Although the counselor was a bit afraid of Shen Shengsheng, he still dragged him to the office of the Academic Affairs Department to avoid being wrongly accused.
Logging into the school’s backend using the department’s computer, he entered Xia Yu’s name.
Xia Yu’s photo popped up on the screen.
“See, I told you Xia Yu had already arrived!” Shen Shengsheng declared triumphantly.
The counselor became flustered. He indeed hadn’t seen Xia Yu come to register, so how could Xia Yu’s name appear in the system?
He scanned the interface again and noticed the problem.
Shen Shengsheng repeated his previous words, “His name is already on here. It’s not on your list—could he have gone to another class?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the counselor’s voice followed, “Xia Yu, Chinese Department, Literary Studies Class 3…”
“What?” Shen Shengsheng was greatly surprised. He pushed the counselor aside and looked at the screen himself.
There, the words “Chinese Department” were clearly visible.
Scratching his head, Shen Shengsheng couldn’t understand how Xia Yu had ended up in the Chinese Department.
He had underestimated Xia Yu by thinking he merely switched classes—he had actually switched departments entirely!
“Sorry, Xiao Yuan, I misunderstood you. Why don’t you wait a bit and let me treat you to dinner?” Shen Shengsheng said to the counselor.
“No, no, I should be the one treating you.”
“Then I’ll bring the alcohol!” Shen Shengsheng concluded the matter.
Then he turned to the staff member from the Academic Affairs Department and asked for clarification.
Upon learning that a music department student had suddenly appeared in the Chinese department, the Academic Affairs staff member was also quite surprised. He checked the information and figured out what had happened.
“This Xia Yu was specially recruited into the music department last year. This year, he entered the Chinese department through the college entrance exam. Because the specially recruited information and the college entrance exam information weren’t shared during class allocation, two Xia Yus appeared,” the Academic Affairs staff member explained to Shen Shengsheng.
“He was specially recruited into the music department and then got himself admitted to the Chinese department through the entrance exam?” Shen Shengsheng couldn’t understand this move.
The counselor was also quite surprised.
“Perhaps he just doesn’t want to pursue music anymore—abandoning music for literature?” the Academic Affairs staff member joked.
This remark, however, ignited Shen Shengsheng’s anger.
He slammed the table and angrily said, “Nonsense!”
“Do you have the contact number for a Chinese department teacher? Give it to me,” Shen Shengsheng felt determined to rescue this lost lamb and bring him into his family of sheng music.
…
Meanwhile, Xia Yu was unaware of the trouble he had gotten into. After dinner, he returned to school and went to his dormitory.
He met his two roommates.
One was rather fat, and the other was thin. The thin one was somewhat handsome, while the fat one looked ordinary.
They introduced themselves briefly, and Xia Yu learned their names.
The fat one was named Yi Shiyou, and the thin one was named Qin Youliang.
Yi Shiyou was dressed simply in a T-shirt and seven-inch pants, while Qin Youliang was more refined, wearing a small suit.
They briefly discussed the upcoming military training, and Xia Yu asked about the third roommate.
“There’s no one else. Our dorm only has three people, and there’s one empty bed,” Yi Shiyou said. “You can leave your luggage there.”
“Where’s your luggage?” Qin Youliang noticed a blind spot.
“My home is nearby, so I didn’t bring any,” Xia Yu replied.
Yi Shiyou narrowed his eyes, beginning to think.
Qin Youliang, however, expressed regret, “How nice! I also wish I could live at home, but my parents won’t allow it.”
“It’s almost time. Let’s go to the evening self-study session,” Yi Shiyou stood up, ending the conversation.
The three went to the classroom together. About half of the students had already arrived, sitting in groups by dormitory.
Xia Yu and his two roommates sat down. Yi Shiyou effortlessly joined the surrounding conversations, clearly showing his strong social skills and actively building relationships.
Xia Yu guessed he was trying to compete for the position of class monitor.
It would be convenient to have a class monitor as a roommate, so Xia Yu mentally supported him.
Then he looked around.
The common issue in liberal arts is that there are far more female students than male. In the Literary Studies Class 1, the proportion of female students increased further, nearly twice that of the males.
