This Student is So Sincere

Fang Bai hailed a rickshaw and told the driver to take him to Shencheng University of Finance and Economics.

In another year or two, rickshaws would be banned, and he wouldn't be able to ride one even if he wanted to.

"Which campus are you headed to?"

The driver spoke Mandarin with a Shencheng accent, which Fang Bai could still understand.

Starting this year, Shencheng had been encouraging citizens to speak Mandarin, so drivers like this one, who frequently picked up passengers, had no trouble with it.

If they were older and couldn't speak Mandarin, sticking to pure Shencheng dialect, Fang Bai could only barely catch some of it.

"The northwest gate on Guding Road," Fang Bai replied.

In his past life, when Qin Shuyu was in college, Fang Bai had never visited the University of Finance and Economics.

Before coming, he'd looked into the school. It currently had two campuses, both in the HK District.

The old campus was on Zhongshan North First Road;

the new campus was on Guding Road, along with Wudong Road and Wuchuan Road. Built in 1983, it covered over a thousand mu, and all undergraduates had now moved there. To the east was the top-tier 985 university, Fudan University.

If he couldn't figure out these areas, finding Qin Shuyu would be tough.

"Oh, that's fine. If you were going into the city center, that wouldn't work."

Fang Bai asked about the price. It was a bit steep, but acceptable.

Taking a taxi would cost more, but for Fang Bai now, both were manageable.

He climbed onto the rattling, clanking three-wheeler. Whenever someone was up ahead, the driver rang the bell with a ding-ding-ding.

Fang Bai's stomach was growling. He pulled out some food he'd brought yesterday and ate a little.

On the bus, with the stench of sweaty shoes, even if he'd been hungry, he'd had no appetite.

Cold food hit his stomach. It wasn't good, but it perked him up a bit.

Now, Fang Bai had the energy to take in the streets of Shencheng.

The morning sunlight spilled over the alleys and avenues, coating the whole city in a layer of gold.

Traffic on the roads was thick and noisy. Drivers honked their horns, rickshaw drivers rang their bells—all of it carried an urgent, hurried sound.

Pedestrians streamed endlessly along the sidewalks, and cyclists rushed by in a tide of bikes, all in a hurry.

Shops on the commercial streets were opening one by one, owners busy arranging their goods, getting ready for the day's business.

Though 1990s Shencheng didn't yet have towering skyscrapers, the city's bustle and energy were already on full display.

The rickshaw's jolts and bumps were a bit uncomfortable, but feeling the wind on his face and observing this different morning in Shencheng made the experience interesting and unique.

The city's landmark, the Oriental Pearl Tower, wouldn't start construction until next year, and the Jin Mao Tower was still four years away from breaking ground. Right now, Shencheng was full of the warmth of everyday life—completely different from the capital-heavy, international metropolis it would become a decade or so later!

There was also a certain flavor to it, and that was—

Capital.

That was the feeling Fang Bai got. As long as he had enough capital, he could sit in an independent office in a high-rise and savor that flavor.

"Young man, you from Wen City?" The driver turned his head to glance at Fang Bai, curious.

"Driver, you're amazing. How could you tell?"

Seeing the driver wanted to chat, Fang Bai answered cheerfully, breaking the cautiousness he'd felt when he got on. After all, Shencheng people's reputation for being "aloof" was well-known.

"Lots of Wen City folks come to Shencheng for business. I pick up several Wen City passengers a day. You Wen City people are really impressive at business, and most of you are hardworking," the driver praised sincerely.

"Our place has a lot of mountains. It's hard to get by on a few thin plots of land, so almost everyone goes into business. When you're poor, you have to change," Fang Bai said. In his past life, he'd heard that Shencheng people looked up to Wen City folks, and it seemed to be true.

It took nearly an hour to reach the destination, and it wasn't even rush hour. Shencheng's traffic was terribly congested at this time; it wouldn't improve for another five years, and real relief wouldn't come until after 2000, when the subway lines fully expanded over the next decade.

Getting off, standing at the gate of the University of Finance and Economics, Fang Bai felt his breathing quicken. He was too excited.

Today happened to be Sunday. Fang Bai checked his watch—it was just past eight in the morning.

He was exhausted, his body reeking of sweat and grease. There was no way he could meet Qin Shuyu like this.

He quickly found a hotel nearby, took a shower, changed into fresh clothes, tidied himself up a bit, slung on his backpack, and then headed out.

