CHAPTER 377: CHAPTER 374 [I’M SORRY]

Chapter 374: I’m Sorry

From childhood to adulthood, adults have told many lies to children. Since they are lies, naturally, these words are all false.

For instance: "We’ll save your New Year’s money for you, to give to you when you grow up and get married (or when you want to use it, just ask Mom for it)."

If you ever really wanted to use that money to buy a toy or a comic book in the future, and went to ask your mom for the money... well, let’s not talk about it. It’s all tears.

The truth is, New Year’s money was never meant for children in the first place, because adults give New Year’s money to each other’s children. Your uncle gives you a hundred bucks for New Year’s money, and likewise, your parents also have to cough up a hundred bucks for your uncle’s child. New Year’s money is simply a form of social exchange amongst adults. Although it’s in the name of children, it really has nothing to do with them. Only a naive child would think the money that passes through their hands is their own.

There are many other lies adults tell children like this one. But there is one that really isn’t a lie. That more truthful saying is: study hard, don’t play too much—once you get into university, you can play however you like. Yes, this saying is relatively true.

Apart from the few top students and geniuses at prestigious schools, many who have attended university can reflect on the memories of their university life. Are you more familiar with the classroom for your major and the school library, or the internet cafe near the school? Are you more familiar with your major’s teachers, or the internet cafe’s admin? You might only go to the library a few days before exams. But the internet cafe is open 24/7/365, right?

After getting into university, many kids are surprised to find: holy shit, we can actually play now...

For the former students of Grade 12, Class 4 of No. 8 Middle School, this was especially true. After all, it had taken a year of intense dedication to significantly improve their grades, battling through hardships to earn their university acceptance letters. The small group that used to revolve around Sun Keke and Chen Nuo had already half dispersed. Luo Qing and Du Xiaoyan were still studying in Jinling. Luo Qing was at an engineering school, while Du Xiaoyan was studying science at a second-tier university. The class president had it even better—with the funding from the education group, all his university tuition and accommodation fees for four years would be reimbursed by the company.

With the leaps and bounds of progress Sun Keke displayed in her senior year, she was almost like No. 8 Middle School’s model student specially cultivated for the 2002 university entrance exams. They even planned to showcase her as a recruitment model in the future. Sun Keke’s grades weren’t quite enough for Tsinghua and Peking University, but she had a good shot at the others. Before, everyone thought that Sun Keke would choose the local Jinling University, a double first-class university and the best in Jinling City and even Su Province, ranking among the top five nationally and aspiring to the top three (in 2002).

Yet, when it came time to submit her university preferences, Keke, after discussing with her family, went against everyone’s expectations and chose Jinling Normal University. This move surprised everyone. Jinling Normal University, although a first-tier university and nationally recognized, was only a Project 211 institution, not Project 985. Most importantly, Sun Keke was like a flag that No. 8 Middle School had prepared to proudly wave for their transformation in the 2002 entrance exams. They had hoped that Sun Keke would get into a top-tier university, as a testament to No. 8 Middle School’s reforms. Yet, School belle Sun decided on her own not to go along with it.

The higher-ups at the school did try to persuade Sun Keke, even involving the education group. The company even made a generous promise to the Sun family: as long as Sun Keke was willing to attend a double first-class university, the education group would cover all expenses for four years of university and also provide an additional "scholarship." Even Old Sun, the vice principal of No. 8 Middle School, felt pressure from the top echelons within the education group.

To put it in perspective, it’s like a football star that the whole world expects to transfer to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and such giants... And yet, they go to Ajax instead. Not that it’s bad—they still get to play in the UEFA Champions League every year. But... after all, it’s not a "giant"; it can only be considered a "strong competitor."

Sun Keke, however, was very firm in her stance. She convinced her father with two sentences, gaining Old Sun’s support.

"I know my personality very well. Even if I went to a better university, I won’t become a doctor, a lawyer, work in finance or investment, or manage people as a boss... I just want to be a teacher in the future, to become a truly good teacher like you."

Old Sun was silent. After a night of struggle and indecision, Old Sun resolutely decided to support his daughter’s choice. At home, Yang Xiaoyi actually had different opinions. But after Sun Keke and Old Sun reached an agreement, Yang Xiaoyi was quickly convinced as well.

Yang Xiaoyi’s perspective was more realistic: Her husband, Sun Shengli, was now the vice principal of No. 8 Middle School and had already made quite a name and status for himself in the local educational circles. In a few more years, as No. 8 Middle School continued to improve, Old Sun’s status, connections, and resources in the field of education would also get better. Her daughter, majoring in education, would certainly enter the education sector after graduation. With such a father to rely on, she would definitely receive a lot of support from him when she started her career. Although her daughter’s grades could get her into a better university and a better major, if she chose another industry after graduation, her family would not have such favorable conditions. All things considered, going into education might indeed be a good choice for her daughter.

