Chapter 63: School Begins
After that near-showdown conversation on the mountaintop that day, Gu Ye felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his heart. Although Chu Yan still hadn't clarified his purpose, Gu Ye chose to trust his intuition and his unbreakable reliance on him. He no longer dwelled on the "why" but instead focused his energy on the "how." His inquiries to Chu Yan became more direct and decisive, no longer tentative or cautious, but more like seeking guidance from a mentor, with clear goals and strong execution. Gu Ye had thoroughly learned Chu Yan's style, and now his approach to projects was even more aggressive.
Chu Yan was pleased to see this happen. Gu Ye's rapid growth and change in mindset meant his mission progress bar was steadily advancing. He continued to remotely guide Gu Ye on how to navigate the Gu family's quagmire, how to exploit the failed project to turn the tables, and even occasionally "accidentally" revealed a little about Gu Xu or Chu Yu's movements in City A to stimulate Gu Ye's competitive spirit.
The school season has arrived.
A University, a century-old prestigious institution, welcomed a new wave of fresh blood. The campus was bustling with new students and their parents, their faces filled with anticipation and uncertainty, dragging their suitcases. Banners welcoming the new students were hung everywhere, creating a bustling atmosphere.
Chu Yan rejected Chu Yu and Gu Xu's offer to send him off to school. On the one hand, the two had been swamped with the launch of their new company in City A, their schedules jam-packed with social events and meetings, their rivalry only intensifying. On the other hand, Chu Yan himself wasn't one for making a big fuss.
He only carried a simple suitcase, a backpack, and held the admission letter, and walked alone into the ancient and academic campus of A University.
Although he is a low-key person, his name and major had already caused quite a bit of discussion in the small circle of University A as early as when the admission results came out.
Top scores in science, ranking among the top in the province.
I actually applied for paleontology?
This news was even more shocking than a celebrity getting into University A. Admissions officers from various popular departments were beating their chests, bewildered by how such a promising student could have chosen that unremarkable "fossil program." Even the paleontology department itself, from professors to long-graduate students, was furious in their private chat groups.
You know, the paleontology program at University A has only admitted five students in the past ten years, including Chu Yan. He's a national treasure. Currently, aside from this year's newcomer Chu Yan, there's only one other senior in his second year of graduate school.
The old professor, holding the admissions list, was both excited and worried. He was thrilled that a truly gifted student had finally arrived, but he worried that this kid might get carried away and turn out to be different than he'd imagined, or be poached by another popular major. That would mean their already feeble supply of talent would be extinguished. In the days leading up to the start of school, the old professor practically nagging Wu Huai, the second-year graduate student in charge of reception, to keep a close eye on the student and ensure he was accepted safely.
Therefore, when Chu Yan found the old independent building behind the Humanities Building with a small sign that read "Institute of Geology and Paleontology" to report in as instructed, Wu Huai, who had been waiting for a long time, almost pounced on him.
"Chu Yan? You must be my junior Chu Yan, right?" Wu Huai, a tall, thin man with black-framed glasses and a gentle demeanor, was so excited that he was a little incoherent. "I've finally had you here. I'm Wu Huai, a second-year graduate student. I'll be your direct senior from now on. Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome!"
Chu Yan looked at the overly enthusiastic senior in front of him and smiled politely: "Hello, senior, I am Chu Yan."
Only then did Wu Huai see Yan's full appearance clearly. He had been so excited just now that he took a closer look. He suddenly took a deep breath and blurted out subconsciously: "Holy crap, man...you look a bit unbelievable."
It's no wonder he lost his composure. Chu Yan wore a simple white shirt and light-colored casual pants today, his posture erect and his demeanor clean and refreshing. But what caught his eye the most was his face—his features as delicate as if meticulously sculpted, his skin cool and pale, his eyes deep and soulful, their corners slightly tilted upwards. Though he was merely gazing at you calmly, he possessed a certain air of casual, unconcerned charm. Yet, he also exuded a gentle, distant aura, blended with a composure beyond his years. It was a paradoxical yet harmonious combination that made it impossible to look away.
Wu Huai grumbled inwardly: "She looks like this, and she scored so high, and she's studying paleontology. Is that reasonable? Is that scientific? She's making a huge contribution to the average appearance score in our major!"
Chu Yan had long been immune to this kind of exclamation about appearance. He just smiled and didn't respond.
Wu Huai also realized that he had lost his composure, and quickly pushed his glasses up, regaining some of his senior's composure: "Well, well, the procedures are all inside. I'll take you there, it'll be quick."
The procedure was indeed simple, after all, he was the only freshman in the entire department this year. After completing the formalities, Wu Huai enthusiastically took Chu Yan on a tour of the institute. Although the equipment looked a bit old, it was well maintained and full of academic atmosphere.
"We don't have many people here, but the atmosphere is good and the teachers are very nice. If you have any questions, you can ask me or find the teachers at any time!" Wu Huai patted his chest and promised.
After leaving the institute, Wu Huai wanted to continue to take Chu Yan to the dormitory, but he was called away by an urgent phone call. It seemed that his supervisor wanted to see him about something urgent. Wu Huai had no choice but to apologize to Chu Yan and explain the situation. He also told him the dormitory location and route in detail.
Chu Yan expressed his understanding, dragged his suitcase alone, and walked towards the undergraduate dormitory area according to the instructions.
The campus of University A is vast, shaded by trees, with ancient buildings interspersed with modern teaching buildings, creating a rich academic and cultural atmosphere. Chu Yan's striking appearance and unique temperament made him stand out even in a crowd. As he walked, he received countless glances of amazement and curiosity. He ignored them all and walked through the campus with a calm demeanor.
Walking to a tree-lined path, next to a wide lawn and some old sculptures, Chu Yan suddenly heard a slight "click" sound from the side.
He stopped and turned. A girl wearing a photography vest and a ponytail, with a bright smile, was pointing a camera at him. Noticing his gaze, the girl gracefully stepped forward and explained with a smile, "Hello, classmate. I'm with the campus newspaper's press corps, covering the freshman orientation. I thought the image of you just walking by was particularly moving, so I couldn't help but snap a picture. If you mind, I'll delete it immediately."
The girl's attitude was very frank, her eyes were clear, and there was no uncomfortable sense of prying.
Chu Yan looked at the press card on her chest, then at the camera in her hand, nodded, and said gently: "It's okay. It's my honor to provide materials for you."
The girl's smile became even brighter. "Which college are you from? Would you be interested in a small interview with us and talk about your first impression of University A?"
"I'm a freshman in paleontology. I'm currently busy, sorry." Chu Yan declined concisely, nodded politely, and continued walking forward with his suitcase.
The girl watched his departing figure, then looked down at the snapshot on the camera screen - a tree-lined avenue with dappled light and shadow, the young man looking back sideways with a calm and indifferent expression, behind him were the ancient campus buildings and the bustling crowd, but they seemed to be isolated from his aura, forming a picture with a strong sense of story.
"How could there be such an outstanding new student in the Department of Paleontology this year?" the girl murmured to herself, her eyes sparkling as if she had discovered some treasure.
Chu Yan followed the signs and found his dorm building. His major was too small to have a separate dormitory, so he was assigned to share a dormitory with students from other majors. Dorm number was 404.
As soon as I walked to the corridor on the fourth floor and before I reached the door, I heard a deafening noise coming from dormitory 404, mixed with game sound effects, exaggerated roars, and laughter and cursing. It was like a small battlefield.
"Defeat!" a frustrated man roared. "Fuck, lost again. The opposing jungler is a jerk, he kept ambushing me!"
"Come on, you newbie. It's obviously your own movement that's so eye-catching. You're such a genius for flashing and using skills." Another voice mocked mercilessly.
"Get out of here, I'll let you play in the jungle next time. I want to see how good you can be."
"I don't know if I'm showing off or not, but it's much better than what you eat with rice."
"Hahaha, check the group chat. The class teacher said we'll have a class meeting at 7pm. Don't forget."
"I know, I know. Let's go eat after this fight!"
Chu Yan stood at the door of Room 404, listening to the bustling commotion inside, his eyebrows raised slightly. Is this the youthful atmosphere of university life? It was indeed very lively.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
The noise inside paused for a moment, and then a carefree voice shouted, "Who is it? The door is unlocked! Just come in."
Chu Yan pushed open the dormitory door.
In an instant, the scene in the dormitory came into view.
