Act I: Gate of Cassel
1. Lu mingfei
Lu Mingfei helplessly typed "GG" on the screen ("GG" referred to "Good Game" in competitive games, praising the other party for playing well, which also meant admitting defeat) and then switched out of the game. The last scene displayed on the screen was of twelve human cruisers firing their gorgeous Yamato cannons, turning his mother nest into a pool of blood.
He had lost the sixth round of the day. The winning ratio was zero to six. This time, he lasted until 22 minutes and 23 seconds before he was taken down. However, he was still taken down in the end. The opponent's micro-control was very good, and they were using humans. The human Machine Gunner was a perverse type of soldier in this game. Their firing speed was zero. When they stood still, they would pull their guns and shoot. When they put their guns away, they would run. Lu Mingfei's puppies could not catch up, and they were blown up one by one on the way.
In the public chat channel, the opponent was speaking with confidence." Humans don't necessarily need tanks to fight Zergs. Experts don't usually use tanks anymore. They start off with a burst of minions. A sea of machine guns and nurses rush over, continuously eliminating and attacking. When the enemy's minions are suppressed before they can level up, they can only send troops to grind you down. If the hydralisks can't form a party, you win. The cruisers behind them will attack in a formation. That's overwhelming…" Lu Mingfei could imagine the guy's exultation.
Lu Mingfei didn't say anything. He switched to QQ and saw that the girl in the baseball cap was still gray and motionless. The other party did not come online, so he waited for nothing again. He scratched his head in disappointment. The other profile picture jumped up. It was a panda that looked very ugly.
"Brother, you're good at playing with the Zergs.”Panda was the guy who defeated him." You're just lacking in micro-control. Your tactical awareness is very good.”
"Alright," Lu Mingfei said.
The panda went offline smugly. Lu Mingfei stuck out his tongue at the screen. If the other party had seen Lu Mingfei's actions with their own eyes, they probably wouldn't have been so smug. They would have just cursed him as a " pervert " and turned around to leave. Lu Mingfei didn't take the mouse. He used the red dot on the old iPhone laptop to control it. Everyone knew how difficult it was to control a red dot in a competitive game. It was like picking your ears with a rolling pin. However, Lu Mingfei didn't bother to emphasize to his brother that he was just trying to challenge the high difficulty because he felt that it was boring too. He would use his left hand to play after he won against everyone in the channel. If he won with his left hand, he would throw away the mouse and use the red dot to play. If one day he used the red dot to play all over the channel, what method would he use to kill time?
Why? Why bother? He sometimes told himself that. She was always playing an old game and waiting, but she rarely went online.
"A box of discounted milk, half a catty of Cantonese sausages, and the new issue of 'Zui Xiao Su' that Ming Ze wants. Come back quickly after you're done buying and pick the celery on the table for me! Also, go to the reception room and see if there are any letters from America! Playing games? If you don't care about your own matters at all, if no one accepts you, will you be able to get into a first-tier university? What's the use of spending so much money on you?”His aunt's voice sounded like thunder in the room next door.
Lu Mingfei felt his head buzzing from the shock. He quickly agreed and jogged out of the door. It was quiet in the corridor. He leaned against the door and heard his aunt grumbling. The afternoon sun shone in through the window at the end of the corridor and shone warmly on him. The pure white bedsheets were hanging in the corridor, and the wind outside the window swayed the green leaves.
It was spring again. Lu Mingfei was eighteen this year.
He lived with his uncle and aunt. He had a cousin named Lu Mingze who was studying at the most famous private high school in the area. The tuition was expensive, and his teacher was strict. He had luxurious cars and beautiful women. There were three months and four days left before he had to take the college entrance examination. These days, it was as if the whole world was roaring in his ears, telling him that the end of the world was coming. He should be filled with fighting spirit and pounce on the model test paper like a murderous fighting rooster, showing his determination to stand out.
However, the greater the pressure, the lazier Lu Mingfei became. Other than playing the old game StarCraft, he would lie in bed and stare at the roof in a daze. He was completely uninterested in his future.
As a person with no sense of existence, his laziness was not difficult to understand.
Lu Mingfei hadn't seen his parents for more than six years. The good news was that they were still alive and would write to him every six months. The bad news was that every time he wrote, his mother would regretfully tell him that her plan to visit him in the country had to be postponed again because there were new developments. His parents were both archaeologists. It was said that they were busy with a big project. Once the results were announced, it would shock the world like Sven Hedin discovering the ancient city of Loulan. When he was in middle school, Lu Mingfei was very proud of his parents. He read a lot of books on archaeology and talked about it with his classmates on the way home from school. However, he soon realized that he should be proud of his brothers who were picked up by his parents after school. Every time after school, a group of students would casually walk side by side, occupying almost half the street. The car horn would sound behind them again and again, and then a brother in the team would immediately restrain his swaying and obediently get into his family's car and leave. The number of people decreased one by one, and in the end, only Lu Mingfei was left, continuing to sway forward.
The brothers looked out of the car window. Lu Mingfei's back was kicking rocks as he walked away freely. They were very envious of him. They envied him for being able to go anywhere he wanted. He wanted to shop at the mall, buy food, and even play billiards. Anyway, his family was not strict and never came to pick him up after school.
