Volume Four: Years of Glory Chapter 160: The Start of School, Perks of the Elite Students

In September, Binhai experienced a lessening of the southern winds, yet the arrival of the autumn heatwave still turned this charming city into a furnace.

Yang Tian and Huang Juan walked into the campus of Binhai University with their backpacks on. Fortunately, both the Civil Engineering Department and the Nursing Department were located in the new district, and they happened to be among the first batch of students to move into it.

Looking at the beautiful and lively university campus, Huang Juan's eyes sparkled with novelty and anticipation. In the distance stood the stone benches by the Emerald Lake, and the Suzhou-style corridor in front of the teaching building; if one were to sit inside during idle moments, it would undoubtedly be an immense pleasure.

In the grove on the left, couples gathered in pairs, either strolling hand in hand, chatting intimately, or holding each other close in embrace and kissing.

Had she witnessed such a sight in the past, Huang Juan would certainly have blushed and averted her eyes. Things were different now; she considered herself a college student, and all of this rightfully belonged in her life.

They had not brought much luggage because neither of them intended to live in the dormitories; they planned to continue renting an apartment off-campus. Huang Juan had already agreed with Yang Tian that this time when they rented together, they would no longer be secretive about it. If their families found out, they would simply admit it—after all, they were adults now and had nothing to hide.

Naturally, Yang Tian raised no objections!

Originally, Yang Bao and the others had offered to drive them, but the couple declined. For one thing, the business in Tiantian City was booming, and everyone at home was too busy to spare the time.

Moreover, the two of them wanted to arrive on their own to experience the fresh atmosphere of university life, make many new friends, and spend the most precious years of their lives together. Besides, they had Chen Ming and An Qi keeping them company!

"Why aren't An Qi and the others here yet?" Huang Juan stood at the school gate, looking around anxiously. Today, she wore a snow-white dress with bubble-like trim at the edges, which formed a perfect curve with her newly permed curls, radiating youthful charm.

"There they are!" Yang Tian smiled. He had known that if Chen Ming and An Qi hadn't shown up by now, it must mean they had arrived early and hidden away in some corner of the campus to soak in the university ambiance.

"Oh! That wretched girl lacks any sense of loyalty! Instead of coming to meet me, she went off over there to get all mushy!" A flash of coquettish annoyance crossed Huang Juan's face. She initially wanted to rush over and teach An Qi a lesson, but seeing An Qi and Chen Ming sitting on a bench hand in hand looking deeply affectionate, she stopped in her tracks, feeling too shy to go and disturb them.

"Junior, which department are you from?" At this moment, three stylishly dressed young men walked over. Seeing the badges hanging from their chests, Yang Tian knew they were senior students responsible for welcoming newcomers.

Seeing their lecherous and restless expressions, Huang Juan could not help but freeze. She slowly took a few steps back and stood close to Yang Tian. It was hardly surprising; with a youthful little beauty like her standing at the school gate, she was absolute scenery in Binhai University, and attracting these wolfish, starving predators was commonplace. Yang Tian, having already been through university once, was naturally thoroughly familiar with the campus culture.

"Yo, still shy? From the countryside, are you? Haha, don't be afraid, we're the senior students assigned to welcome you. Where is your luggage? We'll help you carry it!" Seeing Huang Juan's shy demeanor, the three young men laughed, their gazes locked onto her as they looked her up and down, completely ignoring Yang Tian beside her.

"Senior, your pants zipper is undone." Yang Tian gave the man in the middle a sideways glance, then grabbed Huang Juan's hand and walked away.

The middle student was startled and hurriedly glanced down at his crotch. A small tent had indeed pitched itself there, but the zipper was fully up. Realizing then that this freshman had been teasing and mocking him, a surge of anger flared within him.

"Which department is that freshman from? So arrogant!" The fellow started to assert his dominance, but was held back by the ones on his left and right.

"Brother Sheng, today is the first day of the semester. It won't look good if we beat up a freshman; we can deal with him in a few days. That freshman is indeed a bit wild!" the left-hand student with a flat-top haircut advised softly.

"Find out which department he's in for me. I'll make sure to crush him! And as for that girl, just wait and watch the show. Within half a month, I'll take her virginity!" The student called Brother Sheng was named Lü Yasheng. As soon as Lü Yasheng uttered these words, the men on either side immediately let out lewd laughter.

Since they did not need to stay in the dormitories, the admission procedures were much simpler.

Yang Tian and Huang Juan quickly arrived at the Student Activity Center to pay their tuition and complete other formalities. To be precise, Huang Juan was the only one paying tuition, as Yang Tian's tuition for all four years of university was completely waived. When he handed his admission notice to the middle-aged woman collecting the fees, she looked at him in utter astonishment before casting a gaze of deep admiration. *Thud!* With a heavy red stamp pressed down, Yang Tian completed his paperwork at the finance office.

"Ah, you must be Yang Tian! Hello, I'm Li Xiaoran from the sophomore class of the Civil Engineering Department. I'm your senior!" When Yang Tian reached the "booth" set up by the Civil Engineering Department outside the Student Activity Center to handle departmental procedures, the girl receiving him shrieked upon checking his admission notice.

Although Li Xiaoran was only a sophomore, she could already be considered a mature campus beauty. Black silk stockings outlined her slender, beautiful legs, and her wide-collared blouse made her fully developed chest appear as though it might burst out at any moment.

Li Xiaoran's sudden scream immediately drew the gazes of many people nearby, especially the males. Seeing such a stunning beauty acting in utter adoration toward Yang Tian, they could not help but burn with envy.

