Chapter Text
The sound of a blaring alarm rung Jiang Cheng out of his sleep, and he groggily punched whatever was making that god forsaken noise.
After a few moments of dazed staring, he finally got a hold of himself and glanced over at his phone. “Ah fuck, not again...” he sighed. Despite having set the alarm for 6 am himself, he nearly didn't bother getting up. It was only the first few weeks of college, and he was already exhausted from the workload.
His eyes shifted towards the window, trying to adjust to his surroundings. It was still dark out; everyone was usually either just waking up around this time or sleeping in. It was nice though. Everything was quiet in the morning, and he liked it that way.
He rolled over with a crash onto the floor. His body felt so heavy that his eyes fluttered closed again for a moment. The soft carpet underneath him warmed him and cushioned his landing as much as a carpet could, but it still left a dull aching sensation coursing throughout his entire body. The desire to simply curl up right then and there was immense, but he pushed himself up with his elbows onto his side. The portrait of his family sat neatly on his nightstand, adorned with trinkets from over the years that he had collected to prepare for being away from home. An earnest smile creeped onto his face. Looking at it every day reminded him of why he was here, why he got up in the morning, why he worked so hard.
Yiling was a prestigious school that most only dreamed of ever being accepted to. People traveled from all over the world to take the entrance exam just for a chance to get in, but only a hand full were chosen out of thousands upon thousands. Jiang Cheng was lucky enough to be one of those few. He wanted to make the most out of what he was given since his parents saved up for years in hopes for a better life for him. If he could reach graduation – maybe, just maybe – he could repay their efforts tenfold.
After a few moments, he reluctantly pulled himself up from the floor and moved away from the picture so he could get his morning started.
He had just gotten a purple turtleneck over his head when he noticed the light was on outside his room. Curious, he creaked the door open and saw the back of a young man with long black hair shifting around, seeming to be about to leave. It must be the roommate that the dean had gone over the details of with him yesterday. He didn't really pay attention because it was boring the hell out of him, so he missed anything he probably should've heard.
Jiang Cheng called out, “Hey!” The figure spared a glance over. His face was like jade, but his expression was so cold it gave him goosebumps. He felt like he recognized this person from somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. Without a word, the man started out the door. Jiang Cheng’s eyebrow twitched, and he stormed over. He didn't even care that a stranger was in his dorm; no energy could be wasted on that with all the parties going on all night long, but the rudeness made his body boil and fume with rage.
He repeated himself, “Hey! I'm talking to you, don't fucking ignore me.” The man turned around again. Jiang Cheng eyed him up and down, searching for any chance of recalling who this person was, but came up empty handed after a few moments. It wasn't clear when exactly they had shown up either. He figured that he would have at least gotten another visit for an introduction. Thinking of it though, this wasn't high school -- he didn't get why he cared so much about some guy anyways -- but something about that face made his blood boil.
The white clad man stared blankly, his expression void of all emotion. Not even a trace of a smile could be found.
“Are you my roommate?” He remained silent, his face darkening and gripping the keys in his hand tighter. Jiang Cheng took a step closer to his step back, letting out a low growl.
It was obvious what kind of guy he had on his hands here. People like him got on his nerves. There was nothing enjoyable about someone that was self-righteous, turning their nose up at anyone who approaches them like some sort of unworthy street dog. The fact that not everyone in the world had been granted the same graces as them, going through life without any worries, not doing any work themselves and having everything handed to them was a foreign concept to the fortunate. They don't care about anyone but themselves. They just take and take and take.
Even after he spent years working on controlling himself, he still couldn't help feeling enraged.
Jiang Cheng bit his lip, looking up bitterly and cracking his knuckles until they turned white. A small voice pulled him away from his feelings though, calling out his name worriedly. “A-Cheng? Is that you? What's going on?” His face fell and he immediately felt immense shame. The young girl peered around the doorframe past the other man to look at her brother, who now had his head down.
“A-Jie...” She pushed her way into the room, lifting his face up for fear that he had been injured, but when she saw no sign of it, she was even more confused. “You didn't get into a fight, did you? Don't hang your head.” Jiang Cheng gave a defeated look but didn't argue. Jiang Yanli took his hand between hers with a bright smile spreading across her face and gave it a pat. His eyes lingered for a moment but darted over to the doorway and darkened upon seeing that the person had taken advantage of his sister’s arrival to make their escape. He mumbled to himself, lucky bastard, but quickly caught himself when he remembered that she was still in the room.
He trembled slightly, hoping he hadn't tainted her ears with his cursing, and luckily, she at least appeared clueless. “A-Cheng, let's go get some coffee together, okay?” He smiled back and gave a small nod. She always knew how to cheer him up.