Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ever since coming into contact with the real person behind the campus hunk title, Hui Jiang no longer disliked him as much as before. He scratched his head in frustration and slowly walked back to the dormitory building.

When he returned to the dormitory, it was already past eight o'clock. The dormitory was very quiet. Everyone was sitting at their own spots playing on their computers. Hui Jiang tiptoed back to his own place, afraid that Hao Tu would pick a fight with him.

The atmosphere in the dormitory was still very strange. He touched his laptop, but suddenly lost the mood to play games. He casually organized the items in his bag, then hugged his phone and climbed onto his bed.

【Dorm Leader: You’re going to sleep so early?】

【Hui Jiang: Otherwise?】

Hui Jiang scrolled through his social media feed and found there was nothing interesting to look at, so he switched back to the chat window.

【Dorm Leader: No, wait, there’s an indoor assignment today. Did you write it?】

Hui Jiang’s eyes widened, and he immediately bounced up from the bed.

【Hui Jiang: What!! Did you guys finish writing it? When is it due?】

He was like his butt was on fire as he grabbed the ladder and prepared to climb down.

【Dorm Leader: I don’t know how to do it. I was actually planning to borrow yours to look at it. Forget it, I’ll ask Hao Tu later.】

Hui Jiang’s heart tightened. Given his current relationship with Hao Tu, the other person definitely would not lend him his homework for reference anymore. He sighed in despair. The days of copying homework were gone forever.

【Hui Jiang: When is it due!!】

【Dorm Leader: After Mid-Autumn Festival. Don’t worry.】

Mid-Autumn Festival? That was still a while away.

Hui Jiang felt slightly relieved and no longer rushed to get out of bed. He threw himself forward and climbed back onto the bed. Mid-Autumn Festival… He opened the calendar and only then suddenly realized that the holiday started the day after tomorrow. Time really passed quickly.

He asked his two roommates and found that both of them planned to go home. They had even booked their tickets early. Hui Jiang’s home was in another city, and the trip back took at least five hours, so he usually did not go home unless there was a long holiday. The Dorm Leader and Dong Ge lived a little closer than him, while that guy Hao Tu was a local, so he would definitely go back during Mid-Autumn Festival to reunite with his family.

It was actually good that everyone left. With only him remaining in the dormitory, he would be free. Hui Jiang glanced sideways at Hao Tu’s back. Hao Tu was busy most of the time, and even now he was writing something. Hui Jiang withdrew his gaze and held his phone to pass the time.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the next afternoon. When Hui Jiang returned to the dormitory after class, Dong Ge and the Dorm Leader had already packed their things.

Hui Jiang was surprised. “Wow, you two are way too fast, aren’t you?”

Ling Yu Dong raised his eyebrows. “I’m only bringing a computer. What is there to pack?” He glanced at his phone, stood up, and went to open the door. “My car is almost here. I’m leaving first.”

“Okay.” Hui Jiang took a sip of water and looked at the Dorm Leader with envy. “You two have it so nice. You get to go home and have fun, while I’m the only one left.”

“Hey, if my mom wasn’t insisting that I go back, I wouldn’t want to either.” Fang Hao hung up the clothes he had just washed. “Going back is troublesome for me too… Hui Jiang, tomorrow when you see they’re dry, help me collect them.”

Hui Jiang nodded. “Sure.”

Fang Hao gave him a suggestive look. “Are you and Hao Tu doing better now?”

“Uh…” Hui Jiang licked the water from his lips. “I don’t know.”

Fang Hao helplessly said, “We’re all roommates after all. Don’t make the relationship too awkward.”

“I understand. Aren’t I already avoiding him?” Hui Jiang did not want to talk about this anymore.

Fang Hao patted his shoulder. “Alright then, I’m leaving too.”

Hui Jiang said, “Mm, goodbye.”

Everyone had left. What should he eat tonight?

He boredly browsed through food delivery options and glanced at the time. It was only five o’clock, so he decided to wait a little longer before ordering. Hui Jiang opened his computer and logged onto a video website to find some videos to pass the time. With a three-day holiday, he could not stay curled up in the dormitory the entire time, but going out to play meant having no one to accompany him. It was really troublesome.

“Click.”

But just then, Hao Tu returned.

