Chapter 53: First Meeting with Roommates

Library Management.

Wang Donglai watched the books with undivided attention. Relying on his speed-reading ability, it wouldn't take him long to finish a single book.

However, because [Photographic Memory] consumed significant mental energy, Wang Donglai did not keep it active continuously. Usually, he would activate it once to memorize the key points within a book and then turn it off.

Afterward, he would flip through the books repeatedly to enhance his understanding of the material.

The Reading System was not intended to turn Wang Donglai into a simple book-scanning machine.

Instead, it was truly assisting him in reading, understanding the knowledge within, and enhancing his wisdom.

Wang Donglai understood this, so he settled his mind and bit by bit worked through the incredibly dry and tedious knowledge points in the books.

To be honest, science books were indeed not as interesting as liberal arts books.

Cold formulas, explanations, and principles—only after diving deep could one feel their charm.

As time passed, the sky outside gradually grew dark.

The number of people in the library was also steadily decreasing, but Wang Donglai, buried in his books, did not notice.

With every book he finished, he could see the timely rise of his experience points.

This sense of immediate feedback, similar to leveling up in a video game, held a tremendous attraction for Wang Donglai.

Immersed in his reading, he forgot the passage of time.

It wasn't until a voice sounded from not far away that Wang Donglai lifted his head, emerging from the ocean of knowledge.

"Student, it's already 10:30. The library closes in fifteen minutes. Please pack up your things and leave in an orderly manner."

The librarian was gently reminding a girl who was buried in her book.

Hearing this, Wang Donglai realized with a shock that he had been reading for nearly five hours straight.

As his attention shifted away from the book, a sudden wave of hunger surged.

It turned out he had forgotten to eat dinner because he was so focused on reading.

After a quick cleanup of his books, Wang Donglai hurried out of the library, intending to head to the cafeteria to see if there was anything left to eat.

...

After eating his fill and feeling his energy restored, Wang Donglai finally headed toward the dormitory.

Originally, Wang Donglai hadn't planned on staying in the dorms, but he had been so busy handling company matters lately that he hadn't had time to buy a house, so he chose to stay on campus.

Zhongying Academy, Dormitory Building No. 3, Room 404.

When he pushed the door open and entered, the other three roommates were already lying in their beds.

Hearing the movement, all three poked their heads up to look.

"Hey man, I thought you weren't staying in the dorm on your first day?"

In the bed closest to the door on the left, a chubby guy wearing glasses greeted him with a gentle smile.

"I arrived early to get the dorm settled, so I took a walk around campus and spent some time in the library before coming back."

"By the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Donglai. We'll be in the same dorm for the next four years; I hope we can all become good friends."

Wang Donglai explained himself first, then proceeded to introduce himself to the three of them.

"Hello, my name is Xue Tao. My major is Electrical Engineering and Automation. I'm from Qingdao, Dongshan Province. You guys can come visit my place around October 1st; there will be plenty of seafood and beer."

The chubby guy extended a warm invitation to everyone.

"Hi everyone, I'm Ma Rui. My major is Electronic Communication Engineering, and I'm from Lincheng, Guizhou Province. If you have time, you can come visit us to experience our ethnic minority customs."

On another bed, a clean-cut young man introduced himself with a smile.

In the bed opposite Wang Donglai, a somewhat shy-looking boy introduced himself with a smile: "My name is Baili Xiu. I'm majoring in Life Sciences. My hometown is Huzhou, Guizhou. I brought some local specialties; if you want to try them, help yourselves, they're down there."

Once everyone had finished their introductions, Wang Donglai realized he had forgotten to mention his major and hometown, so he added: "One more thing, my major is Mathematics, and my hometown is Shangshan City, about a hundred kilometers from Tangdu. If you ever want to visit, I can host you."

"Mathematics?!"

Xue Tao exclaimed, as if he had heard something incredible.

Baili Xiu and Ma Rui gave Xue Tao a strange look, then looked at Wang Donglai with puzzled expressions.

"What's wrong with a Math major?"

"Is there a problem?"

Hearing their questions, Xue Tao did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Wang Donglai with a hint of apology and inquiry in his eyes.

"It's nothing. Go ahead, speak."

