Xiaoqi did not expect that there would still be fixed seats in university.
She had heard before that university was very free, going to different classroom buildings for classes and choosing your own seat.
But when she arrived, it was not like that at all.
A young, petite female counselor said that she would be their head teacher from now on, and told them to line up so she could arrange seats first.
Chen Mier was right next to her, so the two became deskmates.
They sat in the second row of the classroom.
While Gu Yunshu and Wei Cheng were also sitting together, though their situation was worse - they were arranged in the front row.
Xiaoqi and Chen Mier sat in the second row near the door, while Gu Yunshu and Wei Cheng sat by the window in the front row, separated into pairs.
After the teacher finished arranging the seats, she began to emphasize, "Enhua University's discipline is extremely strict. Students must remember a few points - first, the school will conduct surprise dorm inspections, no overnight stays outside of the dorms are allowed; second, the school prohibits dating, if caught the entire school will be notified; third, the school prohibits eccentric clothing and dyed hair."
Then she gave each person a copy of the school rules and regulations. Xiaoqi opened it and took a look - the rules inside were very detailed, stipulating things like when going to public elective courses, seats and desktops must be tidy, otherwise if caught you would be criticized and notified, and each instance of criticism corresponded to a certain number of credits. Students could earn credits through labor, skipping class deducted credits, being caught dating deducted credits, dyed hair deducted credits. Usually you could earn credits through labor or excellent grades, and if your credits dropped below 60 by the end of the year, you would be expelled. Getting caught cheating on exams meant immediate expulsion.
Xiaoqi didn't know if all universities were like this, or if it was because Enhua was a private university.
Anyway, looking at the regulations inside, the students around her were yelling and shouting, feeling like some of the rules were very unreasonable.
For example, dyed hair - because when Xiaoqi looked left and right, she noticed many curly-haired and blonde-haired students in the class, as well as some with both curly and blonde hair. According to these regulations, they would have to immediately dye their hair black and straighten it.
Also, prohibiting dating - Xiaoqi knew many classmates in high school who held hands, so it was obvious there would be even more cases in university. Not allowing dating didn't seem very realistic.
Also, why were seats fixed? Because as long as a seat was empty, it meant the student hadn't come. The teacher didn't need to take attendance, just looking at the seats each class was enough. But because of this attendance system, Enhua school had another unique job - not substitute teaching, but substitute attendance. Sitting in that seat and attending class for them, so the seat wouldn't be empty and the teacher would mark attendance. Xiaoqi had even audited many classes because of this job, but that's a story for later.
At that moment, Xiaoqi heard a male student swear behind her, "Damn, first-tier schools supervise studying, second-tier schools supervise hygiene, third-tier schools supervise discipline. Our school only has discipline left to supervise."
Xiaoqi had never heard such words before, but they seemed to make sense. At her previous No. 1 Middle School in the city, the school would give way to everything for studying.
Her brother Lin Min's No. 2 Middle School was slightly inferior to No. 1, and often had to do major clean-ups and emphasize hygiene. She often heard him complain about it.
Her cousin Feifei's No. 8 Middle School didn't seem to emphasize studying or hygiene based on her complaints. Just many strict regulations, like what time they could leave school, what time they had to be back, etc. The school didn't care about students' grades as long as they didn't cause trouble.
It seemed this university gave off a similar feeling.
After getting their books, everyone noisily went back to their dorms. From far away, Xiaoqi saw the dorm building's door auntie standing there looking fierce, checking hairstyles. There was a student in front of her who seemed to have dyed hair, and was stopped by the dorm auntie to register her student ID and number.
Xiaoqi heard her say that the hair must be restored within three days.
The female student looked on the verge of crying from the scolding.
Returning to the dorm, Gu Yunshu's parents had finally made her bed and unpacked her luggage, with a bouquet of fresh flowers on the table.
Gu's mother enthusiastically said, "Let's eat dinner together tonight."
None of the parents had refused the invitation.
But Enhua University was located in a small town, with no big restaurants in the town either. Gu Yunshu's parents wanted to arrange a nice place, but ultimately could only find a relatively clean shop on the student street.
In fact, Enhua University's cafeterias were very good. In Xiaoqi's old campus area, there were four or five cafeterias.
There was even one specialized in Western food.
The Chinese restaurant's cafeteria was especially beautiful, located lakeside with floor-to-ceiling windows, looking like a high-end restaurant.
But the school cafeterias were a bit crowded, with lines.
A few people were on the student street, and Chen Mier's father had also come over. He didn't eat with them because he had bought train tickets, but he did bring over another bag of stuff, looking like food, and told Chen Mier to share it with everyone, very politely bidding farewell before leaving. Chen Mier stood up to see him off for a bit, and her eyes were red when she came back.
Xiaoqi thought that if her father came to see her off, she would be like this too, very reluctant. Fortunately she didn't let her father come over. She would wait until she was used to school, then next time her parents could come visit together, it would be much better that way.
When Chen Mier returned, the dishes here had been served one after another.
Xiaoqi saw Gu Yunshu's mother had practically used up a whole pack of wet wipes, repeatedly wiping the table and chairs in front of her before carefully sitting down.
Her skirt looked quite expensive, and the bag she carried also seemed to be woven, made of sheepskin, intricately woven and looking very soft.
