Fang Bai was already in his fifties in his previous life, having worked in sales for so many years and seen all sorts of people and situations. He had a big heart for big occasions, so introducing himself was quite simple for him.
However, he made himself sound like a hyper-motivated warrior, excited to see them, and felt he had said a bit too much. This was a salesman's bad habit, easily getting carried away when introducing things.
But he had to be this confident, and he must be this confident.
If he wasn't confident, he would feel awkward, and so would others.
Fang Bai walked gracefully down the aisle with a smile. His classmates looked at him a few more times, paying more attention to the three fingers on his right hand, to see if it was really as bad as he said.
When they secretly saw the scar on his finger, they were slightly shocked. It was indeed as he said; if it were them, they probably wouldn't know what to do. The more they thought this, the more the classmates admired Fang Bai.
However, there was some pity in their eyes.
There were also a few students in the class who were Fang Bai's old classmates. They suddenly felt like they didn't know Fang Bai. How could this guy have changed so much? Did his mindset change drastically after experiencing a tragedy?
Most of these students were socially anxious, not daring to bargain even when buying groceries for their parents. Whatever price the boss said was the price, and they even felt embarrassed to bargain, as if they owed the boss money.
If you asked them to stand on the podium and introduce themselves, it would be good if they could say more than ten words completely. Usually, it was just, "Hello, classmates, my name is XXX."
Fang Bai sat in an empty seat in the back corner and smiled at his deskmate. The other person smiled back in a friendly manner and extended his hand: "Hello, Fang Bai, my name is Wang Dakai."
"Hello, please take care of me in the future," Fang Bai said, shaking his hand and sitting down.
Li Teacher walked back to the podium and returned to teaching mode: "Next, we will continue to discuss the periodicity of functions…"
Fang Bai took out a pen from his backpack. At this moment, he had no great interest in the outside world and quickly calmed down to listen to the lecture.
He hadn't brought his textbook yet. When Wang Dakai, who was next to him, saw this, he moved his textbook to the middle of the desk to share it with him. Fang Bai smiled and whispered, "Thank you."
This short-haired boy with a rugged appearance and a face full of acne, unexpectedly had a meticulous mind and would take care of others. Such a person, even if he didn't go to school, would do well in society.
After the third class, Wang Dakai turned his head and asked Fang Bai:
"Fang Bai, you seem very familiar with university life. What do you think of it?"
"University life is great, everyone looks forward to it, of course, this is also a path where people fight tooth and nail.
Of course, I haven't been there either, and I also look forward to it very much," Fang Bai smiled meaningfully.
This guy deliberately created a topic, trying to find a way to get closer to him. Fang Bai naturally went along with him, chatting casually, and the surrounding students gathered around Fang Bai to chat.
"Fang Bai, how exactly were your fingers cut off?"
Suddenly, a male student with a sharp, monkey-like face asked.
Wang Dakai slammed the table, stood up, and moved close to his face, directly cursing: "Li Hui, get lost! Why bring up old wounds? You love to rub salt in people's wounds."
"I'm just concerned about a classmate," Li Hui, intimidated by the tall Wang Dakai's roar, was indeed a bit scared.
"It's been so long already, does Fang Bai need your concern? Why don't you offer Fang Bai half of your living expenses?" Wang Dakai said disdainfully, making Li Hui too embarrassed to say anything more.
If it really came to donating money, Li Hui would definitely be unwilling; they were just ordinary classmates.
Fang Bai smiled, too lazy to argue with Li Hui: "Everyone, please return to your seats. Class is about to start. We have plenty of time to communicate in the future."
After the classmates dispersed, Fang Bai thanked Wang Dakai.
Wang Dakai said in a low voice, "You're too polite. Last class, you spoke very well on the podium. I especially admire people like you who aren't afraid to expose their rural identity, and can also endure hardship, unlike some classmates who are afraid of others knowing they are from the countryside, feeling very ashamed. That's just utter nonsense."
"There's no difference between rural and urban people; there's no distinction of status," Fang Bai said. In this era, many urban people indeed looked down on rural people, feeling superior.
"Exactly! Do city people get bonus points on the college entrance exam? What a joke."
Just a few words into their conversation, the class bell rang again.
Fang Bai quieted down and continued to listen to the lecture. It must be said that with his Golden Finger, his learning efficiency was truly high. The teacher only explained something once, and he could remember a lot and even integrate and apply it.
