When Qi Jingzhi first moved into the dorm, he and Yan Linjian weren’t familiar with each other. As a special admission student, he was met with a lot of scepticism. People suspected he had connections or pulled some strings to get in.
The information on special admission students was public, and the surrounding dorms were all full of computer science majors, many of whom were geniuses in their own right. When they heard Qi Jingzhi had got in through his hacking skills, they kept urging him to “show off his skills,” constantly crowding around the dorm, making it impossible to get in nor out.
On the other hand, Yan Linjian had missed military training due to health reasons[mfn]军训 (jūn xùn) Military Training – A compulsory part of education for most students entering university. It usually takes place before the start of the first semester and lasts around 1-4 weeks. Students with health issues can be exempted. That’s why Yan Linjian just only moved into the dorm, while others probably already moved in earlier to participate in the military training. (t/n: sorry, I’m not familiar with the military training in China, do correct me if I’m wrong)[/mfn]. When he first started living on campus, he almost couldn’t find his dorm room. Dragging his heavy suitcase up five flights of stairs was already annoying enough, but a bunch of sweaty guys making a racket made it even worse. The wheels of his suitcase rumbled against the floor as he pushed his way into the crowd, his fair complexion stood out among the sun-darkened boys like a white egg mixed in with a pot of soy-braised eggs.
“Where did this pretty boy come from?”
“Damn, such delicate skin, maybe they’re a female?”
“So pale, just like a lady.”
Some people threw out teasing remarks, but Yan Linjian merely shot them a cold glance before taking off his hat and placing it on the table. Just like his face, his identity was just as striking: “I’m Yan Linjian. This is my dorm, right?”
Qi Jingzhi nodded, a flicker of something unspoken flashed in his surprised eyes, just like a traveller wandering in the desert for a long time, on the brink of dehydration, and finally stumbling upon an oasis.
“Are all of them my roommates?”
“No.”
“Then why are you sitting on my desk? Did I give you my permission? No manners, get down.”
Although Yan Linjian had striking looks and fair skin, he was still 1.8 meters tall and carried a commanding presence. Not to mention, his identity as the son of the principal and younger brother of Professor Yan was enough to make the others back down. The dormitory, which had been noisy since the start of military training, finally had a brief moment of peace.
Despite the halo of privilege around him, Yan Linjian wasn’t as delicate or arrogant as one might expect. He quietly made his bed, greeted his roommates, and then lay down straight on his bunk. Qi Jingzhi, on the adjacent bed, lay head-to-head with him and overheard Yan Linjian acting spoiled over the phone with his mother: “I’m so tired… If I’d known, I would’ve just been a day student[mfn]A day student is a student who attends classes at a school or university but does not live on campus. Instead, they commute from home every day.[/mfn]. I can’t even eat your cooking here.”
A few minutes later, Yan Linjian pushed a box of red bean cakes from behind the bed curtain:
“Want some?”
Qi Jingzhi was startled, unsure how to respond. Yan Linjian pushed the red bean cakes to his bedside, then passed a box to the other two roommates: “My mum made these herself.”
Mum.
That word felt too foreign to Qi Jingzhi. He picked up a piece and took a bite, it was sweet but not cloying, just like the way Yan Linjian had sounded when he was whining over the phone.
By the second day, Yan Linjian had already displayed his over-the-top extroverted personality. Every one who came looking for trouble with Qi Jingzhi was scolded away by him, and he even managed to find out why they were after him.
“A computer science genius? Are you really that good?” Yan Linjian stood behind Qi Jingzhi, watching his slender fingers dance across the keyboard, “So does that mean you can find out a game’s users’ personal info?”
“That’s illegal.”
As soon as Qi Jingzhi spoke, the other two roommates stuck out their head in surprise.
It’s been almost half a month since school started, and Qi Jingzhi has spoken no more than ten sentences to them.
Yan Linjian didn’t know about such things, he just smiled: “Then forget it, what are you doing now?”
“Helping to test for bugs in a game.”
To support himself, Qi Jingzhi took on various jobs.
Yan Linjian nodded, half-understanding: “Sounds impressive.”
Unlike others, he didn’t bombard Qi Jingzhi with questions like “Which game?” “How much does it pay?” “Why are you doing this?” “Is it profitable?” He simply went back to his desk, opened his laptop, and started typing away.