The standard four-person room, with a bed above and a desk below, looked a bit messy. At the desk to the right of the door, a slightly overweight boy wearing black-framed glasses was pounding his chest in front of his computer screen. He was clearly the "noob" who had complained about the jungle game earlier. Across from him, a tall, muscular boy with dark green hair and a basketball vest was sitting with his legs crossed, his feet swaying. A gloating smile was on his face. He was undoubtedly the mocking "showman."
On the balcony, a gentle, fair-skinned boy wearing headphones was typing away at his keyboard, seemingly coding or writing something. He was oblivious to the surrounding noise, his own little world. The last empty desk and bed, piled with miscellaneous items, were clearly Chu Yan's place.
Chu Yan's sudden appearance was like a drop of cold water into a hot oil pan.
The "newbie" who was beating his chest and stamping his feet stopped and looked at the door with his mouth open; the "Xiu'er" who was shaking his feet put down his legs and the smile on his face froze; even the gentle boy who was concentrating on coding seemed to have noticed something, took off one of his headphones, and looked up in confusion.
Three pairs of eyes were focused on the stranger at the door who was dragging a suitcase. He had a stunning appearance, but his temperament was out of place in the noisy dormitory environment.
The air was silent for three full seconds.
It was "Xiu'er," the one with the dark green hair, who reacted first. He stood up suddenly, a hint of surprise and uncertainty on his tan face, and asked tentatively, "Uh, classmate, who are you looking for? Did you go to the wrong dormitory?"
Chu Yan's eyes swept over the three people, finally landing on the empty bunk. He spoke calmly, "You're not wrong. I'm Chu Yan, a freshman majoring in paleontology. This should be the bed I'm staying in."
"Paleontology?" The slightly plump "newbie" pushed his glasses, looking confused, "Isn't our dormitory for computer science and finance? How did a fossil digger get in?" He subconsciously said what was in his mind.
"Fossil digger" Chu Yan: "..." Are you polite?
The dull-haired "Xiu'er" reacted faster, quickly kicking "Nong Gou" before flashing a bright smile and stepping forward. "Welcome, welcome, so you're my new roommate. We're from the Computer Science Department. My name is Zhao Jian, and I'm from Northeast China." He pointed at the slightly chubby boy and said, "This idiot is Sun Miao, also in Computer Science, a local." Then he pointed at the refined boy and said, "That big guy is from the Finance Department. His name is Li Sizhe, and he's a real academic genius."
Sun Miao also reacted and quickly stood up, scratching his head a little embarrassedly: "Uh, hello, hello! I'm sorry for what I said just now, that's not what I meant..."
The finance student named Li Sizhe also stood up, pushed the black-framed glasses on his nose, and nodded at Chu Yan as a greeting. His expression was a little cold, but still polite.
Chu Yan nodded to the three of them as a response: "Hello."
Zhao Jian was a very outgoing person. Looking at Chu Yan's face and his cool demeanor, and then at the expensive-looking suitcase on the ground, he exclaimed in his heart, "Wow!" He enthusiastically helped to move the debris piled on the empty space. "Come on, buddy, this is your place. We were a little noisy just now, did we scare you? We'll be brothers from now on, so please take care of us. We got here a day earlier than you, so feel free to ask if you have any questions."
Sun Miao also came over to help and asked curiously: "Dude, are you really a paleontologist? Wow, this is the first time I've seen a living paleontologist like that..."
Li Sizhe sat back quietly and put on his headphones again, but his typing speed slowed down significantly, as if he was observing secretly.
While Chu Yan was packing his things, he simply answered the curious questions from Zhao Jian and Sun Miao. His tone was always gentle and polite, but with a slight sense of alienation. He was not cold, but also made people feel uncomfortable to get too close to him.
The dormitory was briefly quiet for a while because of the arrival of new members, but soon, Zhao Jian and Sun Miao started arguing again about whether to help each other sign in for the evening class meeting. Li Sizhe was occasionally affected and had to take off his headphones to argue.
Amidst this noisy yet vibrant background, Chu Yan slowly and methodically made his bed and placed the few books and laptop he had brought with him on the desk. He didn't have much stuff, so he finished organizing it quickly.
He looked at his three roommates, each with a different and noisy personality, and listened to the noise coming from the other dormitories, the clatter of balls on the basketball court downstairs, and the faint music from the radio station in the distance...
Is this what university is?
The corners of Chu Yan's mouth lifted up in an almost imperceptible arc.
It seemed a little more interesting and vivid than he had expected.
At least, it shouldn't be too boring while completing the task.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
