But today, Zhou Ping is destined to be disappointed.
Using only half his strength would have been enough to conceal that he was merely sparring with Ling Yun, but Zhou Ping gritted his teeth and used almost his full power. His calm face turned red and contorted, the veins on the back of his hands and temples bulged, and his legs instinctively buckled into a horse stance, maximizing the use of his entire body's strength. At this point, even a fool could see that Zhou Ping was deliberately making things difficult for Ling Yun.
Then, a strange scene unfolded. Zhou Ping gripped Ling Yun's hand tightly, his face flushed red like a boiled crab, his knuckles cracking as he exerted almost all his strength. Ling Yun, however, remained unmoved, letting Zhou Ping hold his hand casually, his eyes filled with mockery.
The smiles on the faces of the boys behind Zhou Ping froze, their eyes blank as they stared at their leader as he desperately competed with the freshman, completely unaware that they had lost their composure.
The students, who had been chatting animatedly, watched in astonishment, and the entire room fell silent. No one had expected this ordinary freshman to be so arrogant and strong, even leaving Zhou Ping, a martial arts master, helpless. Some who disliked Zhou Ping secretly rejoiced.
With a sharp tearing sound, the ear-piercing sound of clothes being ripped clearly reached everyone's ears.
Ling Yun gently pulled his hand away from Zhou Ping's hand, whose face suddenly stiffened and who was tightly gripping his thigh. He smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, your pants are ripped. Remember to buy a sturdier pair next time. Sometimes, even brand-name items can be fake. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."
After a moment of silence, the entire room erupted in deafening laughter.
Ling Yun grabbed Xia Zhen's arm, who was laughing so hard she was doubled over, pushed past Zhou Ping and the others, and hurried towards the dormitory building.
Zhou Ping could no longer contain himself. He stared furiously at the long tear in his pants at the crotch, utterly baffled as to why his world-famous brand-name pants would suddenly rip open at the most intense moment, resulting in such a public embarrassment. Even the boys behind him couldn't help but grin strangely. Zhou Ping was enraged, his face turning purple, yet unable to retaliate, he could only hastily leave.
"Ling Yun! Ling Yun! Never fall into my hands again, or I will make you wish you were dead!" Zhou Ping thought with burning hatred in his heart.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Dormitory Conflict
Xia Zhen laughed so hard she could barely breathe as she walked, her clear, bell-like laughter never ceasing. With one hand on her slender waist, she pointed at Ling Yun and said with a smile, "Ling Yun, I'm truly impressed by you. How could you come up with that trick? It was so underhanded! Zhou Ping has never been so humiliated before. He's going to hate you to the core."
Ling Yun looked at her strangely and shrugged: "Is it that funny? He tried to embarrass me first, but ended up shooting himself in the foot."
“Yes, very much so.” Xia Zhen bent down and burst into laughter. “You didn’t see Zhou Ping’s expression when it was torn open. It was absolutely hilarious, haha, I can’t help but laugh when I think about it.”
"He asked for it. I don't bother others unless they bother me," Ling Yun said calmly. "Besides, if I didn't have superpowers, I would be the one making a fool of myself today. Who would pity me then?"
"Hmm." Xia Zhen finally stopped laughing and nodded in agreement. "He brought it on himself. But Lingyun, Zhou Ping is a petty person. He was humiliated in public by you this time, and he will definitely seek revenge later. Actually, you and he don't have any conflict. His behavior towards you is entirely directed at me. I know that. Lingyun, thank you for standing up for me. I won't let him have a chance to hurt you." The girl's beautiful face showed a look of gratitude and determination.
"You're a girl, it's only right that I protect you." Ling Yun was terrible at responding to people's thanks. After thinking for a while, she finally managed to come up with a somewhat appropriate remark. It warmed Xia Zhen's heart once again.
"Let's go quickly. Your dorm is room 308 in building number four up ahead. It's the best male dorm at Jinghua University. Four people share a room with a living room. The room has air conditioning and a separate shower and toilet. You can even cook your own meals. It's very convenient," Xia Zhen said with a smile.
"That's great," Ling Yun exclaimed. "Is it another fee paid by Sihai Group? By the way, how did I suddenly become a special employee of the group? Was it Xia Tian who helped me again? I feel really embarrassed."
"What's there to be embarrassed about?" Xia Zhen pouted. "It's his good fortune that you got into Sihai Group. He's begged me several times to let me take a sinecure at Sihai Group, but I don't want to go. I'll give you a bank card later. Sihai Group will transfer money to you every week as your salary."
"Aren't you a civil servant, a leader? Why would you like working in a company?" Ling Yun was in a good mood and even showed a rare moment of humor.
Suddenly, a strange feeling rose in his heart, as if a pair of eyes were watching him in the dark. Ling Yun let out a soft "hmm" and turned his head to look. He saw a freshman-looking girl dragging a suitcase towards the girls' dormitory building on another parallel path dozens of meters away. When he turned his head, the girl also looked up at him. Her face was plain and ordinary, but she was expressionless and unusually indifferent.
"What's wrong, Lingyun? You're distracted again." Xia Zhen followed Lingyun's gaze and grumbled in dissatisfaction, just in time to see the girl's graceful back as she turned around. Her eyes lit up. "Such a perfect figure. It's a pity her face isn't pretty enough."
