"Respected passengers, the train is now arriving at the final stop, Kyoto! Please collect your personal belongings. We wish you all a pleasant journey!"
Roused by the conductor's cheerful voice, Ye Qiuli, who had fallen asleep leaning against the aisle, snapped back to full awareness.
He could not even remember when he had drifted off. He never expected the dozen-hour journey to pass by so quickly.
The train gradually slowed down. Many exhausted passengers sleeping in their seats began to wake up. Perhaps stirred by the anticipation of a new environment, the carriage, quiet throughout the entire trip, slowly grew bustling and noisy.
Ye Qiuli picked up his suitcase and turned on his tightly gripped phone. During the trip, he had joined the Kyoto University freshman group chat, where he learned that the university had specifically dispatched dedicated vehicles and teachers to the train station to welcome new students and instructed everyone to wait in the station lobby.
As the train came to a smooth halt at the platform, Ye Qiuli—taking a train for the very first time in his life—could only follow the crowd toward the exit.
Walking along the clean and orderly pathways, Ye Qiuli felt a flutter of nervousness in his chest. Kyoto Station was massive, so large that he had no idea which group of people he should follow.
"Hey! Student over there! Which university are you from?"
Just as Ye Qiuli was standing in a daze, a melodic voice called out to him.
He saw a girl with a ponytail and student uniform waving directly at him.
"Me?" Ye Qiuli pointed a finger at himself, finding it hard to believe.
"Who else could it be if not you? We're students from Kyoto University, here to welcome the freshmen. Let me see your admission notice; I happen to know where the reception spots for a few other universities are, so I can point you in the right direction!" The girl walked up to Ye Qiuli with a light smile.
"Oh! I am with Kyoto University. Um... I heard our school has dedicated shuttle buses—is that true?" Ye Qiuli asked, pleasantly surprised. Fearing the girl might not believe him, he hurriedly handed over his admission notice.
"Of course it's true! Welcome to Kyoto University! See that guy holding the sign at Exit A ahead? Just go wait over there! We'll set off once everyone has gathered," the girl said with a smile as she handed the admission notice back to Ye Qiuli.
"Thank you!" Ye Qiuli hastily muttered his thanks and walked toward the spot the girl had pointed out.
Exit A was not far away; Ye Qiuli spotted it after turning a corner.
The boy holding the sign was around one meter eighty-five tall, and his handsome face stood out remarkably among the crowd. The sign in his hand bore four prominent characters: "Kyoto University."
Ye Qiuli did not step forward to greet him; he simply stood quietly behind the boy.
"Are you a new student? Wait behind me for a moment! We'll be able to leave soon," the tall senior said, looking back and smiling at Ye Qiuli when he saw him cautiously standing behind him.
"Ah... Oh, oh! Thank you, Senior!" Clearly, the senior's sudden speech had startled Ye Qiuli.
***
As the crowd trickled in by fits and starts, the freshmen for Kyoto University had finally all been gathered!
Led by the tall senior and the ponytail senior sister, Ye Qiuli and the others boarded the exclusive Kyoto University bus, officially drawing back the curtain on their university lives.
Inside the carriage, many freshmen were already chatting away with the classmates sitting around them—with the sole exception of Ye Qiuli, who sat alone in the corner.
Ye Qiuli was dressed the same way he had been for the past few days: a high collar, a wide coat, a thick face mask, and hair falling past his eyes, leaving only a pair of eyes and a tiny patch of skin exposed to the outside world.
Naturally, nobody dared to approach someone with such a bizarre outfit to strike up a conversation.
Gazing at the wave of excitement filling the carriage, Ye Qiuli's face beneath the mask was brimming with anticipation; how he wished he could have a companion too! But alas, the strange affliction on his body prevented him from making friends like a normal person. He had tried to talk himself into it, but unfortunately, most people shrank away in terror the moment they saw the dark spots on his face and body.
Amidst the noise and bustle all the way, the group finally arrived at the gates of Kyoto University!
"Ahem, juniors, quiet down for a moment! Let me introduce you: the gate ahead of us is our school's Dragon Gate! Legend has it that anyone who passes through the Dragon Gate is destined for an extraordinary life! The very first thing our school's new students do every year is walk through the Dragon Gate first!" the senior sister with the ponytail said, pointing toward the front of the bus.
Ahead of the bus stood a pair of ancient-looking stone gates! Two stone dragons gleamed golden in the sunlight, coiled around the stone pillars as if they might spring to life at any moment!
The bus drove slowly through the Dragon Gate, and just a short distance past it, a wide, open playground came into view. Surrounding the playground were various brand-new high-rise buildings arranged in such an orderly fashion that they appeared magnificent and grand.
"The bus will stop right in front of the registration desk in a moment. Students can check which college you were admitted to, and then look for your corresponding college's freshman registration desk! The teachers over there will tell you the location of your dormitories. Students who are interested can also find us seniors at the volunteer station after finishing your paperwork, and we'll take you on a tour of the campus!" the tall senior instructed.
Ye Qiuli memorized every word carefully. When he had filled out his application choices, his first choice had been finance, but the major he was accepted into on his notice wasn't the College of Finance, but the College of Geography! Fortunately, he also had a considerable interest in geography, so there was no sense of disappointment. Although his grades were high enough to get into Kyoto University, he had still fallen just a fraction short of having the freedom to choose his own major.
After making a brief, shallow loop around Kyoto University, the bus stopped right in front of the registration area the tall senior had mentioned.
They got off.
The Kyoto University registration area was already packed to bursting. Fortunately, the College of Geography was right in front of them, though compared to the overflowing crowds at other majors, the line of new students queuing up for geography was pitifully sparse!
"Student! Over here! Are you with the College of Geography?"
Before Ye Qiuli could even speak, a dark-skinned teacher greeted him with a warm, amiable smile.
"Yes... Teacher!" Ye Qiuli replied hesitantly, looking the man over closely.
He muttered inwardly in confusion: Is this person really a teacher? How can he be so terribly tanned?
"Good, good, good. Hand me your admission notice, and I'll process your paperwork. I'll arrange for a senior student to escort you straight to your dormitory afterward!"
The man snatched the admission notice right out of Ye Qiuli's hands, slapped down various stamps with lightning speed, and chattered away while stamping: "Don't let the small number of people in our College of Geography fool you, student—every single person inside is an elite! Our college is also the most free-spirited major in all of Kyoto University! As the saying goes, things are valued for their rarity. All our students are prized for their quality!"
"Oh, oh! Ri... Right..." Ye Qiuli scratched his head and replied awkwardly.
He suddenly felt as though he had fallen into a huge trap.
"Student, do you not believe what the teacher is saying?" The man handed a manual and a card to Ye Qiuli, arching an eyebrow.
"No... No, I don't!" Ye Qiuli spoke cautiously, his head involuntarily lowering.
"Good if you didn't! Someone, take our new junior to his dorm!"
The man clapped his hands at a nearby boy, his expression returning entirely to normal—as if the amiable person from a moment ago had never existed at all.