Xiao Qi got on the train and found her second class seat.
There were five seats in each row.
Xiao Qi sat in the window seat farthest inside in a row of three.
The seats could be adjusted to face each other, with a small table in between.
Xiao Qi looked around and saw many other young people about her age, but most had elders accompanying them. There were some like her traveling alone too.
Next to Xiao Qi sat a young girl and a middle-aged man.
The girl seemed quite excited and started unpacking snacks as soon as she got on the train.
Xiao Qi had one suitcase, one backpack. Her important bank card, phone, ID were all in a small bamboo bag her dad had made. It looked tiny but could actually hold a lot. She could take it with her when she went to the bathroom.
The bamboo bag was very rustic, but paired with the wide, colorful fabric shoulder strap, it looked quite fashionable.
There was also quite a bit of cash in the bag. Her dad had given her 1000 RMB to start, and then unexpectedly, her aunt had stuffed her with a red envelope with 2000 RMB before she left.
She also had a little bit of spare change herself, so in total she had over 3000 RMB.
Just after boarding, Xiao Qi nimbly stowed her suitcase away. Although there were books in it, it wasn’t heavy for her at all. Before boarding, her parents and aunt had repeatedly told her not to talk to strangers or give out personal information. Just now a young man had offered to help carry her suitcase but she declined with a shake of her head.
Her backpack was under her feet. It contained some snacks and books to read later.
She wore the little bamboo bag on her.
Her parents had come to see her off at the train station, but they couldn’t come in past the entrance. She went in with her ticket and could only see them waving outside through the glass before passing through security and losing sight of them.
To be honest, this was her first time traveling alone on a train to another place, so she felt a little nervous and disoriented.
She had asked around and found out there were three students from her school who got into Enhua University, one boy and one girl, but she didn’t know them well. She just told her parents that three students from school were going to Enhua University together.
Her parents probably assumed their precious daughter had good grades and was popular, though that wasn’t the case at all. Xiao Qi was too embarrassed to clarify.
Now seated, with the train in motion, Xiao Qi called her parents first.
She said she was seated comfortably and the train had departed, everything was fine.
She spoke in the Gumula Village dialect, unintelligible to others, sounding like chitter chatter.
Hearing his daughter's call, Su Youfu reluctantly bid farewell to his wife, then they took the bus to Huanghe Town before starting their walk home.
After calling her parents, Xiao Qi spaced out for a bit, looking at the interface in front of her.
A blinking “5” reminded her she had 5 more days to spend the 340,000 RMB.
Today was August 31st. She would officially enroll tomorrow.
Seeing the blinking 340,000, Xiao Qi felt a bit annoyed, like unfinished homework looming over her.
Procrastinating until the last day gave her a sense of crisis.
For Xiao Qi, 340,000 was an astronomical figure. Buying the house didn't feel real because she didn't handle the money herself, and she didn't get to live in the house either since the agent rented it out, supposedly easily for 1800 RMB per month.
Xiao Qi thought that was great, enough for her monthly living expenses, and reassuring that even if this system suddenly disappeared, she would still have these assets.
Since enrollment didn't start until tomorrow, Xiao Qi planned to stay in Meng City today.
She checked and found out Enhua University wasn't located downtown, but rather in a town called Luoxi Town, accessible from Meng City via a direct bus from the bus station.
Enhua University was a private university founded by patriotic overseas Chinese. It had a large campus with old and new districts, nestled against a lake on one side and mountains on the other.
The two districts were quite far apart.
Students had to commute by shuttle bus between them.
This was all in the admission notice, along with pictures of the beautiful campus.
Xiao Qi decided to stay in Meng City today and go to campus tomorrow. Regarding spending the money, she had a few ideas. First, she wanted to buy a computer. Having a computer would make learning Japanese and other things more convenient.
She also planned to replace her cell phone, since her current one would lag and freeze up after downloading just a few audio files. She could only listen then delete to make space for new downloads. The limited memory was troublesome when she wanted to re-find nice recordings.
After that, she wanted to buy a car, the biggest ticket item.
She didn't have a license yet, but she could enroll in driving school once classes started. She had asked around and there were driving schools near campus specially for students.
She didn't have a particular preference for cars, but every arduous journey home by bus or train had fueled her determination.
She planned to walk most places day-to-day, but a car would be convenient as needed, like going from campus to Meng City without the bus station.
Plus she heard from her elementary school classmate Zhang Juan that some cars weren't available immediately after purchase, requiring a wait.
Perfect, Xiao Qi could learn to drive first while waiting for the car, then collect it once she got her license.
These three items should allow her to spend most of the money.
With a plan in mind, Xiao Qi stopped thinking about the issue and started envisioning her upcoming college life instead.
She felt she had stumbled blindly through high school with little progress, constantly struggling to learn. It was because she lacked plans, operating chaotically.
For college, she set the goal of passing the CET-4 English test. It was offered twice a year in June and December. She should be able to take the December exam.
She had started learning Japanese and didn't want to quit halfway, so she needed to keep studying and take the proficiency tests too. She felt learning without testing was pointless and easily forgotten, regardless of whether the exams were well-designed or necessary. Testing was an assessment of learning, if not on the full knowledge base, at least a portion.
She didn't care about collecting certificates, but others valued seeing them.
Both the Japanese test and CET-4 were scheduled early December, conveniently not conflicting - Japanese early and English mid-month. She felt more confident about English.
There was also entering a marathon, which nicely justified her daily runs and walks, included in Xiao Qi's schedule.
Beyond that, she would see what else came up at school. Right now she felt simultaneously forward-looking yet ignorant.
With these thoughts, the scenery outside grew unfamiliar.
The tall buildings and bridges of Lvshan City faded away. The long Lv River still stretched ahead but the trees and houses on both sides were unknown.
The train car was lively.
Xiao Qi had no desire to chat, so she took out a copy of The Daily Life of the Edo Period People and started reading.
She sat up straight with perfect posture. In her final week at home she had gone to the gym everyday, running and learning moves from the coach.
The coach was very attentive, teaching her sitting and standing postures to correct her hunched shoulders and sunken chest issues, which Xiao Qi felt were quite severe. She studied diligently.
She wanted to emulate the coach's attractive bearing, with shoulders back and head held high, exuding confidence.
The coach moved fluidly with grace.
Xiao Qi didn't realize the coach had sneaked in other moves targeting the chest, waist, and hips, not just posture advice. But she taught those to all students - none were as sincere as Xiao Qi, practicing daily even when class was over.
After running, Xiao Qi would do stretche
