Chapter 123: Arrogance
People often hoped their four years at university would be full of excitement: friendship, passion, that Freshman Cup tournament, sizzling meat fresh off the grill at late-night beer stalls, lectures and exchanges that opened their eyes to new horizons in life, and even those pretty young women in summer skirts.
But the reality was that, in their first year, everyone was timid and cautious. They addressed everyone as senior, nodded and said hello even when asking directions, and treated the swaggering campus clubs and Student Union with utmost deference.
In their second year, they gradually learned the lay of the land. They started swaggering around Snack Street and internet cafés, calling Student Federation officials they had once been terrified to meet their buddies, and wandering over to the sister university with the most beautiful women in the city.
In their third year, they visited other dorm rooms to play cards, Dou Dizhu, and Upgrade, often cracking open beers and boasting in the middle of the night, or casually spending the whole night playing StarCraft and Warcraft. They learned to sweet-talk younger students, rushed to welcome the new intake, and lavished attention on the future beauties of each department, strutting around campus under the halo of upperclassmen.
In their fourth year, they gradually began to understand Shanghai, getting used to wandering around its scenic attractions, carefree beneath the dazzling city lights at night and lost among the towering buildings. Whether they had initially hated the city, grown tired of it, or fallen in love with it, they would ultimately have to face reality: either find a job and stay to make a temporary home here, or shoulder their luggage and board a train bound for somewhere else in the country.
For most people, this was university. There were