Caifeng Province, Quan City, No. 1 Senior High School.
The chaotic sound of cicadas chirping echoed loudly, and under every spot of shade beneath a tree, a group of people could be seen in a tight huddle.
Parents stood in twos and threes together, each one of them trying to glean information from one another, while the students beside them gawked at their surroundings.
Today was the first day of class for incoming first-year students in Senior High school.
Zhi Ying stood in front of the main entrance to the school, her head tilted upwards as she looked at the giant stone sculpture ahead of her.
It had the words "Number One High School" carved into it, and she had been staring at it for a good ten minutes.
Her long stare even made the security guard suspicious of her motives. Just as the guard was about to step forward and ask what the matter was, Zhi Ying moved.
Her feet were encased in a pair of old Nike sneakers covered in mud stains, and on her back, she carried a backpack with a half-detached Adidas logo.
In her left hand, she held a worn-out pink leather case, while in her right hand, she gripped half of an oily bun as she hugged a summer mat to her chest.
With her head down, every time she took a step forward, she would raise her right hand and take a huge bite out of her bun.
In about seven steps, Zhi Ying had already come face-to-face with a giant stone sculpture.
She paused for a moment, then walked to the right to go around it and continued moving forward.
Since just now, she had been mulling over the function of having such a huge stone piece sitting right in the middle of the entrance to the school.
And calling it a huge stone piece was no exaggeration; the base of it alone took up at least half the width of the walkway, so the sea of people walking to and fro were forced to part around it.
How odd.
This was Zhi Ying's first impression of the city's No.1 High School.
Almost instantly, Zhi Ying added another tag to her impression of this place: Huge
Quan City was the capital of Caifeng province, and although most referred to the school as the city's No.1 High School, it was actually ranked the No.1 High School in the province.
There was even a saying that students who manage to get in practically have half a foot in University already.
Zhi Ying had completed her Junior High School years at a school in some forgotten corner of Quan City, so she was quite bowled over by the expanse of this Senior High School.
As a result, she quickly became lost.
The September sun was unforgiving, and the strength of its rays could make a person's face burn.
Every inch of shade under the trees was occupied by someone, and nearly every potential resting spot had someone there.
As she walked, Zhi Ying had no barrier between her and the strong sun, and big, fat droplets of sweat fell to the ground with a sizzle as though they would evaporate instantaneously.
Unperturbed, Zhi Ying absentmindedly wiped away her sweat.
All this while, her eyes scanned her surroundings, and she noticed that everyone here looked to be a new student like her, and they even had excited parents around them.
She didn't think she would be able to get any directions from these people. After all, everyone seemed to be moving in the same direction.
She had already demolished her bun, and spotting a bin nearby, Zhi Ying walked over to chuck her trash into it.
As she looked up, she caught sight of a long-haired girl, possibly a student, walking in her direction.
The girl did not have any luggage with her, and her gait was casual. She seemed to be headed outside the school, so she was probably a senior.
Zhi Ying jumped to her feet and rushed ahead, her head tilted back as she asked, "Greetings Senior, may I ask how to get to the Fuhua Building?"
The long-haired, student-like girl shot a glance at the sweat-drenched Zhi Ying and pointed somewhere to their left.
"Just walk all the way in that direction?" Zhi Ying asked again out of uncertainty.
The long-haired student nodded her head, then strode off; it did not seem like she wanted to exchange another word with her.
"Thank you!"
Zhi Ying called out to the retreating silhouette.
After walking some distance to her left, it wasn't until she passed a lake that she saw the plaque of the Fuhua Building.
The Fuhua Building wasn't a classroom building but an office building. Zhi Ying needed to go and see the Director of Admissions, particularly to report her arrival to him.
Previously, the principal had told them that his office was on the third floor and that the Director of Admissions could be found on the second floor.
Zhi Ying couldn't help replaying the words the principal had said when he had been at her house and slowly began to make her way up with all her luggage.
"You must be Zhi Ying, right? Come on in."
