Like a Sudden Song

Qin Ze took out his phone and sent a message in the "303 Dormitory Group": "Anyone who doesn't skip class gets an ice pop."

A reply came quickly: "Professor Qin is too sinister. I wouldn't dare skip."

"Can I exchange the reward for a girlfriend?"

"Real men don't lick ice pops. Buy me a cone."

Qin Ze smiled, his fingers flying over the screen. "Would an inflatable girlfriend do? Fine, let's keep it uniform. Everyone gets a cone. I just passed the convenience store. I'll buy them and wait for you at the classroom door."

After sending it, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and entered a small supermarket on campus.

He bought a cone for each of them, then strolled leisurely toward the teaching building with a plastic bag in hand.

Outside the classroom, Qin Ze leaned against the railing, facing the room as he pulled out a cone and began eating it. There were still fifteen minutes before class. Students carrying books in groups of two or three entered the spacious lecture hall.

It was an Open Class shared by five classes, and the room could hold five hundred people.

"Qin Ze!"

Someone called out to him from nearby.

Qin Ze turned, a smile appearing on his face. Three slovenly-looking guys were walking over together. In the middle was a burly, honest-looking man nearly six and a half feet tall—Zhao Guoshan, a Northeasterner whose nickname was Baliao. Broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his muscles were solid, and he always spoke with "we" in his accent. Zhao Guoshan was too rustic a name, so Qin Ze and the others liked calling him Zhao Baliao.

To Zhao Baliao's left was a delicate-featured guy named Li Liang, a local from Shanghai City. His family was wealthier than Qin Ze's. His dad ran a fairly large foreign trade company, and Li Liang himself owned three apartments. He was a bona fide Rich Second Generation, though he was easygoing and pleasant to get along with. He just loved nightclubs and called himself an old driver.

The last was an ordinary-looking young man, Liu Ziqiang, from Su City. His family background was ordinary, his talent was ordinary, and his looks were ordinary too. Like Qin Ze, he had the attributes of a background extra. His favorite saying was, "A man should strive for self-improvement."

These three were Qin Ze's roommates. Although Qin Ze did not live on campus, his dorm bed was kept for him as long as he paid the accommodation fee. At the end of every semester, he would stay at school for a month, studying day and night.

Qin Ze handed out the cones to his roommates. Zhao Baliao bit off half of his in one mouthful and said in his deep, muffled voice, "Qin Ze, are you staying in the dorm tonight?"

"Why?" Qin Ze glanced at him.

Li Liang licked his cone and waggled his eyebrows. "You gave Baliao sixteen gigs last time, and he's watched it all to death. The horny bastard's springtime urges are stirring, but there's no fresh blood to replenish him. Even playing with Miss Five-Finger at night has lost its thrill."

"Get lost!" Zhao Baliao slapped Li Liang, nearly smacking his skinny frame into the wall.

Liu Ziqiang smiled as he watched the two roommates fool around, then nodded at Qin Ze.

Qin Ze smiled. "I'll give you my Thunder account when we get back. Download it yourself."

Li Liang looked surprised. "Oh? You're willing to hand over the key to your treasure vault now? Have you got some beauty hidden away outside?"

"Get lost. You know I live with my sister." Qin Ze raised a foot as if to kick him. Li Liang hurriedly jumped away. "From today onward, I'm quitting arrogance, impatience, and jerking off."

"Let's grab a meal after class, then sit together at the internet café," Qin Ze suggested.

His roommates unanimously agreed.

"Come to think of it, didn't you say your sister was gorgeous? Keep the goodies in the family—if she doesn't have a boyfriend, introduce her to us. Not me, though. I'm an old driver, and I don't want a girlfriend keeping me in line yet. But Baliao is honest and strong, well-endowed and skilled. And there's Old Liu too. He's a bit of a closet pervert, but seeing those two wrestle with their left and right hands every night makes me worry for them." Li Liang slung an arm around Qin Ze's neck.

"Get lost!"

The other three shouted at him together.

