Chapter 51: Lin Wan, You're Too Dirty

July 6, Sunny

8:00 a.m.

It's not that I don't want to get out of bed.

I just can't get it up.

My little bird didn't say hello to me today. It seems to have no energy.

Because the exams are coming, we don't have team practice today. The coach told everyone to play a few ranked matches to keep our skills sharp.

Another day spent studying.

I'm a little sleepy, and I get hungry so fast.

...

July 7, Cloudy

7:30 a.m.

I went to the bathroom this morning.

My little bird was hanging down. It seems to be sick.

Only three days left until the exams.

I can't think about anything else.

Keep studying! I must not fail.

My roommates have become really strange. Just like before, they keep holding their stomachs and running outside.

Sleepy.

Hungry.

...

July 8, Sunny

My little bird has gone completely soft. It seems even sicker now.

Only two days left until the exams. Keep it up!

Qiu Cheng and Sun Mao don't even have girlfriends, but for some reason they're also gone all day.

I'm getting sleepier and sleepier. I've been eating a little too much. I feel bad for my wallet.

...

July 9, Sunny

My little bird has completely lowered its head. It's barely hanging on.

Only one day left before the exams.

Today Zhuo Feng treated me to another meal, then complained that I ate too much. So annoying.

But my bro is really generous, because... I really did eat a lot.

My roommates are still nowhere to be seen. Aren't they afraid of failing if they don't study?

Sleepy.

Hungry.

...

July 10, Overcast

My little bird has completely stopped moving.

I think it's dead.

But I can't lose focus today. Time to do my best on the exam!

My roommates finally came back today. The dark circles under their eyes are so bad. Did someone beat them up? But they actually look very happy and don't seem worried about failing at all.

Sleepy.

Hungry.

...

July 11, Overcast

My little bird has turned into a withered tree.

Second day of exams. Keep it up!

Tonight my bro said his right hand was sore, like his old hand injury had come back. I gave him a one-hour massage, and it got better. Then he treated me to another meal.

I think my massage skills are good enough to open a shop. But my bro said running a business is risky, so I guess I'll forget about it.

Sleepy.

...

July 12, Sunny

My little bird is getting smaller.

Last day of exams.

Sleepy.

Hungry.

...

July 13, Light Rain

My little bird keeps getting smaller.

I'm going back to my hometown today to spend a few days with Grandpa. After that, I'll come back for training.

Sleepy.

Hungry.

...

July 20, Overcast

My little bird now looks like a hairless caterpillar.

I'm going back to school tomorrow to start training again.

I don't want to leave Grandpa.

...

July 21, Overcast

My youthful little bird has flown away.

The caterpillar has broken out of its cocoon and become a butterfly.

Goodbye, the days of peeing while standing.

My bro drove to the station to pick me up. I didn't expect that he could actually drive.

...

Screech—

The van stopped in front of a dorm building.

Lin Wan and Zhuo Feng got out of the car.

"We'll be staying here for the next month. We'll go to the internet café whenever we have training."

Lin Wan looked at the dorm building. "The school is really generous. They're letting us stay in the graduate student dorms?"

Zhuo Feng smiled. "We're one of the top four teams in the country! Of course the school is willing to treat us well. Besides, it's only a few dorm rooms."

Since the RSNDM team had to stay on campus for summer training, they couldn't return to their old dorm after getting permission to remain at school. Instead, they were assigned to this building.

"But I didn't bring my blanket or anything."

"Don't worry. Everything's already prepared. We can just move in with our bags."

Lin Wan followed Zhuo Feng upstairs. They had been assigned rooms on the sixth floor.

The dorms were double rooms. The school gave them three dorm rooms to use. The rooms were nice, with private bathrooms and air conditioning. They looked a little smaller than their old six-person dorm, but with only two people in each room, they felt much more spacious.

"Where are the other three?" Lin Wan asked when he didn't see anyone else.

"They live farther away. They'll probably arrive this afternoon or tonight."

"Oh. Isn't your home in Yuhang? Why did you come so early? Did you arrive yesterday?"

"I didn't go home for summer break. I stayed at the coach's house for a few days. Otherwise, where do you think this van came from?"

"Oh? It's the coach's van? When did he buy it?"

"He didn't. His dad bought it for fishing. It was almost ready to be scrapped, so he gave it to him. Otherwise, how could the coach afford a car?"

Lin Wan twitched the corner of her mouth.

"His dad really treats him well..."

"Well, that's because the coach never listened to his family."

"Oh? Sounds like there's a story there."

Zhuo Feng coughed.

"Men's... ahem, adults' business. Kids shouldn't ask. Come on."

"Tch. Yeah, yeah. You're the grown-up. You're the grown-up. You've even got a bigger butt."

When they reached the sixth floor, Zhuo Feng took out the keys and pointed at Rooms 601, 602, and 603.

"Since the others aren't here yet, we can pick whichever room we want."

After looking around the three rooms, Lin Wan's eyes lit up.

"Wait... aren't there three rooms?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"There are only five of us. Doesn't that mean I can have one room all to myself? I've never had my own dorm before!"

Things were different now. If she shared a room with someone, she was worried they might discover her secret.

When school started and she returned to Room 205, she'd have to be much more careful. She'd need to buy an opaque mosquito net to hang around her bed.

Sigh... Why has life become so troublesome after changing...

"You want to live alone?"

"I-Is that not allowed?"

"I heard a story. There was once a student who liked to jump rope on the rooftop every day for exercise. One day, he accidentally jumped right off the roof. They couldn't save him. Ever since then, students living on the sixth floor have always heard the sound of someone jumping rope above the ceiling, thump... thump... thump..."

Without blinking, Zhuo Feng made up the ghost story on the spot, hoping to scare Lin Wan into not living alone.

"Oh? Tell me more!"

Lin Wan's big eyes were full of curiosity.

Not even a little fear.

I've got my cheat ability. I can go anywhere without being afraid!

"......"

Seeing that Lin Wan wasn't scared at all, Zhuo Feng thought about it for a moment. Living alone was probably fine. After all, it wasn't like he couldn't come over to visit.

Lin Wan chose Room 601, and then the two of them headed to the supermarket.

The bedding was already provided, but they still needed to buy toiletries.

When they reached the household goods section, Zhuo Feng watched Lin Wan carefully compare prices. For a moment, he had the strange feeling that they were a young couple shopping together.

After thinking for a while, he called out, "Hey, bro."

"Hm?" Lin Wan looked up from the shelves. "What is it?"

"We're only staying in these dorms for one month."

"Yeah. So?"

"In that case, let's just buy one bottle of body wash and one bottle of shampoo. We can share them. We probably won't even finish them, and it'll save money."

At the words save money, Lin Wan's eyes immediately lit up.

"Deal!"

After paying for the toiletries, Lin Wan glanced at the shelf filled with different brands of sanitary pads and quietly asked in her mind,

"Spirit."

"I'm here~"

"I won't need those... right?"

"That's right~ You won't need them for now~"

What does that mean?

'For now'? Does that mean I'll need them later?

This is getting more and more troublesome...

Wait! If I end up needing those...

Doesn't that mean...