Chapter 8, Roommates

After the camp opening ceremony, everyone dispersed and made their way to their respective dorm rooms. Among them was Lan Xueyou, who had yet to fully get used to the lively environment. The loud noise hurts his head. He swiftly gathered his belongings, including his suitcase and blanket, and headed towards his assigned dorm, G building room 121.

It's not that he doesn't want to be among the others, but adapting takes time. As of now, he really needs peace and quiet.

The loud chatter of the trainees would probably drive him insane eventually. He is already on edge enough with all the new faces at camp, and this is even more so as it's the first day. His only wish right now is to get into his comfort zone, then deal with everything else tomorrow.

As he entered the room, Lan Xueyou was surprised to find it impeccably clean and neatly organized. He had never been in a dorm before, so he didn't know what to expect.

In fact, Lan Xueyou had been homeschooled all his life. His father is a professional scientist, therefore he had access to the lab. Unlike other kids, he never liked socializing with his age groups, because he felt there was nothing to learn from them. It was just another source of stress for him.

But despite the lack of interaction with other children, or the loneliness, Lan Xueyou felt this room was nice. He likes its simplicity and cleanliness, but also the soft atmosphere of calmness that emanates from it.

Walking in the dorm, his eyes scanned the space, taking in the sight of six beds neatly arranged in a row. It suddenly occurred to him that he would be sharing this room with five other trainees, and a mix of anticipation and apprehension filled his mind.

In the meantime, Lan Xueyou wasted no time in setting up his personal space. He carefully unpacked his desktop computer and keyboard, assembling a small table to serve as his workstation. He positioned the computer in the corner of the room, ensuring it was perfectly stable.

As he sorted through his belongings, a sudden commotion erupted from the door. Lan Xueyou turned his attention towards the source of the noise, only to witness two boys barging into the room, their suitcases in tow.

One of the boys was holding the other one by the collar of his shirt, looking like an overbearing older brother trying to force his younger sibling to make way for him.

"What are you doing? I arrived first!" Zhu Shizhen said as he pushed his way through.

"Nonsense, we certainly arrived together!" Liu Shan didn't back down either

"Why are you so stubborn? I am older than you, why don't you let me in?" Zhu Shizhen demanded, tightening his grip on Liu Shan's shirt

"Age doesn't matter. Besides, I'm taller so I should go in first." Liu Shan shrugged

Before even stepping foot inside, they engaged in a heated argument of who to enter first. Their voices clash, echoing throughout the empty hallway.

Lan Xueyou rolled his eyes at their bickering. He couldn't believe they were arguing over something so trivial.

Finally, after fighting for a while, they both fell into the room on their suitcases. Both boys were panting heavily, seemingly exhausted. But still, they managed to glare daggers at each other.

Zhu Shizhen pushed Liu Shan from on top of him and ran to the bed that caught his attention only to be held back by Liu Shan.

"What the hell! Get off me!" Zhu Shizhen yelled

"No. I told you before, I claimed first place." Liu Shan insisted. Zhu Shizhen tried again to reach for the bed and failed miserably.

Lan Xueyou looked away, not wishing to bother with their fight any further.

"Don't even think about it! That bed is mine." Liu Shan smirked

"Are you kidding me? I was the first to choose it."

"What do you mean you have chosen it? See how far away you are?"

Zhu Shizhen looked at the distance between him and the bed and Liu Shan's hand that was still holding his foot, preventing him from moving forward. He gritted his teeth, "If you hadn't pulled me back, I would've chosen it already."

"Dream on!" Liu Shan scoffed, he had no intention of letting go.

The two of them started to fight again and didn't even notice someone else was in the room.

Annoyed by the disruption, Lan Xueyou sighed inwardly, hoping for a peaceful and quiet living arrangement. However, his hopes were quickly dashed as the two boys continued their bickering, this time over the choice of beds. Both of them had their eyes set on the same bed, and a fierce battle ensued over who would own the bed.

"Liu Shan, I'm warning you to watch your behavior. There are many beds in this room, you can pick from. Why do you have to fight me for this one?"

"Zhu Shizhen, why don't you do me a favor and choose another bed? I've already taken a liking to this one."

"My feet is hurting! You're gonna give me another bruise, you jerk!" Zhu Shizhen struggled under Liu Shan's strong arms.

Growing increasingly frustrated, Lan Xueyou got up silently, he grabbed his blanket and suitcase before swiftly making his way towards the bed that had become the center of contention. Without uttering a word, he secretly put his name tag on the bed frame and calmly placed his blanket on the bed, effectively staking his claim. "I was here first. This bed is mine, the two of you can choose from the others."

After a few seconds of complete silence, they reacted.

Their expressions mix of surprise and annoyance. They might have seen a blurry figure when they entered the room but they didn't have the time to pay attention to it. Turns out, it was a person, their roommate to be specific.

But what does he mean by making his stand known? Did he not see the conflict raging in the room? Or perhaps he chose to ignore it, thinking that they were too immersed in their own childish squabbles to notice?

Whatever the case, Lan Xueyou's decision seems to be quite effective as he has effectively shut down any sort of arguments. Both Zhu Shizhen and Liu Shan stared at him with shock and anger.

"Hey you, What's up with your attitude? Are you asking for a fight?" Liu Shan snapped at Lan Xueyou who simply raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah man, you saw that we have taken interest in this bed and you just claim it like that?" Zhu Shizhen snarled

Lan Xueyou's lips curled upwards into a small smirk before returning to his neutral expression. He spoke slowly and unhurriedly "Do you two know what I hate the most? It's loud noises and unnecessary noise is even more irritating to me. You're too noisy, loud enough to wake up the dead and annoys the entire building. Besides, I've chosen this bed when I came in."

Although Lan Xueyou's voice was gentle and soothing, the words he said were sharp enough to draw blood. For some reason, his tone seemed to put Zhu Shizhen and Liu Shan in their place for a moment. They stared at Lan Xueyou, speechless as they were unable to come up with anything else to say.

"According to the rules, the first person to enter the room is eligible to choose first."

"What rules?"

Lan Xueyou pointed to the wall behind him and there was indeed a rule stating that whoever arrives first can occupy any bed they want. It was simple and straightforward but somehow managed to solve the misunderstanding.

"Okay fine, fine, you win. We'll take the next bed over there." Liu Shan finally said

"Good." Lan Xueyou nodded as he turned around to continue his unpacking. Actually, there were no such rules, but the others were so noisy that he had no choice bu to make one himself. Unsurprisingly, the two idiots didn't notice and actually believed him.