Chapter 13

The night before the official start of school was traditionally when the class meeting was held.

On her way to the classroom, Lin Yilan’s feelings about attending university underwent a profound change.

She was well aware that for a long time after her time slip, she had been in a state of apathy. After all, in her previous life, she had died suddenly from overwork and sleepless nights. In this life, she just wanted to take it easy. She thought this mindset was perfectly normal and never considered changing it.

When she realized that everyone in her family was driven and hardworking in both life and studies, she felt a bit embarrassed and, unusually, was motivated to make some effort. Even after learning that the college entrance exam would be reinstated in 1978, she never pushed herself to the limit. Her simple goal was to get into university and, after graduating, be assigned to a government office where she could live a quiet life with a newspaper and a cup of tea.

Even when Du Rongrong discovered that she was trapped in a novel, Lin Yilan didn’t feel much urgency. It was only when she found out that her family’s fate in the story was tragic and disastrous that she began to take action.

But she knew very well that, at this point, going to university was just like it had been in her past life. She didn’t see it as a special opportunity.

Lin Yilan looked at the meal ticket in her hand and suddenly burst into laughter.

How narrow-minded she had been. She hadn’t expected that after living in this era for seventeen years, she still clung to such a lofty attitude.

Fortunately, she realized her mistake right at the start of the semester.

Carefully, she slipped the meal ticket into a small, hidden pocket close to her body.

By the time she reached the classroom, it was already bustling with noise.

Her arrival caused the volume in the room to drop for two seconds before the chatter resumed.

She naturally noticed the shift in noise and, after scanning the faces in the classroom, immediately understood the reason for the brief silence.

“Hey, Comrade Lin, over here!”

One of only two other girls in the room waved at her.

Lin Yilan was momentarily taken aback when she saw her. The girl appeared quite a bit older, though the signs of hard labor were evident on her features. Sun-kissed skin, a classic short haircut common in their style, and a strong, resonant voice — she bore the hallmarks of the elder sisters Lin had known in the countryside.

As Lin Yilan walked over and sat down beside her, the girl immediately leaned closer.

“Hello, Comrade Lin. I’m Xiong Zhaodi.”

Upon hearing the introduction, Lin Yilan introduced herself in turn. “So, Xiong, you must be my roommate, right?”

Xiong Zhaodi nodded with surprise. “Yes, how did you know?”

Lin Yilan looked toward the boy at the front of the room and explained with a hint of helplessness, “I heard that in the Architecture Department, our major only has two female students.”

“...I see,” Xiong sighed. “I thought there would be more girls in university than in high school.”

“So, city girls and us country girls are the same after all,” Xiong remarked.

“Could it really be like the teacher said—that boys are just smarter?” Xiong’s expression darkened slightly, but upon seeing Lin Yilan, she brightened again. “By the way, Comrade Lin, how old are you? I must be quite a bit older than you.”

Sitting beside her, Lin Yilan naturally caught her earlier lament but knew that discussing such fundamental differences with a stranger was uncomfortable for both parties.

“I’ll be eighteen in a few days,” she said softly, subtly shifting away.

At first, when unsure if values aligned, it was better not to sit too close to avoid conflict.

Xiong Zhaodi immediately patted her shoulder. “I’m twenty-six. Comrade Lin, you can call me Sister Xiong. If you ever need help, just ask.”

Lin Yilan forced a laugh. “Thanks. But since we’re classmates, we should help each other.”

“Yes, we can help each other,” Xiong agreed.

Before Xiong could say more, the classroom suddenly fell silent.

Snapping out of her daze, Lin Yilan looked toward the podium where a girl stood wearing a glossy orange polka-dot dress made of dacron, white leather shoes, and a white headband.

“Hello everyone, I’m your temporary homeroom teacher, Peng Junhua.

…

I want to congratulate you all again and hope that in the next five years, you will study diligently and serve the motherland.”

As the words fell, Lin Yilan, along with the others, politely applauded the temporary homeroom teacher.

Xiong whispered a comment beside her, “I have to say, city girls really are fair and beautiful, just like that educated youth who came to our village before—so elegant. I wish I were as fair as you city folks.”

Lin Yilan glanced at Xiong, noticing her eyes shimmering, her words expressing envy, yet her eyes showed little actual envy.

