Another roommate, Sophie, also poked her head out of the upper bunk and joined the discussion: "Yes, yes! I've seen that senior too—she's got amazing style, and tons of guys chase her! If she said so, the credibility is super high! I really want classes to start already so I can see how hot he is in person!"
Grace held her face, her tone full of longing: "Me too! I'm so looking forward to it!"
Rachel looked at her two swooning roommates and rolled her eyes in contempt: "Two lovesick fools! Can't even walk straight when you see a hot guy! So immature!"
She continued scrolling through the forum, trying to find other "valuable" information.
At the desk, Ashley seemed to completely block out the heated discussion about "Ethan Miller" happening in the dorm.
She gently placed a heavy textbook onto the shelf without the slightest pause.
The corners of her mouth, however, inadvertently passed a subtle arc that was extremely light, extremely faint, and only he could understand.
Who else could understand Ethan better than him?
The brief silence in the dorm was broken by Derek's exclamation: "Wait, hold up! Your name's Ethan Miller? Same exact name as the perfect scorer who chose our school this year—you're not... you can't be THE guy!"
The more he spoke, the more something clicked: "Wait! The perfect scorer is from LA! Holy shit! You ARE him?!"
The dorm instantly went quiet, except for the faint gunfire sounds coming from Kevin's headphones.
The dorm was full of top performers from their respective high schools, and they all reacted at once, exclaiming one after another.
"No fucking way!"
Marcus literally jumped straight up in the air, pointing at Ethan, his mouth open enough to stuff an egg in: "Boss! Real living legend! Actually bunking with us in the same dorm?"
Marcus's dramatic ass literally dropped to one knee in front of Ethan: "I never expected the boss to be assigned to our dorm—my apologies! Boss, please accept this humble brother's respect!" From now on, the rise and fall of room 208 depends on you!"
Ethan looked at his familiar "ridiculous behavior," a warm current surging in his heart, and he smiled secretly: Marcus, Marcus, it's been two lifetimes, and your clown personality really hasn't changed at all!
In his previous life, the relationship between Ethan and Marcus had been the most solid during their four years of college.
Derek was a typical man of action. After being shocked, he immediately sprang into motion, walked to Ethan's empty bed, and began helping him make it with the standard-issue sheets and comforter without a word, moving quickly: "Boss, ignore that dramatic fool! Your bedding's on me, bro!"
His tone was full of the sincerity and warmth of a Midwestern guy.
Kevin had just finished saying hello and sat back in his seat to start playing his game.
As if detached from the situation, he'd only briefly taken off one of his headphones when they'd exclaimed, glanced at Ethan with a trace of imperceptible surprise flashing in his eyes, then put it back on, continuing to immerse himself in his CS:GO gunfight world, the sound of mouse clicks clattering away.
Ethan looked at this scene and shook his head helplessly with amusement: Kevin, Kevin, still the same as ever.
With the help of Marcus's jokes and Derek's hard work, Ethan's bed and desk were quickly organized.
Ethan also pulled up a chair and sat down to join the conversation.
At first, when they learned of Ethan's identity as the "perfect scorer," Marcus and Derek inevitably felt a subtle sense of distance and awe.
This was the legendary figure standing at the top of the national academic pyramid!
He seemed like an existence from another dimension.
However, with Ethan's humorous conversation, easygoing and down-to-earth attitude, and the fact that he had no airs when talking about his hometown experiences, high school stories, and even internet memes, that invisible sense of distance quickly dissolved.
The two soon discovered that this "legend" was essentially just a brother the same age with a great personality, laughing heartily and roasting sharply, no different from them.
And Kevin, in his corner, wasn't paying attention to what was happening here, just sitting there alone playing CS:GO.
As they chatted, the topic naturally turned to the classic freshman dorm reserved program—why did you apply to NYU?
Kevin had just finished a match, took off his headphones, stretched, and answered first, his tone a bit arrogant and matter-of-fact: "Do you even need to ask? Close to home! My mom basically wanted me home every day for dinner. Going far away? Too much hassle."
After saying that, he put his headphones back on.
Marcus took a sip of the iced Coke he'd just bought, wiped his mouth, and said boldly: "Me, my score was good enough for NYU, and I've always been fascinated by New York—the big city energy! Thought coming here to study, maybe I could absorb some of that hustle culture!"
Derek scratched his head and smiled a bit sheepishly: "I'm similar to Marcus—score was right, and it's..."
He paused, grinned, with the straightforwardness of a Midwestern guy: "I heard New York girls are hot! Figured I'd come for the academics AND the scenery!"
"Hahaha! Derek, you're so honest about it!" Marcus slapped his thigh and cracked up, the dorm filling with happy vibes.
Marcus's eyes turned to Ethan, full of curiosity: "What about you, Ethan? Can't be just for those reasons!"
Derek chimed in: "Yeah, Ethan, there's gotta be a story! Why would you turn down Harvard to come to our school?"
Reasons...
He couldn't exactly explain it all at once, since he'd decided to come to NYU the day he came back from rebirth.
He smiled and deflected with a slightly mysterious and casual tone: "Nothing special, really. Just felt like the timing was right. New York's pretty appealing."
He kept it vague, then proposed going out for a meal together: "Hey, no time like the present—how about we grab dinner together tonight as a dorm? Let's celebrate that the four of us came from all over the country but ended up together in this room 208! This fate deserves a toast!"
In reality, Ethan was very emotional inside, especially being able to study at the same school as Marcus again—their relationship in his previous life had been solid, and it could be said he'd had the best bond with him except for Jack.
But Kevin was a different story. After two days of contact in his previous life, Ethan hadn't liked him much, and as for the reason—this person was very selfish.
Ethan had originally planned to invite Brian and Taylor, but after sending a message in their small group chat, he learned they already had dinner plans with their dorm, so they simply decided to meet up another time.
During this time, many dorms were having dinners to celebrate that they'd gotten into the same school from all over the country and been assigned to the same room.
It was around five in the afternoon, getting late.
The four of them strolled out of NYU's main gates, across the street from the famous Washington Square area food scene.
A street full of life and brightly lit.
Basically every university had this setup—a food street outside campus with various restaurants, food trucks, etc.
At this time, it was dinner hour, and the whole street was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder.
Groups of students crowded the bustling streets—upperclassmen navigating with familiarity, freshmen looking left and right with curiosity and wonder.
The sounds of vendors shouting, laughter, and the clanging of pots and pans wove together into the most vibrant college overture.
There are 120 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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