The dormitory building where Wei Jiajia and the others stayed had a total of four floors, and she was lucky enough to be assigned to the second floor.
Following Li Wenxiu, they arrived at the door of room 206. From inside, they could hear a lot of noise coming from inside—both men and women talking loudly.
Li Wenxiu pointed to the door next to the room and said, “This is my room. If you need anything, feel free to come to me. I won’t go inside with you, I still have to welcome other new students. I’ll leave you to it. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”
Wei Jiajia felt a little embarrassed when she heard Li Wenxiu’s words and said, “Sister Li, you’ve really gone above and beyond today, helping me run all over the place. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be wandering around not knowing where to go.”
Saying that, she quickly reached into her military-green shoulder bag and took out a generous handful of White Rabbit milk candies, handing them to Li Wenxiu. “Please take these to sweeten your day.”
When Li Wenxiu saw the White Rabbit candies, her eyes momentarily brightened, but she politely refused, saying, “This is simply part of my responsibilities today. I cannot accept such valuable things from you. Please take it back and share it with Xiangdong and Xiangxi.”
Wei Jiajia didn’t listen to Li Wenxiu’s refusal. Without hesitation, she stuffed the candies into her pocket. Seeing Wei Jiajia’s determination, Li Wenxiu said no more, said goodbye to the three siblings, and left.
Watching Li Wenxiu’s figure disappear down the hallway, Wei Jiajia turned and knocked on the door of room 206.
The voices inside the dormitory suddenly stopped, and after a few seconds, the dormitory door was opened from the inside.
The person who opened the door was a young woman, around eighteen years old, of average height, with an endearing doll-like face.
When the girl opened the door and saw the three siblings standing there, her mouth slightly opened, and she stared at Wei Jiajia with a look of astonishment, not saying a word for a long time.
The others inside the dormitory saw the girl with the doll face open the door, but they couldn’t figure out why she was standing there for so long without speaking.
Since the door was blocked by her body, the people inside couldn’t see what was going on outside. Everyone just looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what was happening.
“Hello! I’m the new student assigned to this dorm,” Wei Jiajia said, seeing that the girl in front of her was fixated on her face and hadn’t spoken for a while.
She couldn’t get inside with the girl blocking the door, so she decided to speak first and greet her.
“You… Hello!” Hearing Wei Jiajia’s voice, the girl’s face suddenly turned red, and she replied in a daze.
Behind Wei Jiajia, Xiangdong and Xiangxi watched the girl standing there like a fool, exchanging looks and silently communicating: Doesn’t she look a bit dumb?
“It seems so,” Xiang Dong nodded with certainty.
“Pfft—” Wei Jiajia couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sight.
The girl with the doll-like face saw Wei Jiajia’s smile, and her face turned even redder!
She was unaware that her stunned reaction, upon seeing a girl so ethereally beautiful, was being perceived as somewhat dumb.
Realizing she was still blocking the doorway, the girl hurriedly introduced herself, saying, “Hello, I’m Yang Sisi, and I also live in this dorm. Please, come in.” She stepped aside to let them through.
Wei Jiajia smiled in response, thanking her, and then, after a brief pause, asked, “Would it be alright if I brought my two younger brothers in as well?”
Yang Sisi looked at the twins standing behind Wei Jiajia and nodded. “Of course, it’s fine. There are other students’ parents inside as well.”
With that assurance, Wei Jiajia didn’t say anything further. She picked up her things and led the twins inside.
Inside, as they overheard the conversation between Yang Sisi and the newcomer, the others saw the girl step aside. Then, a girl with fair skin and delicate features walked in.
The entire room fell silent as the three siblings entered, mirroring Yang Sisi’s reaction.
Wei Jiajia entered the dormitory and, upon seeing the others inside, took the initiative to greet them.
“Hello, everyone! I’m Wei Jiajia from the Chinese Department, reporting today. These are my two younger brothers who came with me today.”
“Hello!” “Hello, Comrade Wei, welcome! Please, come in.”
Upon hearing Wei Jiajia’s greeting, the others inside responded warmly.
At this point, Yang Sisi closed the door and came over to Wei Jiajia. “Comrade Wei, please choose a bed and put your things down,” she said, pointing to several unoccupied beds.
Wei Jiajia nodded in acknowledgment and then politely declined everyone’s offer of help. She looked at the remaining two empty beds, both of which were upper bunks, and without much hesitation, chose the one further from the door. She then took out a cloth from her bag and climbed up.
Once she was on the bed, she noticed it was very clean, with no dust, likely cleaned by someone else. Turning to the others, she expressed her gratitude.
“Has the bed been cleaned already? Thank you so much!”
“Don’t thank me, it was Zhao Zhaodi who did all the cleaning,” Yang Sisi responded promptly.
She then pointed to a girl sitting on the lower bunk. “Comrade Zhao was the first to arrive, and she cleaned the whole dorm. We’ve all benefited from her kindness.”
Wei Jiajia followed the direction of Yang Sisi’s hand and looked at the girl on the lower bunk, who was wearing a gray top and black pants.
The girl’s clothes, though patched in several places, were mended with such skill that it was almost impossible to notice.
She appeared somewhat shy. When she caught Wei Jiajia’s gaze, she smiled awkwardly at her.
When Wei Jiajia realized it was her who had cleaned the room, she sincerely thanked her, saying, “Thank you, Zhao Zhaodi, you’re really capable. The bed is so clean.”
Zhao Zhaodi, hearing the praise, felt flattered and a little embarrassed. She had never imagined being praised for her cleaning.
Her face turned red as she softly replied, “No, no need to thank me!”
Seeing her reaction, Wei Jiajia smiled kindly and then asked the twins to pass her the remaining items from the floor as she began organizing her stuff.
The others, seeing that the twins didn’t have much to do and didn’t need their help, returned to chatting just like before.
The student who had come with their parents, probably a little earlier than Wei Jiajia, had a rather disorganized pile of belongings. She and her family began tidying up together.
Wei Jiajia had brought only the essentials. She planned to bring the rest of her belongings when she returned home.
After quickly organizing the things she had brought with the twins, Wei Jiajia climbed down from her bed. Finally, she had time to mingle and get to know the others.
Yang Sisi saw that Wei Jiajia was done and said, “Comrade Wei, come over, let’s all introduce ourselves! We’ll be living together for the next four years, so it’s a good idea to get to know each other.”
With that, she took the lead in introducing herself: “I’m Yang Sisi, from Su Province. I just turned eighteen last month, and I’m a freshman in the Chinese Department.”
The girl who had arrived earlier than Wei Jiajia handed her things to her mother, who was standing beside her. As her parents continued unpacking, she walked over to stand next to Wei Jiajia and said, “My name is Su Pan. I’m 17, I’m from Shencheng and I’m also in the Chinese Department! ” She pointed to her parents, who were still busy organizing their things, and added, “Those two are my parents—they took the day off to come with me for registration.” After she was done, she turned her attention to Wei Jiajia, waiting for her to introduce herself.
Seeing this, Wei Jiajia smiled and proceeded to introduce herself: “I’m Wei Jiajia. I’m 16 and from Shencheng as well. I’m in the Literature Department, and these two are my twin brothers! They insisted on coming along to see what college life is like.”
After hearing Wei Jiajia’s introduction, Su Pan, who had been very curious about her ever since she entered, finally turned her attention to the other classmates who had yet to introduce themselves.
A slightly older girl, who was sleeping in the bed below Wei Jiajia’s, spoke next: “I’m He Shengnan, 24 years old, from Hubei Province, and I’m majoring in History.”
The others were somewhat surprised, as they hadn’t expected someone so much older to be there.
He Shengnan seemed to notice the confusion on everyone’s faces and smiled as she explained, “I’m different from you all. I’m married and have children. I took the university entrance examination directly from my workplace. After graduation, I’ll return to my original position.”
After hearing her explanation, everyone nodded in understanding and turned their attention to Zhao Zhaodi, the last person who hadn’t introduced herself.
Zhao Zhaodi felt a bit nervous when she saw everyone looking at her. She bit her lip, tightly grasped the edges of her clothes, and quietly introduced herself with a red face. “My name is Zhao Zhaodi, I’m 17, and I’m majoring in History. My family lives in a small mountain village in Ping City, Ji Province.” After speaking, she lowered her head slightly, as though she feared encountering disdain in their gazes.
After a moment, she summoned her courage, lifted her head, and looked directly at everyone. Though still somewhat shy and lacking in confidence, her eyes revealed no trace of inferiority.
The others, seeing Zhao Zhaodi’s vulnerability, smiled kindly. Their eyes were full of admiration and encouragement for her.
Now, with the exception of the student whose bed was still empty, everyone had introduced themselves and gotten to know each other. The atmosphere was much friendlier, and they quickly grew familiar with one another.
It seemed that despite their differing personalities, none of them appeared particularly difficult to get along with. They all hoped that the student who hadn’t arrived yet would be the same.
Wei Jiajia certainly didn’t want the next few years in the dormitory to be filled with conflict and tension.
As the official class meeting would not be held until the following morning, Wei Jiajia decided to return home for the night.
The main reason was that the twins were still too young, and she felt uneasy about them traveling back alone.
Although both of them were almost 1.6 meters tall and often carried themselves with a mature demeanor, which made them seem more grown-up than they were, their youthful faces still betrayed their young age.
After the twins and Wei Jiajia said goodbye to her new roommates, they walked out of the dormitory with Su Pan, who had also finished tidying her bed and was going home for the night with her family.
On the way to the school gate, Su Pan casually linked her arm with Wei Jiajia’s and asked, “Jiajia, where do you live? Is it far from school?”
Wei Jiajia didn’t mind Su Pan’s familiar attitude. She just seemed like a somewhat naive, spoiled little girl.
“My family lives in the old Zha district, so I need to take two buses to get home. What about you?” Wei Jiajia smiled and explained her route home.
“Ah? Our homes are in completely opposite directions. I live in the Dachiang area,” Su Pan said. As soon as she heard that they were going in different directions, her face immediately fell, and she seemed a bit disappointed.
Su Pan’s parents walked a few steps behind, intending to give the two children some space so they could interact more freely.
Seeing their daughter’s behavior, they immediately knew her old habits were resurfacing.
As the only girl in the family, Su Pan was extremely spoiled by the adults, especially by her paternal grandparents, who treated her like the apple of their eye and would never let anyone say a word against her.
This excessive pampering had made Su Pan’s personality somewhat innocent and naive. Fearing that her daughter might say something embarrassing, Mrs. Song quickly suggested, “Well, why don’t you invite Wei Jiajia over to our house during the holidays? It will be a good chance for her to familiarize herself with our house. Since both of you are from Shencheng, and now roommates, it’d be nice to keep in touch more.”
Upon hearing her mother’s words, Su Pan thought about the possibility of visiting Wei Jiajia whenever she wished, which made her smile.
Wei Jiajia, hearing Mrs. Song’s words, smiled and agreed, saying that she would visit whenever she had the time. After that, she parted ways with the Song family and took the twins back home.
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