His backpack was small, with just a change of clothes, two pagers, ten thousand yuan in cash, and a bottle of water.

Walking through the school gate, his appearance wasn't much different from the students around him—just a bit more handsome, a little more polished in his dress. Shencheng's universities weren't short of fashionably dressed students.

Fang Bai asked a student where the freshman female accounting dorm was. He double-checked with a couple more students, then followed their directions and soon arrived near Building 3, the girls' dorm.

A guy standing near the girls' dorm, with girls coming and going, naturally caught the attention of quite a few female students.

"Wow, that guy's pretty handsome. Wonder which girl's going to snag him."

"Hey, our school's got more girls than guys. Whenever a decent-looking guy shows up, those hungry wolves pounce on him. So shameless."

"Good-looking, well-dressed, sunny smile. I wonder what his girlfriend looks like. If she's not up to par, I might just steal him away," a girl on the balcony joked. Her roommate shot her a disdainful look and said she wasn't worthy—it should be her.

Fang Bai had thick skin. When he noticed girls casting curious glances his way, he flashed a sunny smile. The girls responded with easy, open smiles in return, and some even boldly greeted him: "Hey, handsome."

Shencheng really was a big city. People's mindsets were more open and tolerant. The girls weren't as shy and reserved as they were back in his hometown.

Actually, another important reason for the open atmosphere was that this school had a "yin" surplus and a "yang" deficit—far more female students than male.

After confirming this was the girls' dormitory, Fang Bai's method of finding someone was rather unique and direct. Asking unfamiliar girls for help would likely get him rejected outright.

If he tried giving gifts, the recipient might misunderstand, and others would too.

So he pulled a few 5-Yuan Notes from his backpack. Spotting a stylish long-haired girl walking out of Building 3, he approached her: "Hey, classmate, could you pass a message for me? Five bucks for the trouble."

The girl quickly dodged away, coldly refusing to look at him, waving her hand to indicate she was in a rush to the library and had no time—though she was actually a bit startled.

Who looks for someone like that, and even offers money? She wasn't stupid—it had to be some kind of trick, and she might even get dragged into it.

Watching her leave, Fang Bai muttered to himself: Damn, that didn't work!

Was it not enough money?

He refused to believe it.

After a while, another girl—a chubby one—came out. Fang Bai tried the same tactic: "Hey, classmate, could you pass a message for me? Five bucks for the trouble—you could buy a ton of snacks with that."

"Snacks?"

The chubby girl paused, then gave Fang Bai a serious once-over from head to toe before asking cautiously, "Who are you looking for?"

Inside, she was actually a bit excited—five yuan was pretty generous, especially since she wasn't one of those rich kids from Shen City.

Fang Bai first handed her a five-yuan note. After seeing her reluctantly accept it, he said, "A freshman in accounting, Qin Shuyu. Just tell her an old high school classmate, Fang Bai, is here to see her—she's my girlfriend. She'll come down when she hears that."

With that, he handed her one of his new business cards. The front had his name in both Chinese and English, along with his BP Pager Number, while the back read: "Whenever you need me, I'm here!"

The chubby girl took the exquisite card in surprise—this student actually had a business card!

She glanced at it, saw the BP Pager Number, and was even more amazed. The line on the back was so poetic—if used to flirt with a girl, it would be hard not to make her heart flutter.

"Whenever you need me, I'm here!" That sentence felt so warm. She couldn't help feeling a bit envious of the girl being sought after.

"Huh, you're looking for Qin Shuyu?"

"Classmate, do you know her?"

"She's in my major. She's pretty famous—lots of guys chase her. Are you really her boyfriend?"

"Absolutely. She'll know who I am as soon as she hears my name."

"Alright, for the sake of the five... your sincerity, I'll go ask. I don't know exactly which dorm she's in, so I'll just have to check around. She might not even be in the dorm." It was the first time the chubby girl had seen such a generous guy, and he was good-looking and loaded too.

Compared to how other guys chased girls—offering nothing, just a "thanks" for running errands—this felt way more interesting.

Whether or not this guy was really her boyfriend, it was worth the trip.

"Thanks, then."

"No problem. I can only try, though. If I can't find her, I'll give the five yuan back."

"No, that five is your payment for the trouble. If you find her, I'll give you another five as a bonus."

The chubby girl's mouth fell open slightly, and she hurried inside the dorm. Seeing how sincere this guy was, she had to find her.