The four leaned against the railing, eating cones and laughing. As class drew near, another group came down the corridor, striding with force and imposing momentum. They looked a little like street gangsters on parade. At the front was a handsome guy with a trendy hairstyle, shaved sides, and styled hair on top. Silver studs hung from both ears, and he wore a tight black T-shirt with white jeans. He approached surrounded by a crowd.

Since society had background extras like Qin Ze, naturally it also had protagonists who drew everyone's admiration. Qin Ze knew this sharp-browed, bright-eyed, strikingly handsome guy. Who did not know the School Hunk? His name was Zhang Mingyu, and he was from ZJ, a genuine Rich Second Generation. Rumor had it that his family owned three listed companies, with assets worth several billion. Compared to him, Li Liang was a country bumpkin. University was not like middle or high school. In secondary school, the top students were worshipped. They were favored by teachers and admired by girls; they were the upper class of campus. But in university, top students were nothing special. Having a powerful father was what mattered. Of course, being both rich and academically gifted was another matter entirely. Zhang Mingyu was exactly that kind of person.

He was rich, he was a top student, and he was handsome on top of it all. He was practically leaving no way for background extras like Qin Ze to survive. Zhang Mingyu had become famous on the first day of school because he drove a Porsche sports car to register, and someone snapped photos and posted them on the Campus Forum. The girls all clamored that they wanted to give birth to monkeys for him.

The moment Zhang Mingyu entered the classroom, Qin Ze and the others heard quite a commotion inside, mixed with the girls' awed cries.

Li Liang said sourly, "How impressive. So what if his family has money?"

Zhao Baliao followed up, "So what if he's handsome?"

Liu Ziqiang said gloomily, "So what if he's a top student?"

Qin Ze gave the final summary. "I really want to beat him to death."

Class was about to begin, so Qin Ze and his group quickly finished their cones and entered the classroom. More than two hundred people sat in the vast lecture hall, but it did not feel crowded since the room could hold five hundred. Qin Ze and the others chose a less populated spot. Zhang Mingyu sat to their left near the aisle, talking quietly with his companions. The seats around him were occupied by female students coveting his looks and wealth.

People like him were the center of attention wherever they went.

Several girls beside Qin Ze were chatting excitedly. "It's Zhang Mingyu! Zhang Mingyu came too!"

"He's so handsome. It would be wonderful if I could be his girlfriend."

"Move aside. I'm his destined girl. He just hasn't noticed me yet."

"Young, rich, and such an excellent student—he's practically the nation's dream guy. If I could date him even once, my four years at university wouldn't have been wasted."

"Keep dreaming. His girlfriend is the department beauty, okay?"

"Hmph. We have to believe that department beauties are just scenery in Mingyu Oppa's life. We're the ones who are his true destination."

What a bunch of idiots, Qin Ze thought.

At that moment, one of the girls poked Qin Ze's arm with the end of her pen and said impatiently, "Hey, classmate, you're blocking my photo."

Qin Ze turned and saw those girls taking pictures with their phones. There was no need to guess—they were definitely planning to post them on the Campus Forum to show off, with a title like "Spotted: Heartthrob Zhang Mingyu." There were too many posts like that, and he had seen quite a few.

Li Liang said with a dark expression, "If you want pictures, go outside and take them. It's class time."

The girl sneered. "What business is it of yours? It's not like I'm taking pictures of you. Who are you?"

"He must be jealous of the School Hunk. Just look at that face full of envy, jealousy, and hatred. With that crooked, ugly mug of his."

"We wouldn't even take a picture of you if you begged us to."

"Ruining the shot, ruining the shot."

"Ha ha ha!"

Li Liang was furious.

Qin Ze tugged at his sleeve and shook his head. There was no need to argue with women. Losing was embarrassing, and winning was nothing to be proud of either.

When the class bell rang, a middle-aged man entered through the classroom door. He wore a casual suit, his slicked-back hair meticulously combed. He had a square face and a stern expression, but there was a restrained air about him that came with middle age. Perhaps this was what people meant by men becoming more attractive in their forties and fifties. The moment he appeared, the classroom fell silent.

