Chapter 1: Freshman Registration
Read more: Waiting For You To Come Online -Chapter 1August 31st—today is the registration day for new students at S University.
A light rain had just fallen in the early morning, making the roads slippery and muddy. The air was filled with a damp smell.
Xie Yang, dragging his heavy suitcase, transferred through several trains and finally arrived at S University.
The sun was scorching, as S City was in the peak of summer.
In thirty-plus degree weather, even with thick-soled sneakers, he could feel the searing heat of the ground.
Even the wind carried heat.
Xie Yang wore a plain white T-shirt, his back already soaked with sweat.
The sticky fabric clung to his skin, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
The line for new student registration was very long, and the registration area was packed with parents.
Most of the people in line were parents, while the students stayed under the shade of trees, watching the luggage.
Xie Yang, dragging his suitcase, stood out somewhat.
Perhaps noticing Xie Yang struggling with both his luggage and the registration process, looking a bit flustered, an upperclassman couldn't help but speak up: "Are you here alone? Do you need help?"
Xie Yang finally signed his name and politely declined the upperclassman's offer, dragging his suitcase toward the dormitory by himself.
However, he didn't anticipate that S University's dormitory area would be so vast.
He wandered around like a blind fly for quite some time before finding his dormitory building.
He could have avoided this trouble—the upperclassman at the registration desk had enthusiastically offered to take him to the dorm, but he had declined.
At that moment, a parent had also wanted to ask about dormitory issues, so Xie Yang felt it was impolite to let the upperclassman lead him.
He always disliked bothering others and felt a mix of gratitude, fear, and unease towards their kindness.
He had a reserved and socially anxious personality, rarely interacting with others.
The elevator area of the dormitory was crowded with people carrying luggage, and one elevator trip couldn't take many people.
Xie Yang had no choice but to carry his suitcase up the stairs.
Fortunately, he didn't have much luggage, and his dormitory floor wasn't very high.
Room number 501.
After confirming his dormitory on his phone, Xie Yang politely knocked on the door before slowly pushing it open.
As soon as he opened the door, a blast of cool air from the air conditioner hit him, alleviating some of his discomfort from the heat.
Hearing the knock, the three people busy unpacking inside the dormitory simultaneously looked towards the door.
Feeling their gazes on him, Xie Yang's nerves, which had just relaxed, began to tense up again.
The fear of the new environment and unfamiliar roommates overwhelmed him.
He nervously greeted his roommates, "H-hello."
"Xie Yang?"
The voice carried a hint of surprise. Xie Yang looked in the direction of the voice.
It was Su Huai, his high school classmate.
Seeing someone he knew, Xie Yang immediately felt relieved and shyly smiled, "Su Huai."
Su Huai laughed, "I was surprised when I saw the dormitory list. I didn't expect us to end up in the same room."
"You guys know each other?" one of the other roommates asked.
Su Huai replied, "Yes, we were in the same class in high school, just like you two."
"Wow, that's really lucky."
"At least you know someone."
Su Huai agreed, "That's true."
Seeing Xie Yang still standing at the door, Su Huai waved him in, "Come in quickly before all the cool air escapes. Isn't it hot outside?"
Xie Yang hurriedly pushed his suitcase into the dormitory, his face showing a bit of embarrassment, "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Su Huai pointed to a nearby bed, "That's your bed."
The other three roommates arrived early and had already chosen their beds, leaving only the one next to Su Huai unclaimed.
Xie Yang softly said, "Thank you."
He had very little luggage, bringing only a few sets of clothes, some daily necessities, and an old laptop. He also had a box of homemade cupcakes.
There were a lot of people on the way, and the cupcakes were easily squished, so Xie Yang had carefully protected them to ensure they arrived intact at the dormitory.
Since it was the first day of school, he wanted to get closer to his roommates.
His awkward personality often strained his relationships with classmates. He would be living with these people for the next four years and didn't want his dorm life to be too difficult.
