Chapter 48

Chapter 48

“You can change rooms just by throwing money at the problem?”

Just because Qiao Yu was reluctant to spend money didn’t mean others felt the same way.

A male streamer asked curiously, “Does that mean money can settle other things too?”

“I don’t know about other things, but the Dorm Superintendent is pretty greedy,” Shang Yan shrugged, looking like he didn’t want to talk much more about it.

Seeing Shang Yan’s cold and indifferent attitude, the man tactfully shut his mouth.

Their dormitory was at full capacity. The other four streamers all seemed to have plenty of experience with instances; at the very least, they appeared calm on the surface.

Their student numbers were No. 14, No. 15, No. 16, and No. 17. No. 14 was a man of few words and had a very well-behaved look. After entering, he read the Dormitory Rules by the door and silently began organizing his belongings.

No. 15 seemed a bit flighty. He was the guy who had just spoken to Shang Yan, and he looked a bit like a monkey, unable to sit still for a second.

No. 16 was shrewd and refined, looking like a top student-though whether he actually was one remained to be seen.

As for the last one, No. 17, he was a bit strange…

He missed his step and nearly fell while climbing into his bunk; he accidentally jammed his hand against the wall while making his bed; and while clearing his desk, he somehow tripped over nothing and slammed his head.

With a loud *thud*, Qiao Yu winced in sympathy.

He couldn’t help but hiss through his teeth, but that sound nearly made the guy snap. The man turned around and glared fiercely at Qiao Yu.

*Why are you glaring at me? It’s not my fault you’re unlucky!*

Just as Qiao Yu was about to mock him, a knock sounded at the door.

No. 15 looked relieved at the sound, glad that the explosive atmosphere hadn’t turned into an actual fight. He enthusiastically ran forward and pulled open the dormitory door.

A short guy with slightly curly hair stood outside. The moment the door opened, he tried to poke his head inside to look around.

No. 15 cautiously shifted his body to block the visitor’s line of sight and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

The boy stared with large, watery eyes. “I’m looking for my dad.”

“Huh?”

The boy pushed him aside impatiently. No. 15 stumbled and was shoved behind the door.

One really couldn’t tell from his small, thin frame, but he was surprisingly strong.

No. 15 quickly grabbed the doorknob to steady himself, watching as the boy rushed in like an arrow shot from a bow. He ran straight toward the bed of No. 18 with a look of deep emotion. “Dad!”

Qiao Yu: “…Man-Eating Crocodile?”

Brother Crocodile wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, overcome with excitement. “Dad, it really is you!”

The hint of a smile on Qiao Yu’s face vanished instantly. He asked expressionlessly, “Are you Xiao Qian?”

“What?”

“Because you’re haunting me.”

Brother Crocodile didn’t care how much Qiao Yu mocked him. Regardless of the circumstances, he was going to cling to this powerful thigh first and talk later.

He had actually spotted Qiao Yu back at the school gate. Perhaps because the other’s appearance had changed significantly, and because that Demon Class Advisor had been there the whole time, he had suppressed his excitement and hadn’t stepped forward to introduce himself immediately.

Now that he had just finished picking up his bedding, he had sprinted over to Dormitory 305, terrified that Qiao Yu might forget him.

Just as he was feeling moved beyond words at finding his protector, a slightly displeased voice suddenly drifted over: “Where did you get such a big son? Care to explain?”

Qiao Yu was truly fed up. Ever since they met, this guy had been chasing him for explanations. Did he really owe Shang Yan that many explanations?

Brother Crocodile involuntarily let go of Qiao Yu’s leg and looked over blankly.

Uh… he looked a bit familiar.

“Who are you?”

Shang Yan thought for a moment. “I might be your… Mom?”

Man-Eating Crocodile: (O_o)??

Qiao Yu kicked him in annoyance. “Stop talking nonsense!”

He then looked at Man-Eating Crocodile and noticed his student number was No. 20, which meant he should be next door. “You’re in 306?”

“Yeah.” Brother Crocodile nodded obediently, his eyes still fixed on Shang Yan.

*Why does he look so familiar? Where have I seen him before?*

Logically, he should have a deep impression of such a handsome youth if he’d seen him. Why couldn’t he remember?

“Friend, what’s your ID?”

Shang Yan sat on the bed, swinging his legs casually. “Who’s your friend? Call me Mom.”

Qiao Yu rolled his eyes. “You’re really flexible, aren’t you? Top or bottom, you can do it all.”

Shang Yan cleared his throat and leaned halfway off the bed, leaning in close to whisper, “Let me correct you. It’s true I’m flexible, but I can only be on top, never the bottom.”

“I can’t be on the bottom either!”

“Can’t you make an exception? We’ve been at loggerheads over this for so long, we have to settle who’s on top and who’s on the bottom eventually.”

The only reason Shang Yan hadn’t been beaten up yet was truly thanks to his face.

“Who’s settling anything with you? Have you no shame?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“If you ‘tsk’ one more time, believe it or not, I’ll knock your teeth out.”
“Fine, I’ll listen to you. But is there really no room for negotiation on this?”

