Hell High School (2): You sleep with me

Tan Xiao looked at his new deskmate with difficulty: “No way, I’m a day student. I have to go home after school.”

The new deskmate looked at him stubbornly and repeated, “Stay in the dorm.”

Huh? Stay in the dorm? Tan Xiao instinctively took Wen Yi’s words as an invitation: “Are you asking me to stay in the dorm with you? That’s not very appropriate, the dorm beds are too narrow.”

Although he fell in love at first sight with his new deskmate, sharing a bed right away seemed a bit too fast.

The key was that he didn’t really trust his self-control. He was a high school boy with a fully developed body, and all the normal physiological reactions come with it.

If they ended up sharing a narrow dorm bed, and he couldn’t control his physiological reactions, he’ll definitely be seen as a pervert.

He dumped out some of the adult rated nonsense that popped into his mind, and with a stern face, shook his head at Wen Yi: “No, I should go home and stay there, otherwise it would be too much trouble for you.”

Even if Wen Yi fell in love with him at first sight, Tan Xiao still felt it was not quite appropriate.

Wen Yi said two words: “Empty dormitory.”

When Tan Xiao heard this word, he knew he had misunderstood, but he didn’t blush or feel embarrassed. He tentatively asked, “Are you saying I should stay in the empty dorm? Stay and live on campus with you?”

Wen Yi nodded, “Friends… together.”

Tan Xiao remembered the little note he had written, which indeed said he wanted to be friends with Wen Yi. Of course, he didn’t want to be just a simple friend, but a boyfriend.

He still hesitated a bit: “I’ve never lived in a dorm before, so I might not get used to it.”

Wen Yi shook his head, then nodded: “With me.”

“Are you saying that with you around, I don’t have to worry about not getting used to it?” Tan Xiao tried to continue translating his new desk mate’s words. This time, the latter nodded, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

Tan Xiao felt like he must have gone crazy. He had never stayed in a dormitory from kindergarten to high school. He was used to the freedom of commuting and had no intention of living in a shared dormitory with others.

But, but! But he found that he couldn’t refuse the request made by his new deskmate.

Wen Yi just wanted to stay by himself. He was so silent and pitiful, probably because he had been bullied too much at school, so he gradually became afraid to speak.

Maybe he had never accepted anyone’s kindness before, which was why he treated the new transfer student on his first day at school as a lifeline.

Just imagining Wen Yi being bullied made Tan Xiao feel his anger rising to the top of his head, and his brain completely stopped functioning normally.

This sudden intense impulse took over his mind. He looked at the young and beautiful urban lady in the passenger seat and blurted out, “Dear mom, how about I don’t go home anymore? Can you help me with the school accommodation procedures?”

“Ah?”

The beautiful woman in the passenger seat was momentarily stunned, seemingly unable to comprehend what Tan Xiao was saying.

This was quite normal, after all. He had always chosen to commute rather than stay in the dorms whenever possible. The school cafeteria could never compare to home-cooked meals, and the living conditions in the dorms were definitely far inferior.

With a smile, he immediately found an excuse for his unusual behavior: “It’s the last semester of senior year, saving commuting time is beneficial for studying.”

As a student, the most important thing was studying. As long as the reason was convincing, Mom shouldn’t suspect any ulterior motives.

Yuying High School looked like one of those elite private schools. The school was built very upscale, and the design of the teaching buildings resembled old aristocratic castles, with a strong sense of architectural aesthetics. In such a grand school, the dormitory conditions should not be too bad.

When Tan Xiao was in high school, some of his middle school classmates went to private schools with good conditions, and their accommodations were not bad either.

If students were willing to pay extra, they could stay in double or even single rooms. Besides the absence of TVs, which might affect their studies, the dorms were equipped with all kinds of household appliances like air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators.

However, Tan Xiao actually didn’t really want to live with unfamiliar classmates. He immediately came up with a compromise: “First, let’s go check the dormitory conditions. If the environment is good, I’ll live on campus. If there’s no suitable dormitory, I can rent a place near the school!”

