Xu Ze sat down at the computer belonging to the dorm’s “big brother” with a faint smile. He was the only one in the dorm without a computer, not because he couldn’t afford one, but because he didn’t need it. He rarely had time to stay in the dorm, and even when he did, the “big brother” was often out, so he could use his computer whenever he needed.
It had been over half a month since Xu Ze last touched the internet, so logging on now felt like a rare treat.
He opened QQ, which he hadn’t used in weeks. As soon as it loaded, it started beeping incessantly. Aside from countless messages from two group chats in his department, there were also messages from Xiao Hao and Xiao Min, sent at some point.
“Bro, you there? Our department won the basketball championship again yesterday! Haha…” The exuberant tone was unmistakably Xiao Hao’s.
“Bro, have you been busy lately? Don’t work too hard, okay?”
“Bro, we’re about to have a violin competition soon. I’m a bit nervous. I don’t know if I’ll make it to the finals!”
Reading this, Xu Ze couldn’t help but smile. Qing’er, this girl, was still the same as always—forever the little sister in front of him.
He checked the timestamp of the last message: March 21st, just yesterday. Xu Ze quickly typed a reply: “Qing’er, you’ve got this! I believe in you. You’re the talented girl of Normal University, and you’ve always done well in past competitions. This time, aim for first place! Even if you don’t get first, second is still great!”
After sending the message, there was no immediate reply. It seemed Qing’er wasn’t online at the moment.
Xu Ze left QQ running and opened Xing University’s forum, casually browsing through it.
The Xing University forum was the official student forum, bustling with activity. Any major events on campus would spread like wildfire there, so most students checked the forum first thing when they went online to see if anything interesting had happened.
As Xu Ze scrolled through the forum, he was surprised to find that the fight he had been involved in had made it to the gossip section. The post was highlighted, complete with photos. While the pictures didn’t clearly show his face, there were several sharp, clear shots of Sun Lingfei in action, as well as a detailed photo of the broken jade Buddha.
The post also included a summary of the incident, with the individuals involved referred to as “Xu from a certain department” and “Tao from a certain department.” The description of the event was fairly accurate.
Xu Ze stared at the photos, his expression growing darker. The image of someone he had buried deep in his heart resurfaced, and a dull ache began to throb in his chest. Looking at the familiar figure in the photos, he murmured, “Is he really that great? Sure, he’s richer than me, but will he truly treat you well?”
Just as he was lost in thought, the dorm door suddenly opened. Xu Ze quickly composed himself and turned to see Luozi, the “big brother” of the dorm, walking in with a bruised face.
Xu Ze was shocked, and a surge of anger rose within him. He slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Luozi. “What happened? Who dared mess with you?”
Seeing Xu Ze’s furious expression, Luozi grinned, though the movement pulled at his injured lip, making him wince. He covered his mouth and chuckled, “This fight was worth it. Our Xu Ze is finally showing some manliness. It’s no good always being so mild-mannered.”
“Uh…” Xu Ze was taken aback, frowning slightly. Ever since the last fight, he had indeed noticed changes in himself. His personality seemed different. In the past, if he had seen Luozi get into a fight like this, he wouldn’t have reacted with such anger and impulsiveness.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Xu Ze looked at Luozi and asked, “What happened? Does it have something to do with me?”
“Today, we were playing basketball against the Economics department, and Tao Zhixiong was there. I didn’t recognize him at first, but then I saw Zhang Linyun and realized who he was.” Luozi smirked, though it clearly hurt to do so. “That guy bumped into one of our players and started acting all high and mighty. So, I punched him and knocked out two of his teeth. When everyone found out it was Tao Zhixiong, they all jumped in. We had a good brawl with the Economics guys. Sure, we got a bit banged up, but we didn’t lose. Heh… Tao Zhixiong will probably be laid up for a few days.”