“I haven’t seen you these past two days,” Wang Ye said, ending his game mid-play and shoving his phone into his pocket.
Lin Wu thought the casual greeting would end there, but Wang Ye seemed to genuinely want a conversation, so he replied, “Oh, I didn’t go out. Just stayed in the dorm.”
Wang Ye raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You managed to sleep?”
“No,” Lin Wu sighed at the mention of it. “Wide awake.”
Wang Ye frowned in confusion. “Then why stay in the dorm?”
Lin Wu explained, “Going out late at night would disturb my roommates. Plus, if I don’t fix my sleep schedule, how am I supposed to attend classes later?”
“You’re overthinking it,” Wang Ye said, sounding exhausted just hearing Lin Wu’s reasoning.
The students who had been watching the earlier commotion began to return, making the corridor crowded and noisy again.
Since Su Xiao hadn’t come back, Lin Wu walked over to Wang Ye for a closer chat. After all, a long night was better spent talking to someone than sitting in silence. “What do you mean by ‘overthinking’? Don’t you going out every night disturb your roommates?”
As he reached Wang Ye, but before the latter could respond, a voice from the side chimed in, “Not really, it’s manageable.”
Startled, Lin Wu turned and realized there was another guy standing next to Wang Ye.
The guy was a bit taller than Lin Wu but slightly shorter than Wang Ye, probably around 187 cm. He had single eyelids, yet his eyes weren’t small—likely because of his thin eyelids, which made his eye shape appear refined. With slightly upturned corners, his eyes had a clean and sunny charm.
“And you are…?” Lin Wu asked, certain he didn’t know this person.
The guy, Yuan Sijie, hadn’t meant to interrupt their conversation but felt that if he stayed silent any longer, he’d truly blend into the background. “Yuan Sijie, one of the roommates you were just so concerned about.”
Lin Wu hadn’t expected Wang Ye to have such a friendly and cheerful companion. He had assumed all of Wang Ye’s friends would have a vibe similar to Jiang Tan’s. “Lin Wu, Environmental Science.”
Ah, comparison really does make everything stand out.
Lin Wu had started to think Wang Ye wasn’t as intimidating as he first seemed, but standing him next to Yuan Sijie…
Hairstyle: one with a wild buzz cut, the other with a neat, campus-heartthrob short cut.
Clothing: one dressed entirely in black, even down to his dark sneakers, the other in a white T-shirt and light-colored shirt combo, exuding freshness and energy.
Aura: one looked like he might start a fight at any moment, while the other smiled warmly and seemed approachable.
Living under the same roof, the contrast was striking.
“What are you staring at?” Wang Ye asked, unable to decipher Lin Wu’s glances back and forth between him and Yuan Sijie. But his gut told him that if Lin Wu’s thoughts were a mix of positive and negative, he definitely wasn’t in the positive camp.
Lin Wu wanted to reply with a “What’s it to you?”
But instead, he said, “Nothing, just wondering what animals you two awakened as.”
Pathetic. Truly pathetic.
Wang Ye, however, perked up at this topic. “What animal are you?” he asked directly.
Lin Wu: “…”
The question itself wasn’t unreasonable, but somehow it just felt…off.
“Don’t just stand there talking—it’s tiring,” Yuan Sijie interjected, leading them to a nearby bench.
“I suspect I awakened as a wolf,” Lin Wu said as soon as they sat down. “But it’s hard to be sure.”
“A wolf…” Wang Ye pondered for a moment before nodding. “Pretty cool.”
Lin Wu had no idea what Wang Ye was thinking during those few seconds, but receiving positive feedback about his awakening direction was oddly satisfying. Encouraged, he continued the conversation, “What about you two?”
Yuan Sijie answered, “We can only confirm we’re nocturnal animals. Beyond that, nothing specific.”
“Nothing specific? Haven’t there been any other physical changes?” Lin Wu asked, puzzled.
Wang Ye, however, was more curious about Lin Wu. “How did you decide you’re a wolf?”
“Can you not phrase things properly?” Lin Wu snapped, exasperated. “I didn’t say ‘I’m a wolf.’ I said, ‘I might have awakened in the direction of a wolf.’”
Wang Ye: “Isn’t that the same thing?”
Lin Wu: “…”
Wang Ye: “…”
Lin Wu: “Wang Ye.”
Wang Ye: “?”
Lin Wu: “Has anyone ever told you you’re incredibly punchable?”
Wang Ye: “Back in high school, I used to knock down eight people like that a day.”
Lin Wu: “…”
Wang Ye: “?”
