The final exams of the second semester were over.
Xiao Qi and her roommates bought canned beer, potato chips, edamame, and peanuts to eat in their dorm room.
They generally didn't drink alcohol.
But since they were in the dorm, even if they drank too much, they could just lie down on their beds.
This year, Honey's parents didn't get divorced, but her father was diagnosed with stomach cancer and stayed at home to recuperate.
Ironically, Poetry's parents divorced - Poetry followed her mother, while her older sister followed her father.
Poetry's mother no longer impulsively sent over piles of luxury goods. Instead, she fell in love with selling second-hand luxury items and even opened her own second-hand store.
Wei Cheng's parents were still growing mushrooms, but they had expanded their cultivation base, hired many employees, and were no longer ordinary mushroom farmers - they were showing signs of becoming landlords.
Xiao Qi's parents went to the Capital City and opened a bamboo weaving store there. The Capital had many old customers, and business was much better than in Lvshan City. Xiao Qi's mother continued her live broadcasts twice a week and had become a moderately famous host.
Zaizai's parents never expected to see their younger son succeed in their lifetime - he was admitted to the graduate program at Tsinghua and Peking University! That was all due to their son's excellence, which gave them the opportunity to show off.
Their daughter-in-law was even more outstanding, a true academic star who outshone their eldest son. Initially, their eldest had also studied well but didn't get into Tsinghua and Peking University, so he went abroad for further studies. The couple felt that foreign universities were good, but still not as good as Tsinghua and Peking University.
Li Tangsong thought: I worked as hard as an ox and a horse, yet my only remaining identity as an academic star is also being surpassed?
Zaizai's parents went to the Capital City first to buy a house with a courtyard near Tsinghua and Peking University. Just in case their younger son and daughter-in-law had a child in the future, their grandchild would have a place to live and play after being born.
The couple had particularly good intentions - since they were both sons themselves, they had always wanted a daughter. But they were too old to have a third child themselves, so their hope rested on their eldest son having a daughter. Unfortunately, that prospect seemed slim as their eldest still didn't have a girlfriend. Gao Cuihua secretly glimpsed her eldest son's checklist for a future wife: planning to get married in May next year, girlfriend requirement - frugal, doctorate degree, above average looks... Gao Cuihua felt she might never live to see her eldest find a girlfriend in this lifetime.
Fortunately, their younger son was outstanding and already had a girlfriend. They had even picked out a nickname for their future granddaughter: Little Penguin.
Just imagining her waddling gait made them feel she would be so adorable and lovable.
Xiao Qi didn't know about Zaizai's parents' far-reaching plans. For now, she was drinking with her roommates in the dorm.
Since she had completed all her credits ahead of time, she was graduating after her second year and would be enrolling directly at Tsinghua and Peking University next semester.
She would have to part ways with her roommates.
Over the past two years, the four roommates got along extremely well. Although they came from different backgrounds, becoming roommates when they were 17 or 18 years old - an age of being mature yet inexperienced - their friendship was very genuine. When you're young, you don't understand the meaning of friendship; when you're older, you're unwilling to truly open up and make new friends.
So the relationship at this age could be considered lifelong friends.
Bonds forged from being fellow students, a blessing for three lifetimes.
Despite their differing family backgrounds, they all had good personalities. Each had some minor flaws, but overall, they were kindhearted people at their core who got along splendidly.
Xiao Qi's presence had subtly changed them.
Wei Cheng became much more confident and no longer felt inferior or overly melancholic, though her tendency to be scatterbrained remained. Still, her gentle nature persisted.
Poetry stopped being engrossed in novels and neglecting herself. Instead, she studied hard and embraced life more actively, becoming a cultured young lady. Now that her parents were divorced, her mother took greater pride in her.
Honey also changed greatly. Originally an uninhibited small-town girl who lacked worldliness and composure, she developed a poised and stylish demeanor with excellent temperament. She read more books and spoke with more care, while retaining her frank personality that made her approachable, amiable, and inspiring to others.
