In late February, the skies over Huizhou were always gloomy.
After an early spring rain, the wind was thick with moisture that seeped into your very bones.
Chen Zhuo pushed open the door to Dorm 215.
The lights were off inside, making the room a little dim.
The sliding door to the balcony was half-open. Wang Dayong was standing on a chair, a red nylon rope in hand, struggling to tie it to the bed frames on either side.
Hearing the door open, Wang Dayong turned his head.
"You’re back?"
A smile spread across Wang Dayong’s face. He quickly tied a tight knot in the rope, hopped off the chair, and wiped his hands on his pant legs.
"Yeah, just got here."
Chen Zhuo wheeled his suitcase into the room and shut the door behind him.
"This southern weather is a whole different beast. It’s not snowing, but it’s the kind of cold that makes your bones ache."
Wang Dayong came over and helped Chen Zhuo lay his suitcase flat in the empty space between their two desks.
"Was the train late?"
"By over half an hour."
Chen Zhuo took off his coat, draped it over the back of a chair, and rolled his stiff shoulders.
"The train was so packed there wasn’t even room to stand. The whole car smelled like instant noodles and orange peels."
Wang Dayong nodded in complete agreement.
"It’s always the same. My train was just like that. The aisles were full of people with standing-room tickets. I actually ended up sleeping against the sink in the bathroom in the middle of the night."
Chen Zhuo smiled, crouched down, and unzipped his suitcase.
When he opened it, aside from a few changes of clothes, more than half the space was taken up by plastic bags and glass jars of all sizes.
"Dayong, what were you busy with on the balcony just now?"
Chen Zhuo asked casually as he started taking things out.
"Hanging meat."
Wang Dayong pointed toward the balcony.
"I brought back some red sausages from home, and a couple pieces of cured pork my mom smoked herself. I was afraid they’d spoil in the suitcase, so I hung them up to air out. I’ll tell you, even though it’s cold here in the south, it gets so damp. I’ve got to keep an eye on them."
Chen Zhuo glanced in the direction he was pointing. Sure enough, several links of cured meat were hanging from the rope on the balcony, and the faint, smoky scent of it drifted through the air.
"Nice. It already smells delicious."
Chen Zhuo took out several cylindrical objects from the bottom of the suitcase, each wrapped tightly in layer after layer of old newspaper, and placed them on his desk.
Inside were four large glass jars.
"What’s this good stuff?"
Wang Dayong leaned in, looking on with curiosity.
"Sauce my mom made."
Chen Zhuo pointed to the contents of the glass jars, introducing them to Wang Dayong one by one.
"These two are beef chili sauce with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds. This one is pickled radish strips, perfect with plain congee in the morning. And this one is toon sauce."
Chen Zhuo picked up a jar of the beef sauce and pushed it right onto Wang Dayong’s desk.
"Here, try my mom’s cooking. When you get sick of the cafeteria food, you can mix this with your rice."
Wang Dayong didn’t hesitate, reaching out and taking the heavy glass jar.
He gripped the lid and gave it a hard twist. A rich aroma of chili oil, beef, and fragrant dried chilies instantly filled the dorm room.
Wang Dayong swallowed hard and quickly twisted the lid back on.
"Your mom’s a real pro. Just smelling this, I could eat two extra bowls of rice for lunch."
Chen Zhuo smiled and continued pulling things out of his suitcase.
Besides the jars, there was also a bulging, bright red plastic bag in the suitcase.
Before he left, Zhang Qiang had insisted on shoving it into his hands, saying it was to thank him for his dedicated tutoring over the winter break.
Chen Zhuo opened the plastic bag. It was a colorful mix of Little Raccoon brand instant crunch noodles, Want Want snow crackers, White Rabbit creamy candies, and even two packs of spicy gluten strips.
Chen Zhuo left the bag open on the corner of his desk.
As the two of them were tidying up, the door to the room across the hall suddenly made a noise.
The sound of slippers shuffling against the floor came from the hallway.
The sound was sluggish, carrying a sense of weakness, as if the person might keel over at any moment.
Then, the door to 215 was pushed open from the outside.
Chu Ge appeared in the doorway.
His hair was a bird’s nest, with a few stubborn tufts sticking straight up.
The most frightening part was his complexion.
His already fair skin was now a bloodless, ghastly white. He had heavy, dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were so dry they were peeling.
He looked like a zombie who had just spent a week pulling all-nighters at an internet cafe.
Chu Ge stood in the doorway and his nose twitched a couple of times. He had clearly smelled the meat sauce from when Wang Dayong had opened the jar.
He didn’t say a word. He just shuffled over to Chen Zhuo’s desk in his slippers, reached into the red plastic bag, and pulled out a pack of Little Raccoon instant crunch noodles.
He tore open the package and, without crushing the block, broke off a large chunk, stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing with a loud CRUNCH.
"I’m starving to death..."
Chu Ge mumbled indistinctly as he chewed.
Chen Zhuo stopped folding his clothes and turned to look at Chu Ge’s sorry state.
He didn’t make a big deal out of it. He just picked up his own glass, walked over to the thermos, and poured half a cup of steaming hot water.
Chen Zhuo handed the glass to Chu Ge and teased him gently.
"Slow down. What happened to you? The stress test over the New Year didn’t manage to finish you off, but now that the semester’s just started, it looks like Keda’s feng shui is sucking out your life force, huh?"
Chu Ge took the glass and managed to swallow two dry mouthfuls of the noodles, nearly choking in the process.
He tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of the warm water, finally letting out a long breath.
The moment Chen Zhuo mentioned the New Year, a fiery glint sparked in Chu Ge’s eyes.

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