And it was hardly a surprise. In a science and engineering institute like the Civil Engineering Department, female students were as precious as giant pandas, and beauties were as rare as total solar eclipses. Consequently, girls mostly ignored the guys, while the guys trailed after the girls with lovestruck expressions. Thus, Li Xiaoran's attitude toward Yang Tian was deeply enviable.

"Hello!" Yang Tian greeted Li Xiaoran politely, considering them introduced.

"Xiaowan, Xiaobei, come over here quickly! Yang Tian is here!" Li Xiaoran cried out in delighted joy, hastily calling two girls hiding under a parasol nearby, as if she had known Yang Tian for a long time.

"Oh! So you're Yang Tian? Quite handsome, aren't you?" The girl called Xiaowan covered her mouth and giggled, as though in her mind, smart boys ought to be ugly.

"What is it? Are you feeling boy-crazy again? Yang Tian, please don't mind her; university is just like this! You are the only top-tier student in our college to have all four years of tuition completely waived, so they've been looking forward to you for ages! Most importantly, the new district of Binhai University was partially constructed under your guidance. Your name is inscribed in front of both the Heavenly King Pagoda and the Heavenly King Tripod, so the moment everyone heard you were coming to Binhai University and joining the Civil Engineering Department, the entire department rejoiced for the whole summer!" Li Xiaoran first shot a sidelong glance at Xiaowan, then smiled as she spoke to Yang Tian.

"Yang Tian, welcome!" The girl called Xiaobei extended her hand and shook hands with Yang Tian. Xiaobei's appearance was somewhat more refined than Li Xiaoran's, though she did not dress as avant-garde, wearing instead a modest white T-shirt, a short pair of denim shorts, and fresh sandals.

Xiaowan's looks were slightly inferior, though certainly not ugly enough to be called a monster. Her bright, watery eyes constantly shimmered, giving her a very girlish charm.

"Thank you!" Yang Tian smiled simply.

"Our little freshman is quite shy, but he's much more handsome than I imagined!" Xiaowan leaned into Li Xiaoran's ear and whispered softly.

"Wretched girl, are you up to no good again? Have you forgotten that you're already taken?" Xiaobei poked Xiaowan from behind. "Taken so what? Does that mean I'm just supposed to stand by and watch you lot of female demons carve up our department's most handsome guy for the next four years?" Xiaowan rolled her eyes at Xiaobei, and the two began playfully tussling.

Even though they spoke in low voices, Yang Tian caught every word. He didn't find it strange; university was, after all, a place brimming with vitality.

"Yang Tian, let me show you to your dorm!" Seeing that Yang Tian had finished his paperwork and turned to leave, Li Xiaoran hurried over to say.

"Yes, yes! You just arrived and aren't very familiar with the place. Let us show you around!" Xiaowan chimed in eagerly, giving Li Xiaoran a playful poke as if to say: *What's this? Trying to curry favor all by yourself and hog him?* Only Xiaobei showed no sign of such fanaticism.

"No thank you, I won't be living on campus!" Yang Tian offered a sincere smile and turned away. Huang Juan was still waiting for him outside the Student Activity Center!

"So handsome! So much character! I've decided, I'm going to ask him to help me with my final project this semester; I'm guaranteed to win a college scholarship!" Watching Yang Tian's retreating figure, Xiaowan murmured like an utter fangirl.

"Save it, Xiaowan. Can't you tell he's different from ordinary freshmen? Trying to get close to him is probably harder than approaching a tiger!" Xiaobei laughed heartily.

"Well, I'm going to throw myself at him wave after wave until I get him!" Xiaowan made a triumphant 'victory' gesture.

"Get real, beauties. I happen to see that he already has a girlfriend!" At that moment, Wang Yang, the president of the Civil Engineering Department's student union, strolled over and said with a look of utter disdain. He had been feeling deeply disgruntled for a long time watching the department's three beauties casting electricity at Yang Tian.

"Cut the crap. He hasn't even been at school for half a day, how could he already have a girlfriend?" Xiaowan retorted sharply.

"Why would I lie? I saw it with my own eyes at the school gate. That girl is also a freshman, and judging by them, their relationship is unusual. I'm afraid you ladies have missed your chance!" Wang Yang seized the opportunity to step closer to Li Xiaoran, speaking with an air of absolute certainty. He was a junior, but unfortunately, there were no beauties in the junior class, so his gaze had long been fixed on Li Xiaoran's incoming freshman batch.

"He's so outstanding, having a girlfriend is totally normal! As long as he isn't married, we all still have a chance! Oh, by the way, Wang Yang, you came all the way over here just to pour cold water on us—you aren't jealous of Yang Tian, are you? I've heard you've been drooling over our Sister Xiaoran for ages. Confess, seeing Sister Xiaoran laughing and chatting with Yang Tian just now, didn't it make you feel super uncomfortable?" Xiaowan first made her declaration, then turned around and questioned Wang Yang with a mischievous smirk.

"What nonsense! I'm a junior, do you really think I'd lower myself to compete with a freshman? Wouldn't that make me utterly lacking in grace?" Wang Yang feigned composure, though his heart was pounding wildly at having his thoughts exposed by Xiaowan, especially since Li Xiaoran was standing right beside them.

"Good to hear! Don't say I didn't warn you, though: if you ever dare to make things difficult for Yang Tian in the future, watch out or Sister Xiaoran might treat you like thin air!" Xiaowan pouted.

"Me? ... Would I do that?" Wang Yang glanced at Li Xiaoran, then offered an awkward smile while secretly nursing a bitter grudge: *Not make things difficult for him? If I don't make things difficult for him, my name isn't Wang Yang!*