The entire group of Room 305 gathered by ten in the morning. Besides the students, there were accompanying family members, making the ten-square-meter dormitory quite packed.

Out of the eight people, only one was a local from Jing City, while the rest were from all over the country, meeting for the first time. Everyone was very warm and hospitable, sharing things with one another.

Their attire revealed a hint of their family’s living conditions. Le Xinxin shared chocolates, which many people were seeing for the first time, while more people brought out local specialties from their hometowns.

"It’s rare for these kids to gather together; today, I’ll treat everyone to some local dishes in Jing City." The only local girl from Jing City, named Wang Ruohua, was accompanied by her parents, who were dressed fashionably and exuded an air of authority.

"Ruohua’s mom is too generous, there’s so many of us..." Le Xinxin’s mother wanted to politely decline but was interrupted.

"There are so many of us; you’re going to have to spend a lot." The speaker was Zhang Mengdi’s mother from Yu Province, a true farmer, wearing a patched gray cotton jacket, with wrinkles all over her face and a look of thriftiness in her eyes.

Zhang Mengdi blushed immediately upon hearing her mom’s words, pulling at her, but was waved off, "Why are you so shy, it’s our first time here anyway, and look at your brother, doing so much work that he’s starving."

Yi Roujing suddenly felt a tickle in her ear; it was Ding Anmin whispering, "Sister, your classmate’s brother hasn’t moved from the chair since he came in and is supposedly doing work. They’re really good at telling tall tales."

Yi Roujing found it amusing. Beside her, Gong Jue’e directly laughed out loud at Ding Anmin’s words, quickly pursing her lips when everyone looked over, not forgetting to give Ding Anmin a playful pat, "Anmin, your stories are so funny, what happened next..."

The group’s attention shifted for a moment before refocusing on the meal.

This meal was destined not to bring everyone together; quite a few people declined. In this era, it was impolite to burden others, and dragging one’s family along was even more inappropriate, so most people wouldn’t agree. Ultimately, they didn’t end up dining out, but Wang Ruohua’s father bought two big paper bags of pancakes and meat baozi, which everyone shared.

"Delicious, delicious, baby, eat quickly." Zhang Mengdi’s mother grabbed four pancakes and four meat baozi, dividing them among her family and even gave Zhang Mengdi’s baozi to her son.

The corners of Wang Ruohua’s mother’s mouth twitched slightly.

They had bought things according to the number of people, having already refused the meal; everyone took a baozi and a pancake and expressed gratitude.

Official classes were to start tomorrow. Today was just for registration, but tomorrow would begin a twelve-day military training session.

Since Wang Ruohua was a local, after completing her paperwork and tidying her dormitory, she went home to stay with her parents.

"Oh my, so the girl isn’t staying here, that’s great. We can manage to stay in your dorm for a night, we..."

"Auntie, that’s not suitable." Gong Jue’e quickly interrupted, "If it’s just you staying one night, we don’t mind, but with uncle and this person, we’re a girls’ dorm."

"Mom, go stay at the inn for the night," Zhang Mengdi said irritably, feeling utterly embarrassed. It wasn’t a shared space, nor was it her own dorm to offer.

"I was just saying casually, of course I know."

"Mom, go to the inn, I’m tired and want to sleep." Zhang Mengdi’s brother said, causing their family of three to head out, not forgetting to tell Zhang Mengdi to prepare dinner for them to eat at the Jing University canteen at night.

Yi Roujing and her two companions bid farewell to their dorm mates and left as well.

"Could it be that Roujing and the others rented a place outside?" Yu Cuiyu from Gui Province wondered aloud, looking at the now-empty room.

"Probably. Going by how well Roujing and her family were dressed, they probably have the means," Zhang Yaen from East Province analyzed.

Yu Cuiyu, Zhang Yaen, and Gong Jue’e had all come by themselves. Zhang Yaen didn’t want her family to make the long trip because of the distance, as they were busy; Yu Cuiyu’s family couldn’t afford the expensive train tickets, so she came alone.

"Roujing’s husband is really handsome." Zhang Mengdi blushed and said, "Xuejuan’s husband too, looks righteous. Xuejuan probably won’t stay here either, after all, she’s married. High-ranking military staff can follow their spouse and receive housing."

Ren Xuejuan and Fang Zuxin left a little earlier than Yi Roujing and the others, saying they’d eat outside, but Zhang Mengdi couldn’t help but wonder if they had lodging elsewhere too.

"During military training, everyone has to stay in the dormitory. Besides, the training isn’t at Jing University but at a designated site," Gong Jue’e said.

"Could Xuejuan’s husband be our instructor?" Zhang Mengdi exclaimed.

"What are the odds?" Zhang Yaen said, amused. "But compared to Xuejuan’s husband, I’m more afraid of Roujing’s partner. He seems so serious, doesn’t smile much; feels like meeting my high school teacher again."

As Zhang Yaen spoke, she involuntarily shuddered, "Spooky."

"That’s just how he looks; he was very gentle with Roujing just now," Gong Jue’e added, "Besides, Roujing’s partner actually is a teacher."

"Maybe we’ll see him often later, since Mr. Xu teaches at the Jing University mathematics department," Gong Jue’e said with a chuckle.

Le Xinxin hadn’t spoken the whole time, waiting for her parents who were in the restroom; they too were planning to eat outside. However, hearing that Yi Roujing’s partner was a teacher at Jing University surprised her and prompted her to join the discussion, "No way, he seems so young. Is he really that impressive?"

"I knew before you arrived; Xuejuan mentioned it. She and Roujing came to register together, and at the welcome desk, our counselor recognized Mr. Xu. I was shocked when I first heard," Gong Jue’e recalled. "Mr. Xu is also a graduate of Jing University; perhaps he stayed on due to his excellent grades."

The subject of the discussion, Yi Roujing, and her two companions were walking through Jing University campus. Xu Ancheng led them to the mathematics department; having completed his onboarding process, he showed them his office so they could easily find him if needed later.

"Wow, as expected from Jing University, it’s huge and much bigger than the Industrial University," Ding Anmin said, constantly amazed as she looked around. "Sister-in-law, your dorm mates seem easy to get along with. Anyway, everyone here is academically talented to even get into Jing University. But military training means no going home. Sigh, it’s the same for me. We won’t see Baozi and Mantou for several days; hope they won’t cry for mom."