Thus, the family of three came to an agreement. What they faced next was the pressure from the high-level management of No. 8 Middle School and the education group. There were even rumors that the higher-ups of the education group were very dissatisfied with Sun Shengli’s handling of the matter as the vice principal of No. 8 Middle School. We offer you such high compensation, and in the 2002 college entrance exam, the school also invested a lot of resources to achieve a resounding success for the restructuring. As the vice principal of No. 8 Middle School, how could you not show support? We’re not trying to ruin your daughter’s future. Isn’t it better for her to attend a better university?

It was said that the education group’s senior management was very unhappy with Sun Shengli’s support of his daughter and had quite a few complaints. But then, all this pressure suddenly disappeared overnight. What exactly happened, Old Sun didn’t really understand. But Sun Keke had a vague guess.

One night, Sun Keke made a phone call to a number she never thought she’d contact. After getting through, Sun Keke was silent for a long time before she said only one sentence, "...Thank you."

On the other end of the phone, a blonde girl who was doing squats in the gym said loudly on the speakerphone while sweating profusely, "You don’t need to thank me. While he was around, it didn’t matter how much we fought. But now that he’s gone, it’s not okay for outsiders to bully us."

After that, Niveer took the initiative to hang up, moved her body with a sense of helplessness, did some stretching, and then picked up a towel to wipe her sweat. She turned to the girl with long legs who was quickly working on the computer and asked, "Any new developments with that Neon girl?"

Li Yingwan gave Niveer a cold look. "Xun hasn’t been in the news recently; she’s probably still trying."

Niveer sighed. "If she needs money, transfer another two million to her."

"Okay," Li Yingwan hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, "This time you’ll be paying. The last million already drained me. All our family’s money is in Mom’s hands; I can’t ask for more."

With no more pressure from the education group and No. 8 Middle School, Sun Keke predictably applied to Jinling Normal University and was predictably admitted.

In early September, Sun Keke, like many other young people full of anticipation and eagerness for university life, rushed to school to prepare for her upcoming four years of university life. Of course, after the hellish ordeal of her senior year of high school, there was the phrase her parents kept saying in mind, "Once you get into university, you can enjoy yourself however you want..." For the first time, leaving home to live and study on her own, every young person was like a duck released into the water, eagerly wanting to feel a sense of freedom. Then... each university in Huaxia was prepared to serve the first "big meal" to these innocent youngsters: military training.

Sun Keke and three other girls from her dorm were being punished by standing. Today, during the inspection, one girl was punished for not making her bed properly. Instead of having a rest after lunch, they had to redo their room and then stand at attention for half an hour. In fact, the girls were already given quite some leniency and weren’t made to stand outside under the sun like the boys. The girls were allowed to stand in a shady spot beneath the dormitory building. Moreover, after just standing for about ten minutes, the instructor waved them off with a stern face and told them to go back and rest.

Back in the dorm, while the other girls were complaining about the one who hadn’t made her bed properly, Sun Keke sat on her own bed quietly, resting. After a week of military training, Sun Keke’s skin had darkened slightly. But unlike her roommates, who hurried to apply various sunscreens before drill every day, Sun Keke simply applied a bit of cream and called it a day. It must be considered a natural advantage, as Sun Keke had always been quite fair-skinned, with a healthy blush beneath her whiteness. The key was that she had great skin naturally. When others tanned, they really turned dark. Sun Keke, throughout her life, had experienced instances of severe sun exposure, even leading to sunburns where her skin would turn red and peel. However, after healing, her skin would always return to its original fairness. Besides... Sun Keke’s mind wasn’t really occupied with concerns about tanning anymore.

The relationship among the four girls in the same dorm was decent; after all, they had just started living together, and everyone was still enjoying the novelty of community life in the dorms, with no serious conflicts having arisen yet. However, the other three girls’ feelings towards Sun Keke were quite mixed. From the first day of school, Sun Keke’s beautiful face and charming figure quickly became the center of attention for the boys. When the boys discussed in the dormitory which new girl was the prettiest... Sun Keke was the first name that could never be avoided. Clearly, the school belle of No. 8 Middle School was still a blooming flower in college. This made the other girls’ attitudes towards Sun Keke somewhat more complex. There was admiration, friendliness, and also a hint of jealousy...

