"Yeah." I wiped the sweat off my forehead. He finally let me go.
"I'll be waiting for you here next week." Mu Chenghe added slowly.
Crack... I seemed to hear the sound of my heart breaking.
He called me again: "Classmate."
"exist."
"Your name?"
"Xue Tong." I said.
"Xue Tong." He savored the taste in his mouth while picking up the roster to look for his name.
"Xue is from Xue Baochai, and Tong is from Wutong," I explained.
"Wutong?" He seemed to smile, "The phoenix can only roost in Wutong?"
“No,” my parents weren’t that elegant. “My father’s last name is Xue and my mother’s last name is Tong, so they named me Xue Tong. Later, someone told me that I lacked the element of wood, so my father changed my name to Tong, which means “wood” in Chinese for phoenix tree.”
"You are missing wood from the five elements," he chuckled, "Then I think there is a name that suits you better."
"What?" I looked up.
"Astro Boy."
"… "
The little bit of goodwill that had just arisen suddenly disappeared.
I returned to the girls' dormitory and kicked open the door of my dormitory.
Bai Lin jumped up from the stool, rushed over, hugged me and asked, "How is it? How is it?"
"You're not ashamed to ask, but you just slipped away without even waiting for me."
"I'm just embarrassed." Bai Lin blushed and lowered his head.
After a while, she continued to ask: "What happened?"
I thought of the way Mu Chenghe randomly gave me a name, and I was so angry that my teeth itched. I couldn't help but yelled madly: "Mu Chenghe, he and I can't coexist!"
"I say, Xiaotong, even though beating is a sign of love and scolding is a sign of care, we still have to keep a low profile on things like this. After all, the relationship between teachers and students... well." Bai Lin winked at me mysteriously.
"Which what?" I wondered.
"Oh! That's it." Bai Lin patted me shyly.
With a bang, the second person to break in was Zhao Xiaotang. After putting down his things, he said, "Hurry, hurry, the student union is here to check for illegal electrical appliances."
Song Qiqi, who was originally sitting at the table with headphones on reviewing her listening skills, suddenly stood up, quickly unplugged the rice cooker on the balcony, and poured all the water into the sink.
"Open the toilet, open the toilet." I shouted.
"No! Last time, they even opened the toilet to check." Zhao Xiaotang said.
"Come up, I can hear the keys making noises, hurry up." Bai Lin, who was outside spying on the enemy, ran back and said.
"Then I'll go in with you." After saying that, Song Qiqi hid in the bathroom holding the rice cooker.
In school, it is not allowed to use any high-power electrical appliances such as boiling water or cooking. From time to time, the student union will conduct surprise raids. Once caught, not only will the items be confiscated, but they will also be reported to the department. At that time, multiple crimes will be punished together, and the whole dormitory will be in trouble.
However, as the weather turned colder, people in the dormitory were less and less willing to go to the water room to get water. First, they were too lazy to bring it, and second, there was not enough. In addition, we were all juniors, the highest grade in the west district of A University. We had finally become experienced people, unlike the freshmen and sophomores who were so timid and cautious, and completely ignored the school rules.
The member of the Discipline Inspection Team, wearing a red armband and holding a bunch of keys, pushed the door open and said coldly, "We are checking for illegal electrical appliances."
Several people looked around but found no clues.
There was another girl who walked to the balcony and pushed the toilet door.
"There's someone here!" Song Qiqi shouted inside.
Only after we respectfully escorted the students from the Discipline Inspection Team out the door and up the stairs did we breathe a sigh of relief, as we had finally escaped a disaster.
"Be careful next time." Song Qiqi came out of the bathroom.
"What can we do?" Bai Lin stuck out his tongue. "As long as they get the key from the dormitory manager, they won't be able to lock the door."
I stared at the dormitory door.
"What are you thinking about?" Song Qiqi poked me.
"If only we could put a bolt on the door," I said.
"That's right." Song Qiqi said.
"Who should I order from?" Bai Lin asked.
I took a bite of the apple and looked at Bai Lin who was asking the question. Zhao Xiaotang and Song Qiqi also looked at her.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Bai Lin tucked a lock of hair behind his ear.
"What do you think?" Song Qiqi smiled.
"When your senior brother comes to visit you at the weekend, ask him to bring some nails and bolts," I said.
None of the four people in the dormitory were in a relationship. It wasn't because they were aloof, but there weren't many people who could find a date in the Foreign Languages Department, and the guys from other departments were too vague. Only Bai Lin had a good senior.
In fact, rather than saying that they are good friends, it would be more accurate to say that her senior brother is interested in her.
This senior brother's surname is Li. Bai Lin met him when he was in the guitar club. He is studying physics. Now Li is a senior and has returned to the main campus of University A. However, he is still pursuing Bai Lin. He regularly reports to the entrance of the girls' dormitory with fruits every weekend.
So this task was given to Bai Lin.
On the phone, Senior Brother Li asked, "What are you doing with the bolts?"
"What do you care about me?" Bai Lin said angrily.
Zhao Xiaotang, who was eavesdropping nearby, coughed and said, "Xiaobai, watch your attitude."
Bai Lin wilted, and said to the microphone in a coquettish tone: "We always feel that the lock is not tight, and we can't sleep well at night. It's scary. I think it would be better to nail a bolt."
I gave Bai Lin a thumbs up. This girl has a future.
"Okay, no problem, leave it to me." Senior Brother Li agreed without hesitation.