Hui Jiang immediately felt like thorns were sticking into his back. He quickly put on his headphones, turning himself into an invisible person. He neither spoke nor moved, hoping to lower his presence as much as possible.

Hao Tu returned to his own seat. The distance between the two of them instantly shrank to two meters. He glanced at Hui Jiang while changing his shoes, continuing to stare at him.

The atmosphere in the dormitory suddenly became several degrees heavier. Even the air seemed to carry an awkward smell. Hui Jiang could no longer focus on the video. He deeply hoped that Hao Tu would finish packing his things and leave immediately.

However, things were unpredictable. Hao Tu actually walked toward him first.

The moment that person approached, Hui Jiang felt it. The hairs on his back immediately stood up, and he cautiously turned around.

Hao Tu did not speak, as if he wanted to kill him with his cold eyes. It was frightening. Hui Jiang swallowed, removed his headphones, and timidly asked, “Is there something you need?”

Hao Tu said, “You’re not going home for Mid-Autumn Festival?”

Hui Jiang pushed up his glasses and did not dare look at him. “Yeah, I plan to stay at school and study.”

Hao Tu gave a mocking smile. “Study? You haven’t even finished your homework, yet you still dare to boast shamelessly.”

“How do you know I haven’t finished it?” Hui Jiang looked up. “Could it be that you watch me every day?”

“You!” Hao Tu froze for a moment, then angrily turned his head away. He did not continue this topic. “My parents went traveling.”

“Huh?” Hui Jiang wondered if this guy meant he was not going home either. “So?”

Hao Tu glared at him. “I’m not going home this Mid-Autumn Festival, but I also don’t want to share a room with you. Understand?”

Hui Jiang was dumbfounded. “But I have nowhere else to go.”

Hao Tu showed an expression that said exactly as expected when he heard that. “I don’t care about you.”

“Hey.” Hui Jiang was so angry that he laughed. “Aren’t you being too domineering? I won’t even talk in the dormitory. You can completely treat me as if I don’t exist.”

“Heh. You may not say anything, but who knows whether you’re hiding some filthy thoughts in your heart.”

Even if someone had a good temper, they still would not be able to tolerate being mocked with such sarcastic remarks. Not to mention that he truly had no improper thoughts toward Hao Tu. Hui Jiang stood up unhappily. “I already said that was a misunderstanding. If you refuse to believe me, then fine, but why keep holding onto this and not let it go?”

Hao Tu sneered. “I’m holding onto this and not letting go? What do you mean?” He grabbed the person and pushed him down onto the desk.

“Bang!”

Hui Jiang did not have time to prepare. His waist hit the corner of the desk, and he sucked in a painful breath. “Ah, what are you doing? So what if you use force?” He reached out to push Hao Tu away, but the other person immediately grabbed his wrist.

“Crack!”

His arm was twisted and instantly became unable to move. He narrowed his eyes from the pain. “Let go of me.”

Damn, why was Hao Tu’s strength so great? Hui Jiang lowered his head and saw the muscles bulging on the other person’s arm. The anger in his heart instantly disappeared by half. It was over. There were no other classmates in the dormitory right now. If this guy really attacked him, he could only take a beating.

Hao Tu sneered. “Heh.”

The two of them were so close that they could smell each other’s scent.

“Y-you calm down a little.” Hui Jiang immediately became submissive.

Hao Tu narrowed his eyes. “You’re being obedient now?”

He had always been very obedient. Hui Jiang moved his mouth but did not dare say it out loud. He twisted his wrist slightly, but the next second it was grabbed by the other person again. “For the time being, I also can’t find a place to stay. Can we discuss this properly?”

Hao Tu said, “I’m not some kind of evil person either, but after ten tonight, you must find somewhere else to live.”

“This…”

“What? You still want to bargain?”

“Ah, no, no.” Hui Jiang lowered his head and agreed. His whole person looked like a wilted cabbage.

“Hmph.” Hao Tu threw his hand away and turned back to his own seat.

Hui Jiang rubbed his reddened wrist joint and glared fiercely at the other person twice. If he had known things would turn out like this, he would not have been greedy for those few useless drafts back then. He looked at the muscles on his own arm. It was not like he did not have any either, they were just thinner. How was it that he could not beat Hao Tu?

