Offside game

They arrived in Jinan a few hours later. They had all gotten up early today to catch the 9:30 train.

Upon arriving at the bus station, they didn't linger and immediately took a bus to the train station. The distance between the bus station and the train station wasn't far; it was just the starting fare. When they arrived at the waiting room, ticket checking had already begun.

They originally wanted to buy soft sleeper tickets, but they were sold out when they arrived, so they had to buy hard sleeper tickets instead. Su Yi and An Jing bought their tickets together, and the two of them shared a room. Ji Feng, on the other hand, went to Su Yi's room with his number tag and used a harmless smile to sweet-talk a middle-aged woman, finally persuading her to agree to switch seats with him. So Ji Feng also ended up in that room.

The three of them chatted, and time seemed to fly by. Ji Feng was also carrying a laptop bag containing the same IBM T20 laptop as Su Yi. It was a reward he got from his father when he went to university.

Su Yi and his friends played cards for a while, then got bored. Su Yi sat down with An Jing and watched a movie on his laptop. Ji Feng, on the other hand, sat at the table playing his usual games, continuing his training. It must be said, Ji Feng is quite determined to achieve his dream of becoming a professional gamer.

Anjing and Su Yi both got out of bed, their beds facing each other, while Ji Feng switched to the upper bunk above Su Yi's. Ji Feng was now sitting on Su Yi's bed, engrossed in a game. Anjing lay on her side on the inside of her bed, with Su Yi beside her on the outside, the two close together. It was still a bit warm, the train window slightly open, and as the train moved, Su Yi could feel the wind blowing Anjing's hair against his face, a slightly ticklish sensation. Su Yi could also smell Anjing's faint fragrance—not perfume, but the natural scent of a twenty-year-old girl. At that moment, Su Yi felt a soft, blissful feeling.

It was still summer, and both of them were wearing short sleeves. The hard sleeper bed wasn't very big, and because of their position, their arms were pressed tightly together. Su Yi could feel the smoothness of An Jing's skin on his hand, and the fragrance lingered in his nose, causing his breathing to quicken and his heart to pound.

As the movie unfolded, Su Yi felt the softness on his side turn and grasp his hand. He returned the gesture, their fingers intertwining. It seemed as if their souls were merging through the subtle current between their fingers.

The two of them watched quietly as the love story unfolded on the screen.

After a while, Anjing turned her head, leaned close to Su Yi's ear, and whispered, "Yi, I'm going out for a bit."

Su Yi's nervous system, now modified, was extremely sensitive. In that instant, he could almost feel the breath she exhaled touching his sensitive ear, causing a strange feeling to rise within him. Seeing An Jing's slightly flushed face, he roughly guessed what had happened. He stepped aside to watch her get out of bed.

A moment later, An Jing returned and stood at the door, beckoning to Su Yi. Su Yi immediately went over and asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Jing?"

An Jing's face flushed even more, and she whispered, "Yi, the door to that restroom is broken. Could you... could you keep watch the door for me for a while?"

Su Yi roughly understood what had happened, nodded in agreement, and walked over with her.

There's a display on the train toilet door. When no one is inside, a small sign outside says "Occupied" in green. After you go in and lock the door, the sign turns red and says "Occupied." Now, the lock on this display is broken, so it just keeps showing "Occupied." If someone goes in and is seen by others, it could lead to misunderstandings, and opening the door would be incredibly embarrassing.

Anjing went inside quietly, while Su Yi stood outside to prevent anyone from misunderstanding. However, because Su Yi had keen hearing, he could hear everything inside, and couldn't help but imagine things. Su Yi shook his head, trying his best to control his wild thoughts, feeling as if time slowed down at that moment. Finally, Anjing came out, and after washing her hands, they returned to their room.

An Jing's face was already flushed red. When her eyes met Su Yi's, she immediately looked away, whispering "thank you" while her face was already burning red.

They took out tissues, carefully dried their hands, and put them in the plastic bag on the table. The two sat down again, fell silent, and watched the movie continue on the screen.

The train arrived at Yanjing Station at around 4 PM. Su Yi and his group got off the train and helped An Jing with her luggage. The three of them took a taxi to send An Jing to Beidu University for registration.

On the taxi, they also experienced the enthusiasm of the taxi drivers in the capital. Knowing that they were university students, the driver introduced them to some famous buildings along the way.

The city's prosperity, surpassing even that of the Eastern Capital, filled the three young men, fresh out of school, with immense excitement. This was the heart of their motherland, the place where they would live for the next four years.

Upon arriving at Beidu University and seeing the familiar sign at the entrance, the group was excited, especially Anjing. This was a place she had long dreamed of. Banners welcoming new students were also displayed at the school gate, and the campus was quite lively, with early arrivals already registering.

