Serenade

Chapter 5

Jin Xi and her friends stood at the entrance of the Men's Dormitory 8, looking at the huge banner in front of them that read, "Warmly welcome the cute freshman girls to Men's Dormitory 8! Full of vitality! Yeah!"

They couldn't help but feel skeptical about the whole thing. Apart from the banner, many windows and balconies of the dormitory were adorned with pink balloons that swayed in the wind.

Chu Zhao stepped back in fear and asked, "Why do we have to move into the dormitory?"

Lin Luo shuddered and replied, "I have no idea. The people from the National Defense and Sports Academy are so annoying."

Jin Xi silently put on her mask and said, "Can we hurry up and go in? It's embarrassing standing here like this."

Feeling the immense pressure, the girls took heavy steps towards the entrance of the Men's Dormitory 8.

As they approached the entrance, several senior students in white shirts were already waiting for them, eager to assist.

"Good morning, freshmen."

"I'll help you with your luggage."

"Your dorm is in room 410, we'll take you up."

Jin Xi immediately recognized them as the senior students who had snatched her luggage on the first day of registration!

The four students lined up on both sides, welcoming them like hotel staff and escorting them upstairs.

Jin Xi instinctively hid her luggage behind her, still traumatized by their previous encounter.

One of the seniors, upon seeing Jin Xi's red suitcase, turned pale and nudged Nike, saying, "Hey, Shen Pingchuan's sister is here!"

Upon recognizing Jin Xi, even though she was wearing a mask, the other students felt embarrassed.

Nike scratched his head and awkwardly raised his hand, "Hi."

Jin Xi remained aloof and unresponsive.

One of the seniors tried to break the ice and said with an awkward smile, "We meet again, freshman. It's fate that brought us together. Let's cherish this opportunity."

Jin Xi remained silent.

Nike quickly asked with concern, "Are you enjoying your time here? Have you been bullied? Tell us, we'll take care of it for you!"

Jin Xi finally spoke with a cold and guarded tone, "No one has bullied me except for you guys."

The three seniors looked at each other, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

In fact, Jin Xi was quite forgiving, as long as they didn't cause any more trouble for her.

These seniors were selected by Men's Dormitory 8 to welcome the freshman girls, but because of their previous behavior, they were feeling uneasy. They awkwardly escorted the girls back to their dormitory, and then quickly left.

The girls cleaned up their dormitory, chose their beds, and settled in with their personal belongings. The once empty room gradually became warm and cozy, giving them a feeling of home.

During this time, Jin Xi kept hearing rustling outside her door. When she opened it, she saw that her dorm room was piled with all kinds of colorful snacks: potato chips, biscuits, spicy strips, cola, and fruit juice.

Nike and his friends were lurking around the corner in the hallway, cautiously watching her expression.

Jin Xi carried the snacks into her room, and with a flick of her foot, slammed the door shut. She wasn't that easily bought, even though she had no resistance to puffed snacks and cola.

However, in the midst of the pile of snacks, there was also a thin notebook paper with three crooked and ugly characters written on it: "I'm sorry."

Jin Xi raised an eyebrow, and most of her anger dissipated. She decided to forgive them for the sake of all the snacks.

**

That night, Lin Luo and Chu Zhao went to the supermarket again to buy missing household items. Jin Xi didn't need anything, so after she finished tidying up the dorm room, she leaned on the balcony and daydreamed.

Male dormitory had a great view, facing the basketball court. There were hardly any girls in the male dormitory area, but there were plenty of tall, handsome boys playing basketball on the court.

The sun was setting and the sky was getting dark. Jin Xi happened to see Bo Yan's figure walking towards her along the green lawn.

He was wearing a neat military uniform, and his legs continued all the way down to his waist, making him look tall and handsome.

He held his hat in his hand, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his smooth muscle lines. He strolled along, looking absent-minded and carefree, as if he had nothing on his mind.

When he reached the banyan tree, he seemed to sense something and looked up at the dormitory building. Jin Xi exclaimed and quickly crouched down, hiding from his view.

A few minutes later, when she stood up again, the area under the banyan tree was empty, and Bo Yan was nowhere to be seen.

Jin Xi was confused, wondering why she had to hide. She took a shower, blow-dried her hair, and wanted to play games online, so she took out the newly purchased router to set it up.

