"Ethan!" For the first time, Nora called out to him, her voice filled with urgency and unease.
She carried that heavy bag like it was a hot potato, her cheeks flushed bright red. She mustered her courage before stammering, "Wait... hold on... These things... I... I can't take them..."
Ethan stopped, turned around, and looked at her calmly, his tone carrying an undeniable indifference: "I already bought everything, and the store won't take returns. If you really don't want them, just take them back and share with your roommates, or... you can just throw them in the trash. You handle it."
After saying that, he didn't linger. He waved his hand and strode briskly toward the boys' residence hall.
Nora stood there dazed, carrying the bag, watching Ethan's figure disappear around the corner of the street. A storm of emotions surged in her heart.
Why? Why is he helping me like this?
Not only does he not mind that I'm "ugly," he even took the initiative to sit next to me...
He helped me out of trouble, treated me to meals, taught me to protect myself, and now he's buying me all these things...
He treats me as a friend... He's really my first friend at NYU...
A huge question and a hidden guess that even she dared not consider deeply surged in her mind:
Could it be... does he know I'm pretty? No, no, no, that's impossible... It's his first time meeting me, so how could he possibly know... I look really ugly right now.
So... is it because he thinks I'm pitiful? Just because I don't dress well or eat poorly, does he pity me? But... maybe I'm pretending and 'fooling' everyone, right? Though I didn't mean to...
I... I never asked him for help either... Oh no, what should I do now? Should I ask him directly? But... how could I possibly ask...
Countless thoughts churned and collided in her mind.
In the end, all her questions and that heavy, mixed feeling of gratitude and helplessness were carefully folded by her, and together with the bag filled with brand-new daily necessities, they were temporarily hidden deep in her heart.
She didn't dare to ask, nor to probe further. With her heart full of confusion and that little secret, she lowered her head and quickly walked into the dormitory building's entrance.
Back downstairs at his dorm.
He also bought some toiletries at the nearby shop. Although he had a standalone apartment, he needed to keep some supplies in the dorm since he'd be coming often.
He even bought a few extra packs of cigarettes.
He'd quit in this life, but the reason he bought them was still because of Kevin.
This guy had bummed plenty of cigarettes from him in his previous life. This time, he could give him one, but there were some things Kevin had to take the blame for.
Back in dorm 208, the other three were indeed there.
"None of you went to eat?" Ethan asked casually.
"Hey, I'm too lazy to move. Let's just eat together this afternoon." Marcus didn't even look up, curled up on the bed holding his phone, his brows tightly furrowed as he stared at the stock market candlestick chart—this "next Warren Buffett" prototype was just like in his previous life.
Ethan could almost foresee how his pitiful savings would vanish in the future.
Kevin was wearing headphones, fiercely battling in front of the computer, the gunfire in Call of Duty crackling nonstop.
Derek curled up in the corner of his bed, hugging his laptop and fiddling with something, his expression focused.
Ethan also planned to climb into bed and take a nap.
However, just as he lay down and his consciousness began to blur—
"Ding!"
A crisp system notification sound with a hint of knowing implication suddenly shattered the dorm's silence!
The sound was so "penetrating" that even Kevin, who was immersed in the gunfight with headphones on, suddenly looked up and took off one earpiece in confusion.
Marcus also pulled his head out of the candlestick chart. All three of them turned their gazes in unison to the source of the sound—Derek's bed.
Derek scratched his head a bit embarrassedly and turned his laptop screen toward everyone. On the screen was a familiar download interface, with a visually striking thumbnail cover beside it.
He lowered his voice, a bit excited and a bit shy, as if sharing a treasure: "Ahem... so, uh... fresh Japanese import... newly released study materials... anyone interested in quality checking?"
"Damn! What a find!" Kevin reacted the fastest, his eyes instantly lighting up. With a flick of his mouse, he abandoned his struggling teammates in the game and dashed to Derek's bedside with a quick jump. "Quick! Let me see what level of new work this is!"
Marcus instantly threw the stock market aside, shoved his phone under his pillow, and swiftly jumped off the bed: "Coming, coming! Let me appreciate it!"
Ethan looked at the three who had gathered in an instant, smiling helplessly and shaking his head. Well, sleep was completely impossible now.
In his previous life, neither Marcus nor he had liked Kevin, but Marcus could still be a teammate to reject Kevin alongside him... truly amazing.
Derek was as reserved and flirty as ever. On the surface, he seemed a bit shy in front of girls, but in reality, he was a low-key player.
The dorm ecosystem of past and present lives was surprisingly consistent in this regard: the "assembly horn" that allowed all members of Dorm 208 to gather within seconds was usually not the class bell, but that familiar download completion notification sound.
These days, anyone who could get 'first-hand resources' and generously share them was a true brother!
However, Ethan also knew that in a few years, as the online environment evolved, the trend of this "spirit of sharing" would completely reverse—by then, anyone who still consumed materials in traditional ways would be mocked as outdated.
He simply got out of bed, took a shower, changed into fresh clothes, and prepared to drive to the company to check things out.
Before leaving, Marcus poked his head out from the sea of "study materials" and called out warmly, "Hey, son! Really not gonna watch? I heard this one's top-notch! Don't miss out!"
Ethan laughed and cursed back, "Get lost! Dad's got business to handle! Take your time and study!"
The "family relationships" in boys' dorms always switched seamlessly between "we're all good" and "calling each other father and son."
Driving to the company, Ethan felt a surge of vigorous energy.
Alex led the technical team like they were injected with adrenaline, fighting day and night. The core functions and basic features Ethan had envisioned had already taken shape.
He quickly reviewed the progress and offered optimization suggestions for some details and interaction logic.
"Overall, the progress is good," Ethan praised. "At this rate, in ten days or two weeks, we should be able to produce a version that can be tested."
He pointed to the somewhat roughly designed app icon on the screen: "But this logo still needs more polish. First impressions are super important. If it looks like pirated software, users won't even feel the urge to download it."
Alex immediately wrote it down: "Understood! I'll have the design team come up with several more proposals!"
There are 120 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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