Chapter 55: Chapter 54: Youth Never Fades, Coming Back Still Young

Zhou Tianyu chimed in, “I know a little about that.”

“Our Computer Science Class 1 has 66 students in total: 42 guys and only 24 girls. The gender ratio in our department at Xia University is pretty skewed—far more guys than girls. It’ll be tough for you to find a girlfriend in our class. However, the overall male-to-female ratio at the university is relatively healthy, around 1:2. So if you’re looking for a partner, you can try other majors.”

“We’re a teacher-training 985 university, so the quality and quantity of our female students are among the best in Modu. It’s not like some of the tech universities, where both are much lower.”

Zhou Tianyu had been active in class affairs all day. He had been vigorously going around each dormitory to take everyone’s measurements and get his face known. It was a clear bid to become class president, so naturally, he was well aware of the gender situation in Computer Science Class 1.

Liu Jia gave Zhou Tianyu a strange look and draped an arm over his shoulder. “Old Zhou, you’re pretty well-informed, huh? Come on, spill it. How do the girls in our class look? Are there any knockout beauties? Whisper the details to your brother.”

Zhou Tianyu swatted Liu Jia’s mischievous hand away. Ever since Liu Jia joked last night about wanting to be his “plus-one for everything,” he felt like the guy was looking at him with ill intent.

“Liu Jia, rein it in, damn it. You’re acting way too desperate.”

Liu Jia just grinned cheekily, unfazed. “Hehe, Tianyu, what’s a big guy like you so scared of? It’s not like I’m into men.”

Zhou Tianyu rolled his eyes. “Get lost. You might not want to take the backroad, but you couldn’t even find the highway if you tried.”

After that, Zhou Tianyu turned to Li Yuan and the others with a suggestion. “Guys, our advisor, Qi Siyu, has notified us that our first freshman class meeting is tomorrow at 8 AM in room 403 of the Ideological and Political Building. Tonight presents a great opportunity. A few of us prospective class officers need to go to each dorm to notify everyone personally. Anyone want to come? Sign up now. Spots are limited, first-come, first-served.”

Liu Jia’s hand shot up first. “Tianyu, I’ll go! I’ll go! I want to meet the lovely enchantresses of our class. This old monk is ready!”

“Alright, you’re in. We’ll head out together around eight tonight.”

Liu Jia asked curiously, “Old Zhou, you’re already a prospective class officer? I heard our advisor is a beauty. You don’t have something going on with her, do you? Are you planning to run for class president? Or have you already been chosen behind the scenes?”

A jolt went through Zhou Tianyu, and he immediately retorted, “Nonsense! The class president will be chosen through a public election. Everyone gets a vote, you know. There’s no way it would be predetermined. It’s guaranteed to be fair and just. Even if I’m elected, it will be because of my own merit.”

Deep down, Zhou Tianyu knew the truth perfectly well. Ahem, if it weren’t for the SK-II cosmetics set he’d given her, trying to secure the class president position would have truly depended on his own abilities…

Of course, even so, he still had to work for it, not just sit back and reap the benefits. The minor privileges he got from the advisor, like doing nightly dorm checks, distributing military training uniforms, and gathering student information, were trivial. Though the power was trivial, its effectiveness depended on who wielded it. At the beginning of university life, when everyone was new and unfamiliar, using even this small amount of influence properly could yield rich rewards.

“Really? On your own merit? Fair and just? Ha!”

Liu Jia was skeptical. His intuition told him there was definitely some foul play involved. Zhou Tianyu had been schmoozing in dorms and office buildings all day. A guy as shrewd as him wouldn’t be doing free labor for nothing.

Xu Ziqiang spoke up, “A fair election? Does that mean I can run for class president too?”

Zhou Tianyu chuckled. “You can run, sure. But out of the 66 students in our class, how many of them even know you? Who’s going to vote for you?”

Xu Ziqiang laughed sheepishly and said no more. As a newcomer, he only knew his roommates.

A look of realization dawned on Liu Jia’s face, and the way he looked at Zhou Tianyu changed. This guy had probably already connected with the advisor without anyone noticing. Then, under the guise of distributing uniforms and taking measurements, he’d gradually gotten to know all his classmates.

“Wow, Tianyu. So you’ve been laying the groundwork this whole time without anyone realizing.”

“I was wondering why you’ve been running around so much these past two days. Now I see it’s all because you’re aiming to be class president.”

Li Yuan also smiled. “Tianyu, looks like the class president position is yours for the taking, huh?”

Zhou Tianyu started, thinking Li Yuan also wanted to throw his hat in the ring for class president, and he grew tense. He was running for a reason. Class officers, especially the class president and the youth league secretary, were given priority for the Party admission quota, which was a huge advantage for one’s future.

“Li Yuan, are you thinking of running for class president too?”

Li Yuan just smiled enigmatically, seeing right through Zhou Tianyu’s intentions. He couldn’t be bothered to compete for class president or youth league secretary; he didn’t care for such empty titles. How many idiots could possibly get into a 985 university? No one was naive enough to think that becoming class president meant everyone would be at your beck and call. Dream on. That would only happen if you could bring tangible benefits to the majority.

「The next morning」

The moment Li Yuan woke up, he saw Zhou Tianyu and the others meticulously grooming themselves.

Today was the first class meeting of their university lives, their first time meeting all their classmates. Liu Jia and the others were taking it very seriously, wanting to show off their best side. They had washed and blow-dried their hair, applied hair gel, and put on their most fitting clothes. Anyone who didn’t know better might think they were headed to the People’s Park for matchmaking.

Li Yuan simply washed up, threw on a tracksuit, and was ready to go.

Liu Jia, who was lathering his face with cleanser, asked curiously, “Li Yuan, aren’t you going to dress up a bit?”

Li Yuan looked relaxed. “What’s there to dress up for? This is how I am. It’s not like I’m too ugly to be seen in public.”

Liu Jia was puzzled. “But the day before yesterday, when you went to meet… you know who, you dressed up so carefully, didn’t you?”

Li Yuan shook his head. “That’s different. You wouldn’t get it.”

Liu Jia scoffed. “Pfft, who are you looking down on? A woman dresses up for the one who admires her, and men are just the same.”

Xu Ziqiang chimed in, “He’s just the well-fed man who doesn’t know the hunger of the starving. With such a beautiful girlfriend, how could any other mediocre beauty catch his eye?”

As the group walked to the classroom, the path was filled with all kinds of students. It was the height of summer, so everyone was dressed lightly. Liu Jia, Wu Hao, and Zhou Tianyu’s eyes were practically swiveling in their heads the entire way.

A bunch of wolves!

“Guys, have you all thought about your self-introductions?” Liu Jia asked. “Should we try for something a little… flashy?”

Zhou Tianyu was feeling a bit nervous. This first class meeting was very important to him, and he hated unexpected changes. He frowned and asked, “What now? What crazy idea have you cooked up?”

Liu Jia grinned mischievously. “I’m not telling you, lest you steal my brilliant idea.”

Zhou Tianyu gave him a look of utter disbelief. “Steal your idea? You really think too highly of yourself.”

“You never know. You’ll see when the time comes.” Liu Jia seemed very confident, shooting Zhou Tianyu a provocative look and raising his eyebrows, as if to say, *We’ll see who’s better when we get there.*

Li Yuan found it all very amusing. At eighteen, they were in the prime of their lives. Just starting university, they were like peacocks fanning their tails, all radiating desperate hormones.

Li Yuan smiled to himself. The curtain never falls on youth; we return, still boys at heart.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep