Chapter 6

"Xiaomeng, Xiaomeng."

Realizing someone was calling him, Liu Meng turned around and saw his senior from the neighboring village, Meng Haohao. Meng Haohao was slightly overweight, about the same height as Liu Meng. He was wearing a pair of slippers, a pair of shorts, and a loose short-sleeved shirt, with his hair in a messy tangle.

Liu Meng greeted him, and the two chatted for a bit. Meng Haohao suggested they go to the cafeteria for a meal. Since Liu Meng didn't have a meal card yet, Meng Haohao offered to treat him.

At the convenience cafeteria near the school gate, which was better than the other cafeterias and operated for 18 hours a day, Liu Meng used to eat here frequently when he missed meal times while writing novels in the main building's computer lab. His favorite was the beef pie, which was delicious.

They ordered a few dishes. Liu Meng got two beef pies, and Meng Haohao ordered a bottle of beer. In this distant northern city, the two hometown friends ate and drank, chatting about their hometown affairs.

This feeling was truly warm. Looking around the cafeteria, it brought back memories of the place where he had spent his freshman year writing novels without a computer, only in the main building's computer lab.

After finishing their meal, Meng Haohao took Liu Meng to register for enrollment. At the registration site, some students were already signing up, and the counselor, Li Xin, was sitting there, writing quickly.

Li Xin's hair was neatly combed back, his long hair all smoothed up. He probably had a high hairline, which this style helped to conceal.

Liu Meng didn't have a good impression of Li Xin, mainly because when Liu Meng needed to apply for a student loan, Li Xin was unwilling to help and even mocked him. This made Liu Meng feel embarrassed, especially with classmates around. Back then, he was still a young man with a fragile heart.

However, now Liu Meng stood at a different height and could face this situation calmly. He sat down and said calmly, "Counselor, I need to apply for a student loan."

"Okay," Li Xin replied casually, "Is your family really poor or just pretending?" Li Xin was quite annoyed. It was his first year as a counselor, and there were too many students applying for loans. The total loan amount for the department was fixed, and it was about to exceed. He needed to carefully distinguish and ask those who were not in extreme need to find other ways.

"Really poor."

"What is your family's annual income?"

"Negative a few thousand."

Li Xin, who had been looking at the documents, raised his eyes in surprise. This was the most difficult case he had encountered. The poorest student he had seen earlier had an annual income of 3,000 yuan. "How can it be negative? What happened?"

Liu Meng said with a hint of sorrow, "Counselor, you don't know. My father is in poor health and can't do heavy work. We can't do the farm work, and we need a few thousand yuan for his medical expenses each year, so it's negative a few thousand."

"Is that true?" Li Xin stared at the rustic-looking teenager, believing him a bit from his appearance. Even his luggage was old, indicating real poverty.

Before Liu Meng could answer, Li Xin nodded and said, "Okay, you can apply for the maximum amount of 6,000 yuan."

It was done easily. Liu Meng secretly sighed in relief. With this, he could save 6,000 yuan on tuition. By earning some living expenses, he could buy a cheap laptop and start writing novels.

They quickly completed the enrollment procedures, paying for textbooks and accommodation, which amounted to about 1,200 yuan. Seeing that it was getting late, Meng Haohao sent Liu Meng to the dormitory building and then left.

Meng Haohao was already a junior. At Ice City University of Technology, only freshmen stayed in the new campus, while sophomores moved to the old campus in the city.

Liu Meng carried two small suitcases and climbed to the third floor. Soon, he would enter the dormitory and see his old friends, a warm current surging in his heart. These friends had accompanied him through the most carefree and vibrant four years of his life.

They often appeared in his dreams. After graduation, he went to Jianghai City and never saw any of them again.

Standing at the door of Room 307, he felt a bit nervous, his hand trembling slightly as he held the key to open the door.

He took a deep breath and thought, "Brothers, I'm back. We're meeting again."

With a creak, the door opened.

The room housed three people, and the adjacent room shared a bathroom, allowing them to move between the two rooms through the bathroom.

In the same dormitory as Liu Meng were two others.

The eldest, Deng Jinyao, was from Ningcheng and had a sharp mind but was very righteous. He had been the class monitor from elementary school to high school, exuding a strong presence.

Later, when everyone needed money for dating, they often borrowed from him. He was generous, combining the shrewdness of southerners with the openness and generosity of northerners, making him the natural leader of both dorms.

The second eldest, Dongdong, was a typical Shandong man from Weicheng, the hometown of kites. He was a model student and a well-behaved child who listened to his mother.

He had a childhood sweetheart in his hometown, a very outgoing girl. In the second semester of his freshman year, she came to Ice City from Daming Lake to find Dongdong, and they started dating.

The girl later became close to the rest of us. In their relationship, the girl was more proactive, which led to ongoing conflicts. She always felt that Dongdong wasn't affectionate enough. Even after they moved to Beijing and ended their long-distance relationship, they broke up after nine years, which was truly a pity.

