Roommates

Qin Meng and Leng Yueyan had their breakfast in the cafeteria before he went to find the room that the academy had allotted him. There would be three more new students in the room, but he cared little about it. He could always leave if he didn't like the atmosphere there. It wasn't like he had nowhere to go.

He stood in front of a building where all the new students were going to stay, except the top ten. The academy had given them special quarters. Not wasting his time, he went to find room number 10, as written on his student badge. The room was closed, so he knocked, but no one replied. He struck the door harder, and it creaked before sliding inward. It was already open.

He peeked inside and found four beds of which three had bedsheets, pillows… underwear, and… socks. All in all, this place was a mess.

No one was present inside the room at the moment. 'They must have gone to collect their badges.' he thought. He was becoming increasingly bored, so he decided to come back later. He didn't bring his belongings yet anyway.

As he turned to leave, the door of the room swung open and three boys entered with smiling faces, but their smiles froze as soon as they spotted Qin Meng.

"You…" One of the students, potbellied and pudgy-faced, looked at Qin Meng with his beady eyes and was about to curse, but stopped halfway through. Then an excited look appeared on his face. "Aren't you the same student whose girlfriend beat the shit out of that Silver Star Mentor Zhu?"

The other two also stared at Qin Meng with gobsmacked expressions. The fatty continued, "You are called Qin Meng, right? You're very renowned among the new students. Even Yu Cheng isn't as famous as you."

"Yu Cheng?" Qin Meng asked in confusion. "Who is that?"

"You don't know the first-ranked new student?" The fatty eyed him with shock, but then started laughing. "As expected of my boss."

"When did I become your boss?" Qin Meng was speechless.

"Just now, of course," chuckled the fatty. "Anyway, boss, my name is Yan Yunjie." He turned towards his other two companions and pointed towards a bald and muscular guy. "This hairless guy is Wu Hui." The other student was thin like a stick, almost opposite to Yan Yunjie. "And this malnourished boy here, he is called Zeng Hong."

Qin Meng spotted Zeng Hong and Wu Hui's eyebrows twitching and a smile materialized across his face. This Yan Yunjie was interesting.

"Anyway, boss, why are you here?" asked Yan Yunjie after introducing everyone.

"Oh, of course, because the academy has allocated this room to me."

"So, you are going to stay here?" Yan Yunjie's eyes started to shine.

Qin Meng glanced at the fatty suspiciously and said, "Well, you can say that. Why?"

"Hehe, nothing, nothing," chuckled Yan Yunjie.

Qin Meng rolled his eyes and then said, "Alright, I came here just to check the room for today. I will bring some of my stuff tomorrow."

***

When Qin Meng arrived home, it was already lunchtime. He ate the food and asked the maid, "Has Grandpa eaten lunch?"

"Uh." The maid eyed him confusedly and hesitated before asking, "Who?"

As soon as Qin Meng spotted the maid's expression, he remembered about yesterday. He stood up and dashed in the direction of the hut that was behind the building of House Qin. He crossed a few galleries and took many twists and turns now and then.

House Qin was spread out in a large area; it took him some time to reach where Grandpa Hu stayed. He stared at the hut and pushed the door with force. No one. The hut was empty. Qin Meng looked around and found something written on the wall.

"Little Meng, don't be sad. Grandpa had no choice in this matter. The Master and Mistress gave me this instruction. Also, don't you still have that lass Yueyan? She will protect you, and when the time comes, you must protect her as well. Don't sleep late, and eat on time. And don't ask about me from the maid, she remembers nothing. Take care of yourself, child."

Tears started to fall from his eyes as he finished reading. It took him a long time to come back to his senses, and when he again peered at the wall, there was nothing on it, anymore. It had vanished, with no clue or trace.

After that, he went into his room and told the maid to not disturb him. He gritted his teeth in frustration and then closed his eyes. Everything was happening because he was too weak.

Qin Meng activated the Nameless Breathing Technique; the scene changed in front of him, and he once again appeared in that boundless space.