“I’m not from the city,” Lin said quietly.

Xiong was momentarily stunned, seemingly surprised Lin would initiate conversation.

She had noticed Lin’s subtle avoidance earlier and thought perhaps the girl disliked her, but now it seemed otherwise.

Feeling Xiong sneak a glance at her, Lin rubbed her arm, thinking this person felt peculiar somehow.

“…This is your counselor, Teacher Wang. Everyone, please welcome him.”

Lin Yilan looked up as their temporary homeroom teacher applauded a middle-aged man entering through the door.

The following routine was the usual: classmates introduced themselves and campaigned for class officer positions.

Before registering, Lin Yilan knew the next five years would be busy, so she had no intention of running for any position.

However, she was aware that being elected a class officer could benefit future job assignments.

Still, she hadn’t expected such enthusiasm for the elections.

Watching Xiong step onto the stage, Lin couldn’t help but admire her.

“Hello everyone, I’m Xiong Zhaodi, twenty-six years old, from Chuanxi Port Brigade, and a member of the Communist Youth League. I want to run for the position of Youth League Secretary. While I have no experience as a class officer, I have served as the women’s leader in our brigade since I was seventeen, so I hope to serve classmates well over the next five years…”

After listening to several speeches, Lin pondered her vote. Although she might clash with Sister Xiong’s worldview, she decided to cast her ballot for her.

“Shall we try to drum up votes for Cheng Ge?”

“Should we? I think two-thirds of the class probably know Cheng Ge.”

“True, we’re all familiar; why bother campaigning?”

“Foolish, there’s still one-third, and can you be sure they’ll vote for Cheng Ge? Maybe they’re scheming behind his back.”

“No way. We’re all from the residential compound. Even if they don’t like him, they can confront him openly. Sneaky tricks aren’t clever.”

Lin overheard the conversation nearby and curiously looked at the boy standing next to Xiong—Ji Xuecheng.

This guy seemed special.

She studied the other classmates thoughtfully.

Two-thirds knew him and all lived in the same residential compound. Could they be from the design institute?

Damn.

At that thought, Lin couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

Of course, apart from those like herself who had been reassigned or had randomly chosen the major, the rest must understand it well.

This wasn’t the internet age where you could just look up info online.

Besides, this major required some drawing skills, especially since hand-drawing was still the norm.

Realizing this, Lin felt exasperated with herself for forgetting.

“Hello, comrade. Could you please consider voting for Ji Xuecheng later?”

The boy approached with a hopeful expression. Lin shook her head expressionlessly and pointed at Xiong on stage.

“I plan to vote for Comrade Xiong. Sorry.”

The boy pleaded, “Come on, I know you women want to support women, but I think the Youth League Secretary should be chosen based on ability. You don’t know how capable Cheng Ge—no, Ji Xuecheng—is. If you vote for him, and you have any professional questions, you can come to us for help.”

Lin’s face remained impassive. “Are you really strong in the major? Also, I’m voting for Xiong not because she’s a woman, but because she has years of experience as a women’s leader in the brigade, showing she’s capable in managing groups.”

The boy flushed, explaining, “We might not be the best, but we’re better than you. And if there’s a professional problem we can’t solve, Ji Xuecheng definitely can.”

“You don’t know how impressive Ji Xuecheng is. He went to the design institute years ago, and his whole family works in architecture.”

Lin maintained her calm demeanor, countering, “I’m willing to believe Ji Xuecheng might be strong professionally, but we’re not electing a learning representative; we’re choosing a Youth League Secretary. For management, I trust Comrade Xiong, who has prior experience as a women’s leader.”

“Of course,” Lin paused, looking toward the podium. “I vote based on my judgment of each person’s ability.”

She didn’t vote for the third candidate because only Xiong and Ji Xuecheng were running for Youth League Secretary, and Ji’s campaigning felt untrustworthy.

The debate drew a crowd, especially since Lin was one of only two girls in the class and was notably attractive. Upon her arrival, many boys had turned their attention to her.

Lin herself was unaware of this. She knew she was good-looking, but so was her family—especially her sister. Before, all attention had been on her sister, so she received little. Plus, having spent her youth wandering outdoors in the countryside, she had tanned considerably, further lowering others’ interest in her.