Chapter 56

Li Yu's "Sanmu Garden" became lively again, with everyone discussing the newly appeared "Honesty Bicycles."

"Everyone, how long do you think these bicycles will last?"

"We should call on our alumni to take good care of these bicycles. The longer they last, the more they will demonstrate the civility of Dongsen University students!"

"This bike is definitely for riding with a girlfriend. Which guy would have the nerve to not pay in front of his girlfriend? The person who came up with this idea is really clever, saving labor and gaining a good reputation."

"Yeah, we should supervise each other. If anyone rides the bike without paying, make sure they can't find a girlfriend for four years."

"I think students inside the campus won't steal the bikes. If there are any thefts, it will be from people outside the campus. Everyone should be vigilant and make sure no one rides the bikes out of the school."

...

Under Li Yu's guidance, the discussions about the bicycles in "Sanmu Garden" developed in a healthy direction.

On the day the bicycles were launched, they immediately became a sensation at Dongsen University, with people even queuing up outside the bike shed waiting for the bikes to return.

After a few days, teachers would also bring their children to rent the bicycles for a ride.

There were reasons for their popularity.

First, the rental price of the bicycles was more than half cheaper than those in various amusement parks outside the campus, making the price advantage very obvious.

Second, it was spring, and everyone was eager to go out and enjoy the weather. With fewer motor vehicles on campus, riding was much safer than outside.

Third, riding a tandem bicycle together could enhance the sense of unity, coordination, and默契 (rapport) between student couples.

Finally, and most importantly, boys were willing to pay voluntarily to demonstrate their integrity to girls, and parents were happy to use this method to educate their children about honesty.

This small "Honesty Bicycle" project met various needs of people.

Most people treated the "Honesty Bicycles" with great care, and many boys, after finding the tires low on air, would use the pump provided in the bike shed to inflate them before leaving. The girls who saw this behavior were all very impressed.

A week after the introduction of the Honesty Bicycles, the Dongsen University newspaper published a detailed article about their use on campus, highly praising the civility of Dongsen students and calling on everyone to take good care of the Honesty Bicycles, which symbolized the civility of Dongsen University.

Half a month later, several media outlets in Songjiang City followed up, and after thorough interviews and research, they published extensive reports on the Honesty Bicycles at Dongsen University on the same day.

Bian Xuedao did not give interviews but instead put Chen Jian and Shan Rao in the spotlight. Through interviews with Chen Jian and Shan Rao, the media discovered that the daily income from the Honesty Bicycles often exceeded the normal calculated values. The only explanation was that the students not only paid but sometimes even overpaid.

The city media praised this positive and honest interaction, which caught the attention of some city and provincial leaders.

Some observant people noticed that the Honesty Bicycles and last year's Dragon Boat Festival environmental volunteers were from the same university. The provincial party leadership praised the moral education level of Dongsen University at a standing committee meeting, requiring relevant departments to conduct thorough research and actively guide efforts to create a wave of honesty throughout the province.

When this information reached the ears of the Dongsen University leadership, despite the university being directly under the Ministry of Education and not under provincial jurisdiction, they were very pleased. They instructed relevant departments to give preferential treatment in terms of graduate school recommendations, excellence awards, and scholarship distributions to the students who had brought glory to the university.

Since tuning the guitar, Li Yu often called Shan Rao to have dinner at Bian Xuedao's house. The outgoing and generous Shan Rao quickly integrated into Bian Xuedao's small circle.

Shan Rao also partially participated in Bian Xuedao's Honesty Bicycle project. Seeing this boy, who could be busy in the kitchen like a housewife one moment and then go out and stir up the entire school, even the entire city, with a few actions, Shan Rao felt that what Guan Shunan had said to her in the fast-food restaurant was very insightful.

On the third weekend of March, Shan Rao made a decision and pulled Bian Xuedao to ride the Honesty Bicycles around the campus several times.

Bian Xuedao originally didn't want to go, but Shan Rao said something in his ear that made him agree.

Shan Rao squinted her beautiful eyes and said, "Last year at the ice rink, didn't you touch something? If you don't go today, hmm, you've seen a few revenge movies, haven't you..."

They rode a tandem bicycle, with Shan Rao in front steering and Bian Xuedao in the back pedaling.

Shan Rao chose the time and route carefully.

After a few rounds, half the school saw them riding together. People from 909 saw them, people from 603 saw them, people from the Media School saw them, people from the Student Union saw them, some of their teachers saw them, Xu Shangxiu and Tao Qing saw them.

Tao Qing noticed the look in Xu Shangxiu's eyes when she saw Bian Xuedao and decided to go find Zuo Heng that evening to finalize a decision he had been hesitant about.