The moment she reached the second level, a teacher was already standing there waiting for her.
"Come, sit down. You must be melting." The female teacher pulled Zhi Ying into the Admissions Office, rummaged around for a packet of tissues, and handed her one.
"Thank you, Ms." Zhi Ying replied as she put down her luggage and sat on a chair.
Silence followed as the two locked eyes with each other.
Zhi Ying was the first to open her mouth and say, "Ms., I'm here to register. The principal said that…"
A little overexcited, the female teacher stopped her there and blurted out, "I know, I know, I saw a picture of you yesterday; you are Zhi Ying. The director left because he had something to attend to; he asked me to wait for you at the entrance."
This female teacher didn't really count as a teacher; she had only just graduated from university and was here for her internship. So, she wasn't too familiar with the school either. As she poured out a cup of water for the seated student, she couldn't help but discreetly give her the once-over.
This was one of the seedlings that the school had spent money on obtaining!
For the past three years, the city's No. 1 Senior High School had failed to produce the No. 1 seed of the province, and if this continued, their reputation would take a battering. Thus, this year the principal decided on pulling as many from the province's top 20 to his school.
This girl right here ranked none other than No. 1 among all those other aces.
She was dressed simply, and her trousers looked a little faded, probably from being washed too many times. She had short hair, was skinny, and was quite tall, not to mention she looked very energetic.
"Has this year's military training been brought forward?" The female teacher wanted to chat a little more.
"I haven't had my military training yet." Zhi Ying replied after she sipped a mouthful of the water in the paper cup.
"Huh? Then why do you look sunburnt…" The female teacher swallowed down the words.
Zhi Ying did not notice the teacher's expression; in just a few gulps, she made quick work of the water. She swept her eyes over the water dispenser behind the female teacher, but she didn't feel like it would be polite to ask for more.
"Ah, here you are, Zhi Ying." The director walked in with a stack of documents in his hand, saying, "Actually, the principal called just now to ask after you.""
"Greetings Director." Zhi Ying shot to her feet with a paper cup still in hand.
"Zhi Ying, you intend on staying at the school dorms, right?" The director sat down, took out the registrar, and began to fill in her registration.
"That's correct. The agreement was that I could stay at school and go home on the weekends." Zhi Ying answered with a sharp nod.
The Director couldn't help but smile at how Zhi Ying was filling out the form. "Relax. In order to guarantee a good study environment for you all, the school has made arrangements so that every room will only have one occupant, and 24-hour electricity supply will also be provided for you."
Zhi Ying's tuition fees were waived; even her accommodation wouldn't cost her anything. She could stay alone and there was even some amount of scholarship every year.
Of course, the school was no charity; the reason for such wonderful treatment was that, in return, Zhi Ying had to ensure that she maintained a ranking within the top 20 of her year.
"This is your room number. Later, I'll have Ms. Chen lead you over." The Director pointed towards the female teacher beside them as he explained.
Actually, to qualify for private single-occupancy rooms, one had to be a top-ranking student. However, since most of the students at City High were locals, accommodation wasn't necessary.
Since they were few in number, the school had not planned on sectioning off a specific building for them; thus, the rooms around these private single-occupancy rooms were filled with four-person rooms.
"Building Six, Room 508." The female teacher pointed at the building ahead, saying, "That's the one. Do you need me to help you with your luggage?"
"Thank you, Ms. There's no need." Zhi Ying noticed that the trainee teacher now sported a large, angry red sunburn on her snow-white neck. She hastily rejected her offer of help, explaining, "I can manage on my own."
" Alright then, don't forget to go and collect your keys from the Madam Dorm Supervisor, okay?" Due to the sun, the female teacher was feeling really uncomfortable by now and had no interest in continuing her observation of the province's No. 1 scholar.
Zhi Ying made her way to her room, pushed open the door, and found the interior had already been cleaned. Even the bedboard looked to have been wiped already.
She took a good look at the entire room, then glanced at her own luggage.
She had forgotten to bring a basin from home.