Xiao Qi and her roommates drank and reminisced about when they had just arrived at the university.
Looking back, they all seemed so unsophisticated at first.
Poetry wore a dress that made her look like an elementary schooler.
Wei Cheng dressed like a boy - if not for being in the girls' dorm, one would have mistaken her for a young man.
Honey was so plump and full-figured... Xiao Qi looked unapproachable and fierce at first.
The group joked and made a ruckus, which brought Su Li from the neighboring dorm over to join them.
In their second year, Su Li had a good relationship with their dorm. According to Chu Yu's uncharitable view, Su Li was a social climber who cozied up to Room 606 because she knew they all came from wealthy families.
Chu Yu's unpleasant personality remained unchanged. Despite being sickly for two years, she was still lively and rambunctious. The others had grown accustomed to her ways by now.
The number of boys pursuing her had also decreased - the once-naive freshmen boys had matured into sophomores over the past two years, growing more sensible.
Unexpectedly, the person Su Li admired most wasn't Poetry or Honey, but Wei Cheng.
Perhaps it was because Wei Cheng's kind nature made one feel at ease, as she never seemed to get angry.
After drinking, the group made a commotion until late at night before finally going to sleep.
Xiao Qi remembered drafting a speech script before bed, as she would be delivering a speech the next day as an outstanding graduate.
Lying in bed, her mind surprisingly became more lucid.
She felt time was passing in a blur, yet also felt it dragged on slowly.
How wonderful.
The next morning, it was difficult to wake up.
Her roommates were sprawled out in disarray.
Xiao Qi washed her face and went for a run downstairs.
This would likely be her last time running on campus.
She ran five laps diligently, working up a sweat and becoming fully awake, before returning to shower.
Then she flipped over her roommates one by one and splashed them with cold water to wake them up.
Everyone still envied Xiao Qi's energetic spirit.
Despite staying up until 2 or 3 AM like the rest of them, she was still lively and bouncing around in the morning.
But today was Xiao Qi's graduation ceremony, which the entire school's faculty and students would attend.
Not just the fourth-year students - because this time, the outstanding graduate representative was a second-year student.
The weather was beautiful.
Clear blue skies and a gentle breeze.
The entire school's faculty and students arrived in an orderly fashion.
In previous years, foreign teachers and visiting professors seldom attended these events and had usually packed up and left already.
But this year, they all showed up in full attendance.
The foreign teachers had a good relationship with Xiao Qi, as she could converse fluently in all their languages without issue.
The visiting professors took pride in Xiao Qi going to Tsinghua and Peking University, which was the alma mater of many of them.
As the outstanding graduate representative, Xiao Qi wore a relatively bright outfit today.
A red T-shirt and blue jeans - a simple casual outfit.
She had originally planned to wear a dress to be more formal, but considering she would be giving a speech on stage, pants would be more convenient.
And it suited her student status.
She now owned many brand-name clothes, all provided by Zaizai's mother.
Xiao Qi herself had made no progress in this area and often ended up wearing outfits that Zaizai had coordinated for her from head to toe.
If she forgot, she would mix and match them haphazardly.
Crushing Zaizai's heart in the process.
Xiao Qi just felt that Zaizai paid too much attention to trivial details, which was likely why his academic performance had almost fallen short of getting into graduate school.
Who could have imagined that such a handsome young man would be so meticulous and conscientious in his daily life?
She still wore a simple jade Buddha pendant around her neck and an ordinary-looking watch on her wrist.
Her shoes were sneakers.
Wearing this outfit on stage, Xiao Qi still had short hair, with a small tuft tied in front of her forehead.
She had a very approachable demeanor.
The freshmen looked very curious, as they had heard that the super-capable founder of the "walk and earn money" app was expected to be dripping with gold, but they didn't expect her to be so simple and modest.
She looked even better in person, with exquisite features.
Ever since her app became a huge success, Xiao Qi had kept a low profile and focused on her studies. The school's official website rarely featured news about her, and although they attended the same university, opportunities to see Xiao Qi in person were not many.
