Chapter 42.1
Editor: Jodi
“No way!” Ning Sheng said. “I’ll be scared to death if I open my eyes in the middle of the night.”
Xu Ling: “? So you’re only thinking about yourself?”
Ning Sheng: “And about you too.”
“You still have hope.” Xu Ling was relieved.
Ning Sheng: “You can hang on the door to ward off evil spirits.”
Xu Ling: “…”
“Princess, bunk beds are supposed to wobble.” Lu Peng swayed a couple of times on the top bunk, the bed creaking loudly. “See?”
However with a loud clang, the bedside lamp that Li Haoyue had just hung fell and hit him square on the head.
The math nerd: “…Ouch.”
Lu Peng: “What’s three plus three? Do you still remember?”
Ning Sheng: “If it hits him a few more times, his brain will work better than yours.”
While Lu Peng drew all the attention, Xu Ling used the commotion to climb up swiftly and lay down flat.
Xu Ling: “Ning Ning.”
Ning Sheng: “What now?”
Xu Ling: “…My phone’s down there. Pass it up for me.”
“You’re supposed to sleep, not play on your phone. Do you still want your eyes to work?” Ning Sheng asked.
Xu Ling: “I was wrong, I was wrong.”
Not long after, the dorm lights went out.
In just one day, they’d moved from Qing’an Town to the city, so Ning Sheng felt a little worn out.
But this was his first time sleeping in a dorm like this, so he was sleeping lightly. Hence the moment he woke up, he couldn’t fall back asleep.
He was even starting to miss his grandma.
And just like that, he was in high school now, without having spent much time with her.
*
In the middle of the night, Xu Ling got up to go to the bathroom, carefully climbed down, shuffled over, and then took a few steps back.
Ning Sheng: “?”
Xu Ling: “?”
“Then pour me a glass of water.” Ning Sheng whispered.
“Wait here.” Xu Ling said back. “Night service is on its way.”
The dorm lights were off, so even though Xu Ling rummaged through Ning Sheng’s desk, he couldn’t find anything.
However something was in the way, poking at his hand, so he gave it a light push, and it toppled over.
Then he grabbed his own cup decisively and filled it with warm water.
“Drink up and go to sleep.” He urged.
However just as he was about to climb back into bed, Ning Sheng tugged at the hem of his pajama pants.
“Sleep here with me.” Ning Sheng ordered. “Hurry up.”
Xu Ling: “…”
Xu Ling flopped onto the dorm bed, squishing Ning Sheng against the wall.
Ning Sheng: “…”
But at least, in this unfamiliar place, he found something that felt familiar.
So he didn’t fuss anymore and fell asleep quickly.
Xu Ling initially planned to sneak back to his own bed, but after a moment of hesitation, he stayed put.
The next morning, when he came back from washing up, he saw Ning Sheng sitting at the desk, staring blankly.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“My cup… why is there a chip in it?” Ning Sheng asked, confused.
Xu Ling: “Uh… this…”
“Maybe it’s stressed too.” Xu Ling told him. “Like owner, like object.”
“Princess, your 2,000-yuan cup—does this mean you just lost 200 yuan with that chip?” Lu Peng asked.
Li Haoyue: “I think it’s 203.45 yuan.”
“This young master will just buy another one.” Ning Sheng said. “I’ll get it this weekend.”
**
The dorm was only two minutes away from the classroom, so there was no need to wake up super early.
It was just like Lu Peng said, it was honestly pretty great.
For the first time, Ning Sheng realized the perks of living in a dorm.
If he’d known it was like this, he would’ve moved his whole house next to the school back in Qing’an Town.
“Good morning, students.” The principal greeted kindly when he saw the freshmen in their uniforms.
“Good morning.” Ning Sheng replied.
“You just moved into the school yesterday. Are there any questions you want to ask this principal?” The principal asked.
“I do.” Ning Sheng said. “Is your office building for sale?”
Xu Ling: “…”
“Sorry about that.” Xu Ling half-hugged him and dragged him away.
The Ninth High School divided classes based on grades, and this time, Ning Sheng, Xu Ling, and the math nerd ended up in the same class.
Lu Peng was downstairs in another class, still with Fang Hua.
The homeroom teacher assigned seats based on eyesight and height.
Ning Sheng found the seat with his name on it, sat down, and glanced at the name on the desk to his left.
Ning Sheng: “?”
Ming Bai 1明白 – the same characters for this person’s name literally means : understand)? What kind of name was that?
“Hi, I’m Bai Ming.” The new classmate introduced himself.
Ning Sheng: “…”
Where was Xu Dashan?
He turned around and saw Xu Ling grinning at him from the last row.
Ning Sheng: “…”
“Does anyone need to adjust their seat?” The homeroom teacher asked routinely. “Alright, if not, we’ll move on to…”
“Teacher, I’m farsighted.” Ning Sheng raised his hand.
Freezing, Xu Ling lowered his half-raised hand.
The homeroom teacher: “You’re farsighted? How come I didn’t know about this?”
The homeroom teacher: “I’ve gone through your whole stack of medical records, you know.”
Ning Sheng said, “There’s already a stack, so one more won’t hurt.”
Xu Ling: “…”
“With your height, are you okay sitting in the back?” The teacher asked.
Ning Sheng: “Actually, I’m really tall.”
The homeroom teacher: “Alright, got it. Go sit down, and stop tiptoeing.”
Ning Sheng sat back down next to Xu Ling, completely satisfied.
He couldn’t let the mid-level devil king wander too far, otherwise he might get out of control.
Feeling at ease, he stacked a few books on the desk, leaned on them, and started to doze off.
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