However, Lu Mingfei didn't go shopping or play pool when he was alone. After he got tired of sitting in the internet cafe, he went home. He entered the building but did not enter the house. He crawled through the iron fence that led to the roof and sat beside the buzzing air conditioner to look at the city until the sun set.
Lu Mingfei felt that his parents were like supermen and superwomen. Perhaps they would only appear in front of him one day when his plane crashed and they would carry the plane to land safely. If not for that, they would have been busy working for the world and not for Lu Mingfei. Of course, he could brag about his superhuman parents, but in reality, it was no different from non-existence. Lu Mingfei almost couldn't remember what his parents looked like. Only when he occasionally saw his parents taking photos with him in his living room when he was young could he barely remember the man and woman, as well as the old building that was covered in ivy outside his house.
His uncle and aunt were more interested in the money that Lu Mingfei's parents sent back from abroad than Lu Mingfei himself. Thanks to that sum of money, Lu Mingfei was able to attend that private high school. It was also thanks to that sum of money that his uncle and aunt could buy a BMW with a small engine. His uncle had the money to buy some branded goods that looked very similar. His aunt had the money to lose at the mahjong table. It was also thanks to that sum of money that his cousin, Lu Mingze, had the nickname " Prince Ze " in school. Lu Mingze attended the same high school as him. Not only were his grades better than his, but his clothes were also more exquisite than his. As long as there were girls eating with him, he would fight over the money. His uncle and aunt would even dress especially presentable to attend Lu Mingze's parent-teacher conference, making people feel that Lu Mingze was a child who had grown up in a honey pot, while he, Lu Mingfei, was " Lu Mingze's older brother."
Lu Mingfei didn't really mind. After all, he didn't have much of a presence.
Even his parents didn't care about him. How high could he expect from his uncle and aunt?
Lu Mingfei had his hands in his pockets and tilted his head to look at the ground. He went downstairs and bought some milk and Cantonese sausages from the convenience store. Then, he strolled to the bookstall and bought a new novel," The Most Short Story." Her aunt felt that Lu Mingze was smart, studious, and ambitious. He was also especially passionate about literature. When Lu Mingze read " The Most Short Story," her aunt would say," Our Mingze is studying." Every time there was a new issue of the magazine, her aunt knew better than Lu Mingze and would rush Lu Mingfei to buy it. This made the old man at the newsstand downstairs think that Lu Mingfei was a melancholic child. But in reality, Lu Mingfei was very vain. Every time he finished buying " The Most Fictional Story ", he would lean against the newsstand and finish reading the latest issue of " Home Computer and Games ". Then, he would throw it back to the stall and frankly comment that the game was getting worse and worse. He would then leave.
Lu Mingfei was a little mischievous. For example, he didn't like Lu Mingze, but he always visited Lu Mingze's secret Qzone. Lu Mingze read " The Most Short Story " and gave himself a pen name," Lonely Gluttonous Snake." He copied many sad sentences and put them in his Qzone, along with a headshot he took with his phone. Occasionally, he would upload a few photos of himself smearing red ink on his wrist to pretend to cut his wrist. The poem he wrote probably meant that if you don't love, you will die. Lu Mingfei knew that his younger cousin was lustful. He hadn't found a girl he liked in school yet, so he wanted to meet some heavenly lightning on QQ. So he applied for a new QQ account called " Sunset's Mark " and posted a photo of a short-haired loli. He filled in his age as 16 years old, his gender as female, and his signature as " Let your smile and sadness be the mark of my life." While Lu Mingze was surfing the internet at home, he would sneak to the internet cafe to strike up a conversation with Lonely Gluttonous Snake. After a few rounds, Lu Mingze probably felt that he, the greedy snake, had finally found food. He was also willing to let his smile and sadness become the mark of a girl's life. Therefore, he happily hummed the Xin Band's " Song of Separation " every day and invited them to meet again and again, wanting to start a big time. Lu Mingfei would always make appointments when his aunt took Lu Mingze to piano lessons. Lu Mingze would never see the " Mark of the Sunset ", and when he sang " Song of Separation," he would sound a little sad. This was the happiest thing that had happened to Lu Mingfei recently.
Lu Mingfei was such a person. He wasn't a good person, and he didn't have the ability to do bad things. He had lived to eighteen years old, but he still didn't know what his future held.
"Mingfei, I heard that you're going to study abroad.”The old man at the newsstand suddenly thought of this when he was browsing through the free home games.
"No, I applied for it. Who wants me?”Lu Mingfei said casually.
"It's good to study abroad. After studying abroad, you'll be a turtle and earn a lot of money.”
"I don't want to make a lot of money. If I can't get into university, I'll come to your shop to help you look after the stall.”
"Useless. I can't earn money from the newsstand. I'm old.”
Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes and looked at the sunlight shining down from the shade above his head." It's pretty good. You can bask in the sun. When no one comes, you'll be in a daze. There are also beautiful women passing by.”
This topic made Lu Mingfei rather depressed. He did apply to a university in America, but it was not because his grades were too good. Everyone had different ways of evaluating his results. The homeroom teacher looked at Lu Mingfei's report card from last semester and sighed." Lu Mingfei, do you know how much you've lowered our class 'average score?" Auntie was telling Uncle that Mingze's good results were due to his family's genes. It was just not good to look at your family's genes! Lu Mingze was the only one who consoled him. However, it was on QQ. Lu Mingze thoughtfully said to him," Sunset, what are you afraid of if your results aren't good? I walk my own path. This is what people like us should do! Anyway, you are a good girl in my eyes!”