After returning the bicycle to the shed, Bian Xuedao put money in the collection box, and Shan Rao pulled him to the vegetable market outside the campus, saying she would cook dinner.

Bian Xuedao waited on the sofa for almost an hour, and Shan Rao only brought out one dish, alfalfa tomatoes.

Bian Xuedao asked Shan Rao, "Didn't you buy several other dishes just now?"

Shan Rao lowered her head and said, "I only know how to make this one. The other dishes are for you to eat tomorrow."

Bian Xuedao took a bite of the alfalfa tomatoes Shan Rao made and looked at her, who was sitting next to him with a nervous expression. He decided never to let Shan Rao into his kitchen again.

After dinner, he sent Shan Rao back to her dormitory and returned to 909. During the meal, Bian Xuedao received 11 text messages from 909, asking him to return to the dormitory that evening to discuss something.

Bian Xuedao knew it was just because they had seen him and Shan Rao riding together, and the guys' gossiping hearts were active again.

As soon as he entered the dormitory, the guys exchanged glances. Yang Hao locked the door and sat in front of it.

Chen Jian said to Bian Xuedao, "Are you going to tell us yourself, or do we have to torture you first?"

Bian Xuedao said, "I just wanted to test the bike's performance."

Kong Weize sat up from his bed and said, "Listen, listen, have you ever seen someone with such a thick face? He's chosen the bike and ridden it hundreds of times, and he's still testing the performance..."

Seeing Ai Feng and Li Yu roll up their sleeves and get ready to come over, Bian Xuedao said, "I'll confess, I'll confess, mutual attraction, mutual attraction, okay?"

Bian Xuedao indeed had a good impression of Shan Rao. She had a strange charm; when she looked at someone, it was as if she was looking at the entire beautiful world, her eyes full of affirmation and admiration. No one else could do that, but being with Shan Rao made Bian Xuedao forget the frustration and helplessness Xu Shangxiu had brought him.

How could anyone resist a girl as talented and beautiful as Shan Rao coming close to them?

On a Friday evening in late March, a minor accident occurred on the campus of Dongsen University. A male and a female student were walking on a path when a car driven by a student suddenly veered onto the path. In a critical moment, the male student pushed the female student away and was hit by the car. He was taken to the hospital and found to have only a few bruises and abrasions, with no internal injuries.

The female student, holding the hand of the male student in the hospital, cried like a teary mess.

The driver was Zuo Heng, the male student hit was Tao Qing, and the female student was Xu Shangxiu.

Bian Xuedao didn't know about this incident and thus didn't know that Zuo Heng and Tao Qing had already joined forces.

Through the newspaper, Bian Xuedao saw the news of the establishment of the National Development and Reform Commission. This institution, later jokingly referred to as the "second government," was not yet widely noticed, at least not at Dongsen University.

Bian Xuedao, who was good at reading between the lines, read several meanings from the report: first, the word "planning" had disappeared; second, "development" was placed before "reform." However, these were not what he was concerned about. He threw the newspaper aside and focused on SARS.

By April, Bian Xuedao knew that SARS was already very serious. The only thing that made him feel a bit more at ease was that Songjiang was on the border, far from the central epidemic area.

April 1st, April Fool's Day.

On the morning of April 2nd, the people in 919 dormitory saw a news report on TV: Leslie Cheung had jumped to his death.

Several classmates directly thought it was a belated April Fool's joke, and a big one at that. But Bian Xuedao knew it was true; history's trajectory was, to some extent, very faithful.

It wasn't until the noon news on CCTV reported Leslie Cheung's death that everyone truly believed it. Many male and female students in the campus mourned "Big Brother" for several days.

Bian Xuedao, who had essentially died once before, now cared only about living, not dying.

At his home in the Red Building, Bian Xuedao prepared a large quantity of Isatis Root and a large number of specialized masks and multivitamins. When Li Yu asked why he bought so much Isatis Root, Bian Xuedao said he had read in the newspaper that an epidemic had broken out in Guangzhou, and some people online said Isatis Root could prevent it.

Watching the Health Minister Zhang Wenhao speak confidently on TV, Bian Xuedao knew that the SARS epidemic would soon be revealed, followed by a campus lockdown. He went out and bought a lot of disinfectant and spray bottles, then bought a large freezer and, with Li Yu, went out to buy beef, mutton, pork, and ice cream to fill the freezer. Still not satisfied, he went out again and bought several boxes of fruit cans and various cookies.

When Shan Rao came to Bian Xuedao's house again and saw the room full of food, she was so surprised she couldn't speak.