Love Me in Another Universe

Chapter 102. Winter Solstice

December 21, 2000, Thursday. During the first two periods, English majors from Class A of the 1999 Cohort attended their compulsory course "Basic Principles of Marxism" in the First Teaching Building. At the end of the first period, Zhang Hailu (pron.: chang high loo) was distributing a stack of documents in the classroom while announcing in a clear and loud voice, "These are the scholarship certificates from last semester. The scholarship money has also been deposited into the bank cards, too." Students who received scholarships can check their balances at an ATM when you have time. In case you haven't received the money, please go to Ms. Liang at Academic Affairs Office.

Wen Yuwei gently patted Guan Xuchen, who was siting next to him, on the shoulder and said with a grin, "Tommy, now that you've got the scholarship money, you and Prince Lang should keep your promise and treat everyone from both dorms to a meal, right?"

Just then, Zhang Hailu came over. She first handed a certificate to Shan Kai, who was sitting in front of Guan Xuchen, then offered two certificates to Guan Xuchen with a smile and said, "Guan Xuchen, here are your certificates."

Guan Xuchen took the certificates, said "Thank you", and then turned to Wen Yuwei with a modest smile, "Sure thing. What would you guys like to eat?"

Shan Kai turned around, glanced at Guan Xuchen's two certificates, and said with a hint of jealousy, "A first-class scholarship and a large-sum scholarship—you're amazing!" Why not treat us brothers to a nice dinner at 'Dongyuan' Restaurant tonight?"

"'Dongyuan'...?" Guan Xuchen hesitated, looking embarrassed.

Seeing this, Wen Yuwei stepped in to smooth things over, "'Dongyuan' is too pricey. Anyway, today is Winter Solstice. How about we have a hot pot party in the dorm tonight?"

"If we're having hot pot, maybe we should go to the Second Canteen," suggested Ying Congyun, who was sitting next to Shan Kai. He then smiled at Shan Kai and said, "Brother Kai, you got a second-class scholarship too. Shouldn't you chip in a bit?"

"No problem at all!" Shan Kai agreed immediately, then added with a cunning smile. "But Tommy got the largest amount of scholarship money after all. How about he pays 70%, and Prince Lang, Hao, and I each pay 10%?"

"Come on! Prince Lang is nowhere near as stingy as you are!" Wen Yuwei joked with a laugh.

After the second class, Guan Xuchen and his roommates left the First Teaching Building and headed to the School of Foreign Languages (SFL) for their intensive English reading classes in the third and fourth periods.

As Guan Xuchen and his group walked down the stairs and went a short distance, they came across Gao Xinglang and his roommates walking towards the First Teaching Building. The boys from the two dorms greeted each other. Then Shan Kai quickly said to Gao Xinglang's roommates, "The scholarship money has been handed out. Guan Xuchen said he's treating everyone to dinner at 'Dongyuan' tonight."

"Great!" "Hooray, Xuchen!" Gao Xinglang's roommates cheered excitedly, but Gao himself didn't say a word.

"Didn't we agree to have hot pot at the Second Canteen?" Wen Yuwei quickly interjected.

Gao Xinglang noticed Guan Xuchen's embarrassed look and remembered his previous visit to Guan's home, where Guan's mother had mentioned using Guan Xuchen's scholarship money to buy a new color TV and refrigerator.

Gao Xinglang deliberately cleared his throat, then laughed heartily and said, "Let's go to 'Dongyuan' instead. It's my treat. Besides the scholarship, I also got the bonus for winning the university basketball championship. Today is Winter Solstice—let me treat you brothers to a wonderful feast!"

"Great!" "Hooray Prince Lang!" The boys cheered.

"With so many of us eating at 'Dongyuan', Gao Xinglang's second-class scholarship will probably be gone..." Guan Xuchen secretly felt sorry for Gao. He then watched as Gao Xinglang trotted over to Fan Yueming, who had just arrived at the bottom of the First Teaching Building, and chatted with her with a big smile on his face.