Chapter 10: Cong Nianwei’s Suitor at Tsinghua University

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan was still thinking about what strategies he could use when Huang Jiajia grinned and went back to her seat, saying, “Okay. You poor thing, I’ll be a good student, alright? But to be frank, I’m really bad at studying. You can use any method you like.”

“Ah…” Qin Guan opened his mouth like an idiot. “I haven’t tried any of my strategies. This girl changed attitude too fast. Anyway, it’s good that she’s willing to learn something.”

Qin Guan took down all the high school textbooks from her bookcase and prepared a quiz for her. When he calculated the results, he fell into a strange silence again.

The girl had scored 3 out of 100 in Math by getting one multiple choice question right. She had probably just guessed it instead of calculating it herself. In Chinese, she had scored 70 marks, which was good enough for her to pass. In English, she had gotten a 50, which had been way out of Qin Guan’s expectations. He had thought that she would not even get one exercise right. Last but not least, she had scored 12 in both Physics and Chemistry.

Qin Guan let out a sigh. He knew he had a long way to go.

He stood up and smiled at Huang Jiajia. “Today was just about getting to know you. I think I have some basic knowledge of you now. I’ll come after dinner next Saturday, alright? I’ll make a plan for you, and we’ll study together according to that plan.”

Huang Jiajia was still obsessed with the smile Qin Guan had just given her. She nodded numbly as she showed him out.

Jiajia’s mother was sitting restlessly in the living room. When she saw Qin Guan and her daughter come out, she ran up to them right away.

Qin Guan smiled at the mother and said, “Let’s call it a day. I’ve got some knowledge about Huang Jiajia now. I’ll come for class next Saturday.”

Seeing that her daughter was not protesting, the mother replied delightedly, “Okay! See you then!” She picked up 100 yuan from the table and gave it to Qin Guan. “This is for you. Thank you, Mr. Qin. Please take good care of Jiajia.”

Qin Guan accepted the money. He believed he deserved as much considering what a handful this student was.

Under the loving gaze of the mother, Qin Guan rode his bicycle away, heading back to his dorm. The next day, he would take the day off to do some shopping. By then, the new term would officially begin.

What was the best choice for an undergraduate? Some would say that it was single life, while others would insist that it was fervent love. They were both wrong. Single life and fervent love were both just illusions. The best choice was studying hard!

Freshmen had lots of basic common courses as well as a few specialized ones. Thanks to Qin Guan’s amazing memory, these courses were a piece of cake for him. He was reviewing his lessons while the lecturer was teaching so that he did not have to review them again after the class. Qin Guan did not allow himself to waste any time. He had to pass the College English Test-Band 4 (CET 4) in advance, or he would feel sorry for himself. He had been reborn after all.

Qin Guan planned to pass the CET 4 during that term. The biggest difference between high school English and college English lay in the vocabulary, but memorizing English words was very easy for him.

Qin Guan had made a plan to get his life back on track. He had sat down and thought about his life. “It seems that I forgot something. Oh, yes. It’s been more than half a month since the new school term began. I forgot to meet Cong Nianwei. Is there a chance that she has become some other guy’s girlfriend by now?”

Qin Guan hastened to check his timetable. He realized that he had no class in the afternoon. Why wait then? “Let’s go! Tsinghua University, I’m coming!”

It was October. During that time of the year, Beijing always enjoyed a clear sky and crisp wind. A speeding bicycle was seen on Tsinghua Road. The breeze blew up the rider’s white jacket, revealing his black vest. The rider’s bright smile brought out vigor and liveliness in everyone walking down the road.

Qin Guan arrived at Tsinghua University and parked his bicycle. He asked about Cong Nianwei and was told that she was having class at the lecture hall.

Qin Guan did not mind waiting as long as he could see her. He locked his bicycle and lay on the stone bench in front of the lecture building. He felt a gentle breeze blowing on his face. It was such a nice afternoon that he slowly fell asleep.

Qin Guan had no idea how long he had been sleeping, when he was suddenly woken up by someone. Through the daze of sleep, he sat up and tried to recognize the vague image in front of him. It seemed familiar. He blinked and fixed his eyes on the image again, realizing that it was Cong Nianwei.

Qin Guan stood up in a hurry. He wiped the corners of his mouth to make sure that he had not been drooling. That was good. “Is your class over?” he stammered.

Cong Nianwei stared at him with her big eyes. She looked surprised as she said, “Why did you sleep on the bench?”

Qin Guan was about to reply when his instinct warned him. He looked around and saw a boy and a girl standing behind Cong Nianwei.

He pretended that nothing was on his mind as he replied, “I came here to see you. I heard that you were having a class, so I waited here and ended up falling asleep.”

