Chapter 3

The owner stuck his head out from the kitchen and glanced at him.

"Fourteen fifty."

Just as Hui Jiang pulled out his phone to pay, the badge in his pocket got knocked loose and fell to the floor.

One of the girls waiting for a seat beside him saw that he was about to leave. She immediately set her book on the table and stepped directly on the badge.

Hui Jiang had already bent down, but he was forced to stop.

"Uh, classmate."

The girl looked puzzled.

"What is it?"

"Could you take half a step back?"

Suspiciously, the girl stepped back.

Hui Jiang quickly picked up the badge and smiled at her.

"Thank you."

The young man slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the small restaurant.

Meanwhile, the two girls inside remained standing there in confusion.

One of them asked,

"Is that guy from the acting department? Was he just performing the act of picking something up?"

"That can't be right. We're a science and engineering university. Where would an acting department come from?"

"True..."

By the time Hui Jiang had walked far away, he still had no idea that people were discussing him.

Holding the badge in his hand, he conversed with the system in his mind.

【Host must take good care of your badge.】

"Yeah, I know... Other people can't see this badge, right?"

【Under normal circumstances, they cannot see it.】

Hui Jiang narrowed his eyes.

"So that means there are abnormal circumstances."

【Yes. However, your level is currently too low, so I cannot tell you about them yet.】

He clicked his tongue.

Lowering his gaze, he suddenly noticed that the pattern on the badge had changed.

It vaguely resembled the character for "Jiang."

"What's going on?"

【The badge has already been assimilated by you. There is no need to worry. This is a good thing.】

"Assimilated?"

Hui Jiang muttered to himself.

Seeing that the system had stopped responding again, he could only put the badge back into his bag.

The bathhouse at H University was very close to the snack street.

After walking only a few minutes, he arrived.

Because of the season, the bathhouse was naturally much quieter.

After entering the main entrance, Hui Jiang discovered that the attendant on the first floor was absent. Only after reading the notice board did he learn that bathing was free during these months.

Carrying his backpack, Hui Jiang entered the changing room.

The moment he stepped inside, he smelled an unpleasant odor of sweat.

Only a handful of male students were standing in the large room.

These guys had definitely just finished playing basketball and come over to take advantage of the free showers.

Unable to tolerate the smell, Hui Jiang stored his belongings at lightning speed and entered the bathhouse wearing slippers.

White steam filled the air, carrying heavy moisture.

Fortunately, he had already removed his glasses.

Perhaps because the male-to-female ratio at H University was severely unbalanced, the men's bathhouse never had enough showerheads during winter.

In order to accommodate more male students, the university administration had come up with a terrible idea—

They refused to build partitions in the men's bathhouse.

Their justification was:

"Everyone's a man. What's wrong with being open and straightforward?"

A row of stainless-steel showerheads lined the wall.

Because it was the off-season, the rows farther back were not even operational.

Hui Jiang casually found an empty spot.

After setting down his belongings, he casually glanced at the male student beside him.

This guy is so pale.

Crystal-clear droplets of water flowed down the muscles of his back.

His skin was as white as plaster.

His wet hair, reaching his ears, clung to both cheeks.

His slightly upturned phoenix eyes were gently closed.

His lips were parted slightly, revealing a glimpse of a bright red tongue.

Standing beneath the showerhead with his head lowered, he wore an expression of complete comfort.

He looked somewhat familiar.

Without his glasses, Hui Jiang could only squint in order to see the man's appearance clearly.

Perhaps the stare was too obvious.

Mu Nan Zhi quickly sensed it.

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Hui Jiang's openly appreciative expression.

Hui Jiang?

Why was he here?

And what kind of look was that?

Staring at him showering so brazenly...

There was definitely something wrong with him.

Mu Nan Zhi frowned and turned his back.

He felt extremely uncomfortable.

The two of them could at least be considered acquaintances.

Since they had already seen each other, would it be rude not to greet him?

At this moment, however, Hui Jiang had already withdrawn his gaze.

Because the system's words had completely shocked him.

"Holy shit! System, what did you mean by that just now?! What do you mean by successfully peeping on Mu Nan Zhi while he was bathing?!"

On the surface, Hui Jiang calmly scrubbed himself.

Inside, however, turbulent waves were crashing through his mind.

【Exactly what it sounds like. Are you refusing to admit what you just did?】

"I... How does that count as peeping? I only looked for a moment."

