Dongjiang City, the capital of the neighboring Jiangnan Province, is only two hundred kilometers from Chen Pingjiang's hometown.
Far more people from Tongshi City go to Dongjiang for schooling and work than to Heshi City, their own provincial capital.
This is a famous science and education city with numerous Double First-Class universities.
As a new first-tier city, its economy is quite developed.
For Dongjiang City, which boasts sixty to seventy universities, September 1st was the day most schools welcomed new students.
The bus station was packed, with dense crowds of people, uniformly equipped with one large and one small bag, dragging heavy luggage out of the station.
Zhou Guanghan had never seen so many people before and was momentarily stunned until Chen Pingjiang patted his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.
"Hurry and get out of the station. What are you dazing for? Be careful, there are many pickpockets here."
Although Chen Pingjiang didn't attend university in Dongjiang in his previous life, he came to Dongjiang to work after graduation and stayed for seven or eight years.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it his second home.
In the early 2000s, stations, whether train stations or bus stations, were pretty much the same across the country.
Scammers and pickpockets ran rampant.
Several fifty-year-old women walked back and forth, waving "accommodation" signs and asking everyone they met.
"Handsome, do you need a place to stay?"
"Give it a try, it's very comfortable."
...
The combination of Chen Pingjiang and Zhou Guanghan was pestered the most.
"Handsome, you're so strong."
Zhou Guanghan was very timid now; if not for his dark skin, one would surely see his face as red as a monkey's bottom.
Chen Pingjiang, wearing sunglasses and a smiling expression, carried his bag on his back and paid no attention.
He used to have a few regular spots in this city, ranging from two hundred to four hundred yuan.
What great youthful memories! In this life, he had to preserve his virginity; perhaps he could even receive a red envelope later.
Catching a taxi at the entrance, Chen Pingjiang spoke in authentic Dongjiang dialect:
"Master, Zhujiang Road."
"Great-uncle, how do you know Dongjiang dialect?"
"Learned it from the technicians."
The two spent all day together, and Zhou Guanghan's face was full of question marks.
Who were these technicians?
Chen Pingjiang raised an eyebrow.
"Children shouldn't ask too much about adult matters."
Before long, Chen Pingjiang and the taxi driver were deep in a heated boastful conversation.
He really wanted to find that idiot taxi driver from back then and give him a good beating.
Back then, he asked that taxi driver to lead them to a KTV, but the damn driver took him and his friend to a shady establishment near 1912.
A cup of yogurt was 88 yuan, a fruit platter 300, a bottle of beer 100.
The girls knew nothing but to say:
"Brother, I'm thirsty, can I order a drink?"
"Brother, do you want some fruit?"
The two fools were conned out of 3500 yuan inside.
Although they realized something was wrong after ordering, all the alcohol was already open.
How could they return it?
He then remembered meeting an online friend they had chatted with passionately.
Their offline meeting was at a quiet bar where there wasn't a soul.
A wine-like drink was priced directly at 800 yuan, and Chen Pingjiang almost drank it with tears in his eyes.
These were all memories Dongjiang City brought to Chen Pingjiang.
In 2006, Zhujiang Road was really crowded.
Computers and mobile phones were mostly bought here.
In less than twenty minutes, Chen Pingjiang emerged with two Nokia N73s.
These were new models just launched this summer, and the two together cost nearly ten thousand yuan.
"Great-uncle, I have money, I'll give it to you."
Having just received twenty thousand yuan the day before yesterday, how could Zhou Guanghan possibly accept this phone?
Chen Pingjiang waved his hand.
"Keep that money for tuition and living expenses. Don't ask your mom for money this year."
Zhou Guanghan's family was quite poor.
His mother suffered from cerebral palsy as a child and grew up to be disabled, unable to work.
His father was an honest farmer, making a living by farming, with truly little income throughout the year.
He also had an older sister doing odd jobs in a restaurant in Hushang.
Actually, Zhou Guanghan originally had an older brother who drowned while swimming in the village pond one summer.
Zhou Guanghan was born later.
