"At a university, rules are rules. No one gets to be an exception. We can’t have one person like you disrupting the academic order for an entire class."
In the hallway, one or two students from other provinces occasionally passed by.
They saw the old man and the young man talking by the sinks, but no one stopped.
The noise was brief, quickly fading at the end of the hallway.
Chen Zhuo tossed the soaked wad of paper towels in his hand into the plastic trash can beside him.
He wiped the remaining water on his hands onto his pants and turned around.
"Sir, I have one last question."
Chen Zhuo’s voice was clear in the empty hallway, his tone gentle, as if he were discussing the most ordinary of everyday matters.
"My student ID card—can I apply for unrestricted library borrowing privileges with it?"
The old man looked at him and didn’t answer right away.
"I don’t want to find myself one day wanting to look up some foreign research papers, or read a graduate-level textbook, only to be told by the librarian that my undergraduate access isn’t high enough and I can’t check it out."
"And I don’t want to have to run all over campus to different offices, and then have to find a professor to sign and stamp a permission slip, just to borrow one book."
The old man took a deep breath.
He stuck his hands into his jacket pockets.
He leaned back slightly, resting against the wall.
"The university’s resources are allocated hierarchically."
The old man looked at Chen Zhuo as if he were looking at an unruly subordinate.
"The graduate reading rooms and research databases are for people with research projects. The task for undergraduates is to build a foundation, not to aim too high. This isn’t personal; it’s the system."
The old man paused.
He pointed to the pre-admission letter of intent with its red lettering on the counter by the sinks.
"This is the best science program in the country."
The old man looked into Chen Zhuo’s eyes, his tone carrying a pressure that brooked no argument.
"Other provincial teams... their schools would fight tooth and nail for a single spot like this. Are you sure you want to haggle with me over trivial details like attendance and library policies?"
A sliver of sunlight from outside the hallway shone in, landing on the grayish-white floor tiles.
Chen Zhuo shook his head gently, not reaching for the paper.
"Then I won’t sign it for now."
Chen Zhuo said.
His tone was crisp.
There was no hesitation whatsoever.
It was like asking for the price at a market, deciding it wasn’t right, and politely turning to leave.
The old man clearly hadn’t expected this outcome.
He straightened up slightly from his position against the wall.
"Not signing?"
The old man watched Chen Zhuo’s departing back.
"Do you think the admissions teams from Xijiao and Southeast have fewer rules than we do? Do you think you can just do as you please if you go to another university?"
Chen Zhuo stopped walking.
He didn’t turn back.
Chen Zhuo’s voice drifted back down the hallway.
Faintly.
"Early next month. July second."
Chen Zhuo looked at the glass door at the end of the hallway.
"I have the national finals for the junior high math competition."
The old man said nothing, just stood there watching him.
"Then."
Chen Zhuo tilted his head slightly. His voice wasn’t loud, but every word was clear.
"You can take my report card showing first place nationally in two subjects and go back to the university leadership to apply for exemptions from morning exercises, attendance, borrowing privileges, and the like."
"The resistance should be a little smaller then."
Chen Zhuo lifted his foot and continued walking forward.
He pushed open the glass door at the end of the hall.
A wave of heat and sunlight instantly flooded in.
His silhouette disappeared into the blinding halo of light.
「By the sinks.」
The old man stood frozen in place.
The hallway returned to a dead silence, with only the occasional DRIP from a faucet.
The old man looked down at the pristine "Pre-admission Letter of Intent" on the counter.
He slowly reached out and picked up the paper.
He looked at it for a moment.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly—whether in exasperated amusement or helpless resignation, it was hard to tell.
He stuffed the paper back into the clear document folder.
Zipped it up.
He turned and walked slowly away, down the other end of the hallway.
He stepped outside.
A blast of heat hit him in the face.
In the distance, several cars sped by on the road, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Chen Zhuo walked along the road.
The bus was parked a few dozen meters away.
The door was open, and the driver sat in his seat, fanning himself with a cattail fan.
Beneath a London plane tree by the roadside, there was a small patch of shade.
The five of them were all there.
Wang Huashao was squatting on the curb, holding a half-empty bottle of mineral water. The outside of the bottle was beaded with condensation. He wasn’t drinking it, just staring blankly at a few ants on the ground.
Zhou Kai leaned against the tree trunk, arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the bus.
Lin Yi stood on the outermost edge, leaning against a lamppost.
She held a mint candy wrapper in her hand and was slowly folding it into a small square.
The sun slanted down, hitting the cuffs of her pants.
Chen Zhuo walked into the shade.
Several heads turned to look at him.
No one asked why he had been in the restroom for so long.
Nor did anyone ask what was next.
The four hours in the training center had drained them of all their energy and their will to speak.
Chen Zhuo clapped Wang Huashao on the shoulder.
"Come on, the AC is on in the bus."
Chen Zhuo pointed to the bus door.
Zhou Kai nodded and stood up straight.
Wang Huashao stood up, crushed the water bottle in his hand, and threw it into a nearby trash can.
He Gui got up slowly, brushing the dust from his pants.
They boarded the bus one by one.
The air conditioning inside the bus was blasting; you could feel the chill as soon as you stepped in.
They each found their own seats.
No one sat together; they were all scattered throughout the front and back of the bus.
Chen Zhuo walked to a window seat in the third-to-last row.
Sat down.
He placed his backpack on the empty seat next to him.
The driver tossed his cigarette butt and closed the door.
The engine started up again, and a low rumble vibrated through the bus.
The bus slowly pulled off the access road and merged into the traffic on the main road.
Chen Zhuo leaned back against his seat.
The scenery outside the window began to recede.
The streets of the Capital City were wide, and the buildings lining them were tall and imposing.
The cabin was exceptionally quiet.
No one spoke.
Zhou Kai had his eyes closed, his head tilted back.
Wang Huashao stared blankly at the back of the seat in front of him.
The national physics competition was now completely over for Wang Huashao and the other two boys.
In this day and age, it typically took one to two months from the end of the competition for the official results to be announced. The papers had to be graded and reviewed, the scores finalized, and then publicly posted. After that, the results and lists of names would be released through official channels. Then came the printing of certificates and their distribution to the various schools, which took even more time. Finally, the students would be notified by their own schools.
Regardless of their results, they would all face a reshuffling of the deck in their high school careers.
This shared life-or-death experience of the past half-month would ultimately be reduced to a piece of paper in a file, or a story told at a drinking party many years from now.
Chen Zhuo watched a station sign flash past the window.
For him, this physics stepping stone had already been forged.
He needed to get another one.
A bargaining chip that was heavier, purer, and capable of completely smashing through all those rules, regulations, and attendance policies.
The bus came to a stop at a red light.
The cold air from the AC vent misted up the window, creating a thin layer of condensation.
Chen Zhuo reached out with his right hand and tapped the windowpane twice.
’July second.’
’Math.’
The light turned green.
The bus started moving again, heading in the direction of their hotel.
It disappeared at the end of the wide road.

Comments

Loading...