At 10:30 in the morning, the loudspeakers, which managed to convey stress even to those not feeling any, finally ceased their broadcast.
The campus, shrouded in thick fog, was as quiet as late at night.
“It seems like there’s no sign of the fog clearing at all,” Xia Yang observed fixedly for almost half an hour, standing by the window. He felt increasingly uneasy as he continued, “This unlucky weather is really bizarre.”
Lin Wu sat on the upper bunk, scrolling through Weibo.
“The ‘Shenyang Heavy Fog’ topic was filled with photographs shared by people across the city. From Shenyang North to Hunnan, from the Imperial Palace to Chessboard Mountain, every possible location was captured, making it an all-encompassing display.
However, without location information and explanations, Lin Wu couldn’t distinguish where these photos were taken. Each one seemed like an endless expanse of white.
But even with such abnormal events, Shenyang couldn’t break into the top ten trending topics.
Because there were too many places where heavy fog emerged on that day.
Northeast, North China, East China, South China—a rare foggy day almost covered the entire eastern region, and the central and western regions weren’t completely spared either. However, it affected only scattered cities in small areas, unlike the extensive impact in the east.
“Damn,” Li Junchi, also browsing on his phone, was stunned by the latest reports that popped up, turning to Lin Wu on the opposite bunk with an incredulous expression, “Does this seem like a global event?”
Lin Wu was watching.
“Global Rare Heavy Fog Suddenly Emerges” quickly soared to the top of the trending topics and then exploded in popularity.
“What the hell is this?” Xia Yang, after hearing the conversation, turned back, “What global event?”
Li Junchi directly handed his phone over to him.
Xia Yang took a few glances and was left dumbfounded.
In all seven continents worldwide, regardless of whether it was day or night, under any weather conditions, fog emerged as if it were a coordinated distribution. The photos taken by netizens from different countries looked virtually indistinguishable from those in Shenyang.
Even the fog formation patterns were strikingly similar worldwide, with both extensive regional coverage and sporadic dispersion in individual cities.
“My understanding of natural science has been subverted,” Li Junchi looked at the ceiling in a large character, feeling a bit dazed.
“It really feels like the beginning of a disaster movie,” Xia Yang said, tossing the phone back to him, “Don’t you think?”
“I hope not,” Lin Wu, with particularly clear self-awareness, commented, “Even in apocalyptic movies, I wouldn’t survive more than three hours.”
“Instead of praising yourself, just praise yourself directly,” Xia Yang sneered at him, “Movies are at most two and a half hours. You’re giving yourself an extra half-hour.”
Lin Wu chuckled and made a fist over his chest to symbolize their deep brotherhood, “You understand me.”
Xia Yang responded with the same gesture, speaking in standard Northeastern dialect for once, “Absolutely.”
Li Junchi, who couldn’t keep up with their thought processes, said, “…”
He often felt out of place with his roommates because he wasn’t silly enough.
So, God is fair. Given a handsome face, he had to compensate by running a bit off-center in terms of temperament.
Yes, in Li Junchi’s opinion, both Lin Wu and Xia Yang fell under the category of good-looking. Although Lin Wu didn’t feel that way himself, and Xia Yang did indeed have an eye-catching face, Li Junchi’s judgment was backed by extensive data—In his WeChat friends’ circle that covered the entire university, the number of inquiries about Lin Wu from female classmates was almost on par with those about Xia Yang.
“Why hasn’t Dayu arrived yet?” Lin Wu entered the dormitory group chat.
An hour ago, after Feiyu’s train arrived, he sent the first message—
Please give me a koi fish: I’ve arrived at the North Station. Why is the fog so thick? [Shocked three times.jpg]
Please give me a koi fish: Taxis have all stopped; they dare not drive. [Crying][Crying][Crying]
Ten minutes later, he sent another.
Please give me a koi fish: The subway is still reliable!
This indicated that he had already taken the subway. From the North Station to their university by subway, half an hour was more than enough, but now fifty minutes had passed.
“Could something have happened?” Lin Wu was a bit worried.
Xia Yang scratched his head, “Impossible. This mischievous weather makes it difficult to walk even after getting off the subway. He’s probably still shuffling small steps outside the North Gate.”
To return to the school from the subway exit, he would have to enter through the North Gate.
“No, ” Lin Wu pondered, feeling uncertain, “Think about it. Given Dayu’s personality, if it were really difficult to walk, the first thing he would do is stand still, then complain in the group, ‘Woe is me.'”
“True,” Xia Yang responded.
Li Junchi: “…”
Feiyu’s personality was truly like that. He often stood out from his roommates due to this quirkiness.
So, in the fairness of the divine, a handsome face was paired with a touch of peculiar temperament.
There wasn’t much they could do about it. Lin Wu promptly sent a voice call invitation to Feiyu.
After a prolonged wait, he finally answered.
“Where are you?” Lin Wu asked directly.
“Ah? Ah, I’m almost at the North Gate…” Feiyu’s voice echoed from Lin Wu’s phone on speaker mode.
His voice carried the inherent cheerfulness of a big-hearted individual, but due to his personal temperament, it always bore a lingering melancholy, akin to a large dog seeking affection.
However, Feiyu, typically just a bit reserved, seemed unusually fumbling today and appeared somewhat guilty.
More significantly, there was a considerable amount of background noise on his end, as if he were surrounded by a group of people.
If Lin Wu had some doubts before, now it was nearly certain: “Feiyu, what happened to you?”
“Nothing, nothing,” he hastily denied, “Let’s not talk about it now. This fog is too thick, and I’m really busy. Haha…”
Click.
