Chapter 108: Staff Dormitory

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Staff Dormitory

Deng Yuyuan slowly raised her eyes, looking calmly at Wei Yin. The lingering trace of her earlier chuckle still seemed to rest on the slight upward curve of her lips. "Childhood sweethearts, innocent playmates—that’s too heavy a meaning to place on two little kids.

"A vast world filled with friends wherever they go—that is the kind of lighthearted blessing a child should have."

Wei Yin understood Deng Yuyuan’s intentions. It had been a long time since she had met someone who wouldn’t bow to wealth. "If Tuantuan can help Little Shu come out of his shell, the Wei Family won’t skimp on the benefits we give you. My brother, his wife, and our parents are all good people. They won’t force you, and neither will I. But I still want to try to sway you with a lucrative offer."

"If I don’t agree, will you stop letting me be your model?" Deng Yuyuan asked in return.

Wei Yin waved her hand. "No, of course not. Even if things don’t work out with my nephew, our own business arrangement still stands."

"I don’t have any grand ambitions in this life. Earning a little money and raising Tuantuan well is enough for me." Deng Yuyuan stood up, excused herself, and went to call Tuantuan to bed.

Early the next morning, Deng Yuyuan took Tuantuan to Jinghua University.

"This is where Mommy and Tuantuan are going to live from now on," Deng Yuyuan instructed Tuantuan. "When the grown-ups haven’t asked you to speak, you shouldn’t say anything, but you can talk all you want when we’re inside our own bedroom, okay?"

Tuantuan covered her little mouth and answered in a muffled voice, "If Tuantuan accidentally speaks, will Mommy get in trouble?"

"No, but Tuantuan will lose face."

"Eh?" Tuantuan’s eyes went wide and round.

"After living here for a month, you’ll know when you need to be quiet and when you can be noisy. If you really do accidentally speak when you shouldn’t, Mommy will just say that you’re still little and don’t know any better, and ask everyone to be forgiving."

Tuantuan touched her own cheeks, looking a bit melancholy. "Then should Tuantuan be thick-skinned or shameless?"

Deng Yuyuan was already the center of attention in any crowd, and bringing Tuantuan along made her even more eye-catching. The counselor led Deng Yuyuan and her daughter to the faculty dormitories. "According to the higher-ups’ discussion, it wouldn’t be very appropriate to arrange for you to stay in the student dorms given your special circumstances. It just so happens there are still vacancies in the faculty dorms, so they arranged a small suite for you."

"The faculty dorms are co-ed," he explained to her. "Your room is on the second floor. The room number is 209; it’s the one at the very end of the hall. I live in 303. If you need anything, you can come find me for help."

Tuantuan sat on Deng Yuyuan’s arm, not afraid of strangers at all, firmly keeping her mother’s words in mind. Her little mouth was pressed tightly shut as she looked at the counselor, her eyes curving into happy crescents.

The counselor couldn’t resist initiating a conversation with her. "Little one, what’s your name? How old are you?"

Tuantuan answered him in a crisp, clear voice. "My name is Tuantuan, and I’m two years old this year! Mister, Tuantuan wants to treat you to some candy!"

Tuantuan was extremely generous, pulling an orange-slice candy from her pocket. This morning, Wei Shu had stuffed both of her pockets to the brim.

"Oh, thank you! You’re so generous." The counselor accepted it cheerfully. "I didn’t bring any candy today, but I’ll treat you next time."

Tuantuan handed him another orange-slice candy. "Then next time you treat Tuantuan, you have to give Tuantuan two candies! Tuantuan wants to share with Mommy."

"I’ll remember that!" The counselor was clearly taken aback for a moment, but then the smile on his face grew much more genuine, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out.

A young man was already standing at the door of Room 209. He had a tall, slender build, and his silhouette struck Deng Yuyuan as somewhat familiar. He wore a pair of rimless glasses, and his features were as exquisitely refined as a porcelain doll. This was the first time since coming to this world that she had seen someone born with such an incredibly elegant and noble appearance—someone who would easily hold his own if standing right beside her.

The young man’s skin was a cool-toned white, like premium Xuan paper, which made his facial features stand out all the more strikingly. His eyebrows weren’t thick and rugged like swords; instead, they were long and graceful, their ends vanishing cleanly into his temples. His nose was tall and straight. Viewed from the side, its lines were as clearly defined as a mountain peak, carrying an undeniable, commanding air.

Even behind the rimless glasses, one could see his spirited eyes. His eyelids were thin with deep creases, and the outer corners tilted upward slightly. When he looked at someone, his eyes always seemed to hold a pool of clear, crisp spring water—tranquil and bright. His eyelashes were absurdly long, casting shallow shadows over his lower eyelids. The line of his jaw was clean and sharp, while his lips were thin and beautifully shaped in a natural pale crimson, giving him an aloof, aristocratic air when he wasn’t smiling. He was so perfect that it felt somewhat surreal.

He looked at Deng Yuyuan and Tuantuan expressionlessly as the counselor stepped forward to introduce him. "This is my son. He’s also a freshman here at Jinghua University. I called him over to help you two move your luggage.

"Xiao Yuan, the school has provided basic bedding, a washbasin, and a mouthwash cup. They’ve all been put inside your room. Other things are available for purchase at the campus store. Once you buy them, just leave them downstairs and have my son carry them up for you. Oh, right, the store is right here on campus, in the residential area."

The counselor added a few more words. "My son doesn’t live here; he lives in the student dorms. He only came over today because I called him. Since this kid tested into Jinghua University, and I was just transferred to work at a university level, I applied to this school too so we could move to Beijing together. That’s why I currently don’t have a place and am staying in the faculty dorms. We’ll be moving out in a while.

"To avoid any conflict of interest, the boy and I aren’t in the same department. He chose the Chinese Literature department, and I was assigned to the science and engineering division."

The young man nodded in a polite greeting. Stepping closer to Deng Yuyuan, he moved his lips slightly. "I just cleaned the whole room. You only need to give it a quick wipe down."

Being so close, Deng Yuyuan could smell the crisp scent of pine and cypress cologne on him.

"Thank you," she thanked him sincerely. "And thank you for your kindness, Teacher Chu, but it’s alright. I can move everything by myself."

The young man didn’t reply to her. Instead, he pulled a bag of chocolates and a blonde, blue-eyed doll from his pockets and handed them to Tuantuan. "A meeting gift for the little one. Do you like it?"

"No, no, no, this is too precious. Tuantuan can’t accept this." Deng Yuyuan took a few steps back, holding her child.

Hearing her mother’s words, Tuantuan hastily withdrew her outstretched hands.

"It’s funny, actually, and I hope you don’t laugh, but I brought this back from abroad. We don’t have any kids in our family. The only reason I bought this doll at the time was because it happened to be on sale. It was so cheap that I just bought it. It’s not worth much money, but since goods like this are scarce around here, it comes off as a rarity."

The young man smiled faintly. The smile was so shallow that it barely pulled at his facial muscles.

"Take it. Let the child play with it," he said, stuffing it into Tuantuan’s arms. After hearing Tuantuan’s quiet and bewildered thanks, he continued speaking to her instead, "Your mommy didn’t answer me, which means you can take it, little one."

Deng Yuyuan nodded helplessly, and Tuantuan’s expression visibly relaxed.

"By the way—" The young man paused. "Won’t your husband mind you moving in here with your child? The dormitory the school provided for you doesn’t permit unrelated men to stay over either."