Huo Fanjin was dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts, long legs bare and striding with breeze and confidence.
Her features were striking: lush hair draped over her shoulders, the very image of a blooming, luxurious flower of the mortal world.
As Jiang Fuyue looked at her, Huo Fanjin also looked over. Then—
“Holy cr*p— we’re in the same dorm?! Really the same dorm?!”
Miss Huo was so happy she nearly jumped for joy.
Jiang Fuyue got off the bed, poured herself a cup of water, and asked, “Want some?”
Huo Fanjin nodded eagerly. “Yes! It’s scorching outside, I’m dying of thirst.”
Suddenly, Cen Qiaoqiao, still hugging her bag of chips, looked up blankly and said, “Can I have a cup too? I’m kinda thirsty!”
“……”
Jiang Fuyue poured each of them a glass, then turned to Huo Fanjin. “What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean ‘what’s going on’?” Huo Fanjin’s eyes flickered.
“With your exam scores, there’s no way you’d end up at Ming University.”
Not to mention, she’d even won a medal at the IPhO competition, she could’ve easily gotten a guaranteed spot at B University or Q University. At the very least, S, Fu, or H University were sure things.
So why Ming University?
Huo Fanjin fired back, “With your grades, even less reason. Why did you come?”
Jiang Fuyue was momentarily choked silent.
“Actually, Ming University’s great! Look at this dorm, what other school in the capital can compare?”
The dorms had everything: air conditioner, TV, washing machine, dryer. There was even a big balcony, recreation area, upper-bunk-lower-desk design, and dividers between beds for privacy.
Huo Fanjin continued, “Our school cafeteria’s amazing too! The food is so good, can even compete with those internet-famous restaurants outside, and cheaper, too!”
“And the campus is huge and beautiful, clean and tidy, all the public facilities and gym equipment are brand-new, and there’s even a big outdoor pool open for free in summer…”
Even Huo Fanjin didn’t know she could rattle off so many pros about Ming University in one breath.
She got more and more enthusiastic, until Cen Qiaoqiao started nodding wildly beside her like a pecking chick. “Mm-hmm… right… exactly… I think Ming University’s great too!”
Jiang Fuyue’s lips twitched. Meeting Huo Fanjin’s smug little look, she said flatly, “Speak human.”
Uh—
“…Fine. Originally my family wanted to send me abroad. I’d already gotten my admissions letter, but I told my mom I didn’t want to go for undergrad. But then I missed the college application deadline, so the only option left was Ming University!”
After saying that, she even nodded to reinforce her point.
As the “top of the wild chickens,” Ming University was so notorious that some majors didn’t even care about exam scores; as long as you paid, you could enroll.
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow. “And your parents agreed to that?”
“They didn’t at first. Then I showed them the news about you, the perfect scorer, choosing Ming University. After that, they agreed.”
“……”
Huo Fanjin made it sound easy now, but back then she’d nearly flipped the entire Huo household upside down.
Relatives came in turns to persuade or scold her, all in vain. She refused to go abroad no matter what.
At first, Father Huo wouldn’t budge. He’d planned her life meticulously, music, piano, physics competitions, everything in order. If she just followed the path, her future would be dazzling.
Who could’ve guessed, after everything went so smoothly for over ten years, his daughter would suddenly go rogue at the finish line, she just didn’t want to!
Fortunately, Mother Huo had never been keen on sending her abroad. Now mother and daughter teamed up, crying and arguing until her father finally gave in with tears in his eyes.
Jiang Fuyue asked, “With so many universities around, why Ming University in particular?”
Huo Fanjin smiled, looking straight at her. “What do you think?”
If Jiang Fuyue weren’t here, she’d pick any other school with her eyes closed and it would be better than Ming University.
“Because—” Huo Fanjin grinned. “You’ve got great taste.”
You chose it, so I chose it too.
That simple.
Jiang Fuyue was momentarily speechless.
Then Huo Fanjin turned to Cen Qiaoqiao. “What about you? Why’d you come to Ming University?”
“Ah? My score only qualified me for Ming University.” She smiled shyly after saying that.
Huo Fanjin: “……”
Jiang Fuyue: “……”
“Oh, right. There’s another important reason my parents agreed.”
“?”
Huo Fanjin chuckled. “Because Lin Shumo did the same.”
Lin Shumo’s score was even higher than hers, though not the top scorer, he still ranked top five in the capital.
His family had already arranged an overseas university, and he’d agreed to go.
But then—
“His grandmother heard that the Schankwo Virus was spreading abroad and flat-out forbade him from leaving.”
