The west campus field was already packed with people. Yang Yonghong ran off to find the Civil Engineering Department’s group, while Xia Xiaolan and the other six girls from Room 307 successfully met up with their department classmates.
Room 307’s composition was quite mixed – Yang Yonghong was from Civil Engineering, while the remaining seven were from the Architecture Department, though not all in the same class. Among them, only Su Jing, Lu Yan, and Zhou Limin were in Xia Xiaolan’s class. They were all from Class 2, Architecture Department, Class of ’84.
“Are there only four girls in our class?”
“No, there’s also Ning Xue!”
As for why Ning Xue was assigned to Room 305, even Su Jing couldn’t figure it out.
Regardless of how they were distributed, there was no perfect way to fit the girls from three classes into two dormitory rooms. Xia Xiaolan didn’t dwell on this issue. She, Su Jing, and the others finally met their male classmates. Most were disheveled-looking genuine academic nerds. Xia Xiaolan noticed one guy wearing shorts with red socks and sandals – she could only admire his trendy combination.
However, among Class 2’s male students, despite all their pushing and muttering, not one took the initiative to speak to the girls.
Su Jing rolled her eyes: “Fellow classmates, we’re in university now. I’ll be impressed if you can manage to go five years without talking to girls!”
Several of the boys from Class 2 blushed, while others around them burst into laughter.
The laughter carried hints of admiration. Under the bright lights of the west campus field, Xia Xiaolan seemed to radiate a gentle glow. Her beauty exceeded the imagination of the Class 2 boys. Last night, there had been inquiries about “Xia Xiaolan” in the boys’ dormitory, with the more outgoing senior students asking about the new student named “Xia Xiaolan.” When she appeared, the Class 2 boys understood why.
Besides Xia Xiaolan, Su Jing and the others were not bad-looking either. Su Jing had fair skin, Lu Yan had small dimples and slight fangs, and though Zhou Limin had slightly darker skin, she possessed the glow unique to young girls.
With all four girls standing together, it was still quite challenging for the Class 2 boys to initiate conversation.
Teacher Dai arrived, rescuing the awkward male students. “Quickly take your seats, don’t just stand there holding your stools. Our class position is right here! Girls, sit in front – any objections from the boys?”
New students were generally obedient, habitually following teachers’ instructions, even though Teacher Dai was practically a student himself… Class 2 students all took their seats, with Xia Xiaolan in the front row. She could feel several appraising gazes. There was no malice, just eyes lingering a few seconds longer on her face, though surely few dared to stare at her openly.
Thanks to the enthusiastic promotion by several department seniors, many people already knew the name “Xia Xiaolan.”
A colleague asked Teacher Dai, “Is that Xia Xiaolan sitting in front wearing long pants? I heard she captivated Du Xuefeng from Civil Engineering on registration day – she’s quite famous now! Among this year’s Architecture Department freshmen, she’s probably the only one who could rival Ning Xue…”
Teacher Dai wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Don’t spread such nonsense. Is Huaqing a place that values look?”
Having a new student become well-known solely for their appearance wasn’t particularly praiseworthy. While Huaqing students weren’t stupid – they had to be smart to get in – how could Xia Xiaolan study normally if she was constantly surrounded by hormone-driven male students? Although Teacher Dai felt that a delicate girl like Xia Xiaolan might not last long in the Architecture Department, Huaqing had many majors, and he still hoped she would achieve something during her time here!
As for Ning Xue, she was different.
The sweat on Teacher Dai’s forehead flowed even more profusely.
The department had assigned Ning Xue to Class 2, which made him both happy and pressured.
He didn’t know much about architectural expertise, he could only manage the students’ daily affairs. Mr. Ning Yanfan was renowned, and as his granddaughter, Ning Xue had already achieved some accomplishments at a young age, but would she be manageable?
Then there was Xia Xiaolan.
Teacher Dai was worried. He had a feeling that having these two girls in the same class would inevitably lead to competition!
Heaven’s favored daughters – one blessed with talent, one with beauty, both on Huaqing’s elevated platform… Teacher Dai wasn’t happy at all. His role as class advisor was just part-time, and he hadn’t even finished his doctorate. If Class 2 students could cause fewer worries, he would be grateful.
The opening ceremony began!
It started with speeches from the leaders, with both the Party Committee Secretary and the Principal speaking for half an hour each.
Both leaders’ speeches were quite official, though the Principal’s choice of words was more entertaining. Xia Xiaolan tried hard to stay alert – being in the front row, it wouldn’t look good if she fell asleep. Finally, after several leaders had taken turns speaking and expressed Huaqing’s welcome to this year’s undergraduate and graduate students, it was time for the new student representative’s speech.
A tall girl – by Xia Xiaolan’s estimation, she couldn’t be shorter than 168cm!
She had ear-length short hair and wore a red-checkered white dress. She went on stage without any speech notes. While not exceptionally beautiful – certainly not compared to Xia Xiaolan – Ning Xue had a different style.
But she exuded confidence!
This confidence might have come from the “Huaqing University” badge on her chest.
Or perhaps from her distinguished family background, her grandfather Ning Yanfan who was known as a master of Chinese architecture.
Or maybe it was Ning Xue’s nationwide top score in the college entrance exam, the recognition she’d earned in high school?
A person’s image in others’ minds can’t be separated from external factors to reveal only their essence. Whether it’s appearance, grades, family background, or earned recognition – all these factors combined to form today’s confident Ning Xue!
Xia Xiaolan had to admire her – wasn’t this kind of girl truly favored by fate? Born into the right family, worked hard herself, truly blessed by heaven!
Of course, she wouldn’t belittle herself.
Hadn’t she entered Huaqing to meet excellent people and become more excellent herself?
“Good evening, fellow students. I am Ning Xue, and like you, I became a new student at Huaqing this year…”
Ning Xue’s voice wasn’t sweet at all, nor was her appearance sweet.
As soon as she spoke, Xia Xiaolan’s science-oriented mind suddenly recalled a line: “May snow on Tianshan Mountain, no flowers but only cold.” In May, Tianshan Mountain remained snow-covered, with only piercing cold and no visible flowers or grass. This was Tianshan Snow – a very cold female academic genius.
While Xia Xiaolan watched Ning Xue, Ning Xue was also watching her.
Having experienced many similar occasions, Ning Xue knew how to make her gaze appear natural. While Xia Xiaolan was beautiful, she could only sit obediently below and listen to her speak. Among all the new students of ’84, Ning Xue had already gained an advantage in the field of architecture. Whether someone was good-looking or not wasn’t important to Ning Xue.
A pretty face was worth less than a real architectural award.
While Ning Xue spoke, all the new students forgot about sneaking glances at Xia Xiaolan. The bearing of heaven’s favored daughter transcended physical attraction, commanding admiration!
Only one male student showed no interest in what Ning Xue was saying. He was considering whether his decision to attend Huaqing was correct – the atmosphere in domestic universities was indeed different from foreign ones.
His gaze fell on Xia Xiaolan, and he nudged his classmate beside him, “Is this the new campus beauty everyone’s talking about?”
His classmate’s eyes were full of doubt: At a time like this, you’re not listening properly to Ning Xue’s speech, but instead looking at the new campus beauty!