Reborn in 2000: I just want to love a few people properly.

Back in the dorm, none of us played cards today; we were all lying on our beds, I don’t know if we were sleeping or doing something else.

"You're back so late?" Yu Haoqi poked his head out when he heard the voice.

"I chatted with a senior student for a while." Xu Bo took off his clothes, prepared his toiletries, and got ready to take a hot shower.

After taking a shower, he went to the balcony, lit a lonely cigarette, chatted on the phone with his junior classmate Luo Qiaoqiao for a while, and then lay down on the bed for a good night's sleep until dawn.

That's university life—simple and straightforward.

Steam rose from the bathroom, and hot water sprayed from the showerhead. The warmth spread through my pores, and my mind seemed to clear for a moment. At this moment, those melancholy and contradictory emotions seemed to have a vague outline.

It's best to keep things as they are with Luo Qiaoqiao and He Yimei. As for Bai Feifei, we need to intensify our efforts. Otherwise, given enough time, someone will eventually discover the true nature of this seemingly unassuming girl.

As for Qu Xuanru, the senior student tonight, with her three years of university experience and her qualities, it's no wonder she's still single. Either she's focused on her academic research or she likes women. But whatever the reason, Xu Bo still wants to find out more about her.

After washing up, drying off, and getting dressed, Xu Bo returned to his dorm room. Yu Haoqi was already asleep, and Du Qinglong had just finished practicing a set of boxing moves on the floor. According to him, this was a good way to strengthen one's constitution and nourish one's vital energy before bed. Seeing this, Xu Bo also pulled Du Qinglong aside and taught him a set of boxing moves. In the end, he was so tired that he had to beg for mercy.

Wang Yan lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought, until Xu Bo stood on a chair and patted him on the head.

"What's wrong?" Wang Yan asked indifferently, still staring at the ceiling.

"Are you busy tomorrow? If not, come help me out outside." Xu Bo offered him a cigarette. He hadn't expected that among the three heavy smokers in the dorm, Wang Yan still hadn't learned to smoke.

"Where are you going?" Although Wang Yan didn't smoke it, he still accepted it and put it under his pillow.

Seeing his expression, Xu Bo stuffed his entire pack of Liqun cigarettes under his pillow and said, "You're a local expert, come with me to check out the shops outside the school. You know a lot, and if anything happens to any of the shops, you can tell me so I can take the opportunity to negotiate a lower price."

"Most importantly, I feel very safe with you, a local expert, by my side."

Perhaps it was the last sentence that moved Wang Yan. He turned his head, stared into Xu Bo's eyes, and nodded seriously: "Since you have sincerely begged me, then I will mercifully go with you."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Xu Bo smiled and jumped off the chair. He glanced at his phone; it was already 10:30. Luo Qiaoqiao in Harbin had already left the tutoring class and was about to go home. So Xu Bo went to the balcony, took a piece of paper and a pen, and began to sketch out the start-up capital he needed.

I have 18,000 yuan in cash on me. I plan to cheat and swindle around 30,000 yuan from my dad. That's the money to buy a laptop. For the sake of my career development, I have to apologize to my dad for now.

If Chen Ying and Yang Xun, those two lads, get sick in another city and don't dare tell their families, I might be able to squeeze around 5,000 yuan out of my dad. If I study hard and take classes to get certified, I can get a few thousand yuan from my mom.

But all of that is probably only around 60,000, which is probably only enough for half a year's rent for the shops here. Whenever Xu Bo thinks about this, he gets a headache. In his previous life, he didn't play the stock market or the lottery, but he didn't expect that it would become a drawback after he transmigrated back.

The phone rang quickly; it was Luo Qiaoqiao calling. The two had agreed to call each other every night at 10:30.

Xu Bo didn't believe that Luo's parents didn't know about this. As parents, how could they not understand their child's thoughts? It's just that Luo Qiaoqiao is good at studying and has lived up to expectations. Since her grades haven't fallen behind, they might as well let her be. As long as she stays on the right track and doesn't cross the line, the parents won't interfere too much.

"My mother hasn't been feeling well lately; she's been coughing a lot, and she won't go to the hospital for a checkup," Luo Qiaoqiao confided, expressing her recent worries.

"She's probably too busy lately, and her work is demanding. We can wait until the Chinese New Year to visit her," Xu Bo thoughtfully suggested.

"But my right eyelid has been twitching lately."

"Then you should also be careful not to step on manhole covers lately."

"Pah, pah, pah."

Stepping on a manhole cover is considered unlucky; it's a local custom. Every time you step on a manhole cover, someone has to slap it three times for you, or you have to spit it out three times yourself.

"I estimated my score today, and it's more than enough to get into Hangzhou University."

Recently, the school organized a mock exam, and Luo Qiaoqiao's grades have been consistently in the top fifteen of her grade. Although getting into Tsinghua or Peking University is a bit of a stretch, she can easily get into any of the top universities in China besides those two.

It seems this girl is determined to stay in the same city as me.

The two chatted until nearly eleven o'clock, until Luo's mother coughed in the living room of the Luo family. Only then did Luo Qiaoqiao reluctantly hang up the phone and say goodnight to Xu Bo.

Back in bed, just as Xu Bo was about to go to sleep, Wang Yan patted Xu Bo's toes again.

Du Qinglong was already asleep, while Yu Haoqi was snoring.

Are you two-timing?

Wang Yan spoke first.

"I asked Qinglong, and you went out with him that day to help a girl get into a fight."

"I can tell you're interested in Bai Feifei from our class, and with your emotional intelligence and skills, I believe being with her won't be a problem."

"Is the girl you call every night the one who fought with Qinglong the other day?"

Xu Bo was somewhat surprised. Although he had no intention of hiding it, otherwise he wouldn't have made phone calls every night from the dormitory balcony. Anyone with a brain could see that.

Wang Yan's guess was pretty close to the truth, but none of them would have imagined that the person calling them was actually someone else.

"Go to sleep, I'll tell you when I have the chance later."

After a day of military training, Xu Bo was a little tired, and more importantly, he was afraid of saying too much and making a mistake, so he ignored Wang Yan.

He quickly fell asleep, leaving Wang Yan staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

The next day at dawn, the group hurriedly got up to participate in military training.

Bai Feifei was diagnosed with malnutrition, and the school doctor advised her not to participate in military training, so Bai Feifei was lucky enough to escape military training.

Military training ended at 5 p.m., and after the four roommates finished eating, Xu Bo returned to the dormitory to change his clothes.

"What have you been doing all day?" Yu Haoqi went to bed early last night and didn't hear Xu Bo and Wang Yan talking. He asked curiously when he saw the two of them about to go out again.

"Go out and be your own boss. If you're willing to help me in the future, come and help me. Each of you can be a shareholder."

After calming Yu Haoqi down, Xu Bo took Wang Yan on an off-campus field trip.