Lin Wu: “Never mind, I’m definitely a wolf.”
For the next while, Lin Wu took on the role of a group project leader, patiently explaining his physical changes and the reasoning behind identifying awakening directions to the two “slackers.”
Wang Ye checked out around point 13. When Lin Wu got to “careful observation and meticulous analysis,” he completely zoned out.
Lin Wu had encountered plenty of slackers before, but Wang Ye’s level of disinterest was on another level.
In contrast, Yuan Sijie was a breath of fresh air.
“If that’s the case, I might not be entirely without clues,” Yuan Sijie mused thoughtfully. “My motor skills have improved, my teeth have strengthened like yours, and I think I’ve unlocked tree-climbing.”
“Tree-climbing?” Lin Wu asked.
“Yeah,” Yuan Sijie replied. “Last night during the night stroll, a really cute male student asked me to help retrieve a balloon stuck in a tree.”
“…” Unnecessary adjectives plus an oddly specific anecdote equaled confusion. Lin Wu decided to skip over that and get to the point. “And you climbed the tree easily?”
“Effortlessly,” Yuan Sijie confirmed.
“If your teeth are stronger, it’s most likely a carnivorous or omnivorous animal. Then there’s the nocturnal trait and climbing ability…” Lin Wu rapidly searched through the animal encyclopedia knowledge he’d crammed over the past few days. Suddenly, he turned to Yuan Sijie and asked, “How’s your jumping ability? Like, when you jump down from a high place, do you feel lighter than before?”
Yuan Sijie tilted his head. “Why do you ask?”
“Just my random guesswork,” Lin Wu clarified before explaining, “I feel like, based on your traits, you might be some kind of feline.”
Not forgetting the other person present, Lin Wu turned to Wang Ye. “What do you think?”
Wang Ye had only caught the first and last parts of the conversation, with everything in between a blur. But when suddenly called on, his long-practiced slacker’s instinct to improvise kicked in immediately. “I think he’s right.”
Lin Wu: “…That analysis just now was mine!”
Yuan Sijie, who had endured countless similar moments with Wang Ye since freshman year, watched calmly as Wang Ye now began to mess with someone new.
Honestly, Yuan Sijie did feel a little bad for Lin Wu. Wang Ye had matured a lot—he no longer went around fighting, as Ge Liang used to say about his high school days—but most of the time, he now concentrated his antics on his dorm, 509.
Congratulations, Lin Wu, for becoming “one of us.”
After wrapping up Yuan Sijie’s awakening speculation, Lin Wu set his sights on cracking Wang Ye’s mystery.
Despite Wang Ye’s lack of cooperation, Lin Wu was just as stubborn. The less Wang Ye cared, the more determined Lin Wu became to figure out his awakening direction. It was like solving a particularly tricky problem, and Lin Wu kept probing relentlessly: “Think harder. Besides being nocturnal, are there really no other significant changes in your body?”
Wang Ye, who hated overthinking more than anything, replied bluntly, “Nope.”
“Have your motor skills improved?” Lin Wu asked.
“I could climb roofs and tear tiles off before,” Wang Ye said.
“What about your teeth?”
“I’ve always been able to chew through bones.”
“Climbing trees?”
“I’m faster than Yuan Sijie now.”
Yuan Sijie: “Uh, I can confirm that.”
Lin Wu: “…”
Are these normal human traits? This guy’s more like a raging beast!
With the night filled with banter and sarcastic remarks, time flew by. Before they knew it, dawn had arrived, and the three of them headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. Lin Wu bought four portions, while Wang Ye and Yuan Sijie each bought five.
Lin Wu was a bit puzzled.
He watched as the cafeteria auntie, without needing Wang Ye to say anything, combined two servings of egg pancakes into one bag and handed it to him with a smile far warmer than she gave to other students, brimming with affection.
Lin Wu cast a questioning look at Yuan Sijie.
Yuan Sijie whispered, “If you bought double egg pancakes every morning for an entire semester, you’d get the same treatment.”
Lin Wu: “…He’s really committed.”
Yuan Sijie chuckled. “That’s just how he is. Once he’s set on something, not even a herd of horses could pull him back.”
As they walked back to the dorms, Lin Wu realized they all lived in the same building. Yuan Sijie mentioned they were in 509 and invited Lin Wu to visit anytime.
Back in room 333, Ren Feiyu and Li Junchi were already awake, but Xia Yang was still sound asleep, completely carefree.
Lin Wu placed the pancake on Xia Yang’s desk and handed the other two portions to Ren Feiyu and Li Junchi before heading to wash up.