So, the entire family cherished Zhou Guanghan dearly and couldn't bear for him to go alone to a boarding school in a county dozens of kilometers away, which is why they sent him to live and study at Chen Pingjiang's home.
Xu Fangjuan treated Zhou Guanghan and her son Chen Pingjiang equally; whatever Chen Pingjiang ate, Zhou Guanghan ate too.
Zhou Guanghan nodded and said nothing more.
He knew many things in his heart, he knew who was good to him.
Both Dongjiang University of Finance and Economics and Dongjiang Sports Institute have campuses in Xianlin, not far from each other.
By the time the two arrived at Dongjiang Sports Institute, it was already afternoon.
"Great-uncle, you should go back. I can register by myself."
Today was also Chen Pingjiang's registration day, and he was afraid Chen Pingjiang wouldn't have enough time.
Chen Pingjiang waved his hand dismissively.
"Do you think I'm accompanying you? I just want to see the girls from the sports school."
Zhou Guanghan pursed his lips and said nothing.
On registration day, people came and went, traffic flowed like water at the school gate.
Everywhere were parents and students carrying luggage, as well as a group of enthusiastic senior students.
The payment office for the Sports Institute was in the University Student Activity Center.
Chen Pingjiang didn't go in to accompany him for payment but sat at the main entrance puffing on a cigarette, openly watching the beauties from the sports school coming and going.
Indeed, regardless of their individual quality, the girls from the Sports Institute had a distinctly different aura from girls at regular universities.
A healthy, vibrant energy emanated from them.
What excited Chen Pingjiang the most was the abundance of long legs; every girl was 1.7 meters tall, some even 1.8 meters, with healthy skin tones rather than the pale complexion of Zhang Xinyue.
"This one's good, fair skin, beautiful face, long legs, and a slender waist."
Chen Pingjiang watched a girl, about 1.75 meters tall, walk over.
She wore dark tight-fitting sweatpants that showcased her slender, long, and straight legs, with prominent hips and a slightly concave lower abdomen.
She wore a small white cropped athletic top, making her waist appear particularly slim, with the zipper pulled down to below her chest, emphasizing her very ample bust, and a white undershirt beneath.
Watching the girl walking towards him, Chen Pingjiang was a bit dazed.
Although he was somewhat handsome and had received his fair share of love letters in school, he shouldn't be that popular.
It was two or three in the afternoon, and the sun was intense.
Chen Pingjiang squinted his eyes.
As she got closer, he realized she was also incredibly beautiful, with exquisite features, a prominent nose bridge, rosy cherry lips, cheeks flushed pink from the heat, tiny beads of sweat on her nose tip, and a translucent neck.
Chen Pingjiang had seen many beautiful women, but few possessed a beauty that instantly made one feel comfortable.
This kind of beauty was more about an aura—calm, dignified, aloof, and composed.
Like the charm of Gao Yuanyuan.
"Student, I'm from the security team. Which class are you in? Smoking in a public place, especially during new student registration, creates a very bad impression."
The beauty's voice was clear and strong, without any affectedness.
Chen Pingjiang quickly put out his cigarette, thinking, Why did I run into an official?
"Uh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm a student's parent."
"A new student, right? Class, name."
The beauty glared at Chen Pingjiang with some disgust.
Isn't he treating people like fools, claiming to be a student's parent at such a young age?
"Yan Yan, do you need help?"
As he spoke, a strong young man over 1.85 meters tall quickly ran over.
He was somewhat handsome, gazing at Yan Yan with melting eyes, and considerately handed her a bottle of Nongfu Spring.
"It's hot, drink some water, don't get heatstroke."
"No need."
Yan Yan's expression was displeased, and she politely refused, turning her head to look coldly at Chen Pingjiang.
"I'm asking you, which class are you in?"
The burly young man had an arrogant expression.
He took two steps towards Chen Pingjiang, closing the distance between them.
Most new students would probably back down in this situation.
Chen Pingjiang thought, This damn guy is using me to show off.
He said nothing, provocatively pulled out another cigarette from his pocket, and lit it.
