The next morning, all four roommates were once again rudely awakened by Wang Congle’s demonic alarm clock. To be honest, Jiang Chen suddenly regretted not staying to sleep there last night.
The weather was decent—not too hot, with a light breeze. The morning military training began with the usual standing posture practice, during which Jiang Chen’s gaze was drawn to Xia Xiaoyue standing near the main entrance.
So much so that the instructor caught him. "You, the third one from the back in the last row, where are you looking? Step out of formation."
Hearing the instructor call his name, Jiang Chen wore a helpless expression. Why couldn't he control these eyes of his?
He obediently walked to the front of the instructor and waited for instructions.
"The rest of you, rest in place. You keep standing for another five minutes."
The students sat down on the ground one after another while Jiang Chen stood at the front. As luck would have it, Xia Xiaoyue happened to walk over at that moment.
When Xia Xiaoyue saw the face of the boy standing there, shock washed over her, followed instantly by embarrassment.
As she recognized that familiar face, a wave of panic and disbelief surged through her heart.
Oh god! Wasn't this the guy from last night? And even more unbelievably, this fellow actually turned out to be her student! What kind of absurd plot twist was this?
At this thought, Xia Xiaoyue’s mind instantly became anxious and restless. If this got out, how could she ever face anyone again? Life would simply be unlivable!
No, absolutely not. She had to move out of this place immediately. Yet a cruel reality stared her in the face—she had already paid the rent in full!
After a fierce internal struggle, Xia Xiaoyue reluctantly chose to compromise, deciding to continue living there for the time being. After all, maybe they wouldn't cross paths very often anyway.
Besides, she spent most of her time at school anyway; as long as she was careful, nothing should go wrong...
Meanwhile, standing off to the side, Jiang Chen felt as though his heart had turned to ash. The impression he had made on the counselor yesterday was already far from stellar, and now today had delivered this kind of blockbuster event, creating a massive disaster.
Ah, wonderful. He was completely doomed now! Just let the world end, there was no saving this!
The cafeteria at noon was as packed as ever, so the four of them turned around and headed straight back to the dorm building, deciding to have instant noodles for "one last time" and swearing off the cafeteria forever after that.
After the midday break, they headed to the playground for the afternoon session. Suddenly, Jiang Chen’s phone buzzed. He checked his WeChat messages, looking slightly puzzled.
"Come to Office 201 in the administration building after military training." The message was from Xia Qiyue.
"Got it." After replying, Jiang Chen went to join his formation. Although he had no idea why she wanted to see him, he hadn't done anything wrong, so he had nothing to fear.
The afternoon military training followed the usual routine. According to the instructor, the intensity had been kept low for the first couple of days because he was worried everyone wouldn't be able to handle it if they went too hard right away.
When training ended, Jiang Chen told the other three, "You guys go on to the cafeteria. I have some business to attend to and will be back at the dorm later."
Arriving outside Office 201 in the administration building, Jiang Chen gave a cautious knock. Hearing a voice call out, "Come in," he pushed the door open.
Only Xia Xiaoyue was left in the room. Seeing Jiang Chen enter, she motioned for him to sit in front of her. "Your name is Jiang Chen, right?"
"Yes, yes."
"You don't have any objections to the rules I sent you yesterday, do you?"
Jiang Chen quickly shook his head. "None at all. Do you have anything else to add, Teacher?"
Hearing the title "Teacher," Xia Xiaoyue felt a tinge of bashfulness. "Not for now. But I don't want word getting around on campus that the two of us are renting a place together. Do you understand?"
Watching her expression, Jiang Chen thought the teacher was actually quite cute—completely different from her usual aloof self.
"Understood, understood."
"Alright, then. There's nothing else, you can head back."
Xia Xiaoyue added, "Oh right, are we still moving tonight?"
Jiang Chen thought back to the torture of waking up this morning, gritted his teeth, and said, "We're moving. I'll move my bedding over today."
"Okay."
Leaving the office, Jiang Chen headed to the cafeteria for a meal. Faced with the dazzling array of food stalls, he hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to choose.
He randomly picked a rice noodle stall, but after taking a few bites, he resolved never to come back here again. It wasn't that it tasted terrible, exactly—it just tasted exactly like eating plain white noodles.
After finishing his meal and returning to the dormitory, he saw the other three packing their own luggage. He called out to them, "I won't be sleeping in the dorm starting tonight. I'm moving out now."
Knowing that Jiang Chen had found a place, the others helped him pack up his quilt. Ding Junfei chimed in, "Bro Jiang, you've gotta invite us over to check out your new place sometime."
Jiang Chen was startled. Remembering the rules Xia Xiaoyue had laid down and the image of his roommates finding out he lived with the counselor, he quickly smoothed things over. "For sure, when I have time."
After packing up his bedding and stuffing it into a woven bag, Jiang Chen left the dormitory. He hailed a cab at the main gate and headed straight for Jiangnan Villa.
Finally reaching the front door of the apartment, Jiang Chen took a deep breath and pressed the sequence of numbers onto the digital lock.
With a soft electronic beep, the door slowly swung open. He lifted his gaze and saw Xia Xiaoyue lounging lazily on the sofa, her eyes fixed intently on the television screen.
However, what caught Jiang Chen's attention wasn't the television program, but Xia Xiaoyue's outfit.
The gray shorts she wore on her lower body were exceptionally short, tightly hugging her slender, straight legs; on top, she wore a simple white T-shirt. Yet this simple combination perfectly outlined her curvaceous figure.
In a split second, Jiang Chen felt a surge of heat in his nasal cavity, and an intense smell of blood instantly filled the air. Cursing inwardly, he quickly lowered his head, strode swiftly into his own bedroom, and slammed the door shut as if fleeing from some terrifying beast.
Just then, Xia Xiaoyue, who had been completely engrossed in the TV show, sensed something amiss. She turned her head just in time to see Jiang Chen rushing into his bedroom like a frightened rabbit.
A spark of confusion arose in her mind. What was going on? Had some kind of emergency happened?
Just as she was about to stand up and investigate, she suddenly became aware of her posture—her legs were slightly parted and her body leaned forward. This position caused her already short shorts to ride up even further, nearly exposing the roots of her thighs. Xia Xiaoyue’s face turned fiery red in an instant, like a ripe apple.
Fumbling clumsily, she switched off the television, sprang to her feet, and scurried back to her own room with her head down. All the way there, her heart hammered like a drum, her mind replaying the awkward scene Jiang Chen had just witnessed.
Meanwhile, inside the second bedroom, Jiang Chen looked at the pile of tissues scattered across the floor and the one still in his hand, feeling thoroughly disappointed in himself.
He had only looked at a pair of legs, so why had he bled so much?
After making his bed and removing the tissue from his nose to find the bleeding had stopped, he finally opened his bedroom door and headed to the bathroom to wash up.