After thinking about it, Lin’s parents decided his life was more important than studying, so he stayed in China, they’d wait until the global epidemic passed.
“Lin Shumo’s sly, you know? No fuss, no fight, he just got his grandma to intervene. In the end, he got what he wanted without offending anyone. When people asked, he’d say, ‘I wanted to go, but my family had other concerns.’ Clean, perfect deflection.”
When Huo Fanjin heard it, she’d been stunned on the spot. “You can do that?”
Lin Shumo countered, “Why not?”
Tch. So righteous.
Jiang Fuyue paused. “…So Lin Shumo’s here too?”
“Yep.”
“……”
At the same time, in the principal’s office—
Xiao Shan stared at the new enrollment list, utterly dumbfounded.
Top 5 and top 30 scorers in the capital—both came?!
Even the assistant was in disbelief. “Forget the top five, students in the top fifty thousand wouldn’t apply to us!”
“Could there be a mistake?”
After a moment’s silence, Xiao Shan flipped through the admission forms. “…No, both student and parent signatures are there. Impossible to be wrong.”
So these high-caliber students really had landed at Ming University?
The joy hit too suddenly. The assistant was so happy he nearly fainted.
Even Xiao Shan couldn’t help smiling.
Assistant: “This year’s only perfect scorer nationwide is at our school, and now we’ve got the capital’s top five and top thirty too, our student quality just skyrocketed!”
It felt like Ming University was quietly gearing up for something big.
The assistant sneaked a look at Xiao Shan.
…
By evening, room 4-3 still wasn’t full.
One bed remained unclaimed.
Huo Fanjin asked, “Who’s that? If she doesn’t come soon, I’m using the bed for storage.”
Just then, the door opened.
A slim, pretty girl walked in dragging her suitcase, smiling sweetly. “Hi, I’m—”
But when her eyes swept over to Jiang Fuyue, she froze. The words cut off mid-sentence.
Huo Fanjin urged, “What’s your name?”
“…Yu Kaixin.”
Yep. Another familiar face.
“You two know each other?” Huo Fanjin’s eyes flicked between Jiang Fuyue and the newcomer.
Yu Kaixin forced a smile. “We were classmates in high school.”
“No wonder you looked familiar. I was an exchange student in Linhuai before, in your class for a bit, I must’ve seen you then.”
Yu Kaixin nodded. “I remember.”
“Nice! After all the circling around, it’s all familiar faces!”
“What about me?” Cen Qiaoqiao suddenly piped up, eyes wide and innocent, crumbs of chips still on her lips.
“You… you’ll get familiar soon enough.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Jiang Fuyue picked up her phone, went to the door to change shoes, and casually asked, “Dinner, coming?”
Huo Fanjin: “Coming!”
Cen Qiaoqiao also nodded, even though she’d already eaten three bags of chips.
Yu Kaixin said, “I still need to unpack. You guys go ahead.”
Huo Fanjin didn’t push her, but when she turned around, Jiang Fuyue was already out the door. “Hey, why’re you walking so fast? Wait for me—”
Cen Qiaoqiao: “Me too!”
After the three left, Yu Kaixin stood still, hands slowly tightening.
She’d known Jiang Fuyue was coming to Ming University, and she’d known they would meet sooner or later but she hadn’t expected to become dormmates.
Now they’d see each other every day.
Yu Kaixin bit her lip.
Truth was, she was a little afraid of Jiang Fuyue.
The next second, she pulled out her phone and dialed Yu Jiaze’s number but just before it connected, she remembered: they’d already fallen out, gone their separate ways.
Yu Kaixin jerked her hand back and slammed the phone down.
…
In the cafeteria—
The moment the three girls walked in, every gaze turned their way.
Jiang Fuyue and Huo Fanjin: one cool and aloof, the other radiant and bold.
If the first was bright moonlight, the second was the blazing sun, each beautiful in her own way, both long-legged and arresting.
Someone in the crowd sucked in a sharp breath, followed by waves of gasps.
“Holy cr*p! When did our school get girls like that?”
“Freshmen? Never seen them before.”
“Are those legs even human?”
“And that waist… I’m a girl and I’m jealous.”
“Not just the body, the face too.”
“The aura! They’ve got the aura nailed down.”
“Hey, isn’t the new school flower election starting soon? Heh… I’ve got a bold idea.”
“Me too.”
“……”
Jiang Fuyue ignored all the curious and admiring stares.
She calmly ordered food, carried her tray, and sat down.
Huo Fanjin, just as used to attention, was perfectly unruffled.
She was a true heiress, she’d seen far more dramatic scenes than this.
