Still Frame Chapter 17
byChapter 17 Inorganic Substance (1)
Although his mock exam scores before the test were good, Zhang Liuxin was still very excited when he actually received the admission letter from InterState University.
After the admission results were announced, many people sent congratulatory letters and gifts to the Zhang family, all congratulating Zhang Qiannan. Naturally, none of it was for Zhang Liuxin, but he didn’t care.
The day before he was due to report to the university, he placed the admission letter on the desk by the window. He remembered his mother teaching him when he was little that the same bright moon shines on two people who care about each other. So he silently wished that his mother, wherever she was, could sense his thoughts and be happy that he had been accepted into one of Yin Province’s top universities.
He had already decided that after entering university, he would apply for accommodation and work part-time on weekends, reducing the number of times he returned to the Zhang family. Over time, perhaps the Zhang family would completely forget him, just as they had ignored him every time in the past.
At that point, he would be completely free to do what he wanted.
However, this idea was quickly dashed when his father, Zhang Jiming, ordered him to return home with his younger brother every weekend.
This greatly frustrated him, and the next morning, Zhang Qiannan instructing all the drivers not to take him to school came as no surprise.
Fortunately, he didn’t have many belongings at the Zhang house. Aside from his high school textbooks and notes, he only had a few items of clothing. By the time he dragged his large bags to the school, it was already close to noon. Worried about being late, he haphazardly piled his things onto his bed and rushed to the classroom.
This was his first time at InterState University’s School of Journalism. The college building, which he had seen in newspapers and cut out countless pictures of, finally appeared before him.
Gazing at the large characters pieced together in different languages, Zhang Liuxin felt a surge of excitement in his heart.
“The soul of news is the public.”
Zhang Liuxin found the best angle and took a picture of the quote, magnifying the photo and repeatedly looking at it several times even as he walked toward the classroom door.
Without noticing, he bumped into someone. He quickly helped the person pick up their bag and apologized.
“I’m sorry, are you alright?”
“It’s fine. Which class are you in?” A clear and distinctive male voice replied.
The young man had picturesque features, with his eyelashes casting a faint shadow, and the corners of his eyes glowing with warmth. The collar of his white shirt was slightly open, his hair was a little messy, and a thin layer of sweat covered his neck.
Zhang Liuxin looked up. The young man seemed to be stunned for a moment, then the corners of his lips curved up, revealing two small, pointed canine teeth when he smiled.
Zhang Liuxin had never seen such a bright person, whose tone carried a natural familiarity that wasn’t annoying.
“I’m in Class One.”
“What a coincidence, I am too.”
The two walked into the classroom side by side. The seats in the back row were already taken, so they had to sit in the front.
“Can I sit with you?”
“Yes, you can.”
Zhang Liuxin was a little nervous because the young man’s appearance was too outstanding. Since they walked in together, many people had been looking at them.
“You seem nervous,” the young man opened his notebook and showed him the name on the flyleaf. “My name is Li Hangzhou.”
Zhang Liuxin had heard of this name. No wonder so many people were looking at them. It turned out that Li Hangzhou was a well-known host, hosting a youth talk show and appearing on Yin Mirror Station’s large gala events several times.
“So it’s you,” Zhang Liuxin hadn’t expected the person himself to be so approachable. He had thought that good-looking people would all be as willful as Zhang Qiannan, since they had the capital to be so. “Hello, my name is Zhang Liuxin.”
“Zhang Liuxin,” Li Hangzhou asked, “Which three characters?”
“The Zhang from wenzhang (article), the Liu from liushu (willow tree), and the Xin from zhanxin (brand new).”
Li Hangzhou wrote the characters next to his own name with a pencil, pointing and saying, “Liuxin, your name is really nice.”
The other person’s tone was so gentle and his attitude so friendly that Zhang Liuxin was no longer as nervous or awkward as before. He took out an eraser and handed it to him. “Your name is nice too.”
“By the way, are you mixed-race?” Li Hangzhou pointed to his own eyes. “I noticed earlier, your eye color is so beautiful.”
He looked unexpectedly serious. Zhang Liuxin felt embarrassed under his gaze and quietly shifted his eyes, saying, “Yes, my mother is from Bernlin.”
“No wonder. Such a special green, like olive green. I’ve never seen it before.”
Mid-conversation, the teacher walked in. They first talked about some back-to-school matters and finally played a video for them, which was a compilation of clips of news media workers from different provinces. A face with brown hair and green eyes flashed across the screen, which felt familiar to Zhang Liuxin. He decided to ask the teacher who it was later when he had time.
After the session ended, Li Hangzhou proactively asked him if he wanted to go eat. Zhang Liuxin had plans with a friend, so he declined.
“Alright then. Which dorm are you in? I’ll come find you tonight.”
“3068.”
“Okay, I’ll be going now.”
He waited for his high school friend, Jiang You, at the college entrance. Jiang You was majoring in Mathematics and was grimacing while carrying several heavy textbooks. The black-rimmed glasses on her nose slipped down, but she couldn’t spare a hand to push them up. Zhang Liuxin smiled and took the books from her. “They’re so heavy.”
