The dormitories of Tiandu University were clustered in the upper right corner of the campus, comprising over a dozen buildings.
They were roughly the size of a small residential community.
Utterly inhumane—that was the only evaluation Huang Xiu could offer.
Outside the dormitory area, Huang Xiu received her accommodation assignment and keys from a volunteer Senior Male Student.
She glanced down, confirming the location of her dorm.
Building Three, Room 406.
According to the map on the sheet, its location near the community entrance meant she was spared long treks to class.
The floor was neither too high nor too low, striking a perfect balance.
Even during peak hours, if the elevators were crowded, the stairs remained an option.
What pleased her most, however, was that the dorm wasn’t a multi-person room, but rather individual rooms akin to a suite.
Each dorm unit featured three private single rooms, along with a shared living room and kitchen.
“Excellent,” Huang Xiu nodded, a smile gracing her lips.
This arrangement was simply fantastic!
It perfectly alleviated the accommodation concerns that had plagued her before coming to school.
After all, despite her current female body, she still harbored an undeniably male soul.
She couldn’t even begin to imagine how ‘refreshing’ it would be to live with other girls.
“My body just couldn’t handle it! Absolutely not!” Huang Xiu shook her head.
“Xiao Xiu, I’m not in the same building as you,” Chi Xue said, her voice tinged with disappointment as she gazed at her accommodation sheet.
Contrary to their expectations, the school hadn’t assigned all new students to the same building.
Instead, the assignments on the sheet indicated they were scattered throughout the community.
Some new students were particularly unlucky, having been placed in Building Ten, the furthest inside the complex.
From that location, simply walking out of the complex to attend class would likely take a full ten minutes.
“I wonder if we can switch dorms here; I really wanted to live with you.”
While Chi Xue felt quite disgruntled about not being able to live with Huang Xiu, Huang Xiu herself was indifferent to her roommates.
After all, they were all independent single rooms.
Given her nature of being able to survive with just a computer and food, she might rarely even leave her room unless absolutely necessary.
“Perhaps we can. We’ll ask when the time comes.”
As she spoke, she glanced at her sheet, attempting to identify her other two roommates.
Immediately, a familiar name caught her eye.
Ying Zhiyu.
“Huh, it’s actually her?” Huang Xiu was astonished that her fellow high-speed rail passenger would turn out to be her roommate.
At that moment, she could only secretly marvel at the inscrutability of fate.
She continued scanning, and another roommate’s name appeared, though this one was unfamiliar.
“Jia Qianrou? What an uncommon surname.”
Huang Xiu rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Judging solely by the name, she likely imagined a gentle, sweet girl.
“Both of them seem to have soft personalities, so it looks like I won’t have to worry about the dreaded roommate dynamics.”
Huang Xiu recalled how, on the night before she left, her mother had held her hand, repeatedly cautioning her to maintain good relations with her dorm mates.
‘In a girls’ dorm, you absolutely cannot be as casual as you were in the boys’ dorms.’
“Xiao Xiu, I’m heading off!” Chi Xue, having already found her own roommate, bid farewell to Huang Xiu before walking towards their dorm together.
Watching Chi Xue’s figure disappear around the corner ahead, Huang Xiu turned to Ying Zhiyu, who stood beside her.
“Shall we go too?”
Huang Xiu whispered, but before her words fully registered, her stomach let out an exceptionally loud rumble.
…
“Blast it, I’ve been hungry for too long!”
Cough, cough, cough!
A blush crept up the girl’s cheeks as she feigned composure, clearing her throat. “It’s just a normal physiological phenomenon, no need to make a fuss.”
With that, she pulled her suitcase and entered the complex.
Seeing this, Ying Zhiyu covered her mouth with a soft chuckle, the hem of her white dress swaying with her body’s gentle tremor.
‘Xiao Xiu is so adorable!’ she thought, then pulled her own suitcase and followed after her.
****
Choosing a room was an art; too close to the corridor and one risked being disturbed by outside noise.
Too close to the kitchen, and one might be bothered by cooking fumes.
Ideally, rooms should face north and south to catch the warm morning sunlight, so Huang Xiu selected the innermost room.
Ying Zhiyu chose the one on the right, which was closer to the kitchen.
That left only the room on the left for the third roommate, who had yet to appear and was presumably a member of the second batch of new students.
Just as the Senior Male Students had mentioned, dinner for the day was already laid out on the dining table in the dorm’s common area.
There were elegant two-tiered insulated stainless steel lunchboxes, and beautifully packaged milk of an unknown brand.
The school had even prepared after-dinner fruits like blueberries and peaches, along with desserts, for the new students.
How wonderful!
Huang Xiu tossed her luggage into her room and eagerly opened the lunchbox, which had a label bearing her name.
The first layer of the lunchbox held the dishes, and the second contained rice.
To her surprise, the school had prepared specialty dishes from her home, Yunshang Province:
Chili fried pork, a large chopped chili fish head, braised pork, and two vegetable dishes.
“Oh, mine isn’t like that!”
From the other side of the table, Ying Zhiyu tilted her lunchbox, allowing Huang Xiu a peek.
The dishes in her lunchbox were entirely different, yet they were also specialty dishes from Yunxia Province.
“The school must be worried we won’t be used to the food when we first arrive!” Huang Xiu remarked, biting on her disposable chopsticks.
As a native of Yunshang, a love for spicy food was inherent to her.
Missing spice for a day was manageable, but prolonged abstinence felt as irritating as ants crawling all over her.
“But we have thirty-four provinces and ten major cuisines! Does the school really have so many chefs?”
Ying Zhiyu’s mouth was slightly agape, her face etched with surprise.
“Isn’t that great?” Huang Xiu chuckled. “You can attend university and sample all the country’s delicacies without ever leaving the campus.”
However, if that were the case, wouldn’t her entire culinary bucket list be achievable right in the school cafeteria?
“Wait, my food list also includes foreign dishes. Surely the school doesn’t have Western chefs too!”
Huang Xiu shook her head. While fulfilling her culinary bucket list was certainly her dream,
a dream that could be easily achieved sometimes led to a sense of anticlimax, making it feel less valuable.
Such was the peculiar nature of human beings.
The food was exceptionally delicious and authentic; Huang Xiu even wondered if the school had hired a dedicated chef for each cuisine.
The portions were generous too. After finishing, despite her hearty appetite, she felt about sixty percent full.
Once dinner was done, she carefully packed the lunchboxes back into their bags.
These lunchboxes were meant for recycling.
According to the small note on the table, placing them outside the dorm would prompt the cafeteria staff to collect them.
However, since their third roommate hadn’t arrived yet, they had to leave them on the dorm dining table for now.
“Quite convenient, actually,” Huang Xiu murmured, using one hand to gently tuck a few rebellious strands of hair behind her ear.
Ordering takeout was likely impossible at Tiandu University, given its considerable distance from the city center.
It was a common online saying that a university life without takeout and gaming in the dorm was incomplete.
Yet, now that the school cafeteria seemed to offer delivery and its food was far superior, this regret was effectively remedied.
She walked towards her room, savoring the dessert as she went.
“Delicious!” Huang Xiu closed her eyes in satisfaction, relishing the sweet treat in her mouth.
She had never been particularly fond of desserts before, but ever since her transformation, her increasing need for energy had made her appreciate these high-calorie sweets.