Actually, Han Lie wasn’t particularly good at flirting with girls. Even now, his skill set didn’t include the "Flirting" skill. But the straight-A student Han had Level 3 knowledge in psychology. In his past life, he was in marketing, so he knew a thing or two about behavioral psychology and facial expression analysis. Normally, that smattering of knowledge was pretty damn useless. However, when he leveled up before, all the knowledge in the panel that had a name attached to it was upgraded to Level 3 as well. The effect was immediately different. Being able to proficiently apply most conventional psychological knowledge, Han Lie wasn’t just Han Lie anymore—everyone, please show some respect and call him Master Han.
No matter how smart and mature Yu Yun and Xi Luting were, they were still just first-year college girls. In Master Han’s presence, their sophistication was worth only two words: "Heh heh."
Evening self-study in college... those who knew, understood. If it was a good university, many students would be studying hard. But if it was an arts college one, it was purely free time. The classroom was noisy with all sorts of activities. The most outrageous was the group of boys in the back corner, who were actually playing poker, shouting and being extremely blatant.
To Han Lie’s right was an empty desk, and in front of him sat two female classmates discussing celebrities. One of them had already sneakily turned back several times.
By the time she turned around for the fifth or sixth time, Han Lie finally lifted his head and smiled at her. "Is something up?"
The female student’s cheeks flushed red instantly. Her deskmate, however, was braver and turned completely around to face Han Lie.
"I’m Lu Yao, and she’s Wang Hongli."
Han Lie nodded. "Nice to meet you."
Both girls were just average—not stunning or ugly—but Han Lie’s attitude was still very good because they were Xi Luting and Yu Yun’s roommates.
"Hey, why are you so impatient with Yu Yun? Isn’t she pretty?"
The one speaking was still Lu Yao. Wang Hongli had the kind of personality that was tough behind a screen but meek in reality.
"Very pretty," Han Lie nodded and then countered, "So?"
"Err..." Lu Yao was at a loss for words.
But her impression of Han Lie suddenly became much better. One shouldn’t think that girls’ dormitories are harmonious; that’s bullshit. In reality, the worse the university, the more complicated the conflicts in the girls’ dorms were. They didn’t study much, and all their energy was spent sizing each other up and scheming, so the probability of conflict was naturally much higher. On the contrary, schools with a good study atmosphere were relatively simpler, and relationships were more solid.
"What about the class president?" Lu Yao asked eagerly. "You also don’t seem very enthusiastic about her? She’s so pretty! Even I, as a girl, like her..."
"I feel like our personalities don’t really mesh well." Han Lie found a casual excuse.
Finally gathering some courage, Wang Hongli asked in a low voice, "Aren’t you in a hurry to get out of being single?"
"Yes, I am." Han Lie nodded in confirmation, then smiled again. "But that doesn’t mean I have to focus on the prettiest one, right?"
His white and even teeth made Wang Hongli feel slightly dizzy. She felt like she might be falling in love. Suddenly finding courage, she asked, "So, what kind of girl do you like?"
Han Lie gave her an answer that would never be wrong. "I pay more attention to inner beauty and compatibility. Looks only come third."
Just as Lu Yao was about to ask another question, Han Lie had already lowered his head. "I’m going to read now. You guys chat."
The two girls glanced at each other sullenly, turned back around, and started whispering to each other, leaning on their desks.
Before long, a heated discussion about Han Lie erupted in their dormitory’s group chat. Yu Yun, feeling resentful, naturally attacked Han Lie a few times in the chat. But Wang Hongli and Lu Yao had a very good impression of Han Lie and vigorously defended him against any criticism.
Watching the constant stream of messages in the group and Yu Yun’s teeth-gritting expression, Xi Luting finally couldn’t help but become curious.
Just a peek... I’ll only take a peek!
But one look turned into half an hour. Though it was all unsubstantial idle chitchat, she still extracted two important pieces of information from it.
First, the new student thinks I am the prettiest in the class.
Second, the new student isn’t really interested in me.
If he’s not interested, then forget it! As if I care that much, hmph!
Xi Luting closed the group chat interface and firmly remembered Han Lie. She really wasn’t interested in any bootlickers, but she was still a girl, and as a girl, she had a competitive spirit. The emotional fluctuations triggered by competitiveness could evolve into many, many things.
What it would eventually become, only time would tell.
At 8 o’clock, after evening self-study, Han Lie blended into the crowd and slowly made his way to the dormitory. Going solo was out of the question. The entire campus was only so big, and everyone’s movements were restricted to the area between four buildings. The upside was that because everyone walked together every day, relationships could become closer. The downside was that if someone got into a relationship, hundreds of eyes would be watching.
Did you think that with this setup, the likelihood of cheating would decrease? Naive! On the contrary, cheating became even more convenient. Moreover, after cheating for the first time, all psychological pressure would be gone, allowing one to let loose completely.
There was a campus goddess who, in four years, had supposedly slept with five roommates from the same male dormitory. Could you believe it?
Han Lie initially couldn’t believe it, until he saw it unfold right before his very eyes. And he was precisely the one who got left out.
This was truly a very, very sad story...
With all sorts of thoughts on his mind, Han Lie followed the crowd to the apartment lobby and turned directly into the stairwell. The classmates behind him were somewhat dumbfounded, whispering to each other while waiting for the elevator.
"Han Lie actually lives on a lower floor?!"
"Must be connections, right?"
"For sure! Freshmen can’t get into a four-person room even with money."
"He’s not even a Magic Capital local..."
"So what if you’re from Magic Capital, got an extra stamp or something?! Did you fucking get a room?!"
"A Magic Capital local’s diploma *does* have an extra stamp on it compared to yours, so what about it?!"
"Motherfucker! Believe it or not, I’ll kill you!"
Although school had officially started less than half a month ago, everyone already hated waiting for the elevator. At such times, moods became particularly irritable. If they didn’t have at least a couple of arguments a day, it felt as if the day hadn’t been fully lived. And thus, Han Lie’s treatment made people even more envious.
"Let’s ask that guy tomorrow how he got a spot."
"The housing fee is 2,000 more. Do you have the money?"
"Stop dreaming! Even if you had the money, they wouldn’t approve it for you. If you really want to live there, transfer to the International College!"
Sure enough, they started arguing again... It was just another day.
Han Lie leisurely walked to his dorm room. From far away, he could hear the noise spilling out. The moment he pushed open the door, he was nearly knocked over by the stench. Six guys were in the room smoking, each holding a can of beer. Their conversation was animated, laced with an unending stream of profanities.
When Han Lie opened the door, six pairs of eyes stared at him. Han Lie simply left the door wide open, stood at the entrance, and calmly met their gazes.
After a few seconds of standoff, one of the guys in the room grew impatient. "If you don’t want to come in, then just fuck off! Are you trying to be a door god, standing there?!"
"Oh." Han Lie nodded, silently walking toward his bunk bed.
It was a loft bed with a desk underneath. A slovenly, blond-haired youth was sitting on Han Lie’s desk, his feet resting on Han Lie’s chair.
Han Lie walked to his desk and, under the Gaze of six pairs of eyes, calmly asked, "Could you please get off?"
"No," the blond youth replied dismissively. Moreover, he flicked his eyelids slightly and blew another puff of smoke at Han Lie. His face was filled with mockery and derision, as if asking: What can you do about it?
Among the other five guys, some burst into loud laughter, some stood up, and others watched Han Lie with scorn.
Good heavens! This dorm room is even more chaotic than 1918...