Late as always...

 I am sorry...

Let's go straight to the new chapter :) 

Xiao Zhan's POV

Okay, I think it is safe to say that I have officially lost my mind. Just because all the colours went completely crazy in a single day, I now find myself standing in front of the entrance to the university. A university miles away from home, in a country where I've only ever been on holiday and don't know anyone. And all because of a single day that was perhaps a little strange.

I'm not saying I always think rationally, but this has gone too far. Is it too late for me to change my mind? Probably.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, I've been allowed to take the intermediate exams. In fact, I had thought that I would only be starting my half year of school after that. But no, my dad thought a couple of exams would do me good. That way I wouldn't have to take an entrance exam. As if that wasn't the same thing. No, it was even worse.

An entrance exam was just one test, whereas the intermediate exam was several tests. I was pretty sure that my father wanted to get me into trouble. For whatever reason...

I want to go home... should I just turn around and leave? After all, no one has seen me yet, have they?

"Ah, Xiao Zhan, welcome back. I am glad you changed your mind. I knew a tour of our schools would help." The moment I finished my thought, the director appeared. Right behind him, I spotted Ji Yang with a gentle smile on his face.

So much for the idea of going away...

"And I always appreciate hardworking students. When I heard that you wanted to come early to take the intermediate exams, I was surprised but very pleased."

"Believe me, I was surprised too..." I muttered barely audibly and heard Ji Yang's soft chuckle.

"You still have two weeks before the exams start, so don't worry too much. Although I will use the exam to see what you are made of, if you don't do well, I will of course take your short-term change of school into consideration."

"Lucky me..."

"Ji Yang here will help you get started. So if you have any questions, please feel free to contact him. You also have your roommate. He's a freshman studying a completely different subject, but his grades are excellent and I'm sure he can answer one or two of your questions."

"I have a roommate?" I was hoping to get a room to myself, but okay. I won't be a snob about it. "A freshman?"

The director laughed. "A freshman at the university, yes. He studies psychology. I have already said that I will do my best to ensure that you do not have to share your room with a high school or middle school student."

"Um... thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I have to attend a meeting. Let Ji Yang show you to your room and introduce you to your roommate. You will find your timetable in your room, but until the intermediate exams, your attendance is not compulsory. Of course, I will be happy if you decide to attend classes anyway. And if you have a problem that neither he nor Ji Yang nor any other teacher can solve, you can always come to me.

"I will, thank you, sir."

He nodded with a grin and hurried off.

"It seems your early arrival and participation in the midterm exams isn't optional." Ji Yang greeted me.

"What?" I looked at him in surprise. "What makes you think that? Of course, it was my own decision. I am a very inquisitive person, you know."

Ji Yang laughed and grabbed my two suitcases. "I'm sure you are. Come, let me take you to your room."

"Thank you. I just hope my roommate doesn't get on my nerves. I am very sensitive about that."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. He can be quite annoying, but with the right treatment he can be tamed."

"What do you mean?"

"He is a handful, but nothing that cannot be handled. Don't worry about it. Come, this way."

That did not sound very promising. But the room is only for sleeping anyway. For everything else, I will spend my time elsewhere if necessary. The library, for example, or one of the lounges.

Ji Yang was a polite and respectful person. Sure, I had only met him once before, but that was enough to know what kind of person he was. But maybe I was wrong when I saw that he didn't even knock on the door before opening it and entering the room. Even I wasn't rude enough to do that.

Within the first two seconds I was able to scan my new home and was surprised at how big it was. Two queen size beds. Yes, you heard me, queen-sized! I saw two large desks, two bookshelves and there were two whiteboards. There were two doors, one was open and revealed a bathroom, and the other was closed, but as there was no wardrobe, I assumed the door led to one. Oh, and between the two beds was a large bay window with a sitting area containing a couple of cushions and two blankets.

I understood that private schools always offered a lot, but wasn't this too much? Not that I wanted to complain, especially about that nice bed over there... or a bathroom I didn't have to share with every other student on the floor.

My roommate was, of course, surprised by the sudden intrusion. He jumped up from the bed and a pile of papers flew into the air before falling slowly to the floor. I felt a little embarrassed, so I decided to stay behind Ji Yang and pretend I didn't belong to him. I couldn't afford to upset my roommate on the first day, could I?

"What the...!" He almost cursed, but stopped himself, seemingly remembering his manners. That was until his eyes fell on the source of his shock. The guy frowned as he stared at Ji Yang and finished his sentence as if it wasn't a curse. "Fuck!?"

"Watch your language, Haoxuan, and your manners. Is that how you greet your new roommate?"

Haoxuan looked at me and grinned as he waved at me before he looked back at Ji Yang and his expression immediately changed as he looked at the school president as if he was standing in front of his sworn enemy. Maybe he was?

"Don't you know how to knock?"

"Of course I do. But knowing how rude you usually are, forgetting the existence of manners, I thought you might not care much about such things. I apologize if I was wrong."

Now Haoxuan frowned. "Could you stop talking like that? Why are you suddenly so ... respectful and polite?"

His eyes fell on me and he nodded slowly. "Ah, trying to impress my new roommate, huh? Hey you. Xiao Zhan, right? My name is Haoxuan, Wang Haoxuan. I thought you were coming after the exams. No one told me it would be today. By the way, don't let this guy fool you. He doesn't usually talk like a gentleman. He can also be a brat. Anyway, welcome to hell."

