Volume 3: College Life
On the day school started, Gao Sijin woke up earlier than usual. He didn’t sleep in until nine o’clock like he always did, but instead got up at the unheard-of hour of six in the morning.
“Hiss…”
He felt utterly exhausted.
Even though he had gone to bed early the night before, upon waking, his body still felt like it had been drained by something. Even moving an arm caused noticeable, aching soreness. When he got out of bed, his legs went weak and he stumbled, nearly falling over.
This mental state was far from ideal, and today was Todai’s entrance ceremony. If he didn’t pull himself together, he feared he’d be ridiculed.
Gao Sijin walked into the washroom. At just twenty-two, he felt a vague sense of middle-aged malaise. Yesterday had truly left him utterly disappointed. He thought he could meet that heart-fluttering kimono girl at the library, but upon arriving, he found out the librarian had simply mistaken him for someone else.
Tokyo was too vast. In a city like this, wanting to meet the girl of his dreams again was like searching for a needle in a haystack. And in this world, the people fortunate enough to find true love were pitifully few. Most people’s marriage partners were just companions to get through life with.
Could someone as utterly ordinary as himself really be with her?
“It’s just as tragic as a moth flying into a flame.”
After cleaning himself up, his haggard appearance was swept away. Gao Sijin’s features were very pleasant to look at. Though he wasn’t the kind of strikingly handsome man one couldn’t forget, his delicate looks gave him an intellectual air, a quality of being well-read, reasonable, and a modest gentleman.
Honestly, with just this face of his, finding a girlfriend wouldn’t be too difficult. But Gao Sijin had secretly resolved that if he didn’t meet her again within the first year after enrollment, he would choose to remain single.
“Morning, Sijin.”
Yu Qingxue knocked and entered the room, then sat down openly on Gao Sijin’s bed.
“Morning.”
As usual, Yu Qingxue’s attire didn’t look like that of a Todai student. Instead, everything about her exuded a flirtatious, seductive aura. Her neckline was just right, involuntarily drawing one’s gaze to her massive evil.
“Qingxue, don’t you think wearing stockings and high heels to the entrance ceremony is a little inappropriate?”
“What’s inappropriate about it?”
“It’s just a bit…”
“Sijin, you’re just like a stuffy old man. We’re university students now, why are there still so many rules? Wear whatever you want. Speaking of which, Sijin, why are you in a black suit? Are you going to a funeral to bury your past youth?”
“My youth has just begun. And aren’t we required to dress like this?”
“Why submit to authority? Sijin, you need to show an air of ‘I alone am supreme.’ You should wear a dragon robe to the entrance ceremony, and when you see the Todai teachers, just say, ‘My loyal subjects, you may rise.'”
“That’s not ‘I alone am supreme,’ that’s just social suicide.”
Yu Qingxue, like a virtuous wife, helped Gao Sijin fold his blanket, then opened the window. The air outside was exceptionally fresh.
Actually, there was no need to wake up so early today. The entrance ceremony was scheduled for 10:20 AM, at the Martial Arts Hall in Chiyoda Ward.
But because today was quite important, even though he still had four hours to spare, Gao Sijin couldn’t help but feel nervous and anxious.
Even now, Gao Sijin still found it unbelievable that he’d been admitted to Todai. What virtue or ability did he possess to deserve this?
Todai wasn’t a university you could get into just by having power and influence. A certain prime minister’s family had attended Todai for generations, yet that Prime Minister of Japan, due to terrible academic performance, was outright rejected by Todai.
In contrast, it seemed Gao Sijin gained admission effortlessly. He remembered just casually signing up online, casually taking a few exams, and then receiving his letter of acceptance. He even felt like Truman from The Truman Show, his entire life manipulated by a giant hand behind the scenes.
In the morning, Yu Qingxue made some porridge and steamed buns. The two sat facing each other, hastily finished breakfast, and then watched a rather cheesy romance movie together to kill time.
Around nine o’clock, Gao Sijin got into Yu Qingxue’s BMW and they set off for Chiyoda Ward.
Gazing out the car window at the clean, tidy streets of this foreign land, Gao Sijin felt a little homesick. He remembered when he was an undergrad, moving from the Northeast to the South, he often felt pangs of longing for home.
When a long holiday came, he definitely had to go home for a visit.
He was now twenty-two, but his aunt was gradually growing older. At this age, Gao Sijin’s greatest fear was the thought of wanting to care for his parents, only to find them gone. After graduation, he would write and work, earning enough money so his aunt and cousin could live an ideal life.
“Still thinking about that Sakura girl of yours?” Noticing Gao Sijin’s somewhat melancholy, lost-in-thought expression after getting into the car, Yu Qingxue asked teasingly.
“No. Speaking of which, Qingxue, where’s your hometown?”
“Bincheng.”
“We’re practically fellow townsfolk then. I’m from Chuncheng.”
“What fate. I’ve been to Chuncheng. Perhaps we already saw each other long ago, without even knowing it.”
“How could something coincidental happen? By the way, Qingxue, don’t you ever miss home?”
“No. My parents are both bastards. I, Yu Qingxue, sprang out from a crack in a rock. The four seas are my home, how could I miss home?” Yu Qingxue flicked her waist-length hair with a carefree, charming gesture.
“Actually, my parents are also… forget it, let’s not badmouth them. I’ve complained for years, I’m tired of it.”
“I didn’t expect our family situations to be so remarkably similar.” Yu Qingxue stopped the car at a red light and asked softly, “Sijin, you’ve lived with me this long, have you never considered dating me?”
“I have thought about it, actually. But our personalities are too different. We’re destined not to make it to the end, so let’s just forget it.”
Gao Sijin laughed awkwardly. Yu Qingxue wasn’t angry, but folded her arms and asked with a grin:
“Then if I made a few changes for you, would you accept me?”
“The Qingxue of now is the ideal Qingxue. I don’t want you to change for me.”
The car stereo played a single by Ovinia, the beautiful melody intoxicating.
Yu Qingxue turned the steering wheel, guiding the car onto the main street. The distance from the apartment to the Martial Arts Hall wasn’t long, about four kilometers, a twenty-plus minute drive.
Being with Yu Qingxue was very comfortable, and Gao Sijin liked her a lot too. But from the moment he met the kimono girl, his heart had been utterly lost. If this world permitted polygamy, then Gao Sijin would accept Yu Qingxue’s confession without a moment’s hesitation.
But as things stood, Gao Sijin couldn’t do that.
In Chiyoda Ward, the Martial Arts Hall in Kitanomaru Park shone brightly. Dense crowds of students in black suits filed in, entering the hall’s main venue. The entrance ceremony had begun.
