Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
The school sat on an extremely vast piece of land just outside the suburbs of Changchun, and there was a small scale airport within it. If not for the airport car sending him here, he would have probably taken some time to locate it.
After security checked his luggage thoroughly, Lin Mo walked into the campus ground with his registration notice in hand. It took him twenty minutes to find the registration point.
“Lin Mo, this is your dormitory number and meal card. A psychological test and physical fitness test will be conducted within the week. You might be sent packing if you fail them.” A balding man in his fifties wearing black-framed, round-rimmed glasses reviewed and confirmed Lin Mo’s information.
“Understood!” Lin Mo seemed to have returned to the time when he was drafted for the Dragon Knight reserve team.
“Head out of the door, turn right, walk for one hundred meters until you reach a crossroad, and then turn left. Dormitory 15.” The man in his fifties felt that this young man was extremely calm. He did not say anything unnecessary, unlike the others who appeared very excited when checking in.
“Thank you!” Words were still like gold to Lin Mo as he carried his luggage, which was filled half with books and half of his stuff. He had yet to fully integrate into this world, so it was better for him to choose his words wisely.
Once again in this labyrinth of his campus, Lin Mo found his dormitory room. It was room 722 on the top floor of Dormitory 15. He opened the door with his key, and the heat rolled out like a summer wave. The heating in rooms in the north made them far more comfortable than in the south.
“Welcome! Nice to meet you!” A dark-skinned young man of similar age to Lin Mo in a basketball vest, huge shorts, and holding a basketball under his arm greeted him. The room was decorated with a variety of street basketball items. There was a basketball hoop hanging on the wall in the room that only had two beds, and rock music was playing on a laptop.
When the young man saw Lin Mo entering, he immediately dropped the basketball in his hand, went up to greet Lin Mo, snatched his luggage, and helped him settle in all while chattering. “I’m Lei Dong, from Qinhuang Island. I arrived here five days ago. It looks like it’s just you and me in this bedroom. My friends call me Dongzi, and you can call me the same. I’m totally new here, and I would have died of loneliness and boredom if you hadn’t come. I like rock music and basketball. Do you like them too? It would be great if we have similar tastes. If not, I’ll do my best not to be a bother to you. Don’t judge my heart to be black just because my skin is dark! I actually have a good personality. Really, trust me, I’m not a gangster. How else could I be selected as a pilot? They check back three generations. I’m absolutely a righteous man.”
This dark-skinned young man with bright eyes was a bit of a chatterbox, and he did not forget to emphasize that he was a good person.
“Hello, I’m Lin Mo!” Lin Mo smiled at the young man. Seeing how at home this active young man made him feel, he would probably not feel lonely.
“Hopefully, I didn’t take up your space. I have too much luggage. My old man forced me to take a lot of things. Of course, there’s also my beloved basketball. I couldn’t even bring myself to deflate it because it would affect its feel if I had to pump it up again.” Lei Dong’s words were not as rough as his appearance. As the saying went, appearance did not reflect the heart. He quickly packed up the things that occupied a lot of space and cleared out some room on the table for Lin Mo.
“Thank you! I’ll do it!” Lin Mo did not have a bad impression of this person whose face reflected his inner thoughts. He started unpacking and laid out his bed.
The room was not big, but it was not too narrow for Lin Mo and Lei Dong. The heater by the window sill was constantly supplying heat for the entire room. There would be a heater below the window sills in the dormitories, even in the toilets. They only needed to wear summer clothes in their rooms.
Knock Knock! A knock came from the door.
“Room 722, Dongzi, we heard there’s someone new. Let’s have dinner tonight to get to know him,” someone suggested outside.
“Coming, coming! Hey, Mother Chen, you never visit unless you need something!” Lei Dong navigated flexibility through obstacles such as a thermos flask, wastepaper basket, foot basin, etc. and opened the door. He turned and said to Lin Mo, “Lin Mo! This is Chen Haiqing, the head of the dormitory of our batch. He’s a good person, and you can find him for anything. We all call him Mother Chen!”
“Hello! My name is Lin Mo!” Lin Mo put down the things in his hand and came beside Lei Dong. The young man outside had fair skin and was smiling at him while sizing him up. “Let me be the host for dinner tonight. I’m not familiar with this area, so Brother Chen, please help me to choose a place.” A certain degree of social interaction was essential for building good connections for the future.
