Fang Bai hailed a pedicab and told the driver he was going to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
In another year or two, pedicab operations would be banned, and he wouldn't be able to ride one even if he wanted to.
"Which campus are you going to?"
The driver spoke Mandarin with a Shanghai accent, which Fang Bai could still understand.
Starting this year, Shanghai was promoting the use of Mandarin among its citizens, so it was no problem for drivers who frequently picked up passengers to speak Mandarin.
However, for some older people who couldn't speak Mandarin and only spoke authentic Shanghai dialect, Fang Bai could barely understand some of it.
"Gu Ding Road, Northwest Gate," Fang Bai replied.
In his previous life, when Qin Shuyu was in university, Fang Bai had never been to the University of Finance and Economics.
Before coming, he had researched the University of Finance and Economics; currently, it had two campuses, both in HK District.
The old campus was on Zhongshan North Road 1;
The new campus was on Gu Ding Road, also bordering Wudong Road and Wuchuan Road. It was built in 1983, covering an area of over a thousand mu, and currently all undergraduates had moved to this new campus. To the east was the top 985 Fu D University.
If he didn't understand these areas, it would be difficult for Fang Bai to find Qin Shuyu.
"Oh, that's fine to go. If you were going into the city center, it wouldn't work."
Fang Bai asked the price again; it was a bit expensive but still acceptable.
If he took a taxi, it would be more expensive, but for Fang Bai now, both were acceptable.
Sitting on the rickety pedicab, the driver would ring the bell whenever he encountered people ahead.
Fang Bai felt a bit hungry and took out the food he had brought yesterday to eat a little.
On the bus, smelling the stench of shoes, he had no appetite even though he was hungry.
Cold food entered his stomach; although it didn't taste good, it made him feel a bit more energetic.
At this moment, Fang Bai finally had the energy to observe the streetscape of Shanghai.
The morning sun sprinkled over the streets and alleys, laying a layer of golden brilliance over the entire city.
Vehicles were bustling on the roadways, drivers honking their horns, and pedicabs ringing their bells, all transmitting urgent sounds.
Pedestrians streamed continuously on the streets, and people on bicycles hurried along with the bicycle flow.
Shops on the commercial street gradually opened for business, and shopkeepers were busy arranging goods, preparing to welcome a day's business.
Although Shanghai in the 90s didn't yet have towering skyscrapers, the city's hustle and vitality were already beginning to show.
The vibrations and bumps of the pedicab could be a bit uncomfortable, but feeling the wind blow and observing a different Shanghai morning made this experience interesting and special for Fang Bai.
Shanghai's landmark, the Oriental Pearl Tower, would only begin construction next year, and the Jinmao Tower would not break ground for another four years. The current Shanghai was still full of a down-to-earth atmosphere, completely different from the capital-rich international metropolis it would become more than a decade later!
There was also a certain charm, and that was...
Capital.
That's how Fang Bai felt; as long as he had enough capital, he could sit in a high-rise building's independent office and savor this charm.
"Young man, are you from Wen City?" The driver looked back at Fang Bai and asked curiously.
"Master, you're amazing; you can actually tell that."
Fang Bai saw the driver trying to chat with him, so he happily replied, breaking the cautious feeling he had when he got in the car, after all, the "arrogant" reputation of Shanghai people was well-known.
"Many Wen City people come to Shanghai to do business. I pick up several Wen City passengers a day. You Wen City people are very impressive at doing business, and most of you are very hardworking," the driver praised sincerely.
"We have many mountains there, and it's hard to make a living from a few small plots of land, so most of us do business. Poverty leads to change, you know." Fang Bai had heard in his previous life that Shanghai people looked highly upon Wen City people; it seemed to be true.
It took almost an hour to reach the destination, and it wasn't even rush hour. At this time, Shanghai's traffic conditions were very congested, and it wouldn't improve for another five years. Real improvement wouldn't come until the full expansion of the subway lines in the decade after 2000.
After getting off the car,
Standing at the entrance of the University of Finance and Economics, Fang Bai felt his breathing quicken a bit; he was too excited.
Today happened to be Sunday. Fang Bai checked his watch; it was already past eight in the morning.
Fang Bai was exhausted, covered in sweat and grease. He couldn't possibly go see Qin Shuyu like this.
He quickly found a nearby hotel, took a shower, changed into fresh clothes, tidied himself up a bit, and then, carrying his backpack, he left.
His backpack wasn't big; inside, it only contained a change of clothes, two bp machines, ten thousand yuan in cash, and a bottle of water.