Even if his roommates didn't like him, he hoped they could maintain a good relationship.
But this was not his familiar territory. He never knew how to win over new friends or how to get along with classmates, let alone roommates he would be living with day and night.
Xie Yang held the box in his hands, hesitating for a long time, unsure how to start a conversation.
Finally, it was Su Huai who broke the silence in the dormitory, catching a whiff of the sweet aroma of the cupcakes. "What's that smell? It smells sweet, like cream?"
Nervously, Xie Yang stood up and handed the box to Su Huai. "It's, it's cupcakes I made. Would you like to try one?"
"You made these?"
"You know how to bake?" Su Huai was a bit surprised but didn't refuse. "After a busy afternoon, I'm starving."
He took the box from Xie Yang and opened it, revealing the delicate pastries inside. Su Huai had always liked sweet foods.
Noticing Xie Yang's nervous gaze, Su Huai smiled and said, "They taste great."
Xie Yang's tense expression relaxed, and his eyes turned to the other two roommates. He wanted to say something but hesitated for a long time.
Seeing this, Su Huai chuckled, "Let me help you."
Before Xie Yang arrived, Su Huai had already become acquainted with the other two roommates. He was naturally sociable and somewhat knew the other two from before.
They were all from S City, a place both big and small, so they had heard of each other.
As the cupcakes were handed out, Xie Yang breathed a sigh of relief and a shy smile appeared on his face. He sincerely said to Su Huai, "Thank you, Su Huai."
Seeing the blush on Xie Yang's face, Su Huai paused for a moment. He had never really looked at Xie Yang closely before and now realized that Xie Yang was actually quite attractive. His slightly long bangs and thick glasses had always obscured his appearance, making him seem unremarkable.
Su Huai and Xie Yang had been in the same class since their first year of high school. Aside from knowing that Xie Yang had excellent grades, he knew little else about him.
Xie Yang was always the model student in the teachers' eyes, quiet and studious. Whenever he was seen, he was diligently studying. Even after school, he would stay at his desk doing homework.
For three years, he consistently ranked first in the class and second in the grade. Despite this, he was very low-key, never boasting about his achievements.
Because he spent most of his time studying and rarely interacted with others, his presence was weak, making him a peripheral figure1 in the class.
Because the teachers often praised Xie Yang and compared other students to him, his popularity in the class was not good.
Nobody likes being compared, especially as a negative example.
As a result, most of the classmates didn't interact much with Xie Yang. Even for the annual class reunion, no one would invite him.
People would often talk behind his back, saying that someone as smart as him looked down on students with poor grades.
Every little thing about Xie Yang seemed to garner negative comments.
But now it seemed that Xie Yang's personality wasn't arrogant as they said. He was simply shy, introverted, and socially anxious, which made him unpopular.
Su Huai found it amusing. Even though he hadn't paid much attention to Xie Yang before, they had been in the same class for three years. He had never realized that Xie Yang was this kind of person.
Seeing Xie Yang's shy expression, he deliberately teased, "You're really impressive, making desserts and all."
Su Huai's compliment made Xie Yang even more embarrassed. Twisting the hem of his shirt, he blushed and softly said, "I worked part-time at a bakery before, so I learned a little."
"That's still really impressive!"
"…"
The two chatted while tidying up the dorm room. After arranging all their belongings, Su Huai suggested, "It's six o'clock. How about we go grab some dinner together?"
"Sure."
"Let's go, I'm starving."
"Where should we eat? The school cafeteria?"
"How about we explore outside and buy some daily necessities too?"
"Sounds good, it's a plan."
"Xie Yang, come with us."
Hearing Su Huai call his name, Xie Yang felt a bit surprised. His classmates rarely included him in their plans before.
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Near the school, there were several food streets filled with small restaurants, most of which were packed.
They finally found a place with available seating and ordered a few stir-fry dishes.