Xiao Qi was also a little nervous.
Although she had given many speeches, it seemed like she would always feel nervous to some degree.
The level of nervousness just varied.
This time, she was proud to be able to give a graduation speech as an outstanding graduate representative of Enhua.
Standing in front of the main stage, Xiao Qi remembered the military training when she wore a camouflage uniform, held up the class banner, and walked past the main stage.
Now she stood here, looking at the dense crowd of students below.
She took a deep breath.
She began, "Fellow students, teachers, hello everyone. I am Xiao Qi from the 19th class of Information Management, and I'm very pleased to be here as an outstanding graduate student representative to give a speech..."
As soon as she finished her self-introduction, the students who weren't paying attention at first started whispering curiously.
"She's graduating after just her sophomore year?"
"Can sophomores really graduate?"
"Yes, if you complete enough credits. She finished all the credits required for a four-year degree, and they say she was number one in every class, even better than the senior students," one of Xiao Qi's fans explained.
"That's right, that's right. Not only did Xiao Qi graduate early, but her boyfriend also graduated early," another fan added.
Many of the freshmen enrolled at Enhua specifically because of Xiao Qi. Their high school scores weren't ideal, barely above the second-tier university level, and they might have been relegated to a lower-ranked school. So many chose Enhua on purpose.
Because of Xiao Qi, they thought Enhua was a pretty good choice.
"The senior is going to Tsinghua and Peking University for graduate studies..."
The sophomore and junior students, as well as those graduating this year, had mixed feelings.
The sophomores felt both proud and ashamed, as a classmate from the same year had already graduated...
The juniors just felt ashamed.
The seniors felt even more ashamed. Not only had a sophomore underclassman graduated, but she had also been admitted to Tsinghua and Peking University for graduate studies.
"Time flies. It feels like just yesterday that we entered Enhua. On the first day, I saw the welcome banner that said, 'Today, you take pride in Enhua. Tomorrow, Enhua will take pride in you.' At that time, I was naive and thought the phrase sounded cool with its parallel structure. Today, I think I've achieved that. And I believe you can too. After today, some seniors will be leaving the school, while some juniors and underclassmen will continue studying here. Let me share with you my learning experience. Whether you're entering the workforce or continuing your studies, I think it will be useful..."
Xiao Qi didn't talk about the future or boast. Instead, she earnestly introduced her learning methods - making plans, big plans, and then small plans, and then working diligently to achieve them.
This approach was very useful, at least it had proven effective for her and Zaizai.
"...That's about it for my learning methods. Of course, everyone is different, so you'll need to adapt based on your own experiences. Finally, I'm very grateful for the opportunity to attend university and have this chance to study.
University is a great melting pot. Not only do you learn academic knowledge, but you also learn about dealing with people and personal growth.
It's a buffer before entering society. The few years spent here allow a person's character to mature and settle. It's a very necessary experience.
If given the opportunity, no matter who you are, you should attend university. It's a precious treasure."
Xiao Qi spoke from the heart. This was her true belief.
If given the opportunity and means, one should study more.
Reading leads to success and growth.
Reading is a shortcut to happiness.
When Xiao Qi finished, thunderous applause erupted from below.
She bowed to her classmates and teachers before leaving the stage.
Her speech video was quickly posted on the official Douyin (Chinese TikTok) platform.
Everyone thought she gave an excellent speech, full of useful advice.
A girl who had failed the college entrance exam and planned to work in Haicheng put her packed luggage away. She wouldn't go to Haicheng anymore; she would retake the exam to get into university.
A student who had been admitted to a third-tier university decided not to attend, thinking it wouldn't be worthwhile.
But after watching this video, he went to tell his parents that he would still go to university.
A young girl who had already dropped out to work at a milk tea shop secretly watched the video while working. Tears streamed down her face as she brewed tea for customers. After her shift ended, she quit her job, deciding to go back to school...