But there were still some perks. On such hot days, standing under the sun at military attention for too long during training, and marching in formation, was too much for the physically weaker girls to bear, and there had even been instances of girls fainting. The young men, brimming with hormones, naturally found a target for their attentions. In the past few days, whenever there was a break after training, boys would run over to bring Sun Keke water, and some would try to strike up conversations with her for no reason. But Sun Keke would not drink the water others brought her; instead, she would hand it over to the girls in the same dormitory. At the moment, Sun Keke was catching up on her rest.

"Hey, you guys, look across!" a slightly plump girl in the dorm suddenly shouted excitedly, standing by the window and pointing at the boys’ dormitory building opposite them. The other two girls in the dorm also looked over.

On the balcony of the boys’ dormitory opposite, several boys were striking strange poses and doing who knows what. Some held opened umbrellas, while others danced around them, chanting incessantly...

"What are they doing? Are they crazy?" a girl asked with a curious smile, though her words were a bit harsh.

Another girl, who apparently understood the situation, just shook her head and said, "They are praying for rain... Yes, praying for rain." This seemed to be an unavoidable topic during college military training as well.

The rain-praying ritual on the balcony opposite had attracted the attention of many students from both buildings, and Sun Keke walked over to the window to look across. Students from other balconies also peeked out. Finally, the instructor downstairs noticed them, and after a few shouts and curses from the instructor, the rain-praying boys scurried away and hid back in their rooms, with one even accidentally dropping his umbrella down the building. Then, as the instructor stormed into the boys’ dormitory building, the girls began giggling and discussing, guessing that those boys were in for a bad time. Indeed, a few minutes later, four boys were led out by the instructor and had to stand in the sun at attention.

"If only it would really rain... we could rest this afternoon," the slightly plump girl sighed, then leaned closer to Sun Keke, wrapping an arm around hers. "Don’t you think so, Keke?"

"Mmm," Sun Keke nodded gently. Other than herself, this slightly plump girl was the only local from Jinling, so Sun Keke was closer to her.

"Ah, the weather forecast said there wouldn’t be rain today," another girl lamented, caressing her arm. "Another couple of days in the sun and I’ll pretty much become an African." As she spoke, she looked enviously at Sun Keke, "How come you don’t seem to tan at all? I see your skin is just a little bit red, pink and tender, with a fair glow that actually makes you look even more beautiful... It’s just not fair how some people are made."

Sun Keke smiled gently and shyly. Her personality was as such, not aggressive or competitive, gentle and reserved.

However, just at that moment, a distant rumble of thunder suddenly silenced the chattering girls in the room. One girl immediately pushed the window open and reached out, her face dramatically changing—mostly out of excitement—and turned around to yell, "It’s raining! It’s really raining!"

Following her shout, another thunderclap! Shortly afterward, a downpour suddenly ensued!

The slightly plump girl’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she instinctively blurted out two words, "Holy shit!" After speaking, she realized what she had said and looked around at the other girls in the room, embarrassed. But it seemed like no one really cared much about it.

The girl at the window hurriedly closed it to prevent the rain from drifting inside. But before the window was even fully shut, shouts and howls of joy from the boys could be heard outside. Looking over again, the four boys who had prayed for rain and were punished by standing at attention downstairs stood proudly, chests out, like heroes welcoming the cheers and applause from the students above. Even drenched to the bone, they didn’t seem to mind at all. The instructor rushed out shortly after, scolded them, but still let them go back inside to avoid the rain.

The three excited girls in the room discussed animatedly, while Sun Keke alone had a strange and complex expression, frowning at the sky outside, as if lost in thought. A few moments later, a class leader came to inform them: the afternoon drill was canceled, and they were to meet at the auditorium at 2:30 to watch a documentary on national defense education. The three girls in the dorm hooted and hollered, and one even flipped over to lie on her bed wriggling about.

"Keke, what are you staring at out there?" the slightly plump girl came over to pull on Sun Keke. This girl was very enthusiastic and not at all reserved, a bit like Du Xiaoyan from their days at No. 8 Middle School.

Sun Keke snapped back to reality and said casually, "Nothing." Yet inside, she felt increasingly odd... Was that a hint of spiritual power fluctuation I felt?

In the afternoon, when they went to the auditorium to watch the national defense education documentary, the four boys from the Prayer for Rain group became the center of attention among all the students in line. They held their heads high and puffed out their chests like heroes returning in triumph, and from time to time some boys would even give them a thumbs-up. Mmm, it was just that they were a bit weak in the knees when they walked. The fun of praying for rain was short-lived; although they were spared from standing at attention in the rain, upon returning to the dormitory, they were punished by the instructor to do two hundred duck squats in the hallway. That sensation was also quite a sour thrill.

