One wave subsides, another arises.

Chen Zhi pushed open the door to dorm room 404.

He was beaming, walking with a spring in his step.

Guo Yang was wearing headphones, slaughtering his way through the Rift, just as a "Defeat" sign popped up on his screen.

Cursing under his breath, he pulled off his headphones, turning around only to be met with Chen Zhi's ear-to-ear grin.

Guo Yang froze for a second, looking Chen Zhi up and down.

"Old Chen, what's with that look?" Guo Yang pushed his keyboard forward. "Did you find money on the street? Or win five million in the lottery? You're grinning from ear to ear."

The bathroom door swung open, and Zhang Tianyang walked out, wiping his face with a towel, joining in on the fun.

"Brother Chen's vibe is definitely off today. Looking all flushed and radiant, he definitely ran into some good luck."

Chen Zhi nearly choked on his mineral water.

He couldn't exactly tell these single dogs that last night he had not only slept with the newly crowned Queen of Pop, but also brought back a highly commemorative white towel, could he?

Chen Zhi casually spun a lie.

"It's nothing, just that our crappy little startup had some good luck recently and secured some investment, so I'm in a pretty good mood today."

"Holy crap!"

Guo Yang slapped his thigh and jumped right out of his chair.

"You got funding? For real?!"

Li Zicong, who was lying in bed scrolling through his phone, sat up upon hearing this and poked his head out.

"Old Chen, not bad! Hasn't your broken-down company been on the verge of bankruptcy forever? Which sucker did you manage to fool this time? How much did they invest?"

Chen Zhi leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and waved his hand with utmost modesty.

"Not much, just a little bit. Barely enough to cover a few months' salaries."

He couldn't very well say that it was billions of US dollars, plus Zhang Yiming lining up trying to give him money.

"Who cares how much? Getting investment makes you a boss!" Guo Yang's eyes lit up as he rushed over and threw an arm around Chen Zhi's shoulders. "Boss Chen, on such a joyous day, shouldn't you show some appreciation? We brothers haven't had a proper meat dish in ages!"

Zhang Tianyang nodded frantically beside them.

"Exactly, Brother Chen, how about Beihua Hotpot? Or that grilled fish place at the East Gate works too!"

Li Zicong climbed down from his bed, shuffled over in his slippers, and patted Chen Zhi on the shoulder.

"Old Chen, don't be a cheapskate. You have to bleed a little for this meal today. If you don't treat us, you'll have to call us 'Daddy' in the dorm from now on."

Chen Zhi looked at his three eager roommates, feeling secretly pleased.

He waved his hand grandly, full of heroic spirit.

"Alright! I'm in a good mood today, so I'll definitely treat you right!"

Guo Yang rubbed his hands together excitedly. "What are we eating? I'll change my clothes right now!"

Chen Zhi held up a single finger and spoke with resounding force.

"Outside the South Gate, braised chicken and rice. Tonight's expenses are all covered by Young Master Chen. Large portions, extra meat, extra eggs, order whatever you want!"

The dorm room instantly fell silent.

Guo Yang's smile froze on his face.

Zhang Tianyang stopped wiping his face.

Li Zicong rolled his eyes dramatically and turned to climb back into bed.

"Damn it! What a waste of my feelings!" Guo Yang raised a middle finger. "Old Chen, you're never going to change your stingy ways in this lifetime. You get funding and you treat us to braised chicken? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"Eat it or don't." Chen Zhi dangled his leg nonchalantly. "If you don't go, I'll just save some money."

"We're going! Why wouldn't we go!" Guo Yang gritted his teeth. "Large portion, extra meat, extra egg, extra enoki mushrooms. I'm going to eat you into bankruptcy today!"

Half an hour later, the four of them were sitting in that greasy little braised chicken joint outside the South Gate.

The proprietress brought out four steaming clay pots.

The rich sauce was bubbling away, the chicken stewed to a tender perfection.

Chen Zhi snapped apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, picked up a piece of chicken thigh meat, and popped it into his mouth.

Perhaps because he was in such a good mood, everything tasted delicious right now.

Guo Yang turned his grief and indignation into an appetite, dumping all his rice into the clay pot and stirring furiously.

Li Zicong shoveled rice into his mouth while propping his phone screen up on the table.

The screen was playing a highlight clip from the finale of "Singer."

Li Zicong clicked his tongue.

"Did you guys watch Singer? This is Taylor! She was literally dropped in out of nowhere as a guest performer!"

