Time Travel: The Queen's Coronation

Finally, the graduation ceremony arrived.

"Can someone lend me their eyelash curler?"

"Can someone lend me some makeup remover oil? I'm out of it."

"Ah! My eyeliner is crooked!"

"Help! Help! Does anyone have an extra eyebrow pencil?"

"Who has setting spray?"

"Hairpins! Hairpins! Hairpins needed!"

“I need sun protection!”

"Ah! I hit it too thick!"

……

Early in the morning, the quiet dormitory was punctuated by the occasional sound of someone borrowing something or complaining. Everyone was diligently applying their makeup, and I was no exception! I gently applied powder, slowly applied my eyeliner, meticulously traced my eyebrows... Finally, I put on my graduation gown and fixed my hair, and I was done! I stood up and looked back. The three of them were still putting on their makeup, each one more focused than the other.

"I'm fine, are you guys okay?"

"No? Qing'er, help me wash the beauty sponge," Zheng Lan reached out and handed me the beauty sponge.

"Qing'er, help me fix my hat." I went over and helped Liu Xiu fix the hat with a clip.

"Qing'er! Qing'er! Help me... Oh, that's enough, no need anymore." I had just walked halfway when Hu Ning no longer needed me.

Half an hour later, we, the "four beauties," officially headed out. Arriving at the large sports field, the venue had already been set up, we took a group photo at the entrance before entering. Afterward, we took another photo at our seats, and also took photos with each of our classmates, wanting to capture our final moments at Jinghua.

The graduation ceremony officially began at 8:30, starting with the president's speech, followed by speeches from several other leaders. By the time it was my turn, an hour had already passed. I walked up to the podium with my head held high and a smile on my face, and began my graduation speech. Standing on the stage, I felt like I was back in my freshman year, at a speech contest. But now, I felt even more confident. The audience was packed, even larger than the auditorium had been. But I wasn't afraid anymore, I was proud. So many people were listening to me! I delivered my speech, word for word, from my memorized notes, earning thousands of applause!

As the sun grew increasingly scorching, we in the audience were feeling a bit scorched, but the school thoughtfully provided bottled water for us to quench our thirst. The penultimate item on the agenda was the presentation of honorary certificates, awards for outstanding graduation theses, outstanding graduates, and other honorary certificates. I went on stage twice and received two honorary certificates.

The final item on the agenda was the much-anticipated degree conferment and tassel-cutting ceremony. This marked our graduation from Jinghua, concluding four years of undergraduate study! There were over a thousand graduates, and the president tasseled us one by one, while we waited patiently. Fortunately, our college was assigned the first spot, and our major was ranked top within the college, so my turn arrived quickly. Before my turn, I had asked Rong Zixuan to take photos and videos of me from the audience to commemorate the moment as the president conferred my degree and tassel-cutting me. While Rong Zixuan's photography skills were far from impressive, at least he managed to capture this most unforgettable moment of my life!

At around 12:00, our entire department had finished tasseling and could leave to take pictures. As we walked out of the ceremony venue, we saw Zhu Yinyin standing in front with a bouquet of flowers. She saw us coming and handed the flowers to me.

"Happy graduation, Senior! This is a hydrangea, wishing you good luck in the future!"

Looking at her bright smile, I accepted the flowers with a smile, "Thank you! We are going to take pictures, do you want to come?"

"I want to too, but I have classes in the afternoon, so let's take a photo here!" she said with a little regret.

Zheng Lan held up her phone, directed our positions, and took many photos of us. Before leaving, Zhu Yinyin gave me a reluctant hug, then reluctantly let me go.

Zheng Lan looked at Zhu Yinyin's back as she walked away, "Qing'er, is it really impossible for you and Li Zhanwen to be together?"

I looked at Zheng Lan with disdain. "Stop imagining things. I think you can write a novel too. Your imagination is much richer than mine!"

Liu Xiu wanted to hold back her laughter but couldn't help laughing. I looked at her and she suppressed her smile again.

"Xiu'er, stop reading those domineering CEO novels! They're unrealistic!"

"What do you mean by unrealistic? Girls should have some fantasies. Even if they cannot be realized in reality, it's okay to put yourself into the role of the heroine in the book! Reality is so cruel, and you won't let me take a break in the book! You old stubborn guy!" Liu Xiu said to me with disgust.

"Okay, stop arguing! Let's go. The sun will be strong soon and our makeup will be ruined!"

We took photos in every corner of the school under the scorching sun at noon, freezing time in the photos and making the moment eternal.