Although everyone was clear that the rain definitely didn’t come from their rain prayers, these young people were still very willing to credit this heavy downpour to these four guys. Actually, the rain had already dwindled to a light drizzle and seemed about to stop, but the afternoon plans had already been changed. It appeared that the officers in charge of military training and the school teachers had no intention of changing it back.

Sun Keke walked among the lines of girls towards a row in the auditorium and then queued up to sit down, quietly waiting for the documentary to start. Sun Keke was tall and stood at the very front of the line of girls. And when she sat down, she just happened to be at the very end seat of the row.

The documentary had started for ten minutes, and although Sun Keke sat with her eyes open and back straight, in reality, she hadn’t taken in anything that was being shown. The strange feeling inside her heart was becoming stronger and stronger. Earlier on, around the time when it started raining, that feeling of a faint spiritual power fluctuating around the sky... The more Sun Keke thought about it, the more she felt she hadn’t misjudged it. Over the past year, she had diligently practiced controlling her spiritual power. With each passing day, Sun Keke felt that her spiritual power’s growth had slowed down, seemingly hitting a ceiling. However, she maintained her efforts in exercising control over her spiritual power. I’m sure I didn’t make a mistake in what I felt just now.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Sun Keke thought it over, made a decision, and then she stood up and, crouching down, walked to the instructor’s seat. After quietly asking for permission, she quickly ran out of the auditorium’s side door. She had used the excuse of going to the washroom to slip out, but instead of going to the restroom, Sun Keke ran straight outside from the auditorium’s side door. The rain outside had become very light and looked as if it could stop at any moment. Sun Keke stood under the eaves, squinted her eyes, and then closed them completely, intently sensing everything around her.

Sun Keke’s spiritual power was not yet strong enough to project outward to the degree that Mentality Series experts could, forming spiritual power into tendrils and reaching out. But her sensitivity and perception of the outside world were sharp enough. Sun Keke carefully captured and keenly sensed it. She opened her eyes, and her expression grew even more peculiar. In the sky, there was still a trace of faint spiritual power flowing—it had become lighter than before, and it seemed to be weakening. Finally, the fluctuation disappeared, and it could no longer be captured. Sun Keke opened her eyes and looked doubtful for more than ten seconds, then let out a disappointed sigh.

Is there an Ability User nearby?

Thinking this, Sun Keke turned and walked back toward the auditorium. Passing by the restroom, she even washed her hands incidentally. But just as she turned to leave, a hand suddenly grabbed Sun Keke from behind, yanking her forcefully into an embrace. Sun Keke felt herself being dragged fiercely into someone’s arms. To her horror, with her current level of perception, she hadn’t been aware of someone approaching her so closely! What was even more terrifying, one hand clutched her wrist, while the other was hooked around her neck, a palm covering her mouth!

In shock, Sun Keke suddenly gathered all her spiritual power fiercely, concentrating it as if it were a needle, and with all her might released it violently towards the other person. This was the greatest extent Sun Keke could currently manage, and the only attack method she had honed through a year of effort with her abilities. To a mature Telekinesis Ability User, it was somewhat akin to a rudimentary version of Spiritual Storm. However, it was still very weak, barely able to project a tiny bit of spiritual power. In the eyes of a mature Ability User, such an attack was not much to speak of, but for an ordinary person, it was enough to cause an instant disruption in their consciousness or to make them faint on the spot. At the same time, Sun Keke was struggling with all her might.

But suddenly... a voice with a faint hint of amusement reached her ears.

"Huh? You’ve improved so much..."

Upon hearing this voice, Sun Keke’s body went rigid as if all her strength had disappeared in an instant; she forcibly widened her eyes and then let herself be pulled into the men’s washroom on the side. Those familiar eyes, that gaze she knew too well fell upon her face and body, and that visage she had seen many times in her dreams over the past year...

Sun Keke: "..." Her body began to tremble.

Chen Nuo softly sighed and frowned, saying, "...Ah, you’ve lost weight."

Sun Keke suddenly widened her eyes, shook off Chen Nuo’s hand, and raised her right palm. She threw a slap his way.

SLAP!

This slap landed squarely on Chen Nuo’s face; he didn’t dodge, allowing half of his face to turn red from the impact. Yet, he still wore a gentle smile, looking at the girl in front of him.

Tears rapidly filled Sun Keke’s eyes, and then she embraced Chen Nuo fiercely, bursting into loud sobs. Then, the girl opened her mouth and bit ferociously onto Chen Nuo’s shoulder, biting very hard!

Chen Nuo raised his eyebrows but still did not move, letting Sun Keke bite down hard on his shoulder, while he sighed softly.

"...I’m sorry."