High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 332: Chapter 1: Dormitory in the Afternoon_1

The dormitory in the afternoon was a tranquil one.

Outside the window, sparrows were too lethargic to chirp in the midday heat, half-closing their eyes as they casually nodded on the branches; an orange cat curled up on the desk, squinting its eyes, basking in the day-by-day comfort; tiny elves huddled their wings, hanging from Zheng Qing’s bed curtain, resembling hibernating tree spirits.

Only two figures were inside the dormitory.

Zheng Qing was leaning on his bed, rolling the Merlin Brass Medal between his fingers, gazing at a small black stain on the ceiling, lost in thought.

Xin Fat Man was half-lying on the desk, opening the thick document under his hand with a tired face, looking as if he could fall asleep any moment.

Perhaps it was to distract himself, to make himself slightly more awake.

Or perhaps he just couldn’t stand the sight of the repeatedly appearing bronze medal.

Xin Fat Man opened his pudgy, watery eyes wide and drawled, ”How long are you going to fiddle with that little piece of bronze! Have you completed last week’s homework?”

Zheng Qing paid no attention to his noise, just blinking his eyes.

”I remember Old Yao’s deadline for you is this Friday...” Fat Man, raising his short chubby fingers, bent them one by one as a reminder: ”Today is Wednesday noon... you have two and a half days left to complete your homework.”

The young scholarship student finally gave up on contemplating life and the world, sighed deeply, shifted his gaze from the ceiling to the fat man beside the desk.

”Can’t you just mind your own business...” he said listlessly: ”Do you know where the other two went?”

”No, not at all. Especially when you are still playing with your bronze medal.” Xin Fat Man’s head was shaking like a drum rattle, yet he kindly answered Zheng Qing’s question: ”If the big scholar isn’t on his bed, then he must be in the library... as for Dylan, I lifted his curtain earlier, it was tightly shut like a coffin lid, no idea if there is anyone inside...do you want to take a look?”

Zheng Qing turned his head, the Werewolf’s burgundy velvet curtains were tightly drawn with no sound from inside.

He quickly averted his gaze and shook his head forcefully.

”No need, thank you.”

”I thought so,” Fat Man pulled out a small box of grapes from his bag, picked one and put it into his mouth, and said vaguely: ”I’ve always believed that respecting other people’s privacy is a basic moral principle.”

The grapes in the box had been cleaned, and a few clear droplets still remained on the dark purple skin, shimmering translucently under the sun.

This made Zheng Qing craving for it.

He rolled out of bed, shuffled in his shoes to the desk, and unceremoniously plucked a few grapes and stuffed them into his mouth.

”I never knew that you even knew about moral principles!” The young scholar student said in a mocking tone: ”Who was the one using my name to trick girls into taking photos, and then collected a bunch of paper cranes? Huh?!”

Xin Fat Man blinked rapidly, chuckled, and didn’t offer a defense.

Zheng Qing sighed again deeply, snatched the box of grapes from Fat Man and buried his face in it.

Xin Fat Man shrugged his shoulders with effort and pulled out another box of fresh fruit from his bag.

”What does it feel like to become a hero?” He nudged Zheng Qing, who was burying his head in the box of grapes, and suddenly asked.

Zheng Qing looked up blankly, smacking his lips. A droplet of grape juice slowly trickled down his mouth corner.

”Hero?” He chewed on these two interesting words and made a self-deprecating remark: ”You make it sound so real... I remember explaining to you guys more than once already...”

”Right, right, right, I get it, you’re not the big hero who suppresses Wild Demons, but the scardy-cat Xiao Bai hiding in ’Oster’s Guardian’. This interrupts Zheng Qing’s repeated explanations helplessly. Xin Fat Man rolls his eyes stressing, ”The point of my statement is feelings... did you get that, feelings? Like... let’s say if Elena takes your skirt now, you’d feel very joyous, very excited, that state of mind!”

This example made Zheng Qing’s mood worse.

Roughly, he pulled out a tissue, wipes away the juice from the corner of his mouth, without saying a word.

Rather than saying he was annoyed at Fat Man’s words, it would be more accurate to say he was somewhat puzzled about Fat Man’s question.

Becoming a hero didn’t bring drastic changes in Zheng Qing’s school life.

To be precise, he was still a well-respected free-education student in everyone’s eyes.

Just a tad more dazzling.

Apart from his interview with the campus newspaper at noon on Tuesday, everything was as usual. Only, he frequently encountered students asking for autographs and selfies on campus.

Of course, in the dormitory, the topic of conversation for several consecutive days always revolved around the Bronze Medal.

These occurrences helped Zheng Qing gradually forget the awkwardness of being declined by the student union of the top university and the headache he hasn’t had in a while - of course, he is still pondering daily on how to give away that skirt.

Thinking about it, he answered honestly: ”No special feelings... just that I’ve been a bit annoyed recently.”

”Oh, don’t be so perfunctory...” Xin Fat Man lamented, ”I promised Linda I’d write an interview... you must say something different.”

”Linda?” Asked Zheng Qing, raising an eyebrow, ”The campus newspaper reporter who wears silver high heels?”

”Is that all you noticed?” Xin Fat Man raised his head, showing his nostrils, and remarked sarcastically, ”I thought, as a hero, you might pay more attention to some distinctive features.”

”Like what?”

”Like depth! Like ideas! Like spirit! Not literal hairstyles, clothes, or makeup!” Xin Fat Man proclaimed, waving his arm and making a face full of bitterness.

”That makes it sound very technical.” Zheng Qing raised his eyelids, looking at his roommate closely: ”It makes it very easy for people to suspect something... But it’s true. As a German, this blond blue-eye female should particularly match your taste.”

”My ass taste.” Xin Fat Man collapsed in dismay onto his bed. An air of gloom pervaded his voice, ”Do you think a goddess like that would land her eyes on me... I was just trying to join the campus newspaper and needed a relevant article. That’s it.”

”I thought club recruitment ended yesterday.” Zheng Qing said in surprise.

Yesterday was Tuesday, the last day of September, and also the day when all clubs at the University stopped recruiting additional students.

Any first-year students who did not join any club, like Zheng Qing, no matter how outstanding they were, would have to wait until the next recruitment opportunity next year to try again.

”The campus newspaper is not a club, but a branch under the student union...” Xin Fat Man grumbled. ”You can think of it as a subcontractor from the student union, so there’s some lenience regarding recruitment rules.”

Zheng Qing originally intended to ask why he had not successfully joined any clubs either, but seeing the disappointed look on Fat Man’s face, he decided against it.

”Alright.” He leaned on his desk, sat up straight, and made a serious face: ”So non-famous Journalist, go ahead and ask your questions...”

Then, he lifted his right hand, pretending to look at his watch:

”I’m on a tight schedule; you only have three minutes of question time... but, of course, for old friends, there’s some flexibility.”

”Hehe...” Xin Fat Man winked and made an eager face: ”I knew it. Brother Qing is the real deal.”