Walking into the school gate, his attire wasn't much different from the surrounding students, just a bit more handsome and refined. There was no shortage of fashionably dressed students in Shanghai's universities.
Fang Bai asked students where the freshman female accounting dormitory was, confirmed with two more students, and then quickly arrived near Dorm 3 for girls, following their directions.
A boy standing near the girls' dormitory, with girls constantly coming and going, still attracted the attention of quite a few girls.
"Wow, this boy is quite handsome. I wonder which girl has already snagged him."
"Sigh, our school has more girls than boys, but as soon as there's a handsome boy, that group of hungry female wolves pounces on him. It's too shameless."
"Handsome, well-dressed, with a sunny smile. I wonder what this boy's girlfriend looks like. If she's not good-looking, I might just snatch him away!" A girl standing on the balcony joked. Her roommates gave her a disdainful look, saying she wasn't worthy and that they should be the ones to do it.
Fang Bai was thick-skinned. When he saw the girls' curious gazes, he gave them a sunny smile. The girls also responded gracefully with smiles, and some even boldly greeted him: "Hi, handsome!"
Shanghai truly lived up to its reputation as a big city; people's ideas and thoughts were more open and tolerant. Girls wouldn't be as reserved and shy as they were back home.
In fact, there was another important reason for their open personalities: this school was "yin" prosperous and "yang" declining.
After confirming the girls' dormitory, Fang Bai's method of finding someone was quite unique and direct. Asking an unfamiliar girl to help him find someone, the other party would certainly be unwilling.
If he gave a gift, the other party might misunderstand, and others would also misunderstand.
So, he took out a few five-yuan bills from his backpack. Seeing a fashionably dressed long-haired girl walking from Dorm 3, he went up to her and said, "Excuse me, classmate, could you please pass a message? Five yuan for the errand."
The girl quickly dodged away, coldly ignoring him, and waved her hand, indicating she was in a hurry to go to the library and had no time to help. In reality, she was a bit startled.
Who finds someone like that, and even offers money? Did he think she was stupid? He must be trying to trick her; maybe she'd even get herself involved.
Fang Bai watched her leave and secretly thought: Damn, it's not working!
Was it because the money was too little?
I refuse to believe it.
After a while, another chubby girl came out. Fang Bai tried the same trick: "Excuse me, classmate, could you please pass a message? Five yuan for the errand, you can buy a lot of snacks with it."
"Snacks?"
The chubby girl paused, then carefully scrutinized Fang Bai from head to toe, and then cautiously asked, "Who are you looking for?"
In her heart, she was actually a little excited. Five yuan was really generous, after all, she wasn't from a wealthy family like those in Shanghai.
Fang Bai first slipped her a five-yuan bill. After seeing the chubby girl reluctantly accept it, he said, "First-year accounting, Qin Shuyu. Just tell her her high school classmate Fang Bai is looking for her. She's my girlfriend, and she'll naturally come down when she hears."
After speaking, he handed her his new business card. On the front, it had his Chinese and English names and his bp machine number, and on the back, there was a line of text: "I'm always there when you need me!"
The chubby girl was surprised as she took the exquisite business card. This student actually had a business card!
She glanced at it, saw the bp machine number, and was even more surprised. The line on the back of the card was so poetic; if used to flirt with girls, it would indeed be hard not to make someone's heart flutter!
"I'm always there when you need me!" This sentence felt so warm. She felt somewhat envious of the girl being sought.
"Oh, you're looking for Qin Shuyu?"
"Classmate, do you know her?"
"She's in our major, and she's quite famous. Many boys are pursuing her. Are you really her boyfriend?"
"Absolutely. She'll know as soon as she hears my name."
"Alright, for the sake of five... for your sincerity, I'll go ask. I don't know which dormitory she's specifically in, so I can only ask around. She might not even be in the dormitory." The chubby girl had never seen such a generous boy before, and he was handsome and rich.
Compared to the methods those boys used to pursue girls, it felt meaningless; they didn't give anything, and just a "thank you" was supposed to make someone run errands.
Regardless of whether this boy was her girlfriend's boyfriend, he was worth running an errand for.
"Then thank you."
"You're welcome. I can only try. If I can't find her, I'll return the five yuan to you."
"No, that five yuan is your hard-earned money. If you find her, I'll reward you with another five yuan."
The chubby girl's mouth slightly opened, and she quickly walked into the dormitory. Seeing how sincere this boy was, she absolutely had to find her.