Chapter 493: Day 21 into the Alien War Story

Chapter 493: Day 21 in the Alien War Novel

An Yi glanced down at his phone.

The screen lit up, displaying detailed dormitory assignment information—building number, room number, bed number, and a simple floor plan.

He scanned it briefly, then turned off the screen and put the phone away.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dancing shadows across his face, making his already delicate features seem even more unreal.

An Yi looked at An Cheng. "I'll head off first," he said without any hesitation.

Then he grabbed his suitcase and turned to leave.

"I'll walk you there." An Cheng said almost immediately.

The three words came out quickly, tinged with urgency, his fingers tightening on the suitcase handle.

An Yi paused and looked back at him.

They locked eyes.

An Yi held his gaze for a few seconds, then gave a faint smile. "No need."

His voice was still gentle. "I can manage on my own."

He paused, as if remembering something, then added, "Brother... you should get going too."

The word "brother" rolled off his tongue naturally, just as he had said it countless times over the past ten years.

But this time, the word pierced An Cheng's heart like a needle, sending a numbing ache deep into his chest.

An Cheng's lips pressed tighter together.

His fingers curled at his sides, nails almost digging into his palms.

He looked at An Yi, his usually steady eyes now churning with too many unspoken emotions—he wanted to say "let me walk you," wanted to say "at least let me carry your luggage upstairs," wanted to say... *don't call me that.*

But in the end, he said nothing.

He simply nodded, letting out a low, hoarse "Okay."

An Yi smiled at him, then pulled his suitcase and turned, walking deeper into the campus.

An Cheng stood still, unmoving.

He watched the figure weave through the crowd, pass through the shade of trees, circle around the flowerbeds, and finally disappear around the corner of the road.

His gaze followed until there was no familiar figure left in that direction.

His chest felt empty.

Like part of him had been carved out, leaving a massive void—when the wind blew through, he could hear the hollow echoes inside.

He stood there for a long, long time.

He stood there so long that a volunteer walked over and asked with concern, "Hey, need any help?"

Only then did he snap out of it, shaking his head, pulling his suitcase, and turning to walk in another direction.

----------

When An Yi pushed open the door, someone was already in the dorm.

A four-person room with the standard dorm layout of beds over desks, not very big.

The two spots by the window had the best natural light, and one was already taken—a laptop and water bottle sat on the desk, along with a small succulent plant, green and cute.

A guy was kneeling by the wardrobe, organizing his clothes.

He heard the door open and turned around.

His hair was cut very short, revealing a broad forehead and bright eyes.

Seeing An Yi, he paused for a moment, then broke into a grin, showing a row of straight white teeth.

"Hey!" He stood up. "I'm Chen Heguang, your roommate."

His eyes crinkled when he smiled, with faint laugh lines at the corners of his eyes—he seemed friendly and outgoing.

"Hello." An Yi nodded with a smile, pulled his suitcase in, and checked the door number and bed assignment to confirm the spot by the door was his. "I'm An Yi."

"Oh, An Yi!" Chen Heguang said. "We chatted in the class group before!"

An Yi smiled but didn't reply.

He set his suitcase down, ready to unpack.

Chen Heguang walked over and naturally extended a hand. "Need a hand with that? Is your suitcase heavy?"

"No, thanks." An Yi waved him off and unzipped the suitcase himself. "I've got it."

Chen Heguang dropped his hand and scratched the back of his head. "Alright then, just let me know if you need anything. Oh, by the way, the other two roommates haven't arrived yet—they're coming this afternoon."

"Okay." An Yi began unpacking.

Chen Heguang leaned against his own desk, watching him with obvious curiosity.

He watched An Yi organize his things, watched those slender, clean fingers fold clothes with precision, watched him place thick books one by one on the shelf...

"Hey... An Yi, dude!" He suddenly spoke up, his voice sounding amused.

An Yi looked up and glanced at him.

Chen Heguang gave him a thumbs up. "You're super handsome!"

An Yi was caught off guard for a moment, then laughed.

Chen Heguang continued, saying dramatically, "Seriously! When you walked in, I thought I'd walked into the wrong dorm—thought some celebrity had wandered onto the wrong movie set! Damn, you... that's crazy!"

An Yi smiled, shook his head, and said nothing.

He kept organizing, placing the thickest textbooks on the desk, lining them up neatly.

Chen Heguang leaned in for a look, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Whoa, these books... you're a physics major?"

"Yes," An Yi said, his fingers gently brushing over the spine of a book.

"Awesome!" Chen Heguang gave another thumbs up, this time sounding genuinely impressed. "I'm a CS major. Can I ask you math questions later? I suck at it."

An Yi glanced at him: "Now you're being too modest."

Anyone who got into this school, especially for computer science, couldn't possibly suck at math.

That's just common sense.

Chen Heguang waved his hand sheepishly, a goofy grin on his face: "Ah~ you got me."

He said, pointing at the stack of books on An Yi's desk: "You've read all these?"

"Yeah," An Yi said flatly.

"Impressive." Chen Heguang said, genuinely impressed, then paused: "So... how old are you?"

"Seventeen," An Yi said, placing the last book down.

"Seventeen..." Chen Heguang murmured, then shook his head: "Comparisons are the thief of joy. I'm nineteen. From now on, call me Chen-ge—I've got your back!"

An Yi just smiled and said nothing.

Bro...

Sigh!

After getting his stuff sorted, he checked the time—2 PM.

"I'm gonna grab some toiletries," he said.

"I'll tag along!" Chen Heguang said immediately, his tone enthusiastic: "I need to pick up a few things too, so we can head out together. I know where the campus store is—I'll show you around."

An Yi thought for a moment, then nodded: "Alright."

The two of them headed downstairs together. As they stepped out of the dorm, An Yi instinctively glanced in a certain direction—toward a residential area just off campus.

----------

An Cheng's place was on the seventh floor.

It was an older residential area just off campus, about ten years old, but well kept.

He'd rented a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, with a massive floor-to-ceiling window in the living room that faced the campus directly.

From there, you could see the brick-red dormitory buildings, the green lawn of the sports field, and the glass curtain wall of the library reflecting the sunlight.

The view was killer—you could almost see the whole campus at a glance.

But An Cheng didn't bother with the view.

After dragging his suitcase through the door, he didn't even open it. He walked straight to the window and stood there, motionless.

In his hand, he held a pair of binoculars.