PSWHNC CH9

Chapter 9 Dorm Inspection

Luo Zhiyu lowered his head and sniffed his collar. Sure enough, the mandarin scent still lingered.

This was probably what the physiology teacher from Class 2-3 had meant by ‘acting like a scoundrel.’

Xiao Yan had just liked his latest post on Moments and sent him a new message.

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: frowning fairy.jpg First time doing laundry?

[Not Zhile]: √

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: What an honor.

[Not Zhile]: ?

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: My class is over.

[Not Zhile]: Good for you. No need to report.

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: frowning fairy.jpg Luo Zhiyu, I think your uniform is pretty much ruined.

[Not Zhile]: Just throw it out when you get back tonight covers face while crying.jpg

Luo Zhiyu silently said goodbye to his ruined uniform, grabbed a towel, and stepped into the dorm’s private bathroom. Warm water ran down his neck and over his body, filling the bathroom with a light fruity scent.

“Do I still smell like fruit salad?” Luo Zhiyu stuck his head out of the bathroom in fresh pajamas.

Jing Ximing looked up from the fruit salad he’d just bought outside the dorm. “A bit better now.”

The mandarin-scented pheromones were clingy. Luo Zhiyu had spent quite a while scrubbing the smell off. No wonder the teacher had reminded them to be careful with personal items. Maybe it was just his imagination, but the gland at the back of his neck felt a little tingly and slightly warm.

He took out a new patch of pheromone suppressant, casually drew a wild boar head on it, and stuck it over his gland.

To prevent students from standing out, even the patches at No. 1 High School were uniform and quite monotonous.

“I heard that there’s going to be a surprise inspection tomorrow night,” Jing Ximing said, munching and scrolling through QQ group chats. “They’re checking in on the new students. Teachers and student council members will be doing the rounds together.”

“Any specific rules?” Luo Zhiyu asked as he stood by the sink, perfunctorily rubbing Xiao Yan’s uniform with some laundry detergent.

“Yeah, there are rules,” Jing Ximing said, reading from his phone. “No one should be in bed, no trash in the trash cans, doors shouldn’t be closed, and nothing on the desks.”

Luo Zhiyu: “?” If there’s no trash in the trash can, then what can be in it? Luo Zhiyu had a lot of questions.

“That’s everything. Kinda weird.” Jing Ximing put down his phone and reluctantly chewed the last bite of his fruit salad. “Whatever. Just make sure to hide our banned appliances.”

“Let’s put them away tomorrow,” Luo Zhiyu said, exhausted after a long day. He laid out his bedding and crawled under the covers. “Since it’s a random check, it’s all about probability.”

Although the homeroom teacher had said that students who had just gone through their secondary gender differentiation didn’t need to join military training, Luo Zhiyu couldn’t sit still. After resting for just one afternoon, he showed up early the next morning in his slightly lighter-colored training uniform and joined Class 3’s formation.

The drill instructor recognized him right away and called out from a distance, “Aren’t you resting, Student Luo?”

“I don’t want special treatment. Freshmen should integrate into the group.” Luo Zhiyu stood ramrod straight, speaking very eloquently. “Yesterday was a one-time thing. I don’t believe that idiot will show up again today.”

“Alright!” The instructor appreciated an omega who wasn’t delicate. “Since you’re here, train properly. It’ll be good for you.”

“Yes, sir!” Luo Zhiyu responded without hesitation.

However, that idiot showed up again.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the last class, a familiar figure ambled over from the other side of the sports field, carrying a red plastic bag, which smaller than yesterday’s.

Luo Zhiyu: “……”

Instructor: “……”

“Don’t mind me,” Xiao Yan said as he sat cross-legged on the grass. He pulled a small container from the plastic bag, opened it to reveal a box of ice cream, and ate it in full view of Luo Zhiyu and all of Class 3.

“You looking for a beating again?” Luo Zhiyu asked with his eyes.

“I’m not,” Xiao Yan said, tossing the empty container back into the bag. “I just came to check how much your uniform has faded.”

“You’re really good at making things up.” Luo Zhiyu felt like he might actually do a frowning fairy.jpg in real life.

A whistle sounded in the distance, signaling Class 3 to disband. Luo Zhiyu picked up a tree branch and charged forward again.

“Hold up,” Xiao Yan called out.

Luo Zhiyu almost couldn’t stop in time. “?”

“Don’t be mad. It’s a kind of fun,” Xiao Yan said, clearly enjoying himself. “Once you’re in second year, you’ll get it.”

Luo Zhiyu didn’t get it. To him, Xiao Yan’s so-called fun came entirely at the expense of his dignity.

“Here, one more for you,” Xiao Yan said, flipping another box of ice cream out of the container and slapping it into Luo Zhiyu’s hand. “I’m not trying to fight you. Seriously.”

Luo Zhiyu took the ice cream with his left hand and slapped the branch into Xiao Yan’s hand with his right, a very formal exchange of goods for payment.

It had only been three days since school started, and he’d already used Xiao Yan’s meal card, worn Xiao Yan’s uniform, and now eaten Xiao Yan’s ice cream.

“Where did you even buy all this?” Same as yesterday’s peach soda, he’d searched every store on campus and still couldn’t find it.

“Brought from home. I keep it in the dorm’s mini fridge,” Xiao Yan said. As they passed a trash can, he casually tossed in the plastic bag along with the tree branch. “You want some?”

When he lifted his arm, the old bite mark on his wrist looked like a peach blossom.

“No, I don’t,” Luo Zhiyu said flatly.

“Then why are you staring at me?” Xiao Yan followed Luo Zhiyu’s gaze to his own wrist. He seemed to recall the incident too. “Oh. Your doing.”

Biting someone when he was three wasn’t exactly a proud memory for Luo Zhiyu, so he blurted out without thinking, “I’ll let you bite me back.”

Xiao Yan: “……”

“Luo Zhiyu,” Xiao Yan patted his shoulder twice, not too hard, not too soft. “You really should’ve sat in on our physiology class last night.”

He walked off toward the dorm area, leaving Luo Zhiyu standing there with a box of ice cream, trying to figure out what Xiao Yan meant.

What did that even mean? Was he ‘acting like a scoundrel’ again, this time in the context of A and O physiology?

At No. 1 High, it was tradition to run surprise dorm inspections during the freshman military training period. The goal was to push students to keep their dorms tidy and to eliminate safety hazards.

As the top-ranked school in the city, No. 1 High’s dorms were well-equipped. Basic appliances weren’t an issue. Still, the school believed students should focus on studying, so any kind of private cooking in the dorms was strictly banned.

At 8 PM, while Luo Zhiyu was absentmindedly doodling at his easel, a sudden knock came from outside the dorm room.

Luo Zhiyu: “?”

“Shh,” Jing Ximing whispered. “Hide the pot.”

“Open up,” said a voice from outside, one Luo Zhiyu found very familiar. “You’re not secretly hiding a pot in there, are you?”

He’d just heard that voice yesterday.

Just as the two pot-hiders froze, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the door.

“Shit, they have a key.”

“Stuff it under your bed. Quick, get on the top bunk!”

Luo Zhiyu: “No one’s allowed on the bed, have you forgotten?!”

Luo Zhiyu: “It won’t fit!”

Luo Zhiyu: “The student council people are all easy to deal with. Don’t worry, it’s just a formality.”

The door was pushed open from the outside. Standing there was Teacher Xu, the same teacher from Class 2-3 who had taught the physiology class the day before.

Behind Teacher Xu, someone ambled out. Xiao Yan, wearing his blue-and-white school uniform, leaned casually against the doorframe and adjusted the new pair of non-prescription glasses on his face.

“Good evening, students. I’m Xiao Yan from the student council. I’ll be handling your dorm inspection tonight.”