Chapter 59: He has a bad temper, so don't provoke him

Registration takes place over the next two days, and male and female visitors are unrestricted in the dormitory building during daytime hours.

For the second time—only the second time this summer—Le Ning wore a dress, wearing it specifically for Xia An.

This dark green one was clearly of better quality.

Seeing him look her over, Le Ning told him she bought it with his money.

Xia An said it looked nice and praised her taste.

No need to guess; the Doraemon four-piece bedding set was undoubtedly brought and made for him by Tang Wan.

What about Tang Wan? She wouldn't come back over, would she?

Xia An tried to block the edge of the upper bunk with his head.

Yet Le Ning had clearly seen it, but said nothing.

"Does she think my parents followed me here?" Xia An wondered.

Le Ning placed the bedding set on the desk beneath Xia An's bunk, and also set down the large bag hanging from her elbow.

Then she stood prettily back at Xia An's side.

She first glanced at the other three dumbfounded young men, and then looked smilingly into Xia An's eyes.

Xia An knew precisely what he should say right now.

He put his arm around Le Ning's shoulders and introduced her to the three of them: "My girlfriend, Le Ning."

Then he pointed at them one by one, telling Le Ning: "Qi Buyang, Lu Yao, and this... Lu Fei."

Xia An had been in the room for three minutes flat, and they hadn't yet had time to introduce themselves.

None of the three guys had figured out how Xia An instantly knew which was which, nor did they cross their minds to ponder it.

Qi Buyang had already hurriedly pulled on a T-shirt, and the expression in his eyes as he looked at Xia An practically materialized into visible characters.

Oh boy, oh boy, I dub you the most formidable freshman in history.

Lu Yao shoved one hand into his pocket while resting the other against his chest, striking the pose of a classical scholar from ancient times.

He narrowed his eyes as if agreeing with Qi Buyang: I concur.

Only the simple-minded Lu Fei reacted relatively normally.

He scratched the back of his head, looking flustered and bashful as he stammered out a "Hello" to Le Ning.

Le Ning: "Hello."

A few days earlier than in the previous lifetime, Le Ning and Lu Fei officially met.

Le Ning flashed a sweet smile at Xia An.

—My girlfriend, Le Ning.

That was enough.

Like a little animal that had cultivated for many years, seeking official validation from someone to attain spiritual fruition.

Validation obtained, it was enough.

The heart that had fluttered anxiously all the way finally settled.

Le Ning brought her feet together, placed her hands in front of her, and brushed back a lock of hair.

Standing there with graceful poise, she was at that moment the very embodiment of the white shirt in every man's youth.

She nodded gracefully to acknowledge her boyfriend's three roommates.

Given her personality, however, handling such a scene was clearly a challenge for her.

There was no helping it; the atmosphere had been built up to this point, she was cornered.

Little Le Ning took a secret breath, pressed her lips together, and grasped the large hand resting on her shoulder.

"He's always had a bit of a bad temper, so you guys shouldn't provoke him."

Qi, Lu, and Xia: "..."

Lu Fei: "Definitely. My mom also told me to get along well with my classmates."

Qi and Lu: "???"

She had misspoken. Le Ning's pale, delicate skin flushed with a faint blush; she was still rather shy after all.

Just as she was about to correct herself, Xia An laughed out loud, pulling her a bit closer, utterly smitten with her to the core.

He patted the flute case slung across Le Ning's back and said to the others:

"See that? Dares to provoke me? Do you think my wife's three-foot-long green blade is unsharp?"

Le Ning bit her lip and shot him a side-glance, scolding him playfully for acting up.

Qi Buyang rolled his eyes and dragged Lu Yao out to the balcony to smoke.

Amused, Le Ning asked Xia An to help her spread the bedsheet.

She climbed onto the bunk, meticulously wrapping... Tang Wan's set piece by piece.

Kneeling at the foot of the bed, a small section of her ankles and calves showed beneath her skirt hem.

Lu Fei, who had been afraid to look at girls since childhood, kept his head lowered, unsure whether to stand or sit, and ran to the corner to grab a broom to start sweeping the floor.

Seeing this, Xia An smiled helplessly.

While helping him slip on the pillowcase, Le Ning told him to take out the snacks from the bag and share them with everyone.

A whole bag of delicious treats from Shanghai, all of which Le Ning had tasted, found tasty, and repurchased for Xia An.

Xia An pulled out a bag of salted egg yolk pastries, tore it open, and tossed a few onto each desk.

Peeking inside through the glass, Qi and Lu nodded in acknowledgment to Xia An.

