In truth, Cao Jingjun hadn't arranged anything at all. He had originally planned to stay with the students the whole time, never expecting such an enthusiastic invitation from his old classmate.
But Chen Zhu couldn't simply ask him outright. That would make Director Cao look careless, especially in front of an old classmate who had done so well for himself.
So Chen Zhu added, "Just as you arranged earlier..." That confirmed the time and place while quietly saving Cao's face.
Once Cao Jingjun and Qi Zheng had walked away, Chen Zhu smiled and explained to Kang Liangsong, "Mr. Cao arranged it when we got off the bus. You were standing too far away to hear."
"Oh."
Only then did Kang Liangsong understand. No wonder he hadn't heard anything on the bus.
Song Shiwei and Cheng Mengyi, the girl from the neighboring class, both glanced at Chen Zhu. Director Cao had started chatting with his old classmate the moment he got off the bus. He hadn't said a single word to Chen Zhu.
But to Director Chen, this was a trivial matter, as fleeting as a breeze or a passing cloud, hardly worth dwelling on.
Before long, several young teachers came out from SYSU's academic affairs department and Youth League committee. They looked as though they had only recently finished their master's degrees or doctorates, and they called all the final-year high school students together for the tour.
Dressed in their school uniforms, the students walked through the park-like campus, passing the clock tower, Swasey Hall, Wing Fong Hall, Yuan East Lake, the Bamboo Root Specimen Garden, and Martin Hall...
It felt rather like an elementary school spring outing.
Looking at it that way, Cao Jingjun's presence didn't seem to make much difference. The teachers leading the other schools' groups hadn't come along either.
After this brief tour of the South Campus, the group of over a hundred arrived at the university auditorium. According to the schedule, a leader from the academic affairs department's admissions office would give a welcoming address.
Soon, a short, stout middle-aged man stepped onto the stage. Holding his speech, he read aloud, "Good morning, dear students! Welcome to our university. I'm Tang Zhaohua from the admissions office..."
Within two minutes, Chen Zhu had already frowned several times. Whoever had written this speech had done a terrible job. Besides, he had rather enjoyed the relaxed freedom of their earlier walk, so he said to the others, "Sitting here listening to speeches is pretty boring. Shall we go for a walk?"
"What's there to see at SYSU?"
Kang Liangsong pushed up his glasses and said dismissively, "If this were Peking University, I might be interested."
Although Cao Jingjun had put Chen Zhu in charge before leaving, Kang Liangsong hadn't taken it to heart. Such mundane chores ought to be handled by ordinary people. They should all be serving him anyway.
Chen Zhu merely smiled and turned to Song Shiwei, changing his approach. "We only had a quick look around earlier. We didn't really get to see the library or the teaching buildings. I think those two places are essential if you want to truly understand a university."
"Tch!"
Kang Liangsong snorted. He found it rather laughable.
Who did Chen Zhu think Song Shiwei was? How could she possibly... Holy shit, why was Song Shiwei nodding?
"Sure."
Song Shiwei spoke calmly.
"Huh?"
Kang Liangsong's eyes widened. He thought he must have misheard.
Feeling stupid now, aren't you? Chen Zhu thought. Although he didn't know why, Song Shiwei had chosen SYSU back then. The library and teaching buildings were where she would study and attend classes in the future. How could she not want a closer look?
Still, Chen Zhu didn't invite only Song Shiwei. He asked the other three as well.
Sun Xueyong from Class 10 said he didn't want to go, while Cheng Mengyi wanted to take a look. What Chen Zhu hadn't expected was that Deng Qian wanted to join them too.
"It's too noisy here to memorize anything."
So said Empress Qian.
At that moment, Kang Liangsong deliberately lifted himself slightly off his seat. Apparently, seeing that Song Shiwei was going had made him reconsider.
Chen Zhu immediately pinned him back to the bench and spoke before he could. "Since neither Sun Xueyong nor Kang Liangsong wants to go, you two can stay here and look after each other. If we aren't back in time, meet us where we got off the bus at eleven thirty."
Kang Liangsong's lips twitched. In the end, he wasn't thick-skinned enough to argue. With a disgruntled grunt, he lowered himself back onto the seat.
Chen Zhu smiled faintly. Kang Liangsong wanted to maintain his lofty airs while also winning Song Shiwei over. Perhaps boys with such sky-high opinions of themselves thought every girl ought to chase after them.
Was that possible?
