Xiao Feng originally wanted to invite Chen Fan and the others for a meal on the first day to strengthen their bond. Unfortunately, the meal stirred up more trouble than he had anticipated, leaving him feeling somewhat responsible.
On the way back, sitting in the car, Chen Fan saw through Xiao Feng's worries. Chen Fan smiled lightly, "Xiao Feng, don't sweat it. Everything will be alright."
Facing Chen Fan's nonchalant smile, Xiao Feng hesitated at first but then nodded uncertainty without saying much.
At this moment, Chen Fan's phone vibrated. He peeked and saw a message from Susan: "Sorry for dragging you guys into this. Don't worry, if Huang Xiaodong really goes after you, I'll call my dad. You and your friends won't face any problems."
Reading the message, Chen Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry and responded: "Dear wife, I'm no pushover. If I stomp my foot, the whole city of East Sea will shudder!"
Susan: "Who do you think you are? You sure talk big! Anyway, it's settled. If Huang Xiaodong targets you guys, let me know. I won't let them lay a finger on you!"
Clearly, Susan didn't believe Chen Fan's boastful words. However, she was curious about Chen Fan's family background.
Although she was Chen Fan's fiancee, she knew little about his family. She had tried asking Su Qinghai but he would always brush it off.
In the afternoon, Su Qinghai sent the bedding to East Sea University. One set was predominantly pink - pink comforter, bed sheets, pillowcases… and all had Garfield designs stitched onto them.
Comparatively, Chen Fan's bedding was much more ordinary.
Seeing someone specially delivering bedding for Chen Fan caught Xiao Feng's attention. His rationality told him, Chen Fan was not as simple as he seemed but he didn't pursue the matter. Zhou Wen is still obsessed with the adult video world. Yu Xuan wanted to join the martial arts club, only to find out that military training for the new students was being held the day after. Only after the training concludes, could the freshers sign up for various clubs.
By noon the next day, the freshmen of East Sea University had all reported. In the afternoon, there was a university assembly for the new batch of students.
"Bros, let's go! Freshman assembly, it's a chance to check out all the new chicks in this batch." In dorm 108, Xiao Feng was grooming his hair and checking himself in the mirror. Satisfied, he gestured to Chen Fan and the others.
Chen Fan shook his head in disbelief. Xiao Feng's avidity for flirting with girls is no less than Zhou Wen's zeal for studying the human anatomy. Rather, it outdoes it.
On the contrary, the weirdo Yu Xuan showed no interest whatsoever in women, while being obsessed with martial arts.
Through their chat, Chen Fan learned that Yu Xuan had been practicing Hong Fist with his grandfather since he was a kid and he had some pretty solid skills.
As one of the top institutes in both East Sea and the whole nation, East Sea University had top-tier facilities and was outfitted with all sorts of advanced teaching gear. Its massive auditorium was decked out to the nines and could squeeze in thousands.
By the time Chen Fan and his crew of three made it into the auditorium, there were less than five minutes left before the starting of the freshman meeting. The place was already jam packed, with heads bobbing out as far as the eye could see.
"Mother of God! Got stuck in the cheap seats, how am I supposed to scope out the hotties?" Xiao Feng whined, close to tears. From his experience chasing skirts, there was a dime a dozen girls who were sugar at the back but pain from the front. So being stuck in the back row, where was he supposed to spot the babes?
Chen Fan and the other two guys shrugged off the wailing Xiao Feng, found a random spot and plopped down. Xiao Feng, looking like he'd lost his puppy, sat down too but kept his eyes cruising around as if in search of beauties.
Right then, the auditorium lights were still blaring, giving Xiao Feng just enough light to catch a clearer glimpse of some of the girls' faces.
"Holy shit, are we in Jurassic Park or something? Why are they all beasts? Even worse...there's one that looks like Sister Phoenix!" Xiao Feng murmured as he scanned the room, then suddenly, he lit up and exclaimed, "Hey, jackpot! Holy crap, not them again?"
Hearing Xiao Feng's outburst, Chen Fan craned his neck and found Susan, Zhang Qianqian, and their two roommates just entering the auditorium. Clearly, Xiao Feng's 'jackpot' was referring to Susan and Zhang Qianqian.
Susan didn't notice Chen Fan and didn't plop down near him. Instead, she took a seat on the opposite side.
When the clock struck three, the majority of the students were all there. The staff on the scene closed the auditorium doors, as an elderly man, escorted by a middle-aged woman and a few other middle-aged men, slowly made his way towards the stage through another aisle.
Under the glaring lights, Chen Fan strained his eyes and got a clean look at the old man. He was white-haired and wrinkled, but still walked with sure, steady steps.
Following the old codger was a woman in a black dress. She sported gold-framed glasses and was somewhat bloated, looking like a barrel. Chen Fan quickly figured out that this woman was Huang Xiaodong's mother.
With their arrival, the previously noisy auditorium settled down as the students stopped whispering among themselves and turned their attention towards the stage.
Shortly after, under the gaze of all the students, the white-haired old man made his way to the central seat of the stage first, followed by the others who took their seats one after another. Huang Xiaodong's mother took the seat to the old man's left, but the seat on his right remained empty, suggesting someone was yet to arrive.
Seeing everyone seated, the last middle-aged man sat down, adjusted the microphone, and declared, "Good afternoon, everyone!"
Wham!
Resounding applause echoed through the auditorium.
"This afternoon, we are here for the 2010 Intake Freshman Meeting. For the first item, let's give a round of applause and welcome our headmaster, Jia Zhengping, to speak." As the applause died down, the host handed over the floor to the white-haired old man. Clearly, he was the main man of this new student meeting.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm glad to be here and to have the chance to interact with you." Although the old man was quite aged, his voice was loud and ringing, capturing all the students' applause as soon as he started speaking, "I reckon, before stepping foot on this campus, you're aware that your university years will be the best of your life..."
Unlike a typical official speech, the old headmaster's address was more like a conversation. He bypassed the nitty-gritty of East Sea University and spoke mostly about college life.
Chen Fan wasn't all that into this, but seeing everyone around him utterly engrossed, he played along.
An hour later, the elderly headmaster wrapped up his speech. His amiable demeanor and rare humor drew a burst of pulsating applause. It was clear that the students had a great first impression of him, and Chen Fan was no exception.
After the headmaster's speech, Huang Xiaodong's mother, who was the vice-principal in charge of academics, took the floor. Most of her talk revolved around studies which somewhat increased the pressure on students who fancied college as a paradise.
Next, two middle-aged men spoke their piece; their speeches were quite similar and, as far as Chen Fan—who'd seen various speeches was concerned, nothing to write home about.
"Students, now, I'll introduce to you a new doctor who just joined our school." Just when Chen Fan thought the freshman meeting was winding down, the dean of the school clinic said with an excited face.
His announcement exploded like a bomb in the auditorium, instantly sparking a raucous debate among the students.
"What the hell, a big intro for a doctor?"
"Exactly, has that guy lost his marbles? It's almost six o'clock, for God's sake. I need to go level up."
"What doctor gets this much hype? Coming here to school and getting this sort of big-time introduction from the dean of the clinic?"
…
Clearly, students felt bringing in a new doctor was a small thing that didn't warrant such a grand announcement at a freshman meeting.
"Everyone, please keep quiet for a moment." Amidst the tumultuous chatter, the dean didn't seem bothered. On the contrary, he was so excited it was hard for him to keep his voice steady, "Now, let's give a big round of applause to welcome her!"