On weekends, many students come and go from the school gate, and Xia Minmin is always the first to spot Tang Meng.
"Mengmeng!"
Tang Meng paced back and forth in the shade of a tree to the right of the school gate with her head down. When she heard her best friend's voice, she turned her head and looked over, a faint smile on her face.
"Xiaomin, Lin Lanzhi."
It had been almost a month since I last saw Tang Meng. She had lost weight and gotten darker, but she seemed to have gained some muscle.
The group of people, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, kept complaining about their experiences during military training.
"Tang Meng, didn't I tell you last time that there were two idiots in our dorm who didn't participate in military training? They were publicly criticized by the school leaders during the military training performance, and they became famous throughout the school. They came to the dorm crying and blaming Xiaomin for not fulfilling her duty to remind them. I really want to slap them a few times."
"Serves her right! Xiaomin, if you ever encounter someone like that again, you must tell me, and I'll beat her up for you." Tang Meng had heard Lin Lanzhi and Xia Minmin mention these two people intermittently; people like that would be expelled from their school.
“Mengmeng isn’t that dramatic. It’s better not to hit someone; it’s not worth getting punished,” Xia Minmin said.
Lunch was arranged at a Cantonese restaurant between Peking University and Tsinghua University. It was recommended by senior students who heard that the food was very authentic, and it was their first time there as well.
More than ten people had already arrived in the private room. Apart from Tang Meng and Xia Minmin, who were without makeup, the other girls were dressed exquisitely and beautifully, showing a dramatic change from when they graduated. The boys' clothing and appearance had also gradually matured.
"Liu Dan, I didn't recognize you at first. I thought you were a family member brought by one of the boys," Xia Minmin said with a smile to her former vice class monitor.
Liu Dan smiled shyly, "Xiao Min, you're exaggerating. It's only been a short time. How could you not recognize me? Are you flattering me or being sarcastic?"
"I'm telling the truth and you don't believe me. You've lost a lot of weight since high school."
Liu Dan smiled, pursing her lips. More than three months of hard work had not been in vain. "It's not as exaggerated as you say."
"Oh my, our vice squad leader is being modest. I think you've lost at least fifteen pounds," Lin Lanzhi said with a smile.
"Lin Lanzhi, you have such sharp eyes! You even guessed how many pounds I've lost. I'm truly impressed!"
Gu Fei looked at Xia Minmin in the crowd. This brat is really ruthless. She broke off contact with him for almost two years. Shouldn't she be released for her heinous crime?
"What are you guys whispering about here?" Gu Fei asked.
Lin Lanzhi pouted and made a funny face. The noisy private room quieted down as Gu Fei approached. The old classmates from Class One all knew about the feud between Xia Minmin and Gu Fei, and everyone wanted to see a good show.
"Xia Minmin, I really know I was wrong. I promise to be more careful with my words and actions in the future. Please take me off the blacklist, okay? It's been so long, why are you still holding a grudge? We've known each other for over six years, can you please forgive me this time?"
Gu Fei, a tall man of 1.9 meters, gently tugged at Xia Minmin's sleeve like a timid young wife.
"Fine! I'll let you off this time."
Cheers erupted from the boys in the private room, and some even jumped up from their chairs and ran around. Xia Minmin was used to such bets, but this time the outcome was different.
"You lost, so you're buying yourself a meal."
"Squad leader, why didn't you try one more time and I would have won?"
"Today I'm going to make your wallets bleed."
"Friends, let's go all out today. The big boss is treating us to food, so order whatever you want and don't hold back."
After dinner, Gu Fei treated everyone to karaoke. Dinner was paid for by the classmates who didn't pay at lunch, who split the bill.
After classes officially started, Xia Minmin shuttled between the dormitory, classroom, library, and canteen every day. She had classes every day of the week, including morning and evening self-study sessions, and she also had to work on club points, keeping her extremely busy.
Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei thought their daughter would come home during the seven-day holidays, but they never expected that she would not return home except during the winter and summer vacations.
Four years of hard work in university finally paid off. First, she passed the CET-4 and CET-6 exams with high scores, and then scored 115 on the TOEFL without any preparation. Fund Practitioner Qualification Certificate, Junior Accountant Certificate, Junior Auditor, Certified Public Accountant… her roommates often say that Xia Minmin is either on her way to take exams or on her way to get certificates. Seeing this stack of certificates makes her quite happy.
In March 2007, Xia Minmin was in her final semester of senior year, just a few months away from graduating from university.
The dorm was empty; everyone else was busy with spring recruitment or graduate school interviews. The library was crowded. Xia Minmin was studying for the CATTI (China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters) Level 2 exam in her dorm; the exam was in June, so she had plenty of time.
Snap!
The dormitory door was violently pushed open, making a loud noise as it slammed against the wall.
"What does the counselor mean? Why are we the only ones who have to extend our studies? It's just a stupid military training, is it really that big of a deal?" Zhong Xi was furious.
Duran's face fell. "Xiao Xi, why don't you ask someone about the situation?"
Zhong Xi's expression was stiff. She had asked around, and the replies were all the same: the delay in graduation was irreversible.
Even if Xia Minmin didn't listen, she knew what was going on. They got zero marks in their freshman military training and had to postpone their graduation. In fact, the counselor gave them a chance last year to do military training with the freshmen, but they didn't cherish it.
Sometimes she didn't even know how Du Lan's brain worked. Her family's financial situation was average, and it wasn't easy to send her to university. Instead of studying properly, she insisted on getting involved with Zhong Xi. She failed courses in her sophomore and junior years, and barely passed her retake exams in her senior year with a low score. Her counselor earnestly advised her to participate in military training, but she didn't take it seriously.
Du Lan mustered her courage and walked to Xia Minmin's side. "Class monitor, you have a good relationship with the school teachers. Could you please ask them what to do for me? I really can't extend my studies. My family is poor and it's not easy for them to support me through university. If I have to pay tuition for another year, my family won't be able to afford it. They are all waiting for me to graduate and start working."
Xia Minmin sighed inwardly, looked up at her, and said, "If only you had known this would happen. Your counselor has talked to you many times. Talk to your counselor properly and don't act impulsively. There will always be a solution. It's better to delay graduation than not get your diploma. If your family is having financial difficulties, take advantage of this time to find a job and earn money to pay your tuition yourself."
Duran returned to her seat with her head down, looking utterly dejected. She remained silent for a long time; she must have regretted it. This shows how important it is to heed advice.
Students like Du Lan, who are forced to extend their studies, are common at Kyoto University. The sense of loss they feel, going from being the pride of their respective schools to being unknown at Kyoto University, is unimaginable.
At Peking University, a place teeming with talent, one can easily fall behind if they're not careful. To maintain her top-three ranking in her major, Xia Minmin reduced all her entertainment activities except for her morning exercises, working as hard as someone in their final year of high school.
I successfully secured the direct PhD program promised by the admissions officers and have already contacted a doctoral supervisor. Next semester will begin, officially launching my five-year doctoral studies.
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