Chapter 23: Meng Chunqiu

Chen Shu and Ning Qing were waiting for a car by the side of the road, pulling their suitcases.

This place was about one or two kilometers from the edge of Yujing University City, about four or five kilometers from Ling'an Academy, and six or seven kilometers from Yujing Academy. There were not many cars on the road because the location of the University City was already in the western suburbs of Yujing, and Yujing had been developing toward the southeast in recent years.

"Whoosh..."

A motorcycle sped past.

Chen Shu turned his head and asked Ning Qing, "Does Yujing not ban motorcycles?"

"It bans them."

Ning Qing had clearly checked beforehand: "But this is already the edge of the city, and no one really cares. I plan to have Xiaoxiao ship my little motorcycle over in a few days."

"Oh..."

The car arrived quickly.

There were dedicated bus lines here, but with the peak of enrollment over the last few days, there were many people, so the two hailed a taxi.

They arrived at Ning Qing's Ling'an Academy first, and the car could only drive to the school gate.

"I'll get off here too; I'll walk over."

"Mm."

Chen Shu took down the luggage and gazed at the school gate.

The main gate was very imposing, with a large plaque and archaic calligraphy. Cars were coming and going at the entrance, and the flow of people was crowded and very lively.

"Do you really not need me to accompany you?"

"You can follow me if you want."

"Then forget it, I'll just see you off here; go in and enroll yourself." Chen Shu paused, "Remember not to be so cold at school, and be a little gentler to your friends. Buy more fruit to eat when you're free, and remember to eat on time."

"I know."

"Get along well with your roommates."

"Anything else?"

"There is." Chen Shu smacked his lips, "Remember to keep your distance from male classmates; I'll get jealous."

"And you?"

"I'll also keep my distance from male classmates."

"??"

"I'll also keep my distance from girls." Chen Shu restated, pretending to be serious, "You should have enough trust in me, just like I trust you."

"I don't watch male influencers dance." Ning Qing was expressionless.

"I don't watch them either!"

"??"

"Alright, alright." Chen Shu conceded repeatedly and spread his hands, "I just take a look, just a look, they look good..."

"Go."

"Say goodbye to me."

"Goodbye."

"Good girl."

Chen Shu turned and walked away pulling his suitcase, but heard Ning Qing's voice from behind, still faint: "Aren't you going to say it to me?"

"Goodbye."

Chen Shu did not look back, only raised his volume.

The voice of a welcome volunteer came from behind:

"Which academy are you from, Junior Sister?"

"Astronomy and Universe."

"..."

It took a good half hour to walk from the main gate of Ling'an Academy to the main gate of Yujing Academy; Chen Shu looked around as he walked, which took even more time.

The scenery along the way was excellent, with a rich variety of greenery.

These schools were originally converted from ancient imperial gardens, and traditional garden aesthetics were reflected everywhere.

Subtle and quiet.

In people's common perception, there were these four best universities in Yiguo:

Ling'an Academy;

Yujing Academy;

National Comprehensive Academy;

National Defense University.

Ling'an Academy and Yujing Academy had the longest histories; without tracing them back recklessly, they were both founded over six hundred years ago, when the era had just begun to have obvious changes. At that time, the Yiguo Imperial Family and the imperial court showed extremely high foresight, directly setting aside two imperial gardens to build these two academies.

This was what ordinary people knew.

There was also what ordinary people did not know—

Behind these two academies were actually the shadows of those sects and religious groups that had once controlled lightning among the people in history.

For example, Ling'an Academy had at least the Spirit Sect and Sword Sect providing teaching support behind it.

Behind Yujing Academy were at least the Ming Sect—the ones who had carried forward the Martial Cultivator system—as well as the teaching staff from sects and religious groups like the Imperial Sect and the Lotus Flower Sect.

The times had changed, most sects and religious groups had no secrets, and the Government had also placed restrictions on them. However, these sects and religious groups had a large number of high-level practitioners, and these people often had deep attainments in their fields of expertise, especially in cultivation, Runes, and Spells; it would be too wasteful not to use them as teachers to cultivate talent for the country.

Many universities were related to ancient sects and religious groups.

They were all ready-made teachers.

Some universities were even directly affiliated with certain sects or religious groups, such as the Daoist Sect's Shangqing Five Dao Academy and the Buddhist Sect's Rongsheng Six Brightness Buddhist Academy, which were only open to believers.

