Chapter 138: Even Masters Scam People (5/10)

"How would you like your author's fee? Your poem really is worth a thousand yuan a word!"

Ma Qiwei was in high spirits. He was even pondering whether to accept a re-engagement as a professor from the Chinese Department of Peking University after his retirement from Poetry Magazine.

A young talent like Zhang Chu, whose lifestyle was usually so laid-back, simply needed a little bit of pressure.

"Professor Ma, please help me donate it instead. A thousand yuan a word is nothing compared to you—your words are worth thousands in gold."

Everyone knew how to exchange commercial flattery. Zhang Chu was content with the prestige this poem had brought him; those monetary rewards were better off donated to charity.

Ma Qiwei thought of the lines of new students he had seen entering the campus today, and asked with concern, "Have you finished your admission procedures yet? Do you need me to have someone give you a hand?"

"Thank you, Professor Ma. I've already completed my registration."

"That's good. At your age, you should focus on studying hard and building a solid foundation. The faculty in the Chinese Department at Peking University are all quite exceptional. If you have time, study more and spend less time online. Only with a solid foundation can you achieve greater things in the future."

Zhang Chu nodded repeatedly. This was probably prompted by Professor Ma seeing his online counterattack against Zhu Ziqing.

"Since you're done with your registration for today, we can meet up again when there's a chance." Ma Qiwei had no plans to teach any classes this semester, but intended to offer a specialized course next semester.

Although Yan Liu was the head of the Chinese Department at Peking University, his influence in Chinese literary circles was not even a tenth of Ma Qiwei's. He rarely saw Ma Qiwei hold someone in such high regard.

"Professor Ma, there are plenty of promising young people these days, but it seems you hold Zhang Chu in particularly high esteem?"

Ma Qiwei nodded with a smile and said, "It's not that easy to be a poet or a writer. With so many graduates from your Chinese Department every year, how many truly amount to anything? This kind of literary creation relies on talent; it cannot simply be taught. Zhang Chu has that kind of talent, but he's too young and hasn't always used it on the right path. Have you read his recent 'River City'?"

How could Yan Liu possibly miss such a trending topic!

"I've read it. That kid has a real knack for writing poetry and lyrics. He could easily write wonderful classical verse, yet he chose to use those particular elements instead. I imagine Zhu Ziqing must be fuming with rage. Weaving so many advertising slogans into a Song lyric—it doesn't look out of place at all, and it reads so catchy and smooth."

"Many people think such spoof poetry is easy to write, but when they actually try to write one themselves, they get completely stuck. It requires a certain literary foundation. Who hasn't written things like that in their youth!"

"In that case, I wonder if I can push for him to be the student representative at this year's opening ceremony and see what kind of speech he might come up with," Yan Liu said, resting his chin in his hand. Pressure breeds motivation; getting Zhang Chu to do some proper work was much better than leading millions of netizens on wild antics across the internet.

Ma Qiwei clapped his hands in approval and said, "That's a rather good idea. If you need any help, I can go have a chat with your university president."

The current president of Peking University was, chronologically speaking, Ma Qiwei's junior, and his venerable face still carried weight in the Chinese literary world.

Yan Liu shook his head with a smile and replied, "That shouldn't be necessary. Zhang Chu has the qualifications. As this year's top scorer from Jiangdong Province, he wrote one of the most famous full-score essays in the entire country. Plus, he's a published writer himself and quite photogenic to boot. I'll check with the school administration. After all, this is also an honor for our Chinese Department."

"That's only proper. You'll have to vet his material for him beforehand, though, just in case he decides to spout some doggerel on stage."

Ma Qiwei clearly remembered that kid's capability. An opportunity to speak in front of several thousand new students at Peking University was extremely rare, and if they managed to secure it, they definitely couldn't let it get ruined.

Yan Liu had no desire to turn the Chinese Department into a laughingstock either, so he solemnly took those words to heart. He would definitely have to help review the draft; he couldn't let Zhang Chu run wild.

...

Zhang Chu had no idea that the two men in the head of department's office had quietly prepared an arduous yet glorious mission for him.

At that moment, he was welcoming his other two roommates, An Mi and Sun Ruiqi, both of whom were local Beijing natives.

Don't assume that getting into Peking University is a walk in the park just because you're from Beijing; in fact, these two were top students as well. The three of them didn't feel awkward at all upon meeting and soon started chatting away.

An Mi, who occupied bed number one, saw Zhang Chu's bed and immediately gave him a thumbs-up, saying with admiration, "Brother Chu, I'll be counting on you to look after me from now on. I never expected to be roommates with you. This bed number belongs to you by rights!"

"Zhang Chu? You're that Zhang Chu who wrote 'The Death of the Red Hare'?" Sun Ruiqi asked, sitting in his chair and widening his eyes in belated realization.

Everyone was part of the same incoming cohort, so they had naturally heard of such a wildly daring college entrance examination essay. Sun Ruiqi didn't spend much time browsing Weibo, as his interests didn't lie in that direction, so his impression of Zhang Chu had remained solely fixed on that essay.

"Guaranteed genuine," Zhang Chu blinked. "I suppose we're all in the same major?"

"Definitely, I've already checked. Our first two years don't divide us by specific majors; we all study the fundamentals together, and only choose our specialties after the junior year," Liu Ruiqi said with a hint of excitement. This was his first time leaving home to live in a dorm, giving him a sense of liberation from a cage.

An Mi looked at the adjacent bed, which was already made, and asked, "What's the name of our other roommate? It looks like he's already been here."

"His name is Yang Ling. He seems like a really nice guy, from the Northeast."

From their initial interactions, Zhang Chu felt that his roommates had decent personalities, though what they were truly like would only become clear after spending more time together.

In his past life, Zhang Chu had already experienced four years of college life, but experiencing it all over again in this lifetime seemed to bring a completely different set of experiences.

"A dorm without internet just won't do. We should go get the internet sorted out as soon as possible, and buy a wireless router so both our phones and computers can connect."

Zhang Chu suggested this because, although the dormitory building had wireless coverage, anyone could guess with their toes how many users would be trying to connect simultaneously once the rooms were fully occupied. Whether a connection could even be established then would be a question.

An Mi said excitedly, "We really do need to solve this problem. According to the senior students, the campus educational network is a total trap. Playing Dota leads to constant lag and frequent disconnections. Why don't we go outside and find someone to install broadband, and just use the school's educational network when we need to select courses?"

Even though Zhang Chu wouldn't be living in the dorm full-time, having a smooth internet connection was clearly necessary. He smiled and said, "Let's go ask at the telecommunications business halls around the campus later. They definitely have experience with installations."

"Right, right, right!" An Mi carefully took out his Alienware laptop. Being without internet right now was absolutely out of the question for him.

Sun Ruiqi strongly agreed as well. Long before coming to university, he had lurked for a long time in the Peking University Tieba forum and freshman group chats, where he had seen numerous senior students complaining about network issues.

Modern people were creatures who would perish without the internet. The rest of them readily agreed, and after Zhang Chu added them on WeChat, he also pulled Yang Ling—who was still far away at the airport—into their four-person dorm chat group.

A brilliant college life was slowly unfolding before them!