Finally finding a quiet major, the new students, mostly sophomores and juniors, were naturally excited to see a beauty like Anjing. However, upon seeing the two boys beside her, they both felt that their handsome faces were somehow repulsive.

Su Yi and Ji Feng naturally ignored these expressions and accompanied An Jing to the registration desk. After filling out the forms, An Jing greeted a senior student warmly and asked her to take her to her dormitory. The group of boys nearby, having missed such a good opportunity to meet a beautiful girl, clearly felt saddened, but faced with two protectors, they lacked the courage to approach her.

The senior student who led the way was of above-average appearance, but she kept glancing at Su Yi and Ji Feng along the way. However, after talking with them, she learned that they were not students of Peking University, and she could not hide her disappointment.

Upon arriving at the dormitory building, Anjing found her name on a room door and also took note of her other roommates' names. This year's female freshmen are quite fortunate, getting to live in a new apartment building with four people per room. There were already two girls in the dorm; they had introduced themselves. The slightly chubby, cute girl was named Yu Qian, and she seemed very enthusiastic. The other, tall and pretty girl, was named Ouyang Qian, who always seemed a bit aloof, but she showed a rare smile when her new roommate arrived.

With their help, Su Yi put away An Jing's suitcase. Then, led by the rather enthusiastic Yu Qian, he accompanied An Jing to pay the bill and collect the bed sheets and blankets. Next, the girls helped An Jing make the bed, while An Jing, seeing that it was getting late, told Su Yi and Ji Feng to go and report for duty early.

As the two walked out of Peking University, Ji Feng muttered a complaint: there weren't as many beautiful girls on campus as he'd imagined. Thinking about it, it made sense. Those who got into Peking University were the top students from all over the country, and often, the top female students weren't particularly beautiful. A girl like An Jing, who possessed both beauty and intelligence, was truly exceptional. However, Ji Feng then slyly discussed with Su Yi that Ouyang Qian, An Jing's roommate, was quite pretty, but too aloof, acting like everyone owed her something. In Ji Feng's words, she had a very resentful, complaining air…

It was getting late, so the two had to part ways and go to their respective schools to register.

Fortunately, these schools are not far apart, so it's convenient for us to get together.

Su Yi arrived at Jinghua University and found the registration location for the Computer Science major. He then completed the registration process using a similar program to An Jing's. In the dormitory, he met his roommates. They weren't as lucky as An Jing; their dormitory had six boys. However, Su Yi didn't plan to stay in the dormitory. After greeting his roommates, he carried his laptop bag and luggage and walked out of the campus.

He had just spotted a Home Inn hotel not far from the school. After inquiring at the front desk about the availability of broadband internet, Su Yi booked a room, planning to stay there for the night and then find a suitable place to rent near the school the next day.

Once inside the room, Su Yi placed the suitcase next to the network port, allowing the Kosei to extend a port through a specially left gap and connect it to the broadband interface. He then used the Kosei to log into the network and reactivate the LeChang gaming platform service.

Players must have been getting impatient. But at least the servers opened ahead of schedule.

Then Su Yi connected to the internet to look for suitable rental properties near the school. He mainly searched on some school forums. Finally, he found a name that was frequently mentioned – Mengyuan Apartment.

This Dream Garden Apartment is a high-end, hotel-style managed apartment in a prime location between several nearby universities. Most of the units are suites of around 40 square meters, fully furnished and equipped with appliances, and offer high-speed broadband, making it a great option. However, the rent is also quite high, averaging over 1500 yuan per month. But the management is professional, safe, and the property management is comprehensive, making it a top choice for many students from affluent families.

After resting for one night, Su Yi placed the Kosei in his room the next day and hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. He could stay in this room until noon, so he needed to check out the Dream Garden Apartments before then. If it wasn't available, he would have to stay another day. After telling the front desk that his room didn't need cleaning yet, Su Yi left the hotel.

Following the address found online, Su Yi easily located the Dream Garden Apartment. From the outside, it looked quite nice, a ten-story beige building. Entering the sales office, Su Yi inquired about the available spaces. He learned that due to recent graduations, there were still nearly twenty suites available for rent, but a minimum six-month lease was required. Led by a staff member, Su Yi looked at several options and finally chose a suite on the eighth floor. This suite was 45 square meters, with a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a shower—small but perfectly formed. The decor was also to Su Yi's liking.

The staff member told Su Yi that the rent for this room is 1800 per month, and if he rents for a year, he can get two months' rent free, meaning that if he rents for a year, he only needs to pay 18,000. The property management fee is already included in the rent.