Chapter 147: The Hundred Regiments Offensive

After all, student clubs were merely an embellishment to campus life. Following a brief discussion, the group led by temporary class monitor Li Chenglin went to collect their new textbooks.

Since they were men, they couldn't possibly let the female students do such heavy lifting; a certain amount of gentlemanly chivalry was still required.

Freshmen at Yanda University did not have fixed classrooms, so textbooks were mostly delivered directly to the dormitories and then distributed according to chosen courses.

After several hours of busyness, Zhang Chu finally received his brand-new set of textbooks.

The scent of printing ink rising from these books served as a vivid reminder that true university life had begun, and he could no longer afford to be lazy!

……

A little past six in the morning, when the first ray of sunlight pierced through the darkness and touched the world, the entire campus instantly came to life.

Across the dormitory building, many students chose to get up early—some to run and exercise, others for morning reading in English or Chinese. These were habits they had formed back in high school.

Inside Dormitory 222, Yang Ling had already finished washing up. He glanced at his watch and said, "I'm going to run for half an hour and then come back to shower. You guys go ahead to the canteen. If you get there early, save me a seat near the front of the classroom."

"I'm going for morning reading, and then I'll pick up breakfast at the cafeteria. Whoever gets to the classroom first will save the seats, deal?"

Sun Ruiqi replied with a toothbrush in his mouth, his voice slightly muffled, "No problem, I'll head out to the classroom to read soon, there should still be seats."

There were no morning self-study sessions at Yanda, and the first class began at eight o'clock, yet almost everyone in this group was up by six.

Zhang Chu yawned. His biological clock had not adjusted at all. According to the routine from his previous university life—going to sleep at one or two in the morning and getting up at seven-forty for class, sometimes even skipping class entirely to sleep until noon—

Feeling his head heavy and groggy, he flipped off the quilt and silently resolved to rent a place outside to sleep, sparing himself the trouble of disturbing his roommates at night and being woken up by them in the morning.

With desynchronized biological clocks, sharing a dorm room was simply too much trouble!

By the time he finished washing up, he was shocked to find it was not even seven o'clock yet, which felt like a bolt from the blue.

Fortunately, there were still quite a few people walking out of the dormitory building with backpacks. Zhang Chu made his way to the Xuewu Cafeteria, where he settled for two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge.

Across the campus, students could be seen reading and reciting books in many places, and even the teaching buildings were already filling up.

A new campus, the first class of the new semester—everyone was somewhat excited, and many sat together grouped by their dormitories.

Zhang Chu increasingly felt that he might be somewhat out of step with the campus. Having graduated years ago in his past life, he simply could not adapt to returning to school.

Three consecutive advanced mathematics classes flew by. Zhang Chu felt as though he must have studied fake advanced mathematics in his previous life. Clearly, concepts like sets were so simple, and even the subsequent constants, variables, and functions were not difficult—so why had he failed the retakes so many times?

While pondering this with a mixture of doubt and self-reflection, he circled the after-class exercises assigned by the teacher, and abruptly realized that keeping up with the pace of the top students around him took no effort at all!

……

The Triangle was located in the center of Peking University, separated from the Centennial Memorial Hall by just a single road. Although it was a small and somewhat shabby place, it was a sacred ground for Yanda, symbolizing its ethos of "freedom of thought and inclusiveness."

This was a mandatory spot for every campus club's recruitment drive, though lately it showed a tendency of being occupied by commercial advertisements, with promotional flyers for graduate school entrance exams, TOEFL, and GRE training classes everywhere.

It was not yet noon, the lunch hour, but many students who had just finished their morning classes—especially freshmen—had specifically come to witness the so-called "Battle of a Hundred Clubs"!

The recruitment avenue was a sea of heads, filled with fluttering flyers, dazzling display boards, and graceful costumes that served as the hallmarks of club recruitment. Some music clubs even performed live on the spot, the anime club hosted cosplays, and martial arts clubs donned specialized attire to put on shows, all striving to attract freshmen.

Zhang Chu, Yang Ling, and the other two made a deliberate detour to reach the Triangle and were immediately captivated by the bustling scene.

Senior female students dressed in white fencing uniforms looked heroic and spirited, a senior dressed as a robot handed out flyers, and a solo guitar performance was genuinely impressive, immediately engaging anyone who showed interest.

"Old Zhang, I'm going to check out the chess club over there, let's meet up at that intersection later!" Sun Ruiqi walked away excitedly.

An Mi stared at a senior dressed as a Saint Seiya and drooled. "Man, that costume must be pretty expensive."

The chaotic noise mingled with the sounds of pianos, the guitar club, and other music playing endlessly. Along the entire path, security guards and campus police maintained order.

With an appreciative mindset, Zhang Chu watched an exciting street dance performance by the street dance club, then went to observe a manga club virtuoso drawing live, while nearby calligraphy club members were grinding ink in preparation.

"Join the club and taste Moutai liquor!"

"Receive a postcard upon joining!"

"Throw a few punches for health and vitality..."

A dizzying array of slogans emerged one after another. Zhang Chu found that these seniors certainly knew how to have fun—scanning the club QR code at the tea studies club actually earned you a cup of tea, and a senior from the traditional Chinese medicine club had even brought a rice cooker right onto the exhibition booth.

Although attracted by numerous clubs along the way, he hadn't forgotten his original intention: to find a low-effort club to earn second-classroom credits.

After finally locating the position of the May Fourth Literary Society among more than a hundred booths, before Zhang Chu could react, he was pulled aside by a senior female student wearing a bob haircut.

"Junior Zhang Chu? Are you here to join our literary society?"

Recognized on the spot, Zhang Chu paused in bewilderment, briefly wondering if he had become a major celebrity.

Looking closer, he realized the senior before him was none other than Lin Tu, the senior who had welcomed the freshmen at Yanda's West Gate!

"As expected of little Tu, pulling someone in just like that," a senior wearing glasses said with a smile, noting that their booth already had quite a few people.

Zhang Chu looked up at the name of the club. It turned out to be called the "We" Literary Society. He lowered his voice and asked, "Senior, if I join your society, is it okay not to attend activities?"

A club where you could slack off was a good club!

Lin Tu looked somewhat perplexed. "Our club has quite a few activities usually, and they come in all sorts of formats, never boring. Many people from our major are members; this is practically half a home, so come on and join."

Since joining the May Fourth Literary Society counted, joining the "We" Literary Society counted just the same. With an acquaintance like Lin Tu around, Zhang Chu agreed to give her some face.

"Alright then, Senior better look out for me from now on!"

Lin Tu suddenly assumed the airs of a senior, tugging at Zhang Chu's sleeve as she marched toward the booth. "Vice President! Vice President! I've reeled someone in!"

The male student who had been burying his head in his smartphone looked up at Zhang Chu, a slightly envious smile playing across his face. "Well, well, isn't this our Yanda top talent? You're actually planning to join our society too?"