Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 5

“She’s changed so much,” Shen Xinghe couldn’t help but sigh.

“Is she the classmate you mentioned?” Xie Jing asked.

“Yeah. But when I first met her, she wasn’t this quiet.”

Back in middle school, Shen Xinghe and Qin Ning had shared a desk for a while. At the time, Qin Ning had excellent grades and was friendly and approachable. Shen Xinghe had no idea what had happened
to her all these years.

Xie Jing and Shen Xinghe didn’t live in the same dorm building, so they went their separate ways once they got downstairs. Xie Jing still had evening self-study, so after playing a round of Battle
Ground, she left with Zhou Yan for the academic building.

“Time to head back to prison,” Zhou Yan said lifelessly.

Xie Jing wasn’t looking forward to evening study either. She and Zhou Yan had nearly filled an entire notebook page playing tic-tac-toe. They finally made it through the session and happily returned
to the dorm.

After washing up, Xie Jing turned on her computer, ready for a long gaming session. But just as she was about to go online, Zhou Yan looked at her eagerly and reminded her about the bed switch.

With no choice, Xie Jing shut off her computer again.

Switching beds was a hassle. Their dorm had four girls, each with a loft bed and a desk below. After moving everything from the bed, they still had to move items from the desk and cabinets. Xie Jing
and Zhou Yan spent the whole evening moving, finally finishing just before midnight.

“That’s strange. It’s almost twelve—why aren’t they back yet?”

Even though Jinghai University didn’t cut the power at night, most girls in their dorm usually turned off the lights by 11:30. Chen Yuan also normally came back before then. But tonight, not only
was Chen Yuan still out, Qin Ning’s bed was also empty.

Just as Zhou Yan finished speaking, the door opened with a click. Chen Yuan and Qin Ning walked in, one after the other.

“Did you guys go to the study room?” Zhou Yan asked.

“Yeah, we stayed a bit late today,” Chen Yuan said as she put down her books and went into the bathroom.

Xie Jing was lying on her bed, worn out from moving. Hearing their conversation, she turned over and buried her face in the soft blanket, taking a deep breath.

Soon, the voices died down, replaced by the sound of running water. They were probably washing up.

Xie Jing had a habit of going to the bathroom before lights-out, so after listening for a bit, she got up to go. She straightened her bunny-print pajamas and pulled her bed curtain open with a
swoosh.

At that moment, she saw a familiar face.

They stared at each other for a second.

Qin Ning looked surprised too. Her eyes flickered when she saw Xie Jing.

“I switched beds with… Zhou Yan,” Xie Jing explained.

“Okay.” Qin Ning nodded, climbed the steps, and got into her bed.

All four of them had blackout bed curtains. Once closed, you couldn’t see a thing. Xie Jing glanced at Qin Ning’s bed for a moment, then went to the bathroom.

Maybe it was because of the bed change, but Xie Jing had trouble sleeping that night. Even though her body was exhausted, her mind was wide awake. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t fall asleep.

After tossing and turning for nearly an hour, she gave up and sat up.

She put on her headphones and watched a two-hour movie. Finally, she started feeling sleepy.

When she got up the next morning, her eyes were bloodshot.

Zhou Yan looked shocked. “Xie Jing, did you have a nightmare last night? Why are your eyes so red?”

Not wanting Zhou Yan to worry, Xie Jing just shook her head. “No, I just didn’t sleep well. I’ll catch up on sleep this afternoon since we don’t have any classes.”

Zhou Yan, always easygoing, nodded and didn’t ask further.

Xie Jing muddled through the morning classes without really paying attention. She didn’t even take notes. After lunch, she went back to the dorm and fell into a deep sleep.

At their school, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons were regularly free. Tuesday was for student council dorm checks to catch illegal appliances. Thursday was for club activities, mainly to
help students earn extra credit. Friday was probably left open so students who lived at home could leave early for the weekend.

In Dorm 211, both Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan were locals from Jinghai, so they usually didn’t stay in the dorm over the weekend.

When Xie Jing finally woke up, it was almost dark. Her mouth was dry, and she was about to get up for some water when she noticed a soft light in the room.

“You…” Xie Jing started to speak but stopped. Her throat felt scratchy and sore.

The temperature had dropped today. Every season change brought illness for her. Was she catching a cold?

“You’re awake. Want me to turn on the light?” Qin Ning had always used a desk lamp before.

Xie Jing’s voice was hoarse. “…Sure.”

She got out of bed, shuffled over in her slippers, and poured herself some water. After drinking a few gulps, her throat felt much better. Her head was still a bit fuzzy, maybe from sleeping too
long.

“Did you have dinner?” she asked Qin Ning.

Since they were going to be dorm mates for the next four years, the ice had to break eventually. Xie Jing took the initiative.

“No.” Qin Ning turned off her desk lamp. “Are you hungry? Want to go eat?”

“Mm… I was too tired at lunch and didn’t eat much. Now I feel like I could eat a whole cow.”

Xie Jing glanced at Qin Ning and noticed a slight smile.

“Let’s go, then,” Qin Ning said as she tidied her desk.

Because it was the weekend, many of the food stalls in the cafeteria were closed. They went up to the second floor, and Xie Jing ordered a simple grilled meat rice bowl.

