Leaf Maple?

The person Ye Feng bumped into was none other than Nan Jing, the enchantress who, on the very first day of class, had made him the sworn enemy of every male student in the computer science department.

“This is the girls’ dormitory. Isn’t it strange for me to come back here and sleep?” The moment Nan Jing realized the person who had knocked her over was the same man who had barely acknowledged her a month ago, she felt something indescribable stir inside her. Whatever it was, she simply didn’t want him to leave. “What are you doing here, sneaking into the girls’ dorm in the middle of the night? Could it be…” She even feigned a frightened gesture as she spoke.

Faced with this, Ye Feng could only be at a loss for words. If, within a single day, the odds of meeting a beautiful woman alone and exchanging a few words were akin to winning a hundred million in the lottery, then meeting two such women in one day, and somehow getting entangled with both, must be as unlikely as winning ten billion. Yet such a “blessing” left Ye Feng more speechless than joyful.

“Can you keep your voice down? My friend hurt her foot, I was only helping her inside. The lady downstairs let me in,” Ye Feng explained, fearful that the commotion would draw out the entire floor. He didn’t fancy his chances trying to explain to a crowd of women why he was in the girls’ dormitory at this hour.

“Your friend? Who is it? Say the name and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, I’ll have to yell…” Nan Jing’s expression was mischievous.

“Why should I tell you?” Ye Feng realized that dragging this out was no solution. He tried to quickly sidestep Nan Jing and leave. Ordinarily, that would have been no problem, but with his injured foot, he was slow, and before he’d gone two steps, Nan Jing blocked his way again.

“If you don’t explain, I really am going to shout,” she said, this time standing guard, determined not to let him slip by.

Ye Feng was exasperated. This Nan Jing was just like a stubborn child, demanding a full explanation. He had no choice but to relent. “My friend is Ouyang Lanlan. Satisfied? Can I go now?”

“Hmph. You’re only a freshman, just like me, and you expect me to believe you know Ouyang Lanlan? Couldn’t you at least pick a more plausible lie? She’s the campus queen. What makes you think you’d be her friend?” Nan Jing eyed him with obvious disbelief. Her look made it clear she wasn’t buying a word of it.

Ye Feng had half-expected this. If not for tonight’s unexpected events, he’d never have met Ouyang Lanlan, let alone become acquainted.

At that moment, the dormitory supervisor appeared and unwittingly saved Ye Feng. Having waited ages for him to come down, she’d decided to check upstairs. As she climbed the stairs, she spotted Ye Feng and Nan Jing facing off. “What are you two doing here in the middle of the night?”

Ye Feng seized the chance. “Ma’am, I want to leave, but this girl won’t let me downstairs.”

Nan Jing was startled by the supervisor’s voice. “Ma’am, how could you let a man into the girls’ dorm? It’s so dangerous!”

The supervisor frowned. “He just carried a girl inside—her foot was injured. You wouldn’t expect an old lady like me to carry her up, would you? Enough fuss, you get back to your room, and you, boy, get out—I’m locking up.”

With the supervisor’s words, Ye Feng slipped past Nan Jing and left. Nan Jing could only watch as he walked away, silently vowing to settle the score with him at class tomorrow.

The corridor soon fell quiet again.

Ye Feng emerged from Building 14 and walked alone through the tranquil campus. He looked up at the distant night sky, where the bright moon hung surrounded by countless stars. To him, Ouyang Lanlan was like that moon: ethereal, luminous, someone he could only admire from afar, never touch. Thinking of what had just transpired, and of what might come, it all seemed surreal. Never had Ye Feng imagined that a cliché tale like “saving a damsel in distress” could happen to him—and that the girl in question would be anything but ordinary. His feelings at that moment were a tangled web: he yearned for a closer connection with the beautiful campus queen, yet knew that even having met her tonight was a stroke of fate. It was like coveting something you know you can never possess, yet being unable to stop yourself from longing. Such a feeling was nothing short of torment.

When he reached Building 26, the dormitory doors were already locked. But that was no cause for concern. Through the glass, he saw the guardroom light was still on. Ye Feng knocked on the door and called, “Mr. Wang? Mr. Wang?”

