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Chapter 597: Chapter 501: Like a Surge (Please Subscribe!)_2
Observing Tang Qing walking hand in hand with Lin Jiaxue, and Lin Jiaxue with Miao Ru, Tang Qing’s three roommates could only feel life’s bitter cold. In their eyes, Tang Qing was good-looking, seemingly affluent, and even had such a beautiful fiancée.
In comparison.
Their lives were nothing short of bland.
During dinner, Zhong Yang launched all sorts of inquiries about Tang Qing’s family background, all of which Tang Qing skirted around, vaguely responding that he was engaged in a small business venture. Seeing that he would not glean any useful information from Tang Qing, Zhong Yang decided to drop the matter. After all, they shared the same dormitory and he figured that his curiosity about Tang Qing’s background would eventually be satisfied. He was not in a hurry.
After dinner, Miao Ru went back to work while Tang Qing took Lin Jiaxue on a stroll around the school and a few nearby blocks. While Tang Qing was well-acquainted with the school, Lin Jiaxue, who had a less-than-stellar memory, was largely unfamiliar with it. However, Tang Qing’s explanation of the school bore a striking resemblance to how Shen Yi had described it.
This wave of ’dog food’.
Was spread all over the campus. Tang Qing and Lin Jiaxue had dinner at a nearby house they had bought, which was consistently staffed by two female robot servants. Lin Jiaxue slowly adjusted to having a few extra caretakers at home.
In the evening.
Tang Qing went to the classroom with a few dorm mates, as the student counselor Jing Xiang was going to hold the first class meeting.
Entering the classroom.
’Good grief’, he mused, ’the finance course really does have a lot of female students.’ The majority of the class was female, all looking at Tang Qing with curious and eager expressions. Tang Qing, however, avoided their gaze, choosing a seat in the back row and settling down.
"He’s so handsome."
"Exactly, too handsome."
"It’s a pity he doesn’t wear his hair long."
"Long hair my ass, he’s manlier this way."
"You just don’t get it..."
"..."
Even before the counselor arrived, there was already a lively discussion amongst the female students.
The male students who were out of the loop were green with envy, while those in the know, like Zhong Liang and his group, were aware that Tang Qing was not interested in competing with them for the female classmates. Despite not being the most superbly beautiful, Lin Jiaxue’s beauty was unrivaled by more than half of the girls in the class.
Recalling Tang Qing and Lin Jiaxue’s Childhood Sweethearts status, they couldn’t help but feel an intense wave of envy. ’Why didn’t I nurture such a relationship during my childhood?’ they thought, ’If I had been more conscientious back then, I wouldn’t be so clueless about how to find a wife now.’
Depressing.
Tang Qing turned a blind eye to the drama unfolding, propping up his head in boredom.
’Tomorrow is the first of September,’ he thought, ’Once tomorrow evening passes, I’ll have accumulated the remaining five experience points needed for me to level up and upgrade the system to level six. With each level up comes a new auxiliary function. I wonder what this time’s function will be.’
Thankfully, the auxiliary functions he had acquired in the past had all been satisfactory. This time, however, he was curious, even a bit anxious - hopefully, it would be a pleasant surprise rather than an unpleasant shock.
As Tang Qing was lost in thought, their counselor, Jing Xiang, came in taking small steps. Seeing a room full of youthful boys and girls, Jing Xiang smiled, immediately spotting Tang Qing sitting at the very back.
"Alright, let’s start roll call now. When I call your name, respond. Tang Qing." Jing Xiang began calling roll in alphabetical order.
"Present." Tang Qing responded loudly.
The roll call was arranged according to test scores, and it was only fitting that Tang Qing, with his impeccable test score, was called first. Jing Xiang had met Tang Qing when he had registered. She hadn’t expected him to also know Miao Ru, so he had left a lasting impression on her.
Jing Xiang shared an office with Miao Ru and the two were very close, often having meals at each other’s houses.
"Very good, keep going, Qi Fei." Jing Xiang prompted and gave encouragement.