"Ah..." I couldn't help but smile at this guy's bluntness. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I had feared.

Meanwhile, Ji Yang reached for one of the papers on the floor. Haoxuan gasped in shock and tried to stop him, but it was too late.

"Where did you get this?" Ji Yang asked with a deep frown on his usually calm face.

"Why should I tell you?" Haoxuan replied challengingly, but the colours around him told me he was rather nervous. Oh, and underneath the nervousness, there was some irritation simmering. I glanced at the papers and didn't see anything unusual. It was just a list of names.

"The list of female students' names is not yours to keep, and you should know that. Anyway, there are no separate lists for male and female students. Just one for both. So how did you get hold of it?"

"I have my ways. Why is that so bad? What is the difference if I go to every student in all three schools and ask for their names or get a complete list from the principal's office?" Haoxuan didn't seem to be sorry at all.

"The principal's office, huh?" Ji Yang started to pick up the papers on the floor, and to my surprise, Haoxuan, who had seemed to be guarding the list a few minutes earlier, didn't interfere.

"Bingyan must have given it to you. I guess I'll have to pay her a visit and make sure this doesn't happen again. It is strange that someone as strict as her would give you this list." It bothered me a little that I couldn't see any colors around Ji Yang. I could not be sure what was going on inside him. However, I had the feeling that he was not amused by this situation.

"What can I say? I can be very convincing with my charm." Haoxuan grinned proudly.

Ji Yang hurried up and picked up all the pages that were still scattered on the floor.

"I'll leave Xiao Zhan in your hands." He turned to me. "Don't let Haoxuan influence you too much."

With that, Ji Yang left, closing the door behind him. I had no idea what had just happened, but at least I knew that my short stay at this school wouldn't be boring. Especially not with a roommate like this first grader here.

"What was that?" I asked him, confused but curious.

"Oh, that? Our school president is a bully, that's all."

"If you're not supposed to have that list, it's not bullying for him to take it away."

"Pah, if it makes him happy." He shrugged and walked over to the whiteboard on my side of the room. He turned it over and proudly showed me his work. He had copied the list of names onto the board a long time ago.

I was speechless.

"I hope you won't be needing this side of the board for a while. I can't have it on mine because, knowing our school president, there's a good chance he'll check mine. He is so annoying".

I studied the board and saw that some names had been crossed out. Haoxuan must have seen my interest and nodded.

"This is my life's work."

"Names of female students? What do you need them for?" I asked suspiciously. I hoped he wasn't a pervert.

"I'm looking for someone." He shrugged. "Anyway, why are you here so early? Weren't you supposed to come after the exams?"

"That's what I thought."

"Damn, it was a surprise, huh?" Haoxuan laughed.

"Very funny."

"Hey, just pretend it was you who wanted to come as soon as possible, eager to learn. That way you will quickly become the teacher's favourite. Trust me."

"Whatever." I grabbed my suitcases and pulled them closer to my bed. I saw a piece of paper on them, and for a moment I thought it was a remnant of the list of names, but I was wrong. It was my schedule.

"The wardrobe is behind that door." He confirmed my earlier assumption. "By the way, I already looked at your schedule and saw that we both have history classes together."

"The director said you were studying a different subject to me. Why are you taking history?"

"Yes, I study psychology. But have you ever heard of an elective? I chose history. What is yours?"

"I haven't decided yet. Why did you choose history?"

"Not because I am interested in it. I find it quite boring. But when I heard who the teacher was, I had to apply."

"Why?" I asked, laughing. "No, wait, let me guess. A hot teacher you have a crush on?"

"Close, but no. It's not the teacher, not really. But thanks to the teacher, the girls are flocking to this class. How can I stay away? No, I had to be there. But you will soon see what I mean. Classes start in an hour or so."

"Yes, well, until the exams my attendance is not compulsory, so I don't have to attend." He looked at me with a hint of envy.

"You're missing out. The ladies are hot, I tell you." He said eagerly.

"If you help me unpack my stuff in the next hour, I'll go with you." I wiggled my eyebrows.

"There would be nothing for me to gain. I don't care if you miss the ladies. It's your loss. Why should I help you unpack?"

"You're right." I nodded slowly. "So while you're in class, I'll unpack my stuff and clean my part of the room. That whiteboard looks particularly dirty..."

"Hmm, you're a wicked one, aren't you?" He grinned. "I like that. Fine, I will help you as the best roommate you could ever have. But you have to promise me not to touch that whiteboard. That list is my life!"

"Only if you tell me what it's about."

He seemed to think for a moment. "Deal. Now hurry up or we might be late. As popular as this teacher is, he's also damn strict, so you don't want to end up on his bad side."

"I'm not afraid." I shrugged and together we finished unpacking within 30 minutes.

to be continued ...

Looks like these two have found each other, eh?  

Oh, and a hot teacher? Count me in! Where to I sign up?

But was it really wise to say that you're not afraid? Just asking... 

By the way, I always told myself that seeing a psychologist wasn't for me. I mean, why should I go and tell a complete stranger some of my inner feelings/secrets? I don't really trust 'doctor-patient confidentiality'. Why not? Because I've seen far too many dramas where doctors can't keep anything to themselves. Anyway, if Haoxuan was my psychologist... well, I might say one or two things... argh, who am I kidding? I wouldn't. But he would make it very easy to keep quiet. I would be busy admiring his beauty. 

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