While Chen Fengling was still caught in the tide of moonlight, Luo Yuan had already returned to the dorm.
The day had been strange. That online friend turned out to be an unexpectedly cute girl. Even stranger, he had actually stood up for himself. The amount of emotional overload he went through today was more than his entire first year of college.
Honestly, he wanted to stay a little longer. But it was already late, and crashing at her place on the first day felt too reckless.
He sighed, thinking about how to deal with the three guys in his dorm. Ever since they fell out, he hadn't spoken to any of them.
People always follow the crowd. Just three people were enough to isolate someone completely in a small group. At this point, it didn't even matter what started it.
He opened the door. Two of them were still inside, both glued to their screens. Neither looked his way. One of them started talking.
"Where'd Ajie go? It's this late and he's still not back."
The other didn't even take off his gaming headset. "No idea. Call him. We're supposed to go eat later, just the five of us. Tell him to hurry."
Then one of them glanced at Luo Yuan as he sat down, and typed something into the group chat.
Luo Yuan wasn't in that dorm group anymore. They kicked him out early on, not wanting to upset the balance. No one had ever openly fought with him, but they had been casually cruel for a long time.
He and Chen Fengling both knew what that felt like. A year ago, he even missed an entire class because of this kind of information gap. Back when things seemed okay, they were already feeding him fake answers, only to laugh about it later behind his back.
Fengling had almost jumped off Tiantai Hill because of it. If he hadn't stopped her, she probably would've done it.
As for him, he had cut ties completely and stopped relying on people like them.
You can't let your social life be limited by proximity or circumstance.
He opened his social app. The club group chat was lit up with mentions. Everyone was talking about him.
"@LuoYuanAbs So you finally met that internet friend you kept talking about? How'd it go? You've been offline the whole day—did they take your kidney or something?"
Someone from the club, a close friend, fired it off the moment he logged in. The others followed up quickly. One person even wrote a dramatic short story.
"Luo Yuan, if they actually took your kidney, just say the word. I'll come help."
The group admin, marked "Senior Sister," jumped in almost instantly. Her reaction speed could rival cell-splitting science.
"I'm fine. She's a really cute person."
He sent the message and felt a weird sense of pride, like pulling a five-star drop from a random gacha pull.
Right before he hit send, though, he heard one of the guys in the dorm say, "Hey, I heard something happened to Ajie."
He turned. Both of them had stopped playing.
"What happened?"
One of them, looking uneasy, turned around. Luo Yuan remembered Ajie owed him over a thousand yuan. That argument kept him awake once.
"Looks like he got into a brawl with the dorm leader and Jiahe. They say he went nuts. Mental breakdown or something. But they all seemed normal before. Now they've been locked up."
"It just happened this afternoon. I checked—it's already climbing the trending searches."
The guy who was owed money looked anxious.
"You sure? So, they're not coming back?"
The other nodded.
"Yeah. They're being detained. They're probably getting sent to a psych ward."
"What? But he still owes me money! What am I gonna eat tomorrow?"
"You're probably never seeing that cash again. Guy always acted sketchy. Probably snapped."
He whispered it under his breath.
Then he noticed Luo Yuan watching them.
"Hey, you. Go buy us some barbecue and drinks. Stop sitting around like a statue."
He spoke without thinking. Still stuck in the old dynamic where Ajie called the shots.
"If you don't have legs, I can book a hospital appointment for you."
Luo Yuan had made up his mind after leaving Chen Fengling's place. He wasn't going to keep shrinking back like a coward.
The guy snapped.
"Don't think I can't mess you up just because Ajie's not here."
He stormed over, planning to rough him up. The other one followed, pretending to break it up, but really just holding Luo Yuan back.
The shouting drew people from other dorms. No one stepped in to stop it. In fact, most looked like they were rooting for the other two.
That's the way people are. Cold shoulders and isolation spread like infection. The loudest side always wins. Once that image is built up, your real personality no longer matters.
Bystanders looked away. Rule enforcers did nothing. It was a deadlock that's chewed up countless students. Once it starts, it doesn't stop—until someone leaves the group completely.
And sometimes, violence works better than explanations.
In these moments, Luo Yuan wasn't as sharp as Fengling. She could throw herself into a fight even if she was clearly weaker, unwilling to back down.
He, on the other hand, had always looked for ways to shield himself, to avoid needing backup. But he knew that wasn't enough.
He broke free with a sudden kick, knocking back the fake peacekeeper. Then he rushed the loudmouth, who was actually shorter than him.
The guy froze, stunned by the speed. All that swagger vanished. Luo Yuan pinned him to the floor before he could react. His head smacked the ground twice.
Everyone backed off.
The one under him didn't even yell. He just started begging.
That was expected. People like him fold fast once their leader's gone. The kind of guy who talks behind someone's back but never dares say a word to their face.
Luo Yuan looked at him with a cold glare. Not out of hatred—just contempt.
"Show me some respect next time. You try this again, and I won't stop at this."
He let him go. The dorm monitor's footsteps echoed down the hall, and the crowd scattered like birds. Even the guy who just got decked ran off, too scared to even report it.
As long as no one ends up bleeding, these quick bursts of violence usually get swept under the rug. Schools tend to punish both sides anyway, no matter who's right.
If you get bullied and stay quiet, people just think you're partly to blame. But if you hit back hard, maybe you won't find justice—but you'll make sure no one kicks you while you're down.
Back in his room, he ignored the two guys. They didn't matter anymore.
He checked the chat again. In just a few minutes, the conversation had exploded.
"@LuoYuanAbs Wait, 'she'? You mean that cute monster is a girl? You called her cute? And now you've gone quiet again, so…"
They were spiraling. Some even started a countdown.
"I was helping her set up her place. Then we played a game."
He replied. Being part of the literature club, they had a habit of going overboard. In just this short time, someone had already uploaded a 50KB "mystery archive" with an eye-catching title. More than half the group had already downloaded it.
He accidentally clicked it but decided not to delete it yet.
"You're finally back. But it's only been like ten minutes…"
The joker of the group sent a strange link. Looked like a shopping site.
"Group Admin Little Witch Vis has deleted this message."
Senior Sister acted fast and muted the guy for 30 minutes.
"Luo Yuan, can you ask her if she's free tomorrow? Maybe she could drop by and say hi?"
She followed up immediately. Even over text, her curiosity was obvious.
She even attached a club poster to tempt him.
"Sure, I'll ask her. But I'm not sure she'll agree. We just met today."
He typed the reply, then switched to his chat with Chen Fengling.
He paused, thinking about how to bring it up.