Returning to my senior year of high school before college, I became addicted to dating.

At noon, the group ate at a barbecue restaurant outside the west gate of the school.

Zhang Wei insisted on treating everyone, saying, "This is the first friend I've made since I came to Beijing."

Li Mo didn't participate in the conversation, quietly scrolling through her phone, occasionally interjecting with a comment that could shut someone up.

Before all the dishes were served, another person arrived—Feng Xiaotang.

As soon as she entered the door, she called out, "Jiaqi! Jiaqi! I'm here!"

She had shoulder-length short hair, delicate features, a baby face, and large, cartoon-like eyes. She was wearing a crop top and shorts.

"This is my roommate, Feng Xiaotang," Liu Jiaqi introduced.

Feng Xiaotang put down her things and plopped down next to Liu Jiaqi.

She glanced at Song Yan, then at Liu Chengcheng, then at Lin Feng, before finally fixing her gaze on Liu Jiaqi's face:

"Your boyfriend?"

Liu Jiaqi nodded.

"He's quite handsome." After saying that, Feng Xiaotang noticed Zhang Wei staring at her, and added, "You're handsome too."

Zhang Wei then revealed a satisfied smile.

Feng Xiaotang then asked, "Who are those two women next to your boyfriend?"

There's something else I've been keeping to myself: These two women are so close to your boyfriend, don't you feel any sense of crisis at all?

Liu Jiaqi said calmly, "She's also his girlfriend."

Feng Xiaotang spat out the tea she had just drunk, and turned her head away to avoid spraying it on the table.

But it sprayed all over Zhang Wei's face. Song Yan and the others covered their mouths and chuckled.

Feng Xiaotang quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe Zhang Wei's face, repeatedly apologizing, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to."

Zhang Wei stuck out his tongue and licked the tea around his mouth, then tasted it. "It's okay, it's okay, I understand your reaction."

After the little incident, everyone relaxed and the skewers were served one after another.

Zhang Wei raised his beer glass: "Come on, everyone! No matter how many girlfriends we have, it's fate that we're all together! Cheers!"

Seven cups clinked together. While eating skewers, Zhang Wei started talking non-stop. He said as he ate his skewers:

"I see you drive an Audi A6? What does your family do? Are you a rich kid?"

Lin Feng replied, "No, I earned it myself."

Zhang Wei pulled the skewer out of his mouth: "You earned enough for a car before school started? What do you do for a living?"

Lin Feng took a sip of beer: "I opened an online entertainment center."

Zhang Wei paused for a few seconds, then gave a thumbs up:

"Awesome. I just opened a game boosting studio in Harbin, and I make two or three thousand a month."

Li Mo picked up a peanut: "His family gave him 100,000 yuan in start-up capital, and he can get back 2,000 yuan a month, with a payback period of 50 months."

Zhang Wei glared at him: "Can you eat without talking?"

Li Mo ate the peanut and then shut up.

Feng Xiaotang couldn't get a word in edgewise, but she kept eating, showing she was a little foodie.

Little did they know, while they were enjoying their meal and chatting happily, a pair of eyes were fixed on their table.

He is Zhao Meng, a freshman specially recruited sports student.

Zhang Mengquan overheard Lin Feng and the others' conversation, and his gaze toward Lin Feng was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

After the meal, Lin Feng went to pay the bill. Zhang Wei tried to pay twice but failed, so he patted Lin Feng on the shoulder:

"Okay, I'll treat you next time. Don't try to take it from me."

Stepping out of the barbecue restaurant, the sun was shining brightly. Lin Feng said to the three girls, "Let's go check out your dorms first, put your things down, and then you'll have a place to take a nap later."

At 2 PM, all the new students in the grade gathered on the playground for the grade-level assembly.

Almost all the students who were late due to special circumstances have arrived today, so we chose to hold this meeting on the 15th.

The sun scorched the lawn, and thousands of people stood there, sweat dripping down their necks.

Song Yan and Liu Jiaqi stood in their respective colleges' teams. Lin Feng's team from the School of Civil Engineering was on the west side of the playground, with Zhang Wei standing in front of him and Li Mo behind him.

Zhang Wei turned his head: "Why don't the senior students have to participate? That's not fair."

Lin Feng laughed and said, "You didn't come last year either, so it's quite fair."

Zhang Wei thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense."

The counselor on stage introduced himself as Wang Lei—not the Wang Lei from Huanan, but the Wang Lei from Beijing, just a case of the same name.

He was tall and thin, wore glasses, spoke quickly, and held a megaphone: "Students, welcome to Beijing University of Technology. I am your counselor, Wang Lei."

No one remembers what was said after that, because it was too hot.

Liu Chengcheng stood in the School of Economics and Management's line, several rows away, and winked at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng saw this and nodded to her.

After the conference, the counselors from each college led their students back to the teaching building for small group meetings.

The class meeting for the School of Civil Engineering was held in classroom 201 of the second teaching building. The counselor explained the school's rules and regulations, course schedule, and military training schedule, and concluded by saying:

"Your dorm assignments have been completed, and your names are on the beds. Students who don't live on campus still need to pay accommodation fees, which are included in this tuition fee and are non-refundable. Military training starts tomorrow, and everyone must stay in the dorms for 14 days."

Zhang Wei leaned closer and whispered, "Why not stay here? We've already paid, so let's put our bedding on."

Lin Feng nodded: "You help me lay it out."

Zhang Wei: "...Fine, since you're my older brother."

After the small group meeting, Lin Feng went to the student affairs office.

After the class meeting, he submitted a signed "Application for Not Staying at Home" and a photocopy of the property certificate for the bungalow in Gaobeidian.

The teacher on duty looked at the materials and stamped them.

Lin Feng thanked him and left.

It was past seven o'clock in the evening, and it was getting dark.

Lin Feng drove the three girls back to Gaobeidian.

Song Yan sat in the passenger seat looking at her phone, Liu Jiaqi leaned back in the back seat looking out the window, and Liu Chengcheng crossed her legs.

As they passed the Fourth Ring Road, Song Yan said, "The counselor said today that military training will start next week and last for two weeks."

Liu Chengcheng put her legs down: "Military training? Standing at attention? Didn't we have military training in junior high? Damn, it was exhausting."

Liu Jiaqi said, "University military training is much stricter than junior high school military training. I heard there are also field training exercises."

"Training exercises? Training by dragging?"

Liu Jiaqi ignored her.

Song Yan continued, "The counselor said that we must stay on campus during military training, and there will be roll call at night. All freshmen must stay on campus, or they will lose credits."

Liu Chengcheng sat up from her seat: "So, do we have to move back tonight?"

"We'll move tomorrow," Lin Feng said. "I'll stay one last night."

Back in Gaobeidian, the jujube tree in the courtyard stood quietly in the twilight, its leaves gently rustling in the wind.

I'll have to move to the dorm tomorrow, so a battle tonight is inevitable.

Soon, the sound of patting backs came from the bath again.

The sound still rings out, crisp and clear, each booming sound resonating deep within the heart.

The bed sheets had been changed and had a faint scent of laundry detergent. Lin Feng lay down, and the mattress shook.

Song Yan turned off the lights, leaving only the one on the bedside table. She pulled the blanket up to cover the group, the movement as natural as if she had done it many times before.

Liu Chengcheng was already asleep. Liu Jiaqi's legs were rubbing against his calves, her toes were cold, and Lin Feng held her feet between his legs to warm them.

Moonlight shone through the gaps in the curtains.

Lin Feng closed his eyes. The jujube leaves outside the window rustled softly, like someone whispering.