He originally came up with many reasons to persuade his mother, but the young woman who looked no older than a few years of banter seemed afraid he might change his mind: “Living at school is good. Third-year high school students should live at school. You’re right, I’ll go find your homeroom teacher to handle the paperwork now.”

The senior class homeroom teacher had a ton of work to do after class, but the students didn’t get off that early. Plus, with the current situation, even if Ms. Xu wanted to leave, she couldn’t.

Tan Xiao’s “mother” was very efficient; she quickly arranged a single dorm room for Tan Xiao.

It didn’t matter if the school didn’t have a suitable single room; living in a double or quadruple room alone made no difference from a single room.

The fiery woman directly shoved the dormitory key into Tan Xiao’s hand: “Here, the single dormitory you wanted. All the utilities are paid. There’s nothing else, so don’t come back for now.”

Tan Xiao was a bit dazed, looking at the key in his hand. Seeing the woman turn to leave, he quickly called out to her, “Mom, wait a minute, you haven’t given me my living expenses yet!”

Living at home, there wasn’t much to spend on, but living on campus was different.

“All the living expenses have been loaded onto your campus card. I loaded ten thousand. Is that enough?”

Besides the cafeteria, there were also supermarkets and fruit shops on campus. Although the prices were a bit high, they had everything you needed.

Tan Xiao subconsciously nodded, “That’s enough, that’s enough.”

As for bedding and the like, he could buy ready-made ones at school.

“Wait a minute, what about the clothes I left at home?”

The woman in high heels stumbled, almost twisting her ankle. She was barely able to maintain her gentle facade and hurriedly said with a smile, “I’ll have the driver bring your clothes over later! It’s getting dark, I have to go.”

Her time was very precious, and she couldn’t stay in the Hell High School instance scene forever.

This time, Tan Xiao didn’t say anything more. She finally got into the car smoothly. Afraid that someone might suddenly stop the car, she hurriedly urged the driver in the front seat, “Hurry up and drive, finally getting this little brat to school.”

When Tan Xiao came in, the first scene didn’t actually take place in the school, but in her home.

As soon as the woman saw the young, handsome face, she recognized Tan Xiao.

Wasn’t this the cheap son who had contacted her back then? At that time, she had just casually done a side job for a dungeon, put up the name of a cheap mom, and was coaxed into a daze, transferring 100,000 yuan out.

As a result, the “Plague Infection” dungeon she was working part-time on was temporarily closed for maintenance due to losing its core! 100,000 went down the drain. For a black-hearted capitalist who excelled at exploitation, 100,000 wasn’t much, but doing a loss-making business always left Li Li feeling uneasy.

Although she didn’t know how the other party suddenly appeared, smelling the rich aroma of blood and flesh, the woman felt that giving out this money wasn’t a loss.

Tan Xiao was even more handsome in person than in the photos. With his eyes closed, he looked like a sleeping angel. The only odd thing was his hairstyle; instead of the previous straight black short hair, he now had a somewhat stylish little perm.

That hundred thousand should be considered the price for this cunning little human brat’s life. This level of flesh and blood was high-end and expensive, worth the price.

Just as she was about to bite Tan Xiao’s fair face, a terrifying black mist suddenly emerged from the ring on the little human brat’s chest, and then he gave her a hard slap!

She, Li Li, on the surface, was an ordinary ruthless company president, but in reality, she was a special NPC with awakened consciousness in a high-level instance, with permissions comparable to the core of the instance!

Elegant and noble, ruthless and notorious, she was unexpectedly slapped by a little brat who fell from the sky!

And this detestable little brat, blissfully unaware, was lying on her beloved pure white long cashmere carpet, sleeping comfortably in her home, completely oblivious to how much that slap would hurt her.

Before long, the game system found Tan Xiao and promptly sent her a notification: [The game channel had a minor malfunction, and the person was sent to the wrong place. Quickly send him to the Hell High School dungeon!]

Li Li was very frustrated, but as a special NPC, she wanted to live a comfortable life and couldn’t pretend to be deaf to the system’s words.

Who knew why a single elite white-collar woman, both in life and death, had to become the mother of a human little ghost who was parachuted in? Was this heaven’s punishment for her being a heartless capitalist?

