Inside the independent bedroom of the dormitory, the originally quiet and peaceful atmosphere from flipping through an old photo album had completely changed its flavor at some unknown point.
The photo album was casually set aside on the nightstand.
Su Bai's unique scent had completely enveloped Xia Lin.
Faced with Su Bai's increasingly bold movements, Xia Lin's cheeks were now as red as a ripe apple.
A lingering trace of reason made her try to regain her authority and posture as a counselor in front of Su Bai.
She reached out her pale hands, pressing them against Su Bai's solid and broad chest. Suppressing the tremble and charm in her voice, she put on a stern face and scolded with feigned seriousness, Su Bai! Stop it right now! Don't forget this is the school dormitory. I am your counselor, how can you be in my dorm... Mmph!
However, this completely non-threatening scolding acted as a catalyst that added fuel to the fire for Su Bai.
He grew even more excited.
Xia, isn't it a bit too late to try and use your identity as a counselor to pressure me now?
Su Bai chuckled softly. Not only did he not stop, but he became even more presumptuous.
Facts proved that a counselor's authority was completely useless at a time like this.
The sounds of protest quickly dissolved into noises that left much to the imagination.
Su Bai had Xia Lin hold onto the small desk in the bedroom. Hmm, this position was excellent!
It perfectly highlighted the advantages of Xia Lin's figure.
...
An hour later.
Click.
In the quiet living room of the suite, the door to Xia Lin's bedroom suddenly swung open.
Immediately after, a beautiful figure with disheveled clothes and messy hair slipped out through the crack of the door like a frightened little rabbit.
At this moment, how could Xia Lin still have even the slightest bit of her usual demeanor as a young lady of Shanghai?
She had a bathrobe haphazardly wrapped around her. Her long, straight legs alternated in the air as she ran barefoot, her pretty face blushing so hard it looked like it might bleed. Looking as guilty as a thief, she bolted straight into the suite's shared bathroom.
Bang! The bathroom door was quickly locked from the inside, followed by the splash of running water.
On the living room sofa.
The roommate, who wore thick black-framed glasses on her nose and had been struggling with her thesis, froze completely.
She paused mid-page turn, staring blankly at Xia Lin's fleeing back.
It took a full few seconds before the roommate pushed up her glasses and then let out a pfft, covering her mouth to giggle secretly.
A friendly and gossipy light flickered in the roommate's eyes.
As her best friend, she knew Xia Lin too well.
The old Xia Lin, although gentle and polite to others, had a deep-seated sense of detachment. She was like a lofty flower on a high peak, always so perfect, rational, and dignified, making people feel she lacked a bit of worldly warmth.
But today, watching Xia Lin's flustered appearance as she rushed into the bathroom, mortified and disheveled, the roommate suddenly felt that the current Xia Lin finally seemed like a vibrant girl in her early twenties.
She would also secretly do some bold things with the boy she liked.
It seems that after dating Su Bai, Lin's personality has really become much livelier, the roommate sighed inwardly. Smiling, she shook her head, lowered her eyes back to her book, and tactfully pretended to be invisible.
Over half an hour later, Xia Lin finally finished her shower.
She changed into a modest set of pajamas and, blushing, escorted Su Bai out of the dormitory.
Hurry up and go, you're not allowed to stay here tonight! Xia Lin pushed Su Bai toward the main door, shooing him away in a hushed, embarrassed tone, afraid her roommate might notice something else.
Su Bai smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips before taking his leave, completely satisfied.
Having had his fill, he retreated beautifully.
...
Coming out of the graduate student apartments, the night was already deep.
There were still a few days before Jiangcheng University officially started the semester, and the vast majority of students had not yet returned to campus.
The massive campus seemed exceptionally quiet and empty.
The evening breeze rustled through the trees lining the roads, making a soft swishing sound.
The streetlights stretched Su Bai's shadow out long.
Su Bai was in no rush to drive out of the campus. Instead, with his hands in his pockets, he took advantage of the rare, tranquil night to wander casually along the tree-lined paths, enjoying the coolness of the early spring evening.
Before he knew it, he followed the road to the large track and field near the undergraduate dormitories.
Only a few dim yellow floodlights were on at the field, and the bleachers were completely empty.
However, on this somewhat desolate synthetic track, Su Bai could faintly hear heavy, rhythmic panting and the sound of rubber soles rubbing against the track.
School hasn't even started yet. Who is out here doing drills on the campus track in the middle of the night?
Su Bai raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. He stopped walking and looked through the wire mesh fence toward the track.
By the dim light, Su Bai made out the figure of a boy sweating profusely on the track, his expression fierce as if he were battling some invisible enemy.
That familiar, slightly chubby build, and that unique, somewhat splay-footed running posture.
Oh my, isn't this my Brother Tao!
Su Bai looked closely to make sure he wasn't mistaken.
The boy running so earnestly on the track was actually Xue Tao!
Su Bai called out to him a couple of times.
Xue Tao, who was huffing and puffing with his head down, jumped in fright when he heard someone call his name.
He stopped, resting his hands on his knees as he gasped heavily for air, and turned to look in the direction of the voice.
Holy crap? Brother Bai!
Upon seeing it was Su Bai, Xue Tao wiped the heavy sweat from his forehead and walked over to the wire fence, his face full of surprise. Why are you at school? In the middle of the night, shouldn't you be sleeping with some girl?
Ever since he learned about Su Bai's exploits with his many female companions, Xue Tao had completely conceded. Nowadays, he had no intention of competing with Su Bai whatsoever...
On the other hand, he had plenty of his own messy troubles to deal with. Not to mention anything else, just his two romantic experiences from the previous semester were enough to keep him busy.
Liu Yuanyuan and Huang Ran—neither of them were easy to deal with.
I was too full, so I came out for a walk. But what about you? There are still a few days before school starts. Why didn't you stay comfortably at home a bit longer? Why did you run back to the school dorms so early? And why are you out here running like a crazy person in the middle of the night?
It would have been fine if he hadn't brought it up, but the moment he did, Xue Tao's still-panting face instantly fell, revealing a look of extreme frustration and despair.
Don't bring it up, Brother Bai, it's a long, tearful story!
Xue Tao took a tissue to wipe his face, let out a long sigh, and spoke with a tone full of bitterness:
I didn't want to come back this early either! I severely overspent my living allowance last semester, and my parents lectured me to death over the New Year! So I hurried back to live at school to lay low and avoid the storm.
...
To be honest, with the way Xue Tao spent, overspending was only natural.
Just when they first enrolled, the way Brother Tao spent money on Liu Yuanyuan wasn't something a normal college student's living allowance could sustain.
Su Bai asked, Don't tell me you've been spending a lot of money on Huang Ran recently too?
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