As for Cen Qiaoqiao…
Maybe because she was naturally ditzy, her reactions always lagged half a beat. It was as if she had a built-in “ignore everything” filter: no looks, no whispers, no gasps could distract her from the braised pork on her plate.
“Ah~ smells so good!”
“……”
After dinner, the three strolled together to the supermarket outside campus.
Han Qishan had taken care of everything for her down to the smallest detail, so Jiang Fuyue only bought two rolls of trash bags and three boxes of bottled water, asking the supermarket to deliver them to the dorm.
Huo Fanjin had also come with her servant today. Although she hadn’t gone as far as Jiang Fuyue who even had a treadmill delivered, she still lacked for nothing in what she wore or used.
So, she only bought water.
“Five boxes. I’ll stack them in the dorm and drink slowly.”
Cen Qiaoqiao was different.
The moment she saw snacks, she couldn’t move her feet. By the end, she’d filled two whole shopping carts and still looked unsatisfied. “Anyway, delivery’s free. Why don’t I buy some more? We can all share!”
Clearly, she was another one from a well-off family, her wallet was thick with cash, and she had a black card too.
After shopping, the three returned to the dorm empty-handed.
Before long, the delivery arrived.
Cen Qiaoqiao cheerfully handed out snacks. “These cookies are so good… This bird’s nest drink actually has real strands of bird’s nest in it, not just flavored water… and these sausage bites—”
Jiang Fuyue and Huo Fanjin accepted them graciously.
Yu Kaixin pursed her lips and politely declined. “Thank you, I’ve already had dinner.”
Cen Qiaoqiao blinked. “That doesn’t stop you from having snacks! This one’s really delicious!”
“…”
“Qiaoqiao,” Huo Fanjin suddenly called.
“Huh?” She turned around blankly, still holding an armful of snacks.
Huo Fanjin said, “Come here, I want that one.”
Hearing that, Cen Qiaoqiao happily bounced over. “Which one? This one? I have lots more—”
Yu Kaixin shot them a sullen glance. But as she turned her head, her eyes met Jiang Fuyue’s across the room directly, without warning.
She stumbled back half a step, her gaze flickering.
——
Night fell. All was silent.
The lights were off, the dorm plunged into darkness.
Huo Fanjin whispered, “Is everyone asleep?”
From Cen Qiaoqiao’s bed came the rustling crinkle-crinkle of a snack bag.
“…”
Jiang Fuyue had already closed her eyes, but at that sound, she opened them again. “What is it?”
“Sister Yue, what major are you in?”
“Peiya.”
The whole room went still.
Someone in the dark drew in a sharp breath.
“You actually applied for Peiya…” Huo Fanjin murmured.
Cen Qiaoqiao, puzzled: “What’s wrong with Peiya?”
Peiya—short for the Peiya Program—wasn’t a specific major.
It had been founded with the ideal of giving gifted, high-potential students a chance to develop broadly and choose freely. So it didn’t confine students to any one discipline: they studied everything—from politics, economics, and culture to math, astronomy, and philosophy.
In theory, it was meant for a holistic education that broke down academic boundaries. In practice, though, it was a disaster.
First, Ming University’s student quality had declined year after year. How could anyone expect such underachievers to “develop comprehensively”?
Second, the faculty was deteriorating. Talent was constantly bleeding out. The Peiya Program’s vision was ambitious, but without teachers to match it, how could they expect to teach anything well?
And most importantly, the atmosphere was awful. A school’s culture shaped its classes, and its classes shaped its students.
Forget everything else, the nickname “top of the bottom-tier schools” was enough to make Ming University students hang their heads. Without pride or belonging, how could anyone do well?
It was a vicious cycle.
“I heard Peiya’s full of lazy freeloaders who just coast and mooch credits,” Huo Fanjin muttered.
The more subjects one took, the less one could master any.
So the exams became easier.
Gradually, the Peiya Program had turned into a haven for spoiled rich kids who didn’t care about studying and just wanted to coast to graduation.
In recent years, it had even become one of the school’s most popular “majors.”
Among the wealthy, it was in high demand, ordinary students couldn’t even get in.
“Peiya’s a mess and super cliquish. Sister Yue, what are you thinking?” Huo Fanjin said in disbelief.
With her college entrance score, Jiang Fuyue could’ve had any major she wanted at Ming University. But she’d deliberately picked the worst one.
The highest score for the lowest program at the worst school.
There was no other word for it but “badass.”
Then Jiang Fuyue said lightly, almost jokingly, “If I don’t go to h*ll, who will?”
Huo Fanjin’s mouth twitched.
Yu Kaixin rolled her eyes in the dark.
