Jiang Fan could never have imagined that the controlled nuclear fusion material he had emailed to Dragon University of Science and Technology had been classified as a top-secret national document, and that his account had been erased because of it!
Chu Ruoxi watched Jiang Fan knit his brows, puzzled. They had been having such a good time earlier, so why had his face suddenly clouded with worry?
"Jiang Fan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Jiang Fan replied.
Then he thought that Penguin Mail belonged to the largest internet company in the country, so surely his account could not have been hacked!
It was probably an upgrade or system maintenance at Penguin Mail. He would deal with it when he got home. If all else failed, he could call customer service.
Chu Ruoxi could tell from Jiang Fan's expression that his mood had taken a sudden turn for the worse since they entered the school!
She therefore guessed that the school must be a place of heartbreak for him. He had studied desperately for a whole year, only to score 300 on the college entrance exam!
No one would want to revisit an experience like that!
"Jiang Fan, why don't we head back?"
Chu Ruoxi said this out of consideration for Jiang Fan's feelings!
But Jiang Fan smiled at her and said, "Let's walk around a little longer. Who knows when we'll get to come back to our old school again?"
"Then, are you... all right?" Chu Ruoxi was afraid Jiang Fan would feel hurt and upset again.
"Me? I'm fine!"
After saying that, Jiang Fan did not forget to glance at Chu Ruoxi's bright, limpid eyes, as clear as a mountain stream!
Previously, he had devoted all his energy to studying and scientific research and had never really paid close attention to a girl. Today, he discovered that girls could be so pleasing to the eye, so utterly captivating!
Seeing that Jiang Fan's expression had returned to normal, Chu Ruoxi agreed to take a walk around the school.
She drew a deep breath, taking in the three years of her youth she had spent here. She could not help sighing.
"Before, I felt so much pressure studying in our final year. Sometimes I was even taking exams and solving problems in my sleep. Back then, I wished the year would end sooner, but now that the day is really here, I feel a little reluctant to leave!"
Jiang Fan followed Chu Ruoxi's gaze ahead. This was the school's main road, lined on both sides with tall poplars that rustled as the breeze blew past!
Sunlight filtered through the leaves onto the ground, forming patches of shadow that shifted with the fluttering leaves like swaying stars. They set off the spots of light shining through the gaps in the foliage, and the many shadows and bright spots alternated and changed, forming a flowing river of stars.
He had never realized the campus was so beautiful, just as he had never realized his deskmate Chu Ruoxi was so enchanting!
It turned out that slowing down and taking the world in with care could bring unexpected surprises!
They strolled through the campus shoulder to shoulder. Chu Ruoxi watched their shadows stretch long across the ground and finally overlap, and a little sweetness rose inexplicably in her heart!
Then sadness welled up in her heart again.
She knew very well that with Jiang Fan's college entrance exam score of 300, they were destined not to end up together, and the gap between them would only grow wider!
As though something had suddenly occurred to her, Chu Ruoxi turned around and said happily to Jiang Fan!
"Jiang Fan, why don't you repeat the year?"
"Repeat the year?"
The thought had never occurred to Jiang Fan. All he wanted now was to gain admission to Dragon University of Science and Technology and complete the mission issued by the system, so he could receive more technological rewards from it!
Although the system's mission had no time limit, and he could indeed get into Dragon University of Science and Technology by repeating the year, as a scientific researcher, he knew very well that time was the most precious thing.
Within a year, perhaps the controlled nuclear fusion in his mind could already be put into practice.
He therefore had no intention of repeating the year. If there was still no word from Dragon University of Science and Technology, he planned to go there in person within the next couple of days. With the controlled nuclear fusion formulas and principles rewarded by the system alone, he believed the university had no reason to reject him, unless they did not understand them!
Seeing Jiang Fan sink into thought, Chu Ruoxi assumed he was seriously considering her suggestion, and continued!
"Maybe after repeating the year, you'll get into Huaqing University, and I can be your senior. Hehe..."
Chu Ruoxi's smile was so sweet that Jiang Fan was momentarily spellbound. If they attended the same university in the future, they really could see each other every day!
However, Jiang Fan immediately dismissed the thought.
Life was precious, and love was worth still more, but for the sake of scientific research, both could be cast aside!
"I'm not planning to repeat the year!"
Hearing Jiang Fan say this so firmly, Chu Ruoxi instantly felt a profound sense of loss, as though a pair of scissors had cut straight through the friendship they had built today!
If Jiang Fan did not repeat the year, their lives would truly have little chance of crossing paths again...
Just as Chu Ruoxi was feeling rather melancholy, a familiar voice rang out!
"Ruoxi, you're here!"
Chu Ruoxi looked over and saw that it was their homeroom teacher, Teacher Wang, with four or five of their classmates following behind him!
"Hello, Teacher Wang."
"Hello, hello. Have you received your admission letter from Huaqing?" Teacher Wang asked with a beaming smile!
"Not yet, but Huaqing's admissions office called and said the letter has already been sent. It should arrive in the next couple of days!" Chu Ruoxi replied!
"Good, good. Haha... I never thought I'd teach a student who came first in the entire school on the college entrance exam this year. You've brought honor to your teacher too. Haha..."
Teacher Wang looked proud, and the classmates beside him also looked at Chu Ruoxi with great envy!
"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Teacher Wang!" Chu Ruoxi said modestly!
Teacher Wang could not have felt more pleased to hear what Chu Ruoxi said.
"When you come home for the holidays, come visit your teacher more often, and I'll be perfectly content. Haha..."
"Teacher Wang, I'm a student you taught. Wherever I go, I'll always be your student!"
Teacher Wang's smile grew so wide he could no longer close his mouth, and inwardly he kept praising Chu Ruoxi for being such a thoughtful child!
The students beside Teacher Wang also greeted Chu Ruoxi one after another.
"Huh, Jiang Fan, what brings you to school too?" One classmate recognized Jiang Fan.
"This is Jiang Fan? We didn't even recognize you!"
It was no wonder they had not recognized Jiang Fan. Back when he was at school, the pressure of studying had left him with long hair and no time to groom it, and his clothes had been so shabby that calling him a beggar would not have been an exaggeration!
But Jiang Fan now looked completely different from before. He had cut his hair, revealing his handsome face, and changed his clothes as well.
He had undergone a dazzling transformation straight from a poor loser into a tall, rich, handsome guy!
Teacher Wang paid little attention to Jiang Fan's transformation. He could not be bothered with a student like Jiang Fan, who had scored only 300, but he was a teacher after all, so he still offered a couple of perfunctory remarks.
"Jiang Fan, although your grades aren't good, I'd suggest going to some technical school or other and learning a trade. At least then you'll be able to scrape together a living out in society!"
Several classmates could not help laughing at Teacher Wang's words, then teased him.
"I hear the excavator program at Sandong Lanxiang Technical School is pretty good. You can make at least four or five thousand yuan after graduation!"
"That works. Haha..."
"I think it'd suit Jiang Fan pretty well. Haha..."
"Haha..."