The school's network services were provided by several different operators, and each operator had a different way of accessing the internet. Jin Xi and her roommates planned to install a wireless wifi in their dormitory.

Jin Xi tinkered with it for a while, but it was all in vain. She had never dealt with this kind of thing before, as Shen Pingchuan used to take care of the router at home.

After the third failed attempt to enter the password, Jin Xi sent a frantic message in the dormitory WeChat group: "Is there anything in this world more stupid than a router?"

Chu Zhao replied, "Yes, like someone who can't even install a router."

Jin Xi replied, "Can you guys fix the network when you come back?"

Chu Zhao replied, "I believe with the power of the three of us..."

Lin Luo interrupted, "We can smash the router to pieces."

Chu Zhao teased, "Oh, it seems like you know a lot about that. [winks]"

Jin Xi sighed and said, "Forget it, I'll think of another solution."

Lin Luo: "Why don't we go next door and ask? The guys there should know how to fix this thing."

Jin Xi: "Sounds like a plan!"

Jin Xi dropped the router and was about to run out when Lin Luo reminded her, "Don't go out in your pajamas. This is the boys' dormitory."

Lin Luo had a point, so Jin Xi opened her closet and grabbed a jacket.

At the end of the corridor on the fourth floor of the boys' dormitory, when Bo Yan finished his shower and came out of the communal bathroom carrying a basin, he thought he saw a white bear cub pawing at his dorm door.

The "little white bear" was wearing a white cotton jacket and a furry hat, and was standing nervously at the door of their room 409, with its ears pressed against the door listening for sounds, occasionally tapping lightly with its snow-white little fists.

Even if someone was inside the room, the gentle knocking sound would hardly be audible.

"Can I help you?" Bo Yan asked.

"Wow!" Suddenly, Jin Xi was startled by his voice and recoiled against the wall, clutching her chest in horror.

The man in front of her had wet bangs and his skin was especially white, with a rosy glow after a shower, and clear, bright eyes.

Jin Xi's gaze fell down and she noticed that he was shirtless, with a broad chest, six-pack abs, and tight-fitting briefs.

There was an obvious bulge in the middle of his briefs.

Jin Xi was horrified and her eyes widened.

Bo Yan awkwardly moved the basin to the front, blocking Jin Xi's strange gaze, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Jin Xi pointed to the opposite door and said, "I live here."

Bo Yan glanced at the tidy dormitory across the hall, which had already been fully cleaned up, and his eyes lit up.

What a wonderful coincidence.

"Is there something you need?" he asked.

Jin Xi's mind went blank for a moment, and she looked helpless as she said, "I forgot."

Bo Yan:...

He thought he was quite humorous, but this girl's thought process was a bit convoluted.

He was a bit helpless, but also felt that she was particularly cute. He patiently asked, "Do you remember now?"

Jin Xi shook her head blankly.

So Bo Yan walked over and ruffled her hair as he passed by, took out his key and opened the door, saying, "Go back and take off your down jacket, it's hot just looking at you."

Curiously, Jin Xi looked into his dorm room--

Unlike the other boys' dorms she had seen today, the 409 boys' dorm was exceptionally clean, with the sheets folded into tofu blocks, items on the table sorted by category, and even the shoes in the shoe cabinet at the door were neatly arranged!

The floor was shiny and cleaner than their girls' dorm!

"Wow!" Jin Xi couldn't help but praise, "What kind of magical boys' dorm is this?"

Bo Yan opened his wardrobe and took out a pair of pants. Seeing Jin Xi peeking inside and leaning against the door, he asked, "Do you want to come in and sit?"

"Ah, can I?"

"No, you can't."

"Oh." Jin Xi was about to turn around when she suddenly hit her left fist against her palm. "Senior, I remember now. I wanted to ask for the help of your dorm mate to install a router."

Bo Yan looked around. "They haven't come back yet."

Jin Xi said, "Then I'll come back later."

Bo Yan thought to himself, "So this 'senior' doesn't exist!"

Indeed, Jin Xi had already returned to her dorm wearing a down jacket and had closed the door.

Five minutes later, Bo Yan put on his pants and T-shirt, styled his hair, and knocked on Jin Xi's dorm room door.

"What's the problem with the router?"