Chen Zhuo smiled, his voice gentle and calm.
"That’s good. Just go ahead and snore your heart out. It won’t be much different from a train, so you can just pretend you’re lying on one."
Wang Dayong was taken aback for a moment, then couldn’t help but chuckle in the darkness.
The lingering melancholy of parting that had been weighing on his heart was completely washed away by that comment.
"Alright, I’ll take you up on that. I’ll do my best to give you a symphony tonight."
Wang Dayong rolled over, finding a comfortable position.
"Goodnight, Xiaozhuo."
"Goodnight."
The ceiling fan continued to spin.
Wang Dayong was an easy-going guy. Within a few minutes, the sound of even breathing came from the opposite bunk, occasionally punctuated by a soft snore or two.
Chen Zhuo lay there quietly.
His first night of college passed peacefully, accompanied by the creaking of the fan.
「September 1st.」
「5:30 in the morning.」
The sky was just beginning to lighten, a hazy gray glow filtering in from outside.
His powerful internal clock urged Chen Zhuo awake.
He didn’t get up right away, instead lying quietly for a moment, listening to the breathing from the other bed.
「5:40.」
Chen Zhuo threw off his summer quilt and climbed softly down the ladder.
He didn’t turn on the light.
Using the faint light from the window, he took a pair of loose shorts and a white T-shirt from his wardrobe and changed.
On his feet, he wore the same white sneakers he was used to wearing back in Zeyang.
He picked up his keys, gently pulled open the dorm’s wooden door, and carefully closed it behind him.
It made a very soft CLICK.
The light in the hallway was dim, and the air smelled of damp concrete.
All of Building 4 was still asleep.
Chen Zhuo went down the stairs and out the main entrance of the dormitory building.
The morning air was exceptionally fresh, carrying the scent of dewy grass and trees.
Chen Zhuo took a deep breath and began to jog along the tree-lined path in front of his dorm.
His pace wasn’t fast, but it was rhythmic, his breathing steady and in sync with the rise and fall of his feet.
He passed several old academic buildings, their walls covered in ivy. He occasionally saw a few sanitation workers in orange vests sweeping fallen leaves from the road with large bamboo brooms.
Chen Zhuo ran past the man-made lake. A thin layer of morning mist drifted over its surface, the water perfectly still.
After running most of the way around the lake, he was covered in sweat, and strands of hair clung to his forehead.
The sun began to rise from behind the cluster of buildings to the east.
Morning light pierced through the leaves, dappling the asphalt road.
「6:40 in the morning.」
Chen Zhuo finished his morning run, slowed his pace, and walked toward the cafeteria.
Cafeteria Number 1 was already open.
Although the new students hadn’t arrived in large numbers yet, the cafeteria staff were already bustling with activity.
Several large steamers were stacked high, white steam billowing from the gaps in the bamboo trays, accompanied by the rich aroma of dough and meat.
Chen Zhuo walked up to the bun window.
"Ma’am, I’ll have four meat buns, two vegetable buns, and two bags of soy milk."
The cafeteria lady at the counter was quick and efficient, swiftly packing the steaming hot buns into a paper bag.
Chen Zhuo pulled the temporary paper meal tickets he had gotten yesterday from his pocket and handed them over.
Taking the slightly scalding paper bag, Chen Zhuo carried the breakfast and headed back to Building 4 the way he came.
「A quarter past seven.」
When Chen Zhuo pushed open the door to Dorm 215, the hallway was already starting to come to life.
Early-arriving freshmen were getting up one after another, and he could hear the sound of bolts being unlatched.
Chen Zhuo placed the paper bag in his hands on his desk.
A rustle came from the opposite bed.
Wang Dayong, his hair a messy mop, rolled over.
He sniffed the air, and though his eyes were still closed, he mumbled.
"What’s that smell? It’s so good."
Chen Zhuo pulled out his chair, sat down, wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, and turned to look at him.
"They’re buns, fresh from the cafeteria. I got some for you, too. Get up and eat. The wrappers get hard when they cool down."
Wang Dayong’s eyes flew open, and he poked his head over the bed rail.
He looked at Chen Zhuo, then at the steaming paper bag on the desk.
"Xiaozhuo, you’re up way too early! You went to buy breakfast?"
"I went for a run and picked them up on the way."
Wang Dayong rubbed his stomach, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
"Alright, I’m coming."
He scrambled down the ladder and threw on a pair of large shorts.
He plopped down next to Chen Zhuo and took a huge bite of a meat bun.
"Mmm! These buns are great. Thin wrappers, lots of filling. Way better than what my old school had."
While chewing his bun, Wang Dayong used a pair of scissors to snip open the corner of the soy milk bag, tilted his head back, and took a gulp.
Chen Zhuo also took a vegetable bun and began to eat it slowly.
"These meat buns are pretty hearty, but not as flavorful as that beef we had last night."
Wang Dayong finished one in two bites and reached for a second.
As they were eating, the hallway outside the dorm began to grow noisy.
From the stairwell came the sound of suitcase wheels rolling across the floor.
It was accompanied by a medley of different dialects and voices.
"Yeah, this is the building. Go up to the second floor."
"Careful with that bag, don’t drag it on the ground. There’s sauce inside."
"It’s so hot in the south. I’m already covered in sweat this early in the morning."
Today was September 1st, the official move-in day for new students.
Students and parents from all over the country began to pour into the once-quiet red-brick building.
All of Building 4 had come completely alive, a hubbub of activity.
Wang Dayong swallowed the bun in his mouth and tossed the paper bag into the trash can behind the door.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.
"It’s starting to get crowded. Xiaozhuo, I’m going to go soak my dirty clothes from yesterday. They really reek of sweat."

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