When Xia Yu arrived at the school, he found the counselor in the office.
The counselor was chatting with a colleague. Upon seeing Xia Yu come in, he put down his teacup and took Xia Yu downstairs.
Telling Xia Yu to wait aside for a moment, the counselor drove an electric scooter out from the garage.
“Come on, sit at the back,” the counselor said.
“…”
Sitting at the back of the electric scooter, Xia Yu felt a strange sense of emotion.
“Hold on tight, I’m off.”
The electric scooter drove at a decent speed toward the Conservatory of Music.
The Conservatory of Music was the location of the music department, with each department having its own distinct area and shared facilities.
After ten minutes, the two reached their destination.
Going upstairs with the counselor, Xia Yu met Professor Shen.
The professor’s height of 1.8 meters left a deep impression on Xia Yu.
“Are you Xia Yu?” Shen Shengsheng looked at him.
“Yeah,” Xia Yu replied, simultaneously wondering what Shen wanted him for.
“I’m a professor of Sheng music. I wonder if you’d be interested in joining our Sheng music class. You don’t have to worry about the procedures—I’ll handle them for you. You can choose whichever class you like,” Shen stated directly.
The counselor beside them was greatly surprised, never expecting that Shen had summoned Xia Yu merely to poach him.
“No thanks. I’m doing just fine in the Chinese department,” Xia Yu declined, as he had no desire to spend all day blowing into tubes.
“I don’t know what caused you to leave the Guzheng class, but our Sheng music class has absolutely nothing to do with the Guzheng class. You can rest assured. I believe that deep down, you still love music,” Shen misunderstood Xia Yu’s reasons.
“Thank you for the kind offer, Professor,” Xia Yu still declined, as he wasn’t particularly fond of music.
“Why are you still refusing? I’ve told you that no matter what happened, you can come to my Sheng music class. Don’t tell me you really prefer literature?” Shen started to feel anxious.
He turned to Xia Yu’s counselor: “Xiao Fu, persuade him, will you? What’s so great about the Chinese department anyway!”
Xiao Fu, being a teacher from the Chinese department, felt a complicated mix of emotions.
Still, he spoke up in support of Shen.
Xia Yu originally didn’t mind, but seeing the two of them tag-teaming him and already planning to go to the academic affairs office to change his major, he had no choice but to break his silence.
“I have a dream!” Xia Yu suddenly declared.
Shen Shengsheng and the counselor turned their attention toward him.
“Actually, when I was young, I always dreamed of becoming a writer, wanting to make others feel beauty through stories. Before, I had no choice, but now I just want to be a writer,” Xia Yu said seriously, as if it were true.
Talking about dreams, Shen and the counselor’s momentum weakened.
“You can make others feel beauty through music too!” Shen said.
“Music is too niche, and limited by form, ordinary people who don’t understand music can’t really appreciate it,” Xia Yu replied casually.
Shen started to feel it was a bit tricky: “Your talent lies in music. It’s such a waste.”
“Actually, I feel I also have talent in literature,” seeing Shen’s reaction, Xia Yu knew he could get through this hurdle.
Although Shen seemed domineering on the surface, he was actually quite soft-hearted.
“You… sigh, well, you’re still young. Try it for a year, then,” Shen reluctantly nodded.
Unlike other matters, in music, even if you bring someone in physically, it’s useless if their heart isn’t in it.
He’d go along with Xia Yu’s idea for now and deal with it gradually.
After all, that dream of writing novels was destined to be unachievable—how could someone possibly succeed at whatever they tried?
Young people always needed to face some setbacks.
“The Sheng music class will always welcome you,” Shen concluded.
Leaving the office, Xia Yu walked back with the counselor.
“Xia Yu, as your teacher, I support you emotionally, but rationally speaking, I must tell you that dreams can’t be your daily bread. Even if they could, you shouldn’t rely on them—they’ll bore you eventually,” the counselor sighed.
“Don’t worry, Teacher. I understand,” Xia Yu, of course, had no such writer’s dream—it was just an excuse.
Right now, he only wanted to make money and buy a villa as big as An Siyao’s family’s.
“Oh, I just remembered!” The counselor suddenly slammed on the brakes, stopping the electric scooter.
He turned around excitedly to look at Xia Yu: “You’re the one who performed together with Liu Manman!”
Xia Yu then realized that the counselor was a fan of Liu Manman.
“Were you taught by Master Liu Ronglan?” The counselor recalled another piece of information.
“Yeah,” Xia Yu replied.
After a moment of silence, the counselor said to Xia Yu: “You just attend a few days of military training, and I’ll get you an excuse note right away. You don’t have to attend the rest.”
Xia Yu raised his eyebrows. He realized that the counselor had decided to help him get the note only after learning about Liu Ronglan. The Liu family was indeed no simple household.
Xia Yu reflected on the women around him. Even Yan Wei, who initially seemed ordinary, had her Second Grandfather Yan Baiyu. All of them were second-generation elites, while he himself was just an ordinary person.
Yet, he was actually the least ordinary among them.
The counselor dropped Xia Yu off at the dormitory, where Xia Yu changed into his camouflage uniform and went to attend the military training.
At 4:30 PM, the training ended, and he returned to the dormitory, waiting for 5:30 PM to arrive.
He planned to leave at five, which meant he still had half an hour.
Except for him, only Qin Youliang was in the dormitory. Yi Shiyou had gone to another dorm to socialize.
Qin was holding his phone, chatting with someone.
At 4:50 PM, Qin stood up and said to Xia Yu: “Xia Yu, want to come see some beauties?”
This nostalgic activity goal brought Xia Yu some pleasure.
Qin was the kind of roommate Xia Yu remembered from university.
“No thanks,” he replied.
“We’re not going to our own department—we’re going to the music department. The girls there are said to be of exceptional quality,” Qin tried his best to entice Xia Yu.
“I’ve got something to do later,” Xia Yu answered.
“In that case, nothing I can do,” Qin waved goodbye regretfully and rushed off with several classmates toward the Conservatory of Music.
Ten minutes after they left, Xia Yu also set off toward the location where he had agreed to meet An Siyao.
Entering the Conservatory of Music and recalling Qin’s words moments ago, Xia Yu couldn’t help but observe the girls he encountered along the way. In terms of appearance, the female students at the Conservatory of Music were about the same as those at the Chinese department, but in terms of demeanor and style, they were superior.
But none of them could match An Siyao.
Approaching the convenience store, Xia Yu spotted An Siyao standing by the man-made lake behind it.
The girl was wearing a white dress, nervously glancing around.
Her actions attracted the attention of ill-intentioned individuals.
Just like how fraudsters most often target tourists holding travel maps and taking photos, those with bad intentions were naturally drawn to such an apparently approachable and beautiful girl.
Not to mention An Siyao’s extraordinary beauty.
Xia Yu noticed at least five groups of boys watching An Siyao from around the area.
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