The final exams of the second semester were over.
Xiao Qi and her roommates bought canned beer, potato chips, edamame, and peanuts to eat in their dorm room.
They generally didn't drink alcohol.
But since they were in the dorm, even if they drank too much, they could just lie down on their beds.
This year, Honey's parents didn't get divorced, but her father was diagnosed with stomach cancer and stayed at home to recuperate.
Ironically, Poetry's parents divorced - Poetry followed her mother, while her older sister followed her father.
Poetry's mother no longer impulsively sent over piles of luxury goods. Instead, she fell in love with selling second-hand luxury items and even opened her own second-hand store.
Wei Cheng's parents were still growing mushrooms, but they had expanded their cultivation base, hired many employees, and were no longer ordinary mushroom farmers - they were showing signs of becoming landlords.
Xiao Qi's parents went to the Capital City and opened a bamboo weaving store there. The Capital had many old customers, and business was much better than in Lvshan City. Xiao Qi's mother continued her live broadcasts twice a week and had become a moderately famous host.
Zaizai's parents never expected to see their younger son succeed in their lifetime - he was admitted to the graduate program at Tsinghua and Peking University! That was all due to their son's excellence, which gave them the opportunity to show off.
Their daughter-in-law was even more outstanding, a true academic star who outshone their eldest son. Initially, their eldest had also studied well but didn't get into Tsinghua and Peking University, so he went abroad for further studies. The couple felt that foreign universities were good, but still not as good as Tsinghua and Peking University.
Li Tangsong thought: I worked as hard as an ox and a horse, yet my only remaining identity as an academic star is also being surpassed?
Zaizai's parents went to the Capital City first to buy a house with a courtyard near Tsinghua and Peking University. Just in case their younger son and daughter-in-law had a child in the future, their grandchild would have a place to live and play after being born.
The couple had particularly good intentions - since they were both sons themselves, they had always wanted a daughter. But they were too old to have a third child themselves, so their hope rested on their eldest son having a daughter. Unfortunately, that prospect seemed slim as their eldest still didn't have a girlfriend. Gao Cuihua secretly glimpsed her eldest son's checklist for a future wife: planning to get married in May next year, girlfriend requirement - frugal, doctorate degree, above average looks... Gao Cuihua felt she might never live to see her eldest find a girlfriend in this lifetime.
Fortunately, their younger son was outstanding and already had a girlfriend. They had even picked out a nickname for their future granddaughter: Little Penguin.
Just imagining her waddling gait made them feel she would be so adorable and lovable.
Xiao Qi didn't know about Zaizai's parents' far-reaching plans. For now, she was drinking with her roommates in the dorm.
Since she had completed all her credits ahead of time, she was graduating after her second year and would be enrolling directly at Tsinghua and Peking University next semester.
She would have to part ways with her roommates.
Over the past two years, the four roommates got along extremely well. Although they came from different backgrounds, becoming roommates when they were 17 or 18 years old - an age of being mature yet inexperienced - their friendship was very genuine. When you're young, you don't understand the meaning of friendship; when you're older, you're unwilling to truly open up and make new friends.
So the relationship at this age could be considered lifelong friends.
Bonds forged from being fellow students, a blessing for three lifetimes.
Despite their differing family backgrounds, they all had good personalities. Each had some minor flaws, but overall, they were kindhearted people at their core who got along splendidly.
Xiao Qi's presence had subtly changed them.
Wei Cheng became much more confident and no longer felt inferior or overly melancholic, though her tendency to be scatterbrained remained. Still, her gentle nature persisted.
Poetry stopped being engrossed in novels and neglecting herself. Instead, she studied hard and embraced life more actively, becoming a cultured young lady. Now that her parents were divorced, her mother took greater pride in her.
Honey also changed greatly. Originally an uninhibited small-town girl who lacked worldliness and composure, she developed a poised and stylish demeanor with excellent temperament. She read more books and spoke with more care, while retaining her frank personality that made her approachable, amiable, and inspiring to others.
