Chapter 371 290: You Can't Afford to Compensate

Qian Huabiao seized the chance for a little payback, putting Zhao Chaojie in a playful headlock. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Only after Zhao Chaojie spent a long time explaining and promising he would absolutely not smoke in the dorm did Lin Ruoxi finally leave, still looking skeptical.

"Xue Rui is so henpecked. The poor guy," Zhao Chaojie sighed.

The corner of Qian Huabiao's eye twitched. 'Poor guy? You have no idea. He has two girlfriends!'

'A shame I can't say that out loud…'

Still, he was in a good mood now. He had leverage over Xue Rui for two-timing, which meant he no longer had to worry about Xue Rui exposing his act.

"There are still a dozen or so other girls in our class," Zhao Chaojie said, fiddling with his phone.

"Yeah... After seeing Lin Ruoxi, I'm suddenly not that excited about the rest of them," Qian Huabiao sighed.

"Who knows, there might be other pretty ones. Aren't we all meeting in the classroom tonight?"

...

After heading downstairs, Xue Rui prepared to walk the girl to the female dorms, but she refused him with a solemn look on her face.

"Rui, I can go by myself. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to go into the girls' dorm," Lin Ruoxi said earnestly. 'I'm an adult now; I can't have Xue Rui help me with everything.'

Seeing how resolute the girl was, Xue Rui said to Yu Minlan, "You go with her. When you're done, you can head back if you want. If you'd rather stay in Chang'an, rent an apartment nearby. I'll cover it."

With the semester just starting, there was a lot to do. Having Yu Minlan stay would be helpful for running errands and handling odd jobs.

"Thank you, Boss!" Yu Minlan said excitedly. Her mother had just been nagging her to come home for a blind date, and now she had the perfect excuse not to go.

"I've realized something," Yu Minlan complained. "Home is a great place to visit, but you can't stay for long."

Xue Rui's reason for not going with them was simple. 'I can't stay in the girls' dorm watching over Lin Ruoxi all the time. If she's not comfortable, she can just move out. Or maybe I could ask the university for a single room in the graduate dorm?'

'In short, Lin Ruoxi has plenty of options. There's no need to waste time on dorm politics. If she gets along with them, great. If not, she can just leave.'

'University isn't like high school; life pretty much revolves around your dorm. I barely have any impression of the girls in my own class. I might recognize them as classmates if I saw them, but I definitely couldn't put a name to a face.'

"Keep the call open. I'll put my headphones on and listen in," Xue Rui instructed.

'Yu Minlan spent four years in college; she's not so incompetent that she can't even handle the move-in process. She knows how things work at a university. She was an honors graduate, after all.'

...

In Building 11, the women's dormitory, five girls were gathered together, discussing how to best decorate their room.

"Should we put up wallpaper? I saw my friend's dorm—they had decorations left behind by the senior who lived there before. It looked really nice."

"We're still missing one person. If she doesn't show up, we can just use her bunk as a luggage rack."

"I'm good with that. We have way too much stuff."

"Then it'd be best if she just doesn't show up."

Just as they were talking, Lin Ruoxi pushed the door open.

"Um, h-hello, everyone. My name is Lin Ruoxi. I'm also in Software Engineering 141," Lin Ruoxi said softly, greeting her new roommates.

Without a word, Yu Minlan started hauling things inside. Lin Ruoxi had a ton of luggage. Downstairs, she had just managed to score some free labor, getting two male students to carry the boxes up for them.

"What in the world did you pack in here? It's so heavy," one of the male students said, clutching his back.

"Thanks, guys. I'll treat you to a meal later," Yu Minlan said with a smile, stepping in front of Lin Ruoxi. 'It's obvious these two are just trying to get her number.'

"Really?" one of them asked joyfully, glancing past her at Lin Ruoxi.

"Of course," Yu Minlan chuckled before sending the two male students away. The meal, however, would be with her, not Lin Ruoxi.

The girls in the dorm curiously sized up the latecomer. When they saw Lin Ruoxi's tall, slender frame and her stunning, ice-queen features, they immediately felt a wave of pressure.

'Where did this goddess come from? And she's moving into our dorm?'

In reality, Lin Ruoxi was extremely nervous. She didn't know why, but while she felt no pressure talking to boys, she found it impossible to find common ground with girls her own age.

"Oh, hi, hello," the others replied politely, and two of them came over to help.

Of course, a few of the girls looked disappointed when they saw Lin Ruoxi's mountain of luggage. Their room was already cramped, and now she was bringing in this much stuff...

However, as Lin Ruoxi started unpacking, the roommates' expressions grew stranger and stranger. She wasn't pulling out clothes or daily necessities, but all sorts of electronics they had never seen before...

"Um, I brought gifts for everyone," Lin Ruoxi said, pulling a bundle of power strips out of a box. It was a product she and Xue Rui had developed back in Shencheng.

Seeing that they were power strips, the girls all shook their heads and refused; they had already bought their own.

Now they didn't know what to say to Lin Ruoxi. This new roommate seemed to be the quiet, reserved type.

Listening in over the phone, Xue Rui could tell the atmosphere in Lin Ruoxi's dorm was off. 'The girl's aura just doesn't mesh with that of other female university students.'

Yu Minlan chatted with the other girls for a few moments, made some polite remarks as if she were a concerned family member, and then left the dormitory. On her way out, she sent Xue Rui a video of Lin Ruoxi's room.

After Yu Minlan left, Lin Ruoxi just sat dazedly in her chair, feeling extremely nervous. 'Usually, guys will take the initiative to start a conversation,' she thought. 'I have no idea what to talk about with girls.'

After a moment of silence, someone finally spoke up, breaking the awkward tension.