Chapter 4: Admission to Guanghai University
Early the next morning, as the eastern horizon just began to pale with the first light of dawn, Qin Yongping had already washed up and seated himself at the dining table, quickly finishing a simple breakfast. Wiping away a stray crumb from the corner of his mouth, he stood up and cast a tender gaze at his family gathered around the table.
His father’s weather-beaten face revealed a trace of hard-to-conceal reluctance to part, while his mother quietly helped him straighten his collar, her eyes brimming with maternal love and worry. His young sister tightly gripped the hem of her older brother's shirt, her little mouth slightly petted out and her eye rims red, as if her tears would burst forth at any second.
"Dad, Mom, Little Sister, I'm off!" Qin Yongping said softly. Though his voice was calm, it was freighted with a deep, lingering attachment.
"Brother, you must come back soon!" Finally unable to hold it in, his little sister burst into tears, her small hands clutching tightly to Qin Yongping's sleeve, refusing to let go.
Qin Yongping smiled, crouched down, and gently wiped the tears from the corner of his sister's eyes. "Be a good girl, don't cry," he comforted her. "Brother is only leaving for a little while, I'll be back very soon. Our brief parting is so that we can reunite later on, happier and for much longer." With that, he gave his sister a warm embrace and kissed her on the forehead.
Then he slowly stood up, cast another affectionate look at his parents, nodded solemnly, and turned to walk out the door. The moment he stepped across the threshold, his family's deeply affectionate parting words drifted from behind him: "Take care along the way... Remember to look after yourself..."
Qin Yongping took a deep breath, fighting back the tears threatening to fall, and stepped onto his new journey with firm strides. For he knew that though this parting tore at his heart, it was the necessary path toward a bright future. As long as there was love in their hearts, no matter how far apart they were, the family would always be reunited once more.
Because his home was located in an extremely remote area, Qin Yongping endured a long and arduous journey, arriving at his destination and getting off the bus only around noon. The moment he stepped out, the sight before him left him dumbstruck—the station was surging with people, shoulder to shoulder, a veritable sea of humanity.
Qin Yongping squeezed with great effort through the dense crowd, constantly looking around in an attempt to find any information or guidance relevant to him. After a painstaking search, he finally spotted an eye-catching sign amidst the bustling throng with the bold characters "Guanghai University" clearly written upon it. Hurriedly, he strode toward that direction.
Approaching the person holding the sign, Qin Yongping politely greeted him, "Hello, I am a new student at Guanghai University."
At that moment, an upperclassman who appeared to be in charge responded warmly, "Welcome, welcome! Since it's already noon, Xiaofeng, why don't you take this batch of new students to the campus first? The rest of us will stay here in shifts to wait for the other freshmen arriving shortly."
The senior called Xiaofeng nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to face the dozen or so new students, including Qin Yongping. "Junior brothers and sisters, please follow closely behind me. Our school isn't very far from here; we can get there in no time by bus." With those words, he took the lead and set off.
Along the way, the freshmen closely followed behind Senior Xiaofeng, threading through streets and intersections. Before long, they arrived before the magnificent and majestic gates of Guanghai University.
Senior Xiaofeng halted his steps, turned around, and said to everyone, "All right, we've arrived at the campus now. Please head over to the freshman registration desk here to complete your enrollment and admission procedures. Once you're done, you can go to the volunteer service station nearby, where specialized senior students will guide you to your respective dormitories."
Hearing Senior Xiaofeng's detailed arrangements, the freshmen chorused, "Thank you, Senior!" and then dispersed to follow his instructions.
After completing his admission procedures, Qin Yongping dragged his somewhat heavy suitcase and slowly walked toward the volunteer service station. From afar, he could see several enthusiastic seniors bustling through the crowd. They seemed endowed with superpowers, seeing in all directions and listening from all sides, constantly scanning the surroundings for any junior female students in need of help. Once they spotted a target, these seniors would instantly become extremely proactive, stepping forward with beaming smiles to eagerly help carry their luggage... By contrast, the poor male freshmen enjoyed no such generous treatment.
Watching those cute, delicate female freshmen being swept away one after another by the seniors, a rather plump senior let out a quiet sigh and strode toward him. Wearing an honest, good-natured smile, the senior asked cordially, "Junior brother, which dorm have you been assigned to? Let me show you the way!"
Hearing this, Qin Yongping felt a surge of joy and hastily replied, "Sorry to trouble you, Senior. My dorm number is—"
"Oh, that's over at the School of Medicine side. All right then, stick close to me." With that, the plump senior turned around and strode forward in long strides.
After a few turns, the two finally arrived at a dormitory door. Qin Yongping knocked lightly, then pushed the door open cautiously and stepped inside. At that moment, two roommates were already busy tidying up their respective beds. One of them had quite handsome features; seeing someone enter, his face immediately blossomed into a radiant smile as he said amicably, "Haha, according to the rule of first come, first served, I am the boss of our dorm. My name is Li Jianfeng, and I'm from Shanghai. Come, let me introduce you—this fellow here is Second Brother." As he spoke, he gestured toward the tall, sturdy roommate beside him.
"I am Guan Qiang, a native of the Northeast, and my friends all call me Datzhuang. Might this second spot be left for me?" Guan Qiang asked with a smile, discussing it with me.
The second position left for me? That's sheer nonsense. Qin Yongping offered a polite bow and said, "First come, first served—this is the rule, and it cannot be broken. I am Third Brother Qin Yongping, from Guang Province."
"Forget it, forget it. Second Brother it is, then." Guan Qiang sighed helplessly.
After getting acquainted, everyone busied themselves with unpacking their things.
When they finished what they were doing, they realized that one member of the dormitory had yet to arrive. And so, everyone gathered around in a circle and began sharing the specialty snacks each had brought from their hometowns as today's lunch.
"I say, it's been this long, how come Fourth Brother is still nowhere in sight?" Li Jianfeng asked, chewing on a piece of pastry, his words coming out muffled. "Could he have gotten lost?"
"The campus is full of enthusiastic student volunteers helping to guide people, so he shouldn't get lost," Qin Yongping said, putting down a snack packet he was about to open and analyzing thoughtfully. "My guess is that his home is rather far away, and he didn't plan his arrival time properly in advance."
Just as the two were talking, a somewhat plump figure suddenly appeared at the doorway. Gasping for breath and stumbling inside, the person muttered incessantly, "Aiya mom, I've finally found my tribe! Hello everyone, your big brother has arrived. Aiyo, this is about to run me into the ground..."
The moment Li Jianfeng heard the voice, he bounced up as if springs had been installed under his seat and shouted loudly, "What big brother? We have rules here, you know! Understand first come, first served? Since you arrived last, you are Fourth Brother, and the three of us are all your older brothers! And let me tell you, I am the rightful boss!" With that, he proudly puffed out his chest, seemingly quite pleased with his status as the "boss."
Immediately following this, the others chimed in with laughter and banter. Afterward, everyone took turns introducing themselves. Through this exchange and getting acquainted, Qin Yongping's initial impressions were: Boss Li Jianfeng was exceptionally vain, constantly admiring himself in the mirror; Second Brother Qin Yongping was relatively honest and good-natured, always wearing a smiling expression; while the newly arrived Fourth Brother was a total character, able to crack everyone up with just a few words and keep the laughter rolling.