Thinking about all this, Liu Meng felt a deep sense of emotion. Since he had returned to 2004, he was determined to live differently and help his brothers with their troubles as much as possible.

He pushed open the door of Room 307. Inside, Dongdong and his mother were there, and Deng Jinyao was lying on the bed texting.

As soon as Liu Meng dragged his luggage in, Dongdong greeted him, and Deng Jinyao came down from the top bunk to help him unpack, saying, "You're the last one to arrive in our dorm. We were just talking about when you would get here."

Dongdong's mother was also very热情, taking out some washed fruit for Liu Meng to eat. "Seeing you kids makes me so happy. How old are you? Our Dongdong was born in October 1986, and Deng Jinyao is from June 1985."

"Um... I'm from 1987."

Dongdong's mother exclaimed, "You're so young? So you're the youngest. I thought Dongdong was the youngest."

"It's a long story."

"Did you skip a grade?" Dongdong's mother continued to ask.

"No, we just start school earlier in my area. There are even younger ones."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Deng Jinyao opened the door, and a slightly overweight, dark-skinned man with wire-rimmed glasses and a high head entered. Liu Meng, of course, knew who he was.

Guo Yu, the temporary class monitor of Electrical Engineering Class 3, whose father was the branch manager of a city-level bank and whose grandfather was a high-ranking official in a military district. He had a background and, after reporting, treated Counselor Li Xin to a big meal, securing the position of temporary class monitor.

A top student, his favorite thing to do was: after each semester's exam results were announced, he would wander around the dorms and sigh, "I thought I could get 100, but I only got 98. Isn't that disappointing?"

"Notice: On August 30th at 2 PM, there will be an English placement test. Formal military training starts on September 1st. Prepare for the next few days, as this will determine whether you can enter the fast or advanced English classes."

Guo Yu, noticing the newly arrived Liu Meng, sized him up, thinking he was from a poor place and likely a poor student. Li Xin had just called him, mentioning which students were poor and needed more care, and suggesting he arrange some part-time jobs for them.

However, he smiled and said to Liu Meng, "You must be Liu Meng. Welcome, take a good rest."

At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and a boy in slippers and shorts, with dark skin and a toothbrush in his mouth, walked in, brushing his teeth as he went.

Room 307 and Room 305 shared a bathroom, allowing residents to move between the two rooms.

Liu Meng almost shouted, "Damn, it's Cheng Cheng." In his memory, this guy brushed his teeth countless times a day and liked to wander around while brushing.

He was a typical emotional person, more sensitive than most women, easily moved to tears, and prone to impulsive actions. He was very passionate about love, once taking a 28-hour train ride from his hometown to the school, only to rush back home after an argument with his girlfriend. Over four years, he contributed a lot to the railway industry.

However, this passionate campus romance didn't end well. But with a new girlfriend, he was just as passionate, a true romantic.

"Damn, what test?" Cheng Cheng said as he entered, still brushing his teeth.

Guo Yu frowned slightly but continued chatting with everyone before leaving.

Dongdong's mother stood up first, pulling Dongdong. "Son, let's go buy study materials to prepare for the test. Leader, Liu Meng, and the others, are you coming? Let's go together."

Cheng Cheng rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Auntie, I'm Cheng Cheng from the next room."

Dongdong's mother didn't like Cheng Cheng at first glance. He seemed not very serious, and she would have to warn her son later not to get too close to him, but to spend more time with the leader and Liu Meng, to learn from each other.

In the end, the leader, Dongdong, and his mother went out to buy study materials. Cheng Cheng was still brushing his teeth, spitting out white foam but not letting it drop on the floor. He sat on the bed, put his arm around Liu Meng, and said, "Bro, why aren't you going to buy study materials to review?"

"Why don't you go?" Liu Meng countered.

"I have a senior here who told me this is a tradition every year. I started reviewing after the college entrance exam. Otherwise, how could I be so calm? Didn't you know this already?"

"I knew it ten years ago, but it didn't help much." Liu Meng shrugged helplessly.

English was Liu Meng's weak point. No matter how hard he tried, he could never improve. He always hovered around the passing line.

During the college entrance exam, he scored 130 in Chinese (with a perfect essay), 142 in math, and 275 in the science comprehensive test, but only 91 in English, almost failing the listening section, which brought his total score to 638. If not for his weak English listening, he could have entered Tsinghua University.

Later, when he took the English Level 6 test, the listening section was a significant part, and he couldn't pass no matter how hard he studied. The more he reviewed, the lower his score. He was just a few points (out of 710) away from passing.

In the end, he relied on a stroke of luck, guessing all the answers in the listening section and focusing on the other parts to pass.

So, what was the point of reviewing? The more he reviewed, the lower his score.

Thinking about it made him depressed.

After chatting with Cheng Cheng for a while, Liu Meng decided to take a walk. He had long wanted to revisit this familiar campus.

---

(End of the page)