This was Luo Ye's first time stepping inside a police station.
And he was dragged in.
He was totally clueless the whole time. Luo Ye was chilling at home, gaming, when suddenly two cops walked in. They politely slapped handcuffs on him and invited him for a scenic drive in a police cruiser straight to the station.
Sitting in the interrogation room, Luo Ye widened his innocent eyes, looking at the handsome young officer across the table.
"Name." "Luo Ye." "Gender." "Male." "Occupation." "Student." "Where do you study?" "Jiangcheng University. I'm registering tomorrow."
The cop gave him a closer look. "Good-looking kid. Doesn't look like the type to screw up."
The officer then asked, "Do you have any idea what you did?"
Luo Ye quickly shook his head.
"You don't know?"
The cop eyed him with suspicion. "Then why don't you explain why you were trespassing?"
The young officer suspected Luo Ye was there because of a girl—a classic case of acting on lust. After all, when he saw the homeowner, that was the only reason he could think of. The girl was just too hot.
"Trespassing? What are you talking about?"
Luo Ye was utterly confused. Seeing Luo Ye's innocent gaze, which didn't seem faked, the officer started feeling lost too: "Why were you in room 604, Unit 4, Building 5 of the Faculty Dorms?"
"604? That's my place, man."
The officer checked the file in his hand and snapped, "Listen up, kid. This is a police station. Leniency for confession, severity for resistance."
"Spit it out, why were you in 604?"
"...It really is my home." Luo Ye was getting anxious. Why wouldn't anyone believe the truth? Was his wonderful college life going to be put on hold before it even started, all because he had to chill in a lockup?
"The owner of 604 is a professor at Jiangcheng University. He rented the room to a student. That student is a girl. Not you."
"Rented? Professor?"
Luo Ye's face slowly cleared up: "Is the professor's name Gu Mingxuan?"
"Oh, you did your homework, didn't you?"
Luo Ye: "..."
"Gu Mingxuan is my older brother."
The cop paused, looking back at the file. "I'm saying this one more time. This is the police station. Your last name is Luo, his is Gu. Are you seriously trying to bullshit a cop?"
Luo Ye figured that Gu Mingxuan was likely on a flight, phone off, which is why the police couldn't reach him.
Luo Ye was a freshman at Jiangcheng University. Why did he choose JCU? Because the goddess he had a three-year crush on in high school promised to be his girlfriend if he got into JCU. Also, his brother, Gu Mingxuan, was a professor there, making things easy.
But he never expected his brother to dump him in Jiangcheng and immediately jet off overseas to pursue his fourth doctoral degree.
School started tomorrow. So, he had crashed in the faculty dorm his brother was assigned—Building 5, Unit 4, 604.
Wait, had his brother rented the place out? To a girl?
When the girl came back and heard movement inside her new place, she quietly slipped out and called the cops.
After a quick analysis, the whole thing became clear. Luo Ye was speechless. Seriously.
Gu Mingxuan's flight was six hours long; it would be at least three more hours before he landed. Looks like Luo Ye was stuck in the police station for three hours.
Soon, an older, experienced-looking officer walked in. The young cop stood aside, calling out, "Chief."
Luo Ye was stunned. The Chief? The boss of the entire police station came to question him personally? Even though Luo Ye hadn't done anything wrong, he felt a slight pang of worry.
However, the older officer simply handed a file to the young cop, whose expression changed drastically after reading it.
It was Luo Ye's file.
Son of a martyr. Both parents were police officers, killed in the line of duty. He was raised by his aunt, and he was Gu Mingxuan's cousin. Although they were only related by blood through their mothers, they grew up together and were practically brothers.
No wonder the Chief came himself.
"Young man, we misunderstood you this time."
"No worries." Luo Ye said meekly, still a bit cautious.
The Chief looked at Luo Ye with approval, praising him: "JCU is a top university. Study hard and serve the nation in the future."
Luo Ye nodded.
He then politely declined the Chief's kind invitation to stay the night (in a cell) and only left after grabbing a quick dinner.
The night in Jiangcheng was cool; September was especially refreshing. But Luo Ye was feeling down.
School started tomorrow, and he found that all the hotels near the university were fully booked. And the faculty dorm? He definitely couldn't go back there.
What a mess.
He traveled over 1,700 kilometers from the capital to attend JCU, only to have a half-day tour of the police station before classes started and now nowhere to sleep.
Nice. A perfect beginning.
Soon, a cool breeze blew, and a light drizzle started falling on Luo Ye. He ducked under a tree, pulled out his phone, and opened his chat with the goddess, sharing what happened today.
But she didn't reply.
Luo Ye scrolled through their chat history and sighed. Ever since he told her he got into JCU, she hadn't responded.
Maybe... he was just fooling himself all along. He had a hunch she just used that promise as a nice way to reject him. If he kept chasing after her, he'd be the problem.
It had been a full three-month summer break since high school graduation. Maybe he no longer genuinely liked his goddess; perhaps it was just a lingering feeling of not wanting to lose.