She had been starving after sleeping all afternoon. As soon as the fragrant dish was served, she couldn’t wait.

“So good… it smells amazing!” Xie Jing’s eyes narrowed in satisfaction.

Qin Ning lowered her head and glanced at Xie Jing. From her angle, she could see only her thick eyelashes casting shadows, a small nose with a tiny red mole at the tip, and red lips puffed up like a
little hamster.

Qin Ning scooped a bite of her own grilled meat rice and chewed—it really was delicious. The meat was sizzling and juicy, and the rice was soft but not mushy. No wonder the little hamster was
enjoying it so much.

“Want something to drink? I’ll go get a bottle of water,” Qin Ning suddenly said as she stood up.

“Can you get me a cup of soy milk? Add an extra spoon of sugar,” Xie Jing said.

She usually didn’t like asking others for favors, but since Qin Ning was going anyway, it wouldn’t be too much trouble.

The cafeteria served soy milk in the mornings and evenings. It was never overly sweet to cater to different regional tastes. Xie Jing liked hers sweeter and always added extra sugar.

When Qin Ning came back, she not only brought the soy milk but also a cup of tofu pudding. The soft white tofu was topped with a layer of brown sugar syrup. It looked delicious.

“We can save it for a late-night snack,” Qin Ning said and placed both the soy milk and pudding next to Xie Jing.

“Oh… thank you.”

Xie Jing pulled out her phone, planning to send Qin Ning money before she forgot.

“I’ll transfer on WeChat,” she said.

“No… it’s fine. I’ll scan yours,” Qin Ning replied, changing her mind at the last second.

Xie Jing opened her WeChat QR code. After they added each other, she added Qin Ning to their dorm group chat and sent her the money.

Xie Jing’s profile picture was a kitten. Coincidentally, Qin Ning’s was also a cat, but hers was an orange tabby while Xie Jing’s was a tabby-striped one.

Looks like they were both cat lovers.

Who would’ve thought someone as cool as Qin Ning would like such soft, cute animals? Cat lovers were usually easy to get along with, Xie Jing thought.

After today’s interaction, her impression of Qin Ning improved a bit. Though she seemed cold, she was actually easy to talk to—just not as chatty as Zhou Yan.

“Want to go buy some fruit for the weekend?” Xie Jing asked. “We can snack on it over the next couple of days.”

“Sure.”

Xie Jing bought a bag of sugar tangerines. As they passed a fruit shop, she couldn’t resist getting a slice of Hami melon. She had eaten a lot of grilled meat rice earlier, but somehow the melon
felt like it went to a different stomach—she wasn’t full at all.

Back in the dorm, Xie Jing originally wanted to play the game she’d missed earlier, but then remembered she hadn’t taken any notes in class today.

She looked hopefully at Qin Ning.

Qin Ning was on her computer and noticed her gaze. “What is it?” she asked.

“QAQ… I didn’t take any notes in class today… Can I borrow yours?”

The next second, Qin Ning handed over her notebook.

Xie Jing accepted it like a treasure.

Qin Ning’s handwriting was neat and pretty, even for class notes—not like Xie Jing’s rushed scribbles.

Luckily, she didn’t miss too much. It only took her half an hour to catch up.

She thanked Qin Ning and returned the notebook. Qin Ning was on her phone watching an online course. Xie Jing glanced at it, then went to wash up.

By the time she finished, it was only eight o’clock. She finally got to play her game. But maybe her luck was bad today—no matter how many matches she played; she couldn’t get her first win in
Battle Ground.

Just as she was about to give up, Qin Ning’s voice came from beside her.

“Want to play together?”

Xie Jing was a little surprised. “You play this game too?”

“Yeah, I’m already online,” Qin Ning replied. She had logged into the game earlier, but since Xie Jing was still inside a battleground map and hadn’t exited, she had been waiting.

Qin Ning joined the team with a healer account, and Xie Jing also invited a few online friends from her friend list to team up. That way, they would have a better chance of winning.

[Lamb Skewer: “Come to YY, Xiao Jing.”]

Xie Jing glanced at the team message and quickly logged onto YY voice chat. At the same time, their game queue matched. While loading into the map, Xie Jing jumped into the top channel and greeted
her friends.

“Good evening, everyone~”

“Good evening, Xie Jing. Who’s the healer in the team? Why didn’t they join YY?” Ji Luo from the team asked curiously. “Is that a new friend of yours?”

Qin Ning turned to look at Xie Jing. “I didn’t install YY on my computer. I’ll download it after this match.”

Xie Jing wasn’t using headphones, so Qin Ning could hear everything they said.

“Huh? That’s strange. Why do I hear another woman’s voice on Xie Jing’s mic? Are you gaming in an internet café with someone?” one of the sharp-eared friends immediately caught on.

“No, the healer in the team is my room… roommate.”

Xie Jing glanced at Qin Ning, who was sitting next to her, and added, “She’s right next to me, so you guys can talk to her through me.”

“Oh~~ a close friend, huh~”

Her friends dragged out the word teasingly.

“No, not that kind of close. Go carry the crates already,” Xie Jing replied, her face a little red.