Chapter 398: Having a Girlfriend, So Why Are You Here to Crowd In?

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Autumn had arrived, the season when animals give birth, but some slow-witted fellows still hadn't realized it, thinking spring had just begun.

Li Ye was lying on his bed in the Peking University dorm, idly flipping through the manuscript of "Twelve Hours in Chang'an," when his roommate Chen Sihai suddenly leaned over.

"Li Ye, can I borrow your sneakers?"

Li Ye kept his eyes on the manuscript, not moving.

"Which pair?"

"The one with the three stripes."

"Oh, that pair? Go ahead and wear it. I'm giving it to you—I've got a new pair."

"Holy shit, Brother Yi is truly a brother—so generous!"

Chen Sihai slipped on Li Ye's sneakers in a flash and then plopped down at Sun Xianjin's bedside.

"Xianjin, lend me some hair oil."

Sun Xianjin replied coolly: "Chen, you've got the wrong guy. I've got a family to support—why would I need hair oil? You should ask Wu."

"Damn it, Wu was just trying to borrow mine!"

Chen Sihai threw on his clothes and headed out to other dorms to find hair oil.

By now, everyone was in their third year; the shyness of freshman year was long gone. You could just barge into any dorm and boldly ask for anything, and no one usually minded.

Seeing Chen Sihai leave, Sun Xianjin grinned: "Brother Yi, what's gotten into Chen? Two years ago he was all about studying, cutting off romance with a sharp sword—why's he suddenly acting so wild this semester?"

"Wild? What do you mean by 'wild'?"

Li Ye smiled: "Youth without romance is wasted. Chen's just being human—he's in his third year now. If he doesn't hurry up and find a girlfriend, he'll miss the train entirely."

"He's already missed the train," Sun Xianjin sneered. "You came late yesterday—you didn't see the scene at the school gate when new students arrived."

"One pretty girl could have five upperclassmen rushing to carry her luggage—too many wolves, too little meat. Guys like Chen, scrambling to dress up last-minute, have zero chance."

Let's be honest—the changes in the early 1980s were lightning-fast.

When Li Ye enrolled in 1982, Peking University students were still extremely shy; some even refused to dance with girls at class dances.

Only clever ones like Yu Minhong would go to any lengths—even threatening to drown himself—to land a girl on campus and eventually win her heart.

Back then, college romance was still pure and sacred. After Yu Minhong married his girl, life was hard, but she only scolded him a couple times—and still stuck by him.

But only two years later, were guys like Chen Sihai already targeting lowerclassmen girls?

Did that mean this pure, sacred love was slowly turning sour?

Li Ye thought for a moment, then suddenly rolled off the bed, pulled on a sweatshirt, and stepped out in nothing but baggy shorts.

"Bro, where are you going?"

"To the school gate—to help a girl carry her luggage."

Sun Xianjin froze, then scrambled out of bed and followed right behind him.

At the school gate, they saw a crowd—but not as Sun Xianjin described. There was no scene of five upperclassmen carrying one girl's luggage, because the Student Union was maintaining order.

Instead, many guys were squatting at a distance, chatting and gawking—just satisfying their eyes.

Li Ye found Chen Sihai and squatted beside him.

"Chen, you're squatting here? Isn't that wasting two ounces of hair oil? You've got to move in! Don't chicken out!"

Chen Sihai looked at Li Ye, speechless: "Li Ye, we're civilized people. Don't talk like a thug. We're discussing national affairs—and just watching if we can help the new students."

"Really? What are you talking about?"

"Sports! Did you watch the Olympics this summer? Totally inspiring—especially that gymnast."

A group of third- and fourth-year students were genuinely discussing national affairs.

In 1984, the achievements of Olympic athletes truly counted as national events. During the days when the Gymnastics Prince kept winning gold, everyone—adults and kids alike—held their breath and cheered for every performance.

"I still think the women's volleyball team is the strongest. Many top gymnasts didn't go to Los Angeles, but all three top-ranked women's volleyball teams did. Our team won fairly and squarely."

In the 1984 Olympics, Moscow urged its allies not to attend the Los Angeles Games, so many gymnastics stars were absent—but the rabbit, eagle, and chicken women's volleyball teams were universally recognized as the strongest.

Yet the revamped rabbit team defeated them all, securing a three-peat.

"But I read in the paper that our volleyball win was thanks to Pengcheng Red Bull."

