Then I'll Also Come to Peking University

"We're here, we're here! Grab your belongings and don't leave anything behind!"

A commotion swept through the bus as the students stood up one after another to get their luggage.

Chen Zhi stood up and reached for his backpack on the overhead luggage rack.

Just then, a slender figure brushed past him in the aisle.

A foot wearing a small white shoe stomped viciously onto Chen Zhi's instep.

Adding a crushing motion, it ground down and twisted a vicious half-circle.

"Hiss—"

Chen Zhi gasped in pain, his facial features twisting into a knot.

He snapped his head down, only catching a fleeting glimpse of the edge of a white cotton sock. That wicked woman had already strolled to the bus door as if nothing had happened.

Chen Zhi gnashed his teeth.

This was biting the hand that fed you, wasn't it?

Who was the one giving you such a comfortable foot massage on the bus just now? Who helped relieve your travel fatigue?

"Chen Zhi, what's wrong?"

Beside him, Li Zhiyi, wearing her backpack, looked at Chen Zhi's distorted face. "Did you get a leg cramp?"

"I'm fine."

Chen Zhi took a deep breath, forcibly swallowing back the word "pain," and squeezed out a smile uglier than crying. "I just got scratched by a little wildcat."

Stepping off the bus, a wave of heat washed over them.

Before their eyes was the legendary West Gate of Peking University.

The vermilion palace gates, the majestic stone lions on either side, and the plaque bearing the four gilded characters for "Peking University" all sparkled in the sunlight.

As one of the two holy grails in the hearts of Chinese students, the campus appeared somewhat empty right now.

During the summer vacation, the undergraduates had long since gone home. Those left behind were either miserable students preparing for the postgraduate entrance exams, or graduate student workhorses drafted by their advisors to do projects.

Standing beneath a plaque was a bespectacled male student wearing a T-shirt printed with the words "Peking University Orientation."

He looked gentle and refined, exuding a strong academic aura.

"You must be the students from Jiangcheng First High School, right?"

The young man stepped forward and shook hands with Xie Ding, who was leading the group, wearing a professional smile on his face. "I am Wu Zixi, Vice President of the Student Union, and I'll be in charge of receiving you."

In truth, Wu Zixi was feeling quite annoyed.

Staying on campus during the summer to review for his graduate recommendation interview was already stressful enough. Yet, he still got drafted by the Youth League Committee to lead this bunch of high schoolers on a campus tour.

On such a hot day, instead of enjoying the air conditioning in the library, he had to come out here and play tour guide. Wasn't he just a massive sucker?

But since it was a university assignment after all, he still had to put on a show.

Wu Zixi pushed up his glasses, his gaze casually sweeping over the crowd.

Suddenly, his gaze paused.

His previously drooping eyelids instantly lifted, and his pupils dilated slightly.

In the crowd, two girls were simply too eye-catching.

One wore her hair in a high ponytail and dressed in a simple floral dress, yet she exuded the ultimate pure vibe of a first love. That soft, delicate aura made anyone who looked at her want to protect her.

The other wore a baseball cap with the brim pulled low. The exposed lower half of her exquisite face was as coldly glamorous as a pristine flower on a snowy mountain peak. Her legs, in particular, were incredibly long and straight.

He had been at Peking University for three years and had seen his fair share of beautiful women, but this was his first time seeing girls of this caliber.

Especially that girl with the high ponytail; that timid, soft vibe absolutely struck a chord in his heart.

Wu Zixi felt that this miserable chore had instantly become meaningful.

This was an early scouting of future junior schoolmate resources!

As the Vice President of the Student Union, he well understood the principle of being in a favorable position to get the best things first.

Once this group actually enrolled, the competition would be fierce. He had to take advantage of their current naive and ignorant state to build up their favorable impression of him.

Wu Zixi adjusted his collar, plastered on what he believed to be his most charming senior-student smile, and walked straight toward the soft girl who looked easier to talk to.

"Hello there."

Wu Zixi walked up to Li Zhiyi, his voice gentle. "I'm your guide this time, Wu Zixi, and also a junior from the Guanghua School of Management."