“Don’t worry about it. Just call me Haiqing. I’ll be the host tonight. I’m the head of the dormitory, so how can I let you take the honors? Take it as a welcome party for you. The nearby Korean dog meat shop is pretty good. I’ll arrange it! I arrived here a few days earlier than you, so I’m a little more familiar.” Chen Haiqing’s pair of phoenix eyes lined up on his face with handsome features, and his creamy complexion hid an inborn sense of leadership and avidity. He smiled warmly and took on everything.
Lin Mo was a little surprised that he was accepted so quickly. Haiqing must have something special in him to become the head of the dormitory of forty-seven people.
“Lin Mo! Don’t stand on the ceremony. Our Mother Chen is a typical rich scion, the super-rich kind! His father is the chairman and president of a huge company. He reported to campus in a Maserati sports car, which is still in the garage at the back of the dormitory. He’s exceptionally generous, treating us to daily feasts, and I haven’t touched my meal card much since I’ve been here. Everyone has been joking that Mother Chen is feeding us to grow a spare tire for winter hibernation.” Lei Dong seemed to have experienced more than one such welcome party and was not at all polite about it. His stomach rumbled when he heard the restaurant that Chen Haiqing chose, visibly happy about the choice.
“Then, thank you for your hospitality, Dorm Head Chen!” Lin Mo immediately understood what type of person Chen Haiqing was when he heard Lei Dong’s introduction. It was impossible to go up against him. To such people, not going along with their good intentions was akin to not giving them face. It could leave a bad taste in the mouths of both parties, so he could only accept cheerfully. “I’ll leave all the arrangements to Dorm Head Chen.”
“Good! Brother Lin is a decisive person. I like you!” Chen Haiqing’s face showed satisfaction and appreciation. He raised his hand and patted Lin Mo’s shoulder. “I’ll call you two out later at five o’clock. I’m in 701. You can find me at any time.”
…
In a small alley about two bus stops away from the main entrance of the Aviation University was a small Korean restaurant. It was its peak period, and more than forty youngsters rushed in, squeezing into the restaurant. The owner quickly ordered his assistant to bring out four sets of low table legs to put on the tatami mat and placed four round tabletops on it.
“Boss, we’ll order now!” They had walked the distance of two bus stops since they could not squeeze onto the bus or get into a cab. Dorm Head Chen changed into slippers and got onto the Korean-style tatami. The restaurant was suddenly packed with four large round tables.
Several colored menus were brought to them, and the first-year dorm head, Chen Haiqing, passed them down casually. “Come, order whatever you like! We’re too far away from large-scale restaurants, so my seniors told me about the specialty of this place. Don’t stand on the ceremony with me.” He snapped his fingers at the end and continued, “Okay, Boss, bring four pots of dog meat first! We want extra big portions according to the number of people around the table.”
A Korean girl brought out utensils and boiled peanuts to cushion their stomachs.
Everyone ordered what they liked without restraint. Not only did they serve Korean food, but they also served home-cooked food and northeastern specialties. There was chicken stewed with mushrooms, northeastern tossed mung clear noodles in sauce, fermented vegetables, anything.
After they finished ordering, Chen Haiqing stood up. “Now, let’s welcome our new member, Lin Mo! Introduce yourself to everyone! He will be our flying comrade from now on!” His gaze turned to Lin Mo.
“Hello, everyone! I’m Lin Mo from Hangzhou. I like the sky! Especially the feeling when chasing the wind and clouds freely.” Lin Mo did not say much, but his words resonated with them and attracted a warm round of applause. Everyone present, who had signed up to be pilots, was yearning to soar freely in the blue sky.
“Well said. It’s our sentiments exactly. Come, everyone, introduce yourselves to Lin Mo. Recognize his face first!” Chen Haiqing could grasp the atmosphere of the situation rather easily. The leadership of the Aviation University probably did not expect someone in this batch of students to be so unique and to have such demonic leadership skills. He managed to bring together forty new people in a matter of days. There was no bullying nor alienation, and everyone was quickly integrated into the group before they knew it.
Chen Haiqing winked at the young man beside Lin Mo. The person smiled and stood up. “I’m Fang Weitao from Zhejiang Taizhou University! Welcome, Lin Mo!”
“I’m Ma Yan from Xi’an Jiaotong University!” The next person waved before another person stood up. “I’m Chen Shanshan from Hainan University.”
Everyone took the initiative to stand up and introduce themselves like clockwork from there. There were even a few females among them. After several such dinners, everyone knew each other by face, and some could even address each other by name. The atmosphere was warm and merry in no time.