2 Welcome to S University!

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzzz. Bzz—

A hand out stretches from under the covers and onto the vibrating phone on top of the bedside table. The device is then pulled into the sheets before the loud buzzing sound finally ceases. Then... a groggy "... Hello?" is heard which is then followed by a soft yawn.

For a moment, there is only silence from the other end. Until finally "... Ah Zhi? Don't tell me you just woke up now," a nasally, masculine voice speaks up. It was Xu Wenming, Zhifeng's friend and housemate.

"N... no—" Xiao Zhifeng's words is cut off by another yawn, effectively making the person on the other line doubt Zhifeng's words.

"Uh huh, liar. Are you still in bed? This Uncle been trying to call you for an hour now. Did you forget? It's opening ceremony today. They're about to close the attendance booth in a few minutes."

Zhifeng, who was used to his friend's way of speaking, ignored Wenming's contemptuous way with words. "Huh? That's today?"

"Yes! Zhifeng, I even reminded you yesterday. Now get your ass over here before you get marked absent," Wenming hisses before hurriedly hanging up.

Zhifeng hurriedly sits up from his bed, pulling the phone away from his ear so he could check his phone's calendar. Sure enough, today's date was marked with 'Opening Ceremony.' Letting out a string of curses as he got out of bed, Zhifeng decides to forgo showering and just raided his closet to grab his change of clothes. Thanks to being childhood friends with another university student who was a year older than him, Zhifeng did not need to worry about finding a dormitory and just moved in with Wenming who offered a vacant room to his freshman friend. Naturally, Zhifeng found the thought of having his own room instead of sharing a cramped one with three other strangers more appealing. Because of that, he readily agreed and moved into Wenming's rented apartment a week prior to the start of the school year. Luckily for Zhifeng, the apartment was just a block away from the actual school which made it ideal for university students like them. Especially to Zhifeng who often sleeps through his alarm.

Running down the various flights of stairs (Zhifeng can only curse the elevator for being under maintenance that morning) and onto the streets, Zhifeng almost runs into a food cart vendor who yells at him to be careful. Xiao Zhifeng had to bow down a few times and apologize to the man profusely before he was able to escape the scene and continue his rush towards the university gates.

S University is one of the most prominent universities in Beijing. As someone who had moved from Yunnan, Zhifeng had immediately felt the sharp contrast between the two places. Xu Wenming had to take the time to introduce the other male to the "culture" of Beijing in hopes of helping Zhifeng adjust to the place quicker.

Zhifeng had just made it to the auditorium's building when he receives a new message.

[ Wenming: Where are you now? ]

Zhifeng is quick to compose a response.

[ Zhifeng: On my way in. ]

Bzzz.

[ Wenming: OK. I'm at the middle aisle, sixth row. Saved you a seat. ]

Zhifeng had already entered the auditorium and was heading for a row of tables manned by a few college students. There was a printed "WELCOME TO S UNIVERSITY" banner that was attached to the front of the tables as well as several smaller signs that indicated the various majors in the university. Zhifeng quickly scans the signs in order to find his major and spots it in between the tables for "Business Management" and "Journalism." There was a pretty lady behind the table who perkily greets Zhifeng.

"Hi! Are you a Media freshman?"

Zhifeng nods.

"Wow, you're really handsome," she says, giggling a little. This... flusters Zhifeng a little, considering how he has never been one to easily accept compliments. "Welcome to S University! I'm the Media Department's Student Vice President, Huang Lili. You can just call me Sister Lili And you are?"

"... Zhifeng. I'm Xiao Zhifeng," he replies, his ears reddening a little in embarrassment. Huang Lili did not seem to notice as she was busy looking through the roster of the Media Department freshmen to confirm his identity, subconsciously mumbling as she did.

"Xiao... Zhi... Zhifeng... Zhifeng... Ah! Here it is—" the female slides the attendance sheet towards Zhifeng and points to his name using a pen. "I just need you to sign beside your name here and then fill out your contact info... here," she says pointing to the blank columns beside his name. "Our Department collects this data for school-related purposes. We guarantee not to give out any of your information to other unrelated parties. If you have questions, please feel free to ask."

Zhifeng picks up the pen that was left on the table and quickly fills out the boxes with his primary information. Once he was done, he places the pen back on the table and slides the paper back to the other.

"Is... that all?" he tentatively asks, unsure if he still needs to do other things for registration.

The Vice President picks up the attendance sheet and checks it. "Mhm! You can head in now to watch the ceremony. Oh, by the way, the Media Department will have our own Department Gathering—slash— Orientation in a few days. We'll be sending everyone a message to inform where it will be held so please do join so you can meet the other freshmen and your seniors."

Truth to be told, Zhifeng was actually impressed by this older sister. Her tone was very friendly and welcoming, but did not come across as overbearing. From her temperament, she seems to genuinely like her task of 'welcoming juniors.' For this older sister, he has good feelings. However, Zhifeng isn't really someone who likes gatherings so it was still unknown if he will attend that gathering that the older female mentioned.

"... Alright. Thank you, Sister Lili. I'll be going now," he says, bowing quickly before rushing towards the auditorium doors.

He vaguely heard Huang Lili reply with a "See you soon, Zhifeng!" before he could successfully enter. Zhifeng then makes a beeline to the seats that Wenming had indicated, spotting his friend in the mass of university students waiting for the program to begin.

Wenming also spots Zhifeng once he was near, a look of relief appearing on his face. "You made it. Did you sign at the booths outside?" he asks.

Zhifeng nods in response.

"The sister there is a little chatty but nice. She told me the departments also need to meet up," Zhifeng says with a sigh. "I... don't think I want to go."

"Hmm, I think you should. It's not everyday that you'll meet everyone. Plus, you'll need a few new friends here. Our schedules won't won't overlap much, you know? My department's also gonna have a meet-up soon. We've been deciding on going to a karaoke bar or rent out a portion of a restaurant."

"Well, I'll mostly be live streaming during my free time so it won't really make a difference," Zhifeng then says with a shrug.

Wenming's mouth shaped into a small 'o.' "It slipped my mind that you do that livestream of yours. But still, I think you should meet a few new people, you hermit. For someone who wants to be a host, you really don't socialize much, you know?"

"I do socialize with my viewers," Zhifeng says under his breath. However, Wenming still heard it.

"That's different," Wenming scoffs and waves him off with his hand. "You're just speaking from behind a screen. Tell me, when's the last time you willingly hung out with anyone? And last week doesn't count because I had to drag you out to sightsee," he adds when he saw Zhifeng's mouth open to retort. Zhifeng unwillingly purses his lips.

"Fine. I'll go to the gathering. But I'm not promising anything about making friends there."

Wenming, who knew this option was better than Zhifeng not going at all, decides to just agree in case he accidentally drives the younger to lock himself inside his room instead. It wasn't the first time Zhifeng had done so, after all.