However, his aunt Lingji was the one who made the decision to go abroad. She made Lu Mingfei fill out the application form and generously paid the application fee of dozens of dollars for each school. His aunt had her own set of logic. Among Lu Mingfei's subjects, only English was good. When he took the TOEFL with his classmate, the English maniac, he got lucky and scored well. With Lu Mingfei's grades, it was very difficult for him to get into a first-class university. Nowadays, it was very popular to give up on taking the exams and go abroad. If he applied for it and got lucky enough to get accepted into an American university, he would be able to answer to Lu Mingfei's parents and the money they sent him every month. This way, his aunt would be at ease. She had already laid the foundation beforehand. Studying abroad was a matter of " enduring hardships to become a better person." If Lu Mingfei really succeeded in studying abroad, he could not be too delicate. He had to come back to China during the winter and summer vacations, work part-time, and study English there. In any case, whatever he did was fine. He just had to stay on the other side of the ocean and not let his aunt see him. As for the tuition fees, it was a small matter. The wool came from the sheep. The money could be written to Lu Mingfei's parents to ask for it. Her aunt guessed that Lu Mingfei's parents must have been very rich after living abroad for so many years because she had checked the account that had sent them the money. It was a custody account in a bank. That account didn't need to be manually operated. As long as the bank agreed, the checks would be sent out automatically every month. This way, Lu Mingfei's parents would have to deposit a large sum of money into that account and spend it regularly every month.
Actually, Lu Mingfei knew that his aunt had another plan. Although Lu Mingze's results were slightly better than Lu Mingfei's, they were not top-notch either. He could not get into Tsinghua University or Peking University, the famous schools that his aunt had been talking about. It was not a bad idea to give up the exams and go abroad. It would seem like he was very trendy. However, going to university was a lifelong matter. Her aunt could not bear to see Lu Mingze take the risk. After thinking about it, the aunt probably remembered a famous saying," All difficult roads should be paved by the brave with hard soles." She also felt that Lu Mingfei was very brave, so she asked him to try using hard soles to pave a path for Lu Mingze. It didn't matter if he failed. It meant that the path was blocked, and Lu Mingfei could take the college entrance examination with his cousin a year later.
However, the difficult road was obviously not something that could be paved with courage alone. One had to have some ability. Lu Mingfei's ability was probably limited to playing StarCraft, but unfortunately, there was no professional competitive games in America. Lu Mingfei had already received more than a dozen replies. The opening was similar.
"Dear applicants:
Thank you for your interest in the academy, but unfortunately…"
Her aunt felt bad for the application fees. She had spent hundreds of dollars in application fees, but in exchange, these Americans had thanked her again and again. This kind person made her very unhappy. However, Lu Mingfei was neither anxious nor impatient. He was unusually calm. It was just that he did not want his aunt to be too depressed, so he squeezed out a bitter expression every time he received a rejection letter.
He counted the schools that had filled in the application form. Only one school had not replied to him, and this was the University of Chicago, which was ranked at the top of the list.
"Is there a letter for me?" Lu Mingfei stuck his head in from the entrance of the reception room and said in English," Mingfei Lu.”
"Yes, it's from America." The guard threw out a letter.
Lu Mingfei touched the envelope. There was only a thin piece of paper inside. It was basically a rejection letter. It was said that if it was an admission letter, there would be a lot of forms and introductory materials, a thick stack. Last year, a boy from their school had successfully applied. He threw the pile of documents on the table with a disdainful look and said impatiently under the admiring gazes of the girls,"There are so many documents. How can I fill them all up?" Let my dad get me a typing machine!
Lu Mingfei tore open the envelope. The letter was written in Chinese.
"Dear Mr. Lu Mingfei:
Thank you for your interest in the University of Chicago, but unfortunately, you did not meet the admission requirements of the University of California.
However, we always say that there is always another choice.
Kassel College is a private university located in the suburbs of the US state of Illinois.It is a friendly school with the University of California. Every year, we jointly host equestrian, rowing, hot air balloon, swimming, and other inter-school competitions at Lake Michelle. In addition, there are more extensive academic exchanges.
We are very honored to have received your application materials from the University of Chicago. After a detailed evaluation of your resume and academic records, we believe that you have met the admission requirements of Kassel College and are hereby inviting you. In addition, your excellent biology results have attracted the attention of Professor Guderian of our college. He hopes to allocate $36,000.00 from his research fund to you every year as a scholarship for your admission to our school. This scholarship is enough to cover all your tuition fees and living expenses for four years of university.
Please contact Professor Guderian as soon as you receive this letter. He is currently on an academic visit to China and is very interested in meeting you.
If you decide to accept our invitation, please contact me via email regarding the itinerary and accommodation. We will arrange it for you. I'm Norma Lawns, the secretary of Kassel Academy. It's my honor to serve you.
Sincerely,
Norma!"