Guo Yang chimed in, his words muffled by food. "Watched it, watched it. The top ten trending topics on Weibo were completely monopolized by Lin Wanwan. I heard Mango TV's servers crashed twice."

Zhang Tianyang pushed up his glasses and analyzed, "How much money would you have to throw around to invite an international superstar like that? And to have her change her schedule at the last minute, the capital power behind that is terrifying just to think about."

"Money is one thing, but the key is connections and resources." Li Zicong put on the air of a know-it-all, lowering his voice. "I heard from people in my dad's circle that the backstage at Hunan Broadcasting System was directly taken over last night. Zhou Chengyu from Huayu Entertainment, who is usually so arrogant, didn't even dare to utter a peep when his finale spot was snatched away."

Li Zicong took a bite of rice and continued gossiping.

"What Lin Wanwan said on stage at the end was obviously meant for her boyfriend. To dare to make a semi-public confession right after winning the championship, she's not even afraid of losing fans."

"What fans is she going to lose when she has a big shot backing her up?" Guo Yang said sourly. "This big shot is seriously badass. If I had that kind of power, I'd go keep a female celebrity too."

Chen Zhi sat across from them, quietly picking the ginger slices out of his clay pot.

Suppressing a smile, he deliberately played along with their conversation.

"It is pretty impressive," Chen Zhi chimed in. "Probably some bald, middle-aged guy in his forties or fifties, just got a lot of money."

"Old Chen, this is classic rich-hating mentality." Li Zicong pointed at him with his chopsticks. "What if he's a young, promising, and talented guy?"

"A young and talented guy would be interested in her?" Chen Zhi curled his lip, looking very disdainful.

Li Zicong stared at Chen Zhi for a moment, then suddenly frowned.

He put down his chopsticks, leaned in to carefully examine Chen Zhi's face, and then looked at his neck.

"Old Chen, why do I feel like your vibe today is just as nourished as that mysterious big shot who got confessed to by the Queen of Pop?"

Chen Zhi's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained as steady as an old dog.

He didn't even bat an eyelid, continuing to pick up his rice.

"It's a pity you don't write novels with that imagination of yours. If I were that big shot, would I still be sitting here eating fifteen-yuan braised chicken with you guys?"

Guo Yang nodded vigorously beside him. "Brother Cong, you're overthinking it. With Old Chen being this stingy, he even mooches off me to buy a pack of cigarettes."

Li Zicong thought about it and felt it made sense.

Deep Space Technology, the company rumored to be valued at tens of billions, might have a boss surnamed Chen who also attended Peking University, but no matter how you looked at it, he didn't resemble this slouchy roommate in front of him.

"True." Li Zicong picked up his chopsticks again. "If you were that big shot, I'd fucking call you grandpa straight up."

Chen Zhi looked up and gave him a kindly smile.

"Good grandson, eat up. If it's not enough, grandpa will add another egg for you."

"Screw you!"

The meal of braised chicken was lively and bustling.

Chen Zhi went to the counter to pay the bill, which came to a total of sixty-eight yuan.

The four of them walked back to school with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Just as they reached the South Gate, the phone in Chen Zhi's pocket suddenly vibrated.

He took out his phone and glanced at the screen.

The smile on his face faded instantly.

Caller ID: Li Zhiyi.

Chen Zhi's mind raced.

Lately, he had been in Shanghai accompanying Pei Ningxue on a business trip and haggling with NIO. Right after landing back in Beijing, he had gone straight to see Lin Wanwan, leaving Li Zhiyi completely out in the cold the entire time.

Although he had brushed her off with a few perfunctory WeChat messages in between, Li Zhiyi had definitely sensed something.

Chen Zhi slowed his pace, dropping a few meters behind his roommates, and pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Zhiyi." Chen Zhi's voice seamlessly switched into its gentle mode.

The other end of the line was dead quiet.

There was only the faint sound of breathing.

A full five seconds passed before Li Zhiyi's voice finally came through.

"Chen Zhi, are you back in Beijing?"

"I am. I just landed a little while ago," Chen Zhi lied without batting an eye. "Something urgent came up at the company that I need to deal with. I was planning to come see you a bit later."

"There's no need for later."

Li Zhiyi's voice was still very soft, like a dandelion that could be scattered by the wind at any moment.

"I'm right downstairs at your dorm building." Li Zhiyi paused before adding, "I just saw your roommates. How long until you get here?"

Chen Zhi's head snapped up.

His gaze shot down the tree-lined path ahead.

There, beneath the giant sycamore tree outside Dormitory 404, stood a girl with long, flowing hair, waiting in perfect silence.