The teacher knew he had just arrived and didn't make things difficult for him by asking questions. Instead, when a difficult problem came up, he would ask if he could understand it.
...
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Female Dormitory Building 3, Room 303.
Gentle sunlight streamed across the campus. The sun shone through the glass window, illuminating a wide-hemmed skirt. A gentle breeze entered the room, causing the skirt to flutter slightly, revealing smooth, small heels.
This young girl was tugging at her ink-black long hair, which fell over her shoulders, her eyes revealing a hint of entanglement, as if she was pondering some troubling issue.
On the desk, there were a dozen pages of letter paper, densely covered with words, but the handwriting was neat, the lines fluid and full, with appropriate spacing between characters, exuding a delicate elegance, presenting an overall harmonious beauty.
"He needs to study, so he definitely won't have time to read so many letters. The word count must be kept within three pages, so I still need to delete some."
Qin Shuyu looked at the dozen pages of paper, all filled with what she wanted to confide to Fang Bai.
She usually communicated little with her roommates, and even then, it was passive. Suddenly, after starting university, she missed the person who used to chatter with her, feeling like something was missing. She had to write it all down on paper, accumulating a little each day until she had a dozen pages. If she had to delete some, she truly wouldn't know which ones to remove.
However, considering that Fang Bai was still repeating a year, she couldn't affect him too much. She could only bite the bullet and continue to revise with her head down.
She lived in a six-person dormitory, and there were two other girls in the room.
The door lock moved with a creak, and the door opened. A short-haired girl walked in, heading towards Qin Shuyu, who was sitting by the window, and placed the envelope in her hand on her desk:
"Qin Shuyu, this is a love letter from a sophomore senior who asked me to give it to you."
Qin Shuyu smiled bitterly, took the envelope, and without even looking at it, threw it directly into the nearby trash can.
Since the beginning of the semester, she had received several, and she hadn't opened a single one. Fortunately, there were more girls than boys at their university, otherwise, she would have received even more love letters.
She was already experienced in dealing with such love letters, following Fang Bai's advice from high school: "Don't open them, and don't reply. The more polite you are, the more they'll think they have a chance and will continue to send you love letters. The best way is to throw them directly into the trash can, letting the other person see your determination."
"Qin Shuyu, this senior, Chen Jian, is quite extraordinary! He's handsome, and I've inquired about him. He's the student union president of our department, and his family background is pretty good. Many girls are pursuing him!"
Her roommate, Zhang Li, saw her throw it directly into the trash can without even a glance and couldn't understand it. The previous suitors were understandable.
She herself was a bit confused about what was so good about Qin Shuyu. Wasn't she just better looking? But she was very quiet.
At first, she thought Qin Shuyu was aloof, but after more contact, she found her to be quite warm-hearted, realizing that she wasn't aloof but rather a bit afraid of socializing.
Qin Shuyu smiled and simply shook her head.
"Since you're not going to look at it, I'll open it and read it, okay?"
"Okay."
Zhang Li picked up the envelope, tore it open, and pulled out a delicate piece of paper. There were only three lines of text, and the handwriting was quite beautiful. She couldn't help but read it aloud:
"Your name,
Is the most beautiful love poem,
I have ever seen!"
"Just three short lines, very interesting, unlike some guys who write thousands of words and it means nothing," Zhang Li commented.
Qin Shuyu heard this. She had received many such love poems in high school, and Fang Bai had opened some of them. She suddenly remembered Fang Bai's words: "People who can write this kind of poetry are usually seasoned players in love. Since the two parties don't know each other, they know that writing too much, the girl probably won't read it and will find it annoying. It's better to simply praise her, appearing generous and gaining the girl's favor first."
Seeing Qin Shuyu's silence, Zhang Li became an emotional expert and tried to counsel her.
However, Qin Shuyu was impervious to advice, so she had to give up.
Liao Xiaoyan, a roommate in the dormitory, saw Zhang Li leave and said to Qin Shuyu: "Shuyu, don't mind Zhang Li. She hasn't even been in a relationship herself, so what does she know about feelings?
I think we freshmen should focus on our studies. We will definitely meet someone better in the future, and besides, you are so beautiful, you won't lack boys pursuing you."
"Okay, thank you."
Qin Shuyu smiled and nodded, continuing to write the letter, hoping to send it out within the next two days.