Lu Mingfei put down the letter and looked up at the roof in a daze. He remembered that he had seen the exchange rate of US dollars to RMB when he went online. It was 6.83. Then, 36000 USD a year was 245880 RMB. It was enough for him to buy 61470 pirated PlayStation 2 discs, 8196 Warcraft cards, or 64 of the NokiaN96 cell phones that he had been looking at for a long time. More than half of the students in their class had cell phones, and Lu Mingze had one as well. His aunt said that it was to reward Lu Mingze for placing third in the class in last year's final exam, so she didn't buy it for Lu Mingfei.
He was a little confused. He had read a letter that had a very good beginning, a standard rejection letter. Why did it suddenly jump from hell to heaven after the sentence " But, we always say that there is always another choice "? This sentence was miserable before, but after this sentence, flowers bloomed brilliantly. Horsemanship, rowing, hot air balloons, swimming, a private aristocratic college, and generous scholarship. The college secretary's tone was as friendly and gentle as a female salesperson in an international brand store. Lu Mingfei didn't know what he was capable of. He didn't even contribute to the application fee for Kassel Academy. Perhaps Lu Mingze was playing a joke on him? This couldn't be ruled out. Perhaps Lu Mingze had discovered the true identity of Sunset's Mark, and Lu Mingze was thinking of ways to take revenge. However, the postmark on the envelope didn't look fake. Lu Mingfei could recognize the postmark from the United States.
He turned the envelope upside down. There was nothing else in it except for the exquisite printed paper. He was sure that this was a scam. The letter also told him to contact Professor Guderian as soon as possible, but he didn't even give him a contact number. He felt a little more relaxed when he thought about it this way.
"Sign here." The guard threw another list over.
"Do I have to sign for the letter?" Lu Mingfei didn't understand.
"There's a package that came with the letter.”
Lu Mingfei signed the papers in a daze and received a large envelope from FEDEX. There was something hard inside. He tore open the envelope and found a black N96 phone inside. He began to feel that he needed to calm down. It was as if there were countless bees flying in his head. He turned on his phone, and the battery was still half full. In the name card holder, there was only one contact," Professor Guderian."
2. dream
"It must be a liar! And it was someone he knew in the neighborhood! Only those familiar with us know that our family is rich, and Mingfei applied to study abroad. He's playing tricks on us!”His aunt slapped the letter and said firmly.
"But who would send a cell phone over just to tease us? The N96 was now sold for more than 4,000 yuan for parallel goods and more than 5,000 yuan for mainstream goods.”His uncle kept imprinting his fingerprints on the pure black N96, like an old woman stroking an ancestral jade bracelet.
His uncle was a very particular person. He would always tell Lu Mingfei and Lu Mingze at the dinner table that a three-piece set of a phone, watch, and lighter was a man's identity and taste. It was not easy to tell whether the socks were cheap goods that cost ten yuan for four pairs or high-end wool goods that cost fifty yuan for a pair, but this three-piece set was meant to be placed on the table for people to see. Lu Mingfei was lucky enough to go out to dinner with his uncle. He did indeed see his uncle smack his phone on the table with his right hand and a lighter in his left hand. He also inadvertently rolled up his sleeves to reveal a high-quality imitation of a Mont Blanc watch bought in Guangzhou, winning everyone's unanimous praise for his taste. Recently, his uncle had been very dissatisfied with his worn out Samsung phone. He had been searching for reviews and prices of new phones on some mobile phone websites. He had mentioned to Lu Mingze more than once that the new N96 was very " high-end ", but in order to pay Lu Mingfei the application fee, his aunt, who controlled the family's finances, would not agree to let him change his phone no matter what.
"What university? Are you bragging? A scholarship of $36,000 a year? Impossible! Last year, Chu Zihang, who was the top student in our school, didn't get a scholarship when he went abroad. Chu Zihang's whole family is in America and they all got green cards. One of his cousins is a university professor. Chu Zihang said that undergraduate students didn't have any scholarship. The better the major, the fewer the scholarship. The scholarship was for the major that the Americans were unwilling to take, so they had to spend money to find Chinese people to take it.”It was rare for Lu Mingze to be so concerned about his brother's future.
Lu Mingfei knew that Chu Zihang was Lu Mingze's idol. When most of the people in middle school were still buying clothes from Nikes and Adidas, Chu Zihang had already started using brands like " Burberry." Chu Zihang was one of their school's spiritual idols. He was far away in America, but no one knew what Chu Zihang was doing there. Perhaps Chu Zihang was working part-time at the restaurant and washing the dishes like crazy. Lu Mingfei would think when he saw the eyes of those people when they mentioned Chu Zihang.
Lu Mingfei was such a person. When others were thinking in the direction of improvement, he would inexplicably think in the opposite direction.
Lu Mingfei's Chinese teacher had once used his essay as a negative example to criticize him in class. He said that this essay did not seem to have any fantasy spirit and revealed a pessimistic mood, so it would not have any initiative.
Lu Mingfei had the urge to stand up and say something. When he was a child, he watched Ge You and Xu Fan act in " See You Not Going Away." Xu Fan said that Ge You had no ideals and was not promising. Ge You was anxious and drew a Mount Everest on the blackboard. He blew up the middle section and said that he also had an ideal. His ideal was to blow up Mount Everest so that the warm wind from the southwest could enter the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and turn the snowy land into a water town in Jiangnan! However, when the Chinese teacher criticized him, she was far-sighted and looked straight at the students who were dozing off in the last few rows of the classroom. Therefore, she did not even glance at Lu Mingfei out of the corner of her eye, nor did she ask him to explain his mental journey when he wrote the essay. Therefore, Lu Mingfei lost the opportunity to stand up and defend himself.