As roommates, they wanted to build a good relationship, especially since they would be living together for the next four years if everything went smoothly.
Talking about various topics, they quickly became familiar with each other.
Although Xie Yang spoke little, he answered when asked and listened attentively to their conversations.
The three roommates gradually got to understand Xie Yang's slow-to-warm-up and gentle nature.
Back at the dorm, they decided to play some games together.
"Three players are too few, but five players are too many."
"Should we recruit someone?"
"No, it's the start of the season. Who knows if we'll get a good player or not. Let's just pull someone from our friends list."
"They're all in games already."
Hearing this, Xie Yang quickly said, "Um, my rank is low, so I probably can't queue with you guys. You should go ahead and play."
"What's your rank?"
"If you're Platinum, we can queue together."
Xie Yang, feeling embarrassed, said, "I'm only Silver."
The rankings were reset for the new season, and the three roommates who were positioned in Emerald One: "…"
"Okay then, we'll start playing as a trio first. You focus on practicing, and once your rank goes up, we'll play together."
Xie Yang quickly nodded, "Okay."
In fact, he rarely played games. His spare time was usually spent either working part-time or studying.
He only started playing this mobile game because he heard the person he liked was playing it too, which prompted him to download it.
It's a pity that he doesn't seem to have much talent for games, and he is still in the silver rank until now.
So, Xie Yang didn't dare to join his roommates in ranked matches, fearing he might drag them down. He could only casually agree to their suggestion.
While they played their trio games, Xie Yang had some free time and decided to take a shower. Summers in S City were hot, making a cold shower perfect for the weather.
Leaning back with water from the shower head hitting his face, Xie Yang wiped his face. The cold water helped ease his inner restlessness bit by bit.
Hearing the laughter from his roommates playing together, Xie Yang smiled. Fortunately, his roommates were much easier to get along with than he had imagined. Today was smoother than he expected.
After finishing his shower, Xie Yang came out, and Su Huai, who was gaming, casually mentioned to him, "Your phone rang while you were in the shower. Probably someone calling you."
Xie Yang paused in drying his hair, his eyes lowered. "Alright, I got it."
He only had five contacts saved on his phone, and there was only one person who would call him at this time.
His mother.
Looking at the missed call display, Xie Yang hesitated for a while, then quietly closed the balcony door and tapped the screen to call back.
Ring…
The phone rang for a long time before it was finally picked up just as Xie Yang was about to hang up.
"Hello, Yang Yang?"
Xie Yang: "Mom."
"Are you asleep?"
Xie Yang: "Not yet, I just finished taking a shower and missed your call."
"School starts tomorrow. Mom wanted to accompany you, but your uncle can't make time to accompany your younger brother to school tomorrow, so Mom…"
"It's okay." Xie Yang interrupted her before she could finish.
Then he took a deep breath, looking at the pitch-black night outside, and calmly said, "It's just for registration at school. There's no need to make it such a hassle, especially since I'm not a child anymore. I can handle it on my own. You don't need to come."
In fact, Xie Yang understood very well what his mother intended to say with this call at this time. Based on countless previous experiences, he already knew the outcome.
However, when he heard the beginning, Xie Yang wanted to interrupt her several times. For whatever reason, he didn't care and didn't want to hear it.
Both of them fell silent for a moment. As Xie Yang prepared to hang up the phone, the voice on the other end spoke again.
"Yang Yang, are you still blaming Mom?"
Xie Yang felt a bit powerless. He didn't want to explain or answer, so he could only squeeze out, "No, I don't think that way. You're overthinking."
"Okay then, rest well. Do you have enough money with you? Mom will transfer some more to you. University expenses are high, I heard you need money for water, electricity, and meals."
"Don't save money. Let Mom know when you need it."
Xie Yang: "It's okay, you've already given me enough."
"Alright then, if there's anything, just call Mom."
Xie Yang: "Got it."
After hanging up the phone, Xie Yang felt somewhat despondent2.