"I'm a student's parent. Do you have 'No Smoking' signs here?"
Seeing Chen Pingjiang completely disregard him and even provocatively light another cigarette, the young man's face turned green.
With his goddess standing behind him, where would his dignity go? He sternly said,
"You damn brat, who are you trying to fool?"
The commotion was quite loud, attracting the attention of many people passing by.
Yan Yan followed, her voice cold and clear:
"Fan Xufei, go attend to your duties. I'll handle this here."
A scuffle at the registration entrance would look very bad and significantly damage the school's image.
Teachers would also think they were incompetent.
Fan Xufei still wanted to save face in front of his goddess.
He originally thought an arrogant freshman carrying a suitcase would be easy to handle, but he didn't expect this guy to be different from ordinary university students, full of confidence.
However, when Yan Yan spoke, he immediately took a step back obediently, his face still flushed with anger and humiliation as he glared fiercely at Chen Pingjiang.
"Student, if you insist on not telling us, I'll call the school's security department. Then, not only will your parents be notified, but your counselor will be informed as well."
Yan Yan looked at Chen Pingjiang with a somewhat indifferent gaze.
Chen Pingjiang exhaled smoke, pulled out his phone from his pocket, and glanced at Yan Yan.
"What's the phone number for your school's security department? I'll call them directly to arbitrate, especially you, young man, for insulting a student's parent."
He pointed at Fan Xufei.
This left both Fan Xufei and Yan Yan a little stunned.
He clearly looked like a student, even carrying luggage, yet insisted he was a student's parent, showed no fear of them, the student cadres, and even wanted to turn the tables and report them to the school teachers.
Where did he get such confidence?
Yan Yan's bright eyes shifted.
"Whose student's parent are you?"
"Children shouldn't ask too much about adult matters,"
Chen Pingjiang retorted.
I just had a nicotine craving and smoked a cigarette by the building.
I wasn't blocking the gate, so who did I offend?
That's why these student council cadres are so annoying; most of them like to treat trivial matters as important directives, and their student council positions become tools for showing off.
Originally, Chen Pingjiang had put out his cigarette, intending to settle the matter peacefully.
Who would have thought this Fan Xufei would dare to pick a fight with him?
"Kid, don't be shameless, don't force me to slap you."
Seeing Chen Pingjiang talk back to his goddess like that, Fan Xufei was absolutely furious.
He charged forward, ready to fight Chen Pingjiang.
Student parent or not, he was going to beat him up.
Just then, Fan Xufei, who was rushing towards Chen Pingjiang, was kicked from the side and sent flying two or three meters to the right.
"Erzi, never mind, don't let the school deal with it."
Chen Pingjiang glanced over, knowing it was Zhou Guanghan who had finished registering and come out.
"Great-uncle, he cursed you, shouldn't I beat him up?"
Zhou Guanghan's eyes were wide like brass bells, and he was about to rush forward to kick Fan Xufei a few more times.
The moment Fan Xufei was kicked, he felt like he had been hit by a tank.
He usually had plenty of physical confrontations playing basketball, but he had never encountered such force.
A biting pain shot through his left arm.
Chen Pingjiang helplessly waved his hand, feeling a headache from Zhou Guanghan's temper.
This kid was good in every way—if you didn't provoke him, he wouldn't provoke you; he was simple and honest.
But if you provoked him, he would truly hit without restraint, not stopping until the person was spitting blood.
"Alright then, go ahead and beat him to death, then you won't have to go to school and can just go home."
Chen Pingjiang saw that some people around had already started gathering to watch.
He didn't care for himself, but Zhou Guanghan still had to study here, and causing trouble would definitely lead to disciplinary action.
Zhou Guanghan glared fiercely at Fan Xufei, as if he wanted to devour him.
Hearing Chen Pingjiang's words, he then turned and walked over, taking Chen Pingjiang's suitcase.
Chen Pingjiang turned his head and, smiling, said to the stunned Yan Yan,
"Senior, did you hear what he called me?"
Although this senior was cold, she was beautiful!
(End of Chapter)
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