Liu Hua University, Big Assembly Hall
The entrance was mobbed by a crowd, already many people had been waiting to go through. Several males dressed in black tuxes collected admission tickets from the crowd. But as freshmen, we only needed our student identity card to be able to go in.
âUhhh⦠Donât tell me you didnât carry along the student identity cardâ¦â Dong Cheng Yue teased.
I extended my hand out of my pocket, pulled out a wrinkled student identity card and smiled: âRelax, Iâm certainly not that forgetful, see?â
âThen hurry up!â
Lin Wan Er nodded, and grabbed onto Dong Cheng Yueâs hand. The two beauties resembled night elves that were known for their grace and beauty. I quickly followed behind and waved my student ID at the âguardsâ; they paused before saying: âCome on inâ¦â
â¦â¦
The moment I entered the hall, I stood still, shocked at the extravagance of the party. In the huge and spacious hall, huge feasts were arranged; there was enough to feed me for an entire year, no, probably two years. And the wine glasses were stacked on top of each other with red wine in them. Damn, what a waste of expensive wine, if someone even touched the stack, they would all go to waste! I wondered who was hosting and paying for todayâs welcoming part. Did he have too much money to spend?
Looking up, countless bright chandeliers were embedded at the top of the ceiling, appearing similar to that of a starry night. The scene was indescribable, my best attempt would be, this was the pinnacle of luxuryâ¦â¦
âChinese department, class 1!â
Far away, several males wearing formal black attire extended their hands out with a courteous smile: âIsnât that the freshmen Lin Wan Er, Dong Cheng Yue? We are here, Chinese departmentâs class 1 table is here!â
Lin Wan Er looked up in surprise but recovered almost immediately, leading me and Dong Cheng Yue over to that table. At the table, a male with black moles on his long chin stepped forward extending his hand: âHello classmate Lin Wan Er, Iâm the Chinese departmentâs student union president, fourth year student. My name is Jack, nice to meet you.â
But, Lin Wan Er didnât shake hands with him. Instead, she simply lowered her head and said: âHi, Senior!â
Flustered, Jackâs hand still stood in the air.
I seized the opportunity to move forward, reaching for his hand and smiled: âHello president, Iâm a first year freshmen Li Xiao Yao, and at the same time, Lin Wan Er is my friend. Nice to meet you!â
Even though Jack was surprised by gesture, he realized that I had just saved him from an embarrassment and showed a grateful smile: âNice to meet youâ¦â¦â
Dong Cheng Yue secretly smiled, and dragged Lin Wan Er: âWan Er, letâs sit over here. Li Xiao Yao come after you finish acquainting with seniorâ¦â¦â
âOk.â
â¦â¦
I sighed as I appraised Jackâs very expensive suit. For me⦠my shirts were from American Apparel while my pants were from G2000 (Hong Kong brand), and my shoes were New Balance. However, even though the clothes could be separated by cost, self-respect did not separate into valuable and worthless. Therefore, without hints of servile nor overbearing, I greeted my senior and afterwards headed to Lin Wan Erâs table. From today on, my role would be of a university freshmen, and also Lin Wan Erâs friend. Of course, this was Lin Tian Nanâs arrangement. In fact, he even altered my records, so now no one could find out that I used be be a mercenary, commando, SWAT, criminal police, traffic police, guard etc. Although it wasnât hard for Lin Tian Nan to do this, it really helped me.
Soon afterwards, more and more students came with young immature faces revealing their envy for the extravagance displayed at the party. Moreover, some students that had come to the party were from prestigious family, and were wearing luxurious attires that put Jackâs attire to shame. Looked like tonight wasnât a welcoming dance party but more like a show off how rich you are party.
Behind me, sharp gazes stung my back. Several class 2 students of the Chinese Department were staring daggers at me after discovering delicious prey, Lin Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue. Because these two beauties were sitting very close to me, almost giving the impression that they were leaning against me, the target of their hatred was me. Because I, if I may say so, gave off the impression of a handsome, courageous young man, they probably thought that I was dating the two. I concentrated, blocking out all sounds until I could finally hear them gossiping quietly:âLook, the two beauties on the next table, arenât they Lin Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue. Supposedly come from extraordinary family background, tsk tskâ¦â¦â
âLin Wan Er!! Didnât sheâ¦â¦ Is it the Lin Wan Er that sang heart of time? Damn, she really resembles her posters. Sheâ¦â¦ she is my girlâ¦â¦ goddess. Iâ¦â¦ when did I start stutteringâ¦â
âPah, you good for nothing! She is Lin Wan Erâ¦â¦wow, looking good!â
âSay, who is that repulsive fellow, he seems very familiar with Ling Wan Erâ¦â¦â
âDoesnât matter. Heâs wearing the 2017 styles of American Apparel, heâs definitely a nobody. Right after the party starts, you guys go and âhelpâ him to start drinking. Make sure he leaves the two girls so that I can start!â
â¦â¦
My gaze flirted over to that table. The person that just spoke was a young man with red dyed hair. He seemed about 25 years old, the same as me! But, from his posture, he seemed very arrogant. He was wearing a deep red suit, definitely by some famous brand. In fact, even his watch was sparkling gold. Oh, that was the 2016 limited edition of Vacheron Constantin embedded with pure gold and diamonds. I remembered seeing that it cost about 2,000,000 Yuan (333,333 USD) per watch. Who was this guy?
