“Has Liu Miaomiao arrived?" The door of the inner conference room was pushed open and a tall, thin young man came out with fluent Chinese. He was dressed in a dark green suitable suit with a silver edge of the collar and shiny gold b.u.t.tons and cuffs. There"s a silver embroidered badge on his chest, which looked like a school uniform. But Lu Mingfei had never seen such a delicacy school uniform.
The piano beauty suddenly stood up, her voice was slightly trembling, “Yes!”
“I am Ye Sheng, the examiner. Please follow me.” The young man smiled and showed his white teeth.
Liu Miaomiao walked gracefully in with Ye Sheng, and the door closed. The remaining 16 people turned to look at each other. No one could hide the tension on their faces.
“Hey, did you go online and search this Ca.s.sel College?” Zhao Menghua looked at Su Xiaoqiang and Chen Wenwen, lowered his voice. “It"s said to be a famous university, and many Harvard professors have been transferred to teach there!”
“Well,” Chen Wenwen nodded, “But I didn"t even apply to their school before I got the interview notice.”
“Famous school is like this. They do not care application fee but just the quality of the student.” Zhao Menghua said.
“So why can this guy get the chance?” Su Xiaoqiang looked askance at Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei wriggled shoulders with the posture of afraid of nothing shameless.
“Don"t know how many positions are available.” Chen Wenwen whispered.
“They"ll just choose one or two!” Su Xiaoqiang said, "Don"t you hear Harvard only recruits a few undergraduates from China every year?"
Lu Mingfei suddenly felt hopeless. He had no idea how many people Harvard recruits from China every year but knowing well that it"s almost impossible for him to have the luck. The little confidence he had managed to muster was gone eighty percent.
“Well, I"m just going to try with little hope.” Chen Wenwen said quietly.
“We all have a mind like that.” Zhao Menghua comforted her.
“I don"t care,” Su Xiaoqiang said with her usual swagger. “If I"m not accepted, I"ll go to Stanford. My father has friends!”
The door was pushed open and Ye Sheng made a polite gesture. Liu Miaomiao walked out and turned to the examiner to say thank you. Lu Mingfei could see that she was holding on hard and didn"t want to show disappointment, but the emotion was written on her face honestly.
The piano girl failed in ten minutes! Liu Miaomiao went back to her seat injured. She took the bag and walked out with tears in eyes.
“Su Xiaoqiang.” Ye Sheng read.
“Little Fairy” also jumped up. Her beautiful eyes glowered with gurgle teeth.
Watching Su Xiaoqiang follows Ye Sheng rigidly into the room, Lu Mingfei laughed.
“Don"t laugh, aren"t you afraid?" Chen Wenwen pushed him on the shoulder.
“I am not afraid; I"m just an onlooker.” Lu Mingfei pillowed on his hands and lied in his chair lazily.
When Su Xiaoqiang came out, her steps were even more rigid than when she went in, and her expression was more likely to be called "Angry" but not disappointed or depressed. Ye Sheng smiled politely behind her, which let Su Xiaoqiang stared back severely. Ye Sheng called Zhao Menghua in next.
“What college is that! They"re just making fun of people!” Su Xiaoqiang dropped this sentence and walked away.
Lu Mingfei and Chen Wenwen looked at each other confusedly, “Little Fairy” can"t even compare to Liu Miaomiao and hold only about five minutes.
The interviewer was not like doing an interview inside but practicing his knife, cutting people more and more quickly. Zhao Menghua, known as the best speaker in their high school, did not even hold up to three minutes. He was sent out at a loss.
“Chen Wenwen.” Ye Sheng said.
“Good luck!" Lu Mingfei whispered behind Chen Wenwen.
Chen Wenwen turned to look at him and nodded slightly.
Time pa.s.sed and everyone kept quiet outside. Lu Mingfei heard his heart beating. He was a little afraid that Chen Wenwen would come out with disappointment.
Chen Wenwen held up 15 minutes. When she came out, there was no expression on her face and she was staring at her toes all the way.
“How?" Lu Mingfei went closer.
Chen Wenwen hesitated and waved to him quietly. “They would ask… “
Lu Mingfei was full of joy and was about to put his ear to her when he heard Ye Sheng "s voice, “Lu Mingfei.”