"I saw you staring at the map in your hands. Are you unfamiliar with the routes? It's fine, I can be your personal guide."

Li Zhiyi was still feeling unsettled by Chen Zhi's fake-out on the bus just now, so being suddenly approached by a stranger startled her.

She subconsciously shrank back. "N-no, I'm just looking around casually."

"No need to be nervous. Being here is just like being at home."

Wu Zixi wasn't deterred by this reaction; instead, he found the girl's shy demeanor even cuter.

Smiling, Wu Zixi asked, "You seem to have a very quiet disposition. Your grades must be pretty good, right? Roughly what score range are you in?"

Li Zhiyi gripped her backpack straps somewhat nervously and answered honestly, "My usual scores are around 660."

"Six hundred and sixty?"

The smile on Wu Zixi's face stiffened slightly.

That score...

In other provinces, she might have a shot, but in a highly competitive province for the college entrance exam, getting into Peking University was basically impossible.

At best, she could go to Renmin University next door, or perhaps Fudan or Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

What a pity.

Such a pretty girl. In the future, they wouldn't be able to romance each other by the shores of Weiming Lake; they'd have to settle for a long-distance relationship.

Still, Renmin University wasn't far—just a few subway stops away.

Wu Zixi quickly adjusted his strategy, taking out his phone and pulling up his WeChat QR code.

"660 is also very good. You have a lot of potential."

He offered his phone, his tone sincere. "Tell you what, let's add each other on WeChat. I have a lot of internal study materials and exam prep experience here. I'll bundle them up and send them to you later. If you have any questions you don't understand, you can ask me anytime."

He was very familiar with this routine.

First, use study materials as bait to add her as a friend, then slowly flirt with her, and finally ask her out for dinner and a movie—a complete package deal.

Li Zhiyi looked at the phone held out in front of her, at a loss for what to do.

Her instinct was to refuse, but she felt too embarrassed to directly reject the senior's good intentions, as he was just trying to be nice.

"Um... I..."

Just as she was caught in a dilemma.

A slender hand suddenly thrust in, blocking the QR code.

Chen Zhi had squeezed his way in front of Li Zhiyi at some point, wearing a fake smile on his face.

"Sorry about this, Senior."

Chen Zhi threw an arm around Li Zhiyi's shoulders and pulled her slightly behind him, protective like a mother over her calf. "Our Zhiyi is quite introverted. Her family is strict and doesn't allow her to add strange men on WeChat."

Wu Zixi froze for a moment, looking at the boy in front of him who was half a head taller than he was.

Who was this kid?

Was he declaring his territory?

"Hey man, I'm just trying to help her improve her grades."

Wu Zixi suppressed his rising temper, trying to maintain his authority as a senior student. "Who are you to her? Whether or not she can get into a good university will affect the rest of her life. Can you take responsibility for that?"

"I'm her childhood friend, her classmate, and her future..."

Chen Zhi paused, grinning to reveal a mouthful of white teeth. "...as well as her current knight in shining armor."

"As for her grades, there's no need for you to worry about them. I'll be tutoring her, so we won't have to trouble you."

With that said, he didn't even give Wu Zixi a chance to retort, grabbing Li Zhiyi and pulling her away.

Li Zhiyi followed obediently behind him, her head lowered, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up secretly.

Wu Zixi stood where he was, watching their retreating backs, his teeth itching with irritation.

Are the underclassmen these days all this arrogant?

Daring to challenge an upperclassman before even stepping through the campus gates?

Whatever. Since that 660-point girl is already taken, I'll just change targets.

His gaze quickly locked onto Pei Ningxue, who was standing not too far away.

That aloof girl looked even more top-tier.

And judging by her outfit and aura, she definitely came from a wealthy family.

Although she seemed hard to approach, once an iceberg beauty like her melted, she would be incredibly passionate.

Wu Zixi adjusted his mood, pasted a smile back on his face, and walked toward Pei Ningxue.

Pei Ningxue was holding up her phone, taking a picture of a stone tablet by the road. Her expression was focused, her side profile absolutely stunning.