To win the position of class monitor, Yi Shiyou’s efforts to build relationships with male classmates alone wouldn’t be sufficient.
His gender and unremarkable appearance made it difficult for him to gain support from female classmates.
Female students would also consider their own interests—having a class monitor of the opposite sex was definitely less convenient than one of the same sex.
After idly thinking for a while, when the music signaling the start of the evening self-study session began, Xia Yu saw his class counselor.
He was a young counselor, probably under thirty years old. Dressed in a campus style, he could easily blend in among the students without raising suspicion.
“First of all, welcome everyone to the Literary Studies Class of the Chinese College at Hua University. I am your counselor, and my surname is Fu…”
After a series of formal remarks, the counselor asked the students to introduce themselves one by one according to their seating order.
There were no surprising speeches, and everyone made a standard, conventional introduction.
After the introductions and formalities were completed, the counselor let the students study on their own and called Xia Yu out.
Walking out of the classroom, Xia Yu looked at the counselor with confusion.
“Do you know Professor Shen from the music department?” the counselor asked.
“I don’t know him personally, but maybe he’s someone my elders know,” Xia Yu referred to Liu Ronglan as his elder.
“He asked me about you. Tomorrow morning, you don’t need to attend military training. Come with me to the music department’s office to meet Professor Shen,” the counselor said. “Oh, by the way, do you want to try running for class monitor?”
This was an offer of special treatment.
But Xia Yu had no interest in such positions. He didn’t need this kind of experience to find a job, nor did he want to use it as a stepping stone to the student union.
Seeing Xia Yu shake his head, the counselor was slightly surprised. There were quite a few benefits to being a class monitor at Hua University, and it was rare for someone to not want the position.
Considering Shen Shengsheng’s status, he felt it was understandable for Xia Yu to look down on the position.
“Alright, you can go back now,” the counselor nodded.
Returning to the classroom, Xia Yu was puzzled about why Professor Shen wanted to see him. Even if Shen was an old acquaintance of Liu Ronglan, there was no need to specially ask him to come.
Could it be that the meeting was just a pretext, and Shen actually wanted to show off his relationship with Xia Yu to gain preferential treatment from the counselor and teachers?
What a kind-hearted person!
“Xia Yu, does the counselor know you?” Yi Shiyou looked at Xia Yu nervously, his eyes showing a hint of hostility, fearing that Xia Yu might compete with him for the class monitor position.
“Just a message from an elder. We don’t really know each other,” Xia Yu replied.
Yi Shiyou was silent for a moment before turning to Xia Yu again, “Xia Yu, I heard there’s a national flag team in our college. They look for handsome and tall students. Your appearance meets the requirements. Do you want to try joining?”
Xia Yu considered for a moment. Yi Shiyou was trying to divert him and prevent him from competing for the class monitor position.
“During every Monday’s flag-raising ceremony, you’ll get to appear on stage, and there’s even a special uniform…” Yi Shiyou continued to tempt Xia Yu.
“No need. I don’t want to join any activities or run for any positions. I just want to take it easy every day,” Xia Yu frankly said.
His intention exposed, Yi Shiyou’s face reddened slightly, but he quickly recovered and assured Xia Yu again, “Don’t worry. Once I become class monitor, I’ll definitely help you hide things. Did the counselor tell you anything about class matters?”
Yi Shiyou wanted to take advantage of Xia Yu’s relationship with the counselor.
Xia Yu, who had originally been looking forward to university life with some anticipation, now felt it was rather dull.
Well, anyway, he wouldn’t be living on campus.
After politely dealing with Yi Shiyou, Xia Yu began thinking about important matters:
How was he going to meet An Siyao?
When the evening self-study session ended, he clicked the slot and took over An Siyao’s body.
At this moment, An Siyao was in the new villa.
“Why didn’t you attend the evening self-study session?” Xia Yu asked in surprise.
“I skipped it by saying I wasn’t feeling well,” An Siyao replied. This was the method Xia Yu had taught her before.
“Is that okay?” the girl asked hesitantly.
“It’s fine. Keep doing that from now on,” Xia Yu encouraged An Siyao.
“Where should we meet?” An Siyao was even more eager than Xia Yu to discuss the meeting arrangements.
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