Following the flow of students, Fang Bai walked into the campus.
He quickly arrived at the school square, where posters for the freshman registration desks of various departments were displayed.
The banners welcoming "new students," the loud speakers of the campus radio station, and the upperclassmen carrying all sorts of luggage were all so enthusiastic that they made one melt.
Fang Bai was initially curious why no upperclassmen came up to ask him anything. After a moment's thought, he guessed they probably thought he was a returning upperclassman.
He asked an upperclassman and quickly found the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering's registration desk.
"Wow, you're a freshman?" A sophomore girl responsible for registration scrutinized Fang Bai, looking somewhat disbelieving.
Fang Bai smiled, deliberately touching his face: "Do I look very old?"
"That's not it, you're very handsome, and your temperament is quite unique. Classmate, are you from Shanghai? I see you didn't bring much luggage."
"Oh, thank you. I'm not from Shanghai. Excuse me, where do I pay the tuition and miscellaneous fees?"
"Classmate, please complete the registration procedures first, and I'll take you over in a moment."
"Zhang Wenhui, why don't I take this junior over? If you leave, no one will be familiar with the registration process." A good-looking girl with long hair and side-swept bangs stepped forward, smiling playfully at Fang Bai, and waved her hand, "Junior, my name is Qiu Ya."
Fang Bai was stunned for a moment when he heard the name "Qiu Ya," then smiled and said, "Oh, hello, senior."
Qiu Ya saw Fang Bai freeze for a moment, thinking he was attracted by her looks, and shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Uh... okay!" Zhang Wenhui saw the two of them and didn't know what to say, she twisted her mouth, then showed a warm smile to Fang Bai, "Junior, what's your name? Please take out your admission letter and ID for registration."
Fang Bai nodded and handed over his ID and admission letter.
"Oh, your name is Fang Bai, and you're from Wen City? We're fellow townsfolk! I'm from Rui'an, and I went to Wen No. 1 Middle School for high school."
"Oh, then we really are fellow townsfolk. I went to Oubei No. 1 Middle School for high school."
"If I'm not mistaken, you should be this year's national college entrance examination top scorer, right? I went back this summer and saw a lot of news about you. No wonder you look so familiar."
"Hehe, just a bit lucky." Fang Bai smiled, saw that the other party had finished registering, and took back his ID and admission letter.
He took the dormitory key and library card handed to him by another male student and was told to keep them safe.
Qiu Ya, who was standing nearby, took Fang Bai to the stadium, saying that the payment procedures were handled there.
When Fang Bai received his admission letter, he also had an enrollment instruction. His tuition fee was 160 yuan per year, a symbolic charge, but it was a considerable burden for most student families, and many rural families couldn't afford this money.
In 1989, the state implemented university tuition fees, which were 100-200 yuan per academic year, while also implementing both public-funded and self-funded options.
Normal universities did not require tuition fees, only miscellaneous and book fees, but Shanghai Jiaotong University still required tuition, accommodation, miscellaneous, and book fees.
After 1995, some universities implemented parallel enrollment, and tuition fees instantly rose to over 2,000 yuan, which caused quite a stir in society.
In 1997, parallel enrollment was fully implemented, public funding was abolished, and universities uniformly charged fees, with tuition hovering around 3,000 yuan and increasing annually.
Fang Bai heard Qiu Ya say that the school distributed a monthly stipend of 17 yuan, which was much less than that of normal universities.
After walking a distance, Fang Bai saw the stadium.
"Senior, thank you, I see the payment counter. I can go by myself from here."
"It's fine, I'll take you over. I don't have anything to do anyway. Fang Bai, you're from Wen City, did you come to school alone? That's impressive."
"Not exactly alone, my girlfriend is also here."
...Qiu Ya heard the words she least wanted to hear; a basin of cold water was poured over her from head to toe, and she was instantly disheartened.
Falling for someone for less than three minutes, and then being utterly crushed.
At this moment, she felt like a plum blossom standing proudly in the snow, with snowflakes fluttering and the north wind howling before her eyes.
There were many boys in the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, but ordinary boys simply couldn't catch her eye.
Before, she had some beautiful fantasies. Seeing such a handsome junior, and looking like he came from a very good family, she thought she had a chance as a freshman and wanted to make the first move.