He opened his chat app and sent messages one by one to friends he had a good relationship with, only hoping to find somewhere to stay. But unfortunately, those guys were either going home, going traveling, or at worst their dormitory groups had organized outings. Hui Jiang suddenly felt like he had been forgotten by the entire world.

“Buzz, buzz.”

The phone placed on the desk vibrated. Hao Tu moved his gaze away from the computer screen and looked at the message on his phone.

Hmm?

After a few seconds, a wicked smile appeared on the boy’s face. He looked back at his roommate, and the curve of his lips became even more obvious.

Since that was the case, why not just leave that guy alone in the dormitory? Hao Tu played with his phone, stood up, and began packing his things.

“Hey.”

Hui Jiang turned his head and saw Hao Tu carrying a bag. “What are you doing?”

“I happen to have something else to do tonight, so I won’t be coming back.” Hao Tu spoke in a tone that sounded like he was granting him a favor. “You don’t need to go through the trouble of finding somewhere else to stay. However, I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. By then, don’t let me see you here again.”

Hui Jiang was somewhat impatient with him, but he was still happy after hearing this news. He replied, “…Got it.”

Only after watching Hao Tu walk out of the dormitory entrance did Hui Jiang secretly let out a sigh of relief.

He clicked on a video and continued wasting time. At the same time, he ordered takeout through the app. Hui Jiang lazily stretched. The feeling of Hao Tu not being there was truly wonderful, but…

His eyes dimmed slightly, and his expression became somewhat downcast. He had never thought that the relationship between roommates would become this unpleasant. Hui Jiang hugged his knees and stared blankly at the screen.

Try to fix it as much as possible.

After finishing dinner and playing on the computer for a while, he only noticed the messages from his family on his phone when he picked it up again.

【Mom: You’re not coming home for Mid-Autumn Festival?】

It was a message sent an hour ago. Time really passed quickly. It was already nine o’clock.

【Hui Jiang: Not coming back. Transferring trains is too troublesome.】

He stared at his phone for several minutes. Just as he was about to put it down, a message arrived.

【Mom: I was just asking. It’s only a three-day holiday, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t come back.】

【Mom: Are you coming back during National Day?】

【Hui Jiang: Yeah.】

Even if there was traffic congestion, he still had to go back. It was the golden week after all. Going home to eat his family’s food would save several meals worth of money.

After Hui Jiang’s mother received her son’s reply, she stopped responding. It seemed like she had gone to do something else.

Hui Jiang switched out of the chat window and saw a marketing article his father had sent him, things like “The Ten Disadvantages of Staying Up Late” and “The Nine Benefits of Drinking Mint Water in Summer.” At least he had to give his dad some face, so he spent some time reading them and even sent a reply afterward.

It was a little boring. He had already watched most of the videos on the video website. For some reason, the few content creators he followed had all collectively stopped producing content. Hui Jiang closed the webpage, turned his head, and looked at the indoor assignment on the desk. After staring for two seconds, he silently looked away.

It was too late today. He would write it tomorrow morning.

He opened Steam and immediately saw the store banner.

The latest release — “Campus Horror.”

In recent years, horror games had become more and more polished. Although the name of this game sounded cheap, it was actually the latest release from an overseas game company. Just looking at the screenshots, one could already feel its quality and horror. Hui Jiang swallowed and glanced at the price.

165 yuan.

It was not particularly expensive, but unfortunately, he was timid. If his roommates were normally around, he might have bought it and played it. He would add it to his shopping cart first and buy it after the Mid-Autumn Festival when those guys returned.

There were many reasons for being timid. Some were natural, while others were developed later. Hui Jiang believed his was the latter, and it was entirely thanks to his unreliable parents. When Hui Jiang’s father and mother were young, they loved tricking their young son into watching horror movies during holidays. At that time, he was young and foolish. After watching the movies, he would be so scared that he could not sleep for several days.

Hui Jiang turned on the bathroom light. For some reason, he felt that it was different from usual. He checked around but could not find anything wrong. Could it be that he was just imagining things? He looked outside. His roommates were all gone, making the entire dormitory seem empty.

He should have taken a shower during the day. Why did he have to drag it until nighttime?

He turned his phone volume up to the maximum and played a few fast-paced songs before he finally felt a little better.