Yujing and Ling'an are the top two in overall strength.

As for the National Comprehensive Academy, formerly known as the Imperial Academy, its predecessor was a school in Yiguo for educating the children of nobles and the Imperial Family; now it recruits students from the public just like other universities, but it is still filled with a large number of children of the powerful and royal and noble members from foreign countries studying abroad to build connections.

The National Defense University is a Military Academy, backed by the national military and the Sword King Court; the screening is very strict, and once you enter, it is implied that you are joining the military, and upon graduation, you can only join the armed forces.

Walking and walking, he arrived at the school gate.

"Yujing Academy."

Chen Shu looked at the school plaque on the main gate and read it aloud; the gate of Yujing Academy was a bit narrower than that of Ling'an Academy, and the calligraphy on the school plaque was sharper.

He took out his Mobile Phone, took a photo, and sent it to Qingqing.

After thinking for a moment, he forwarded it to Teacher Shi Qian.

Chen Shu: Teacher, I've arrived at school.

Putting away his Mobile Phone and walking through the gate, he was also warmly received by a welcome volunteer; Chen Shu caught a glimpse of the name "Mu Ning" written on his work badge.

"Which academy are you in, Junior Brother?"

"Traditional Cultivation Academy."

"Traditional Cultivation, huh? Follow me, follow me. The Traditional Cultivation Academy has very high requirements. What is your major, Junior Brother?"

"Spell Principles."

"Oh! I've even sat in on classes for your major!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I didn't really understand much of it, and I missed some classes. I'll probably go sit in on them again this year, so please take care of me, Junior Brother."

"Senior Brother, you're joking."

Chen Shu followed this Senior Brother forward; after entering the school gate, there was a stretch of road, and both sides of the road were full of tents, with the names of various academies, sponsors' logos, and slogans written on them.

They soon arrived in front of the Traditional Cultivation Academy's tent; the Senior Brother said a word to him and then went back to continue receiving other new students.

There were only a few people queuing in front of the tent.

It was soon Chen Shu's turn; after showing his ID card for verification and registering, a Senior Sister led him to go through the process. That is, signing the Loan agreement, picking up the campus card, taking the daily necessities uniformly distributed by the school, and taking him to his Dormitory, and so on.

The Senior Sister introduced as she walked: "Our school has four gates. The main gate is the Ximen, the East Gate is also large, and the North and South Gates are very small, but they are usually open too."

"Next to every gate, there is a Dormitory area, respectively called the Pine, Cypress, Huai, and Willow gardens; we usually refer to them as the East District Dormitory or South District Dormitory."

"The East and West District Dormitories are male Dormitories, and the North and South District Dormitories are female Dormitories."

"Between every two Dormitory areas, there is a large canteen, named with numbers. Inside, there are also three small canteens and some special restaurants, each with its own name, and they all sound quite nice."

"The Teaching Buildings are all further inside."

"You are in the East District Dormitory, Huaiyuan Building 6, Room 504. If you go out of the Dormitory and turn right, it's the First Canteen; turn left, and it's the Fourth Canteen. Usually, the Fourth Canteen is more delicious. I live in the North District, and sometimes when I have classes nearby, I go to the Fourth Canteen to eat. The Fourth Canteen is also close to the Martial Cultivation Hall, so you can go watch people fight."

"Over here is the administration building..."

"Our Traditional Cultivation teaching area is that way..."

"The school is very large, and there are shared bicycles, but they are often snatched up..."

"The Commercial Street is at the Ximen..."

"There are many snacks outside the North and South school gates..."

Chen Shu listened carefully, remembered it earnestly, and followed the Senior Sister into a Dormitory area.

Good heavens, this must be a house built in the deep mountains.

With ancient trees and coiled roots.

Built on a spirit vein, right?

The Spirit Power is so dense.

Chen Shu followed the Senior Sister into the apartment building; in the middle of this summer, he actually felt cool, and then he began to climb the stairs.

University Dormitories in Yiguo basically don't have communal dorms; at least he hadn't heard of any. They are usually apartment-style dorms, similar to the single rooms of companies that provide housing after graduation. The land area of this country is much larger than his previous life, but the population is only one billion, so the land is not that valuable. Added to the differences in policies and public mindset, housing prices are much cheaper.

