My IQ has been increasing year by year.

July 6th, evening.

Outside the south gate of USTC.

Old Li's Barbecue Stall.

It wasn't completely dark yet, and the streetlights had just come on.

Several folding low tables were lined up along the curb.

A large floor fan sat at the end of the table, its blades whirring and blowing the cumin aroma from the oven all over the street.

Chen Zhuo, Wang Dayong, Chu Ge, and Lu Jia sat down around the table furthest to the side.

None of the four of them were dressed properly.

They were all wearing the same style of baggy pants, short-sleeved vests, and slippers.

The boss came over carrying a large stainless steel plate and slammed it down on the table with a thud.

The plate contained freshly grilled lamb skewers, tendon, cartilage, and several skewers of grilled kidneys that were oozing oil.

"Where's the wine?"

The boss wiped the sweat from his neck with a towel.

"Give me a case of iced snowflake ice first."

Chu Ge shouted.

"Okay."

The boss turned around to move the wine.

Chen Zhuo sat in the corner, took out two tissues, and wiped the table casually a couple of times.

This meal was nominally a farewell dinner, but it was actually just for Chen Zhuo alone.

Chen Zhuo will be returning to his hometown of Zeyang in a couple of days, and then flying directly from there to Princeton.

Everyone in the dorm knows.

The boss brought over a case of beer and placed it by the foot of the table, while tossing a bottle opener on the table.

Dayong bent down, picked up four bottles of wine, and skillfully pried open the caps one by one with a bottle opener, white cold air escaping from the bottle openings.

He pushed the bottles of wine in front of everyone.

"No need for a cup, let's just drink straight from the bottle."

Chu Ge grabbed the wine bottle in front of him.

The four people raised the green glass bottle and tapped it against the middle of the table, making a crisp sound.

"smoothly."

Da Yong said.

"Bon Voyage."

Lu Jia pushed up his glasses.

Chen Zhuo smiled, took a big gulp from the bottle, and the icy liquid slid down his throat, relieving much of the summer heat. After putting down the bottle, the group began eating meat with skewers.

Chen Zhuo ate slowly.

He took a bite of mutton, glancing around the table out of the corner of his eye.

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

Logically, at a farewell dinner, everyone should be talking about Chen Zhuo's trip to America or reminiscing about the messy things that happened in the dorm over the past few years. But tonight, Chu Ge and Dayong were unusually talkative, and they were mostly chatting about pointless nonsense.

"Is the teacher for your Basic Principles of Marxism course next semester changed?"

Chu Ge asked, his mouth full of chewing beef tendon.

Lu Jia swallowed the crunchy bone in her mouth and answered seriously.

"It's been changed. I heard it's an associate professor from the School of Political Science and Law, and he's got a 90% attendance rate."

"Damn, that means skipping class is out of the question."

Chu Ge cursed.

Da Yong, standing to the side with a bottle of liquor, responded awkwardly.

"Um... we'll probably have to recharge our dorm's electricity next semester. I saw the meter was almost empty last time." "I'll recharge it tomorrow," Lu Jia said.

Chen Zhuo listened quietly.

He picked up a skewer of grilled chives and ate it slowly.

Aside from discussing materials and mechanics formulas, Dayong rarely takes the initiative to care about who pays the dormitory's electricity bill.

Chu Ge is a night owl and usually hates talking about attendance rates in required courses, but today he took the initiative to steer the conversation toward that topic.

They were both being far too polite.

They were as polite as two strangers who had just met and were trying to find something to talk about to break the awkward silence.

Moreover, when the two were talking, their eyes always seemed to intentionally or unintentionally avoid Chen Zhuo, and they rarely looked at Lu Jia either, only staring at the skewers on the table or the bottles of wine in their hands. They seemed guilty.

These two words flashed through Chen Zhuo's mind.

But he didn't ask.

He picked up the bottle and took another sip. The beer foam exploded in his mouth, tasting slightly bitter.

After several rounds of drinks...

There were seven or eight more empty wine bottles on the ground, and the boss brought over another half case.

The large fan was still blowing loudly.

Wang Dayong held a freshly opened bottle of beer, but didn't drink it.

He looked down at a peanut shell on the ground.

The casual conversation at the table stopped at some point.

Chu Ge was fiddling with his Nokia phone, the buttons making beeping sounds, while Lu Jia was wiping his glasses with a tissue.

Chen Zhuo leaned back in his chair and looked at Da Yong.

Da Yong took a deep breath.

He slammed the wine bottle he was holding heavily onto the table.

Chu Ge raised his head, and Lu Jia put on his glasses.

"Brothers."

Da Yong's voice was a little hoarse and dry.

