Lu An, who was sitting on the ground, was suddenly pulled up by Gao Dashan while completely unprepared.
His own brother?
Lu An was a bit confused until Gao Dashan pulled him to a corner, where he saw a group of simply dressed people, and then he understood.
"These are all our own brothers!" Gao Dashan pointed at the group and said with a smile, "We're all children from poor families and can't compare to those from wealthy families, so we must stick together!"
Lu An looked at the people in front of him; unlike the rich kids, and even very different from ordinary families, these people had truly suffered, and their eyes were kind.
"My name is Lu An," Lu An said with a smile, looking at everyone.
"My name is Li Dongshi."
"My name is…"
The seven people present all stated their names, and Lu An carefully remembered them. After everyone had introduced themselves, Gao Dashan continued, "Lu An, to be honest, you just saved our lives!"
Lu An was stunned at this and looked at Gao Dashan, asking, "Why?"
"Because after the annual assessment, those rich kids always find a few children from poor families to mock!" At this, Gao Dashan couldn't help but grit his teeth, saying angrily, "This has almost become a custom! Those rich kids have been taking various Medicinal Pills and tonics at home since they were young to strengthen their foundations, so most of the students here every year are rich kids! The remaining children from ordinary families choose to work as assistants or subordinates for these wealthy kids so they won't be bullied. And we, the children from poor families, become the objects of their mockery!"
Hearing this, Li Dongshi also couldn't help but speak, saying resentfully, "That's right! We children from poor families don't even have the qualifications to rely on them; they despise us, thinking we're trash! They believe we only got into the Academy by sheer luck! In the Academy, children from poor families become their entertainment. If it weren't for you just now, they definitely would have come to flaunt their power at us!"
Lu An listened to their accusations, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter, until finally, he let out a cold laugh.
Indeed, oppression exists not only in the slave class but in every class; it's just that slaves are at the lowest level.
"It doesn't matter!" Gao Dashan suddenly waved his hand, breaking the oppressive and sad atmosphere, and said loudly, "Since we know what the future holds, we should stick together even more! And after the school starts, I'll go find older students from poor families like us, so we can look out for each other!"
"Mhm," Lu An and the others nodded in unison.
Time passed, and the assessment finally concluded in the evening. At this time, the hall was already filled with over three hundred people.
Don't think that three hundred people is a lot. In the endless Eight Ancient Continent, although Ziye Country is just a small country and Starfire City is just a small city, it still has millions of residents! With so many people, only three hundred can be admitted each year, which means at least one in a hundred is chosen.
Because of the large number of people, the originally spacious hall became crowded. Everyone gathered in small groups, discussing among themselves, as it would soon be time to assign dormitories.
From this evening until the Academy's unified holiday, if not permitted by the school, everyone is forbidden from leaving the campus. Everyone's food, clothing, and housing will naturally be provided within the Academy until they become a First-Level Celestial Master and leave the Academy.
This process is lengthy; those with high talent might become a First-Level Celestial Master in a year, while those with lower talent might take four or five years. Therefore, roommates are very important to everyone.
Just as everyone was discussing, a person suddenly walked out from the front of the hall, ascended the steps, and stood on the high platform, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
It was a male teacher. He swept his gaze across everyone in the hall, his eyes cold, then spoke loudly, "All dormitories are for two people. Now, everyone line up and draw your dormitory number card from the box in front of me! After drawing, fill out the form next to it with your name and dormitory number, then you may leave!"
As he spoke, just as everyone was about to start discussing, the male teacher's expression suddenly darkened, and he shouted, "Don't say I didn't warn you; once everyone has drawn their dormitory, no one should come to me to request a change! I don't care if you're co-ed roommates or which family you come from, you'll stay put! If you can't stand it, then get out of the Academy!"
The loud voice echoed through the hall. The male teacher's imposing manner was indeed formidable, quieting even the rich kids. After all, Starfire Academy is a First-Rate Forces in Starfire City and is managed by the country, so everyone has to give it respect.
Under the male teacher's intimidation, everyone lined up and, under supervision, drew their numbers and recorded them on the paper nearby. Lu An, Gao Dashan, and the others stood at the end of the line, waiting for everyone else to finish drawing before it was their turn.
After drawing their numbers, everyone eagerly left to see who their roommate was; Gao Dashan and his group were no exception. Finally, it was Lu An’s turn, the last person.
By this time, the hall was deserted, with only the male teacher and Lu An remaining. Lu An had no power to choose, as there was only one slip of paper left in the box in front of him, lying quietly in the corner.
Lu An gave a self-deprecating smile, reached out and took the slip of paper. There was no expectation in his eyes, he merely glanced indifferently at the number on it, then lowered his head to record it on the paper next to him.
Lu An, Dormitory 403.
The male teacher frowned slightly at Lu An, whose clothes could be described as ragged. Lu An finished writing, looked up, saw the male teacher's expression, remained calm, and turned to leave.
This time, it was the male teacher who was stunned. Looking at the boy, who was smaller than others, he suddenly remembered something!
He quickly picked up the paper on the table and looked at the name.
Lu An.
"It really is him," the male teacher muttered to himself, "Five streams of Qi are considered a Genius even in the Eight Ancient Continent, but I didn't expect it to appear in this poor boy."
As he spoke, the male teacher suddenly remembered something else and quickly searched for a name on the list.
However, when he found the name, he was stunned again, his expression even extremely surprised.
"Is there such a coincidence in the world?" The male teacher couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This time, it's truly interesting…"
Lu An, who had already left the hall, naturally didn't hear the male teacher's words. It was already very late, and he had to get to the dormitory quickly.
After wandering around the Academy for a long time, Lu An finally found the dormitory area and, upon seeing the large characters '403' in front of a building, couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
The room was brightly lit, indicating that his roommate had clearly already moved in. Lu An took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, thinking that he must leave a good impression on his roommate. After all, they would be spending a lot of time together, and harmony was best.
Lu An let out a long breath, stepped onto the stairs, raised his hand to gently knock on the door, and asked, "Excuse me, is anyone in?"
"…"
Three seconds later, there was no movement inside. Lu An was startled, somewhat confused, and knocked again, raising his voice slightly as he asked, "Excuse me, is anyone in?"
"…"
Seeing that there was still no response, Lu An couldn't help but frown slightly. However, since this was also his dormitory, he thought for a moment, then took out the key he had received and opened the door.
Click.
The door opened with a sound, and Lu An pushed it open to enter the dormitory. What met his eyes was a medium-sized living room, with the oil lamp on the wall burning, but the living room was empty.
Next to the living room were three doors, two of which were on one side, presumably bedrooms. So, his roommate might have been asleep and didn't hear him, and to avoid disturbing his roommate's rest, Lu An tried to be as quiet as possible, tiptoeing.
Lu An originally wanted to go to the bedroom to check, but he didn't know which one his roommate had chosen, and it wouldn't be good to barge in. After thinking for a moment, he decided he should wash up first and turned to go to the room on the other side of the living room.
Tiptoeing quickly to the room, Lu An pushed the door open without hesitation, and a fragrant mist enveloped him.
Then, two people stood frozen in place.
And Lu An widened his eyes, looking at the alluring scene before him.
He only felt that the good impression he wanted to leave on his roommate had completely collapsed.