Chen Shu had checked before coming; the Dormitories at Yujing Academy are uniformly three-bedroom, two-living-room apartments, one person per room, with air conditioning and desks in the rooms, a shared bathroom, and a kitchen and common household appliances.

It's equivalent to the elite schools abroad in his previous life.

Come to think of it, they are all people in their twenties and are Cultivators, so squeezing into a communal dorm is indeed inappropriate.

"Junior Brother, I'll just send you here."

The Senior Sister put down the washbasin she had helped him carry at the door and said formulaically: "I still have to go pick up others, you go in yourself. Get along well with your roommates. If there are any conflicts in living habits or religious beliefs that cannot be overcome, you can apply to change your Dormitory within one month of the start of school."

"Okay, thank you, Senior Sister."

"You're welcome."

Chen Shu swiped his campus card to open the room door, and as he walked in, he examined the room layout.

It was the same as what he saw online.

After entering the door, there is first a hallway; on the right side of the hallway is the door to Bedroom No. 1. Walking through the hallway, on the left is a small dining room, and on the right is the living room. Walking further in, the dining room on the left connects to a fairly large kitchen and a shared bathroom; the door to Bedroom No. 2 is on the right, and the door to Bedroom No. 3 is at the very back.

"Is anyone here?"

Chen Shu shouted first.

"Creak!"

The door to Bedroom No. 3 opened, and a head poked out.

Chen Shu was stunned on the spot—

Is it a girl?

The internet didn't say that Yujing Academy had co-ed living! The male and female Dormitories weren't even in the same area.

"You are..."

Chen Shu asked cautiously.

The person who came out smiled, revealing their teeth, and the voice was a gentle male voice; he introduced himself, saying: "I am your roommate, my name is Meng Chunqiu."

So it really is a boy.

"My name is Chen Shu."

"So it is Brother Chen, I have long heard of you!" Meng Chunqiu hurriedly cupped his hands toward him.

"Umm..."

Chen Shu hesitated, giving him a careful look.

Meng Chunqiu's hair reached his shoulders and was somewhat fluffy; in fact, there were many men in Yiguo who kept long hair, as it was the ancient style, so it wasn't strange. But his face was very small and delicate; he not only looked like a girl, but he also carried a demure, small-town-beauty vibe—the refined and quiet kind.

Looking closely, one could see an Adam's apple.

"I look like a girl, right?"

"A little..."

"Don't mind those details."

"When did you arrive?" Chen Shu asked.

"Early this morning."

"Is it just the two of us?"

"For now, just the two of us," Meng Chunqiu replied. "There are three rooms. The best one is Room 3, which I have already chosen. There are also Room 1 and Room 2, both of which have balconies. The balcony of Room 1 is connected to the living room balcony, and Room 2 and Room 3 are adjacent, with their balconies also connected. You can choose for yourself."

As he spoke, he paused, glanced at Chen Shu, and urged, "Choose Room 2, we'll be next to each other!"

"That works."

Chen Shu was not one to be pretentious.

So he opened the door to Room 2.

He swiped the card, bound it, and set a password.

He tossed his luggage aside, planning to unpack later.

Chen Shu went to the living room to sit first, eyeing this roommate who looked so much like a girl; this person had actually even put on makeup, quite in the style of the previous dynasty. The previous dynasty was overthrown precisely because its upper echelons were too effeminate, directly toppled by the Yiguo Grand Ancestor Emperor in alliance with the Sword Sect that had split off from the royal court.

"Where are you from?"

"A local from Yujing."

"A local, please take care of me then."

"No problem, if anything happens, just tell me. As long as you are in the right, there is nothing I cannot solve!" Meng Chunqiu brushed his hair, looking quite stylish.

"A big shot, then." Chen Shu smiled, not stingy with a few compliments; they didn't cost anything anyway.

"Easy, easy! Where are you from?"

"From Yuanzhou."

"That's quite far."

"Yeah, left my hometown to come here for my studies."

"Which department?"

"Ancient Cultivation Department."

"Not bad, not bad, has a future."

"What about you?"

"I'm in the Literature Academy, majoring in ancient literature. There are many girls in the Literature Academy; I'll solve the girlfriend issue for you later." Meng Chunqiu brushed his hair again; it seemed too long, making his neck a bit itchy. After brushing it, he glanced at Chen Shu, "Do you think I have the air of an ancient scholar?"

"Umm..."

Chen Shu felt that, well, telling a lie wasn't impossible, but there wasn't much necessity for it.