âThat personâ¦â¦red hair, who is he?â I looked at Dong Cheng Yue: âWhy do I feel like seen him before? Yue Er, donât turn your head, just casually glance overâ¦â¦â
Dong Cheng Yue carefully picked up her glass of red wine and sneaked a glance: âLiu Ying, son of the chairman of Feng Ling Corporation in Hang Zhou. The company is worth about 1,000,000,000 Yuan (166,666,666 USD). But, heâs a third year student, dunno how he got into this party. By the way, Liu Ying has a very bad reputation at the university. Stay away from him.â
I nodded: âAhh, I understand.â
Beside me, Lin Wan Er pursed her red lips. She threw a sideways glance at me : âWhy are you paying so much attention to him?â
âNot really. But I do think that, in a moment they will come over to invite you girls to a dance or toasts. I need to be prepared for thatâ¦â¦â
Lin Wan Er: ââ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
Just then, another person plopped down beside me. It was glasses, Tang Gu.
âHaha, so youâre hereâ¦â Tang Gu put his arm around my shoulder, but his eyes stayed glued to Lin Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue. This guyâ¦â¦
I pushed off Tang Guâs arm and said: âGlasses, why did you come?â
âCâmon, Iâm also a freshman and, Iâm also in the Chinese department. If not, how would I be living in the same dormitory as you?
Xiao Yao: ââ¦â¦â
Tang Gu looked at Ling Wan Er and then his voice began to tremble. His cheek blushed blossomed into a deep crimson and soon after he started to take disgusting deep breaths: âMiss Lin Wan Er, helloâ¦â¦ I amâ¦â¦ I am Li Xiao Yao roommate Tang Gu, itâs very nice to meet you.â
Lin Wan Er humbly smiled. Her eyes squinted into crescent moons: âSame to youâ¦â¦â
Tang Gu nearly choked on himself. Instead of responding, he hid behind his cellphone and then in a low voice he said: âLi Xiao Yao, you truly have good fortunesâ¦â¦â
I was astounded: â What fortunes?â
âKeep pretending!â Tang Gu placed his cellphone in front of me and said: âLook! The university has a tradition where when freshmen enter the school, the school posts a list of the top 10 most beautiful women of the school!â
âOh, the top 10â¦â¦â
âThat rightâ¦â¦â Tang Gu wiped off his saliva and said: âThe results are in. Lin Wan Er is ranked number 1 and Dong Cheng Yue came in second.The second year female student Xi Tu Xue went from first to third place. Furthermore, in fourth and fifth place respectively is Wang Ran and Liu Lu. They all got bumped downâ¦â¦â
The corner of my mouth twitched: âUselessâ¦â¦â
Lin Wan Er glanced: âExactly, thatâs uselessâ¦â¦â
Woah, this was the first time she and I reached a same agreement.
Tang Gu lightly smiled and looks away. Suddenly, he turned back to me when he saw Liu Yingâs group: âYo, Li Xiao Yao, are Lin Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue your friends?â
I nodded: âOf course, whatâs the problem?â
âThen get ready to protect themâ¦â¦â
âWhat?â
âThat guy, Liu Ying, do you known him?â Tang Gu lowered his voice, to the point where only I could hear him: âLiu Ying, crown prince of Feng Ling corporation is a third year university student. In two years that he joined Liu Hua university, he gained a reputation of being a queen killer. Last year, out of the top 10 most beautiful women, seven were rumored to have gone on Liu Yingâs bedâ¦â¦ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
I was astounded, speechless to say how could this matter be permitted. My virgin self couldnât accept this!
Beside me, Lin Wan Er dully said: âMen that are two timing are the most loathsomeâ¦â¦â
I turned around amazed, surprised to see that her hearing was very keen. Lin Wan Erâs beautiful face was also staring at me and with a charming smile: âRelax, Iâm not going to drink or dance with that guyâ¦â¦â
I nodded: âAhh, Okâ¦â
â¦â¦
Soon afterwards, the host declared that the evening party had finally begun. And me? As soon as the food came out, me and Glasses devoured through the food. As if we had just gotten back from a hungry trip to South Africa. Soon, me and Glasses swept away everything. At the table were around 20 people. Although a couple of the guys started to chat with Lin Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue, I kept on eating. Not my problem!
When I was only slightly full, a group of students from Economics Department surged toward us. These freshmen were obviously drunk with their cheeks bright red. Among these people, one tall individual respectfully asked: âAll the student from the Economics Department are here, please donât say no, ok?â
âHow could Iâ¦â
Lin Wan Er stood up, holding a filled red wine glass and drank it in one gulp. Her cheek had turned a slight pink when she finally sat back down. Afterwards, she shot a gaze at me, making me feel uncomfortable.
As people continuously arrived to give a toast, Lin Wan Er continued to drink glass after glass. She became somewhat languid, slumping in the chair. Tilting her head, she began to boldly stare at me, showing a complicated expression. But I did not dare to look at her in the face. I could tell that she was furious, furious at her father for sending a someone to monitor her. Furious at having her unrestricted life restricted. I knew this, but at the same time, I had no say in the matter.
âWan Er, youâve drank enough, shall we go back now?
I reached out and lightly grabbed Lin Wan Er very soft and tender wrist.
âDonât touch me!â
Lin Wan Er furiously withdrew her hand, like a wounded beast. Beside me, Dong Cheng Yue seemed puzzled: âWan Er, are you alright?â
Lin Wan Er looked at me: âIâm sorry, Iâ¦â
I didnât speak. I only silently returned her gaze.
â¦â¦
At the same time, another group came. Then, a very familiar voice floated through the air: âMiss Lin Wan Er, can I, Liu Ying be fortunate enough to invite you to a toast?
I got up abruptly, looking at Liu Ying and said: â Wan Er has had too many already, let me replace her instead!â
âWho do you think you are?â
Liu Yingâs eyebrows were raised, exerting his overbearingness. But as soon as he saw me, his eyes widened: âI knew you looked familiar, Xiao Yao Zi Zai!â