Qiao Yu pushed the man back with a look of disgust. “…Get lost!”

Was there no end to this? Every single one of them was abnormal.

He hopped off the bed, ignoring No. 17 who was glaring at them like a hawk, and picked up the School Rule Handbook from the table to flip through it.

The School Rules seemed normal enough at first glance, but they were far more severe than those of an ordinary school, with the language conveying a heavy sense of coercion.

From the classroom to the cafeteria, from the dormitories to the breaks between classes, the rules were listed one after another in dense, overwhelming detail. It was enough to make anyone’s heart sink.

“There are so many,” Man-Eating Crocodile muttered as he leaned in to look at the tiny printed text, shaking his head. “I don’t think I can memorize all of this.”

“Then don’t come crying to me when you’re being punished~” Qiao Yu said with a look of pity.

Brother Crocodile looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears left. Resigned to his fate, he followed Qiao Yu’s lead and began studying the School Rules.

The dormitory suddenly fell silent. In the darkness, each person used a mobile phone for light. No one disturbed anyone else, all of them desperately clinging to their lives.

After a while, Shang Yan closed his booklet and turned off his phone, then leaned over the desk and closed his eyes to rest.

Brother Crocodile had just finished memorizing the section on classroom discipline. Seeing Shang Yan asleep on the desk, he couldn’t help but advise, “Don’t give up! Get up and memorize the School Rules. What if you’re called on to recite them tomorrow?”

Shang Yan buried his face in the crook of his arm. It was unclear if he even heard the man, but he didn’t respond.

Brother Crocodile grew a bit anxious. Since the other guy was essentially on his ‘father’s’ side, he couldn’t just leave him be.

Qiao Yu couldn’t watch any longer. He used his booklet to swat away Brother Crocodile’s hand as it reached toward Shang Yan and hissed, “Mind your own business. He’s already finished memorizing them.”

Man-Eating Crocodile was stunned. “??”

As a top student from medical school, memorizing things was child’s play for Shang Yan. Such talent wasn’t something one could simply envy.

By the time it was nearly six in the evening, Qiao Yu was the second person to finish memorizing the School Rules. The others in the dorm had long since succumbed to hunger and run off to scout out the cafeteria.

He closed the School Rule Handbook and stretched, his gaze shifting naturally toward the person sleeping beside him.

Shang Yan was still in the same sleeping position as before, half his face buried in his elbow while the other half was exposed. His skin was slightly flushed, looking exquisite and beautiful. The difference was that when he was asleep, the streak of perversity usually hidden between his brows had vanished, making him look exceptionally gentle and harmless.

In a corner where no one was watching, Qiao Yu stared silently for a long time. Then, as if possessed, he leaned in closer. His gaze slowly drifted over the other man’s moist, crimson thin lips, and he subconsciously swallowed hard.

He… kind of wanted to kiss him.

But he couldn’t do that. What happened before hadn’t even been cleared up yet!

Qiao Yu lamented the missed opportunity in his heart. Just as he turned his gaze away, he unexpectedly collided with a pair of amber eyes inches away from his own.

Qiao Yu: “…”

Although the man possessed a beauty that surpassed most people, he was not actually a good-tempered person.

Those eyes were beautiful, but there seemed to be a twilight mist swirling in their depths, blurring together into an unreadable mess of emotions…

Goosebumps instantly broke out on Qiao Yu’s arms. Just as he tried to pull away, his wrist was suddenly seized.

In that moment, he felt as if his wrist bone was about to be crushed.

The mist in Shang Yan’s eyes deepened, as if he had finally found a vent for the emotions accumulated in his heart. His voice was unusually hoarse. “Should I sleep a little longer?”

“Sleep if you want to, why are you asking me?” Qiao Yu said, pulling hard on his wrist.

In the next second, a sense of weightlessness followed. The force on his wrist pulled Qiao Yu’s body forward again, bringing those two well-shaped thin lips right back in front of his eyes.

Qiao Yu lowered his gaze, his long, thick eyelashes trembling like a butterfly about to take flight with nowhere to land.

It took a long while for Qiao Yu to calm his frantic heartbeat. He stammered, “School Rule… School Rule Number Sixteen… Students are prohibited from… from being too intimate…”

His voice grew smaller and smaller as he spoke. His usually sharp tongue seemed to have regressed, and his usual arrogance was nowhere to be found.

Shang Yan took the opportunity to release Qiao Yu’s wrist. Catching a glimpse of the red mark on the skin out of the corner of his eye, the heavy mist in his sharp eyes dissipated. His fingertips turned a faint shade of pink as he slowly and gently rubbed the small patch of delicate skin beneath his thumb.

Qiao Yu clenched his fist uncomfortably, starting to consider how to escape.

But then, a sudden chuckle sounded in his ear. Shang Yan leaned close to his ear, his warm breath sending a faint itch through Qiao Yu’s earlobe.

“School Rules? You’re certainly quick to apply what you’ve learned. But wasn’t it you who broke the School Rules first?”

