Each Shows Their Own Special Skill

The next morning.

Long Aotian slept in blissfully in his dorm room.

Yesterday had been exhausting—going out with a girl was somehow more tiring than a whole day of military training.

As a result, Long Aotian, who never slept in, broke his own rule and indulged in a rare lazy morning.

"Old Ao, wake up, wake up."

Feeling someone shaking his arm, Long Aotian groggily opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw were his three "adopted sons" already dressed and ready, which snapped him slightly more awake. "What's going on? Is today some special occasion?"

Aside from the first day of formal registration, when had they ever looked this put-together during military training? For a moment, Long Aotian wondered if he'd missed some important date.

"Wake up first. Xu Shuai managed to get a date with Wang Lijuan yesterday, but the guy chickened out. As his sworn fathers, it's our duty to step in when needed."

"Shut up, you little brat! Who are you calling my father?" Xu Shuai immediately protested.

"Remember who brought you food last time..." Li Longlong began, but before he could finish—

Xu Shuai grinned sheepishly. "Father, father..."

When it came to choosing between pride and free meals, Xu Shuai wisely chose the latter.

Huang Fei snapped his notebook shut with a decisive clap, his expression grave. "Enough theory. It's time for real action!"

Seeing his three "sons" so serious, Long Aotian didn't hesitate. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his clothes. "Wait for me—I'll wash up!"

Ten minutes later.

The four legendary figures of Dorm 147 stood in a row as they marched out of the building.

"Damn, we look way too cool right now."

"Stop talking—it ruins the vibe."

"Right. Today is Xu Shuai's show. Let's keep it low-key."

"Long Aotian's right. Today's my day—you guys better not steal my spotlight." Xu Shuai flicked his hair dramatically. "Just make sure to back me up so I can impress Wang Lijuan properly."

"So, where are we headed?"

"The badminton court." Xu Shuai swung an imaginary racket through the air. "It's my best sport—perfect for showing off."

"Relax, I'm not interested in Wang Lijuan," Huang Fei said coolly, one hand tucked in his pocket.

"Yeah, my heart still belongs to Han Xiaojing," Li Longlong added, tossing his own hair.

Xu Shuai smirked. "Wang Lijuan's roommates are coming too. Why else would I drag you two along? With just Long Aotian and me, it'd be too easy."

"Hey now, Father, no need to be so formal!"

"I've seen girls change moods faster than flipping pages, but you're giving them a run for their money!" Long Aotian teased.

As they chatted, they arrived at the badminton court.

Suddenly, Xu Shuai, who was leading the charge, came to an abrupt halt.

"What's wrong?"

His face was so serious that even Long Aotian and the others tensed up.

After a long pause, Xu Shuai finally spoke. "I think my phone just vibrated. Maybe Lijuan texted—"

Before he could finish, the other three lunged at him. "You idiot! Scaring us like that!"

Xu Shuai just laughed, brushing off the kicks as he pulled out his phone. "Just lightening the mood. No harm done."

He glanced at the screen.

"Lijuan and her roommates are already inside. Let's head in."

Since it was a weekend morning, the badminton court wasn't crowded.

The moment they entered, they spotted four graceful figures stretching.

Forget looks—just their figures alone were a sight to behold.

Xu Shuai gulped. "Brothers, remember—today's my day. Don’t show me up."

"You didn’t say Shen Mengjie would be here!"

"You didn’t say Han Xiaojing would be here either!"

Huang Fei and Li Longlong immediately started fixing their hair and clothes upon seeing Shen Mengjie and Han Xiaojing.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing? We agreed today was my spotlight!" Xu Shuai panicked.

"Sorry, bro. Today, it’s every man for himself!"

With a mischievous grin, Huang Fei sprinted toward Shen Mengjie.

"Damn, I knew you were shameless, but this is next level! Wait for me!" Li Longlong raced after him.

"Wait! Guys! It’s my day!" Xu Shuai flustered but quickly recovered, chasing after them.

Long Aotian couldn’t help but laugh at the scene. These guys were too much.

The girls had noticed the boys the moment they walked in.

The looks of surprise on the boys' faces didn’t escape them either.

Just as boys liked girls for their looks, personality, or charm, girls enjoyed the thrill of being noticed and pursued.

"Xiaojing, I told you Long Aotian would come," Shen Mengjie whispered into Han Xiaojing’s ear.

At this, the tips of Han Xiaojing’s ears turned pink.

Wang Lijuan and their other roommate, Zhang Mengmeng, nudged Han Xiaojing playfully. Their teasing smiles said it all.

"Your sisters sacrificed their dignity to set this up. Don’t waste it," Wang Lijuan teased.

"Stop it! You’re embarrassing me!" Han Xiaojing buried her face in her hands.

"Fine, fine, we’re just joking. Right, Mengmeng? Why don’t you jump around a bit in front of Long Aotian later?" Shen Mengjie joked.

Zhang Mengmeng immediately turned away, flustered.

While Zhang Mengmeng wasn’t the most striking in looks among the four, her figure was undeniably the best. The phrase "if you can’t see your toes when you look down, you’re a goddess" fit her perfectly.

Unlike Han Xiaojing’s quiet elegance, Zhang Mengmeng was shy and reserved.

Now, her cheeks burned red at the suggestion.

"Oh, so you’re all roommates?" Huang Fei was the first to reach them, but once there, he blanked on what to say and ended up blurting something random.

Shen Mengjie smirked. "You never asked."

Compared to her roommates, Shen Mengjie was practically a veteran in these matters.

Seeing her smile at him, Huang Fei ducked his head, grinning like an idiot.

"H-Hi," Li Longlong, slower than Huang Fei (who was a sprinter), finally reached Han Xiaojing and greeted her softly.

Han Xiaojing nodded slightly, but her gaze drifted past him to Long Aotian, who lingered a few steps behind.

"Lijuan, c-can I call you that?" Xu Shuai stood awkwardly in front of Wang Lijuan. Online, he was smooth as butter, but face-to-face, his confidence had vanished.

"With so many people around? Have some shame," Wang Lijuan rolled her eyes.

Although he got an eye-roll, Xu Shuai felt pretty happy—after all, she hadn’t outright rejected him, right?

Besides, didn’t Old Huang’s Ten Core Theories of Romance say that the key to chasing girls was having a thick skin? Xu Shuai might not have many strengths, but being shameless was definitely one of them.

"Hello, I’m Long Aotian," Long Aotian introduced himself with a smile as he approached Zhang Mengmeng.

"Hi, I’m Zhang Mengmeng," she replied softly in return.

And just like that, the eight of them had unintentionally split into pairs during this first meeting.