"150 yuan every month?" Xiaolong stuck out his tongue in disbelief.
"That's more than my entire meal budget for the whole month," Feng chimed in.
Hongxiao knew that Feng was as hearty as the character Xiao Feng in the book, known for feasting on meat and drinking generously. 150 wouldn't come close to covering his food expenses.
"Why don't we try for it this afternoon?" Mentor raised the banner, rallying the troops.
This was big. Word spread like wildfire, and soon all the freshman boys were eager to try their luck.
Hongxiao was regretting his decision deeply. With so many people interested, did he still stand a chance?
It wasn't about the 150 yuan, really. Though his family wasn't that wealthy, he didn't have many interests that required money anyways. What gnawed at him was the thought of another guy, any other guy, working daily alongside that girl with the beautiful eyes, learning and experimenting together… A surge of jealousy burned within him.
But he kept his cool. This instinct to hide his emotions behind a mask, to remain unruffled, seemed ingrained in him from a young age.
By the afternoon, it felt like the entire floor was empty. Hongxiao almost thought the whole dorm building was deserted. Inside his mind, it was as if two voices were arguing. One said, "It's not that big a deal. Just focus on your studies!" The other said, "Look! They're there, talking to Professor Zhu! He looks pleased! You've got no chance…"
He remembered Professor Zhu's interview question. If he could only confirm the sensation of his own consciousness, was it possible for that consciousness to split into two?
Just as he was lost in thought, the commotion began—everyone was returning.
Tai Wei and Ya Nei burst in first, muttering their frustrations.
"A total waste of time!"
Hongxiao was about to ask when Mentor stepped in, speaking in a tone suited for summarizing a campaign: "Everyone, please stay calm. The positions have already been filled."
"Filled?" Hongxiao wasn't sure what that meant.
"Was it you, Hua Hongxiao?" Duan Yu and Xiao Feng entered, almost in unison.
"Me? No. I was just told to wait for news next week."
"When we got there, we saw a notice on Room 301's door saying all positions were filled. We couldn't even go inside."
For a moment, Hongxiao felt both relief and panic.
"Oh? Then maybe someone came after me and got picked right away."
Everyone fell silent. Hongxiao realized that his words might have sounded like an excuse.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Thankfully, the awkwardness quickly gave way to a lively round of card games.
Reflecting on it, Hongxiao thought that, while he might have been making an excuse, his reasoning was logical. There wasn't a notice barring candidates the day he went for an interview. But there was one today. Maybe they really had chosen someone. And that someone was likely not him.
A strange feeling washed over him—was it disappointment at losing his first chance to earn money or the loss of a daydream brimming with romantic potential?
Or maybe he really was hoping that some psychic connection could break down the barriers surrounding him?
The next day in English class, the teacher, a young woman with short hair and a round face, was surprisingly approachable.
Until she asked Hongxiao to introduce himself in English.
He had prepared a short introduction, having heard that it was common for freshmen to do this. But when she called on him to stand and speak in front of the whole class, he was a bit nervous.
He glanced at his notes, pretending to be casual, and began reading from the first line.
"My name is Xiaohong Hua…"
The entire class burst into laughter. Startled, Hongxiao looked around, confused.
Xiaofeng snickered, "Little Red Flower!" which sparked another round of laughter.
Only then did Hongxiao realize he had swapped his given name and surname, making it sound like "Little Red Flower" in Chinese.
His face flushed red. Glancing over, he saw his roommates laughing the hardest—even the usually composed Tai Wei was doubled over.
He had a strong suspicion that they still held a grudge over the job selection. Maybe they thought he'd been chosen but hadn't told them?
The kind English teacher stepped in to restore order. "Quiet, quiet! Hua Hongxiao, the English format of your name would be 'Hongxiao Hua,' not 'Xiaohong Hua.'"
Unfortunately, the last words were again "Little Red Flower," which sent the class into laughter once more.
"Quiet! Quiet!" The teacher tapped the podium with the chalkboard brush, trying to rein in the rowdy freshmen.
After a while, the laughter faded.
"You may continue," she said, smiling at him.
Hongxiao read the rest of his introduction in a daze, sinking into his seat, embarrassed. The rest of the class was a blur.
On the way back to the dorm, Xiaolong and Feng continued their comedy routine from class to make fun of Hongxiao.
Xiaolong pointed at a tree in the distance. "Look what's on top of that tree over there!"
Feng seamlessly joined in, "Little Red Flower!"
Another burst of laughter. Hongxiao pretended not to hear, focusing only on walking forward.
If Mentor were here, he would have reminded everyone to "treat their comrades with warmth and kindness". But he was off at a Party branch activity.
"Will you all knock it off?" Suddenly, a voice called out. It was the first time anyone had stood up for him in this whole ordeal.
Turning, he saw it was Chen Sheng from the next dorm. Sheng was from the north and spoke with an elegant northern accent. From the start, Hongxiao had known he had an impressive voice; once, he'd belted out a love song by a famous singer who happened to have the same name, drawing the attention of every passing girl.
Hongxiao felt a rush of gratitude. Seeing he wasn't entirely alone in this ordeal, the others lost interest in their teasing, and the conversation shifted to the campus beauty and soccer.
He wasn't particularly troubled by his so-called "bad luck." He remembered a girl in middle school who was the top student every year, yet chose technical school over high school due to family circumstances.
And that classmate who'd dropped out in elementary school. When the class went on a field trip, they stopped by his house and watched him doing farm work.
Surely they'd think it was a privilege to endure a little teasing at a place like Tongren Medical University.
Only one thing bothered him: they all seemed to think he'd already been chosen, but he truly hadn't. He hoped that by next week, they'd see for themselves that he hadn't lied."
The shock, however, came sooner.
Barely back in his dorm, a sweet voice called from the doorway.
"Excuse me, is Hua Hongxiao here?"
While girls visiting the boys' dorm was not uncommon, such a sweet voice immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
Standing at the door was a girl in her early twenties with short hair and round eyes, dressed in a dark red plaid dress. Her smile was as sweet as her voice.
"That's me."
"Hua Hongxiao, hello. I'm from Professor Zhu's lab. Professor Zhu would like to see you now if you're available?"
It felt like winning back a lost lottery ticket. But he quickly cast a glance around the room.
Everyone seemed to have returned to their books or cards.
Maybe their sense of balance had been restored by the "Little Red Flower" episode.
As he followed the girl down the corridor, he could sense eyes watching from every open door.
Once outside the dorm, she turned and smiled, "Congratulations! You're our lab's junior assistant now!"
"You are…?"
"I'm Chen Wen, a graduate student in Professor Zhu's lab."
A graduate student… He swallowed nervously.
"Has Professor Zhu really decided to hire me? I thought he'd notify me next week."
"He announced it this morning in our group meeting. So, you're our new little assistant!" Her sweet voice, combined with "little assistant," gave Hongxiao a warm, fuzzy feeling.
"Are we doing experiments today?"
"Today, the professor will likely explain some experimental theories and have you sign a confidentiality agreement."
"A confidentiality agreement?"
"Yes. Everyone in Professor Zhu's lab signs one." She suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Because our work will make history."
"Oh…" He wasn't sure what that meant.
Suddenly, he thought of something even more pressing.
"How many assistants did the lab hire this time?"
Chen Wen stopped in her tracks, looking at him with mild surprise.
"Only you, of course. Confidential work isn't for everyone."
Hongxiao didn't know why she suddenly became so serious. But he had no time to dwell on it. Only one thought filled his mind now:
The lovebird had already flown away, taking with it his dreams of seeing and working alongside that girl.