Tan Xiao, too, not only had a poor memory at a young age, but his eyesight wasn’t good either. Although she was in her thirties when she was alive, who knew how many more years she lived after death. But looking at her young and beautiful face, she really didn’t seem like a middle-aged woman who could have given birth to an eighteen-year-old son!

Perhaps sensing her resentment, the system sent Li Li a photo, which was a picture of Tan Xiao and her real-life mother.

It turns out that time never defeats beauty. Tan Xiao looked five parts like his biological mother, and when the two stood together, they didn’t look like mother and son at all, but more like siblings. And Li Li, surprisingly, resembled him even more.

Although the simple and innocent appearance of the cheap and big son was very endearing, for Li Li, Tan Xiao was a trouble she couldn’t eat or touch, and it seemed he had a strong background!

So, realizing that she could completely offload Tan Xiao onto the school and become a hands-off manager, Li Li hurriedly passed this unexpected burden to Hell High School.

Giving away ten thousand wasn’t a big deal anyway; she had already given a hundred thousand before.

Watching the luxury car speed away, Tan Xiao looked down at the campus card and dormitory key in his hand, and couldn’t help but frown: “It seems like I’ve been rejected; it feels a bit subtle.”

Or was it that after being reborn into a parallel world, his relationship with his mom had worsened? And charging 10,000 to the meal card, wasn’t that a bit extravagant? It was just one semester; he was not a bottomless pit, so he didn’t need that much.

Tan Xiao instinctively pressed his forehead; he always felt that his memories seemed a bit chaotic. This chaos made him forget many important things, and he even began to doubt the authenticity of his own mother.

That pale, slender hand, which looked perfect for playing the piano, tugged at Tan Xiao’s coat.

The new deskmate appeared in front of Tan Xiao again, looking at him with eager anticipation: “Are you leaving?”

To be honest, that voice, like a broken gong, didn’t match at all with the new deskmate’s delicate features. But perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder; Tan Xiao found the voice unpleasant in a rational sense, but emotionally, he only felt a pang of sympathy. Moreover, as he listened, he found it oddly charming.

This kind of hoarse voice, which sounded like it had been scorched and rendered mute, would definitely add a lot of flavor to singing those story-rich folk songs or heart-wrenching love songs. If you savor it a bit more, a smoky voice can actually be quite sexy.

Tan Xiao decided to stop thinking about those unimportant questions: If she weren’t his biological mother, why would she randomly load ten thousand onto his meal card? Moreover, she also handled his enrollment procedures, and she was recognized as a parent by the school.

He shook his head, clearing out all those messy thoughts from his mind, and raised his campus card in his hand: “Not leaving. I’ll stay on campus with you from now on. Which dorm do you live in?”

Wen Yi looked at Tan Xiao, and this time he finally said a long enough sentence: “Let’s go to your dorm first.”

“Alright, let’s go see the single dorm my mom picked for me.”

The key had a label for the dormitory: Building 13, Room 521. Yuying High School truly lived up to its reputation as a prestigious high school; they even installed an elevator in a six-story dormitory building.

However, to save elevator capacity, you needed to swipe your campus card to use it.

“Beep.”

The elevator doors opened from both sides, and a strange red light was emanating from inside.

Tan Xiao stepped in first, instinctively pressing the door button and waiting for Wen Yi to come in. He looked up at the top of the elevator; the light was white, a very normal LED cool light. Maybe his eyes had just played tricks on him, and he had seen it wrong.

The elevator quickly stopped on the 5th floor, and Tan Xiao stepped out first, with Wen Yi almost following in sync.

From the dormitory door, you could tell that the environment shouldn’t be too bad, because the door was a high-quality metal security door, and judging by its shine, it must have been quite expensive.

He took out a classic-style brass key and smoothly opened the door to room 521.

“Cough cough cough…”

The dust in the dormitory was quite heavy, but after a careful look, Tan Xiao found the environment to be quite good.

There was a separate bathroom and shower room, and this was originally supposed to be a double room because there were two beds with desks underneath facing each other.

However, Ms. Li paid for two people’s dormitory fees, so now the entire dormitory was under Tan Xiao’s control.