Qiao Yu was so embarrassed he could have curled his toes and dug out an entire underground garden. He immediately denied it with a flushed face. “I did not!”

“Fine, you didn’t. Then… is it okay if I want to break the School Rules?”

Qiao Yu’s eyes snapped wide. “No! Are you crazy?!”
How did this man have the face to say such a thing?

Shang Yan let out a soft huff. “Why is it okay for you to want to kiss me, but when I want to kiss you, it’s ‘not okay’ and I’m ‘sick’? Qiao Xiaoyu, don’t be so double-standard.”

“Who wanted to kiss you!” When Qiao Yu heard that familiar nickname, the dormant volcano in his heart erupted once more. He snapped his wrist back and rubbed it against his clothes in disgust.

Shang Yan, however, was relentless. He raised his hand to clasp the back of Qiao Yu’s neck and leaned his forehead gently against Qiao Yu’s shoulder. He looked like a fish stranded on the shore by the tide, relying on a thin mist of water to keep breathing.

Qiao Yu wanted to push him away, but his heart softened at the other man’s sudden display of vulnerability.

Shang Yan whispered… “Don’t move… let me hold you for a while. Just a little while.”

-Holy crap?

-Hello, are you there? I’m watching a survival stream, not a dating show. Can these two exercise some restraint? We have to eat dog food while we’re alive, and now we can’t even catch a break after we’re dead? (Flips over the bowl of dog food.jpg)

-Uh… are these two a thing?

-You’re just realizing this? I’ve felt something was off for a long time.

-Aaaaaah, the ‘white moonlight’ in my heart is tainted! Who is that wild man? I’m going to kill him!

-Wait, that guy looks really familiar. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere. Did I watch his stream before?

-What a coincidence, I have the same feeling, but I just can’t remember.

-Where’s his Live Stream Room? He’s so handsome! Quick! Post the link so I can go check him out.

-…I can’t find it? Is the Live Stream Room bugged?

-&Sadako: I just joined the fan club, and the house collapsed before even a day passed??

-Li Xiaoqin: Heh, love brain!

Qiao Yu looked at the comment section that had suddenly popped up before him, feeling utterly drained of life.

He never dreamed that one day he would be mocked by Li Xiaoqin for having a “love brain”!

He really couldn’t wash his name clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Suddenly, the door to Dormitory 305 was pushed open unexpectedly. Brother Crocodile stood outside, frozen in the middle of the action, his mouth hanging open wide enough to swallow an egg.

“Wait, is he really my mom?”

Qiao Yu immediately pushed away the man who was playing dead on his shoulder and barked in embarrassment, “…Like hell he is!”

“Then why were you two… like that?” Brother Crocodile looked skeptical.

“Because he’s suffering from a lack of adjustment to the environment.”

“And hugging you helps with that?”

“Yes.” Qiao Yu smiled, his teeth grinding with a clicking sound. “Because I specialize in ‘adjusting’ people. Do you want to try?”

Brother Crocodile glanced at Shang Yan, who was looking at him with an unfriendly gaze. He took a cautious step back and waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no, I’m ‘unfit’ for such treatment.”

With that, he fled as if being chased by a ghost.

Qiao Yu: “…”

Great. Now it’s even harder to clear my name.

*Tap, tap, tap.* Messy footsteps drew closer again. Brother Crocodile ran back with a panicked expression, gasping for breath as he stood at the door. “Dad, I-I came back to close the door. You guys continue. No need to thank me, just call me Lei Feng!”

*Bang-*

Qiao Yu: “…”

It’s hopeless. Just let me grow vigorously in the mud, covered in filth.

***

By the time they reached the cafeteria, other classes had just finished. The cafeteria was packed with people, and there was no sign of their other roommates.

After entering, Qiao Yu noticed that the cafeteria only had tables and no chairs; all the students were standing to eat.

In every aisle between the tables stood a man wearing a black T-shirt. These people were like the school’s Execution Squad. Their role was to take away students who didn’t follow the School Rules. As for where they were taken, it was hard to say.

It was already known that one streamer had been taken away on the first day of school, allegedly put into solitary confinement.

The only good news was that no IDs on the streamer list had turned gray yet.

Qiao Yu followed the crowd, picked up a tray, lined up for food, and then found a table to eat.

By coincidence, standing across from him and Shang Yan was one of their roommates, No. 15.

Qiao Yu looked at his tray and noticed that the other boy was only eating a few vegetables, not touching the meat at all.

Seeing this, Qiao Yu reached out and tapped the cafeteria regulations at the bottom right of the table. The third rule stated: Practice the ‘Clear Your Plate’ campaign; leftovers are prohibited.

After tapping it, Qiao Yu picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, and mouthed silently: *Chicken.*

No. 15 froze for a moment, then skeptically picked up a small piece of meat to try. After tasting that it was indeed chicken, the tension between his brows dissipated slightly.

Just then, a loud, vigorous shout came from the service window. The cafeteria auntie waved her spatula to get everyone’s attention.

“Soup’s here! Students who want soup, come line up now!”