Lu Mingfei's fantasy was divided into two stages. When he was in junior high school, he admired his archaeologist parents very much, so he fantasized about becoming an Indian archaeologist. Jones and his unreliable parents formed an expedition team to search for an ancient South American city in the rainforest of Brazil.
When he was in high school, Lu Mingfei's fantasies reached a new level. It was because he had watched three consecutive movies of " The Matrix." He felt that he had a very magical ability that had yet to be discovered, like " Neo,"" the one." One day, a mysterious person would discover his ability, and he would transform into a different person under everyone's burning gazes…As for what he would transform into, he had yet to think. Every time the school held a Spring Festival Gala, the little beauty Liu Miaomiao, who was a level-ten pianist, would play the piano on the stage. The boys in the same class would dance around the piano in a black suit. Lu Mingfei would sit in a forgotten corner with his chin in his hands. His imagination would run wild, thinking that a helicopter might come down from the sky to pick him up. A group of men in black sunglasses would walk into the venue with the coldness of CIB agents in movies. They would say in a low voice," Mr. Lu Mingfei, it's not the time to watch the Spring Festival Gala." The organization is summoning you, and war is about to break out. Then, they would put on Lu Mingfei's unknown black military uniform and long trench coat, and escort him out of the venue under the gazes of the students. Outside the venue, a pitch-black helicopter roared, and its huge rotating wings stirred up a strong wind that was like a knife cutting through one's face. At that time, whether it was the little beauty Liu Miaomiao or the dancing boy, they would stop and stare blankly at Lu Mingfei's back.
Every year, Lu Mingfei would wonder if a helicopter would come to pick him up on his birthday, but from the age of fifteen to eighteen, he had never seen a helicopter.
Lu Mingfei knew that these grand imaginations were just to help him pass the time, but he really didn't have anything special. As Lu Mingze's " older brother," he couldn't find anything good about himself that he could be proud of. To him, the future was to go to an unknown university, fall in love in university, find a job and rent a house. Perhaps his parents would urge him to get married occasionally when they thought of him. Then he would get married, have a child, and work every day.
With this letter from America, his stagnant life seemed to be about to change. However, in this family meeting, he was like an outsider. He curled up in the corner of the sofa and placed his hands on his knees obediently. The living room echoed with the endless muttering of his uncle, aunt, and Lu Mingze.
Lu Mingfei knew that his aunt and Lu Mingze had suffered a blow. If this letter was real, then it was a stroke of luck. It would not fall into anyone's hands even in ten years. Lu Mingfei had gotten the upper hand. If Lu Mingze applied again next year, he would be at a disadvantage. Lu Mingze was unhappy at first, and his aunt did not like to see this listless child suddenly start trembling. His uncle was actually a rather easy-going person. As long as Lu Mingfei was willing to give the phone to him, his uncle would probably be more than happy to help him with his passport and visa. His uncle had already emphasized that this phone would not work in the United States. This was a 2G phone customized by China Mobile, and the United States had already gotten 3G.
He got up and walked out of the living room. No one noticed that the main character had left. His uncle, aunt, and Lu Mingze were still arguing about the authenticity of the admission letter.
Lu Mingfei went back to his room, turned on his old laptop, and connected to QQ. He stared at the girl in the baseball cap's profile picture. The profile picture was still gray. It was either offline or invisible. Anyway, there were no messages. Lu Mingfei glanced at the clock on the wall. He had left a message 18 hours ago, asking Chen Wenwen if she wanted to join the Literature Club's event tomorrow night.
Chen Wenwen did not actually wear a baseball cap. She had long, soft, and straight hair. She was very beautiful and did not need to cover it up with a baseball cap. Lu Mingfei knew Chen Wenwen on the day he entered the school. Chen Wenwen was sent to the school in a Passat in a low-key manner. She was wearing a white cotton dress and a pair of lace white socks. There was a Hello Kitty hairpin on her long hair.
The hottest girl in Lu Mingfei's class should be the " little angel " Su Xiaoqiang. Su Xiaoqiang seemed to have been sent here by a BMW 750i or a Mercedes-Benz S500 that day. Her eyes and eyebrows were jumping with pride. After bidding farewell to her father, who was in the coal mine business, she reported to class and looked at the boys in the new class with a scrutinizing gaze, hoping that they would look back at her with surprise and admiration. However, the boys all looked askance at Chen Wenwen, who was far less eye-catching than Su Xiaoqiang. After Chen Wenwen finished the formalities, she held a copy of Duras 'Lover and read it on the bench in the corridor. The sun shone on her white cotton dress and skin, and everything seemed transparent.
The " little angel " had been proud for 15 years, but she was defeated by a young artistic girl on her first day of high school. She was filled with resentment. At this moment, there was a blind boy standing beside her. He pointed at Chen Wenwen and said to the " little angel,"" That's probably the class belle of our new class."”The " little angel " was proud of her beauty and had never been humiliated like this. She stepped on the boy's foot and turned around to leave.
That boy was Lu Mingfei.