"Hey there, you like photography?"

Wu Zixi leaned in, pretending to be an expert giving advice. "The lighting isn't great from this angle. You should stand a bit to the left and use the shadows of the leaves for your composition..."

Pei Ningxue couldn't even be bothered to press the shutter.

She lowered her phone, turned her head, and her cold eyes swept lightly over Wu Zixi.

Wu Zixi rubbed his nose awkwardly, but he wasn't discouraged.

She was an aloof goddess, after all; having a bit of an attitude was normal.

"Judging by your vibe, you must be a science student, right?" Wu Zixi followed her relentlessly. "How are your grades usually? If you want to apply to our college, I can give you some inside information."

Annoyed by his constant buzzing in her ear, Pei Ningxue finally put her phone down completely.

She turned her head, her beautiful eyes staring coldly at Wu Zixi.

"Six hundred and ninety."

Wu Zixi froze for a moment, then was overcome with wild joy.

Holy crap!

Six-ninety?!

That was the score of a top scholar candidate!

Looking this gorgeous and having such insane grades?

If he could win her over, how much face would he have showing her off in the future?

He absolutely could not let those STEM nerds from Tsinghua next door snatch her away!

Wu Zixi instantly transformed into a salesman, spit flying as he spoke: "690? Then you have to come to Peking University! Tsinghua next door is just a massive construction site, basically a sausage fest. The gender ratio is severely imbalanced, and the cafeteria food is absolutely terrible."

"Plus, they have no sense of humanities and culture over there. They just mess with data and models all day; it's incredibly dull."

"Coming to our Peking University is completely different. By the Weiming Lake, under the Boya Pagoda, talking about romance... oh, I mean, talking about ideals, how romantic is that?"

He began an endless sales pitch, trashing Tsinghua next door as worthless, criticizing everything from their cafeteria food to their dorm conditions.

"Really, you're exactly the kind of talent that belongs with us! Come on, let's add each other on WeChat. In the future, no matter what questions you have, whether it's about early admission or the Strong Foundation Plan, your senior will give you one-on-one guidance the whole way! I absolutely won't let you take any detours!"

Wu Zixi held out his phone again, his eyes eager.

This was a blue-chip stock! He had to secure her!

However.

Pei Ningxue didn't even glance at the QR code.

Her gaze drifted past Wu Zixi's shoulder and landed on the boy standing not far away.

Chen Zhi was crouching by the road, holding a piece of foxtail grass from who-knows-where, teasing Li Zhiyi and making the little girl's face flush bright red.

Seemingly noticing the stare, Chen Zhi looked up, his eyes meeting Pei Ningxue's.

Pei Ningxue ignored the still-chattering Wu Zixi and instead lifted her chin toward Chen Zhi.

"Hey."

Chen Zhi pointed at himself. "Calling me?"

"Are you aiming for Peking University or Tsinghua?"

Pei Ningxue's question was direct, with no beating around the bush.

Wu Zixi froze.

What was going on?

This junior was ignoring him, a legitimate senior, and instead asking that guy with a girlfriend from earlier?

Chen Zhi popped the foxtail grass into his mouth, stood up, and dusted off his pants.

He glanced at the expectant Wu Zixi, then at the resolute Pei Ningxue.

"Me?"

Chen Zhi drawled slowly. "Most likely Peking University."

Hearing this answer, the corners of Pei Ningxue's lips curled up almost imperceptibly for a brief second.

That momentary melting of the ice and snow left Wu Zixi staring in a daze.

Pei Ningxue stared at him steadily for two seconds.

Suddenly.

She turned her head and looked at Wu Zixi, who was waiting expectantly to add her on WeChat.

"Then I'll be coming to Peking University too."

With that, she pulled down the brim of her hat, stepped forward with her long legs, and walked right past the dumbstruck Wu Zixi toward Chen Zhi.

Leaving Wu Zixi standing alone in place, his phone still suspended in mid-air.

Wu Zixi felt his entire worldview collapse.

Just who the hell was this kid, to have two such beautiful girls throwing themselves at him?