Having acquired two cultivation methods, Qin Yongping was overjoyed and could not wait to plunge straight into his practice. However, he could hardly miss the collective activities of the welcome gala tonight, so he reluctantly exited the jade pendant space. Opening the door and stepping out of the practice room, he found that his master had been standing guard outside like a statue all this time. Sensing the change in Qin Yongping's aura, the old man nodded in satisfaction.
"Master, I have successfully achieved Foundation Establishment!" Qin Yongping said, unable to contain his joy.
"Not bad, not bad. I had expected it to take you until tomorrow, but who would have thought you'd be more than twice as fast as I anticipated? It's only five o'clock in the afternoon," Elder Guo said, beaming with delight.
"It is all thanks to your brilliant guidance, Master, and especially your precious medicinal ingredients. Otherwise, who knows how many years it would have taken me," Qin Yongping replied respectfully yet without a trace of servility.
Elder Guo waved his hand, growing increasingly fond of Qin Yongping.
"Master, our school is holding a welcome party tonight, and it's going to be lively! I need to rush back to attend. Would you like to come over and join in the fun and take a look?" Qin Yongping asked Elder Guo, his face full of excitement.
Elder Guo wore a kindly smile, gently waved his hand, and replied, "Haha, you young folks go on and enjoy yourselves to the fullest. Have a wonderful time. Just be sure to be careful on the way."
With his master's permission, Qin Yongping hurried back to the dorm. The moment he stepped through the door and before he could even catch his breath, Fourth Brother's boisterous voice rang out: "Well, well! Yongping, you've been missing all day long—you must be up to something shady! Could it be you were sneaking off to date Zhou Qingqing?"
Hearing this, the eldest of the roommates quickly shifted his gaze away from his computer screen, glanced in Qin Yongping's direction, and chimed in with a solemn nod, "Mm, if you ask me, the odds of that are remarkably high!"
Faced with such baseless speculation from his roommates, Qin Yongping shook his head helplessly and explained, "Oh, would you guys stop guessing blindly? I wasn't in the dorm all day purely because my wound needed dressing. It's not nearly as complicated as you're making it out to be."
At that moment, the second roommate suddenly sniffed around Qin Yongping like a little puppy, then declared with a straight face, "Ha, I can vouch for him—there really is a strong medicinal smell on Yongping. So I'd say he's telling the truth."
Yet Fourth Brother clearly still didn't believe it and kept pressing relentlessly: "Even if you really went to get your wound dressed, it couldn't possibly have been Zhou Qingqing who accompanied you the whole time, could it?"
"Are you going through menopause? Why are you so suspicious?" Qin Yongping frowned, looking dissatisfied.
"You're the one in menopause! Your whole family is in menopause! This young master is eighteen, in the prime of his life, and youth unbeatable, all right?" Fourth Brother widened his eyes and retorted indignantly.
"Alright, alright, stop bickering, you two! Don't listen to Fourth Brother's nonsense; the guy never takes anything seriously. Come on, let's head to the cafeteria together. By the time we eat, it'll almost be time to gather," the second roommate said with a smile, stepping in to smooth things over.
And so, the four roommates set off toward the cafeteria together, chatting and laughing all the way in high spirits. Just then, they suddenly noticed Zhou Qingqing walking toward them from not far ahead. With her graceful figure and lovely face, she was quite a sight.
"Hi, Zhou Qingqing! What a coincidence. Are you and your dorm mates heading to the cafeteria too?" Qin Yongping took the initiative to greet her.
Zhou Qingqing smiled and nodded. "Yes, what a coincidence. Does your wound still hurt? Has your body recovered? Let's walk and talk."
"It stopped hurting ages ago. Thanks for asking," Qin Yongping said with a smile.
Just like that, the group of eight walked along together. However, Fourth Brother's gaze remained glued to Zhou Qingqing's roommates, his eyes practically popping out of his head—he looked completely infatuated.
Watching Fourth Brother's antics, Qin Yongping couldn't help but be secretly amused. He figured this guy really fell for every pretty face he saw, but as a roommate, he still needed to look out for him. So, he gently bumped Fourth Brother's shoulder and lowered his voice. "Hey, buddy, tone it down a bit, will you? Your eyeballs are about to pop out! But hey... hehe, if you're interested in one of them, you'd better seize the opportunity!"
Hearing this, Fourth Brother felt a bit embarrassed for a second, but quickly recovered his usual demeanor and replied with a cheeky grin, "Ah, I know! But I still need my brothers to help out, you see? Aren't there three other girls with her over there? Go on, introduce us."
Hearing this, the eldest turned to look at Qin Yongping and shot him a knowing look. Understanding immediately, Qin Yongping walked up with a smile to strike up a conversation with Zhou Qingqing and the others. After introducing their respective roommates, everyone grew familiar with one another before long, and the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious. As for Fourth Brother, he seized the chance to chat animatedly with one of the girls, a blissful smile plastered across his face.
"What kind of performance is your class preparing for the welcome gala tonight?" Chen Xiaohua, standing beside Zhou Qingqing, asked with curiosity.
Hearing this, Li Jianfeng immediately replied, "Our class chose a dance. What about your class?"
Chen Xiaohua gave a slight shrug and said with a hint of helplessness, "Our class originally planned on a dance too, but somehow it got changed to a solo vocal performance later on."
Right at that moment, Mo Jiali, who had been chatting idly with Fourth Brother, chimed in, "I've actually heard something about that. Word is there's some young master in our class whose uncle is a director at Guanghai City People's Hospital—the guy's got some serious backing! This young master is dead set on singing a solo at the welcome gala to confess his feelings to a certain girl he fancies and launch a fierce courtship offensive!"
Faced with such gossip, however, Fourth Brother couldn't care less and casually replied, "Oh, never mind all that. I'm just here to enjoy the show in peace." With that, he resumed laughing and bantering with the others.
"Let's go... gathering time is almost here," Qin Yongping reminded them.
"Alright, beauties, we can chat more next time," Fourth Brother said with a smile.
Stepping into the school plaza felt like plunging into an ocean of joy. It was already a sea of people, bustling with activity, while the stage flashed with colorful lights like dazzling stars in the night sky. The sheer scale of it was magnificent, resembling a grand celebration that made one's heart race.