Just then, two boys who seemed to be senior students walked past Ling Yun, chatting and laughing.
"This year's freshmen are really great. I can see four super beauties right now."
"Yes, I saw her too. She's definitely a school beauty, but it's a pity I don't know her name."
……………
Upon reaching the entrance of dormitory building number four, Xia Zhen, being a girl, couldn't go upstairs. She briefly instructed Ling Yun, gave him his student ID and bank card, and then turned back to the girls' dormitory. Ling Yun then entered the beautifully decorated revolving door alone. After showing his student ID to the security guard, the guard checked the list of new students and gave him a new key card for room 308. Ling Yun then took the building's private elevator to the third floor.
The dormitory building was indeed quite nice. The corridors were lined with smooth, light-colored wallpaper, and every five meters there was a beautifully designed, bright wall lamp. The floors were covered with bright red carpets, just like a standard three-star hotel. Ling Yun followed the nameplate numbers along the corridor to find room 308. The purplish-red wooden door was ajar. Ling Yun twisted the smooth, round stainless steel handle, pushed the door open, and went inside.
Behind the door was the dormitory living room, roughly twenty meters square. In the center stood a large black leather reclining sofa, and in front of it was a classic-style rattan and bamboo coffee table. Not far from the coffee table was a 42-inch high-definition plasma TV with rear projection capabilities. Inside the orange TV cabinet was a BBK DVD player with its cables plugged in.
Two boys in light blue T-shirts were lounging on the sofa, chatting. A popular Hong Kong/Taiwanese drama was playing on the TV, and several plates of cut fruit sat on the coffee table. Another boy, wearing jeans and shirtless, was playing games on a computer in the corner. From behind, his muscles were clearly bulging, making him look like a bodybuilder.
The warm sunlight streamed in through the spacious and bright balcony's floor-to-ceiling windows, making the living room both warm and bright, and full of coziness and vibrancy.
Upon seeing someone enter, the two boys who were chatting only glanced at Ling Yun before continuing their conversation, while the boy playing the game didn't even acknowledge Ling Yun, focusing intently on the computer game screen in front of him.
Ling Yun coughed lightly, glanced at the boy surfing the internet, and then walked closer to the sofa: "Excuse me, students, I'm a freshman and I've been assigned to dormitory 308. Are you also freshmen?"
A boy with a parted hairstyle sized up Ling Yun, then said in a stern voice with a southern accent, "Where are you from? Don't you know it's very impolite to interrupt someone?"
Ling Yun was taken aback and said, "I didn't mean to interrupt you two, I just wanted to ask, are you also freshmen in 308?"
"If you're not a freshman in room 308, what are you doing in this room? That's a pointless question. And you're so rude, why are you wearing shoes in here? You've dirtied the floor." Another boy with a small mustache said impatiently. He also spoke Mandarin with a southern accent, and it seemed he was with the boy with the parted hair.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't notice. I'll wipe it off myself in a bit." Ling Yun looked at the faint shoe prints on his feet leading to the door, then glanced at the shoe rack by the door. He had actually come in intending to change his shoes, but the rack was empty, not even a pair of slippers. So Ling Yun had no choice but to walk in with his shoes on. He noticed that the three new students were all wearing the same style of slippers.
"No need to wipe it, just leave. 308 is already full, you're not here." The muscular guy who was playing a computer game suddenly turned around and said this, the words "GAMEOVER" displayed on the computer screen in front of him.
"No way?" Ling Yun was stunned again. "I asked the security guard downstairs just now, and he showed me the dormitory list. I am indeed from dormitory 308. You must have made a mistake."
"There's no mistake, this place is indeed full. Your name is Ling Yun, right? We've checked the dormitory list. You should be in room 402 of the regular boys' dormitory in Building 1. That's your dormitory. Hurry up and go report." The muscular boy turned off the LCD computer, turned around in his chair, and looked at Ling Yun meaningfully.
The boy with the side-parted hair and the boy with the mustache also stopped chatting and just stared coldly at Ling Yun.
"Really?" Ling Yun muttered to himself, then said casually, "Maybe I'm mistaken. But it seems you're not the dormitory manager for Building 4. Even if I went to the wrong dormitory, it should be the manager who notifies me, not you."
"I'm tired. The bedroom is over there. I'm going to rest for a while and take a nap to relax," Ling Yun said with a smile, picking up her suitcase and walking towards the bedroom.
The three boys' expressions immediately changed. After exchanging a few glances, the muscular boy stood up from his chair and blocked Ling Yun's way, saying slowly, "Ling Yun, as long as you leave here and go to the boys' dormitory in Building One, I guarantee you'll be fine."
"Is your dad the mayor or a gangster?" Ling Yun asked with a sarcastic smile.
"Don't you dare refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! I told you to get lost, so get lost now!" The muscular guy roared, grabbing Ling Yun by the chest and raising his fist as if to punch him.
"Don't do that, Xiaoming. You have to be polite to new classmates. Otherwise, people will say we're ganging up on the freshmen, which is really bad." The boy with the side-parted hair said slowly, walked over gently, and pressed down on the muscular boy's strong fist.
Ling Yun smiled faintly, watching silently to see what these boys were up to.