But, alas.
Her eyes quickly dimmed, and she forced a strained smile, "Wow, you already have a girlfriend in your first year."
"Uh, you could say we're childhood sweethearts, and she's also attending university here." Fang Bai chuckled, directly dispelling the senior's thoughts, not giving anyone a chance.
He also knew that with the openness of university, if he performed exceptionally well and was particularly wealthy, many girls would naturally flock to him.
Fang Bai had no interest in ambiguity; he would strike down one after another. The title "Cruel Destroyer of Flowers" suited him best.
"You're truly amazing, junior." Qiu Ya didn't know what else to say.
"Hehe, senior, I'm off now." Fang Bai waved his hand.
This time, Qiu Ya didn't follow, feeling it was meaningless.
Just as Fang Bai left the registration desk, several boys heard Zhang Wenhui's conversation with Fang Bai, and some curious boys asked, "Zhang Wenhui, do you know that junior? So he's the top scorer, that's incredible."
"Qiu Ya chased after him, I wonder if she managed to chat with him. The boys in our department, he doesn't look down on them, haha."
Zhang Wenhui pursed her lips and chuckled, "She's dreaming! This Fang Bai's family background is extraordinary. Didn't you see his outfit? The fabric is excellent, and the tailoring is exquisite. His family is very wealthy and famous in our Wen City. It would be strange if he took a liking to Qiu Ya."
"He looks quite rich. What does his family do?"
"In our hometown, his family has been in the newspapers. They own Wen City's largest electronics store, and they're currently expanding Wen City's largest comprehensive shopping mall, tens of thousands of square meters. I heard they invested over a hundred million yuan. For such a young master, ordinary girls shouldn't even think about it. He'll definitely look for a wife from a family of equal status." Zhang Wenhui said gleefully, "I never expected him to be my junior; it's a bit of a surprise."
"Wow!"
"So rich, oh my god, then Qiu Ya definitely has no chance."
"A super rich second generation!"
The few students who heard couldn't help but exclaim. Most students lived a very frugal life, with monthly living expenses of around thirty yuan. Those with over fifty yuan lived relatively comfortably.
If it was over a hundred yuan a month, that would be fantastic.
Rich second-generations like him didn't have to worry about money at all; they could spend it however they wanted.
Many third and fourth-year upperclassmen were busily preparing to study abroad, and just the money issue was a big worry. If their families weren't short of money, they probably all wanted to travel abroad before returning.
Currently, many students don't eat well, some even don't eat enough. After class, the 'rice buckets' usually carry their eating utensils and eagerly rush to the cafeteria.
Zhang Wenhui particularly emphasized, "You're wrong, he's not a rich second-generation!"
"Then he's a rich third-generation?"
Zhang Wenhui shook her head: "The newspaper said that Fang Bai led his family to start a business together. His parents were farmers, and they only started making money in the last year, but they did so incredibly quickly.
He donated three hundred thousand yuan to their school. Anyway, his story is quite legendary."
"Zhang Wenhui, you're bragging. How can there be such a powerful person, studying and doing business at the same time, and having a family fortune of over a hundred million?"
"I don't believe it either. He certainly looks rich, but I don't believe he started it himself."
Zhang Wenhui pouted: "I should have brought the newspaper to show you. I knew you wouldn't believe it.
Just you wait, I think this junior will soon make a big splash at school."
She had already decided that she must cling tightly to this fellow townsman's leg.
A moment later, everyone saw Qiu Ya return. Seeing the gloomy look on her face, they teased her, "Qiu Ya, that kind of young master isn't so easy to pursue."
"I wasn't pursuing him. I was just taking him to the payment counter." Qiu Ya scoffed, seeing her classmates' schadenfreude.
"Haha, Zhang Wenhui said he's a super rich first-generation, with assets over a hundred million. Qiu Ya, why don't you look at us instead?"
"Assets over a hundred million!" Qiu Ya was shocked and instantly lost confidence in pursuing him. She guessed his girlfriend must be very beautiful.
No, even if she didn't pursue him, she should at least build a good relationship.
She believed her emotional intelligence was not low. Meeting such a noble person might help her in the future.
Not long after, the sophomore students at the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering's registration desk quickly learned about this student, Fang Bai.