"Present."
"..."
Two minutes later, Jing Xiang finished calling roll.
"Very well, all students are present. Now, I will call your names out and you will come up to introduce yourself to everyone, your hobbies, favorite sports, and the like. Tang Qing, you go first." Jing Xiang smilingly said.
Despite his reluctance, Tang Qing stood up. He seemed fated to be the first one to take the stage yet again.
Well.
He resigned himself to his fate.
Tang Qing got up and walked up to the podium.
Gazing down upon the various curious and bewildered eyes below, Tang Qing didn’t flinch, and calmly said, "Hello everyone, my name is Tang Qing, I’m 18 years old, and I come from the inland city of Qingyan. As for my hobbies, I have quite a few, such as playing a few simple musical instruments and painting. As for sports, I don’t really have any favorites."
Regarding sports, Tang Qing didn’t need to participate for fitness reasons. Did they expect him to show off some infallible basketball, soccer, or other sports skills?
The thought was so boring that he had half a mind to go for a run.
"Tang, your hobbies seem a bit biased. You should pay more attention to sports." Jing Xiang advised.
"Yes, I got it, Teacher Jing." Tang Qing could only agree.
Just as Tang Qing was about to step down, Jing Xiang inquired, "Tang Qing, tell me which musical instruments you can play?"
"The piano and violin. My skills are passable, at best." Tang Qing said ambiguously, fearing that if he boasted too much, he might be roped into performing. He definitely did not want to do that.
As expected, Jing Xiang immediately asked, "Would you be interested in performing in the welcome party?"
"Uh, my skills are sub-par, and certainly not up to par for such an event." Tang Qing declined.
He was not eager to draw attention to himself.
Seeing Tang Qing’s refusal, Jing Xiang decided not to press the matter further. To each his own. Then, she announced, "Well, perhaps you weren’t aware but Tang Qing here is the top student of our nation this year, scoring nearly full marks on his university entrance exam. Let’s give a round of applause in celebration!"
As she finished speaking, Jing Xiang began to clap.
It was only then that the classmates realized Tang Qing’s brilliant achievement. The girls’ eyes shone with admiration while the boys pounded their chests in frustration. ’Oh, heavens, was Tang Qing sent to crush our spirits?’ they wondered.
"Thank you."
After he finished speaking, Tang Qing, upon seeing Jing Xiang’s gesture, returned to his seat, only to be met with resentful gazes from his dorm mates. ’Are you trying to make our life hell?’ they thought. Even for the national exam, to score full marks meant absolute proficiency.
Most students in the classroom had also taken the national exam.
Following this.
Each student took turns introducing themselves. The procedure took about an hour. Jing Xiang even proposed that Tang Qing become the class president, but Tang Qing declined that as well. He preferred simply being one of the crowd.
Finally.
"Alright, we’ll meet here again tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock to collect textbooks and choose classes. It’s getting late now, you all should go back. Tang Qing, can you come with me for a moment?" Jing Xiang asked.
Tang Qing, having no other choice, followed Jing Xiang out of the classroom while the other students returned to their dorms. At Fudan during this era, to avoid disrupting the teaching plan, military training took place during the transition from first year to second year. Therefore, their opening week as new students didn’t involve training. The first week was focused on orientation education and class selection, along with various meetings.
The following week, classes would start right away.
Time was of the essence.
They walked to the hallway.
"Teacher Jing, is there something you need?" Tang Qing curiously asked.
"I heard that you plan to live off campus? With your... girlfriend?" Teacher Jing asked with a twinkling in her eye.
"Yes, dorm living doesn’t quite suit me." Tang Qing honestly admitted.
However, what he perceived as "inconvenient" and what Jing Xiang interpreted as "inconvenient" were quite different.
"Hehe, I was just curious. Plus, you guys are still young, try to keep things under control, wouldn’t want a baby out of the blue now, do we?" Teacher Jing straightforwardly chuckled.
"Uh... We most likely won’t." Tang Qing was left sweating bullets.
