There were comments in the review section claiming I plagiarized some book. My apologies, but I haven't read that book. There are millions of books on Qidian; the same plot has surely been written by more than one person. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. .................. The continuous drizzle had lasted for over ten days. In mid-July, the early admission acceptance letters for undergraduates arrived.
Wang Zhuo hadn't returned to the old family house for a week. The flooding caused by the heavy rain had turned his neighborhood into a pond, making movement extremely inconvenient, so he had moved over to Hongkang Shengshi instead.
“Life is like a ruthless carving knife, changing the face we know; should we wither before we’ve even bloomed? I once had dreams…”
Fat Dragon, Jin Chengyou, wearing a large tank top, floral shorts, and flip-flops, swaggered in while belting out a nostalgic song.
“Boss Qiu, Boss Wang! How’s business been lately?”
Hongkang Shengshi had excellent drainage; raindrops quickly flowed away upon hitting the ground. It was a rare sunny day. Wang Zhuo and Qiu Lu were sitting by the garage entrance, fiddling with raw jade material under the sunlight.
Since visiting that one time, Qiu Lu had temporarily moved in with Wang Zhuo. In any case, Wang Zhuo’s house was large enough, and staying home meant enduring his parents' nagging. It was much quieter and more comfortable to hide out here.
After visiting twice, Fat Dragon had fallen in love with this piece of paradise. Over time, he had grown quite familiar with Qiu Lu. Once Wang Zhuo’s broadband was connected, he simply moved his computer over, staying put all day except for going home to change and wash.
“Put your precious stones away for now, let’s eat!”
Fat Dragon lowered a fishing net he had slung over his back. Inside was a pile of white plastic-wrapped bags and fast-food containers, which he spread out on the table—a feast for lunch.
The three of them ate and drank around the table. Fat Dragon asked, “Wang Zhuo, the early admission letters have arrived. Are you among them?”
“No notification for me,” Wang Zhuo frowned slightly. “Can you check online?”
“I don’t think you can check online. Why don’t you call our homeroom teacher?” As he said this, Fat Dragon suddenly slapped his thigh, “You changed your phone number, and you’re not even home. How is the school supposed to notify you?”
Wang Zhuo instantly realized his mistake. He had been so preoccupied with studying jade these past few days that he had forgotten everything else, including this matter.
He had just pulled out his phone when Gan Lin called: “Wang Zhuo, I got my Fudan acceptance letter! Congratulate me!”
“Congratulations! Are you the first one in the entire school?”
“I’m in the principal's office right now; there are lots of students and parents here. Your letter has also arrived! Are you coming to pick it up yourself, or should I bring it over for you?”
For such great news, anyone else would definitely go to the school to collect it in person—that’s how solemn and meaningful it feels. But Wang Zhuo was different; his scores were copied…
“Just bring it over to me. We’re eating lunch right now. If you haven't eaten, pack up two dishes and bring them along.”
“Okay, I’ll be there soon!”
Wang Zhuo hung up the phone. Qiu Lu offered continuous congratulations, while Fat Dragon pouted enviously, saying, “If I could find such an outstanding girlfriend, I’d worship her daily. But some people, like certain individuals, treat her like she’s available on call, better than a maid.”
He was still vexed by the time he saw Gan Lin washing Wang Zhuo’s clothes—though it was really just tossing dirty clothes into the fully automatic washing machine, pressing a button, taking them out to dry half an hour later. It was a small effort, but it was enough to drive him mad with jealousy.
Gan Lin arrived soon after. Her taxi pulled up to the garage entrance, and Wang Zhuo thoughtfully stepped forward to pay the fare.
“Summer is so wonderful,” Fat Dragon murmured as he stared at Gan Lin’s smooth, long, shapely legs beneath her white short skirt.
Qiu Lu coughed lightly with a smile. For someone dedicated to carving, female beauty was something from another world, yet still hard to resist.
Gan Lin still had no idea how extensive Wang Zhuo’s stone gambling operation had become. She thought it was just a new hobby of his. After all, a simple girl couldn’t imagine the exorbitant value of those stones. When Wang Zhuo told her they weren't worth much, she believed him.
The EMS acceptance letter had been opened. Gan Lin said the principal himself had opened it. The school had to photocopy and archive every single acceptance letter, and a huge red announcement board had to be prepared immediately and hung up at the school gate.
“Mine was posted second; the one ahead of me was for Tsinghua,” Gan Lin said with slight dissatisfaction. “Her score wasn't even as high as mine; it’s just that her chosen major has a lower entry threshold.”
Fat Dragon eagerly asked, “Then where did Advisor Wang rank?”
Gan Lin giggled, “He was ranked seventh. Even the department head didn't know which school he applied to and thought he had aimed too low.”
“I’ve really never heard of this school…” Fat Dragon looked at the school name on the letter: Jiangzhou Medical University. The brand wasn't very famous.
“I have heard of this school,” Qiu Lu said, surprised. “It ranks third among all medical universities nationwide, right after Tsinghua and Peking University. Wang Zhuo, how many students does your major admit?”
Wang Zhuo thought for a moment and shook his head, “I don’t know the total number, but our province only gets two spots. Brother Qiu, you’ve heard of this school?”
“The top student in the grade when I took the college entrance exam applied for this same major,” Qiu Lu said, unable to suppress a wry smile. “Many of those students are married with children now, and I hear he hasn’t even finished his studies yet.”
“That’s right, it takes eight years,” Gan Lin was already calculating Wang Zhuo’s age after graduation.
“Good heavens, eight years! That’s like the War of Resistance Against Japan,” Fat Dragon whistled. “Combined bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs? What does that even mean?”
Qiu Lu laughed, “Graduation means you're a doctor. With that level of education, getting into a Grade II-A hospital is easy.”
“Can he get into the gynecology department?” Fat Dragon asked, but Gan Lin shot him a look, and he stuck out his tongue and made a face.
“I don’t know about that,” Qiu Lu shook his head seriously.
“So, your schools are both in Jiangzhou, not far from each other! You can rent a place and live together!” Fat Dragon excitedly clapped Wang Zhuo on the shoulder. “Doubling up! Cohabitation! That’s awesome!”
“Can’t you stop your big mouth even while eating?” Gan Lin blushed and snatched Fat Dragon’s beer bottle, shoving it towards his mouth.
[Note: Fudan University in this novel is located in a city called Jiangzhou, for reasons that everyone understands…]
Just then, a melodious tune sounded. It turned out to be a call from Gan Lin’s mother.
“I’m at a classmate’s place; I’ll be home soon. Okay, see you later.”
“I’ll walk her out,” Wang Zhuo put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and walked out with Gan Lin.
After the two had gone, Qiu Lu asked Fat Dragon with a smile, “What major did Fat Dragon apply for?”
“I applied to a school in Jiangzhou too,” Fat Dragon said seriously. “I specialize in human art, but unfortunately, there’s no such major in this country, so I casually picked Fashion Design.”
“Fashion Design?” Qiu Lu looked at Fat Dragon’s baggy shorts and flip-flops with surprise, finding it hard to connect the man with those four words.
Fat Dragon sighed helplessly, “It was also a flexible arrangement. Designing lingerie for beautiful women counts as a form of human art, don’t you think, Brother Qiu?”
Qiu Lu gave a wry nod.
“I’m full. Brother Qiu, you carry on. I think my human art action movie should be done downloading by now.” Saying this, Fat Dragon headed toward the back of the garage to get to his computer.