The voice call was abruptly ended.
Lin Wu glanced up.
The three roommates in the dormitory exchanged glances, and in the next moment, they leaped off the bed with lightning speed, putting on clothes and changing shoes.
Li Junchi: “Damn, you really figured it out.”
Xia Yang: “What do you mean figured it out? Lin Wu is just exceptionally observant.”
Li Junchi: “Big brother, don’t flatter at this time.”
Feiyu, this guy, whined and grumbled for 364 days a year. Only on one day did he not, and that was when he genuinely encountered trouble. Lin Wu didn’t know how this peculiar personality had formed, but he just wanted everyone to understand how downcast Feiyu felt when everything was fine. When he genuinely faced an issue, he was afraid of dragging others into it and always wanted to shoulder it alone.
The key was that this guy’s psychological resilience couldn’t handle anything.
Dorm 333 didn’t often get into fights with people, but when they did, they weren’t afraid. Usually, it was Feiyu who intervened. Today, the peace dove was absent, and the three main warriors took the opportunity to launch a rapid assault.
Whatever had happened to Feiyu, it couldn’t be easily questioned. It was better to go to the scene directly. The school faced north and south, with the south gate as the main entrance, close to the library and teaching buildings. The north gate was located between Shushan Garden and Xuehai Garden, the two dormitory areas. After leaving the male dormitory, it didn’t take much to reach the scene.
The dormitory building was not sealed off, and the three of them left smoothly.
But as soon as they got outside, it was a completely different world. The sky was darker than it was in the morning, and with the thick fog, they couldn’t see anything. They could only rely on memory, feeling the trees as they walked forward to avoid losing their direction.
Luckily, the north gate was not far away. They hadn’t walked long before they heard the voices of security guards talking ahead.
If there were security guards, that meant it was the main gate.
The fog acted as the perfect “invisibility cloak,” and the three of them stood still, not needing to hide consciously, just lowering their voices.
Li Junchi: “The school is probably closed. Going through the main gate won’t work.”
Lin Wu: “Find a secluded place to climb over the wall.”
Xia Yang: “We don’t need to look for it specially, today the whole world has the invisibility attribute…”
“Which department are you guys from?” The security guard who was talking ahead shouted. Although no one could be seen moving, the sound of footsteps had already approached rapidly, seeming to be “gathering friends,” “Over here, over here.”
Lin Wu, Li Junchi, Xia Yang: “…”
Even with their voices so low that they could barely hear themselves, they still got exposed in this situation?
What should they do? Run, brothers!
Security guard: “Stop! I’ve seen you guys—”
Xia Yang: “Come on, even if you have sharp hearing and insight, it’s impossible to surpass the visual limits of humans—”
Security guard: “Don’t run, be careful—”
Xia Yang: “Don’t chase us, we won’t run if you don’t chase—”
Playing a chasing game in this kind of weather was enough to make anyone dizzy. When Lin Wu finally touched the school wall, he realized that the noise around him seemed to have disappeared, and he looked around, finding not a single figure around.
It was impossible to gather again under such circumstances, and Lin Wu couldn’t be sure which section of the wall he was on. He had to climb out first and use the buildings outside the school to confirm his position.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he struggled to climb onto the wall, he found that there were school security guards patrolling outside the wall. Moreover, they were patrolling along the wall, making it impossible for him to find a way out.
Did it have to be this strict?
Lin Wu straddled the wall, slowly lowering his body. At the same time, he silently recited, “You can’t see me,” and held his breath, patiently waiting for the security guards to pass by before descending the wall.
The security guard near the outer wall hadn’t passed yet, and a new pair arrived near the inner wall.
Man: “This is fine. What do you want to say?”
Woman: “I like you.”
Lin Wu almost fell off the wall.
He quickly stabilized himself and forced his eyes away. He didn’t want to look, but gossip was human nature. Unfortunately, the fog was too dense. He could only hear that it was a man and a woman. The man’s voice was quite pleasant but somewhat disinterested, while the woman’s voice was bold. Despite initiating the confession, she seemed composed.
Suddenly, a slight breeze blew.
The fog below was blown away, leaving only a thin layer like gauze.
Through the “light curtain,” Lin Wu finally saw the two students clearly.
The one who had confessed to the school’s acknowledged beauty was surprisingly a third-year senior from the Mechanical Engineering Department!
Lin Wu widened his eyes, almost suspecting that he had seen it wrong. After all, this senior was beautiful and had a sweet voice. Last year, during the school’s annual gala, it was this sophomore who captivated all the freshmen.
He had expected to see what kind of guy could make this senior confess. But now, he was completely stunned.
He quickly focused his gaze on the male student.
An ordinary handsome guy.
Yes, just ordinary. He was tall, Lin Wu was 185cm, and this guy was a few centimeters taller, probably around 190cm, but not over two meters. His facial features were three-dimensional, with distinct contours from the nose to the jawline. His eyes were above the average in aesthetics… well, above the average and a bit more. However, he was now being willful with a buzz cut, still exuding a handsome and imposing aura.
So what?
Being handsome gave him the right to do whatever he wanted?
Senior: “Why?”
Buzz Cut: “I’m sorry.”
Even the tone of his voice showed no change from before.
Senior: “Why?”
Buzz Cut: “It’s not your problem, it’s mine.”
Senior: “You’re not going to use the cliché excuse like ‘I don’t like women,’ right?”
Buzz Cut: “I don’t like people.”
…Yes, he was doing whatever he wanted.