On the bed, besides the bare wooden planks, there were a few old quilts and some crumpled paper trash, but overall it was quite clean.

After all, there was no strange odor, and the walls were a bright white, as if they had been freshly painted not long ago.

Tan Xiao turned on the air switch of the main circuit breaker, and the overhead light tube lit up immediately.

“The washing machine works, the fan works, the air conditioner works, and the hot water supply is normal…”

When the faucet in the sink was turned on, a bit of rusty yellow water flowed out of the pipe, but it quickly turned into clear, colorless, and transparent water.

The bathroom in the dormitory was connected to an electric water heater. After letting the cold water run for a while, it reached the normal temperature.

Tan Xiao commented, “The conditions are okay, I just need to clean up a bit more before I can move in.”

“I need to go to the school supermarket to buy some cleaning supplies and throw out this trash.”

Since he had just completed his enrollment procedures, he had nothing with him. Tan Xiao also didn’t have evening study today, so he took the opportunity to clean up in the evening; otherwise, he would have to sleep on the bare bed.

“By the way, you should know where the school supermarket is, right? You can take me there.”

Wen Yi nodded, obediently following Tan Xiao like a little tail.

As the two of them went downstairs, Tan Xiao said again, “You didn’t tell me where you live.”

Wen Yi moved his lips and uttered a word: “520.”

Tan Xiao was quite surprised: “520, isn’t that right next door to me? We must be fated to meet.”

Speaking of these two numbers, they were quite special—520 and 521, both meant ‘I love you.’¹

Wen Yi shyly smiled. Despite having the unlucky number 14, he actually lived in room 404 of building 13, the vanished 404.²

Who lived in 520 before didn’t matter; He just cleared out the original resident, and he became the new tenant of 520.

The two of them went to the supermarket, and of course, before checking out, they swiped their cards to ensure there was at least ten thousand yuan loaded onto them. Otherwise, if they bought a bunch of stuff and then found they didn’t have enough money to pay, it would be really embarrassing.

Yuying High School, which only had a high school department, had a total of 3,000 students across three grades. The supermarket on campus was definitely not as well-stocked as those off-campus, but at least the necessary daily necessities were available.

Tan Xiao bought a bucket and basin, as well as new brooms, mops, trash cans, and other cleaning tools.

He didn’t buy any snacks because after looking at the food in the supermarket, he felt that many snacks were past their production dates, especially the spicy strips, some of which had signs of being re-stamped.

The only relatively fresh items were instant noodles. Considering that there might be times when he gets hungry and doesn’t have time to eat, Tan Xiao stocked up a bit on instant noodles.

Blankets, water bottles, and other items he bought were all brand new, adding up to quite a lot.

He politely asked the supermarket owner, a middle-aged man who looked muscular, “Uncle, do you have a shopping cart? I bought a bit too much and would like to borrow one.”

The supermarket owner, who was in a monopoly business, didn’t have the best attitude. While he was chatting and picking out products, he was playing cards with someone on the computer.

Even when dealing with big customers, he had no patience if they interrupted his card game.

“Why borrow a little cart? What’s the point of buying so many things?”

Just as the grumbling words were on his lips, the supermarket owner suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand. Invisible threads pierced through his thick palm, controlling his hand to lift high and deliver a hard slap.

The dazed supermarket owner finally noticed that, besides the new face, there was also someone standing behind the high pile of goods—Number 14, who was expressionless and staring at him coldly like a ghost.

Damn it, he lost track of time while playing cards, messed up, the new students would only start in two days, and he thought this unfamiliar face was one of those foreign human players!

After all, the school had so few people; you could remember a face after seeing it once a day.

The supermarket owner’s face turned into a clown’s, with a lot of loose flesh, and he tried very hard to squeeze out a somewhat comical smile: “What I mean is, with so many things, it would be too hard for you to carry them all. I don’t know which building you live in, but I can deliver them to you directly.”

Tan Xiao thought the supermarket owner was a bit eccentric; why did he suddenly slap himself so hard?

If it weren’t for the fact that the campus card could only be used within the school, he would have just put down his things and walked away.

However, he had bought too many things today, so he finally chose to politely thank the uncle: “Thank you, uncle. I live in Building 13, so please help me take them downstairs. I just transferred here today and need to use them urgently.”