“They are, they’re killing me. I get so annoyed just thinking about having to study all this stuff.”
“Don’t you like it? Just take it slow.”
Jiang You pouted. “Liking it is one thing, but this is another. What about you? How does it feel to get into your dream department? I thought your stepmother wouldn’t allow you to study this major.”
The Zhang family was a leader in the media industry, but the heir, Zhang Qiannan, wasn’t interested in it, so he chose finance. Instead, it was Zhang Liuxin who applied for journalism.
“It doesn’t matter what major I study, I won’t need to personally work or manage the company, so it makes no difference.”
“True. That’s how it is for the wealthy. Sigh, money just keeps making more money.”
They walked all the way to the cafeteria. Zhang Liuxin and Jiang You had limited financial means, so they could only afford the simplest two-meat, one-vegetable set meal. Soon after they sat down, they saw Li Hangzhou. He was surrounded by a group of well-dressed, attractive young men and women, making him very conspicuous in the crowd.
Li Hangzhou met his gaze, smiled, and nodded slightly in greeting. Zhang Liuxin nodded back gently.
“Who are you saying hello to?” Jiang You followed his line of sight. “Wow, a handsome guy. Is he a new friend?”
Zhang Liuxin shook his head. “No, a classmate.”
“He looks strangely familiar.”
“He’s Li Hangzhou.”
“Oh, I knew he looked familiar. That host. But he actually chose to study the same major as you. I thought someone with his fame would definitely go into broadcasting and hosting, maybe to debut later.”
At this, Zhang Liuxin was also a little surprised, but it didn’t concern him much, so he stopped thinking about it.
Jiang You was a very gossipy girl and ate slowly, habitually telling him about things she was interested in. Zhang Liuxin hadn’t even finished his meal when he had heard all the scandalous stories of three math professors and the vice dean from their younger days.
“Oh, right. My roommate’s surname is Zhao. She’s the daughter of the Zhao family from Chidun District. I heard her say that she saw Senior Wen when she passed by the School of Science today. But he got out of the car and quickly went into the college building, so she only saw his back.”
Zhang Liuxin paused, the iron chopsticks scraping against the plate with a sharp sound.
“Senior Wen is Wen Jin,” Jiang You lowered her voice when she mentioned the name. “You must know him, right?”
Zhang Liuxin nodded. “Yes.”
“Have you met him?” Jiang You asked. “You’re in the same circle. You must have those banquets and tea parties. Do you ever meet him?”
Zhang Liuxin hadn’t been paying attention and bit into a piece of celery. The strong, distinct flavor of the celery exploded in his mouth. He frowned, grabbed a napkin, and spat it out.
“Not the same circle.”
Zhang Liuxin wasn’t referring to the Wen and Zhang families, but to himself and Wen Jin. Jiang You saw his expression and remembered Zhang Liuxin’s awkward status in the Zhang family. Realizing her slip-up, she whispered, “Sorry.”
He wasn’t that sensitive. Zhang Liuxin handed her the napkin, smiling. “Given our relationship, don’t keep apologizing. It’s fine.”
Jiang You took the napkin and wiped her mouth. “Liuxin is the best.”
“But speaking of Senior Wen, I’m actually a little curious what he looks like in person. I’ve only seen pictures online. The original images posted by Yin Mirror Station, without any beauty filters, already show how handsome he is. I wonder if he’s even better-looking in real life.”
Zhang Liuxin said, “Probably.”
“Sigh, I remember he’s only two years older than us, but he’s already pursuing his doctorate. He’s totally a genius, right? And his family is so powerful and influential. Can I please experience this kind of cheat-code life in my next life?”
“Let’s focus on living this life well first,” Zhang Liuxin said with a smile.
Jiang You had too many heavy textbooks, and her dorm was far from the cafeteria. Carrying them back would be tough, so Zhang Liuxin decided to be helpful and carried them to her dorm, treating it as a post-meal walk.
After saying goodbye to Jiang You, Zhang Liuxin detoured to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities before returning to his dorm. His roommates had already arrived and greeted him warmly when they saw him, introducing their names and hometowns.
Fortunately, the three roommates seemed easy to get along with, and Zhang Liuxin breathed a sigh of relief while unpacking his luggage.
One roommate, Tian Ke, who looked quite refined, proactively suggested they go out for dinner that night. “A new restaurant opened at the South Gate. It seems to be fusion cuisine. I saw many people recommending it on the campus forum. How about we go try it?”
The other two roommates quickly agreed. Tian Ke asked, “Liuxin, what about you? Do you have other plans tonight?”
It seemed inappropriate to miss the first gathering of the semester. Zhang Liuxin nodded. “No plans. Sure.”
After tidying his bed, he felt a little regretful, because when he opened the campus forum, he found that the restaurant Tian Ke mentioned did have a good reputation, but the prices were not cheap.
Although the Zhang family gave him a living allowance, it was definitely not enough to casually splurge on meals at that price point. He pursed his lips. Since he had already agreed, it was hard to back out, so he decided to eat one meat and two vegetables at the school cafeteria for the rest of the month.
But if he had known in advance that Zhang Qiannan was also eating at that restaurant, he would have backed out immediately, even if it meant offending someone.