Only Cen Qiaoqiao whispered in awe, “So cool!”
“…”
The next morning at 8:30, the opening ceremony was held in the lecture hall.
The large amphitheater could hold over a thousand students.
Principal Xiao Shan went onstage to speak.
As for the student representative, uh, there wasn’t one, because Jiang Fuyue refused.
The ceremony lasted less than half an hour and ended by nine.
“Honestly, this was the shortest opening ceremony I’ve ever seen.”
“I like it, straight to the point.”
“Yeah, who wants to listen to leaders drone on forever? So annoying.”
“They didn’t used to be this brief, used to drag like every other school. I heard it’s the new principal’s rule: keep things simple, no pointless formalities. Meetings should be real, not hollow.”
“Tch, looks like this Xiao Shan actually has some skill.”
——
Following her class schedule, Jiang Fuyue found her next classroom.
The Peiya Program had a total of 120 students. Unlike other majors where you chose your own courses, this one worked as a single fixed class, same classmates for every subject.
Basically, it felt like being back in high school.
When Jiang Fuyue entered, there weren’t that many people yet but it was loud.
She scanned the room—
Some were chatting, some blasting games aloud, others watching dramas or short videos, and a few groups were goofing around, chasing each other.
Jiang Fuyue took a seat near the front. As class time drew closer, the noise doubled.
Her eyes flickered with irritation.
Then someone sat down beside her.
She looked up. “…Why are you here?”
Huo Fanjin rested her chin on one hand, smiling leisurely. “I applied with the academic office to transfer into Peiya.”
“What for?”
The same question Jiang Fuyue had asked her yesterday came right back.
Huo Fanjin grinned. “For you.”
She’d come to Ming University because of Jiang Fuyue, what was the point of being in a different department?
Huo Fanjin had always had a strong intuition. Something told her that sticking with Jiang Fuyue meant her college life would be extraordinary, thrilling, even.
The bell rang. The professor walked up to the podium. First order of business—
Roll call.
Jiang Fuyue had underestimated just how reckless this class was. By the time the names were done, half the students were missing!
The teacher’s face darkened. “It’s the first day of the semester and already this many skipping class? Looks like the Peiya Program’s gone completely lawless!”
Bang! He slammed his book down.
The room went silent. Then—
“Teacher, isn’t skipping class normal in college?” a boy in the back drawled lazily, smirking. “Especially at Ming University? I thought you’d be used to it by now. Guess your tolerance is pretty low.”
He must’ve been their “leader,” because the moment he spoke, a chorus followed—
“Yeah! It’s Ming U, don’t be scared! Skip class, have fun, let the teachers rage!”
Laughter burst out.
“Hahaha—”
The teacher’s face turned green. “Who are you? Disrupting class, get out!”
“Teacher, are you sure you want Brother Ze to ‘get out’? You might want to check with Director Zhou of the Board first.”
The teacher froze.
The room erupted in whispers—
“That guy’s wild! Everyone in class calls him Brother Ze, super respectful. And who’s Director Zhou?”
“His name’s Zhou Jingze. His dad’s one of Ming University’s board directors. The family owns mines. They do whatever they want.”
“I heard a bunch of board members’ kids enrolled this year. True?”
“Campus forum said the same thing.”
“I heard names like Liang Jingzhou, Li Chen, Gu Huaiyu… anyone else?”
“Cheng Lian!”
“Right, him too!”
“All of them skipped class, didn’t they? None answered roll.”
“D*mn, real-life Heirs, huh?”
“Just missing a female lead.”
“Give it up, there won’t be one. You really think these rich heirs fight over some poor Cinderella? That only happens in dramas. In real life, they only like girls as rich and outstanding as themselves.”
“Yeah, that cold, bad-boy-falls-for-innocent-girl stuff only happens in novels now.”
“…”
“So, teacher, still want Brother Ze to leave?”
The teacher was stuck—
He didn’t dare insist; the boy had backing. But if he backed down in front of the whole class, where would his authority go? How could he ever teach again?
In the end, Zhou Jingze stayed. The teacher stormed out.
“Alright, everyone, class dismissed! Free skip today, don’t forget to thank Brother Ze~”
A crowd gathered around the boy in the baseball cap and swaggered out.
Huo Fanjin clicked her tongue. “They’re really arrogant…”
As she spoke, she glanced sideways at Jiang Fuyue only to find her expression perfectly calm.
What a pity.
“Let’s go,” Jiang Fuyue said, standing up.
“Oh.” Huo Fanjin followed.
When they returned to the dorm, they found Yu Kaixin’s bed… already empty.
