Chapter 160: Having a Chat

As the lecture concluded, through He Yichen's explanation, the students gained a clear understanding of their future life plans: what they should be doing at each stage, and in which directions they should strive.

They were inspired to take He Yichen as their goal and become true social elites.

This was the primary purpose of the Law School hosting this lecture.

Tonight, school leaders were planning to visit student dormitories; although it was uncertain whether they would come to Building 8, Shen Yan still decided to return to the dorm to stay for the night.

It was rare for the four-person dorm group to be gathered together. Walking out of the teaching building, Tang Song suggested buying some snacks to go with drinks and having a good feast back in the dorm; the other three had no objections.

The four finished dividing the labor, some buying food, others carrying the drinks.

Approaching ten o'clock, the night was as dark as ink, and every corner of the campus was tranquil. Streetlights emitted a dim, yellow glow, a cool breeze blew, and yellow leaves danced in the air.

"Come, come, come, let's have a toast first."

"We haven't gathered together in two months; let's have a good chat today."

"Cheers!"

In the Building 8 boys' dormitory, Room 115, a lazy table sat in the center with the four gathered around it, starting off by raising their glasses together.

As they ate and drank, Lin Yang, who had the lowest alcohol tolerance, felt his cheeks flush like the morning glow after one bottle of draft beer. Shen Yan sucked the meat out of a sea snail, chewed it twice, and asked casually, "Lao Lin, I've been hearing you talk about wanting to find a girlfriend for a while now, why hasn't there been any movement?"

"It's just that I haven't met anyone I like," Lin Yang said, scratching his head with a helpless expression.

Shen Yan said not to have such high standards for a girlfriend, that compatible personalities were most important. Tang Song agreed deeply. Lin Yang nodded, then immediately changed the subject: "Lao Shen, looking at the class monitor's stance, she seems prepared to pester you to the end. Are you just going to keep dragging it out like this?"

"What else can I do? Why don't you go and chase Yu Youwei yourself? I'll treat you to a month of meals," Shen Yan sighed lightly.

Lin Yang shook his head like a bobblehead; he didn't want to provoke that kind of ambitious girl, and besides, Yu Youwei had her heart set on Shen Yan, having rejected countless suitors for his sake.

He would have to be out of his mind to step into this muddy water.

Zhu Baoping bit off a piece of sizzling, oily roasted meat, chewed it forcefully, making smacking sounds with his mouth, and said unclearly: "I really didn't see it coming, the class monitor is actually this devoted. Lao Shen has been seeing his girlfriend for three months already, and she still hasn't given up."

Then, he picked up his draft beer, gulped down a large mouthful, burped, and continued: "That guy from Guangxi, Pang Weijie, used to follow the class monitor around like a little tail, and no matter how she shook him off, he wouldn't leave. But now? He's completely given up and is currently getting hot and heavy with a girl from the Economics and Management class!"

"Really?"

The three of them hadn't heard any news about this and couldn't help but be surprised.

"Ice three feet thick is not formed in a single day!" Shen Yan suddenly recalled this saying.

When anyone takes the initiative for too long without receiving a response, their passion will eventually be worn away.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the semester had passed. In fact, everyone was changing without realizing it, but because they were together day and night, those changes weren't perceived by others.

For example, when Zhu Baoping first entered university, his thick Northeastern accent was impressive, but now he spoke Mandarin fluently and naturally, as if he had completely integrated into the new environment. Only when talking to his family on the phone or meeting someone from his hometown would he transform back into a genuine Northeastern man.

Moreover, the rustic air he once had had long since faded, and he had become much more mature and capable.

Tang Song was as steady and earnest as ever. After getting a girlfriend, not only did he not neglect his studies, but he often went to the library with Xiao Qing and would go out to tutor in his spare time.

The phrase he said most often was that he needed to work hard, as he planned to settle down in Hangzhou in the future; this seemed to have become his life goal.

The one with the least change was Lin Yang, who slacked off in class every day and stayed in the dorm playing games after class, with a sense of just getting by, like a monk tolling a bell for a day.

When boys get together, the topic always revolves around women. Zhu Baoping was curious about what that "thing" between men and women was like and asked Shen Yan to tell them.

The young couple had gone to Shanghai to play for two days and two nights; who would believe that nothing happened?

Shen Yan didn't want to discuss this topic and spouted nonsense: "We are that kind of pure boyfriend and girlfriend; we focus more on spiritual communication."

"Yue!"

"Do you even believe that yourself?"

"I believe you, you old rascal, you're really bad."

The three of them rolled their eyes in unison.

Shen Yan spread his hands, indicating that there was nothing he could do if they didn't believe the truth. "Lao Zhu, you and Lao Lin often watch films together; don't tell me you haven't jerked off. Do I need to describe how that feels?"

Zhu Baoping chuckled, "Isn't it more exciting when described by a real person?"

"I haven't tried it anyway. Why don't you share your experience, Lao Tang?" Shen Yan turned the target toward Tang Song.

After all, better a friend dies than oneself.

Tang Song's old face turned red. "My Xiao Qing is as pure as a blank sheet of paper, don't talk nonsense, okay?"

Shen Yan showed a half-smile; if he hadn't seen the two of them kissing in the movie theater last time, he almost would have believed it.

That scene... tsk tsk! Not even worth mentioning.

Lin Yang and Zhu Baoping shook their heads in unison; they didn't know what brand of plastic bag these two were, being so good at putting on an act.

After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, the conversation opened up completely. The group chatted about everything under the sun. Zhu Baoping vented his grievances, complaining that the head of the External Liaison Department was a piece of work, doing nothing all day while stuffing all kinds of benefits into his own pockets, having just bought an Apple 3GS recently.

"Damn it! Even landlords didn't exploit laborers like this."

Actually, Luo Qiqi had complained to Yu Youwei about this matter quite a bit, but Luo Qiqi was slick and knew how to handle things; she had recently found a reliable tutoring job through the counselor Huang Shuren and was preparing to quit the External Liaison Department.

This was what Yu Youwei had secretly told Shen Yan.

Shen Yan said: "If you're not happy, just quit the department. There are plenty of ways to make money."

"Sigh! Money isn't that easy to earn."

Bringing this up, Zhu Baoping couldn't help but look at Tang Song with envy. "Lao Tang, keep an eye out for me, and if you see any tutoring job openings, notify me in time."

Originally, Zhu Baoping had wanted to pull Tang Song into the External Liaison Department with him; both of their families were average, and they both needed to rely on work-study to make ends meet. But after the National Day holiday ended, Tang Song found a tutoring job posting from some obscure place, and after contacting them, he was actually hired.

He was a math tutor for a second-year middle school student, two hours each time, 70 per hour, going twice a week, earning a total of 280 yuan.

This was much more than what he earned in the External Liaison Department, and it was relaxed and comfortable.

But tutoring jobs were too hard to find, with a crowd of people breaking their heads to get in; Zhu Baoping simply had no connections.

"Sure! I'll keep an eye out for you."

Hearing this, Tang Song nodded with a smile, though in his heart, he felt increasingly grateful to Shen Yan.