Lu Mingfei was stunned and turned to see Ye Sheng waving to him. “Lu Mingfei, you are the next guy.”
Strange, he had never seen Ye Sheng before. Did Ye Sheng recognize him at a glance just by the two-inch photo on the application form he sent to the University of Chicago? Lu Mingfei was a little curious.
He followed Ye Sheng into the meeting room. The room was empty, and at the large conference table, where dozens of people could sit, sat a girl with a sweet smile. She was in the same uniform as Ye Sheng, except an overskirt and a rose lace neckerchief.
“My name is Aki Shutoku, another examiner this time.” The girl stood up and bowed in the typical j.a.panese way.
“Ohaiyou.” Lu Mingfei didn"t even think and bowed with a salute.
He has been an Otaku for so many years: Played countless PS2 games, watched countless j.a.panese comics, and he can also speak a little j.a.panese.
“お は よ う.” Aki Shutoku covered her mouth and smiled gently and corrected Lu Mingfei"s improper j.a.panese, she smiled with sisterly kindness.
It seems he gives the examiner a good first impression, Lu Mingfei was pleased.
Ye Sheng sat beside Aki Shutoku, opened his notebook and looked at Lu Mingfei. “Then we can start right now.”
Lu Mingfei nodded and took a deep breath. He has been practicing all night, and now he will see the real battlefield!
“Do you believe in aliens?" Aki Shutoku asked softly.
Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment and then felt that… A nuclear bomb exploded in his head… The mushroom cloud over the sky, nothing else.
What"s the heck? The first question should clearly be “Please introduce yourself” or “Why do you want to apply to our school”!
The first question and the answer is, “My name is Mingfei Lu, a Chinese high school student, I like online computer games and panda…”
The second answer to this question is, “The great faculty is the key reason and your college has a very good research atmosphere…”
These answers are told by Old Tang enthusiastically last night, and then Lu Mingfei read them more than eighty times to remember them clearly enough in his mind.
But this… What the heck about aliens?
His preparation was… Totally useless!
His eyes stared, and his head drooping down slowly. He is such a failure person and his luck is always the worst. Like written formulas on the table before the exam, but his teacher suddenly wants to exchange seats; like peeping for the answer of his deskmate, but finds that they got different versions… As a suck person, he should have the courage to believe in his own fate and do not have to do anything meaningless struggle.
“I do, I believe in aliens.” Said Lu Mingfei. He suddenly felt that Zhao Menghua could hold on for three minutes means he was already a good student.
“Is it?" Aki Shutoku had a slight look on her face, and there was no positive or negative feedback. “Why would you believe that?”
h.e.l.l, why would you believe that? Believe is believe, anyway. No one in the world can prove that they have seen aliens, there are still so many people believe, and so many not. Why do you like the girl in the white cotton dress at the next table? Although you can find out thousands of reasons, the real reason is that you don"t know what is going on, your heart always beats when you see her, you pay special attention to what she says, and you remember all the things related to her, so you know you like her. Why is that? No reason. Lu Mingfei thought.
“I used to hang out on the roof at night and look at the stars.” “Said Lu Mingfei.
“Well, good. I look at the stars when I"m free.” She took notes very carefully.
Lu Mingfei did not understand her seriousness at all, just as Lu Mingfei, the foreign minister of China, had just presented numerous diplomatic words in a serious manner and needed to be recorded on paper.
“If you look at the stars you will think. If there are no aliens, it will take a beam of light billions of years to run through the whole universe. It will go through many galaxies, but can only meet people on earth. The light will take not even one second to pa.s.s the earth, but this is the only second it could meet people during its journey. That would be weird, right?” Said Lu Mingfei.
“Loneliness? You alluded to the loneliness of light?" Ye Sheng cut in.
Lu Mingfei scratched his head. He didn"t actually mean anything, but it seems that his answer was extended a little bit deeper so that he nodded, acquiesced in Ye Sheng as a lonely child.
“The second question, do you believe in superpowers? “Asked Aki Shutoku.
“Of course.” Lu Mingfei said, “SUPER believe.”