In fact, he had informed his mother long ago that S University required students to arrive a day early for registration, not on the first day of September when classes officially started.
At that time, he had hoped his mother would accompany him for enrollment and feel proud of him for getting into S University.
But unfortunately, that didn't happen.
The day he received his college entrance exam results coincided with the day his half-brother, from another mother, received his final exam scores. That day, his mother was overjoyed by his brother's 80-point math score, casually glancing at Xie Yang's exam results and leaving them lying on the dining table.
It was clear who mattered more.
He should have understood long ago, from the moment his parents chose to divorce.
No one wanted to take him along; instead, they dumped him on his grandmother in the countryside.
His existence became a burden between his parents.
Yet, he still clung to that foolish hope.
He hoped to gain his parents' attention, to make them remember he existed.
Actually, this morning, he had waited for a long time.
He had arranged a time with his mother early in the morning, but she never showed up.
He knew she might have been busy and didn't have time to come.
But those were just excuses he made for her.
Deep down, he knew well enough that this small matter of enrollment wasn't on her mind, and naturally, she had forgotten that he had to register today.
So when he heard her mention "tomorrow," he knew, as he had expected and as he had said.
It was just a matter of handling the enrollment procedures, something he could do on his own.
It wasn't disappointment; he had probably grown accustomed to it long ago.
Looking at the just-transferred 3,000 yuan in his bank account, Xie Yang captured the transfer record screenshot and saved it.
After washing and hanging up his clothes, he climbed back into bed and started taking notes.
He had a notebook dedicated to tracking expenses, recording every expenditure each day.
He had three bank cards: one for his part-time job salary and the other two set up by his parents, who would deposit child support into them regularly.
But he had never touched the money his parents gave him.
He always felt it was something to be repaid.
One day in the future, there might be a reckoning.
So all this time, Xie Yang relied on part-time work to support his daily expenses.
He studied hard not just to seek his parents' attention but also to earn scholarships that could support his university education.
He was very frugal and never spent money unnecessarily.
Even in the toughest times, he never thought of using the money his parents sent him, meticulously keeping track of every penny they transferred.
Xie Yang planned that after graduating from university, he would return these two cards exactly as they were given to him.
Then, draw a clear boundary.
The sounds of game kills continued in the dormitory. Xie Yang put on his headphones, slowly closed his eyes.
"Wow, I got a pentakill!"
"Quick, record it. I'm going to post it on Moments later."
"Tsk tsk, it's all because I gave you those kills."
"Alright, thanks bro."
Su Huai glanced in Xie Yang's direction, furrowing his brow slightly. "Keep it down, Xie Yang's asleep."
"Okay, it's getting late anyway."
"Let's call it a night here, we'll continue tomorrow."
"Let's hit the sack."
The dormitory gradually quieted down.
Xie Yang wasn't actually asleep; his mind was in turmoil. Out of habit, he opened his phone, navigated to WeChat's add friends feature, and typed in a string of numbers.
Due to not having any friends, he could only see the other person's profile picture and their status message. Unfortunately, the person hadn't written anything in their status message.
Xie Yang had been observing for a whole year: their black-and-white profile picture, simple letter nickname, and blank status had never changed.
Xie Yang stared at the screen for a long time before reluctantly tapping the exit button.
Today was the day for enrollment.
Would he come too?
Would he live in the dormitory?
Would it be in this same dormitory building?
Xie Yang couldn't help but start looking forward to the arrival of dawn.
Would he have a chance to meet him tomorrow?
Note :
"Peripheral" refers to Xie Yang being on the outskirts of the social dynamics within his class. He wasn't a central figure in social activities or interactions. Instead, he was more isolated and not closely integrated with the main group of classmates. This is likely due to his shy, introverted nature and the way he was perceived because of the constant comparisons made by teachers, which alienated him from his peers. ↩︎"Despondent" means feeling sad, hopeless, or discouraged. ↩︎
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