Yan Linjian couldn’t do anything complex either. He learned some Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro, just to make himself seem a little less idle. After all, now that he was in university, he figured he should at least learn something.
Yan Linjian’s friends either went abroad to study or started their own businesses, and those with good looks went into the entertainment industry. Among them, he was actually considered the “most promising.” But for most people in their circle, a degree was more or less insignificant, especially when compared to his “legendary” brother. No matter how hard Yan Linjian tried, he would never come close to catching up.
He had no grand ambitions of breaking away from his family and proving himself to the world. His goal was simple: graduate peacefully, find a job that could support him, and live a carefree life as a happy slacker.
With the mindset of “if the sky falls, my brother will hold it up,” Yan Linjian wasted half a semester. Having experienced the immense pressure of high school, the freedom of university made him lose himself. Now that he was living on campus without his family watching over him, he had zero sense of responsibility.
He didn’t expect that the midterms would teach him such a harsh lesson. He was just one bubble sort algorithm away from failing. His uncle even kindly called to check on him, informing him that he already had a room prepared for him.
Yan Linjian panicked at that moment and started cramming from scratch. Naturally, Qi Jingzhi, who had scored full marks in every subject and ranked first in the major, became the “mentor” he sought for help from.
That’s how he and Qi Jingzhi became familiar with each other.
Yan Linjian’s first impression of Qi Jingzhi was: This guy looks pretty handsome. Later, when he found out that Qi Jingzhi was a special admission student and still underage, he was a little surprised. But since Jingdu University was full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, he didn’t think too much about it.
After the midterm exams, Qi Jingzhi had become “Qi-shen” (God Qi) in everyone’s eyes. The people who had given him a hard time at the start of the semester now came to him with their codes to seek his guidance. However, Yan Linjian, who had the advantage of proximity, had already firmly monopolized Qi Jingzhi.
Qi Jingzhi has always been a loner, moving between the classroom, cafeteria, and dormitory in a fixed routine. If he wasn’t writing code, he was doing assignments. Despite having a good-looking face, his personality was as dull as a summer night without a moon. He always wore the same few outfits, never joined class gatherings or activities, and only used the cheapest daily necessities.
After getting to know him better, Yan Linjian realized that Qi Jingzhi’s life was genuinely simple, but his remarkable talent in computing was absolutely real. He personally witnessed Qi Jingzhi hacking into the school’s academic system to select courses, even leaving a greeting to the backend teacher. The teacher in charge even called him, but there was nothing they could do about it, after all, it was Qi Jingzhi who helped upgrade the current academic affairs system.
Qi Jingzhi took on all sorts of odd jobs online, from simple photo editing to full game source code. Anything as long as he could earn money.
Shen Yang once gossiped when Qi Jingzhi was out: “Is Qi Jingzhi’s family very poor? He only eats boxed meals every day.”
“Last time our class planned a dinner, they collected seventy yuan for class fees. He said he wouldn’t go and didn’t pay. Just how broke is he that he can’t even afford seventy yuan?”
“I’ve never heard him call his family either. Maybe his family is…”
Yan Linjian, who was playing a game, took off his headset and glared at Shen Yang. “What he eats is none of your business. By the way, when are you paying back that one thousand yuan you borrowed from me?”
“Hey, don’t be angry, okay? My parents will send me my allowance on the 4th, I’ll pay you back then. That pair of shoes was a limited edition, way too expensive.” Shen Yang grinned shamelessly, “Besides, you don’t really need these thousand yuan.”
“I do, I’m very short on money right now.”
Yan Linjian deliberately put him in a difficult position, but Shen Yang was quick to adapt, smiling apologetically: “I was wrong, I won’t speak ill about Qi Jingzhi behind his back anymore. Please calm down and give me a few more days.”
Shen Yang was infamous for his bad mouth, but he was also a master at flattery. Yan Linjian didn’t bother being nice to him and simply said, “Pay me back as soon as possible.”
“Got it.” Shen Yang said with a forced smile, then privately complained to another roommate, Miao Xin, “Yan Linjian is so protective of Qi Jingzhi, you think there’s something going on between them?”
Miao Xin’s thoughts weren’t that bad, he replied: “Linjian and Qi-shen are just close friends. He still needs Qi-shen to help him with his studies, and besides, Linjian has a girlfriend.”
Shen Yang sneered, “The principal’s son almost failed, that’s hilarious.”
Miao Xin said, “That’s enough, Linjian even lent you money before.”