In fact, it is not at all difficult to answer these questions after throwing caution to the wind. If there"s no superpower, then there will be no KujouJotarou"s "Platinum Stars”, also Luffy"s “Rubber Fruit ” does not exist, and Heil"s ultimate skill” Shyaouensatsukokuryuuha” is a fake thing naturally. Then the real world will become Uncle"s endless chat about Montblanc watch and Aunt increasingly complains about housing prices… Lu Mingfei"s future will be: Getting up in the morning to catch the bus to work every day, and paying the mortgage at the end of each month by his salary, serving the mother-in-law carefully during weekends… If any girl would marry him.
Therefore, in the world of Lu Mingfei, the superpower is a must.
“Well, why?" Aki Shutoku looked at Lu Mingfei with an encouraging smile.
“Believe that…… That"s just believing, just like believing in aliens. “Said Lu Mingfei.
He can"t say to Aki Shutoku his real reason is: “I love KujouJotarou"s "Platinum Stars", I hope that is true.”
“Well, tough life doesn"t need an explanation.” Ye Sheng said.
Lu Mingfei stunned. He didn"t understand why the examiner suddenly said this network slang.
“Perhaps it"s derision?" He thought.
“And the third question, do you think that the basis of human existence is idealistic, mentally and spiritually, or materialistic, substantial and physical?” “Asked Aki Shutoku.
Lu Mingfei dumbed instantly.
Is this college interviewer sick? Why are the first two questions so different from the third? Is that part of the high school politic cla.s.s? a.n.a.lyzing materialism and idealism. But after Lu Mingfei pa.s.sed the exam, he forgot all about them!
He blushed and took a few deep breaths, wondering how many people had been defeated on the problem, but he had to get through it!
He let out a long breath, rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue.
“This…… What does it mean to stick out tongue?” Ye Sheng glanced hesitantly at Aki Shutoku.
“I don"t know.” Lu Mingfei sighed, “This question is too deep, I really can"t answer it, I… Can I give up?”
Ye Sheng and Aki Shutoku were silent for a moment and nodded. “Yes, thank you for your interest in Ca.s.sel College.”
Ye Sheng got up. “I"ll see you out.”
Lu Mingfei held a minute and 30 seconds, broke the record of being cut.
Chen Wenwen was carrying her bag to wait for him outside. She trotted a few steps to come over when she saw him come out, “How did you come out so quickly?”
“On political issues… “Lu Mingfei shrugged his head. “I"m not as strong as you are. How many questions did you answer?”
“I also lost out on political questions. The answers were mixed up. They said I didn"t pa.s.s the interview.” Chen Wenwen bowed her head.
“You were in there for fifteen minutes!" Lu Mingfei was surprised.
“I told them about the UFO for fifteen minutes…” Chen Wenwen whispered.
“Ah?” Lu Mingfei dumbed again.
In a sudden, he felt a surge of joy in his heart. He reached out his hand and patted Chen Wenwen on the head. "That"s fine, they are just madmen giving mad questions!”
Chen Wenwen looked up with a slight smile on her depressed face. Lu Mingfei was overjoyed and felt that this was the biggest reward he had received that day.
What does it matter not to go abroad? Chen Wenwen also does not go abroad!
Late at night, Ye Sheng sat at a conference table and went over those resumes again.
He looked up and asked Aki Shutoku next to him, “Where"s that little girl? I haven"t seen her all day."
“Went play somewhere, that might be the reason she followed us?” Aki Shutoku shrugged. “I can"t help it. She"s just a little girl.”
“How did the interview go?" The door opened and a man with a suitcase hurried in. “I bought a ticket for a Red-Eye flight and just arrived."
He was a dusty old man, with thick gla.s.ses on the bridge of his nose, with gray hair that was loose and unkempt, not permed but uncombed for some time. He wore a scruffy suit and baggy pants.
“Professor Guderian.” Ye Sheng sat up. "We had interviewed a total of 17 students… “
“Don"t waste time! I just came to ask Lu Mingfei! I only care about Lu Mingfei!” Professor Guderian looked nervous as if he were the student"s parent but not the examiner. “Tell me, Lu Mingfei, how did he present in the interview?” This old guy of German descent spoke fluent Chinese.
Ye Sheng and Aki Shutoku looked at each other, Ye Sheng turned to the record page of Lu Mingfei. He hesitated and shook his head.
"Only a minute and a half to go." Ye Sheng said.
