Chapter 80 (1/2)
TL:Proud Novelist
Edited by: TheJum
Chapter 80 Youth, Oh Youth
Ning Que felt a flash of cold run through his body. This feeling itself didn’t come from the scholarly looking figure; in fact, from head to toe—from interior to exterior of his body—the cotton-robed scholar didn't slip the slightest hostility, but quite the opposite: he was like lotus flower—pure and harmless—that was able to make people wish to trust him just like they trust their own families.
He also felt cold because the scholar was able to see through his bag with just a glance. It was worth mentioning that his umbrella was so very big and so very black, to the extent of making it indiscernable. Moreover, this umbrella was very important for Ning Que and Sang Sang, and yet the scholar still wanted him to exchange it.
The ray of sunlight was unable to penetrate directly onto the roadway, making the temperature decrease slightly. Is this also the source of his coldness? Or maybe it was the irrational feeling of trust that was born towards the scholar? Was that what was making him feels anxiety?
Ning Que’s body froze just like an ice sculpture; his figure could be seen standing there for a long time. Just as he awoke, he glanced slightly behind him, but there is nothing—the scholar had already disappeared. He lowered his head and thought for a while, but he didn’t really understand his current situation. While shaking his head, he strode toward the hustle: he had decided not to think about it.
He doesn’t know that the future legendary master had ridden away. He doesn’t know that he missed a historical moment. He doesn’t know what kind of mistake it was that he rejected the scholar’s offer. He doesn’t know that this is the first lesson, but even if he knew he still wouldn’t have made such an exchange; using a thing you have to exchange for a thing you don’t, is just something he wouldn’t do.
Normally, the Academy's first lesson is an important one. Students gather on the slightly cold pavement, looking forward to hearing some lecturer talk, daydreaming about the next two or three years of their life.
Just like with the exam, the Academy cla.s.ses are divided into six courses, with two hundred students divided into six rooms. The daily lesson is from morning to noon, which doesn't seem long, but there is no rest time in between.
In the morning, the seven lucky people had the technical cla.s.s. After noon they needed to accept Academy related instruction, while common students will have free time; they can choose to study alone in the Academy, or to go back to the city and relax—with some sparkling wine. The chief professor is extremely kind, and he sincerely suggested for students to stay and study.
The Academy’s disciplinary requirements were very loose, focusing mostly on the bell’s sound deep inside the Academy: The first bell sounds as a warning, the second as admittance, third as dismissal, and the fourth as departure. In between second and third bells is the time when students study in the cla.s.sroom. The Academy demands that students focus on the lectures in this period—questions allowed but noise forbidden. As for cleaning duty stuff, it’s completely not of the students’ concern: the government spends a lot on Academy, it is unknown how many workers and cooks they hire.
Next is the dorm, Academy uses a simple and fair system—they don’t even care about student’s background. The result is that Xie Chen Yun and Zhong Da Jun were sent to Alpha dorm, Lin Chuan w.a.n.g was sent to Beta dorm, and Ning Que was sent to Gamma dorm.
After going to the flat side closet to take his own book, Ning Que and the others followed wooden plaques in the corridor and found Gamma dorm. Looking inside the dorm that had windows like paint and walls white like paper, Ning Que thought, “This is the place that I will live for years to come, and I have finally entered Da Tang Empire’s Qing Yun road.” Feeling a little excited, he took a breath to calm himself and stepped high over the door still.
“Ning Que! Sit here!”
In the room, he heard two surprising voices.
Looking up, he sees a wide back row in the room with Chu You Xian exitedly waving at him and seeming a bit pale, while in the last row, Si Tu Yi Lan was excitedly looking at him; she wore the blue uniform of today’s females under her robe, oblique lapels embroidered with a few plum blossoms, and inside the wide little collar showed a tiny white neck.
Suddenly, like a dream, he saw a past life. It was that most familiar, most unforgettable scene, and every year in this season he sees it once again, and only the amount of people that ask him to sit are greater.
As Ning Que stood silently at the room’s threshold, he forcefully closed his eyes, only then could he eliminate that falsely disturbed memory. Walking toward the excited Si Tu Yi Lan, he smiled an apology before walking further to the back row.
He didn’t know that Si Tu Yi Lan is the daughter of Yun Mo general, but he knew that she must be from a rich family. And even though all students in Academy are considered equal—such that yesterday he heard His Majesty wore plain clothes to study when he was young, and sat beside common poor students—having too much contact with this kind of rich lady, who knows what problems he will become involved in.
Putting down the heavy book, looking at Chu You Xian’s pale thin face, and staring at his slightly green lips, Ning Que frowned and asked, “You went to Hong Xiu Zhao yesterday?”
“Stayed for a night.” Chu You Xian sighed, not having the slightest concealment, and said miserably, “Ning Que, this world has problems; I can’t think it through, so I went to Hong Xiu Zhao to go crazy for a night.”
Ning Que, who was reminded about the scholar he just met, freezing his body, asked, “What problem?”
“I actually entered the Academy; this is the largest problem in this world.”