Xiao Qi and her roommates drank and reminisced about when they had just arrived at the university.
Looking back, they all seemed so unsophisticated at first.
Poetry wore a dress that made her look like an elementary schooler.
Wei Cheng dressed like a boy - if not for being in the girls' dorm, one would have mistaken her for a young man.
Honey was so plump and full-figured... Xiao Qi looked unapproachable and fierce at first.
The group joked and made a ruckus, which brought Su Li from the neighboring dorm over to join them.
In their second year, Su Li had a good relationship with their dorm. According to Chu Yu's uncharitable view, Su Li was a social climber who cozied up to Room 606 because she knew they all came from wealthy families.
Chu Yu's unpleasant personality remained unchanged. Despite being sickly for two years, she was still lively and rambunctious. The others had grown accustomed to her ways by now.
The number of boys pursuing her had also decreased - the once-naive freshmen boys had matured into sophomores over the past two years, growing more sensible.
Unexpectedly, the person Su Li admired most wasn't Poetry or Honey, but Wei Cheng.
Perhaps it was because Wei Cheng's kind nature made one feel at ease, as she never seemed to get angry.
After drinking, the group made a commotion until late at night before finally going to sleep.
Xiao Qi remembered drafting a speech script before bed, as she would be delivering a speech the next day as an outstanding graduate.
Lying in bed, her mind surprisingly became more lucid.
She felt time was passing in a blur, yet also felt it dragged on slowly.
How wonderful.
The next morning, it was difficult to wake up.
Her roommates were sprawled out in disarray.
Xiao Qi washed her face and went for a run downstairs.
This would likely be her last time running on campus.
She ran five laps diligently, working up a sweat and becoming fully awake, before returning to shower.
Then she flipped over her roommates one by one and splashed them with cold water to wake them up.
Everyone still envied Xiao Qi's energetic spirit.
Despite staying up until 2 or 3 AM like the rest of them, she was still lively and bouncing around in the morning.
But today was Xiao Qi's graduation ceremony, which the entire school's faculty and students would attend.
Not just the fourth-year students - because this time, the outstanding graduate representative was a second-year student.
The weather was beautiful.
Clear blue skies and a gentle breeze.
The entire school's faculty and students arrived in an orderly fashion.
In previous years, foreign teachers and visiting professors seldom attended these events and had usually packed up and left already.
But this year, they all showed up in full attendance.
The foreign teachers had a good relationship with Xiao Qi, as she could converse fluently in all their languages without issue.
The visiting professors took pride in Xiao Qi going to Tsinghua and Peking University, which was the alma mater of many of them.
As the outstanding graduate representative, Xiao Qi wore a relatively bright outfit today.
A red T-shirt and blue jeans - a simple casual outfit.
She had originally planned to wear a dress to be more formal, but considering she would be giving a speech on stage, pants would be more convenient.
And it suited her student status.
She now owned many brand-name clothes, all provided by Zaizai's mother.
Xiao Qi herself had made no progress in this area and often ended up wearing outfits that Zaizai had coordinated for her from head to toe.
If she forgot, she would mix and match them haphazardly.
Crushing Zaizai's heart in the process.
Xiao Qi just felt that Zaizai paid too much attention to trivial details, which was likely why his academic performance had almost fallen short of getting into graduate school.
Who could have imagined that such a handsome young man would be so meticulous and conscientious in his daily life?
She still wore a simple jade Buddha pendant around her neck and an ordinary-looking watch on her wrist.
Her shoes were sneakers.
Wearing this outfit on stage, Xiao Qi still had short hair, with a small tuft tied in front of her forehead.
She had a very approachable demeanor.
The freshmen looked very curious, as they had heard that the super-capable founder of the "walk and earn money" app was expected to be dripping with gold, but they didn't expect her to be so simple and modest.
She looked even better in person, with exquisite features.
Ever since her app became a huge success, Xiao Qi had kept a low profile and focused on her studies. The school's official website rarely featured news about her, and although they attended the same university, opportunities to see Xiao Qi in person were not many.
