It was not difficult to imagine. Although China was developed, its overall rating could only be considered as a middle tiered country. They were still unable to compete with the higher tiered countries as they were now.
When it came to technology or expertise in fields such as chemistry and biology, China was far behind the higher tiered countries.
One could tell from the cosmetics. All the famous cosmetics were foreign brands, while local brands were instead met with skepticism. They were usually considered cheap goods. Just that alone had allowed the foreigners to profit off countless the money of the rich in China.
It would seem the plan to produce his own cosmetics would need to be put on hold for now, to be explored at another time when the opportunity came.
…
The next day, Saturday.
That was an unusual weekend as Huaqing University and Capital University’s basketball competition was held on that day.
Last year’s competition was located at Capital University while this year was set to be in Huaqing University’s stadium.
Huaqing University and Capital University were right next to each other. On top of the grayish-white entrance gate was carved the words “Huaqing Gardens”.
Entering the university, the shrubs at each side were neatly trimmed. Further along, stood a maidenhair tree and a pine tree.
The bark was thick, requiring three people to barely go around its circumference. It was said that they had a history of over a hundred years.
That day, Huaqing University was bustling with activity. Teenagers were everywhere, each chatting with their friends excitedly.
Ye Lingchen looked around, constantly scouting out his surroundings, comparing them to Capital University as he looked for the stadium.
However, it would seem that he had taken a wrong turn. There were fewer and fewer people, and his surroundings looked less like classes but more towards the lecturer’s offices.
Right then, a silhouette suddenly came out from a corner. She wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses and held a few thick books in her hands. She frowned as she stared at the contents of a white-colored notebook that lay open on her palm.
Thud!
Both of them did not pay attention to where they were walking and bumped into each other.
Ye Lingchen’s physique was now nothing to scoff at. Furthermore, he was carrying weights totaling 100kg!
The girl was knocked back by the sheer difference in weight. Like a flower caught in a hurricane, she was immediately thrown off her feet.
The books held in her hands were also thrown away by the impact.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Lingchen’s body leaned forward and held that girl by her slender waist, assuming the classic pose of popular TV series.
Both of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Ye Lingchen snapped out of his gaze and helped her back on her feet.
“Er, I’m sorry. I was not paying attention. Are you okay?” Ye Lingchen asked out of concern.
“I’m fine.” The girl answered in a gentle voice as she blushed.
With that, she immediately squatted down to pick up the scattered books.
“Let me help you.” Ye Lingchen squatted down as well. As he picked up the white notebook, he paused momentarily after seeing its contents.
“Fellow student, you’ve used the wrong approach for this question. You should start with Lagrange mean value theorem[1] to plot the area, then apply the mean value theorem and Fermat’s theorem would be a lot more efficient.”
Having said that, he picked up the notebook and started scribbling on the notebook. In the meantime, the girl never bothered him but stood there quietly waiting for him.
Five minutes later, Ye Lingchen returned the notebook to the girl with a smile.
“Thank you.” the girl received the notebook with a friendly nod without looking at what Ye Lingchen wrote, then proceeded to leave.
“You’re welcome,” Ye Lingchen stared at the girl’s back, then asked quickly, “Oh right, fellow student, can you show me the way to the stadium?”
“You’re heading to the stadium? You’re not a student in Huaqing are you?” The girl stopped in her tracks, then continued, “Follow me then.”
“I’m a student from the neighboring Capital University.” Ye Lingchen nodded as he followed along.
They did not speak along the way. Ye Lingchen secretly measured up the girl. She looked beautiful and had an attractive body too. Moreover, her personality was just like her voice, as gentle as water. When compared to Li Muxue, she seemed a tad more womanly.
When he saw the stadium, they bade each other farewell. Ye Lingchen thanked her and went into the crowd looking for the team from his university.
“Ye’zi, over here!” Little Gen waved his hand at Ye Lingchen.
“Why are you still outside? You didn’t go in?” Ye Lingchen joined the ranks, then realized that it was not just them, but all those blocked outside were students from Capital University.
“We are not Huaqing University students so we can’t enter the stadium as we wish. We have to wait until the last moment before we’re let in together.” Potato explained.
“Damn it! Huaqing University is looking down on Capital University. The good spots are all taken by their students!” Xiang huffed angrily, “Even our university’s cheerleading team was not allowed in!”
“That’s unavoidable. This is their home field after all.” Little Gen could not be bothered. He just needed to wait until the next year and Huaqing University would be given the same treatment by Capital University.
“Oh right, on the way I’ve heard the name Zhao Ritian[2]. He seems pretty good,” Potato told Little Gen.
Hearing that name, Little Gen’s face turned dark.
“Zhao Ritian, actual name Zhao Hao[3]. He’s 190cm, a new student at Huaqing University. He was recruited specifically through the sports department. He’s participated in district-level competitions before. I’ve heard that he is aiming to develop a career as a professional basketball player!”
Little Gen’s words caused everyone to gasp with a shocked expression on their faces.
“What’s the point of competing? We’re going to lose for sure!” Xiang shook his head hopelessly.
“However, that is all just hearsay. Maybe it’s just some rumors Huaqing University made up to crush our morale,” Little Gen continued, “Some even said that he was given the nickname because he can pull off a nice slam dunk!”
“No wonder Huaqing University is so confident this time that they’d even brought the competition date forward. They obviously can’t wait to defeat us!” Potato exclaimed loudly.
“They’re letting us through, we can go in now!” Ye Lingchen reminded them as he noticed the commotion in front.
The crowd slowly moved forward. As expected from the top universities within the country, Huaqing University’s stadium was huge. It seemed like it could easily accommodate 20,000 people. The basketball court was right in the middle surrounded by neatly placed chairs.
When Ye Lingchen and co. entered, the stadium was already packed full of people. It was loud and everyone was passionately talking about the upcoming match. Allocated on the left side were the students of Huaqing University while Capital University’s students were seated to the right.
That was a display of the university student’s standards. They only had a few occasional debates, and some even cursed at each other. Although they were all flushed from the heated exchange, none of them resorted to physical violence. It was considered a rather harmonious scene.
At the frontmost seats were a few elderly and middle-aged men. They carried an air of authority with them, these were clearly the authoritative figures of the universities…
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[1] The Lagrange mean value theorem is the formal statement of the mean value theorem. In that context it may seem like the same theorem being applied twice. As we are not sufficiently educated in this field, we feel that we should just translate as provided in the raw. Please forgive us for the lack of expertise to translate this section in full academic accuracy. Thank you for your understanding.
[2] 赵昊 (Zhao Hao) and 赵日天(Zhao Ritian). The name given is a wordplay on the word Hao (昊) which is made up of Ri (日) and Tian (天). Ri Tian (日天) is colloquially used to mean heaven-defying or the more literal meaning of f*ck the sky.
[3] 赵昊 (Zhao Hao) and 赵日天(Zhao Ritian). The name given is a wordplay on the word Hao (昊) which is made up of Ri (日) and Tian (天). Ri Tian (日天) is colloquially used to mean heaven-defying or the more literal meaning of f*ck the sky.
