of clothing inside. It was filled with computer hosts, monitors and various peripherals tightly wrapped in foam and soft cloth.
Sun Rui glanced at him, pushed his glasses, and said nothing.
Lu Yu came over with interest and said, "Your equipment is pretty good, are you a professional esports player?"
"It's just a hobby, a hobby." Fat Jiang chuckled and began to assemble his own "combat platform" with nimble hands and feet. His seriousness was somewhat similar to that of Sun Rui next to him.
One dormitory, three people, three completely different painting styles.
A sunny and cheerful person who is very outgoing and friendly, like a little sun that can't stop shining.
A calm and serious person with terrifying self-discipline, who exudes an aura of a top scholar that keeps strangers away.
An optimistic otaku, his life creed seems to be that games and food should not be wasted.
At around four o'clock in the afternoon, a wonderful balance had already appeared in the dormitory. The beds had been made. Lu Yu was sitting in his seat, happily browsing the freshman group on his mobile phone, and Jiang Xiaopang's luxurious computer host had already started buzzing.
At this moment, Sun Rui, who had been immersed in the world of mathematics, suddenly closed the book and stood up.
"I'm going to the school building to pick up the textbooks I applied for in advance." He glanced at his watch.
"Go, go." Lu Yu waved his hand.
After Sun Rui left, only Lu Yu and Jiang Xiaopang, who was struggling with the computer cable, were left in the dormitory.
At this moment, the dormitory door was pushed open again.
A boy stood there.
The September afternoon heat seemed to be sealed off behind him, a lingering air of cool air from the air conditioner still lingering on him. The man was lean and tall, dressed in a simple white cotton T-shirt and light-colored jeans. He had a calm demeanor, like a pool of deep water bathed in moonlight. His eyes swept calmly across the dormitory, finally settling on Lu Yu.
Lu Yu looked at him and his eyes lit up.
He immediately stood up and greeted her with a smile: "Hello! You're finally here. We are your roommates. My name is Lu Yu."
The boy nodded in response.
"Come, give me your luggage and I'll help you." Lu Yu said, and was about to reach out to take the suitcase in his hand.
The person who came took half a step back without leaving any trace, a tiny but clear movement.
"Thank you, I can."
His voice was just like him, clear and cold, without any emotion.
Lu Yu's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He froze for a moment, then calmly withdrew his hand, scratched his head, and continued to smile, "Okay, then you clean up first. What's your name? Are you also from our Cultural Heritage College?"
"Time." He pulled the suitcase to the last empty seat and added, "We're in the same academy."
Time.
Lu Yu silently repeated the name in his mind, thinking it suited his temperament quite well. He watched Shi Guang pull out a square, folded soft cloth from his backpack and begin to wipe his desk meticulously. His movements were even more ritualistic than when Sun Rui used disinfectant wipes.
Lu Yu didn't go over again, but sat back in his seat, took out his cell phone, and sent a message in the newly established dormitory group.
The crisp WeChat notification sound rang out in the quiet dormitory.
Lu Yu: [@All members, the last brother has arrived. His name is Shi Guang, and he’s a cool and handsome guy.]
Fatty Jiang replied immediately: [I can testify that I'm truly aloof. Even Brother Lu got rejected when he tried to help me.]
About five minutes later, Sun Rui, who had already received the information, replied: "Based on your initial impression of this person, this person may be introverted and have a strong sense of boundaries. We recommend maintaining a safe social distance to avoid triggering a stress response."
Lu Yu looked at Sun Rui's "professional analysis" and laughed uncontrollably.
Stress reaction? Is that really that exaggerated?
His eyes involuntarily drifted to Shi Guang standing next to him. He was putting a few books on the shelf. His profile was clean-cut, his eyelashes were long and thick, and when he lowered his head, a small shadow was cast under his eyelids.
Lu Yu licked his lips, and a sense of unwillingness to admit defeat rose in his heart.
Isn't it just an iceberg?
He, Lu Yu, is the rising sun in the social circle of Jiangcheng University. Is he afraid that he can’t warm up a new roommate?
This is getting interesting.
Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Yu stretched and stood up and suggested: "We're almost done packing. How about we have dinner together tonight? It can be considered as our first team-building activity for Class 602." He looked in Shi Guang's direction and said, "Shi Guang, how about we join us?"
Shi Guang had just put the last book in place. He looked up when he heard this, seeming a little hesitant.
Before he could answer, Fatty Jiang was the first to raise his hand: "No problem! I know there's a snack street outside the west gate of the school. The barbecue smells amazing! We have to go!"
"Okay." A calm voice came from the door. It was Sun Rui, who had just returned from collecting his textbooks. He looked up and said calmly, "But I have to be back before 7:30. I have two sets of English listening exercises tonight."
“…”Okay.
Everyone's attention was finally focused on Shi Guang.
Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, Shi Guang was silent for a few seconds, and finally nodded slightly.
"good."
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