Lu Fei, however, froze after accepting his share.

Seeing him sit back down at his desk and rummage through his locker, finding nothing at all, Xia An watched as he sat there for a moment longer.

Finally, he walked out of the dorm without a word.

Xia An could guess what he was going to do. He wanted to stop him, but in the end, he didn't.

Le Ning glanced at the doorway and asked Xia An, "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing much. Went out to buy a return gift for you."

Xia An chuckled, looking up as he grabbed the guardrail and hoisted himself up, making the iron-framed bed rattle.

"Be careful." Le Ning offered a faint, gentle smile.

Xia An dangled his legs and kicked the door shut, asking Le Ning with a mischievous grin and a lowered voice, "Does this count as you getting on my bed for the first time?"

Le Ning's face turned completely red in an instant.

She glanced down at the floor, bent slightly forward, and brought her face close to Xia An's as he leaned down.

"After military training, before the National Day holiday, we'll get a hotel room."

...

"Did they kiss?"

"Damn, that's hardcore."

On the balcony.

Qi Buyang turned his bulky body around, flicked his cigarette butt away, and stopped peeking into the room.

He answered Lu Yao with a wistful tone:

"It was probably just camera angles, an illusion. He wouldn't torture us brothers like this the moment we meet."

Lu Yao let out a "heh."

"I don't plan on dating in college, and that big foolish guy probably won't either.

"As for torture, it's purely torturing you lot."

"Us?" Qi Buyang was puzzled.

Lu Yao nodded: "A lot of you."

As he spoke, he handed his Nokia 7610 to Qi Buyang.

"Look, this is the one who made his bed in there."

Qi Buyang curiously took the phone, shielded the glare of the sunlight with his hand, and looked at the screen.

On the web version of the 5Q website page, Le Ning's full name, photo, and profile had all been dug up.

Some of the photos had even been sneakily taken right there at the registration desk.

Lu Yao amusedly remarked: "There's this perk in our department; sophomore and junior journalism seniors camp out at the welcome stations early on. News, after all, is all about timeliness."

"Guessed she was from our college based on the instrument," Qi Buyang clicked his tongue. "But she's already crowned campus belle just like that? Isn't there still tomorrow? Wouldn't it be better to leave a bit of suspense?"

Lu Yao shielded the wind with one hand, lit another cigarette, and smiled: "Any prettier and she'd have to go to the Beijing Film Academy."

Qi Buyang handed the phone back and said, "I think the one before was prettier than this one."

Lu Yao thought for a moment and said, "That one looked more mature, probably his older sister?"

Qi Buyang said, "I have an older sister too. Tell me, if I traded sisters with Xia An, would he agree?"

Lu Yao let out a snort and gave him a sideways glance.

Qi Buyang chuckled: "Right, what about that Zuo You, the campus belle of Binhai University everyone keeps talking about online? Tsk tsk, could she possibly look prettier in person than this Le Ning?"

Lu Yao shrugged and blew a puff of smoke right into his face.

"That's not something you should be worrying about."

"Then what should I worry about?"

Qi Buyang scoffed indignantly.

"You should be checking out which foot bath parlor nearby is top-notch, shouldn't you? Emperor of Bathing."

...

Having finished making the bed, Le Ning shouldered her little "sword case" again.

She sat on Xia An's stool and displayed various small gifts to him one by one.

Lemon-shaped gummies from QQ that tasted outrageously good;

Vacuum-packed sweet and sour pork ribs, golden-red in color and glistening with oil;

A palm-sized, cute lemon-shaped... scented candle with a glass base.

"And this."

Le Ning produced the last item: a Philips electric shaver.

"I bought one for you and one for Dad."

"Good girl."

Xia An leaned down wanting to kiss her, but Le Ning wouldn't allow it.

Lowering her gaze and taking a step back, Le Ning said she had to head back.

Zhou Ting was making the bed for her daughter in the girls' dormitory, while Le Ning was making the bed for her boyfriend right here...

"Mom leaves tomorrow afternoon, and I'll be staying out with her tonight. The day after tomorrow, military training starts, and we'll get to see each other every day, right?"

Xia An said, "Right."

Le Ning stood on tiptoe, pressing her lips against his cheek—not really a kiss, just a gentle press.

Then she resumed her cool, detached smile and waved towards the balcony.

Just as she was about to leave, Lu Fei came running in, panting heavily, and handed Xia An two packs of Soft Red Meixiang cigarettes and Le Ning a bottle of cola.

"For you guys."