Chapter 27

Standing at the intersection with Yu Jin for a while, Bian Xuedao said, "Zhou Ling is with you, so it’s not appropriate for me to stay up all night coding. I’m planning to rent a house in the school’s family area, I just wanted to let you know. I’m doing this to create better living conditions for you, don’t overthink it. I’ll still come by during the day. We’ll keep selling the cheats together."

Yu Jin listened and said, "Alright, when you find a place, let me know, and I’ll move the computer over for you."

Bian Xuedao said, "No need, you keep it. I’m planning to build a server to play with, so I need a more powerful computer. I’ll build a new one."

Yu Jin thought for a moment and said, "How about I let Zhou Ling go out and find a place to stay with her friends?"

"Absolutely not!" Bian Xuedao interrupted, "She’s with you, and she hasn’t complained about our conditions. How can you send her away? Don’t overthink it. I’ll let you know as soon as I find a place."

After talking to Yu Jin, Bian Xuedao walked back to the dormitory. On the way, he ran into Zhang Meng, who was chatting with someone. Zhang Meng saw Bian Xuedao from a distance and waved at him immediately.

Bian Xuedao walked up, and Zhang Meng said, "Why are you alone? Where are Li Yu and the others?"

Bian Xuedao smiled and said, "We just had dinner together. I had something to do, so they went back first. Are you heading back to the dorm?"

Zhang Meng said, "Yeah, I just came back from the university art troupe. By the way, this is Shan Rao, a senior from the Media School." Zhang Meng introduced the smiling girl next to her to Bian Xuedao. Then she pointed to Bian Xuedao and introduced him to Shan Rao: "This is Bian Xuedao, from the International Trade program in the Management School. He’s in my year, and he’s the handsome guy from our dorm!"

"Handsome guy from the dorm?" Shan Rao looked at Bian Xuedao carefully, thinking, "He’s a bit taller, but where’s the handsomeness? Why is Zhang Meng, who’s usually so proud, acting like this today?"

"Hello!" Bian Xuedao greeted Shan Rao politely, then chatted with Zhang Meng for a few more sentences before heading towards Building 6A.

Seeing Zhang Meng watching Bian Xuedao until he was out of sight, Shan Rao nudged her, "Don’t hide it, is he your boyfriend? Doesn’t seem like it, what’s your relationship?"

Zhang Meng said, "Just a dorm relationship, really. You know Li Youcheng from our dance team, right?"

Shan Rao didn’t understand why Li Youcheng was brought up, but she said, "Yeah, I know him."

Zhang Meng said, "Isn’t Li Youcheng pretty good-looking? He’s been chasing Bian Xuedao since they met at the dorm event, but he hasn’t succeeded."

"Li Youcheng chasing him?" Shan Rao found it hard to believe.

The next day, Bian Xuedao found a real estate agency near the school and told the agent he wanted to rent a room in the red brick building next to Dongsen University’s stadium. The agent said they didn’t have any available rooms at the moment but would check with other agencies nearby. They asked Bian Xuedao to leave his phone number so they could notify him if they found something.

At the end of May, the 2002 FIFA World Cup began.

The entire Dongsen University became much quieter.

During the matches, couples who usually wandered around the campus disappeared, and there were fewer people running and jumping on the sports fields. The usually crowded library was empty.

The professors were all in good spirits. Whether they were known for their good temper or the famous "Four Great Captains," if their classes conflicted with the matches, they wouldn’t bother with roll calls or attendance checks. Instead, they would highlight key points and let the students who came to class go back to their dorms to watch the matches.

Everyone understood that China’s entry into the World Cup was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and the next time might be several centuries later. It would be foolish to argue with the students at this time. They could just go home and watch the matches themselves.

In 2002, every dorm room at Dongsen University had a TV. If you walked past the dorm buildings during a match, whether it was a boys' or girls' dorm, whether you understood football or not, and whether you usually liked football or not, all the TV screens in the windows would show the green football field, with no other scenes.

The 2002 World Cup had many highlights: Beckham’s Mohawk, Ronaldo’s Afro, the Korean team’s reliance on referees and blue pills, and China’s three losses with nine goals conceded...

Of course, the most unforgettable moment was Batistuta, the God of War, crying on the sidelines. Many girls at Dongsen University cried that day, including Su Yi.