Fang Bai had given her his address, so she would send it to his home for now.
At this moment, Zhang Li, who had left the dormitory, stood at the dormitory entrance, looking around. She saw Chen Jian, about 175 cm tall, standing quietly with his hands behind his back in front of the girls' bulletin board, as if looking at a promotional poster.
But when he saw Zhang Li walking over, he quickly approached her: "How was it?"
"President Chen, Qin Shuyu didn't accept your letter," Zhang Li said to him, frowning and smiling bitterly. "I tried to persuade her earnestly and read her the contents of your letter."
"Hmm, it's normal that she didn't accept it, after all, we don't know each other. Zhang, you did well," Chen Jian said, touching his chin, hiding his disappointed expression, and maintaining his composure with a smile. "Does Qin Shuyu have a boyfriend?"
"I haven't seen one, so probably not. I feel Qin Shuyu is innocent in relationships, so she should be easy to pursue."
"Classmate Zhang Li, I hope you can help me inquire thoroughly.
Regardless of whether it works out or not, getting you into the student union is definitely not a problem. We third-year students will withdraw from the student union next semester, and at that time, I will recommend you to the teacher to become the head of a certain department. My recommendation is very important, as teachers generally don't interfere with student union matters. If you perform exceptionally well, becoming the president is not an issue either."
"Thank you, President Chen, I will work hard," Zhang Li said, her face beaming with joy upon hearing the promise.
After seeing Chen Jian leave, she quickly walked back to the dormitory. Seeing Qin Shuyu still reading, she asked seriously: "Shuyu, do you have a boyfriend?"
"I don't have a boyfriend, but I already have someone I like," Qin Shuyu looked up and answered without hesitation.
"That's unrequited love, isn't it? Does the other person like you?"
"Yes, they do. We've already committed to each other."
"Then why did you say you don't have a boyfriend!"
Zhang Li felt she had been tricked by Qin Shuyu; she had told Chen Jian that Qin Shuyu didn't have one.
"Well, I guess that's not quite the same. A boyfriend doesn't necessarily lead to marriage, but we're different," Qin Shuyu replied seriously. Fang Bai had told her something similar, and she also felt it was right.
Qin Shuyu's answer surprised the other roommates in the dorm.
But upon closer examination of her words, they felt she wasn't wrong.
However, Zhang Li, after hearing her words, felt she could be stifled with anger. She took a deep breath and said, "Alright, let's not dwell on this. But when I gave you the letter, you didn't say you had a boyfriend, did you?"
"It seems like you didn't ask, did you?"
Qin Shuyu puffed out her cheeks, like an innocent, chubby-faced hamster.
"..."
Zhang Li felt there was nothing wrong with that, but she just felt Qin Shuyu was too difficult to communicate with. Is this how all quiet people are?
"Zhang Li, Shuyu isn't wrong, and besides, she already has someone she likes, so stop worrying about it," Liao Xiaoyan said, seeing Zhang Li at a loss, and couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm just caring for my roommate, for her own good.
However, I am curious about which talented man from our university has captured Qin Shuyu's heart," Zhang Li retorted.
"Shuyu, I'm also curious about who you like?"
"He's not from our university; he's still repeating a year."
"Ah, repeating a year? Then his grades must not be ideal. Even if he gets into an undergraduate program, it'll be far worse than our university's," Zhang Li's sense of superiority immediately emerged, feeling she could facilitate a match between Chen Jian and Qin Shuyu.
"Whether he gets in or not, it doesn't matter," Qin Shuyu said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, unconcerned.
Zhang Li was speechless: "How can that not matter? That's very important! If he doesn't get into university, he won't find a good job. How can he marry you?"
Qin Shuyu widened her eyes. In her view, marriage had nothing to do with education or work. Her inner conviction was firm: "Why can't he? Even if he can't find a job, I can work and earn money to support the family.
Why must he be the one to earn money?"
"..."
Zhang Li was defeated by anger and didn't want to continue persuading. She felt she wasn't on the same wavelength as Qin Shuyu.
Moreover, Qin Shuyu was toxic!
She might even get brainwashed by her.
At the same time, the roommates were very curious about what kind of man had cast a love spell on Qin Shuyu.
What they didn't know was that Fang Bai hadn't even attended university in his previous life, and Qin Shuyu still married him.
When a woman commits to a man, what do education and work matter?
...