In fact, Lu Mingfei was a very honest person. He felt that Chen Wenwen was prettier than the little angel, so he said so. Who knew that he would be enemies with the little angel for three whole years? He did not have any ill intentions when he said that because there were seven or eight boys who surrounded Chen Wenwen to watch. Every one of them was better than him. Later, these people formed a literary club. The core of this literature club was Chen Wenwen. She had weekly activities and read some cold and sad European and American literature works. She also wrote her reflections and handed them to the language teacher for marking. According to Lu Mingfei's uncle, she read books that were read by " middle-class white women." She didn't understand why someone like Lu Mingfei, who was so lacking, would be the director of the literature club.
However, to Lu Mingfei, Chen Wenwen was the first female idol in his life. She gave him the image of a good girl who was suitable for his family. When he was only fifteen years old, he gave up the idea of finding a lively girl. He felt that the greatest happiness in the world was marrying Chen Wenwen. Lu Mingfei felt that he had a little hope because he was invited to join the literature club by Chen Wenwen. The president, Chen Wenwen, had only invited two members. One was Lu Mingfei, and the other was Zhao Menghua, who was determined to get the little girl. It was easier to describe Zhao Menghua. He was the guy most likely to become the " second Chu Zihang " in the school.
However, this muddle-headed Kassel Academy actually sent Lu Mingfei an admission notice.
Even with the $36000 scholarship, Lu Mingfei couldn't become the "second Chu Zihang." He didn't have that kind of aura.
"Cut a plate?" A big-faced cat's profile picture popped up on QQ. The name was " Nuo Nuo." Lu Mingfei couldn't remember when he had added this person, but he never rejected invitations from others. There were very few people who added him to begin with.
"Sure," Lu Mingfei replied casually.
Lu Mingfei was still using the red dot to control the controls. He was busy and lazy, but he was just trying to kill some time. Moreover, it seemed that " Nono " was a girl. The people who were really good in his channel were all uncles who had given birth.
But soon, Lu Mingfei realized that his opponent was not only fierce but also cunning. The moment he was distracted, the worker bees he sent out to scout the area were eaten by the other party with two puppies. Losing a drone wasn't a big deal, but the ingenious trap and meticulous operation alerted Lu Mingfei. He strengthened the defense at home and sent six dogs to patrol the surroundings. This saved his life. The enemy's team of puppies was detected by him the moment they invaded. The dog team, which had lost the opportunity to attack, had to retreat immediately.
Lu Mingfei broke out in a cold sweat. He did not dare to be careless anymore. He abandoned the red dot and connected the mouse.
The official battle had just begun. The main forces of both sides had been upgraded from Poochie to Hydralisk, and they had simultaneously used the Flying Dragon Team to launch a sneak attack on both sides. When the Queen appeared, the battle between the two sides had already reached its climax. Lu Mingfei's hands on the keyboard danced as if he was playing a piano. Both sides had four bases, and the mixed forces were engaged in a fierce tug-of-war in the open space in the middle. Blood splattered on the battlefield, and Lu Mingfei had almost no time to think. He knew that his opponent wasn't having a good time switching between different operation screens at high speed. The frequency of both sides 'micro-control was almost the same as that of professional players.
This was the first time he had encountered such a strong opponent in a field battle. He had a competitive spirit and decided to take the risk to upgrade the main base to level three. He would mobilize the Devourer, Guardian, and Mammoth. This was a fundamental strategic change. If the other party hesitated for a moment and did not take advantage of the gap between his resources to upgrade, Lu Mingfei would definitely win.
The leveling progress bar was slowly increasing. Lu Mingfei's heart was racing, and his palms were sweating. He had put on a show and killed a team of hydralisks, a team of puppies, and three lurkers. If the other party believed that Lu Mingfei was amassing a large number of troops and did not dare to attack, then she would be fooled. Lu Mingfei only had so many minions, and he had spent all his resources on leveling up.
Soon, the upgrade would be completed soon. The elite troops of the " Three Carriages " could advance in the open and take down the enemy's bases one by one. Lu Mingfei felt the light of victory.
You're upgrading your base to level three." At this moment, a line of words popped up at the bottom of the screen.
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
"You can retreat. I have four teams of hydralisks and four teams of dogs here. All of them have been upgraded to level two.”Nono continued typing.
The progress bar was about to reach its end, but Lu Mingfei could only type "GG"(which meant good game), which meant that he had to admit defeat while praising his opponent for playing well.）Answer Nono. He had been seen through. While the other party was typing, they shared a vision with him. Lu Mingfei could clearly see that outside the level-three base that he was upgrading, as Nono had said, the army was approaching and could attack at any time.
Lu Mingfei logged out of the game and returned to the QQ interface. He said to Nono," I'm impressed.”
Nono did not reply. He left a grinning emoji and went offline.
For the first time in Lu Mingfei's life, he felt like someone had seen through him. It was as if his closest friend had returned to find him after being separated for many years. He sat there in a daze for a while and clicked to check Nono's information, but it was blank. He searched his memory and was sure that he had never known such a good player in StarCraft, and it was even a girl.
He was suddenly shocked to see Chen Wenwen's profile picture jumping, but it was gray. This meant that Chen Wenwen had been online before, but she had already left.
"Sure, see you the day after tomorrow." This was the message that Chen Wenwen had left him.