“The strongest is always the fastest!” Professor Guderian rejoiced.
“Well…… For the first question, he believes in aliens, because he thinks that if there were no aliens, human beings would be quite lonely in the universe… “Ye Sheng smiled bitterly.
“What a great answer! I am so moved by him!” Professor Guderian tutted, “Lu Mingfei is awesome!”
“Is it… Is it that good?" Ye Sheng was stunned. “In the second question, he also believes in superpowers. There is no reason to say… “
“Perfect! “Said professor Guderian firmly.
“This is called the perfect answer? This is… The answer is given by the college?” Ye Sheng and Aki Shutoku looked at each other in speechless despair.
“Let me explain!" Professor Guderian said: “The first question, he replied that he believed in aliens, not only that, he also put forward the important concept of ‘loneliness", and the cohesion of our community comes from loneliness! The words directly pointed out the core of this problem, which used aliens to metaphor the difference between ordinary people and our race. The second problem is that there is absolutely no need for a reason to believe something. When we talk about trust, it comes from the heart, a natural sense of trust. If he makes up a reason for trust, he will lose points. How did he answer the third question?”
“I don"t know…" Aki Shutoku touched her forehead, “I mean, he said "I don"t know"… “
Professor Guderian looked up and took a deep breath. "If I hadn"t known he had such a strong pedigree, I would have thought he had peeked at the paper."
“Can"t the answer be… ‘I don"t know"?" Ye Sheng scratched his head.
“The answer is ‘I don"t know", his pedigree defines his worldview. People who straddled between the two communities would understand the world between idealism and materialism, and that shows his potential.” Exclaimed Professor Guderian loudly. “There must be such hesitation in the understanding of the world by truly potential students!”
“Professor Guderian, are you just… giving unprincipled agreement?” Aki Shutoku smiled awkwardly.
Professor Guderian paused for a moment, then spread out his hands. "Ok, there"s a little bit… But I really think he did a good job… “
“I understand that college gives a lot of convenience to students who have an edge in their pedigree, but if it"s like this… Is it too blatant?" Ye Sheng shook his head. “If so, why do we have the interview?”
“You don"t understand, it"s been decades since there was such an ‘S" level candidate, and if we give a failed result… The headmaster will not let us go easily!”
Ye Sheng and Aki Shutoku looked at each other. “Is he really… ‘S" level?”
“Yes, after repeated confirmation, his rating among all the candidates is" S ‘, the only ‘S"! The interview, in fact, was for him alone!” Professor Guderian nodded, lowering his voice. “This is the highest secret in the college, so I didn"t tell you before I left.”
Silence covered the room.
“Ah!” Suddenly Aki made a sound.
Professor Guderian covered his heart. “Why you shout in a sudden?”
“I just remembered a bad thing about your desired ‘S" student… He seemed so disappointed with his answer that after saying ‘I don"t know", so he gave up and walked out of the exam." Aki and Ye Sheng looked at each other in consternation.
“That"s a good answer. Why he gave up?” Professor Guderian looked as if he were going to jump.
“The question and the supporting answer… “Ye Sheng shrugged and smiled bitterly. “You"ll be the only one thinking that"s a good interview!”
“I must save it! Must be saved! I"ll call his family!” Professor Guderian groped around for his mobile phone.
Ye Sheng scratched his head and sighed, “Let me do that. You will frighten the family of the student and make them think you"re going to kill them…"
At three o ‘clock in the night, when everything was still, the phone rang across Lu Mingfei"s house.
Aunt sat up in shock and looked over her shoulder to see the telephone on the nightstand ringing so cheerfully that it almost jumped.
“What"s wrong with you? Call in the middle of the night!” Aunt picked it angrily.
Soon her anger subsided and she could not say a word. Uncle sat up from his bed and saw his wife"s hair scattered and her eyes glazed over as if she had been struck by lightning.
Lu Mingze was also waking up by the ring. When he turned to see another bed, his cousin was licking his lips and humming joyfully like a pig.
The next morning, Regent Hotel.
Lu Mingfei"s family went to the ninth executive floor"s VIP dining room. Uncle suited well with his big belly and educated Lu Mingfei and Lu Mingze to understand the rules to this kind of place, like do not always touch the tableware. Aunt looked around, praised the superior hotel is brilliant.