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Lin Wu felt refreshed, as if he hadn’t stayed up all night.
When Xia Yang finally woke up, the dorm gathered around to eat breakfast, and Lin Wu shared the highlights of last night’s outing with his roommates.
The three listened, dumbfounded.
Xia Yang: “What? It’s turned into a night market? And there’s dancing?”
Li Junchi: “What’s the school thinking? Encouraging night walks?”
“Not exactly encouraging,” Lin Wu mused. “I think it’s just that there are too many people. They can’t stop it, so they might as well manage it. Better to channel it than try to block it.”
“But it’s fine during the break. What about when classes start?” Ren Feiyu asked, scratching his head in frustration. “If everyone goes out at night and sleeps during the day, how will classes even work?”
Xia Yang took a big bite of his pancake, cheeks puffed out, and mumbled, “Split into day and night shifts?”
“Then we’d be separated,” Ren Feiyu said, suddenly losing his appetite as he set down his breakfast. “I don’t want to be apart…”
Li Junchi sighed. “This isn’t even a thing yet, and you’re already making yourself sad over it. Seriously?”
Room 509.
As soon as they entered the room, Yuan Sijie couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer and asked Wang Ye, “How do you two know each other?”
This wasn’t the kind of thing he’d ask in front of Lin Wu, since they weren’t that familiar yet, and it would come across as overly nosy.
But behind closed doors, he could freely ask Wang Ye for the details.
Jiang Tan was wearing headphones, listening to the morning news, while Ge Liang, who had nothing better to do, immediately leaned in. “Know who? Know how?”
Yuan Sijie briefly explained the story of “Wang Ye’s mysterious friend appearing in the middle of the night in the corridor,” emphasizing the “mysterious appearance” and the “friend.”
Ge Liang was even more surprised than Yuan Sijie because he was far more aware of how barren Wang Ye’s social circle was.
“It was on the foggy day. I was sitting on the wall and just happened to see him,” Wang Ye admitted, deciding to lay it all out to avoid being pestered later.
Ge Liang: “The foggy day? The day you got confessed to?”
Yuan Sijie: “Sitting on the wall? So… you watched the whole thing?”
Wang Ye: “Yeah.”
Yuan Sijie raised his voice slightly. “Including the part where you said, ‘I don’t like people’?”
Wang Ye looked at him blankly. “Is that a problem?”
“Of course it’s a problem.” Yuan Sijie now had the urge to conduct an in-depth interview with Lin Wu. “He heard you say, ‘I don’t like people,’ and not only did he not think you were insane, but he’s still willing to be your friend? That’s some next-level self-sacrificing spirit…”
If anyone else had said that, Wang Ye would’ve kicked them by now. But since it was his own people, what could he do? He had no choice but to tolerate it with his “magnanimous heart.”
“Oh, right,” Wang Ye suddenly remembered something. “The guy Jiang Tan saved from drowning is also from Lin Wu’s dorm. When I went to the campus clinic to check on Jiang Tan, it was Lin Wu who was accompanying him.”
The words “drowning incident” made Jiang Tan look up. His headphones weren’t playing too loud, so he hadn’t completely tuned out the conversation.
The other three, however, didn’t notice Jiang Tan and kept chatting below.
“You got confessed to, Lin Wu happened to witness it, Jiang Tan saved someone from drowning, and it just so happens that guy’s from Lin Wu’s dorm. Then, of all people, it’s you two who go to the clinic together…” Ge Liang shook his head in mock disbelief. “This kind of plot should be given to a female lead. What’s the point of it happening to a guy?”
Wang Ye glanced at him. “Get lost.”
“You didn’t even cover the whole story,” Yuan Sijie chimed in. “First, they meet in the fog. Then, they meet at the clinic. Then, they meet again on a night walk. This is fate cubed.”
Wang Ye finally couldn’t hold back and kicked him. “Can you say something useful?”
Yuan Sijie, using his nimble reflexes, dodged most of the kick but still got a partial shoe print on him. He patted it off and replied, “Besides calling it fate, what else can I say?”
Wang Ye: “Talk about Lin Wu.”
Yuan Sijie: “He’s great—quick thinker, lively personality, super cute.”
Wang Ye: “Don’t you think there’s something off about him?”
Yuan Sijie: “What’s off about him?”
Wang Ye: “Ever since I met him, I haven’t been able to successfully pet a single cat.”
Yuan Sijie: “…”
Ge Liang: “…”
Jiang Tan took off his Bluetooth headphones. “You weren’t very successful before, either.”
[mfn]You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad [/mfn]
