Returning to get Shi Man's sunscreen, as soon as she entered the room, Shi Man felt the cool breeze and declared she would nap before heading to school. Juliana didn't mind. "We have a housemate dinner tonight, we can just arrive a little early then. Oh, and Qiqi, would you like to join us for a meal too?" Juliana wondered if Wang Qiqi's roommates would invite her, but Qiqi's roommates were truly out of line; the tension was thick on the very first day, she truly doubted they would ever get along. "Qiqi, will you be happy staying in the dorm in the future?" Juliana actually meant to suggest switching to Jiang Xin's room, as that one seemed to be missing someone.

Wang Qiqi didn't want to change rooms; after all, she wasn't the one without a valid reason. If she backed down this time, wouldn't it imply she was guilty? "Forget it, we'll only be staying here temporarily anyway. Once October comes, we might not even be here permanently." At most, Wang Qiqi would stay in the dorm when classes ran late into the night during the deep winter. She might as well treat it like a youth hostel. "If they're polite, we can communicate a few more times; if not, then so be it." Qiqi was certainly willing to get along with her roommates, but if relationships couldn't be mended, she wouldn't stoop to flattering them. More importantly, if she ended up not returning to the dorm much in the future, those seven girls would exclude her from their clique, and the end result would be the same anyway, so there was no point in trying to build rapport with them.

After hearing Wang Qiqi's thoughts, Juliana had to admit that Qiqi made a decent point. "Then let's leave it at that; it’s only two weeks of military training anyway." If they really couldn't coexist then, she could stay here, though she'd need to notify the school first. Juliana wasn't worried about the teachers' opinions, though; many C University professors lived in this complex, and she'd met a few of them coming and going these past few days. The key point was that Wang Qiqi and the others knew the older professors, but those professors didn't know these three young women would soon be C University students.

Wang Qiqi checked the time. "Is Manman ready? We need to go." Hadn't this girl gone to the restroom? Why was she taking so long?

After a long while, Shi Man called out from the bathroom with a tearful voice, "Qiqi, Lina, I’m cursed... my period started...." Shi Man felt utterly miserable thinking she had military training tomorrow. Although it was just for show, they would at least have to stand at attention or do some marching drills, which made Shi Man feel like she was going to die.

Her period started? Wang Qiqi and Juliana exchanged surprised looks, their mouths dropping open. They knew that every time Shi Man got her period, she would be in pain for the entire next day. While she wouldn't be rolling on the ground, she would certainly lack energy all day—how could she possibly maintain that condition?

"Maybe you should ask for leave," Juliana suggested after a moment of thought.

Wang Qiqi nodded in agreement from the side. Although taking leave on the first day wasn't ideal and might give the instructor a bad impression, it was better than forcing herself through it. If she ignored it now and something serious happened later, that would be a bigger problem. "Don't push yourself."

"I want to," Shi Man sighed. She was already terrified of military training, and when she discovered her period had arrived early, she felt like fainting. Even if it hadn't come today, it would have arrived in a few days anyway, but why today? "I feel so unlucky. Will I be the first person to skip military training tomorrow and become everyone's laughingstock?"

"But if you pass out during the training, you'll also become a laughingstock," Juliana said earnestly. "Remember, we'll likely be gathered together for the training. Can you imagine collapsing right in front of so many people?"

The thought of embarrassing herself in front of everyone jolted Shi Man out of her squatting misery in the toilet. She flushed and rushed to her room to grab her sanitary supplies before preparing to head back to the bathroom. "I don't want to make a fool of myself, and I definitely don't want to embarrass myself in front of the instructor."

Shi Man thought it over for a long time, and everyone offered suggestions, but Shi Man's desired outcome remained unattainable. "I still suggest you go to the infirmary and ask for three days off. With period cramps, you can rest for at least three days, and I think the instructor will be understanding," Juliana finally proposed a solution.

Shi Man moved her lips; it seemed this was the only viable course of action. "Fine, but I'll have to trouble you then." Shi Man considered it—there really was no other way. Of course, she only planned to eat dinner and rest up for tomorrow's training, and by then, she would definitely have to pretend her cramps were severe. Shi Man knew she could act convincingly; after all, she often experienced pain and was quite experienced in faking it.

Juliana understood Shi Man’s plan. "No problem."

Juliana stood at the top of the stairs and asked again, "Qiqi, are you really not coming out to eat with us?"