“I’m coming to deliver them now.” The supermarket owner, as if his butt were on fire, quickly fetched a van from the supermarket’s storage and eagerly helped carry all the items onto it.

He looked at Tan Xiao and then at Wen Yi, trying to make amends by saying, “Classmate, I’m really sorry about earlier. I lost at cards and got a bit upset, so I took it out on you. Do you want to hop in? I’ll give you a ride.”

Tan Xiao shook his head, “No need, it’s just a short walk. I can go back by myself.”

The supermarket owner not only loved playing cards and had a bad temper, but he was also a heavy smoker. His robust body was permeated with the smell of cigarettes. He was unwilling to share a narrow, enclosed space with the other person, and even opening the van windows would do little to help with the stench of the cigarettes.

By the time the van reached the ground floor, the family’s driver had brought a large pile of clothes and the plush blanket that Tan Xiao had once slept on, which helped move all the accumulated goods from the ground floor upstairs.

When the driver left, it was almost time for evening self-study. Tan Xiao asked Wen Yi, “Aren’t you going to evening self-study?”

He was a transfer student, so he took a leave of absence, but Wen Yi was different.

The latter shook his head. In the evening, it was the students’ hunting phase. However, before the dungeon started, there were no outsiders in the school, so at night, everyone would fight, brawl, and go crazy, but they wouldn’t study properly.

“It’s okay.” He picked up a cloth, “I’ll help.”

Tan Xiao couldn’t help but smile: His new deskmate was indeed a gentle and kind person, who seemed cold on the outside but had a soft and passionate heart!

He had originally wanted to get closer to the other person, so he didn’t refuse Wen Yi’s kindness: “Then I’ll trouble you, but we need to get our gear first.”

Tan Xiao specifically bought eco-friendly gloves and masks. He quickly put them on and, seeing Wen Yi still struggling with the gloves, immediately stepped forward, “These gloves are a bit tight and hard to wear. Let me help you.”

The young man naturally held the other person’s hand. Unlike him, who was burning with heat, Wen Yi’s hand felt somewhat cold. It was the beginning of the second semester, and school wouldn’t officially start for a few more days.

It was early spring, and the chill of spring was more biting than the deep winter.

Tan Xiao couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths, his breath condensing into white mist in the air: “Your hands are so cold. You need to keep them warm in the spring. You can’t dress so lightly.”

In his eyes, Wen Yi was indeed dressed too lightly. On such a cold day, he was only wearing a fall school uniform jacket. Tan Xiao suddenly realized: he had said Wen Yi’s little face looked slightly pale, probably because he was frozen!

He immediately took off his own coat and draped it over Wen Yi, saying, “Hurry up and put this on, don’t freeze yourself. Senior year is very important, and a fever affects your brain.”

Wen Yi felt the faint minty scent and the warmth of his body, and his slightly pale face flushed with a light pink.

His eyelashes were long and thick, fluttering gently like butterfly wings, and he smiled shyly at Tan Xiao.

Housework seems easy at first glance, but once you start doing it, you realize there are many intricate tasks.

Every shelf and bed frame needed to be wiped down, and the rusty spots needed to be scrubbed. His obsessive-compulsive tendencies kicked in, and he meticulously cleaned any stains he saw.

Tan Xiao wore an apron and a cheap baseball cap bought from the supermarket, but he still ended up covered in dirt.

While Tan Xiao was busy, Wen Yi wasn’t idle either. The original Room 521 was piled with ghost, and they became even more active at night.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Wen Yi walked into the shower room and locked the frosted glass door.

The person hiding in the corner, with a head like a ball, was dragged out without a change in expression and thrown directly downstairs. The water pipe was running, and besides the rusty and clear water, blood and a mass of hair were also flowing out.

Wen Yi grabbed a strand of hair and roughly pulled the ghost out of the water pipe, stuffing the hair into its mouth before it could scream.

This was the boys’ dormitory, and naturally, the ghost in the water pipes was a male ghost. Occasionally, he sneaks over to the girls’ dormitory, but once discovered, he gets beaten up by the female students.

