Dormitory mixer

"Uncle, I'm hungry," a little boy, as delicate as a porcelain doll, with his eyes covered by a blindfold, sat in an abandoned factory filled with old textiles. His hands were tied behind his back with a black cloth.

"What are you shouting for? You can't eat even if you're hungry. Only when your traitor father comes will you get to eat anything," a coarse voice echoed.

"My dad is not a traitor. He's a police officer who just made a big achievement!" The little boy, hearing the man slander his father, forgot about his hunger and immediately retorted.

"Smack!" A hand, calloused from hard work, slapped the boy's face, leaving five bright red handprints.

"Your damn father ruined my business! My twenty - something brothers were all killed by the police. My own brother and younger brother are dead! If it weren't for your undercover father, I wouldn't have fallen to this point!" the man roared in fury, and the little boy began to cry in terror.

"Brother, calm down. He's just a child..." a man's voice sounded beside Ethan Brooks.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and the man was killed on the spot.

"Calm down, my ass!" the man cursed viciously.

"Oliver! We don't care how you treat your own subordinates, but Brother Wen told us that we're only supposed to help you take down that police officer named Ivey Brooks. We're not supposed to touch anyone else," a voice nearby interjected.

"Ivey Brooks ruined my whole family. I want his entire family to pay!" the man with the coarse voice shouted furiously.

"Oliver, don't think that just because your father saved Old Man Wen's life, you can do whatever you want!" another voice chimed in.

At that moment, a voice came from downstairs: "Brother Li, the police officer downstairs has arrived."

In a short while, a handsome - looking man with a gloomy expression ascended the stairs.

"Oliver! Let my son go," the man said as soon as he came up.

The man who had just killed someone sneered and roughly tore off the blindfold from the little boy's eyes. The boy, seeing the handsome man, shouted loudly, "Dad!"

"Ivey Brooks, you think you're so tough? Let's see how I'll finish you off today!" the man with the coarse voice screamed.

"Let him watch how his father dies!" The man, holding a pistol, fired a shot that hit the handsome man's knee. Another shot went through the handsome man's skull!

"No!!!" the little boy cried out in agony.

"No!!!" Ethan Brooks jolted awake from his bed, sitting up abruptly.

Cold sweat poured from Ethan Brooks' body. The dream had been so vivid that it felt like he had experienced it all over again. He could still feel the burning sensation on his face.

Ethan Brooks sat there on the bed, dazed, for a while before he came to his senses.

He glanced at the wristwatch. It was already one in the afternoon. He had slept for ten hours after being excited yesterday.

Turning around, he got dressed on the bed and got up.

None of the roommates had returned, and Ethan Brooks was still the only one in the dormitory.

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Ethan Brooks took a deep breath, freeing himself from the negative emotions brought by the dream.

After all, it was all in the past.

Putting on his coat, Ethan Brooks walked out of the dormitory building and headed towards the cafeteria.

It was Sunday, and there weren't many people on campus. Ethan Brooks walked all the way without encountering many people. Crossing the pedestrian bridge, Ethan Brooks arrived at the school cafeteria.

It was past mealtime, and there weren't many people here, but the dishes were still quite complete. Ethan Brooks walked to the food - serving area and ordered a serving of shredded potato with green peppers, a bowl of cabbage and potato soup, and two dishes for three yuan with three liang of rice.

Carrying the food tray, Ethan Brooks found a table and sat down to eat. As soon as he sat down, he noticed a meal card on the table.

"Who could be so careless as to leave their meal card here?" Ethan Brooks thought and picked it up.

At that moment, Ethan Brooks' phone suddenly rang. He swallowed the food in his mouth and answered the call: "This is Ethan Brooks. Who is this?"

A hurried voice came from the other end: "Ethan, it's Leonardo. Take a shower if you need to, and change your clothes. There's an event today. That bitch Sophia called me this morning and said she invited the girls from the Art College who just finished their military training this month to have a mixer with our dorm. She wants us to be at the entrance of Tai Li Garden by five this afternoon to meet up with the girls."

Leonardo, Ethan Brooks' roommate, lived in the city and had just gone home on Saturday.

"A mixer?" Ethan Brooks furrowed his brows. Ever since the incident in his family, he had never had the curiosity about the opposite sex that normal kids had. He was just immersed in memories of the past and seemed to have no experience interacting with girls.

"Ethan, don't say you won't go. The girls coming today are all beauties. You'll regret it if you don't come. We need you to make up the numbers today. It's an opportunity for you. Having a woman to keep you company is better than you living cold and lonely now, right?" Leonardo, fearing that Ethan Brooks wouldn't go, persuaded him over the phone.

Leonardo was one of the few people in the school who could tolerate Ethan Brooks' cold personality. Moreover, since Leonardo had put it that way, it would be too impolite for Ethan Brooks not to go. After thinking for a moment, Ethan Brooks said, "Alright, I'll go."

"Good. I'll come to the school this afternoon. Get yourself ready," Leonardo said before hanging up the phone.

Ethan Brooks quickly finished his meal and went back to the dormitory to wait for Leonardo to arrive.