At that moment, Wang Peng had just lain down on his bed when his phone rang.
Wang Peng picked it up and saw it was a call from his mom.
"Hello, Mom."
"Hello, Pengpeng. How are things at school? Are you getting used to it?"
"Everything is great."
"Do you have enough money? I just transferred thirty thousand to your card. Let your mother know if it's not enough."
"I haven't even finished spending the money you and Dad gave me before."
"What money I gave you—that was for my future daughter-in-law. Tell me, have you found a girlfriend yet?"
"Mom, my military training is about to start. I'm hanging up now."
Whenever this topic came up, Wang Peng had ten thousand ways to keep his mother at bay.
In Modu, Pudong, inside an office.
A woman dressed in a women's business suit and high heels listened to the beeping tone from her phone and muttered to herself, "Damn Wang Jianguo, turning my precious son into this."
Meanwhile, far away in Beijing, Wang Jianguo, dressed in a Tang suit, was sitting in a tea room leisurely sipping tea.
Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Wang Jianguo sneezed three times in a row.
Rubbing his nose, he muttered, "That son of a bitch must be talking about me."
Wang Jianguo frowned. Surely it couldn't be that woman.
.........
Wang Peng stared at his phone, watching a Douyin video about "ten things to do on a date with your girlfriend."
He muttered, "Aside from eating and watching movies, can't we do something else? We can't just go to the movies every single day."
Wang Peng decided to ask his roommate for some advice.
Wang Peng's phone rang, and he saw a WeChat message from Liu Yiyi.
[Half a Roast Duck]: What is junior doing?
[The Other Half]: Just getting ready to read. We have placement exams right after military training.
[Half a Roast Duck]: Stop reading, junior. I'm hungry. Let's go out to eat.
[The Other Half]: Alright. Which restaurant?
[Half a Roast Duck]: Let's go to the cafeteria in Zhuyuan.
[The Other Half]: Okay, wait for me, senior.
The two arrived at the cafeteria. Seeing it was somewhat empty—since military training wouldn't end for another hour, there weren't many people around yet.
"What does senior want to eat? I'll go buy it," Wang Peng said, looking at her.
"I'll have rice, stir-fried pork, tomatoes with eggs, and braised bean curd skin."
Liu Yiyi went to find a seat. Wang Peng quickly brought the food over and sat down next to her.
Wang Peng watched as she ate in small bites. He had never had the chance to appreciate what she looked like while eating before; she was so quiet and graceful.
Liu Yiyi looked up at him. "Why aren't you eating?"
"It's nothing. It just feels a bit surreal. We've only met a few times, yet you agreed to be my girlfriend. It feels like a dream."
Liu Yiyi's hand stopped mid-motion. She spoke up, "Junior, do you know why I agreed to be your girlfriend? During that time when you went through your ordeal, I could clearly sense your helplessness and confusion from our chats. It made people want to care for you. At first, it might have just been sympathy, but later it gradually turned into a liking—I wanted to step into your world and take a look. Until the very first moment I laid eyes on you, I realized you were exactly the same as the person I had imagined in my mind. You looked sunny and happy on the outside, but deep down there was a trace of guardedness, looking just like an injured little puppy."
Wang Peng listened as she explained why she became his girlfriend.
"Senior, do you know? After my grandparents' accident, there was no one who could stand by my side. Because my parents were at a critical moment in their careers, they couldn't rush back in time. Although neighbors helped handle my grandparents' funeral arrangements, my heart could never be warmed again—until you appeared. Senior, you were a ray of light in my life, shining into my world at a crucial moment, guiding me step by step through my phone until I walked right to your side."
The two of them shared their innermost thoughts.
At that moment, Liu Yiyi glanced at her phone and saw it was already 7:30. "Junior, I have to go. It wouldn't be good if Liu Qing came here to eat after dismissal."
Wang Peng looked at her speechlessly. Just a moment ago, they were sharing their deepest feelings, yet the mood had shifted way too fast.
"Don't worry, senior. I have a plan."
With that, Wang Peng took out his phone and typed a message in the 626 group chat:
[Wang Peng]: @Everyone, I'm at the cafeteria right now. Does anyone need food brought back?
[Wang Dong]: Shredded potatoes over rice.
[Liu Qing]: Chongqing noodles, extra numb and spicy.
[Ye Chen]: Just bring me a bowl of congee; I'm dieting lately.
Conversations among men were always this concise.
Wang Peng looked at Liu Yiyi. "Senior, it's settled. You don't need to rush now."
"Junior, why did you apply for Business Administration?"
"Both my parents run small companies. They want me to take over in the future, and I also want to use the company one day to get them back together. They actually still love each other."
Hearing the words "get back together" brought something to mind, and Liu Yiyi teased him, "Junior, ever since we made things official, it seems you haven't called me wife even once."
Wang Peng scratched his head, not knowing what to say.
.........
Wang Peng pushed open the dormitory door.
"Sons, Dad is back! Come get your food."
"You finally made it back. You're starving your old man!"
As Liu Qing spoke, he snatched his bowl of noodles from Wang Peng's hands.
Watching the three of them eat, Wang Peng was suddenly overcome with a paternal mindset.
After washing his face and coming out of the bathroom, seeing that they were almost done eating, Wang Peng asked, "Wang Dong, how are you supposed to get along with girls usually?"
"Doesn't senior have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah."
"Since senior has a boyfriend, why are you asking me? Are you drooling over someone else's woman?"
At the mention of "drooling over someone else's woman," Wang Dong gave a deliberate cough.
The three of them turned to Wang Peng and said in unison, "Despicable."
Now Wang Peng refused to take this sitting down. "I am senior's boyfriend!"
"Got proof?" This time it was Ye Chen who spoke up. If Wang Peng had also found a girlfriend, he would be the only single dog left in the entire dorm.
"I do." Wang Peng took out a photo of himself and senior, though a little rabbit sticker covered senior's face.
"Oh ho, senior has a pretty good figure," Liu Qing remarked.
Wang Peng couldn't let Liu Qing keep looking at it. He snatched his phone back immediately. If Liu Qing discovered any clues, tomorrow there would be big headlines: *A Male Student at Xinzhou University's Dormitory 626 Murdered; What Kind of Grudge Drove a Roommate of a Few Days to Commit Such a Brutal Act? Is It the Distortion of Human Nature or the Loss of Morality?*
Suddenly—
A roar of "Ah!" echoed through the entire men's dormitory.
"You three dogs! How could you secretly fall in love behind my back? Is coming to Xinzhou a mistake?"
"I miss my fiancée! I want to go back to Beijing!"
"I want to go back to Beijing!"