Gu Yunshu's father wore a large checkered mocha shirt. Xiaoqi felt like she had seen that checkered pattern somewhere before, probably on an advertisement.
Gu Yunshu obediently sat there, not feeling as uncomfortable in her seat as her mother did.
Wei Cheng went to serve rice, and Xiaoqi also went to help.
Each person scooped two bowls - one for Chen Mier and one for herself.
Wei Cheng scooped one bowl for Gu Yunshu and one for herself, then stood up again to serve Gu Yunshu's parents.
Xiaoqi didn't take any more.
At dinner, Gu Yunshu's mother had asked about everyone's families.
Of course she asked cleverly, if Xiaoqi hadn't interacted with many people over the summer, she might not have noticed.
For example, when Gu Yunshu's mother complimented her bamboo container, she said her father had made it, which led to talking about her father's occupation.
But she didn't actually need to beat around the bush. Wei Cheng was the most honest, answering immediately when asked - there was a dish on the table of stir-fried mushrooms and meat, and she could even taste the type of mushroom, how long it had been kept, the texture, etc.
Gu Yunshu's mother extravagantly praised her for being so amazing.
"My family grows mushrooms, I've eaten them since I was little, so I'm familiar from eating them often," Wei Cheng answered embarrassingly, also blushing.
Chen Mier was a little more perceptive, but when Gu Yunshu's mother complimented her clothes, she also said her family's own factory had produced them.
After inquiring for a while, Gu Yunshu's parents had a good grasp.
The few little girls in Yunshu's dorm were quite innocent. Their family was probably the best off, Chen Mier's family from Qinjiang Province was next, Wei Cheng's was a rural family, and Su Xiaoqi's also seemed ordinary. But this girl had the best temperament, very indifferent, not revealing everything at first glance like the others, and spoke frankly and generously, seeming well-bred.
Their own daughter was silly and quiet, always worrying. Fortunately the girls in her dorm didn't seem bad.
After dinner, Gu Yunshu's parents were about to leave. They had driven here.
Xiaoqi saw their car was actually a BMW, quite familiar since she had just walked by it today.
After sending off Gu Yunshu's parents, the four girls who had just formed a dorm together were shy again for a bit, not knowing what to say.
Gu Yunshu didn't have red eyes, still looking blank as usual.
"Let's go buy some bread, in case we get hungry at night," Chen Mier suggested.
Xiaoqi thought that with her appetite, she was highly likely to get hungry, and agreed.
Wei Cheng and Gu Yunshu were both easygoing and agreed too.
The four girls headed out, and there was a bread shop at the entrance of the school street.
Lee's Special Fragrant Bun, with a flashing sign at the door.
Chen Mier browsed very carefully, looking over with her hands and checking prices as well as how tasty they looked.
Gu Yunshu seemed to just be along for the ride, casually grabbing a small bun and milk without looking at prices.
Wei Cheng didn't take anything in her hands, only looking at prices, and finally chose a very big and cost-effective looking bun.
Xiao Qi also chose a bottle of milk. When she lived with her aunt, her aunt would often heat up milk for her to drink at night, saying it would help her grow taller and she should drink more milk. She chose the same large loaf of bread as Wei Cheng, as well as a bag containing seven or eight small loaves.
She bought the most in the end.
Chen Mier must really love to eat. As soon as they left the store and started walking down the street, she opened up the bag of bread and generously handed one out to each of them.
Wei Cheng hesitated a little, but accepted it when she saw everyone else take one.
"This salad bun really is delicious. The salad inside is especially sweet. I've never had one before," she finished it in just two or three bites, looking blissful.
"Is it good?" she asked Xiao Qi eagerly after polishing off her own.
Xiao Qi tried a bite. It was quite nice, the bread was soft and not too sweet, but the salad inside was very sweet. The combination of flavors was great.
She nodded.
Gu Yunshu ate very daintily, and Wei Cheng also ate daintily. Wei Cheng didn't normally eat so carefully, but was a little embarrassed since this food was given to them by someone else, so she split it into several bites.
Xiao Qi finished hers in just three or four bites.
By the time the group got back to the dorm, there was only one bag of buns left for Chen Mier.
It was dark outside now, and the lights in the dorm were on. The room, which had been empty and bare during the day, now had beds made up and desks piled with books, looking cozy and warm.
All kinds of noises could be heard coming from the dorm building, very lively.
Xiao Qi put her newly distributed books in the cabinet, filling it up along with the ones she had brought from home.
After running around all day, Xiao Qi felt she should sit down, practice her calligraphy, and collect herself.
Gu Yunshu loved cleanliness the most, so she went straight to the bathroom when they returned.
Chen Mier chatted loudly on the phone with her mother, the words unintelligible.
Wei Cheng tidied up her belongings.
Xiao Qi spread out rice paper, poured out some ink, sat straight at the desk under her bed, and started writing.
Xiao Qi felt the light was a little dim. She would buy a desk lamp tomorrow. Other than that, everything was great - the height of the desk and chair suited her very well.
A breeze blew in through the window, gently lifting the wisps of hair by Xiao Qi's ears.
At some point, Chen Mier's voice on the phone grew softer.