In the evening, we booked a private room in a restaurant and also ordered a cake to celebrate our successful graduation!

"Cheers!" We clinked our glasses together and drank the whole drink.

"Four years have passed so quickly! I still remember the day we first met. Qing'er was so restrained when introducing herself! At that time, I was thinking, what a well-behaved girl! If my mother saw this, she would definitely compare me with her and scold me! Hahahaha!" Zheng Lan said happily.

"Lan'er, don't be afraid. Now the good girl has become a talkative person! Hahahaha!" Liu Xiu added.

"Isn't this all thanks to you three? You made me open my heart to you! I'll toast you a glass!" I picked up the glass and stood up.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Look, you have mastered the ways of the human world so well now!" Hu Ning said, pointing at me.

"Of course not!" I replied happily.

"However, I still have some regrets about these four years!" Hu Ning suddenly said regretfully.

"What?" Liu Xiu asked, picking up some food. "On such a good day, can you please not say anything bad?"

"It's not a big deal. It's just that the three of us didn't even distort Qing'er's accent!" Hu Ning said with a laugh.

"Yes, yes, yes! They used to say that a person from Northeast China in the dormitory would lead the whole dormitory astray, but the three of us didn't even lead you astray. We are so frustrated!" Zheng Lan said loudly with a smile.

"This means your accent isn't that strong! Hahaha!" I also laughed and answered Zheng Lan's question loudly.

"Now that you mention it, I also feel that I don't have an accent! My Mandarin is very standard!" Zheng Lan said proudly.

"She said she has no accent! Oh my God! Among the three of us, she has the heaviest accent!" Hu Ning said to Liu Xiu in shock.

"Don't laugh! My Mandarin level is Class 2!" Zheng Lan said proudly.

"Tsk! Who isn't in second place?" Liu Xiu said disdainfully while cracking melon seeds. I stood beside him silently without saying a word.

"Hahahaha! Qing'er is Class 2B!" Zheng Lan said, pointing at me and smiling.

I held my forehead in embarrassment, "Uh! Sorry! Sorry!"

"No wonder we couldn't guide her astray, Qing'er has already gone off track!" Zheng Lan laughed wildly, slapping the table.

"Lan'er, don't look at Qing'er's Mandarin level being only B, but he knows many languages! And his English is even standard London accent!" Liu Xiu continued to eat melon seeds and said.

"Yes! I'm confused! How come I can speak English as well as a native Londoner, but not Mandarin?" Hu Ning patted my shoulder and said meaningfully.

"Also, we've been in Beijing for four years, and she doesn't have a Beijing accent at all. This is very strange!" Zheng Lan looked at me puzzledly.

"What's so strange about that? As long as the language is usable, it's fine. Besides, our country is vast, and having an accent is what represents a person's roots! The same old voices are so tiring!"

"Then why are you so good at learning foreign languages?" Hu Ning asked, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Oh no! If I learn a foreign language, of course I have to learn the standard accent! Although Mandarin is our standard language, we have dialects. We used dialects before going to school, so it will be affected when learning Mandarin. But if I learn a foreign language from the beginning, I can definitely learn the standard accent!"

"Hey! You are changing the subject! To learn a foreign language, you should already know Mandarin, so your English should have an accent from your own country, but yours is a very standard London accent!" Zheng Lan retorted.

"Oh! This is easy! Foreign languages are learned after growing up, so they are learned better. Mandarin is learned when you are young. I guess Qing'er was not serious when she was young and didn't learn it well! I have seen Qing'er typing, and she is still a little confused about the initials and finals of some words!" Liu Xiu said calmly while still eating melon seeds.

"I suspect you've been reading my diary! I'm a little embarrassed to say this. When I was little, my teachers all taught in dialect. I was very introverted, didn't like to talk, and was afraid to communicate with others. So my writing and reading skills are fine, but my speaking skills are pretty poor."

"Oh! Indeed! For those of us learning English, many people can read and write a little, but their spoken English is very poor. There is indeed a lack of communication!"

"Then who did you practice your standard London accent with? Could it be Li Zhanwen? I remember he studied abroad since he was a child!" Zheng Lan raised her eyebrows and looked at me.

"He's in the US, and his accent is all bold American. How could it be him?! I paid for online tuition with a foreigner! It's so expensive!"

"Oh!" They suddenly understood.

We talked a lot more afterwards, but unfortunately the restaurant was closed, so we had to end this unsatisfactory dinner. In the following days, the four of us returned to our hometowns one after another, but we agreed to meet in Hegang in July, and I would treat them to a trip to fulfill our original promise!