Time Travel: The Queen's Coronation

After completing all the exams, the three of us chose not to stay at Yenching for internships or return home, but instead flew to a foreign country, New York. The moment the plane took off, the intense feeling of weightlessness made me feel like my soul was being pulled out of me. I held onto Rong Zixuan next to me with one hand and gripped the seat handle with the other. After the plane stabilized, Rong Zixuan showed me his wrist, which was covered in red marks from my grip. It was my first time on a plane, and the takeoff process was extremely uncomfortable. I slept the entire flight, completely forgetting my plan to take photos of the aerial scenery before takeoff.

After more than ten hours, the plane landed in New York. As soon as we got off the plane, we could intuitively feel that we were indeed in a foreign country. English was everywhere. The people we met had blue eyes, green eyes, blond hair, red hair, high noses and big bodies... completely different from Chinese people.

We took a taxi to our rental house. It was in a relatively central location, so it wasn't far. However, the trip was quite expensive when converted to our own currency. But since they earn dollars and spend them, it wasn't a problem. Our senior brother had already furnished the place for us, so we could move right in. Our apartment was similar to Monica's from "Friends," with two rooms. Rong Zixuan and I shared one, while Liang Yan and our senior brother shared another. I'd initially thought it would be a three-bedroom apartment, with the three of us sharing it, but it turned out to be a two-bedroom. Fortunately, Liang Yan wasn't moving in with us; it would have been awkward, and I'd have worried he and Rong Zixuan would start arguing again. We quickly packed up, and our senior brother invited us to his place for dinner, which he had already prepared.

"Come on, clink one," the senior brother raised the Coke can. After we clinked our cans, the senior brother introduced himself. "Just a quick introduction, my name is Wen Ruohai, I'm from Yanjing, and I'm currently studying for a master's degree at New York University."

"My name is Rong Zixuan, and this is Wei Qing, my girlfriend. We are both from Qingzhou, Lingyuan." Rong Zixuan introduced himself and me at the same time.

"Oh, I heard that you are the top student in the province," Senior Brother Wen looked at me and said.

"How come Senior Brother Wen also knows about this? This is all old news."

"Senior Brother Wen was also the top scholar in Yanjing City," Liang Yan added, "We went to the same high school. Senior Brother Wen was a well-known figure in our school back then."

"A hero doesn't brag about his past achievements, so why bring them up again?"

"Senior brother is our role model."

"Yes, yes," Rong Zixuan and I echoed from the side.

"Off topic, are you guys going to report to Zero tomorrow?"

"Yes, we have already contacted Zero before coming here, and the registration date is tomorrow."

"Okay, if you have any questions here, you can always ask me. I've been here for two years and I'm familiar with this city. If I'm free on weekends, I can also take you to other cities to play."

"Thank you, Brother Wen," Liang Yan raised the Coke can, and we raised ours together to toast Brother Wen.

"Brother Wen, it's awkward to call me Brother Wen. Just call me William. William is my English name. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Here, everyone can be called by their first name, regardless of age. You should also choose an English name."

"Okay, then I'll call you George, George Liang."

"Aqing, please give me a name."

"I like Rachel from Friends, so my name is Rachel Wei"

"Then your name will be Ross," Senior Brother Wen said, patting Rong Zixuan on the shoulder.

"Ross is not good, I don't like his style"

"Then your name should be James. Don't you like James? James Rong"

"Yeah, sure," Rong Zixuan agreed immediately when he heard James' name.

We had a hearty meal at Senior Brother Wen's, then returned to our rooms to pack up and get a good night's sleep before heading back to work the next day. Perhaps it was the jet lag, but I had trouble falling asleep, and ultimately only managed a little over an hour of napping. The next day, I saw they were both listless, seemingly unable to sleep through the night either.

We arrived at Zero's headquarters early, but it seemed we were a bit too early. A group of people started work at 9:00 AM. Liang Yan explained the situation to the receptionist, and we were able to go up to the office building and wait for the manager to arrive. Around 10:00 AM, the manager, Golden, came into the office and assigned us tasks. He introduced us to Zero's work environment and business, and gave us the opportunity to get to know everyone in the office.

Simply put, Zero requires an eight-hour workday, but the hours aren't fixed. You can come in early and leave early, or come in late and leave late, as long as you work eight hours. The tasks they assign seem reasonable, and there's even enough time to do other things. They also repeatedly emphasize that it's best not to disrupt others' personal time after get off work. Seeing these work arrangements makes me very happy.

The day passed easily. After get off work, the three of us explored New York City together. Of course, taking photos in front of the Statue of Liberty was a must. We also visited many famous landmarks, such as the Empire State Building and Times Square. We couldn't complete them all in one day, but we did manage to visit them all.

Before I knew it, a month had already passed in the US. During that time, we'd done so much and seen so much that I'd only ever seen in textbooks or online. Just like when I first arrived at Yenching, my horizons had been broadened once again. Furthermore, foreign cultures are completely different, the lifestyles and even the food culture is vastly different. Having experienced so much, and having gained more reflection and reflection, I've become a much more mature person. Furthermore, during my internship at Zero, a top-tier company, I learned so much from the talented engineers—a truly invaluable lesson that can't be learned from textbooks or the internet. I also exchanged ideas with them, and this encounter between Eastern and Western cultures has broadened my thinking and opened my eyes to new perspectives.

New York is also full of celebrities. You might occasionally run into a Hollywood star on the busy streets, but foreigners are hard to tell apart, so I pass by some celebrities without even realizing it. Since I have plenty of time after get off work, I often accompany Rong Zixuan to NBA games. Even though I don't know much about basketball, I still watch them. The atmosphere is truly different watching a game live. Rong Zixuan screams and shouts with excitement. American football and baseball are also very popular, and Rong Zixuan loves to watch them, but I have no idea what they mean. How come in football, a bunch of people on top of one person isn't a foul, but in baseball, the person just runs away? I have no idea what the terms like home run and the like are; I just check in and join in the fun.