Autumn deepened. The sycamore leaves on campus began to yellow and drift down. As classes intensified, the rhythm of college life picked up, and the trio of Dorm 302 faced their first real group assignment: a C programming project.
"The group list is out!" Jiang Jin burst into the dorm, waving a printed sheet. "The three of us are together!"
Lu Zhao leaned over to check. Sure enough, the list read: Gu Xun, Lu Zhao, Jiang Jin. He let out a breath of relief—working with familiar roommates was far better than teaming up with strangers.
Gu Xun was at his computer. At the news, he merely looked up, expressionless, and gave a soft "Mm."
The assignment was to design a simple student grade management system. Their first group discussion took place in the dorm.
"How the hell do we even start?" Jiang Jin scratched his head, frowning at the project brief. "I still don't get pointers."
Lu Zhao was slightly better off, but still overwhelmed. "I guess we need to figure out the data structure first? Then use file I/O to store the data…"
They went back and forth for a while, making little progress. Then Gu Xun, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"We can use an array of structs to store student info. The function modules can be input, search, modify, delete, and statistics."
His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly gave their chaotic discussion direction. Both Lu Zhao and Jiang Jin turned to him.
Gu Xun picked up a pen and quickly sketched the program's basic framework and key function flowcharts on scratch paper. His logic was sharp, his structure clear.
"Damn, Gu Xun, you're a genius!" Jiang Jin slapped the desk in awe, then gave Gu Xun a hearty smack on the back. "We're golden now! We're counting on you, bro!"
Gu Xun tilted forward slightly from the impact, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly. He said nothing, simply continued calmly assigning tasks. "I'll handle the core framework and file I/O. Lu Zhao, you do the input and search interface. Jiang Jin, you…"
He paused, looking at Jiang Jin's eager face. "You'll handle testing and writing the report."
Jiang Jin's face fell. "Huh? Can't I help with the code too?"
"Your foundation's shaky. It'll cause bugs." Gu Xun's tone was blunt but not unkind—just factual. "Testing's important too. It'll help you understand the logic."
Jiang Jin looked a bit deflated but accepted the arrangement. Lu Zhao, meanwhile, was quietly impressed. Gu Xun's division of labor was fair and efficient. He might not talk much, but he was reliable. Lu Zhao's respect for him grew a little more.
In the days that followed, the three dove into the project. Gu Xun was undoubtedly the backbone—his coding speed was astonishing, and he rarely made mistakes. He debugged with patience and precision. Whenever Lu Zhao hit a wall, Gu Xun could pinpoint the issue immediately.
One night, Lu Zhao struggled with a search function that kept throwing errors. It was past ten, and he still hadn't solved it. Gu Xun had already finished his part, but instead of resting, he pulled up a chair beside Lu Zhao and began checking the code line by line.
"Here. Your loop condition's wrong—it's out of bounds." Gu Xun pointed at the screen, his long fingers tapping lightly on the keyboard. "It should be less than, not less than or equal to."
The desk lamp cast a soft glow on his focused profile. Lu Zhao, watching Gu Xun from up close, suddenly felt a quiet sense of reassurance. This usually aloof roommate radiated a calm, dependable strength when it came to his craft.
"Thanks, Gu Xun. If it weren't for you, I'd be up all night," Lu Zhao said sincerely.
Gu Xun stood, stretching his stiff neck. "Get some rest," he said lightly, then went to wash up.
Lu Zhao watched his retreating figure, thinking: aside from being quiet, this roommate was actually pretty great.
Jiang Jin, on the other hand, was a different story. He seemed to lack the patience for coding or testing, and constantly found excuses to hover around Gu Xun.
"Gu Xun, I still don't get this part. Can you explain it again?"
"Gu Xun, is this how I'm supposed to test it?"
"Gu Xun, let's grab late-night snacks—my treat! Lu Zhao, you come too!"
His enthusiasm was relentless. Gu Xun's responses remained polite but distant: "There's an example on page 85." "Your test cases need to cover edge conditions." "No thanks. You two go ahead."
Lu Zhao had grown used to their dynamic. He chalked it up to Jiang Jin being overly friendly and Gu Xun preferring quiet. Sometimes he even thought Jiang Jin was a bit tone-deaf—couldn't he tell Gu Xun wasn't interested?
One weekend afternoon, Lu Zhao returned from the basketball court, drenched in sweat, and saw Jiang Jin at Gu Xun's desk, holding two tickets.
"Got us two insider tickets—front row! Come on, let's go together?" Jiang Jin's voice was full of hope.
Gu Xun didn't even look up. "No. Not interested."
"Come on, this game's a rare one!" Jiang Jin tried to hand him the ticket.
Gu Xun raised a hand to block it, tone still flat. "I said no."
Jiang Jin's smile faltered. His hand, still holding the ticket, froze midair. Just then, Lu Zhao walked in and saw the scene. He assumed Jiang Jin had hit another wall and jumped in to smooth things over.
"Tickets? If Gu Xun's not going, I'll go with you. Just finished playing—perfect way to unwind."
Jiang Jin turned, saw Lu Zhao, and stuffed the tickets back into his pocket. "Forget it. You wouldn't get it," he muttered, then left the dorm, visibly frustrated.
Lu Zhao was baffled. As he toweled off, he said to Gu Xun, "Jiang Jin's just too enthusiastic. Don't take it personally."
Gu Xun finally looked up, his gaze holding a flicker of… something like "you're really that oblivious," but it quickly faded. "It's fine," he said.
Lu Zhao shrugged, thinking Jiang Jin could be a bit much sometimes, but didn't dwell on it. He just thought Gu Xun had a good temper—never seemed annoyed, no matter how much Jiang Jin pestered him.
The project was completed successfully, earning them a solid grade. Their dynamic seemed to settle into a delicate balance: Jiang Jin remained lively but toned down his "pestering"; Gu Xun stayed mostly in his own world; and Lu Zhao played the role of mediator, feeling that despite the occasional friction, their dorm life was warm and harmonious.
Sometimes, he noticed that Gu Xun looked at him more gently than he did at Jiang Jin, and was more patient when helping him with problems. He figured it was because he wasn't as loud as Jiang Jin. He didn't think much beyond that.
At this point, his thoughts were simple. He interpreted all their interactions as pure friendship. He stood atop calm waters, unaware of the undercurrents swirling beneath—unaware that the storm that would upend everything hadn't even begun to gather on the horizon.