Chapter 171: Squabbling

The admission process went smoothly, perhaps even too smoothly.

In particular, the rather stern-looking director, after hanging up the phone, addressed her as Student An with an enthusiasm that could hardly be overstated.

Before long, all the formalities were completed, and Cheng Feng gracefully retired from the scene and left the campus.

Her counselor, named Bai Qin, briefly introduced the campus and the basics of the Computer Science Department to An Tong, took her to collect the semester's textbooks, and then accompanied her to report to her class.

An Tong was assigned to Class 3 of the Computer Science Department, and she had only one class that morning: Algorithm Analysis and Design.

Bai Qin temporarily interrupted the instructor and took a few minutes to introduce An Tong to the entire class.

As a rare transfer student in college, An Tong's appearance was bound to attract everyone's attention.

And most of this attention was filled with goodwill, mostly out of curiosity.

Fortunately, Bai Qin did not ask An Tong to go up on stage to introduce herself, but simply told her to find a seat, closed the door, and left the classroom.

Unlike high school and compulsory education, college classroom discipline was relatively loose. Just a few minutes after An Tong sat down, someone approached the empty seat beside her.

"Hi, Student An, do you remember me?"

An Tong paused in her book-flipping, turned her head to look at the vaguely familiar face, pondered for a few seconds, and nodded in acknowledgment, "I remember, hello."

When she was learning pottery at Gu Qin's Yifeng Pottery Studio, he was the young man who had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation with her and had even left her his phone number.

His name was Dai Shuai.

Dai Shuai scratched the back of his head and grinned brightly, his small canine teeth particularly noticeable. "I went back to the pottery studio a few times later, but I didn't see you again. I never expected you to be a transfer student in our computer science department. We really have quite a connection."

An Tong had no intention of chatting further. She gave a faint, polite smile and began to look forward, listening attentively to the lecture.

The Computer Engineering major at Zhanhai University of Technology had a total of five classes. Due to the nature of the major, the gender ratio of the entire department was six to one.

The sudden arrival of transfer student An Tong in Class 3 sparked a small, private celebration among the "wolves with more meat than prey" in this engineering department.

...

In the late afternoon, An Tong put her textbooks into her shoulder bag, intending to walk back to the Yuefu Villa.

When filling out her transfer application, she had chosen to be a day student, so the school had not arranged a dormitory for her.

A half-year's worth of textbooks amounted to more than a dozen books, and one could easily imagine the weight.

She walked out of the campus and stood at the main gate, letting out a soft breath.

There were no oppressive emotions, just a sense of unfamiliarity and lingering trepidation.

Having left school for many years and stepping back into it as a completely unfamiliar environment, building friendships among classmates would take time. Even an outgoing girl would naturally restrain her true nature out of awkwardness in an unfamiliar place, let alone someone as sensitive as An Tong.

Classes across all departments had just ended, coinciding with the dinner hour. Students chatting with one another drifted past from time to time.

An Tong gazed calmly at the scenery for a few moments. When the pedestrian light turned green, she prepared to cross the street when a figure appeared by her side, blocking the slanting rays of the setting sun falling on her face.

"What are you standing here daydreaming about alone?"

A familiar and magnetic voice rang out on the bustling street. An Tong snapped her head to the side, completely unexpected to see Rong Shen at the school gate.

By the bustling roadside, the man seemed to have descended from the heavens.

His posture was tall and upright, his handsome face chiseled and sharp, and a warm smile lingered at the corners of his lips. "Shocked silly?"

An Tong collected her thoughts, ripples stirring in her calm eyes. "When did you arrive?"

Rong Shen casually lifted her shoulder bag with one hand while using the other to take her hand and lead her toward the roadside parking space. "Just arrived."

Noticing the heavy weight of the shoulder bag, the man furrowed his dark brows.

An Tong followed him into the sedan, settled into her seat, and turned to look at him sideways. "Did you come specifically to pick me up?"

Her voice carried a hint of a smile, and the expression on her face became much more vibrant and lively.

"It's your first day of school, and there are so many things to carry. If I didn't come, were you planning to haul it all home on your back?"

The man reached out to stroke An Tong's head, his tone indulgent yet helpless.

An Tong lowered her gaze to look at the shoulder bag by the seat, then rested her chin on her left hand and turned to face Rong Shen. "It is a bit heavy, but I can carry it."

Rong Shen said no more, instead pulling her hand into his palm to knead and soothe it.

Silence settled inside the car compartment.

Within a few minutes, the vehicle drove into Area A of Yuefu.

Once inside the door, the man took off his overcoat, placed the shoulder bag on the sofa, cast a deep gaze toward An Tong, and spoke in a low, unhurried voice, "How did you adjust to school today?"

"It's alright."

Rong Shen pulled her down to sit beside him, his thumb rubbing against her chin as he curved his lips and asked in return, "Really alright?"

An Tong stopped speaking.

A low, rich chuckle rolled from the back of the man's throat. Crossing his long legs, his posture remained composed and elegant. "Adapting to a new environment is naturally a process of friction. Having been away from school for so long, being immersed in it again is bound to feel restrictive. After a while, it will naturally get better."

An Tong drew a breath, then silently buried her face into the crook of Rong Shen's neck.

All the discomfort and tension of the entire day melted away in the man's embrace.

After a long while, An Tong muttered in a muffled voice, "I will definitely try my best to adapt. No matter what, I have to get a diploma back."

The man sitting before her was a high-achieving graduate with dual bachelor's degrees from a top-one-hundred university in the world.

Looking at herself by contrast—to put it nicely, she was a college dropout; in reality, she was merely a high school graduate.

Rong Shen's warm palm landed on the crown of her head, gently stroking her hair in a tone that was both accommodating and soothing. "A diploma is certainly important, but what matters even more are your experiences and tempering at the school."

"Mm." An Tong raised her head, resting her chin on the man's shoulder. "You don't need to worry, I can regulate myself."

This transfer opportunity did not come easily. Since she had decided to return to school, she would not give up halfway.

Rong Shen turned his head to glance sideways at her earnest and resolute expression, his palm sliding down to her shoulder to pat her comfortingly like a child. "Are you sure you can regulate yourself?"

An Tong's eyes flashed, and she coquettishly played cute. "If I can't, isn't there still you, Doctor Rong..."

The final title was articulated clearly, slowly, and powerfully.

It was as if separated by a lifetime; it had been quite a while since she last addressed him that way.

Rong Shen's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he lowered his head to press a kiss to her brow. "Come on, I'll take you out to eat."

...

The dining spot was not far from the Yuefu Villa, less than twenty minutes away by drive.

It was a seafood hot pot restaurant.

Quite famous in Zhanhai, it was decorated in the style of a twentieth-century Chinese courtyard residence and had already opened four or five branch locations.

The second before An Tong and the private room, through the half-open wooden door, they heard the sounds of "squabbling" coming from inside.

"Xiao Mingyu, are you doing this on purpose?"

"On purpose about what?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Give me back my phone!"

"Did you lose your phone?"

Rong Xian said nothing, and immediately after, Xiao Mingyu's lazy and casual tone rang out again, "Look at you, every time you can't find something, your first instinct is always to suspect me. Even the police would feel disheartened hearing that."