Wang Qiqi nodded. "If I show up for your dorm's very first housemate dinner, what does that make me?" It would be fine to appear at future gatherings.

Juliana stared at Wang Qiqi for a long moment. "Are you sure?"

Wang Qiqi smiled, glanced around, and let out a breath. "It's fine; at worst, I’ll just eat alone."

Wang Qiqi opened the dorm room door and found it completely empty, which struck her as odd. Surely they hadn't all gone out to see their parents off? Just then, Jiang Xin walked past. "Qiqi, you haven't gone out?" Jiang Xin recalled seeing Qiqi's roommates leave earlier, mentioning they were heading out for a housemate dinner.

Wang Qiqi was about to ask where she was going, but Jiang Xin continued, "They said they were going out for a housemate dinner... maybe, maybe..." At this point, Jiang Xin also realized something was amiss and stopped talking.

Wang Qiqi understood; they had gone out to eat without her. "Maybe they thought I wouldn't come back? Are you having dinner today?"

Jiang Xin shook her head. "No, we planned to rest up today and have a celebration after the military training ends."

Wang Qiqi momentarily considered finding Lina and the others right then; perhaps she could join their dorm's dinner. But then she thought better of it. They would just find something to say—that she looked down on them, preferring to dine with others, and so on. In the end, the blame would fall on her. "Then are you eating in the cafeteria?"

Jiang Xin nodded. "Yeah. Want to go eat together?"

Wang Qiqi replied, "Oh, wait for me; I need to find my lunchbox." Wang Qiqi opened her cabinet and pulled out a lunchbox she had specifically bought a few days ago, never imagining she’d need this thing so soon.

"No rush; I just came up to use the restroom. Ugh, just thinking about having to share a communal bathroom makes my head ache. It might be slightly better in the summer for showers, but what about in the winter?" Jiang Xin complained.

"We'll figure it out," Wang Qiqi said. The issue of showering suddenly came to mind. Wang Qiqi felt extremely self-conscious about being unclothed in front of so many people, and using the restroom was also a problem. "We'll just have to endure it; it's only four years."

Four years? Jiang Xin gave a wry smile, looked around, and whispered, "I heard we can rent apartments off-campus in our sophomore year. I bet those senior students moved out because they couldn't stand this environment."

Regarding Jiang Xin’s straightforwardness, Wang Qiqi felt she needed to offer a reminder. "Actually, once you get through it, you get through it. But there’s another reason they move out: someone is footing the rent. You know, moving out means you have to cover your own rent and utilities. Do you think it’s worth it just to save a little on shower fees?"

Jiang Xin truly hadn't considered that. Even sharing an apartment would be much more expensive than staying in the dorm. "Okay, I get it. I must have been reading too much and gotten brain-dead. They probably just want to live together."

Wang Qiqi nodded. "Mm, while dating and living together in college can be a nice experience, I still think it’s best to focus on studying during university."

Jiang Xin had spent the entire afternoon listening to senior students talk about their three years of college life. In her view, college was all about fun; besides fun, there was still study, but just barely scraping by—as long as every course passed, the graduation certificate would arrive on time in senior year. But from Qiqi's tone, university might not be easier than high school, which confused Jiang Xin. After all, the high school teachers had promised her wonderful days awaited after entering university.

"You can relax after getting into university, but we face a brutal job search four years from now. If you were an employer with several résumés in front of you, who would you choose?" Wang Qiqi challenged Jiang Xin.

Jiang Xin didn't even think before answering directly, "Of course, the one with the better grades."

"Wrong. You should choose the capable one. Of course, where does a college graduate get capability? Higher professional grades might suggest more capability. So, the first priority is to improve your professional skills, and the second is to find an internship during winter and summer breaks so you have some professional experience by graduation." Wang Qiqi didn't know why she was discussing this with Jiang Xin, someone she wasn't very close to.

Wang Qiqi knew that what she was saying likely wouldn't be popular; most people were thinking about how to relax during those four years, not worrying about future employment, thinking finding a job as a university graduate couldn't possibly be hard. Little did they know that finding a job after graduation, compared to later eras, might be easier, but finding a good job was certainly not easy. "If what I’m saying sounds unpleasant, just pretend you didn't hear it, or assume I’m just saying it because I’m hungry and lightheaded." (To be continued)