Now that he was a college student, it was time to start a new life.
Man, Jiangcheng really gets a lot of rain. First, he needed to find an internet café to crash at.
Luo Ye used his ID to rent a PC. This internet café was right across from the school—super convenient. He could just wake up and go register tomorrow.
He opened his laptop, clicked on a popular webnovel site, and started typing. Turns out, he was a relatively well-known web novelist under the pen name [Fallen Leaf Returns to Root]. His first romance novel blew up over the three-month summer, earning him a significant income. He was financially set for a college student.
The next day.
It was still drizzling. On JCU's opening day, Luo Ye first headed to the faculty dorms. He looked at the door to 604 and knocked gently. No response. He knocked again. Still nothing.
After a moment of hesitation, Luo Ye took out his key and opened the door.
The suitcase he had left the night before was still sitting in the living room, with a note taped to it: Sorry, I just rented this room recently. The landlord is overseas, and when I heard movement inside, I thought it was a thief.
The handwriting was neat and beautiful. He had been so focused on his game yesterday that he hadn't even noticed someone entering, so he totally deserved to be arrested.
Luo Ye stuffed the note into his bag and left for the gates of Jiangcheng University.
It was the first day of school, and it was raining, the downpour getting heavier. A senior girl walked up, holding an umbrella.
"Are you a freshman? Let me see your admission letter."
Luo Ye pulled the letter from his bag, and the senior glanced at it.
"Luo Ye, Computer Science."
The senior looked at Luo Ye's handsome face and became noticeably more enthusiastic. "Come on, freshman! Follow me."
Led by the friendly senior, Luo Ye completed his registration and found his dorm room.
Building 8, Room 515. He turned down the senior's invitation to grab a meal, said goodbye, and walked into the dorm.
His three future roommates hadn't arrived yet. He heard out-of-town freshmen registered on September 1st, while in-province freshmen registered on September 2nd. They would be here tomorrow.
After making his bed, Luo Ye figured he'd wait for his roommates to arrive before doing any serious dorm decorating.
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Gu Mingxuan. Luo Ye answered.
"Xiao Luo, listen up. Don't go to the faculty dorms. I rented it out for the two years I'll be abroad."
"...I went yesterday."
Silence on the other end, then: "Did she... do anything to you?"
"Nah, she just got me thrown in the slammer."
"Pffft. That's her, alright."
"Xiao Luo, she's my student here at JCU. You'll meet her eventually. She's a great girl, just... a bit hard to get along with."
Luo Ye hung up the phone and walked out onto the balcony. A ray of sunlight streamed in.
The rain had stopped.
Time to go for a stroll.
Luo Ye wandered around JCU.
The most magnificent building on campus was naturally the Library. Right across from the main entrance, it was JCU's pride and joy.
At the library entrance, Luo Ye stared at the facial recognition turnstile and fell into deep thought.
Just then, a tall girl with long black straight hair and loose jeans strode past Luo Ye. Don't ask how Luo Ye could tell she had long legs despite the baggy jeans—some things just can't be hidden by clothes.
Luo Ye didn't see her face, but her back view alone was enough to spark endless imagination. Her hair was damp, and her clothes were slightly wet. The white laptop bag she was holding also had water stains. She had clearly just rushed in from the rain.
"Senior!" Luo Ye called out.
The girl turned her head slightly, looking at Luo Ye with a calm expression. "Are you talking to me?" she asked in a low voice.
Luo Ye saw her face and was inwardly stunned. He had heard that Jiangcheng was known for its beauties, but he hadn't expected to meet such a stunning girl right after arriving at school. She wore no makeup yet was graceful and elegant—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe her as drop-dead gorgeous.
Luo Ye was tongue-tied, not a big talker, had never dated, and was easily shy.
"Senior... c-c-could you... help me scan your face?"
The girl paused slightly. She stood in front of the facial recognition machine.
The next second.
The electronic barrier opened.
"You go first."
"Thank you, Senior." Luo Ye, like a shy big boy, walked in.
The girl looked at Luo Ye, surprised. She hadn't expected him to call her just to ask for help with the face scan. Honestly, Luo Ye was the fifth freshman she had seen today. The first four were all just trying to get her contact info.
"Zhouzhou, why the rush?"
Another girl jogged over. Compared to the first girl, this one wasn't as breathtaking but was still a beauty in her own right. Her name was Qin Yuwen, a third-year student in the School of Management and the campus beauty of her school.
The girl in front of her was her best friend, Su Baizhou—President of the JCU Student Union. She was also the one and only undisputed campus belle of JCU, known as the Ice Queen, a workaholic, and a once-in-a-decade beauty in Computer Science.
"Lots of freshman stuff to deal with," Su Baizhou said flatly.
"Speaking of which, what was the fallout from yesterday's incident? Did the thief get what he deserved?"
"It was a misunderstanding."
Su Baizhou's expression didn't change. The police had already explained the whole story to her.