Chapter 331 - Eight Years of University

It was almost noon when Xiao Luo arrived at Xisheng Aeronautical University, so he decided to head directly to the stall selling bouncy noodles at canteen No.3. It was crowded by then, with customers swarming around the stall window. No one thought to form a queue but instead chose to jostle into position in front of the window. There were many incidents of foot-stamping and shoving going on, and not surprisingly, complaints and curses were rife.

When it came to complaining and cursing, one particular man stood out. He had a shrill voice and was a large man of rather a full stature, in that he was short and round.

"Hey! Stop squeezing in; if you squeeze any closer, you'll get pregnant!"

"Oi, you're stepping on my foot, you blind fool!"

"Those servings of bouncy noodles are mine, don't try to steal them from me."

Sporting a middle-parted hairstyle, attired in a black traditional Chinese suit, and with a chubby, round face, he was the mirror image of Kim Jong-un.

Xiao Luo was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face. The Kim Jong-Un look-a-like was none other than Guan Tong, a former classmate in college. Guan Tong had a bit of a dubious reputation—he had to repeat his sophomore year in college due to his poor academic performance, and despite repeating it, he still couldn't obtain the modular credits required, so Guan Tong decided to suspend his studies. Xiao Luo later heard from Zhang Dashan that after a two-year break, Guan Tong applied to return to school again. He had always thought that Zhang Dashan made it up for laughs, but now that he saw Guan Tong here, it turned out to be true.

Meanwhile, after grabbing three bowls of bouncy noodles with meat sauce and squeezing his way out of the crowd, Guan Tong stepped right in the path of Xiao Luo. He blinked his small eyes slit before he finally ascertained the identity of the man before him.

"Xiao Luo?!"

For a brief moment, on seeing the familiar face of Xiao Luo again, Guan Tong was transported back in time. But upon seeing the faces of the many young students around him, he quickly woke up and returned to the present.

"Guan Tong. It's been a long time," Xiao Luo greeted him warmly.

…

Ten minutes later, the two were sitting down on a table catching up on old times.

Xiao Luo ate bouncy noodles as well, but Guan Tong was the one who helped him order his bowl of noodles. He was large and fat, so no one dared to say a word when he cut through the crowd to buy a bowl of bouncy noodles. Besides, he also had a vicious-looking face.

"I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw you, I didn't think it was really you. Aren't you working in Jiangcheng? When did you come back, surely it can't be another story similar to how Hu Hansan came back?"

Guan Tong was a chatty person, and he talked unceasingly as he gulped down his bouncy noodles. He was excited to meet his former classmate again after all these years.

"I just came back this year, I'm going to develop my future career here in Xiahai."

Xiao Luo took a bite, and the bouncy noodles still had the same familiar taste, which instantly reminded him of many things from the past.

"Welcome back. At least now, I won't feel lonely, and I'll have someone to harass when I get bored, haha," Guan Tong said.

Xiao Luo raised an eyebrow. "How can you be feeling lonely when our class president has been in Xiahai all along?"

"Don't even mention Guo Qinghe. He is now a top-tier recruiter of an MLM organization, I've not been in contact with him," Guan Tong replied, unconsciously looking around as he shook his head.

A top-tier recruiter of an MLM organization? Guo Qinghe?

Xiao Luo was totally shocked, and Guan Tong's words caught him off guard.

"Guo Qinghe dresses well, but it's only to come off as a successful person. He does this to deceive those poor people who want to get rich overnight, and they land up spending their hard-earned money on his schemes. The locations he chooses are all in counties or small towns to the south of Xiahai City, and he specializes in scamming outsiders."

"How do you know all this?" Xiao Luo asked.

"The first down line distributor he found when he first joined the MLM was me, how could I not know that? It's a good thing my mind was sharp enough, or I'd also have fallen in his trap."