Hearing that, the girl behind Cong Nianwei burst into laughter. Cong Nianwei looked a little angry and embarrassed. She took a glance at Qin Guan and then turned her to the girl, “This is Qin Guan. He’s my high school classmate.”

The girl looked as if she knew everything and needed no further explanation. She said, “Right. High school… classmate.”

Despite feeling ridiculed, Qin Guan gave out a silly laugh. They were having a good time when suddenly a mistimed voice rang out behind Cong Nianwei, “Cong Nianwei is always so kind to everyone, even to her high school classmates.”

Cong Nianwei frowned, but said nothing. The girl behind her unpleasantly took a step forward. She tucked her arm into Cong Nianwei’s, trying to avoid the boy.

Qin Guan looked at him. His first impression of the boy was very bad. As he stood behind Cong Nianwei, his arrogance made Qin Guan feel quite uncomfortable.

The two boys looked straight at each other, as if there were sparks in their eyes.

The boy, who was named Chi Hailin, thought that this was not the most auspicious day for him. Having been an unusually lucky boy since a very young age, he had lived up to everyone’s expectations by being admitted into Tsinghua University, one of the best universities in China. He had been an honor roll student and had been often praised by his teachers, but he had never showed any interest in any girls wearing glasses during his high school days. He had believed that those girls were complete nerds and that he would meet his ideal girl in the near future. From the first time he had seen Cong Nianwei after going to college, Chi Hailin had been confident that he had finally found his girl. The guy currently standing between him and his girl was detestable.

Chi Hailin thought this boy was very tall. “He must be over 180 cm.” He looked at himself and realized he was at least 20 cm shorter than him. What’s more, the boy’s good figure, broad shoulders and long legs were much more pleasant looking than his own short legs. Chi Hailin turned his eyes to Qin Guan’s face. “Gee! What a handsome face! This guy has perfect eyebrows, deep eyes and a Roman nose. He’s just like a movie star! Sh*t!” Instantly, Chi Hailin felt much smaller than the guy standing in front of him.

Noticing Chi Hailin’s facial expression, the girl beside Cong Nianwei could not help laughing out loud. “Chi Hailin, are you having a facial paralysis? It seems like you’re having an early age stroke. You’re truly weak.”

Qin Guan glanced at the girl with gratitude and secretly gave her a thumbs up.

Hearing the girl’s insult, Chi Hailin felt outraged. “Liu Chang, can’t you be a little nicer?” He pointed at Qin Guan’s face and said, “We’re both college students, so we should not judge a book by its cover.” Then he added maliciously, “Instead of idling away in other universities, why don’t you read some more and study harder?”

Chi Hailin believed his words were forceful enough to destroy this potential rival. Cong Nianwei had been feeling awkward, but hearing what Chi Hailin had said, she smiled and told the two boys, “Let me introduce you guys. Qin Guan is my high school classmate studying at CUFE. By the way, don’t you have class in the afternoon, Qin Guan?”

Seeing that Cong Nianwei was asking about him, Qin Guan immediately went closer to her and said in a friendly manner, “No, I don’t. I haven’t seen you for months, so I couldn’t concentrate enough to study.”

Cong Nianwei looked a little annoyed as she replied, “Come off it! I haven’t agreed to being your girlfriend.”

Qin Guan did not get mad. He walked forward with the two girls, the three of them talking and laughing.

Chi Hailin had gone numb upon hearing about CUFE. He was aware that Qin Guan was superior to him in looks and stature, but he had thought that he at least had a better educational background. However, it turned out that they were both top students. He felt discouraged. As he watched Qin Guan walk away, he thought to himself, “I have a bright future ahead of me. When I succeed in my career, I’ll be able to compete with you again.” Upset as he was, he walked back to his dorm.

As they were walking, Liu Chang said that she had some matter to attend to and left. Before she did, she winked at Qin Guan and whispered, “Do it!”

After Chi Hailin and Liu Chang had left, Qin Guan unlocked his bicycle and took a walk with Cong Nianwei along the road on the Tsinghua University campus. They watched the gentle breeze blow the willow twigs by the roadside. Neither of them talked. They were too busy enjoying the nice, peaceful afternoon.

In the evening, Qin Guan unabashedly free loaded at the canteen of Tsinghua University with Cong Nianwei. Everybody could tell he was living off the girl. Qin Guan saw the contempt in other people’s eyes, but he still acted like he was unaware of it ad had a big meal.

Despite having been criticized and scorned by Cong Nianwei the whole afternoon, Qin Guan felt delighted because she had agreed to him coming to see her once a week. If she was in a good mood, she could probably do some shopping or have a cup of tea with him.

Qin Guan grinned happily in excitement. He felt that his life was almost as perfect as he had thought it would be.