He raised his head, glanced at Chu Ge opposite him, then at Lu Jia, and finally his gaze fell on Chen Zhuo, lingering for only a second before quickly looking away. "There's something I need to say."

Da Yong's Adam's apple bobbed.

No one at the table spoke; they were all waiting for him to continue.

"that."

Da Yong reached out and grabbed a handful of his short hair at the back of his head, the movement appearing hurried.

"I won't be coming back next semester."

The air was silent for two seconds.

All I could hear was the sound of the fan running and the noisy din of people playing drinking games at the next table.

Chen Zhuo paused for a moment, holding the empty bamboo stick in his hand, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Lu Jia frowned.

"Not coming back? What do you mean?"

Dayong didn't dare to look at them, keeping his head down and staring at the empty plates on the table.

"Professor Liu handled the procedures for me, and my file was transferred."

Dayong's voice grew softer and softer, like a child who had done something wrong.

"They sent me to some materials research institute in Beijing... to do odd jobs there."

He signed the highest level of confidentiality agreement.

He couldn't tell his roommates that he was going to participate in the research and development of high-temperature alloy materials for the next generation of core fighter jet engines.

He couldn't say that the research institute was full of China's top military academicians.

He could only use the words "odd jobs" to cover up the transfer order.

"I'm sorry."

Da Yong picked up the wine bottle on the table, his voice muffled.

"I haven't dared to tell you guys these past few days. I was thinking... I'd move my things after Chen Zhuo left. Consider this meal my apology to you." With that, he tilted his head back and gulped down the remaining half-bottle of beer.

He drank too fast, and the alcohol dripped down his chin and onto his neck, soaking the collar of his vest.

He placed the empty bottle on the table, lowered his head, and looked like a deserter awaiting trial.

Chen Zhuo looked at Da Yong.

He didn't say anything, but simply reached for the bottle opener, opened another bottle of wine, and placed it next to Dayong.

He didn't know exactly what Dayong was going to do, but he knew Professor Liu's background and Dayong's talent in metal materials.

Research institutes in Beijing are definitely not places for serving tea and water.

Chen Zhuo was about to say something to ease the tension.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Chu Ge slapped his thigh, startling everyone at the next table.

Chen Zhuo turned his head.

He thought Chu Ge was about to lose his temper, after all, Chu Ge usually valued loyalty the most and had a short temper.

But Chu Ge wasn't angry.

He stared blankly at Dayong, his eyes wide open, and the meat skewer he was holding fell directly into the plate.

Then, Chu Ge's expression became extremely complicated.

There was shock, bewilderment, and a strange sense of relief.

He reached up and vigorously wiped his face, smearing all the oil from his hands onto his cheeks.

"Dayong, you idiot."

Chu Ge cursed.

Da Yong raised his head, his eyes somewhat dim, bracing himself for a scolding.

Chu Ge ignored him, instead grabbing the bottle of wine in front of him, standing up, bending down, and slamming it against Da Yong's bottle across the table. "Smash!"

"You should have said so earlier!" Chu Ge's voice cracked with excitement.

His eyes were a little red, but he was grinning from ear to ear.

"I've been so worried these past few days that I've been tossing and turning in bed at night, and my hair is falling out in clumps. I've been drinking every day to bolster my courage, because I'm afraid that if I told you guys, you'd all pin me down in the bathroom and beat me up." Da Yong was stunned.

Lu Jia was also stunned.

Chen Zhuo's hands stopped moving completely.

He looked at Chu Ge, vaguely guessing what was going on.

"Let me be honest."

Chu Ge put one foot on the empty stool next to him, panting heavily, and poured out all the secrets he had kept hidden for half a month.

"I've been staying up all night every day for the past few months, not doing any freelance work, but working on my graduation thesis defense."

Chu Ge looked at the three people on the table.

"I completed all my credits from freshman to senior year last week, and I applied for early graduation, which was approved by the school."

Da Yong opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time.

"I'm not going to study anymore."

Chu Ge picked up the bottle, took a swig, and pointed south.

"Wang Xing's servers in Shenzhen are about to collapse. The underlying infrastructure there is burning through cash every day, and investors are green with envy." He glanced at Chen Zhuo, then at Dayong.

"That opportunity can't wait for me to stay in my dorm and play games for four more years. I have to leave next week and go to Shenzhen."

After Chu Ge finished speaking, he plopped back down on the stool.

He was panting heavily as he looked at Dayong.

The two men, who both thought they were deserters who had abandoned their brothers, stared at each other across the greasy grilled meat plate.

Da Yong's eyes also reddened.

He suddenly grinned, revealing a simple, relieved smile.

"You should have said so earlier."