Although he already knew the outcome of this World Cup, Bian Xuedao was still a bit excited because he could relive the rise of his favorite player, his football idol—Klose, the great and legendary striker.

Seeing Klose’s beautiful backflip in the live broadcast again, Bian Xuedao felt a stirring in his heart.

After China was eliminated, the World Cup became less relevant to the Chinese, and the teachers returned to their usual state.

The marketing professor assigned an extracurricular practical assignment, asking each student to complete five successful transactions as a seller and to judge the buyer’s willingness and purchasing power based on their clothing, language, and expressions.

Honestly, this assignment was hard to evaluate, as the teacher couldn’t follow all the students. But the marketing professor claimed he was an expert in transaction psychology and could tell who was making it up from the transaction insights they submitted.

This was too mysterious!

Li Yu had a good idea. He suggested, "The Dragon Boat Festival is coming up. We can buy some small items, like inflatable hammers, rabbit ears, masks, and flashing hair clips, and sell them on Tiaoshi Street."

"That’s a good idea, we can sell and have fun. Should we invite the guys from 603?" Tong Chao said.

"Let’s ask. If they want to come, they can. More people means more fun, and besides, pretty girls have an advantage when selling," Kong Weize said.

Ai Feng called Nan Jiao and asked if their dorm wanted to go to the river for the Dragon Boat Festival. Nan Jiao quickly consulted the girls in her dorm and replied that they would go.

To be honest, not many girls genuinely loved watching football; most were just accompanying their boyfriends or admirers. It was tough because, whether it was their boyfriends or admirers, they had all changed their personalities recently, using all sorts of tricks to get attention, which didn’t work as well as before.

Some girls’ boyfriends would even call after watching a match to ask if they had watched it, if it was exciting, and which player they liked. Smart girls would say they liked number 9 or 10, but one girl in a neighboring dorm said she liked number 98, almost ending her relationship.

The girls were all frustrated, but at least the tournament only came around every four years.

Fortunately, the guys in 717 were considerate. They knew the girls weren’t interested and decided to organize an activity. Nan Jiao had already planned to team up with Li Xun, Su Yi, and Li Youcheng, who was half a family member, to give these guys a cold shoulder.

Li Yu was in charge of buying the items and paying for them.

When some of the guys and girls in the class who were close to 717 heard about their plan, they all wanted to join.

In the end, including Zhou Ling, there were 26 people.

Chen Jian was meticulous and suggested that, since there would be many people during the Dragon Boat Festival, they should wear统一的T-shirts to prevent anyone from getting lost. Chen Jian was going to ask everyone to chip in, but before he could, Bian Xuedao and Yu Jin offered to cover the cost.

Bian Xuedao, who had worked in media for many years, was still quite forward-thinking.

After buying the T-shirts, he found a store that sold football jerseys and asked the owner to print messages on them.

On the front, it said "Please Protect the Environment," and on the back, it said "Do Not Litter."

On the way back to the school, Bian Xuedao stopped by the river and booked four rooms in a hotel for the Dragon Boat Festival and the day before. He also bought four tents, some waterproof mats, a few folding chairs, and five small trash bins from an outdoor store. Since he couldn’t carry everything, he called Li Yu to ask where he was and asked him to come help.

Li Yu asked for Bian Xuedao’s location, and a few minutes later, a Mitsubishi stopped next to him. Li Yu called out from the car, asking him to get in.

Get in? No way!

Looking at Li Yu in the driver’s seat, Bian Xuedao didn’t get in. He opened the door and asked quietly, "Can you drive? Do you have a license?"

"I can drive, but I don’t have a license," Li Yu said.

"Really?" Bian Xuedao was still worried. He thought about driving himself if necessary.

There was no other choice. Since the school was in the city, the speed wouldn’t be too high, so it wouldn’t be life-threatening. Bian Xuedao put the items in the back seat and trunk, sat in the passenger seat, and fastened his seatbelt tightly. Seeing Bian Xuedao’s nervous face, Li Yu intentionally drove erratically to scare him. Not far from the school, Bian Xuedao unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car, and told Li Yu, "Get out, I’ll drive!"

The car stopped in front of Building 6A. Li Yu said, "Not bad, you drive pretty steadily. How long have you been driving?"

Bian Xuedao ignored him, looked at the car, and said, "Where did you get this car? It looks new."

Li Yu grinned and said, "It’s mine, I just got it from my dad."