"Don't listen to their nonsense. Pengcheng Red Bull does give you energy, sure—but if drinking it could win championships, I'd drink it like water."

"Enough, enough. You only care who wins—haven't you noticed something more important, more urgent?"

A fourth-year student suddenly spoke with a serious expression, drawing everyone's attention.

"More important? What?"

"Yeah, what is it, Old Hou? Spit it out!"

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The student named Old Hou said: "Only sixteen countries boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics, and participation broke records. But do you remember how many stayed away from Moscow in the 1980 Olympics when the lamp boycotted the bear?"

"How would we know? I was still herding sheep in my hometown in 1980!"

"Come on, Old Hou, stop dragging it out—just say what you mean!"

Old Hou sighed: "Classmates, the bear up north is showing its exhaustion. In another decade or so, it might lose to the lamp."

The students, who had all come to ogle girls, were stunned, then fell into silent thought.

Li Ye glanced at Old Hou in surprise—he hadn't expected this upperclassman to have such insight.

Using the Olympics for politics was a long-standing Western tradition; performances at the Games could indirectly reveal the balance of power.

In 1980, the lamp boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest of the bear's invasion of Afghanistan, rallying a group of allies.

Only eighty delegations arrived in Moscow, sixteen of which didn't fly their national flags, ten had only a flagbearer, and even when they won gold, they refused to raise their flags or play their anthems.

Reporters covering the Moscow Olympics outnumbered the athletes themselves—clearly, the lamp was dominating the headlines.

Now in 1984, the bear retaliated by boycotting Los Angeles—but the whole thing amounted to little. So Old Hou's claim that the bear was exhausted wasn't shocking—it was fact.

The bear was sliding faster and faster down a slope—and couldn't stop.

"I still don't believe it. The bear launched the first satellite, has nuclear weapons, and a massive army—how could it lose to the lamp?"

"Impossible. The bear has fifty thousand tanks."

"No way. The bear's system is perfect for war—how could it lose? How could it possibly lose?"

Chen Sihai didn't believe it either. He turned to Li Ye: "Brother Yi, you study international economics—do you think the bear could lose?"

Li Ye looked at Chen Sihai and the expectant faces around him, then said: "I can't judge who'll win, but the bear's population is too small to sustain a prolonged confrontation with the Western bloc led by the lamp."

Immediately, someone protested: "Population too small? The bear has hundreds of millions! How can you say that? What theory is this?"

"Right! Our professor says we have too many people. The bear—with its vast land and abundant resources—is the ideal model!"

Li Ye smiled: "If you're not engaging in national-level rivalry, then sparse population isn't wrong. But if you're competing like the bear, you need massive manpower for heavy industry tied to defense."

"Heavy industry yields low returns. Without other sectors to compensate, it drags the national economy down, leaving the country poor."

"Without sufficient population to develop broadly, the more you compete, the harder it gets."

The students listened, thoughtful.

Old Hou moved closer and extended his hand to Li Ye: "You study international economics? What year?"

Li Ye shook his hand: "I'm Li Ye, class of '82."

Old Hou nodded: "I'm Hou Hongxiang, class of '81, sociology. Dorm 306, Building 9. Let's keep in touch."

"Sure, we'll chat again sometime."

Li Ye didn't mind—it never hurt to have more friends. Sociology wasn't as hard to find work in back then; this guy might even become a local power player someday.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where the registration office is?"

As the students were still pondering when the bear would lose, a girl suddenly walked up to ask directions.

The group instantly forgot all about national affairs.

"Just turn left up ahead, then—wait, I'll take you there!"

"Why aren't those guys carrying your heavy stuff? Let me help you!"

The girl adjusted her glasses and turned to Li Ye: "Classmate, can you show me the way?"

Within a thirty-meter radius, silence fell. Then the group shifted away, deliberately excluding Li Ye.

But the next moment, they watched Li Ye slowly shake his head: "Sorry, I'm waiting for my girlfriend. You can ask another classmate to guide you."

The students who had just moved away, moved back.

Especially Chen Sihai, whose oiled forehead gleamed brightly.

But the girl replied coolly: "No need, thank you."

Watching her walk away alone, the group collectively sneered at Li Ye, then retreated another ten meters, isolating him completely.

"You've got a girlfriend and still come to hang around? What's the point?"

(End of Chapter)

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