âHey, Old Yuââb*stardâ is my catchword, donât steal it!â
Guan Tongâs shrill voice had a strange ring to it, it was ear-piercing and had a duck-like qualityâlike the loud squawking and hissing of a male duck being strangled.
Yu Jiangu glared at him severely with a look of exasperation. âYou rotten brat, donât you dare be a bad influence to Xiao Luo, I tell you, otherwise I will castrate you.â
âThatâs a false accusation, he doesnât need me to be a bad influence, that rascal, Dashan, has committed all sorts of sins, and as Xiao Luo is so close to him, Iâm afraid that he has long been rotten to the core,â Guan Tong retorted, casually picking his nose.
[âAchoo!â Thousands of miles away, at the headquarters of Luo Workshop, JiangchengâZhang Dashan, in his office reading through some documents, sneezed and muttered to himself, âSh*t, which pretty girl is thinking about me?â]
ââ¦?â Xiao Luo was speechless.
Yu Jiangu knocked Guan Tong with a knuckle to his head. âYou think Xiao Luo is as unmotivated as you are, only knowing how to waste his life away all day long? I remember him well, he was at the top of the class and won a university-level scholarship once. Am I right, Xiao Luo?â
âItâs all in the past, I didnât expect Mr. Yu would still remember it.â
Xiao Luo was amazed by Yu Jianguâs memory, never expecting that he remembered the scholarship award. He did indeed get it during his freshman year, and it had been for the highest tier awarded at the university level. But the following year, as he was diligently working while studying at the same time, he only achieved moderate grades and no longer became a recipient of the scholarship.
âFor us, teachers, students with good grades, and those with poor grades are the ones we remember well. By the way, how is that fellow, Zhang Dashan, doing now? âYu Jiangu asked, remembering him wellâ¦
âHeâs doing okay, he has just started a company in Jiangcheng,â Xiao Luo said.
Although Xiao Luo was actually the largest shareholder of Luo Workshop, he had nominated Zhang Dashan as its director, while he chose to remain behind the scenes.
Yu Jiangu was pleasantly surprised. âNot bad, thatâs amazing! Iâm impressed Dashan was able to open a company in a developed city like Jiangcheng. Since youâre so close to him, Iâm sure you also have a good position in the company?â
âMmm, yes, I do have a little influence within the company.â Xiao Luo replied.
âNot bad, I was very optimistic about the two of you back in college, and you both did not let me down,â Yu Jiangu gushed, patting Xiao Luo on his shoulder and nodding his approval.
Guan Tong quipped, âOld Yu, you seemed to say the same thing to every ex-student you meet.â
Yu Jiangu once again rapped him on the head. âNo one will take you for a mute if you donât talk!â
âOld Yu, I will draw a circle to curse you and make you bald soon.â
As soon as he heard the word âbald,â Yu Jiangu went red-faced and jumped like a fox that had its tail stepped on, unleashing a stream of invective at Guan Tong. âYou young b*stard, I wondered why my hair has been falling out lately, so itâs you whoâs been cursing me. Believe it or not, Iâll castrate you!â
âCalm down, calm down, that much anger will only make you lose more of your thinning hairâ¦â
âYou little upstart, Iâll really kill you if you mention hair loss again!â
Yu Jiangu was livid, wholly losing the gentle demeanor he had just a moment ago.
âHello, Mr. Yu!â
Three girls happened to pass by and greeted him warmly.
Yu Jiangu immediately calmed down and smiled broadly, quickly adjusting his collar and nodding his head to acknowledge the pretty young ladies. âOh, hello, girls.â
Xiao Luo was speechless, how did he not notice before that his class teacher Yu Jiangu was such an amusing person.
â¦
After lunch, Yu Jiangu had a favor to ask of Xiao Luo and said, âXiao Luo, itâs been almost four years since you left the school, you must have accumulated much experience in society. Weâre having a class meeting later, please do share your experiences with your juniors so that they can prepare themselves early to step into the world, itâs their last semester in school.â
âMr. Yu, thisâ¦â
Xiao Luo felt uncomfortable, as he never enjoyed talking much to people; the less he had to say, the better. To suddenly ask him to give a talk to fifty or sixty students was somewhat a challenge.
âDonât feel stressed, itâs just getting to know your juniors and telling them about some of your experiences in society, to let them know that engineering management is not some obscure major, but that itâs very well-received out there.â
Yu Jiangu smiled as he looked at Xiao Luo with eyes that were genuine and sincere. Placing his hand on Xiao Luoâs shoulder, he said, âJust do me a favor, those kids are too wild. They donât listen to much of what I have to say, even as their class teacher. But if a senior with a successful career were to speak to them, the effect would certainly be different. I am sincerely hoping that they can make a great career out of it so that I can have some pride and not be like someone who is just pulling us down.â
He glanced meaningfully at Guan Tong, sitting next to him with a dumb smile on his face.
It suddenly hit Guan Tong, who then glared back at him. âOld Yu, what are you looking at me for, what exactly do you mean, are you trying to say that Iâm the one embarrassing you?â
âGuan Tong, my long-time studentâas your teacher, Iâm very relieved that you have this realization.â Yu Jiangu patted him firmly on the shoulder twice and said it in a sardonic way.
âYou B*stard, Old Yu!â
Guan Tong frowned.
Xiao Luo laughed, and at this point, it was tough for him to refuse. After all, Yu Jiangu had been his class teacher at university for four years.
â¦
It was 2 pm, as Xiao Luo and Guan Tong followed Yu Jiangu to the engineering management school to meet the class that would be graduating this year.
Guan Tong was an âoldâ student who had had his name registered under the engineering management major for quite a while now, and he was obliged to attend the class meeting.
After Yu Jiangu updated his students concerning other relevant matters, he invited Xiao Luo to the front of the class and made the introductions. âStudents, this is your senior from four batches before you, and his name is Xiao Luo. He is one of the founding members of a pastry-making company in Jiangcheng. He has come to Xiahai this year in anticipation of establishing a branch in Xiahai.â
Listening to his introduction, the boys and girls in the class reacted in all sorts of waysâsome stared adoring, some were curious, some looked surprised, and of course, some were snickering.
âNow, he will be sharing his experiences and give some pointers for the benefit of everyone here, so please welcome himâXiao Luo!â Yu Jiangu led the applause.
The fifty or sixty students of the engineering management major followed his lead and applauded enthusiastically.
After the applause, a few students were whispering among themselves.
âFour batches before us, wouldnât that mean that he was in the same batch as âEight Yearsâ?â
Many people glanced toward Guan Tong, sitting in the last row browsing on his mobile phone. âEight Yearsâ was the nickname students had given him, mocking him for taking eight years to finish college, but of course, it might just as quickly change to âNine Yearsâ or âTen Yearsâ later.
Xiao Luo stood on the podium and looking at the young faces below, his heart was filled with emotions. He once also sat below watching Yu Jiangu standing at the exact spot he was at present, and the experience was out of this world.
He smiled slightly, very much at ease, and said, âActually, I donât know what to tell you, so I guess Iâll tell you about the things that Iâve come to regret in my years of hard work.â
âSenior Xiao, arenât you a successful person? How come you have regrets too?â
Everyone turned to look, and it was none other than the top student of the class, Guan Yilin, who asked the question. It seemed to be just a simple question, but the way she emphasized the words âsuccessful peopleâ was laced with sarcasm.
â¦