Da Yong returned Chu Ge's insults verbatim.

Chu Ge grabbed a handful of peanuts in their shells from the table and threw them directly at Da Yong.

The two of them laughed like madmen at the barbecue stand.

Chen Zhuo leaned back in his chair.

As he watched the two people laughing so hard they were doubled over, the initial surprise in his heart slowly dissipated.

He had originally thought that the three of them were treating him to this meal.

did not expect.

Chen Zhuo's lips curled up slightly as he picked up the wine bottle in front of him and took a sip.

The laughter subsided slightly.

Chu Ge and Da Yong finally realized what was going on.

Their gazes turned simultaneously to Lu Jia, who had been sitting silently to the side.

Da Yong is going to Beijing, Chu Ge is going to Shenzhen, and Chen Zhuo is going to the United States.

The two dorm rooms, 215 and 216, which were once shared by four people, will be empty except for Lu Jia when the new semester starts. Chu Ge's smile faded.

Da Yong also felt a little embarrassed.

They were so focused on the relief they felt after confessing that they forgot to consider Lu Jia's feelings.

In their view, Lu Jia must be feeling very uncomfortable right now.

The feeling of loss—thinking you'd be hanging out together for another three years, only to have all your brothers suddenly disappear—is hard to bear for anyone. Chu Ge cleared his throat, trying to find some words of comfort.

"Hey... Lao Lu, actually living alone in the dorm is pretty good, it's spacious."

Chugo said dryly.

Lu Jia remained silent.

He was holding a half-eaten roasted chicken wing in his hand.

Upon hearing Chu Ge and Da Yong's words, Lu Jia stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the two people through his glasses.

There were no tears, and no sadness.

His gaze was very calm, even with a hint of scrutiny.

He slowly placed the chicken wings in his hand onto the plate.

Take out a tissue and wipe each of your ten fingers clean, one by one.

Then, he raised his hand and pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose with his middle finger.

"Are you really leaving?"

Lu Jia asked a question.

"Let's go."

Chu Ge nodded, his tone heavy.

"If a bed becomes available, will the dormitory management office arrange for a new student to move in?"

Lu Jia continued to ask.

Da Yong paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, we were specially transferred and graduated early. The beds are still registered under our names in the system. The school doesn't need these few empty beds." Lu Jia nodded.

He let out a long sigh of relief, and seemed to relax completely.

"It's better that they've left."

Lu Jia picked up the cup in front of her and took a sip of her cold tea.

Chu Ge and Da Yong exchanged a glance, somewhat puzzled.

Lu Jia put down her cup and looked at the two of them with a serious expression.

"If you guys don't leave, I really don't know what I'm going to do next semester."

Lu Jia extended a finger and tapped the table.

Zhou Yun has graduated.

"She graduated with a bachelor's degree, but her campus card was canceled. She wants to take the entrance exam for graduate school at the same university."

Lu Jia spoke slowly and clearly, as if she were giving an academic report.

"Without a campus card, she can't enter the library's study rooms, and she can only buy expensive tickets in cash to get food at the cafeteria. Every day, she carries more than ten kilograms of review materials, running back and forth between her shared apartment in the urban village and the school." Chu Ge opened his mouth, forgetting to refute.

Da Yong was stunned.

Lu Jia nodded at Da Yong with her chin.

"Dayong's desk by the window has the best lighting. Now that he's gone, the desk is free, so Zhou Yun can use it to pile up past exam papers for postgraduate entrance exams in politics and English, instead of having to memorize them every day," Lu Jia concluded.

"I used my campus card to get her water and buy her meals, which improved the efficiency of the entire logistics support system by at least 60%." After saying this.

Lu Jia looked at Da Yong and Chu Ge, who were dumbfounded, with great sincerity.

"So, you should leave now and just leave the key behind."

The barbecue stall fell silent instantly.

Even the sounds of people playing drinking games at the next table seemed to stop for a moment.

Chu Ge took a full five seconds to react.

Looking at Lu Jia's expressionless face, he finally understood what had just happened.

He and Wang Dayong were filled with remorse, their eyes brimming with tears, feeling they had abandoned their brother.

As it turned out, this bespectacled bastard was only thinking about how to reuse their empty beds and desks to serve as a support base for the senior students preparing for their postgraduate entrance exams! Chu Ge laughed in anger.

He grabbed a handful of edamame shells from the table and threw them directly at Lu Jia's face.

"Fuck your grandpa Lu Jia!"

Chu Ge cursed loudly, but his tone was full of laughter.

"I've been feeling really upset here all day, and you're here eyeing my empty bed?"

Lu Jia tilted her head to avoid it, and the edamame shell fell onto her shoulder.

