Awakening Elementary School System in University
Chapter 24 - 23: Weekend Life

Chapter 24: Chapter 23: Weekend Life

May 21st, Saturday. 9:49 AM.

In dorm room 406, the curtains were drawn tight, but they couldn’t completely block out the summer sun, which traced a dazzling golden edge around the fabric.

Chen Lin slowly stirred, waking up to the peaceful quiet.

He rubbed his eyes and grabbed the phone from his bedside. The screen lit up, displaying the time.

’Perfect. Waking up naturally after a full night’s sleep. This is what weekends are for.’

He sat up in bed and glanced around.

The dorm was empty. The dorm leader, Wang Tao, was a local and usually went home early on Saturday mornings.

Chen Lin had no idea what Fatty Zhao and Li the Monkey were up to.

Chen Lin stretched, his bones letting out a series of satisfying cracks and pops. He felt refreshed and invigorated.

He thought back on the past week, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.

He was very satisfied.

Ever since he’d stopped filling every spare moment with scattered part-time jobs, his life had become uncharacteristically calm and structured.

On Thursday and Friday, he had maintained his self-disciplined routine.

When he had class, he’d find a corner in the back of the classroom. If he found the lecture interesting, he’d pay close attention. If he couldn’t get into it, he’d browse Bilibili for videos on similar topics to save for later, then scroll through Tieba, Weibo, and the Enki Love forums.

When he didn’t have class, he would invariably hole up in a private study room at the library to keep working his way through *Python Mathematical Programming*.

Before dinner yesterday, he had successfully finished the fourth Chapter.

Although the math problems included as practice exercises for the reader were as simple as one-plus-one-equals-two for him, he still felt he’d learned a lot from the methods used to implement them with code.

Chen Lin had also been checking messages on the online marketplace less frequently these past two days. Ever since completing his second job, he hadn’t come across another generous client like "Black Whirlwind is not the McDonald’s Vortex."

But that was understandable. Paying nearly 900 yuan to have a math test completed was certainly extravagant, but it was also a bit much for the prospective clients on the marketplace to immediately ask for a 90% discount.

’For the price of 100 yuan per major problem or 888 yuan per hour, they get access to a rule-level ability to solve math problems, completely ignoring difficulty. And they still think that’s expensive?’

Friday nights, on the other hand, were, without fail, reserved for five-stack ARAMs with his three roommates and one of Fatty Zhao’s high school friends.

The brothers had a great time laughing and blaming each other as they lost five games in a row before logging off.

Fatty Zhao, having just climbed into bed, was still teasing Chen Lin about his Akali in the last game—how he’d forgotten to switch to Snowball and had taken Lethal Tempo instead, totally throwing the game for them.

But before his accusations had even trailed off for two minutes, his signature snores began to fill the room.

Chen Lin put on his headphones and started the last three episodes of *Long Season*.

By the time the familiar melody of the ending theme, "Looking Back Again," started to play, the dorm had fallen completely silent, save for the faint hum of the air conditioner.

He lay in bed, scenes from the show and the line, "Look forward, don’t look back," replaying in his mind. He couldn’t calm down for a long time, and finally, with a lingering sense of wistful loss, he drifted off to sleep.

Thinking back on it now, Chen Lin still found the experience deeply resonant.

"’I really picked the right show for my big project,’ Chen Lin thought with a sigh.

Tomorrow was Sunday, and he had nothing planned. It would be the perfect time to find a quiet corner in the library, rewatch the series, and start writing that two-thousand-word analysis.

As for right now...

Chen Lin glanced at the brilliant sunlight peeking through the gap in the curtains, then decisively lay back down. He lowered the AC temperature by a degree, snuggled comfortably under his blanket, and started scrolling through his phone.

This was how a weekend should be enjoyed.

Chen Lin then remembered the gentleman’s agreement he had made with Yaoyao during last Saturday’s tutoring session—to find an opportunity to trick her mom and take her out for a day of fun.

Besides, it was a bit sad to think about. He’d been at Yannan University for almost two years, but he could count on one hand the places he’d visited in all of Jinmen City beyond the campus and its surrounding commercial streets.

In the past, he was always either on his way to deliver food or standing on a street corner handing out flyers. He simply never had the leisure or inclination to be a tourist.

’Perfect. I’ll use this as a chance to explore the city myself, tagging along with the little rascal.’

The thought immediately energized him.

He sat up from under the covers and began to search seriously, intending to create a simple touring plan for the afternoon.

...

At 1:07 PM, Chen Lin, holding his tray, shoveled the last bite of cumin lamb and rice into his mouth and let out a satisfied burp.

Without any delay after finishing his meal, he hailed a taxi at the school gate and headed straight for the residential complex where Yaoyao lived.

According to his agreement with Liu, the tutoring schedule was quite flexible. He usually just had to arrive between 1:30 and 2:00 PM and then teach for two and a half to three hours.

But today was a special case. Since he had promised to take the little girl out for some fun, he naturally had to get an early start to try and visit more places.

Besides, he had already confirmed via WeChat with Brother Wang from the Back Street Bar last night that he would be on time for his singing gig tonight; he couldn’t stand him up again.

Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of the old, dated residential complex.

Chen Lin, carrying his backpack, walked into the building with the ease of familiarity and knocked on the door with a "Fortune" character sticker on it.

It was Liu who opened the door again. She was in her loungewear and broke into a warm smile upon seeing Chen Lin. As she handed him a pair of slippers, she asked casually, "Chen, what brings you here so early today?"

’It’s time!’

Chen Lin thought to himself, but his face remained impassive. He offered a gentle and scholarly smile, his tone sincere. "Well, Liu, the weather is so nice today, I was thinking of taking Yaoyao to the Yannan University library to do some reading. I want her to experience the academic atmosphere there ahead of time."

He had already prepared a whole speech to counter any suspicion Liu might have.

To his surprise, however, her eyes lit up the moment she heard his words, her face filled with an irrepressible, pleasant surprise.

"Oh! That’s wonderful!" Liu clapped her hands and said happily, "I’ve been wanting Yaoyao to spend more time at places like your school! Yannan University, that’s a top-ranked, famous university in the country! If our Yaoyao can get in one day, I’ll be smiling in my sleep!"

Just then, the door to Yaoyao’s room quietly cracked open.

A small head with two pigtails peeked out from behind the door. After confirming that Chen Lin’s plan had succeeded, the little girl winked at him, a sly and happy smile on her face.

"Don’t think you’re just going out to play. Once you’re at the university, you have to seriously learn from the older brothers and sisters there, you hear? They’re all top students."

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Liu turned and started lecturing Yaoyao.

Yaoyao’s expression changed in an instant. She pouted and pulled her head back into her room.

Five minutes later, Yaoyao, carrying her beloved little pink backpack, happily left the apartment with Chen Lin.

"Brother Chen Lin, where are you taking me to play today?" Yaoyao asked impatiently the moment they stepped out of the complex gate.