Chapter 177: Living Outside the Dorm
Golden sunlight streamed through the window, falling on the tiled floor and reflecting dazzling light.
The old ceiling fan, covered with dust, swayed weakly from side to side. But the wind it blew couldn’t even reach the people lying on the beds.
Long Xing and Wang Sheng’s snores echoed through the small room. Wang Sheng’s snoring was steady and rhythmic, while Long Xing’s would suddenly get louder, then slowly quiet down again.
Shoes were scattered messily on the floor, tissues and sunflower seed shells lay everywhere, and the trash bin had long been overflowing, but no one wanted to empty it. The colorful tiles were full of footprints...
Except for the weekly cleaning inspection, the only tidy parts of the dorm were Wang Sheng’s bed and desk.
Sitting cross-legged on her bed, An Han quietly looked around at the messy yet familiar and somehow warm dorm room.
“Every time they drink, they snore so loud… it’s driving me crazy…”
She sighed softly, put on her jacket, and carefully climbed down from the bed.
Last night, Wang Sheng had stayed up chatting with a girl until late, probably only falling asleep not long ago. The other two were dead drunk, so the dorm wouldn’t be lively again until noon at least.
From a corner, An Han pulled out her dusty suitcase. After wiping it with a cloth, she began to pack her things.
The place was already rented. After coming back early last night to wash her underwear, she’d gone out again and found an apartment outside campus.
If she waited until this morning to leave, she suspected Su Peng would block her at the door, smiling warmly and saying he wanted to “help.”
And if she gave in to that gentle act, she’d probably end up letting him tag along and then he’d know her address, which would only lead to endless “visits.”
“An Han? What are you packing for?”
Wang Sheng was woken by the noise, yawning as he turned to look at her.
“I’m moving out.”
“So soon? Need help carrying your stuff?”
“No, I don’t have much.”
The only trouble was all the little miscellaneous items. She planned to ask the shop downstairs if they had any cardboard boxes.
After stuffing her clothes into the suitcase, she took the thin blanket off her bed and tried to fit that in too.
Even though it was already autumn, her blanket was still a thin summer one. The thick winter quilt was still in the wardrobe, ready to take later.
With all her clothes and the blanket packed in, the suitcase was bulging. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t close the zipper.
“Wang Sheng, come help me press it down.”
After struggling for a few minutes, even sitting on the suitcase herself didn’t work, so she asked the half-awake Wang Sheng for help.
“Okay. So, where did you rent the place?”
“Just at the back gate, in that little urban village. There are a few apartment buildings there. I went door to door asking last night.”
Wang Sheng sat down heavily on the suitcase while An Han squatted next to it, quickly zipping it shut. She asked casually, “So, how did things go with that girl you were chatting with? Brother Long took you shopping for clothes yesterday, right?”
“Yeah.” Wang Sheng’s face instantly turned red. “I even got a haircut.”
An Han looked up in surprise. “Really? I didn’t even notice.”
Just then, there was some noise at the door. Both of them turned their heads. Wang Sheng was about to stand up to open it, but An Han quickly pulled him back.
“Shh~”
They waited until the footsteps outside faded away. Then An Han whispered, “Don’t tell Su Peng where I live.”
Wang Sheng muttered, “You two really seem weird lately…”
“He’s super clingy and annoying! Always sticking to me, it’s so frustrating!”
“Who’s super clingy and annoying?”
The voice suddenly came from the balcony. Startled, An Han jumped, lost her balance from squatting, and fell right onto the floor.
When she looked up, she saw that it was Su Peng, who had come in through the back door with a big smile on his face.
“You keep climbing over that fence every day! One day you’re going to fall and break your neck!” An Han glared at him.
“You never open the front door when I knock,” Su Peng said, glancing at the still-sleeping Long Xing. He lowered his voice a bit. “Weren’t you supposed to go rent a place today? Why are you packing up now?”
“I already rented it.”
“Need help?”
Sensing something was off, Wang Sheng quietly slipped back into his bed, peeking out from under the blanket to secretly watch them.
“Just packing the last few things,” An Han said as she stood up, lifted her suitcase, and pulled out her winter blanket from the back of the closet.
Carrying one in each hand, she lowered her head and hurried toward the dorm door.
But before she could take a few steps, she turned around to see Su Peng following right behind her. Her eyes widened in annoyance. “Why are you following me?”
“I just want to see what your new place looks like.”
Yeah, right! You just want to find out where I live so you can show up whenever you want!
Putting down her stuff, An Han planted her hands on her hips and said sharply, “Get lost!”
But Su Peng acted like he didn’t hear her. Smiling, he picked up her suitcase and blanket, opened the door, and walked out first. “Let’s go.”
“……”
Watching secretly, Wang Sheng suddenly felt that the two of them really looked like a couple. Even when they argued, An Han’s attitude was more like that of a tsundere girl, while Su Peng was like a gentle golden retriever, patient and endlessly forgiving.
For some reason, he thought they actually looked pretty sweet together…
Too sweet. Too gay. Not for underage eyes.
When An Han noticed his gaze, she glared at him, and he quickly rolled over in bed, pretending to sleep, terrified she might come hit him.
“Tsk!”
An Han finally left the room, closing the door behind her, reluctantly following Su Peng down the hallway.
Whenever he got forceful, she had no idea how to deal with him. Who knew what he might do, he could easily just walk off carrying all her things.
“Give me back my suitcase,” she protested weakly.
“It’s fine, I’ll carry it for you.”
Turning his head, Su Peng smiled, his face looked especially gentle and handsome under the morning sunlight. “How much is the rent? How much money do you have left?”
Her heartbeat quickened. An Han turned her head away, mumbling, “None of your business.”
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll just go ask the nearby landlords myself.” Su Peng kept walking ahead, still carrying her things.
An Han tensed up and quickly jogged after him. “You… you know the landlords?”
“If I don’t, I’ll find someone who does.”
“Ugh, I should’ve asked you for help finding a place… would’ve saved me some money.” She sighed regretfully.
Since Su Peng clearly had connections with the local landlords, it was only a matter of time before he found out her address.
Most of the apartments nearby were managed by middlemen anyway. There was no way to hide her info. Unless she could afford a private single-room rental, she couldn’t escape Su Peng’s “pursuit.”
“That’s why I told you I should’ve gone with you when you looked for a place,” he said.
Just then, An Han’s phone rang. She looked down, saw an unknown number, hesitated, then answered.
“Hello, is this Mr. An Han?”
“Congratulations! You’ve won—”
She hung up immediately.
“Who was that?” Su Peng asked.
“A scammer. Said I won some prize, crazy person.”
“Don’t answer strange numbers,” Su Peng said calmly. “With your IQ, you’d probably lose everything if you got scammed.”
An Han rolled her eyes at him. “Please, I’m not that dumb. That kind of low-level scam wouldn’t work on me!”