“I’m coming. Who is it?” came a hoarse, elderly voice. A stooped figure shuffled out from the guardroom, unlocking the door as he spoke. “Oh, it’s you. Back so late again? What kept you out this time?” Before Ye Feng could reply, the man caught sight of the bandage on his forehead. “Goodness, what happened to your head? Got in a fight?”

“I fell and hit my head, then wasted more time at the infirmary,” Ye Feng lied, having promised Ouyang Lanlan he wouldn’t tell anyone about tonight.

“Construction’s still going on out there—no streetlights, rough roads. Be more careful. And come by for a game of chess when you have time,” the old man said as he relocked the door.

“Will do. Thanks for your trouble!”

Ye Feng was on good terms with Mr. Wang, the dorm guard. The old man had no children and lived alone. Seeing that Mr. Wang had difficulty getting around, Ye Feng often helped him out, and over time, they’d become quite familiar. Mr. Wang was a formidable Go player. Ye Feng had no idea just how good he really was, but every time they played, Mr. Wang gave him a five-stone handicap, and even so, Ye Feng had never won. The best he’d done was lose by only eight stones. What impressed Ye Feng even more was that Mr. Wang, though just a humble dormitory guard, was incredibly knowledgeable and insightful, with the analytical clarity of a university professor. Chess and conversation with him brought Ye Feng a lot of joy and color to his otherwise cautious life.

When Ye Feng reached his dormitory, the lights were still on. He opened the door to find all three roommates awake, huddled together, deep in conversation. When they saw Ye Feng at the door, the eldest spoke first: “Back so late? We thought maybe you’d spent the night out…” He stopped short when he saw the bandage on Ye Feng’s forehead, then exclaimed, “What happened to your head?”

“I fell,” Ye Feng repeated his excuse.

“Doesn’t look like it,” the eldest said, getting up to take a closer look. “Who falls and splits their forehead? There’s blood on your face, too.”

“There was a mugging in the wasteland by the east gate. I stepped in to help, and during the scuffle, I fell and hit my head on a stone. With the campus expanding, things out there aren’t too safe. You all should be careful when you go out.” Knowing the eldest was sharp and wouldn’t be so easily fooled, Ye Feng decided not to hide it from his roommates. Besides, he hadn’t mentioned Ouyang Lanlan by name, so it didn’t really violate his promise to her.

“Was it dangerous? Are you hurt anywhere else? What happened after?” the eldest asked, showing genuine concern as the group’s leader.

“No big deal. The guy was a paper tiger; he ran off in the end. What are you three discussing?” Ye Feng deftly changed the subject.

“Nothing much. We heard Ouyang Lanlan’s coming to class tomorrow, so we were thinking of trying our luck. There aren’t many classes, you want to join?” The second roommate answered, practically drooling at the thought—a true womanizer.

“And how many times has this happened? Every time you ‘hear’ something, and every time it’s a wild goose chase. You never learn. It’s all just smoke and mirrors…” Ye Feng scoffed.

“This time the info’s solid. You sure you don’t want to come? She’s the goddess of our school!” the third chimed in, fanning the flames.

“I’m not going, and you’d be better off not going either. She definitely won’t show up tomorrow.” With that, Ye Feng headed for the shower, not bothering to explain further—he was filthy.

“How would you know? Got some inside scoop?” The third called after him, but Ye Feng clearly had no intention of answering.

Not wanting to get his wound wet, Ye Feng washed up thoroughly but avoided his head.

By the time he finished, his three wolfish friends were already sprawled on their beds, chatting idly as always about women. Ye Feng sometimes wondered how these three skirt-chasers ever managed to get into Haifeng University—they seemed to think about nothing else.

Ye Feng switched off the lights and lay down. The dorm was dark and silent. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. His forehead throbbed dully, but more than that, every time he closed his eyes, the image of that beautiful girl filled his mind.

He turned again and again… Who knows how long it was before he finally drifted off.