Guan Tong sighed, and by then, he had already finished a bowl of bouncy noodles and was starting on his second bowl. "Forget it, let's not talking about him; it isn't good to talk about others behind their backs. I didn't go to the class reunion he organized last year for this reason. Oh, by the way, you and Zhao Mengqi… have you both tied the knot?"

"We broke up."

"Oh."

Guan Tong's reaction was calm, and he didn't seem to find it strange or pursue the matter.

Xiao Luo changed the topic. "Have you gotten your graduation certificate and degree?"

Guan Tong gave his chopsticks a rest and said, "No, I don't even remember how many subjects I failed. I feel like I can't even count them with my ten fingers, and it's hard to pass even the trial exams. In my opinion, the graduation certificate and degree are just pieces of paper—academic qualifications are not important, but what is important is one's talent. I have long given up on the idea of getting a graduation certificate and a degree."

Given up on the graduation certificate and degree?

Although having these two certificates did not guarantee one of success, still, when seeking for a job, it gave the bearer an added advantage over those that did not have it. These days, one really couldn't do without them, and it made perfect sense to obtain them.

Xiao Luo didn't agree with Guan Tong's point of view. "So, you're working now?"

"No, no, I'm at home most of the time, but I bike to the school library every day to read books, increase my knowledge, and become a talented person." Guan Tong had by now started on his third bowl of bouncy noodles.

"How are you going to support yourself if you don't work?" Xiao Luo asked.

"By relying on my family, of course. My father and my mother both work in public institutions, and now the two of them have a combined salary of almost 20,000 dollars, even if they retire later, they could receive seven or eight thousand dollars just by sitting at home. I'm their only son, so their money is my money. I'm spending it in advance, and later after I become a talented person, I could easily earn back tens of millions to honor them."

Xiao Luo couldn't help wondering what was going through Guan Tong's mind, but if it were him, he would not be at peace with himself living this way. He was curious to know what Guan Tong meant by talent. Would he be able to accept it when he was 27 or 28 and doing nothing but stay home and live off his parents?

He couldn't understand the talent that Guan Tong was referring to, but of course, it was none of his business, and as an outsider, he wasn't qualified to judge.

"Guan Tong!"

A voice called out.

Guan Tong and Xiao Luo both turned to the direction of the voice—it was a kindly, middle-aged man wearing a black suit and a pair of glasses. He had very little hair and a receding hairline that made him look a bit bald.

"It's Old Yu!" Guan Tong said, finally putting down his chopsticks.

Xiao Luo knew who Old Yu was, of course. His full name was Yu Jiangu, and he was their homeroom teacher in college.

He hurriedly got up and greeted Yu Jiangu, who had just walked over. "How are you, Mr. Yu."

"Xiao Luo? What are you doing here?"

Yu Jiangu was quite surprised to see Xiao Luo, who was a student from the last batch he had taught. He had a rather bad impression of that rascal, Zhang Dashan, and as Xiao Luo spent a considerable amount of time together with him, he naturally remembered Xiao Luo as well.

"Old Yu, you needn't be surprised, he's planning to work in Xiahai. He's just returning to his alma mater for a visit."

Guan Tong said as he tilted his head, drank the soup from the last bowl of the bouncy noodles, and then burped. It had been so many years, Yu Jiangu was both like a mentor and a friend to Guan Tong, and they spoke very casually to each other.

"So that's how it is, welcome back then, hahaha…"

Yu Jiangu smiled and patted Xiao Luo's shoulder, then gave him a piece of advice. "Don't get too close with this b*stard for the sake of your own future, he doesn't care about progress, wasting his life away all day. The second batch of students under me is about to enter the workforce, yet this b*stard is still in the same place. Other people go to college for four years, but he has been studying for eight years. You can win a war in eight years, yet he can't even get two certificates."

He looked pained when he spoke of Guan Tong. As his teacher, he couldn't remember the number of times he had been teased by his colleagues because of Guan Tong's poor performance. He was a disgrace and a blight to Yu Jiangu's reputation.

…