He lightly tapped the water pipe three times: “Clean it up.”

The hair ghost diligently cleaned, and the rust stains in the bathroom, which were the hardest to deal with, became spotless. Thanks to the ghost’s hard work, the metal pipes regained their original shiny appearance.

Before throwing the other person into the sewer, Wen Yi said, “You’re not allowed to enter 521 again.”

The transfer student was too handsome, shining like an everlasting sun.

But the transfer student could also be very vulnerable at times; when taking a shower or using the toilet, he would be very vulnerable. Wen Yi couldn’t allow him to spy on Tan Xiao, even if no private parts were seen!

His fingers, connected to the transparent thread, made a strangulation gesture of threat.

The hair that the ghost was proud of was also a strangulation skill, but in front of No. 14, it was the difference between a child and a master craftsman.

The ghost whimpered in response, bruised and battered, disappearing into the dark sewer.

The glass door opened again, and the bathroom was completely transformed.

Tan Xiao couldn’t help but exclaim, “That’s amazing! You’ve cleaned it so well, it feels like the old grime has been wiped away!”

Wen Yi continued to smile shyly, “No.”

He wasn’t being modest; after all, the work was done by a ghost.

He had been hearing the bell for the evening self-study session ring repeatedly, and only now did Tan Xiao realize that three hours had passed without him noticing. He suddenly slumped down, sat on the bench, feeling like half of his waist had given out. He took a few deep breaths and said, “I can’t go on like this, I need to rest. We have morning reading tomorrow.”

“Classmate Wen Yi, thanks to your help today, please let me treat you to a meal tomorrow!”

After one meal, there would be a second, so they could naturally develop into long-term meal partners.

Wen Yi nodded in agreement: “Mm.”

He turned and went to the neighboring 520, because the two places were very close.

While helping Tan Xiao clean, Wen Yi’s puppet line directly opened the window from this side to the next window, demanding the guys in the dormitory to pack up their bedding and get lost.

Wen Yi went back to 520 and tidied up everything he had brought from 404. Looking at the neatly arranged quilt, he thought for a few seconds, then filled a thermos with tea, adjusted the angle, and “accidentally” spilled it on the quilt.

Tan Xiao first took a hot shower to tidy himself up a bit before knocking on the door of 520.

The door to the next room was slightly ajar; he just knocked, and the door creaked open by itself.

Then, Tan Xiao saw Wen Yi staring blankly at a soaking wet quilt. A thermos cup was still on the bed, and the water had spilled all over it.

Wen Yi thought for a moment, bent down, and took out the hidden hairdryer from the cupboard.

Because the dormitory had a power limit, the hairdryer’s wattage was quite limited.

Tan Xiao looked at it, the veins on his forehead bulging: “Stop blowing, with such a thick quilt, if you keep blowing like that, you won’t be able to sleep a wink all night.”

He took a look and found that Room 520 was similar to his own, also a single room. The other bed was completely bare, with only two pieces of spliced wood boards on it.

Tan Xiao frowned as he looked at the quilt, then turned and went to his room to get a roll of rope. He set up a clothesline between the two beds and spread the quilt on it.

“Let’s modify the air conditioning. If there’s a lot of sun tomorrow, we can air out the comforter, or go buy a new one from the supermarket.”

Wen Yi pursed his lips: “The supermarket is closed.”

Oh right, Tan Xiao glanced at the time; it was almost 11 o’clock now. Because the air conditioning was needed in summer and heating in winter, the high school dormitory didn’t cut off power, but one thing was that there was a curfew at the boys’ dormitory.

In this situation, it was quite normal for the supermarket that served students to close early.

In this situation, there was only one choice left. Tan Xiao didn’t hesitate any longer and forcefully grabbed Wen Yi’s hand: “Don’t worry about your wet bed sheets, just come over and squeeze in with me today.”

Notes:

1. I Love you
   Wǒ ài nǐ
   520
   Wǔ Èr Líng
   521
   Wǔ Èr Yī
   The pronunciations are similar.
   ↩︎
2. Four is considered an unlucky number as its pronunciation sounds similar to the word for death. 4 (Sì) Die (Sǐ). ↩︎