On Saturday morning, Senior Brother Li was waiting at the gate of the girls' dormitory on time, but the aunt guarding the gate still refused to let him in.
To express my point of view: even if a fly wants to fly into the girls' dormitory, it must be a female.
Bai Lin pulled Senior Brother Li over to the dormitory manager and said earnestly, "Auntie, this is my brother. He came in to help me move my things."
"The one who helped you carry your luggage last time was your brother, and this time it's your brother again."
It happened so many years ago, but the aunt still remembers it.
I interrupted and said, "Last time, that guy was her cousin, this time he's her biological brother."
The dormitory manager looked at Bai Lin doubtfully, then looked at Senior Brother Li who was as thin as a bamboo pole: "The body shape is similar, but the face is different."
Bai Lin stood on tiptoes and tried to put her face together with Senior Brother Li's: "How can they not look alike? Look, they really do look alike."
I nodded in agreement: "Yes, Auntie, look how much they look alike, brother and sister both have the same nose and two eyes."
Bai Lin: “…”
In the end, Senior Brother Li failed to get in and returned empty-handed.
Unlike the Freshman Hall on the other side of the river, the Girls Hall had never had its power lines remodeled, nor had an electric meter been installed in each dormitory. So at 11 o'clock, the power was cut off and the lights were turned off in all six dormitories.
However, on weekends, half past ten means the nightlife has just begun.
Zhao Xiaotang was washing clothes on the balcony in the dark, Bai Lin and I were listening to the radio, and Song Qiqi was writing in her diary using the emergency light. The girls in the building opposite seemed to be playing cards with their wax figures lit up.
Suddenly, a light flashed from outside, and a boy downstairs shouted: "Classmates, turn off the lights quickly, or we will lose points."
These student union members who patrol at night wearing armbands are probably the only male animals allowed into the girls' dormitory.
Thinking of Senior Brother Li who was blocked outside today, the four of us couldn't help but get angry at the same time.
"I really want to throw a bucket of water down there," I said.
"And it's foot washing water." Bai Lin added.
At this time, a shout came from downstairs: "Second room on the fourth floor, put out the candle quickly, otherwise your department will be notified tomorrow." The discipline inspection team's flashlight shone on the dormitory opposite where people were playing cards.
Unexpectedly, the other party not only did not turn off the light, but also poked his head out and shouted fiercely: "What are you shining your flashlight on in the middle of the night?"
"I told you to turn off the lights!" said the boy.
"It's none of your business whether I turn off the lights or not? This is clearly a girls' dormitory, how dare you guys walk in here?"
Many girls in the dormitory heard the noise and stuck their heads out to watch the fun like us.
"We are conducting a disciplinary inspection." The boy began to feel less confident.
"What the hell are you doing here? You're shining a flashlight on a girl's window in the middle of the night. What are you trying to check? If you keep yelling, we'll all call you molest!"
Everyone burst into laughter immediately, at least they got rid of their anger.
I solemnly concluded: "Sure enough, there is no such thing as the most sturdy in this world, only more sturdy."
Bai Lin held his stomach and laughed, "Yes, yes, yes."
Song Qiqi asked: "Which department is that building opposite?"
"Chinese bar."
"Girls in the Chinese department are really extraordinary."
Mu Chenghe's sudden arrival caused the attendance of the Russian class, which had been declining, to start rising steadily again, and it could even be said that it increased suddenly.
This time, when he was asked to read the word again, several lotus root-like arms were raised, white and tender, all of them applying to answer the question.
He smiled faintly: "Last time, the class representative student couldn't read, and I let her off because it was her first offense. If anyone still can't read this time, I will not tolerate it and punish them by copying each word twenty times."
As soon as the words fell, those who raised their arms disappeared in an instant.
"No more?" Mu Chenghe glanced around the classroom, his thin lips slightly parted, and he said with a little regret, "Then... it's better to be the class representative."
I stood up suddenly, indignant and clenching my fists.
Bai Lin hurriedly pulled me back: "Xiaotong, we are in class. Don't be impulsive."
I suppressed the urge to pounce on him and strangle him, took a deep breath and replied, "I'd better copy it twenty times and give it to you in the next class."
I will endure.
He raised his eyebrows: "You still can't play the piano?"
"No." I answered stiffly.
"How about this," he sighed, "I don't like Chinese people to have foreign names, but sometimes it can be useful. I'll pick a Russian name with a twangy sound for you, and you can say it to people from now on."
I snorted and said nothing.
Mu Chenghe thought for a moment and said, "Although Xue Tong may not be outstanding in the Foreign Languages Department, she is pretty good-looking compared to the Physics Department. Why not call her Роза?"
He added with a faint smile: "But you have to practice playing the piano diligently, otherwise the rose will turn into a willow branch."
Роза — means rose, with the plucked sound [р] in it. The person gave me this name because he wanted me to face the flaws of life every day. If the plucked sound cannot be pronounced, the pronunciation will become лоза. лоза — thin willow branch.
Fellow student Xiao Bai grabbed my hand again and almost cried, "Classmate, you are so lucky. Chenghe helped you with your private tutoring last time, and this time he personally gave you a name. If I had known this would happen, I would have raised my hand even if I had to copy it 200 times as punishment."
The girls next to them also made up their minds that they would never back down even if they had to go through fire and water next time.
From then on, a famous saying of University A was circulated from the Foreign Languages Department: To describe someone who looks very sorry, you could say: This person looks like a rose.
My leisurely and comfortable college life became tragically ruined with Mu Chenghe as the turning point.