When Ye Feng woke again, daylight was streaming in. He had no idea how much sleep he’d gotten, but his head still felt foggy. After carefully washing his face with cold water, he found himself still groggy. With no classes that morning, he thought about going back to bed for a bit. Oddly, the dorm was empty—a rarity. Checking his phone, he realized it was already after ten. Usually, his three roommates would still be sleeping or just getting up. He guessed they’d gone off to catch a glimpse of Ouyang Lanlan, though Ye Feng knew they were bound to be disappointed—she’d hurt her foot, and there was no way she’d be in class today.

His stomach grumbled, but he had no appetite and his head ached, so he crawled back into bed.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before the voices of his roommates drifted into the room. Blinking awake, he saw the three of them sulking.

He rubbed his eyes, still groggy. “What’s wrong with you three?” he asked.

“What do you think? Didn’t we have reliable word that Ouyang Lanlan would definitely be in class this morning? The three of us got up early to grab seats, waited all morning, and didn’t see so much as a shadow of her. Total failure… Second, what happened to your guarantee last night?” the eldest grumbled, clearly annoyed.

“How should I know? My hometown friend promised me Ouyang Lanlan would be in class today. They share a dorm, and they get along well—she wouldn’t lie to me. I even bought her a meal for the info,” the second replied, frustrated.

“That friend of yours is a total dinosaur, and you still took her out for dinner? Impressive…” The third gave him a look, clearly having met the infamous friend and not impressed by her looks.

“I didn’t dare! I took her to a restaurant, ordered food, and left as soon as the dishes arrived,” said the second, face full of dread.

“Still, after buying her a meal, how could her news be false?” the eldest wondered aloud.

“How should I know? Let me call her and ask,” the second said, pulling out his phone and dialing.

A minute later, he hung up. “Ouyang Lanlan twisted her ankle last night while out walking, so she couldn’t make it to class today,” he reported.

“Oh…” the eldest and third both drew out the word, clearly unconvinced and suspecting an excuse.

“You just got up?” the eldest turned to Ye Feng, changing the topic. It was rare for Ye Feng to sleep so late.

“I didn’t sleep well last night; my head still hurts,” Ye Feng explained. Then, after a pause, he added, “Have you guys eaten yet?”

“No, we were too busy fuming. Planning to go out and eat a big meal. You haven’t eaten, right? Come with us.”

Ye Feng quickly got dressed, and the four of them headed out to eat.

The group went to a restaurant outside the west gate of the university. With the campus expansion, most of the surrounding businesses had been torn down, so the so-called restaurant was just a makeshift shack. But the street outside the west gate was now lined with similar shacks offering food, entertainment, groceries—everything a student could want. It was the budding “degenerates’ street” of university legend.

The place looked clean enough, and when they walked in, it was already bustling. There happened to be one empty table, so they sat down. The proprietress came over to greet them and handed the menu to Ye Feng, who was sitting on the outside.

“You guys order,” Ye Feng said, tossing the menu to the others and heading to the water dispenser for a drink. He was parched after a whole night without water.

“Hey, check out those two girls over there—both pretty cute, aren’t they?” As Ye Feng sat back down, the third roommate whispered, eyes gleaming.

Ye Feng glanced over and saw two petite girls at a table opposite. They looked like freshmen as well. One wore her long hair down, exuding a hint of mature charm, while the other had her hair in a ponytail, chin propped in one hand, her delicate face radiating innocence. The two were chatting quietly, breaking into gentle laughter from time to time.

After only a moment’s glance, Ye Feng froze. His odd behavior was quickly noticed by the second roommate, who teased, “Didn’t peg you for the type to get lovestruck. Which one caught your eye?”

Perhaps it was the volume of his voice, or perhaps Ye Feng had simply stared too long, but both girls looked over. The ponytailed girl gave Ye Feng a dismissive glance, while the one with her hair down cast a casual look his way—then, as if struck by a sudden realization, whipped her head back to stare at him, her eyes wide with amazement.

What happened next was even more surprising. The girl slowly rose and walked over to Ye Feng, asking softly, “Ye Feng?”

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