Chapter 16: Losing the Right to Choose a Partner
Monday.
By the time the noise in the dorm woke Li Mu up, it was already morning.
The room was filled with the loud chatter of his roommates, the sound of students running in the hallway, and even faint music playing from the school’s broadcast near the teaching buildings.
With a throbbing headache, he groggily sat up in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling fan.
He had thought that after the female ghost left, he’d finally be able to sleep well. No more bizarre nightmares like last time. Surprisingly, he didn’t have any nightmares last night. Instead, he had an incredibly long dream, so long that he had already forgotten what it was about.
He had slept for a long time, yet because of the dreams, it wasn’t restful at all.
“Brother Mu, you’re gonna be late.” Zhao Pan, passing by his bed, looked up and reminded him, “It’s already past forty minutes.”
“Mm.”
Responding instinctively, Li Mu dragged his heavy feet down the ladder, picked up his towel from under the desk, and headed toward the bathroom outside.
At this hour, the dormitory bathroom was absolute chaos.
In the narrow space by the sinks, students were brushing their teeth, washing their hair, scrubbing their clothes, some were even casually soaking their feet in the sink.
The bathroom wasn’t very big, but it was bustling with activity. As soon as Li Mu arrived with his washbasin, he suddenly realized, he had forgotten to bring his toothbrush.
Still feeling dazed from his poor sleep, he had no choice but to go back and fetch his toiletries.
By the time he finished washing up, his roommates had already left.
He was used to walking to class alone, so he simply picked up his textbook, locked the dorm door, and left.
By the time he reached the classroom, he was already five minutes late.
“Go in,” the math teacher glanced at him before continuing to write formulas on the blackboard.
Even though this vocational school had a reputation that many people looked down on, in reality, the classroom atmosphere was extremely serious.
The students quietly took notes and focused on the lesson. Hardly anyone even glanced at Li Mu when he came in late.
Of course, not all classes were like this. Only a few of the spring entrance exam classes had this kind of environment. Most of these students had chosen to study harder on their own, hoping to further their education.
Or, they simply didn’t want to start working so soon and saw school as a way to delay it.
Li Mu sat down by the window in the third-to-last row and instinctively turned his head back.
Yu Fan happened to look over at him as well, giving him a gentle smile as a greeting.
Li Mu turned back to the blackboard, speechless.
He had always felt that Yu Fan’s gentle smile hid something mischievous underneath. It made him uncomfortable.
Just as he was about to focus on the lesson, his seatmate, who had been sitting up straight and listening attentively, suddenly whispered, “Why were you late today?”
His seatmate was Wu Lei, a classmate he had only met this semester. Because they sat next to each other, they had a fairly good relationship.
“Didn’t sleep well.”
Maybe it was because Wu Lei had strict family discipline, or maybe he had relatives who had served in the military. His posture was always perfect, sitting like a statue, standing like a pine tree, walking with precise movements. But in daily life, this made him seem overly rigid and a bit odd.
Wu Lei studied Li Mu curiously. He felt like something was a little different about him after not seeing him for two days. But no matter how he looked, he couldn’t quite figure out what had changed.
The first math class ended quickly.
Li Mu yawned, then collapsed onto his desk, radiating an aura of absolute exhaustion.
So sleepy.
He had no energy at all. Even though he had tried his best to pay attention during class, now that he thought about it, he couldn’t even remember which chapter they had covered today.
As soon as the break started, the classroom instantly became lively.
Most of the students were playing games together, while a few were reading or working on practice tests. Some students who were addicted to smoking had already rushed to the bathroom as soon as class ended.
Li Mu lay on his desk, pretending to nap. Not far away, as soon as the break started, four of the eight girls in the class had already gathered around Yu Fan, excitedly asking him to play a game with them. Yu Fan, with his usual bright smile, agreed and started forming a five-player team.
"Yu Fan!"
A loud voice suddenly echoed through the classroom, making Li Mu curious enough to glance back. He saw that it was a chubby, dark-skinned classmate talking to Yu Fan.
What was his name again? Xu Ze?
Yu Fan, who was just about to start the game with his friends, was startled by the sudden shouting. He looked up but still responded with a cheerful smile. "The team is full."
Xu Ze leaned in and whispered into Yu Fan’s ear, "No, I mean, you lost something yesterday afternoon."
Even though he was whispering, half the class could hear it clearly. Yu Fan, on the other hand, felt like his eardrum was shaking from the volume.
He rubbed his earlobe and gave a wry smile. "I didn’t lose anything."
"You did! Something black!"
Something black?
Yu Fan thought for a moment but couldn't remember losing anything like that.
However, Xu Ze suddenly grabbed Yu Fan’s hand and stuffed it into his own pocket. At first, Yu Fan was completely confused by this action, but the moment his fingers touched something thin and rough, like fake hair, he suddenly fell silent.
He quickly pulled his hand back and gave Xu Ze a sharp, almost dangerous look.
"That’s not mine," he denied without hesitation.
Xu Ze wasn’t stupid. He scratched his head in confusion. "Then should I throw it away for you?"
"Yeah, just throw it away. And don’t say 'for me', it’s not mine in the first place."
Yu Fan let out a relieved sigh. Thankfully, even though Xu Ze was loud, he wasn’t completely clueless.
If the class found out he had lost a woman’s wig yesterday… rumors would spread like wildfire.
"What is it?" A short girl who was about to play the game with Yu Fan curiously leaned in.
"Nothing. It’s not mine," Yu Fan said with an awkward smile.
Hearing that, the girl suddenly reached into Xu Ze’s pocket and pulled out the item before anyone could react.
Both Xu Ze and Yu Fan were stunned, watching helplessly as she held up the wig, letting it dangle in her hand.
The girl looked down at the wig in confusion, then glanced back at the two of them, even more bewildered. Something about this didn’t seem right, why would a man have something like this in his pocket?
Oh crap.
Yu Fan's face turned pale. Instinctively, he snatched the wig and stuffed it into his desk drawer.
His heart was racing, but when he looked up, he realized that the entire class was now staring at him.
Through the gaps between the students, he spotted Li Mu in the distance, watching the scene unfold like he was enjoying the show. Worse yet, Yu Fan could see the hint of amusement in his eyes.
Damn. I overreacted. Now it’s obvious that something’s up.
Yu Fan fell silent, unsure how to explain himself. The girl, however, smoothly sat back down and changed the topic.
"Weren’t we playing a game? If we don’t start now, we won’t have enough time."
But this didn’t bring Yu Fan any relief. He knew that, in her mind, his image was already ruined.
Regardless of whether this wig in his hand was for cross-dressing or practicing hairdressing, the fact that a guy owns a women's wig... however you think about it, it's a bit strange, right?
Yu Fan glanced around again. The girls who had gathered to play the game were now casually urging him to start, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Xu Ze, realizing he had caused trouble, had already disappeared.
Great. I think I just lost my chances of finding a girlfriend at this school.