He had waited for almost 19 hours and only saw these five words. However, his gloomy mood suddenly seemed to have evaporated. He jumped onto the bed and whistled. He twisted his waist and his face was radiant. He had forgotten about losing to Nono.
When Lu Mingze walked into the bedroom that he shared with Lu Mingfei, he sized up his cousin and said impatiently," Dad and Mom said that we'll call the people from that school tomorrow. We'll talk about it later.”
Lu Mingfei instantly returned to the real world and remembered the troublesome matter of going abroad. He couldn't be bothered to say anything more to Lu Mingze. He buried his head into the pillow and heard Lu Mingze typing away on the keyboard. Lu Mingfei's heart was filled with the joy of a prank. He believed that when he opened QQ tomorrow and logged into the " Sunset's Mark " account, he would see Lu Mingze's affectionate long poems or lyrical prose.
3. meet
The next morning, Regent Hotel.
This was the most luxurious hotel in this small city. It was a global chain and was a five-star hotel. Lu Mingfei's uncle liked to drink tea and chat with his friends in the lobby. He would always ask the waiter to refill the tea until it turned into plain water. This way, the cost was not high, and it also gave him a sense of superiority as he enjoyed the world's top service. His uncle called Professor Guderian on behalf of Lu Mingfei. The professor was very happy to say that he had arrived and was staying at the Regent Hotel. The uncle immediately expressed that he was an old customer of Li Jing and was very familiar with him. Then, he made an appointment for breakfast.
It was rare for the whole family to come together. The uncle sat in the lobby bar with his stomach full and legs crossed. He taught Lu Mingze the principle of " the best person is the one who suffers the most." At the same time, he praised Li Jing's good service and gave him dark chocolate when he drank tea. He said that this dark chocolate was good stuff and was rich in adrenaline, making people feel happy. This was the extraordinary thing about a top-class hotel. His aunt was complaining that his uncle was a prodigal man who spent all his money on such places. If he wanted to eat dark chocolate, he could find an acquaintance in the chocolate factory and buy it for 20 yuan per catty.
"Mr. Lu Mingfei?" A well-dressed waiter walked to the table.
Lu Mingfei had never been addressed as " Mister " before, so he hurriedly stood up.
"Our guest, Professor Guderian, asked us to arrange breakfast in the VIP rotating room on the ninth floor.”
"I'm a regular customer too. Why didn't I know that there was a VIP rotating bar?”The uncle was puzzled.
"It's like this. The VIP revolving bar is not open to the public. It's only open to guests in business suites and presidential suites for free. Professor Guderian booked the presidential suite.”
"The presidential suite?" The uncle was shocked.
"American schools are really rich!" Her aunt instantly forgot that she originally wanted to verify the identity of this school and see if the letter was a scam. In front of the presidential suite, she suddenly felt a deep respect for Kassel Academy.
The VIP elevator sent the family of four to the top floor. The moment the elevator door opened, a silver-haired burly old man came up to him. After a glance, he accurately held Lu Mingfei's hand." Hello! Lu Mingfei!"
"Hello…Professor Guderian, your Chinese is really good.”Lu Mingfei immediately felt stage fright.
In this VIP revolving bar with only a group of people, the tablecloth was white and the tableware was silver. Looking out, it was the most beautiful lake view in the city. He was actually treated as an important person. He could not adapt to this increase in status at all. He was even more worried that he would be cheated and sold.
Professor Guderian was obviously a very sensitive person. He completely ignored Lu Mingfei's timid eyes and scratched his hair happily." Really?" Was it that good? In the past two years, our college has been tilting the setting of foreign language education towards Chinese. Everyone knows that China will become one of the most prosperous places in the world!”He looked at Lu Mingfei with an expression of trying to win him over." This way, if you become our student, you can skip the foreign language course!”
" But I have to learn English, don't I…" Lu Mingfei grinned." My TOEFL score is average."”
" No, it's not necessary," Professor Guderian said sincerely." We started the 'Chinese Campus' project seven years ago. Now, everyone on campus speaks Chinese, from professors to librarian, including cleaning aunties! That's why we didn't even consider your English results!”
" Damn it," Lu Mingfei thought to himself. If they didn't even consider his barely passable TOEFL score, then what did they value him for? A report card with an average score of less than 80 in all subjects in high school? A dry personal account? A life without any bright spots…How could the professor be so happy with such an application?
"Hello, Professor Gu. I'm Lu Mingfei's uncle.”The uncle squeezed between Professor Guderian and Lu Mingfei. Because he couldn't remember the name Guderian, he cleverly simplified it to " Professor Gu."
"Your uncle and nephew really don't look alike!”Professor Guderian seemed a little out of line, and the uncle looked a little embarrassed. This made the aunt, who was originally going to push the uncle away, give up the idea.
"Breakfast is ready. Let's eat together.”Professor Guderian invited him warmly, but his eyes were still on Lu Mingfei.
The expensive breakfast included salmon rolls and freshly squeezed lemon juice, and the VIP revolving bar was so grand. All of this immediately dispelled his uncle's displeasure. After all, it wasn't embarrassing that Lu Mingfei didn't look like him. Professor Guderian expressed that Kassel College felt that Lu Mingfei's various abilities were quite comprehensive and had great potential. His uncle ate a salmon roll and happily said that Kassel College was an elite school in America. The grandeur of China's universities really could not be compared.
