Qin Yue turned over in bed and then his eyes slid open, shining with clarity.
Xu Wei who was about to shake him awake withdrew his hands awkwardly.
"You're awake. It's almost time for orientation."
Qin Yue hummed softly and hurled himself out of bed. He went to the bathroom to wash off quickly, feeling refreshed.
After getting dressed, they both went to the main hall with Xu Wei leading the way.
His chattering didn't stop for a minute as they walked.
"Do you know, this school was actually founded over hundred years ago. Only one of the founding families still had descendants today. The one called er... I forgot."
He leaned towards Qin Yue and lowered his voice.
"I heard that the matriarch of this family is still alive even after several hundred years. If you ask me, it's just a gimmick. The real matriarch probably died a long time ago and they're just using people to substitute her."
"How do you know that?"
Xu Wei looked at him as though saying 'isn't this obvious?'
"Clearly humans haven't evolved to the point of having such a long lifespan."
Qin Yue didn't respond and simply followed the flow of students entering the large auditorium.
The place was packed already with fresh faced teenagers, most carrying the same mixture of excitement and anxiety.
Xu Wei spotted two empty seats near the middle.
"There! Quick, quick!" he said, grabbing Qin Yue's sleeve and dragging him toward them.
Qin Yue pulled his arm away the moment they sat. Xu Wei pretended not to notice.
The chatter around them was loud, cliques already forming as local students recognized each other from high school while others nervously adjusted their glasses or scrolled through their phones.
Qin Yue sat quietly, his expression unreadable. After years of nonstop misfortune, the past few days of relative calm still felt unreal. Like borrowed time.
The auditorium lights dimmed and students stopped talking and looked toward the stage as a trim middle-aged man in a black suit stepped up to the podium.
"Welcome, new students," he began, his voice carrying through the hall. "You are the newest members of one of the top universities in the province. I hope your years here will be enlightening and productive."
Xu Wei stifled a yawn beside Qin Yue.
The speech continued. All about academic excellence, university rules, available resources, counseling centers, clubs, societies, and research labs.
It was mostly the usual: "study hard," "don't cause trouble," "look after your health."
Xu Wei leaned over and whispered,
"Why is his speech so long? I feel like my soul's leaving my body."
Qin Yue didn't react.
"Do you think he practices this in front of the mirror every day?" Xu Wei continued. "Look at his hand gestures. Super practiced. My dad talks like that when he's lying."
Qin Yue shot him a side-eye.
"Listen quietly."
"Ah, right, right." Xu Wei straightened up but only lasted ten seconds before whispering again. "After this, let's go find the cafeteria. I'm starving. Did you eat breakfast?"
Qin Yue didn't bother answering.
After what felt like an hour, the speech ended. There was applause, then announcements from different departments and clubs.
When the lights came back up, students began filing out, stretching their arms.
Xu Wei immediately jumped to his feet.
"Let's go!"
Qin Yue stood at a normal pace, ignoring Xu Wei's dramatic enthusiasm.
As they exited the hall, the sun hit them with warm brightness.
Xu Wei clapped Qin Yue's back lightly.
"Come on, this way."
Qin Yue followed behind quietly.
The cafeteria building was large with glass walls and clean modern lines. Inside, the smell of hot food wafted through the air.
A line had already formed, but it was moving quickly.
"What do you want to eat?" Xu Wei asked. "My treat, as a further apology."
"No need," Qin Yue replied.
"Hey, I'm trying to make up for my actions. Don't make it so hard."
Qin Yue ignored him again, grabbing a tray and joining the line.
Xu Wei had no choice but to join behind him. When it was Qin Yue's turn, he heard Xu Wei mutter from behind him.
"Why is it this person?"
The student serving the line seems to hear it as well and raised his head, his expression turning dark the moment he saw Xu Wei.
Qin Yue raised an eyebrow but said nothing and found himself a place to sit after getting his food.
A few minutes later, Xu Wei returned looking defeated.
"Qin Yue, that guy is so vindictive. I don't know why he's targeting me. Look at my plate, it's all bones."
"Did you do anything to him?"
Xu Wei claimed innocence.
"How could I have done anything to him? I don't even know what hus problem is."
Qin Yue stopped asking and focused on hus food. Xu Wei picked around the food but after a glance from Qin Yue, he forced himself to eat the distasteful meal.
"Oh right, that guy is also poor like you. You two should have alot to talk about. You'll probably like him better than me."
Qin Yue paused slightly, feeling like he had found the reason for their altercation.
"Did you tell him he's poor?"
Xu Wei blinked.
"Huh? Oh yea. I saw him earlier today when I was looking around and immediately noticed his poverty"
Qin Yue felt a headache coming on.
"You can't just go around telling people they're poor."
Xu Wei frowned.
"Why not? Isn't he poor? I'm just saying the truth."
Qin Yue couldn't be bothered with him. He had already finished eating and packed the dishes.
"I've already told you. It's your choice whether to listen or not."
Xu Wei trailed behind him.
"Oh okay. Is there anything you want to do? They're several activities lined up."
"Not interested."
"Ah… then clubs? Do you want to join any? I'm thinking basketball club, or maybe drama club? My mom says I talk too much so maybe theater is my calling."
"You really do talk too much."
They dropped their trays and Qin Yue motioned to Xu Wei who looked confused.
"What's wrong? Why is your head twitching?"
"Apologize."
Xu Wei didn't know what he did wrong but apologized anyways.
"Oh, okay. I'm sorry."
"Not to me. To him."
Still confused, Xu Wei turned to the poor boy.
"I'm sorry."
Bai Jinhai felt like a deflated balloon. He was holding onto anger for so long but the speaker wasn't ill intentioned.
However that didn't mean he had forgotten the other person's hurtful words. He only nodded once and continued his work.
Xu Wei pulled at Qin Yue again.
"I already apologized, let's go ."
Qin Yue spared Bai Jinhai a small nod and shook Xu Wei's hands off.
"I can walk."
Xu Wei remained unoffended.
"Qin Yue, why did you ask me to apologize to that poor guy?"
"You're only asking now?"
"Yes. So why?"
"Because it's something you should do."
"Okay then."
Bai Jinhai watched them leave together quietly. Although it seemed like Xu Wei was doing all the talking and Qin Yue couldn't wait to get away, there was no sense of forced harmony between them.
Qin Yue didn't seem like the type to be patient do he was clearly being accommodating towards Xu Wei.
Bai Jinhai sighed softly. This was the kind of warmth he had always craved.
After a while, he shook his head to rid himself to the chaostic thoughts and focused on his work.
He wasn't like them. He couldn't be so carefree.