C8 The Real Knock on the Door

"Ah... Hubby... Oh... Ohh..." The woman's impassioned cries rang out even more distinctly in Xiao Ge's ears. The soundproofing in the staff dormitory was seriously lacking. And the couple in Room 604 seemed insatiable. It was barely eight in the evening, and they'd already gone at it several times. They'd been interrupted a few minutes ago, and now they were at it again, making quite the ruckus.

Xiao Ge didn't know who had knocked on Room 604's door earlier, but he could certainly sympathize with them now. This was noise pollution at its finest!

"I'm just an innocent young guy, and here I am, corrupted by you two. You're the worst kind of criminals!" Xiao Ge shook his head, clenched his right fist, lifted it gently, and then slammed it down with force!

"Boom!" Accompanied by a thunderous noise, the door of Room 604 was instantly obliterated.

"Ah..." A piercing scream followed from inside, undoubtedly from the seductive woman.

"Now that's how you knock," Xiao Ge quipped to himself. He then turned and strolled back to his room nonchalantly, closing the door behind him as if nothing had happened.

"A new chapter begins. Tonight, I'll treat myself—no training, just sleep." Xiao Ge stretched lazily and walked into his bedroom. Skipping the shower, he flopped down onto his bed.

Xiao Ge woke up at seven, brushed his teeth, washed his face, took a shower, and changed clothes. Yet, he looked as if he hadn't changed at all, still in a white T-shirt, black jeans, and white sneakers.

At twenty past seven, Xiao Ge stepped out, glancing subconsciously at Room 602 next door. Su Yunman wasn't in sight this time, but across the way, Room 604's door was still visibly damaged. Where the noisy couple spent the night didn't concern Xiao Ge in the slightest.

He descended the stairs, crossed the sports field, and made his way to the cafeteria by the girls' dormitory. Xiao Ge dropped twenty bucks on twenty meat buns and devoured them all. But then frustration set in. These were supposed to be meat buns? The amount of meat in all twenty buns combined couldn't even weigh an ounce!

For Xiao Ge, a meat lover through and through, breakfast had been a letdown. As he stepped out of the cafeteria, he resolved never again to waste his appetite on those underwhelming meat buns.

At 7:55 AM, with just five minutes to spare before class, Xiao Ge finally made it to today's lecture hall. The moment he entered, he was met with the gaze of fifty pairs of eyes. As the fifty-first student in the Mandarin department, his presence was hard to miss, but it was his public break-up with Qin Feiya in front of a crowd of over a thousand that had catapulted him to celebrity status at Ningcheng University.

The classroom fell into a brief hush, which was quickly broken as Xiao Ge made his way to the back, and the buzz of chatter resumed.

"Dude, you're the talk of the town!" Xiao Ge's seatmate remarked with a peculiar look as soon as Xiao Ge sat down.

This seatmate was none other than Zhang Xiaopang, who had lost a hundred yuan bet to Xiao Ge the day before. His real name was Zhang Lei, but he much preferred the moniker Xiaopang.

"Talk of the town?" Xiao Ge feigned surprise. "I haven't lost my phone or fixed a computer; how could I be the talk of the town?"

"Have you not checked our school's forum? Breaking off your engagement with Qin Feiya and taking down Wang Fei are hot topics. And let's not forget Qin Feiya's public statement," Xiaopang said, barely containing his excitement. Clearly, his inner gossip was aflame.

"I don't even know the school forum's URL," Xiao Ge yawned, then inquired, "What public statement did Qin Feiya make? Did she agree to our break-up?"

"Man, you're still on about breaking up with her? She's a knockout! You really want to call it quits?" Xiaopang was incredulous. How could someone be so oblivious to their own good fortune? If it were him engaged to Qin Feiya, he'd never even dream of calling it off.

"It's the truth. I never lie," Xiao Ge said earnestly.

"Why on earth did you feel the need to call off your engagement with Qin Feiya?" Zhang Xiaopang blurted out, unable to contain his curiosity.

Xiao Ge let out a sigh, the picture of resignation. "Because I'm a great man."

Zhang Xiaopang was at a loss for words. Even if this guy was truly great, what did that have to do with breaking off an engagement?

"You know the old adage, 'How can a sparrow understand the aspirations of a swan?' Zhang Xiaopang, I just knew you wouldn't grasp my greatness," Xiao Ge lamented, shaking his head. "But let me spell it out for you. A handsome guy like me is bound to attract lots of beautiful women, right? Now, if I were tied down with a fiancée, all those beauties would be left without the man they desire. That's pretty tragic for them, don't you think?"

Zhang Xiaopang gave Xiao Ge a look that mixed disbelief with irritation, his mouth twitching in response.

"Beauty is a double-edged sword, as they say. Beauties can be quite terrifying. If a beauty can't have the man she wants, she becomes even more fearsome. At the very least, it could disrupt societal stability, or worse, threaten world peace," Xiao Ge continued with his grandiose proclamation. "Therefore, for the sake of social harmony and global peace, I must end my engagement with Qin Feiya. I need to give those beautiful women who adore me a chance. Now do you see my greatness?"

Zhang Xiaopang was dumbfounded. Utterly shameless. How could someone be so utterly shameless? And why, of all people, did he have to be classmates with this guy?

"Narcissist! You've got some nerve!" A girl in the front row reached her limit and whirled around to rebuke Xiao Ge.

"You're not a beauty, so I won't be giving you an opportunity," Xiao Ge retorted, looking at the girl with a feigned consoling expression. "But don't be heartbroken. I have a feeling Zhang Xiaopang here has a soft spot for you. You won't have trouble finding a boyfriend."

"I'm getting hit by stray bullets here!" Zhang Xiaopang protested, giving the girl an innocent look.

The girl paid Zhang Xiaopang no mind, instead shooting Xiao Ge a fierce glare before turning her back on him, choosing to ignore him completely.

Xiao Ge had no interest in the girl. He turned to Zhang Xiaopang and pressed on, "Hey, you still haven't filled me in on the public statement Qin Feiya made!"

"Qin Feiya put up a post claiming that she'll take out to dinner whoever manages to beat you, no matter the method. So now, there are at least a thousand guys scheming to take you down," Zhang Xiaopang answered.

Xiao Ge just shook his head. "Qin Feiya is being incredibly petty."

"Dude, you tried to call off your engagement in front of a crowd, embarrassing her. It's only natural she'd want some payback. How can you call her petty?" Zhang Xiaopang clearly disagreed with Xiao Ge's perspective.