As soon as Tony Snow joined the group chat, a pinned announcement popped up at the top.
He tapped it open and saw it was a job posting—flyer distribution, $100 a day, lunch included, from 8 AM to 6 PM, for all seven days of the fall break. Tomorrow was the final day.
Aside from the announcement, the admin also posted a new job opportunity: the campus parcel station was hiring part-time workers to help distribute packages from 6 PM to 9 PM, offering a few hundred bucks per month.
Tony skimmed that one briefly, but his eyes quickly returned to the flyer gig. It was simple and straight to the point—and he could start tomorrow. Following the steps in the post, he contacted the group owner, who gave him the phone number of the local supervisor. Tony called and locked in his shift for the following morning.
After dinner, Tony returned to his dorm and spent some time scrolling through the group chat. There were all kinds of odd jobs floating around: package deliveries to specific dorms, classroom stand-ins, and weekend babysitting gigs.
Delivering packages paid far too little for the time and effort. As for pretending to be someone else and attending class in their place—Tony wasn't about to risk getting blacklisted by the university.
The babysitting gigs were kind of interesting, though. Despite being called "tutoring jobs," most of them just involved sitting in a classroom with elementary school kids doing homework. If someone raised a hand, you helped out. That was it.
The pay wasn't bad either—$30 an hour, typically in three shifts: 9 AM to noon, 2 PM to 5 PM, and 6 PM to 9 PM on weekends and holidays.
Tony browsed for a while longer before boredom crept in. He flipped over to his social feeds and began scrolling. Friends were either bragging about weekend trips or posting cringe couple photos. Tony felt nothing.
"Lame," he muttered, tossing his phone on the desk and leaning back in his chair.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He shot up, grabbed his backpack, and rushed toward the library.
One of the past simulations had mentioned that when he was 21, a girl approached him in the library. He'd brushed her off because he didn't like how she looked. Now that the memory had resurfaced, Tony figured he might be able to catch a glimpse of her—whoever she was.
"I can't just ignore someone like that, can I?" he thought as he jogged to the library.
Once inside, he first checked the system computer for any of the recommended postgraduate exam reference books.
Tsinghua University's Life Sciences department—his target—recommended Foundations of Life Science by Wu Qingyu, Biochemistry by Wang Jingyan, Genes VIII by Benjamin Lewin, and Cell Biology by Zhai Zhonghe.
Genes VIII wasn't in stock. Foundations of Life Science and Biochemistry were both checked out. Only Cell Biology had one remaining copy.
Tony memorized the location and raced to the shelf before someone else could get to it.
Moments later, he was back in his usual corner seat, flipping through the hefty Cell Biology volume while periodically scanning the room. No one stood out, and no one approached. After an hour, he gave up the search and focused fully on his reading.
The day passed quietly.
The next morning—the final day of fall break—Tony was up at dawn. He ran laps around the track, ate a hearty breakfast, and headed to the meetup point for the flyer job.
The weather was perfect—clear skies and cool temperatures in the low 70s. Nothing like the unbearable heat from earlier in the week.
After a full day on his feet handing out flyers, Tony finally made it back to the dorm just before sunset. To his surprise, all three of his roommates had returned from their respective holidays.
"Whoa, Snow! You actually went outside?" one of them laughed as Tony stepped in, looking sunburned and worn out.
That was Liam Shaw—short, feisty, and full of sarcasm. He always claimed he was 5'7", but everyone knew he barely cleared 5'3". The running joke in the dorm was that his height was a rounding error.
Despite his size, Liam was the top student in the dorm academically, making him the "tallest short king" among them.
"Let me guess," said another roommate, Theo Archer. "You finally got a girlfriend, huh? Maybe a freshman? Cougar? Interdimensional fairy?"
Tony smirked. "Nah. If only. Your little sister free this weekend?"
"Don't even joke, man. She's in middle school," Theo recoiled instantly, pushing Tony away. "You even say her name and I'm calling the cops. That's three years hard time."
Tony laughed. "Hey, I can wait."
"You're sick. Just tell us what you've been up to the past two days. I haven't seen you online once. Not even a single match of Valor Tactics."
Tony tossed his towel over his shoulder and began filling a basin for a quick wash. "Just working. Part-time job."
Theo stared. "You? Working? You've been a certified lazybones for two years straight. You doing okay?"
Tony paused mid-rinse and looked at his roommates seriously.
"Actually… I've been thinking a lot lately," he said. "Have you guys ever thought about what you're going to do after graduation?"
His question caught everyone off guard.
"I mean," Theo replied, "If I can pass the civil service exams, cool. If not, maybe my uncle can get me something in local government. Worst case? I guess find whatever job pays enough to not hate my life."
Tony turned to Liam. "What about you?"
"Grad school," Liam said immediately.
"You too?" Tony raised an eyebrow. Liam had never mentioned that before.
Liam nodded. "Yeah. I've been prepping quietly. I don't want to just drift after graduation."
Tony felt both surprised and relieved. He wasn't alone in trying to change his life after years of stagnation.
He dried his face, eyes calm but firm.
"Then let's work hard together," he said.