sinovels Chapter 101: The First Day of the Class of 2008
Chapter 101: The First Day of the Class of 2008
A few minutes later.
Lin Bei arrived at the gate of his school.
He stood at the school gate, stubbed out his cigarette, threw it into the roadside trash can, and looked up at the red welcome banner hanging on the gate.
The sign above read, "Warmly welcome the new students of the Class of 2008."
Lin Bei adjusted the straps of his backpack and followed the flow of people inside.
In his previous life, he entered another school in another city.
There's a stone lion at the school gate, and every time I pass by, I can smell the roasted sweet potatoes from the food stalls next door.
In this life, everything is different.
The school gates are different, the cities are different, and the people around us are different.
Even he himself is different now.
Along both sides of the main road on campus, there were welcome booths from various colleges, with colorful sunshades lined up in a row.
Each tent has a handwritten sign for new students.
Soon, Lin Bei found the School of Economics and Management's booth and discovered a senior student wearing glasses who was engrossed in organizing forms.
"Hello, senior." Lin Bei handed over the admission notice: "I'm a freshman here to register."
The senior student put down the form in her hand, looked up, and prepared to go through the routine of reading the registration process aloud.
However, the words caught in his throat the moment he looked up.
She adjusted her glasses and compared the photo on the admission notice with the person in front of her twice.
Then, with a smirk, he said, "Marketing Class Two, junior, wait a minute."
"Do you need a senior student to help you move your luggage?"
Several female students nearby gathered around upon hearing the commotion. One of them, a girl with a ponytail, secretly glanced at Lin Bei a few times and whispered something in her ear.
Then, the two of them burst out laughing at the same time.
Lin Bei smiled dismissively: "Thank you, senior. I only have one backpack, so I don't need your help."
Seeing this, the senior student didn't say anything more. She had Lin Bei fill out two more forms before handing him the dormitory key and a freshman guide.
"Your dormitory is a four-person room on the fourth floor of Building 6. There will be a class meeting at 3 PM in the teaching building to pick up your military training uniform. The counselor has already notified you in the group chat."
"Thank you, senior." Lin Bei thanked her again, took the keys, and left.
He walked across the main road of the campus and headed straight for the dormitory building.
As Lin Bei walked, he remarked that the school's facilities were far superior to those of the one in his previous life.
The playground has a newly paved synthetic track, and next to the basketball court, there are several unopened fitness equipment piled up in a corner.
Several of the girls passing by noticeably slowed down and turned around to look, but Lin Bei continued walking with his eyes straight ahead, completely ignoring their stares.
After all, Lin Bei is too conspicuous now.
Back in 08, most boys had long, unconventional haircuts.
When a clean-cut, handsome young man suddenly appears, he will naturally attract more attention.
When Lin Bei pushed open the dormitory door, there were already three people inside.
A tall, thin boy on the upper bunk was standing on the bed, sticking posters on the ceiling while humming "Blue and White Porcelain".
A chubby, fair-skinned boy sat on the lower bunk by the window, looking down at a comic book.
On another upper bunk near the door, a boy with curly hair lay with his phone held up to his face, the beeping sounds of QQ messages blaring from his speaker.
The dormitory door opened, and the three of them turned to look at the doorway at the same time.
The poster in the tall, thin man's hand fell onto the blanket with a "thud!"
The chubby boy closed the comic book, stared at Lin Bei for a few seconds, and exclaimed in surprise, "Our last roommate is actually a handsome guy!"
Lin Bei placed his backpack on the only empty bunk by the window and smiled, "You guys are the handsome ones, okay?"
"My name is Lin Bei. I hope you'll take good care of me for the next four years."
The tall, thin man jumped off the bed and offered his hand for a handshake: "My name is Zhang Wei, you can just call me Brother Wei from now on."
The chubby boy pulled a bookmark from the comic book, clipped it in, and nodded: "My name is Wang Yuan, I'm a local, my family owns a small supermarket."
"I can buy snacks from him next time; I can get them at the internal price."
Finally, the curly-haired boy leaned out of the bed. He was fair-skinned and handsome, and had a canine tooth on his left side when he smiled.
"My name is Bai Yawen, and my family is from H City."
The group returned to their respective beds and chatted idly.
Zhang Wei lay on the bed, legs crossed, and asked, "What were your scores on the college entrance exam?"
While reading the comic book, Wang Yuan said, "I've had my lines rubbed off."
Bai Yawen: "I was admitted through a special program, and my grades are pretty good."
Lin Bei paused for a moment while making the bed.
Are students admitted through the guaranteed admission program assigned to a second-tier undergraduate marketing major?
This configuration is a bit strange, but it's not good to ask too many questions on our first meeting.
He tucked the four corners of the sheet under the mattress, listening to them talk about games, summer vacation, and the Olympics, occasionally chiming in.
Suddenly, everyone's phones vibrated, and a group chat invitation popped up.
The group name is "Class 2, Marketing, 2008", and the group owner is the counselor, Teacher Zhang.
The counselor posted a notice in the group chat: "[There will be a class meeting at 3 PM this afternoon in classroom 203, Building C of the teaching building. Students will collect their military training uniforms. Military training officially begins tomorrow.]"
Lin Bei immediately replied: 【Received!】
The other three also replied.
Not long after, Zhang Wei slid off the bed, rubbed his stomach, and said, "I'm hungry. Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch."
Lin Bei checked the time and found it was already 12 o'clock, so he quickly packed his things and walked out of the dormitory building with his roommate, heading towards the cafeteria side by side.
The cafeteria was an old-fashioned hall.
Ceiling fans hung from the ceiling, long queues formed in front of the windows, and stainless steel trays clattered against the serving counter.
Lin Bei and her roommates lined up separately and ate different foods.
He ordered a bowl of knife-cut noodles, Zhang Wei ordered two meat dishes and one vegetable dish with rice, Wang Yuan brought a bowl of rice with braised pork, and Bai Yawen ordered a bowl of braised chicken with rice.
Soon, the four of them, carrying their trays, found a corner table and sat down.
Zhang Wei stirred his rice with his chopsticks, shoveled a few mouthfuls into his mouth, and then peered around the cafeteria, lowering his voice to ask, "Guess how many girls are in the marketing class?"
"I saw a few when the news was reporting just now, but I was too embarrassed to stare at them."
Lin Bei picked up a piece of knife-cut noodles with his chopsticks, blew on it, and said, "The male-to-female ratio in marketing is about 50/50. There are more girls than in engineering, but not as many as in teacher training."
"However, if you want to find a girlfriend, don't limit your search to your major. The broadcasting and flight attendant majors next door are full of beautiful girls."
"I might go there and audit a few general education classes; I might gain something unexpected."
Zhang Wei said with a disdainful look, "I don't plan to date in college. I'll figure out how to play the game first."
"It's not too late to look for a job after graduation."
Lin Bei placed his chopsticks on the rim of the bowl, looked at Zhang Wei's serious face, and suddenly smiled.
"If you can't find a girlfriend in school, forget about it after graduation."
"Once you enter the workforce, girls look at your job, income, house, and car. If you can't even talk to girls in school, what makes you think you can succeed in dating someone?"
"You don't need a reason to date in college, but once you leave campus, you'll need a resume first."
This is not alarmist.
Rather, it was something Lin Bei personally experienced in his previous life.