Professor Qin was here!

Professor Qin swept his gaze around the lecture hall and nodded in satisfaction. He switched on the projector, took out a textbook from his briefcase, and said in a clear voice, "We won't take attendance today. That'll save you from answering for your classmates two or three times. Every time I notice, I feel too awkward to expose you."

The classroom burst into laughter.

"Today, we'll cover two key topics in international finance: foreign exchange theory and practice, and financial engineering. Open your books..."

Qin Ze lowered his head, trying not to draw the old man's attention, and browsed the Points Shop aimlessly with great interest. This was not a major course, and the final exam was open-book, so he was not worried. At the end of the term, the old man would always place a stack of textbooks in front of him and mark out the key material. He only needed to study according to the old man's guidance. He might not excel in every subject, but he definitely would not fail any.

The class gradually drew to a close.

"Before class ends, I have an assignment for everyone." Professor Qin opened a slide on the computer and projected it onto the large screen. It was densely packed with Russian.

What the hell?

The students were dumbfounded.

"This passage is excerpted from A Century of Monetary History by the Russian economist Andrei Peter. Andrei has always been a much-criticized economist in Russia. He has not written many books, nor is he particularly famous, but his works contain many interesting and thought-provoking ideas. This is one particularly interesting passage I selected. There is currently no Chinese translation. Download it from my Cloud Storage later, translate it, and write a reflection of no fewer than one thousand words. Just email the assignment to me."

Professor Qin was showing off his Russian again.

Every student thought the same thing.

"Professor Qin, that won't be necessary." Zhang Mingyu suddenly stood up, with the calm composure of a protagonist on his face. "Правыониилинет,ноязнаютолько,чтоянепомнюниодногоднявмоейжизни,когдабыянепринадлежалейинечувствовалнадсобойеёвласти.Онанепокидаетменяденьиночь;ятоженевыказываюпоползновенияудратьотнеё,-связь,сталобыть,крепкая,прочная..."

He actually recited the passage in fairly fluent Russian. There were a few slightly awkward pronunciations, but aside from Professor Qin, no one could hear the flaws. The girls in the room were utterly stunned and kept screaming.

The expressions of Qin Ze's roommates all changed. Damn it—handsome, rich, and more talented than them too. Heaven was unfair!

Zhang Mingyu paused, then said confidently, "This passage describes some of the social changes brought about by the transition from the gold-standard currency era to the era of credit paper currency. The author held high hopes for the future of credit currency and made certain predictions about future finance. I have to say, he was a very farsighted economist."

Clap, clap, clap!

Applause broke out, and the girls were so excited their faces flushed red.

At that moment, Qin Ze received a message: "Task notification received. Please check it, host!"

"Oh my God, Zhang Mingyu knows Russian too."

"As expected of my heartthrob. I like him so much."

"That was amazing. This man is far too outstanding."

"I heard one of his family's listed companies works with Russian investors, so it's not strange that he knows Russian."

"Who said my Mingyu is some useless Rich Second Generation? I'll fight anyone who says that."

"Exactly. Some guys have lousy family backgrounds and still refuse to work hard. All they know is envy, jealousy, and hatred."

The girl who said the last sentence glared viciously at Li Liang, Qin Ze, and the others. They had blocked her while she was taking photos earlier, and an argument had broken out.

"Who are you taking a jab at?" Li Liang snapped.

"Classmate, your ugly expression is making me very unhappy," Liu Ziqiang said.

Zhao Baliao said nothing, only glared at the girl. But she was not intimidated by his imposing build at all.

"Oh, so people aren't even allowed to speak now?"

"Exactly. You're destined to be poor losers for the rest of your lives."

"No wonder you don't have girlfriends. Only blind people would fall for you. You can't compare with my heartthrob at all."

"Look at how self-aware this classmate is. He hasn't said a word."

One of the girls jutted her chin toward Qin Ze.

A burst of snickering followed.

Qin Ze turned to look at her, then suddenly stood up. "Professor Qin, I have a different opinion."