When Xue Tao exclaimed, Wang Donglai had already guessed that Xue Tao might know something about his major. However, since Xue Tao didn't blurt it out immediately but instead asked for his opinion, and because Wang Donglai saw that hint of apology, his evaluation of Xue Tao instantly went up a notch.

"I looked into our academy, and it seems to cover over ten majors, including Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, Life Sciences, and the 'Qian Xuesen Experimental Class.' So, Wang Donglai should be a student of the 'Qian Xuesen Mathematics Experimental Class.'"

Xue Tao shared what he knew while paying close attention to Wang Donglai's expression.

"'Qian Xuesen Experimental Class? What is that?'"

Ma Rui asked curiously, looking puzzled.

"It's not actually anything special; it's just a class the school specially formed by selecting the absolute top-tier geniuses from among the top students. There are three such classes in total, plus a medical 'Hou Zonglian Class.' It offers a combined bachelor's and master's program, specialized professional courses, subsidized study abroad opportunities, and so on."

As Xue Tao explained, Baili Xiu and Ma Rui's eyes lit up.

"Alright, if you keep talking, my head is going to get too big."

Wang Donglai couldn't listen anymore and interrupted Xue Tao. Human nature is complex; people often suffer more from inequality than from scarcity. They were all roommates, and Wang Donglai did not want his roommates to develop feelings of jealousy toward him.

The Zhu Ling case at Tsinghua was not an isolated incident.

Mining University, Peking University, Fudan University, Yanda's Ma Jiajue, Nanjing University...

Some of these incidents had already happened, and some had not.

Every single one had resulted in, at minimum, the loss of a human life.

Wang Donglai was not going to gamble!

They were just roommates. If they got along well over the next four years, they would be friends. If not, as long as they maintained a decent relationship on the surface without conflict and had a peaceful four years, that would be enough.

There was no need to force a bond of being "iron brothers" or "bros."

That was why Wang Donglai interrupted Xue Tao immediately.

"If you guys are interested, you can keep an eye out. The school will hold special exams after the semester starts; if you pass, you can enter the experimental class."

He shared the information he knew to divert the attention of the three.

Baili Xiu and Ma Rui looked thoughtful, but Xue Tao could tell that Wang Donglai seemed somewhat reluctant to talk about it, so he looked at Wang Donglai with a slight apologetic expression.

Waving his hand to indicate it was fine, Wang Donglai went to unpack.

After the lights went out.

It was the first time the four had met, and it was also the first day of university. Combined with the unfamiliar environment and their fantasies about college life, the group was in high spirits for conversation.

They chatted about everything from their respective high schools to the situation at Tangdu Jiaodao.

Beautiful seniors and juniors, and various interesting stories from society.

The three were chatting enthusiastically, while only Wang Donglai rested silently.

"By the way, Donglai, what was your Gaokao score? I got 674, Ma Rui got 681, and Baili Xiu got 693."

Xue Tao specifically brought up this topic, trying to pull Wang Donglai into the conversation.

"Uh, I'm different from you guys. I was in the liberal arts stream. My Gaokao score was 737."

Wang Donglai hesitated for a moment before stating his score.

"Holy crap!"

"Holy crap!"

"Holy crap!"

Three identical, classic expletations erupted from their mouths simultaneously, fully expressing the shock in their hearts.

"737 in liberal arts? Man, you're invincible!"

"The liberal arts top scorer in our area was around 675. That's a 62-point difference. Insane!"

"Good heavens, the national liberal arts top scorer is in our dorm this year. What an honor!"

In their own schools, these three were top-tier scholars. Although they were science students, they could understand how someone could achieve such a score in the liberal arts.

A score like that in liberal arts was no less than a perfect score for a science top scorer.

After all, the liberal arts had too many subjective questions, and the grading standards varied from person to person.

"It's already in the past. We're all starting fresh in university, so let's not talk about these things anymore. We're all in the same dorm, four different majors; there's no point in comparing ourselves. Let's just get along well and strive to make these four years pleasant and productive."

Wang Donglai was unwilling to stand out too much in the dorm, so he quickly changed the subject.

Soon, the conversation shifted in a new direction, and they chatted until the early hours of the morning before finally falling asleep.