Once everything was settled, their four-person "class-skipping" group was formed, though the lineup looked rather funny.
Chen Zhu walked in front, with Song Shiwei and Cheng Mengyi in the middle. Since the two girls weren't familiar with each other, neither spoke.
Bringing up the rear was the small, skinny Deng Qian. She remained so absorbed in memorizing her slips of paper that she probably wouldn't have noticed even if someone led her into the men's restroom.
But Song Shiwei's looks and figure spoke for themselves. She seemed to be a centimeter taller than Yu Xian, putting her at around 171 centimeters, so she drew plenty of attention wherever she went.
Following the signs, they soon reached the South Campus library.
The five-story library wasn't particularly grand; after all, the building was decades old. But nestled among green grass and trees, its weathered walls, washed by countless years of rain, resembled the robes and headdress of an ancient scholar, with endless wisdom and history hidden within every page.
Song Shiwei stood on the steps, the quiet, dignified library behind her and several university students reading on the lawn below. Sunlight filtered through the scattered clouds, spilling over the campus and onto her face and body.
Her beautiful face instantly took on a luminous clarity. Even under lighting this unforgiving, not a single blemish could be found on her skin.
Her calm, bright eyes were like a gentle breeze over a lake. A straight, elegant nose, soft pink lips, and a delicate, jade-sculpted chin completed her flawless features.
A breeze swept past, pressing her thin uniform jacket against her slender, graceful waist.
Several male students heading to the library to study took one look and couldn't tear their eyes away. One had even gone inside, yet still watched her silently through the glass doors.
She really did deserve to be the school beauty.
That was what Chen Zhu thought.
Seeing that Song Shiwei seemed very pleased with the surroundings, Chen Zhu stood beside her and asked a question he already knew the answer to. "Judging by this, you're planning to attend SYSU?"
Song Shiwei hesitated, then finally nodded. "Yes."
"Your grades are good enough for Tsinghua and Peking Universities. Why aren't you going there?"
Chen Zhu had always wondered why she had chosen to stay in Eastern Guangdong.
Song Shiwei acted as though she hadn't heard the question. Pursing her rosy lips, she watched the lush trees sway gently in the breeze.
If she hadn't blinked now and then, he might really have thought she was lost in a daze.
Fine, fine, fine...
So whenever you don't want to answer a question, you rely on that pretty face and play dumb and cute, huh?
Chen Zhu pursed his lips but didn't press her. Instead, he said, "SYSU is a good university. I'm planning to choose it too."
"Why?"
Song Shiwei sounded a little surprised as well. "With your grades, you should be able to get into the Hua Five, shouldn't you?"
When she spoke normally, her voice was soft with a hint of coolness, but it was very pleasant to hear.
The Hua Five were Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, and the University of Science and Technology of China-the five universities ranked just below Tsinghua and Peking Universities nationally.
After the First Mock Exam, the school had held several smaller tests. Chen Zhu's Chinese score had consistently stayed above 130, and his total had remained above 650. Only then had everyone realized that his performance on the First Mock Exam hadn't been a one-off sensation.
But Chen Zhu had his own considerations. The Hua Five's admission cutoffs in Eastern Guangdong were all around 645. Even after exhausting his potential, he could only score a little over 650. What if he underperformed? The chances might be slim, but they weren't nonexistent.
Then he could miss out on admission altogether.
In 2007, Eastern Guangdong used a "guess-your-score" system for Gaokao applications. All candidates submitted their university preferences around May, before taking the exam. It was the most unpredictable and unstable application method.
Some places had students submit their preferences after the Gaokao but before the results came out. That was called "estimate-your-score" application, and it was slightly easier.
The easiest method was "apply-with-your-score," in which students submitted their preferences after receiving their Gaokao results. That improved their chances of getting into university.
Chen Zhu figured that even if everything went smoothly and he scraped into one of the Hua Five, their flagship programs would still be out of his reach. He might end up having to go mining in the far northwest.
All things considered, SYSU was the safest choice, and it was close to home. To avoid wasting his score, he could choose one of its flagship programs.
But Chen Zhu didn't want to tell Song Shiwei his reasons. After all, she hadn't answered his question earlier.
So he tilted his head up too and stared silently at the lush green leaves, pretending to be lost in a daze.
Song Shiwei waited a while. When Chen Zhu still said nothing, she couldn't help turning to look at him, and immediately realized he was imitating her.
Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she quietly turned and walked away.
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(End of chapter)
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