Xiao Qi was also a little nervous.
Although she had given many speeches, it seemed like she would always feel nervous to some degree.
The level of nervousness just varied.
This time, she was proud to be able to give a graduation speech as an outstanding graduate representative of Enhua.
Standing in front of the main stage, Xiao Qi remembered the military training when she wore a camouflage uniform, held up the class banner, and walked past the main stage.
Now she stood here, looking at the dense crowd of students below.
She took a deep breath.
She began, "Fellow students, teachers, hello everyone. I am Xiao Qi from the 19th class of Information Management, and I'm very pleased to be here as an outstanding graduate student representative to give a speech..."
As soon as she finished her self-introduction, the students who weren't paying attention at first started whispering curiously.
"She's graduating after just her sophomore year?"
"Can sophomores really graduate?"
"Yes, if you complete enough credits. She finished all the credits required for a four-year degree, and they say she was number one in every class, even better than the senior students," one of Xiao Qi's fans explained.
"That's right, that's right. Not only did Xiao Qi graduate early, but her boyfriend also graduated early," another fan added.
Many of the freshmen enrolled at Enhua specifically because of Xiao Qi. Their high school scores weren't ideal, barely above the second-tier university level, and they might have been relegated to a lower-ranked school. So many chose Enhua on purpose.
Because of Xiao Qi, they thought Enhua was a pretty good choice.
"The senior is going to Tsinghua and Peking University for graduate studies..."
The sophomore and junior students, as well as those graduating this year, had mixed feelings.
The sophomores felt both proud and ashamed, as a classmate from the same year had already graduated...
The juniors just felt ashamed.
The seniors felt even more ashamed. Not only had a sophomore underclassman graduated, but she had also been admitted to Tsinghua and Peking University for graduate studies.
"Time flies. It feels like just yesterday that we entered Enhua. On the first day, I saw the welcome banner that said, 'Today, you take pride in Enhua. Tomorrow, Enhua will take pride in you.' At that time, I was naive and thought the phrase sounded cool with its parallel structure. Today, I think I've achieved that. And I believe you can too. After today, some seniors will be leaving the school, while some juniors and underclassmen will continue studying here. Let me share with you my learning experience. Whether you're entering the workforce or continuing your studies, I think it will be useful..."
Xiao Qi didn't talk about the future or boast. Instead, she earnestly introduced her learning methods - making plans, big plans, and then small plans, and then working diligently to achieve them.
This approach was very useful, at least it had proven effective for her and Zaizai.
"...That's about it for my learning methods. Of course, everyone is different, so you'll need to adapt based on your own experiences. Finally, I'm very grateful for the opportunity to attend university and have this chance to study.
University is a great melting pot. Not only do you learn academic knowledge, but you also learn about dealing with people and personal growth.
It's a buffer before entering society. The few years spent here allow a person's character to mature and settle. It's a very necessary experience.
If given the opportunity, no matter who you are, you should attend university. It's a precious treasure."
Xiao Qi spoke from the heart. This was her true belief.
If given the opportunity and means, one should study more.
Reading leads to success and growth.
Reading is a shortcut to happiness.
When Xiao Qi finished, thunderous applause erupted from below.
She bowed to her classmates and teachers before leaving the stage.
Her speech video was quickly posted on the official Douyin (Chinese TikTok) platform.
Everyone thought she gave an excellent speech, full of useful advice.
A girl who had failed the college entrance exam and planned to work in Haicheng put her packed luggage away. She wouldn't go to Haicheng anymore; she would retake the exam to get into university.
A student who had been admitted to a third-tier university decided not to attend, thinking it wouldn't be worthwhile.
But after watching this video, he went to tell his parents that he would still go to university.
A young girl who had already dropped out to work at a milk tea shop secretly watched the video while working. Tears streamed down her face as she brewed tea for customers. After her shift ended, she quit her job, deciding to go back to school...