He remained calm and composed, gently brushing the edamame skins off.

"It's just a matter of rationally allocating resources," Lu Jia said.

Da Yong couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed an empty wine bottle and pretended to smash it on the table.

"Believe it or not, I'll chop up my table and use it as firewood before I leave," Da Yong threatened with a laugh.

"Whatever, the table belongs to the school's logistics department anyway, you can pay for it if you break it."

Lu Jia was not afraid at all.

The three of them were making a ruckus at the table.

There was no sadness of parting, no sentimental crying over each other.

Chen Zhuo sat on the far side.

He held a half-eaten lamb skewer in his hand, looking at the three lively characters in front of him.

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

Chen Zhuo smiled gently, his shoulders trembling slightly.

These three guys are all masters of hiding.

Each one of them had more ideas than the last.

Da Yong is going to Beijing, Chu Ge is going to start a company, and Lu Jia is staying at USTC to keep his senior company.

Each one is more assertive than the last.

Each one is more romantic than the last.

They don't need him to worry about them.

Chen Zhuo put down the meat skewers in his hand.

He took a tissue and wiped the oil off his fingers.

Then, he picked up his nearly empty green beer bottle and tapped it lightly on the folding table.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was just enough to stop the three noisy people.

Chu Ge, Da Yong, and Lu Jia all turned to look at Chen Zhuo at the same time.

Chen Zhuo held the wine bottle up to the center of the table.

"The capital city."

Chen Zhuo looked at Da Yong and nodded.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Chen Zhuo looked at Chu Ge.

"USTC Logistics Support Base"

Chen Zhuo looked at Lu Jia, his smile deepening.

Finally, he looked away and stared at the wine bottle in his hand.

"And Princeton."

Chen Zhuo handed the wine bottle forward, his tone calm, yet revealing all four of their cards.

"So today's meal wasn't a farewell dinner for me."

Chen Zhuo smiled.

"Everyone's busy with important matters."

"Let's have a drink, bosses."

Chu Ge paused for a moment, then grinned, raised the bottle in his hand, and slammed it heavily against Chen Zhuo's bottle.

Da Yong also raised the bottle and smashed it.

Lu Jia picked up the cup of iced tea, pushed up her glasses, and bumped into him.

The beer foam overflowed and dripped down the bottle onto my hands, leaving them sticky.

No one disliked it.

The four men tilted their heads back and drank it all in one gulp.

The meal lasted until after 11 p.m.

The skewers on the table had all gone cold, and the empty wine bottles at the feet had piled up into a small mountain.

When it was time to pay the bill, the owner spent a long time calculating with a calculator.

"One hundred and eighty," the shopkeeper said.

Chu Ge shoved away Dayong's hand as he reached for his wallet, then pulled out two hundred yuan from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

"Keep the change, please."

Chu Ge waved his hand.

"I'll treat you to dinner for graduating early."

Da Yong didn't fight for it, and neither did Lu Jia.

Chen Zhuo looked at Chu Ge's nouveau riche appearance and shook his head with a smile.

The four people left the barbecue stall and walked along the road toward the south gate of the school.

There weren't many people on the road late at night, except for the occasional taxi driving by, its headlights sweeping across the ground.

Chu Ge had drunk a bit too much and was walking unsteadily, so Da Yong reached out to help him.

Lu Jia walked at the front, her hands in her pockets, seemingly lost in thought.

Chen Zhuo walked last.

A breeze blew by, carrying a slight chill.

The cicadas in the trees have stopped chirping.

Chen Zhuo looked at the three figures of different heights in front of him.

He will be taking the train to Zeyang at eight o'clock tomorrow morning.

Da Yong is going to Beijing to report for duty.

Chu Ge is going to fly to Shenzhen.

This scene of four people walking side by side on campus is probably unlikely to be repeated in the future.

We walked to the foot of dormitory building number four.

The lights in the lobby were still on, and the dormitory supervisor was asleep on the table.

They walked quietly up the stairs.

The lights inside were off, only the moonlight from outside shone in.

Chu Ge kicked off his slippers and collapsed onto his bed.

Don't call me tomorrow.

Chu Ge rolled over, his voice muffled.

"I'm going to sleep until I naturally wake up."

Dayong walked to his bedside in the dark, took off his vest, and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Lu Jia stood in the middle of dormitory 216.

He glanced at Chu Ge's table, nodded, and seemed quite satisfied with the future plan.

Chen Zhuo stood by the door.

He didn't rush inside.

He leaned against the door frame, listening to the sound of water coming from the bathroom and Chu Ge's snoring.

In the darkness, Chen Zhuo smiled.

These past three years have been great.