Chapter 4: Roommates
The Su and Tang families had arrived at the university to register the day before official registration began. Although Nanjing University had specified a registration date for incoming students, early registration was also allowed; it simply had not been publicized.
So Su Can and Tang Wu both registered a day early, avoiding the rush.
By a twist of fate, their fathers met and then had lunch together, making it a rather informal meeting of the parents. That afternoon, the two families went their separate ways to take care of their respective business.
When Su Can brought his luggage into his assigned four-person room in a dormitory building in the east district that day, the room was empty and in complete disarray, evidence of the brutal treatment it had just received from the departing students of the previous class.
After putting away his luggage, Su Can and his father gave the room a thorough cleaning. Only then did they check the time and head out to check into their hotel.
There were chain hotels such as Home Inn and Motel along Handan Road and Guoding Road near the main campus, but they were already packed, having become affordable, good-value accommodations for parents bringing their children to register.
Su Licheng had booked the simplest standard room with a single large bed at the Jinjiang Inn on Siping Road. Getting a reservation in advance had been difficult enough. At many nearby chain hotels, the standard rooms were full, the suites were full, and all that remained were individual beds, with air conditioning costing extra. When they went in, they even heard a group of newly arrived parents bargaining with the hotel staff.
Su Can had originally wanted his father to stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel across from the university,