Professor Guderian was well-prepared. He took out a copy of his university license registered with the US Ministry of Education for his aunt, who was still a little suspicious, to look at. He also took out an album and showed it to Lu Mingze. He introduced them one by one, saying that this was the library of Kassel College, the sports hall of Kassel College, and the concert hall of Kassel College. It looked like the architectural style of this college was classical and the facilities were luxurious. It was like a medieval castle that had been completely renovated. There was also a photo of a windsurfing board with the emblem of Kassel College on it in the summer. Professor Guderian said that it was a regular windsurfing competition held by the college every year. They had beaten the University of Chicago for three years in a row, which meant that the University of California, as a top university in the United States, was nothing.
After his uncle praised the girls who were watching the windsurfing competition for their good figures, he spoke frankly about Lu Mingfei's education. He believed that Lu Mingfei's diverse abilities and potential had a lot to do with his lenient education method when he was young. Professor Guderian nodded. He was very happy that his uncle had been recognized. He suddenly remembered an old book called " Harvard Girl Liu Yiting." He couldn't help but slap his thigh and say that he could write a book called " Kassel Boy Lu Mingfei." He could also sell millions of copies in China. He would be famous and make money. Wouldn't that be great? Therefore, he asked in detail how much influence Kassel Academy had in the United States compared to Harvard. Professor Guderian was stunned for a moment before patting his chest and saying that Kassel Academy, an exquisite aristocratic school, had almost the same influence as Harvard in the upper class. He could rest assured.
Lu Mingfei lowered his eyes and listened to the two of them talking happily. He couldn't help but have a strange feeling. This wasn't an interview, but a marriage. Lu Mingfei was the daughter who stayed at home to pay for the dowry. The man was very eager, and the woman's family was happy to take advantage of the situation.
When his uncle was at a loss for words, Lu Mingfei finally mustered up the courage to ask the question he had always wanted to ask." Professor Guderian…which aspect of me do you think is…better?”
Professor Guderian was stunned for a moment." Both are good! We look at the overall quality of our students and don't care much about the results.”
" But," Lu Mingfei refused to let it go." Kassel Academy even offers a scholarship. The conditions are really good…Why do I find it hard to believe?”
Professor Guderian scratched his white eyebrows and had to answer this question seriously." Other than grades, there are other reasons. Your parents happen to be honorary schoolmates of our college and have donated to important research projects in our college. We will give priority to the children of our schoolmates, even if they are honorary schoolmates.”
The four of them were all stunned. Lu Mingfei's heart skipped like a rabbit that had just woken up. He had already forgotten how long it had been since he had received accurate news from his parents. Every time his mother wrote a letter, she would just nag about taking care of her health and studying well. She never mentioned what they were doing overseas.
"Then I can see them?" Lu Mingfei asked anxiously.
Professor Guderian shook his head." Actually, I've never seen them before. I heard that they've been busy with an important research project, so they've been hiding in the jungles of South America all these years. However, I have a picture of them and a letter your mother wrote to the academy about this matter.”
He flipped over the photo on the last page of the album and placed it on the table in front of Lu Mingfei. It was a summer garden. In the distance, he could vaguely see the classical and luxurious library of Kassel Academy. In the near distance, there were countless vines, so green that it was gloomy and transparent. A man and a woman were walking hand in hand in the vines. The man was wearing a loose white shirt and a pair of trousers. He had a pair of wooden slippers on his feet, and the woman was wearing a pure white cotton dress. It was a little like Chen Wenwen's first time reporting. Lu Mingfei reached out his fingers and gently touched the faces of the two people on the screen. They were his parents, and he could still vaguely remember their faces. Lu Mingfei had a strange feeling. That man and woman were really far away from him, far away from a corner of the world that he could never go to. He suddenly felt a little sad. The man and woman looked at each other's faces with a warm smile. It was obvious that they were alone. They had probably forgotten that they had a child together.
Uncle and Auntie nodded as well. Auntie even made a critical comment." The two of them are already old. They're quite romantic!”
The letter was short and printed. It was probably something like an email:
"Dear Headmaster Anger,
I haven't contacted you for a long time. I hope your body is as good as before.
We probably won't be seeing each other for a long time. The recent research is very intense, and we can't leave, so please keep your bottle of Chateau Latour red wine for us to taste when we go back.
My child, Lu Mingfei, is already 18 years old. He is a smart child. His grades may not be that good, but we all believe that he will make a difference in academics. Therefore, if possible, please help Cassel College to accept him.
I can't tell him personally, so I can only ask you to pass on my message that Dad and Mom love him.
Yours sincerely,
Jovenie "
Professor Guderian put the letter back into the envelope and handed it to Lu Mingfei. At the same time, he did something unexpected. He said in an extremely affectionate tone and not very standard pronunciation," Mingfei, Daddy and Mommy love you.”
Lu Mingze couldn't help but laugh at this stiff message. His uncle and aunt couldn't keep their faces straight either. Lu Mingfei's mother, Jovenie, had said those words so gently in the letter that it was almost tear-jerking. However, when it came out of the mouth of the 1.9-meter-tall, burly man, Guderian, it really made people laugh out loud. Lu Mingfei and Professor Guderian also smiled. The atmosphere at the dining table was harmonious.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]