No wonder he had seemed familiar.

So it had been Mu Nan Zhi.

【But you even commented several times about his private parts. Things like 'so big,' 'so...'】

The tips of Hui Jiang's ears immediately turned red.

"Stop, stop, stop. That's just normal comparison between guys."

【Humans really are complicated. However, after only looking a few times, you gained one point of Gentleman Value and earned ten thousand yuan. This system thinks it was very worthwhile. It's completely a win-win situation.】

Win my ass.

Expressionless, Hui Jiang picked up a bar of soap and prepared to use it.

【This judgment was made because Mu Nan Zhi himself believes that you were peeping on him while he bathed. Therefore, you cannot blame this system.】

"Slap!"

The white bar of soap traced an arc through the air and slid neatly to a stop at Mu Nan Zhi's feet.

Hui Jiang froze on the spot.

Looking at his now-empty hand, only two words remained in his mind:

I'm screwed.

The two stared at each other for several seconds.

The atmosphere immediately became strange.

In the end, Mu Nan Zhi spoke first.

"Hui Jiang, you came to the bathhouse too? What a coincidence."

As expected of the campus heartthrob famous for being gentle and refined.

Even in such an awkward situation, he could still smile so warmly.

Hui Jiang wiped his face and slowly nodded.

"It is quite a coincidence."

"Uh, your soap..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll get it myself."

Hui Jiang immediately bent down and reached out.

However, just as his fingertips touched the soap, he suddenly remembered a joke from H University's forum.

[At H University, where the male-to-female ratio is 9:1, this senior only spent less than two years here before he was happily picking up soap with his roommate. I advise all juniors to think carefully before applying!]

The "picking up soap" joke was practically known by everyone at H University.

Hui Jiang sincerely hoped that Mu Nan Zhi would not get the wrong idea.

This misunderstanding could not continue.

He had to explain everything clearly to Mu Nan Zhi!

Hui Jiang raised his head, intending to observe the other man's expression.

Instead, he suddenly saw something imposing and extremely shocking.

His eyes instantly widened like light bulbs.

His mind went completely blank, as though struck by a thunderbolt.

Every carefully prepared explanation vanished into thin air in an instant.

Excuse me!!!

"Cough, cough!"

Hui Jiang choked on the shower water and scrambled back to his own showerhead.

This left Mu Nan Zhi stunned as well.

His beautiful phoenix eyes widened into almost perfect circles.

Several seconds later, he barely managed to regain control of his expression.

This guy really is...

"I..."

"Uh..."

Both of them spoke at the same time.

They looked at each other briefly, then quickly averted their eyes.

Pressing his lips together, Mu Nan Zhi turned off the shower.

"I'm done washing. I'll head out first."

"Okay."

Hui Jiang stood there stiffly.

Only after Mu Nan Zhi left did he finally let out a sigh of relief.

For some reason, however, Mu Nan Zhi's departing figure gave him the vague impression that he was fleeing in embarrassment.

Hui Jiang sighed.

Then he recalled the first time he had met Mu Nan Zhi.

Half a month earlier.

"Come on, it's almost ten o'clock. How about we call it a night here?"

"Sure. I still need to get back and finish my thesis."

Hui Jiang was holding a plate of stir-fried river snails, happily sucking out the meat and feeling no desire to join the conversation.

Seeing everyone else getting up one after another, he began packing up as well, planning to return to the dormitory.

At that moment, the vice minister suddenly called out to him.

"Hey, Hui Jiang."

Pushing up his glasses, Hui Jiang asked,

"What is it?"

"The department's old tradition. Escort the senior sister back to her dorm."

Hui Jiang had always been on good terms with the vice minister.

Back in his freshman year, the two of them often played games together.

The moment he heard that, he understood.

A flash of light reflected off his glasses.

"Alright."

The two exchanged smiles.

There was more than a hint of conspiratorial understanding between them.

"Two junior brothers, may I leave now?"

Senior Sister Miao, the former minister, walked over.

The vice minister quickly replied,

"Of course. Senior Sister, Hui Jiang will escort you back tonight."

"Okay."

Senior Sister Miao not only had a pleasant personality but was also quite attractive.

Looking across the entire H University, she was considered one of the rare genuinely outstanding girls.

Being entrusted with such a pleasant assignment tonight made Hui Jiang very happy.

"Alright, we're leaving first."

After saying goodbye to the younger members, she walked out of the restaurant.