Dragons begin with courage

It was late at night, and only a few lights remained outside the window. Lu Mingfei sat in front of the computer, the cold light from the screen reflecting his hesitant face. In his QQ friend list, two names lay quietly: one lit up, labeled "Old Tang"; the other grayed out, labeled "Senior Brother".

This is all the "international connections" he has. Chu Zihang, that senior brother who is as distant as a star, went to the ocean last year. And Lao Tang, this American netizen who is on the other end of the internet and can speak fluent Chinese (although occasionally mixed with strange words), is probably the only one he can shamelessly call a "friend".

Now, he desperately needed some advice, some support, even just a casual word of comfort from a stranger. The choice wasn't difficult—Chu Zihang's profile picture was offline, and besides, their pitiful chat history, aside from the initial greetings, was mostly blank. He couldn't even muster the courage to open that chat window.

He took a deep breath and clicked on the jumping panda icon.

"Old Tang, are you asleep yet?"

"No, just stomping some newbies. What's up, you loser?" The reply came so quickly it was like someone had been waiting on the other side of the screen, and you could even hear the machine gun-like "rat-a-tat" sound in the background.

Lu Mingfei licked his slightly dry lips, his fingertips hovering over the keyboard for a moment before finally typing out the sentence that had been lingering in his mind for so long:

"Um... seriously, do you know what kind of questions are typically asked in American university interviews?"

He sent it. Then he stared at the small chat box, his fingers unconsciously curling up, as if grasping at a sliver of hope. He was waiting for a straw thrown from a distant land, perhaps insignificant, but enough to temporarily lift him up.

"Bro, have you forgotten I told you I started working right after high school?" Old Tang sent a panda emoji with droopy ears and teary eyes. "A proper university interview? I've only ever seen those in movies."

Lu Mingfei's heart sank slightly, but then the next line of text popped up:

"However... turn on the video and voice chat! I'll give you a crash course, fix your pronunciation, and simulate a few basic questions—that should be fine! It's a free crash course, don't miss out!"

The situation took a turn for the better. Lu Mingfei stared at the line of text, and the tightness in his chest suddenly eased a little. He glanced at Lu Mingze, who was already snoring softly on the bed next to him, and typed in a low voice: "Then keep your voice down, my cousin is asleep."

"Absolutely!"

The video connection was established. Lu Mingfei put on his headphones, and Old Tang's stubble-faced, excited face, reflecting his all-nighter, appeared in the small window, against a backdrop of a messy desk piled with Coke cans and snack bags. Thus, in the quiet of this small southern town in the dead of night, a desk lamp illuminated the boy's tense yet earnest face. He spoke into the microphone, repeating simple English sentences over and over in a halting, awkward accent. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of kilometers away, a scruffy guy eating yogurt, beaming, shouted at every off-key pronunciation, "No! No! Wrong again! This sound requires a rolled 'r'! Say it after me—"

Only in moments like these, facing that unabashed, freely mocking "friend" on the screen, could Lu Mingfei temporarily forget the ever-present loneliness. Their chattering words traveled through the undersea fiber optic cable, connecting two completely different nights.

The morning of the third day. Regent Hotel.

This is the city's most prestigious hotel, a global chain, its five-star logo gleaming in gold. Lu Mingfei knew about this place because his uncle always loved to come to the lobby for "afternoon tea," which was actually just unlimited refills of tea until dusk, enjoying the illusory satisfaction of touching the edge of "high society" at the lowest cost.

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Lu Mingfei himself had never stepped through that heavy revolving glass door.

At this moment, he stood at the door, his eyes red from staying up all night and nervousness, looking around blankly, like a worker ant that had wandered into a glass maze. He was completely unaware that ever since he appeared near the hotel, multiple eyes, like precise radar, had been quietly locking onto him from the shadows.

"Potato Chip Girl," a sophisticated woman with a sleek high ponytail and incredibly long legs, wearing sunglasses, casually swirled a glass of orange juice in a corner of the hotel lobby. Her gaze, peering through her dark lenses, swept across the lobby before finally settling on a somewhat timid figure. "Look how many 'eyes' are watching this little interview," she whispered into her hidden earpiece.

The crisp sound of potato chips being chewed came through the headphones, mixed with a lazy female voice: "Born with S-class bloodline... that's what it says in the file. I've only ever heard of an overall rating of S, but 'born' S-class? Unheard of. That kid doesn't look like a monster at all, more like a koala that hasn't woken up yet."

"The boss gave a strict order: ensure he gets admitted smoothly, not a single hair can be missing." The long-legged, mature woman took a sip of her juice, her long legs crossed, her posture languid yet brimming with the tension of a cheetah. "I'm getting more and more curious. Just who is this kid? What makes the boss so focused on him, so determined to get him into Kassel College?"

"Don't try to guess what the boss is thinking, just do as he says." The female voice in the earpiece paused. "Once this is done, there's still work to be done at the Three Gorges."

"Sigh, what a life of toil." The mature woman sighed softly, but her gaze never left Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei was completely unaware of all this. He had just reached the door when a waiter in a sharp suit, with an impeccable smile, approached and bowed slightly: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Lu here for your interview at Kassel College?"

Lu Mingfei was taken aback, then nodded subconsciously. He didn't even have time to show any identification before he was politely led across the gleaming marble floor to a grand conference room.

It was as if everything had been arranged, and he only needed to follow the instructions to complete the tasks.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, several pairs of eyes immediately shot towards me.

Chen Wenwen, Su Xiaoqiang, Zhao Menghua, Liu Miaomiao… familiar faces, all bearing the same look of astonishment, were fixed on him. There were also other familiar faces from Shilan Middle School whose names he couldn't recall.

"Lu Mingfei?" Several voices rang out simultaneously, their tones filled with disbelief, as if his appearance was an absurd bug in this elite gathering.

Lu Mingfei felt his cheeks burning. He hurriedly held up the slightly crumpled envelope in his hand and forced a dry smile: "I...I'm here too..." He swallowed and squeezed out the last three words, "For an interview."

Zhao Menghua frowned, Su Xiaoqiang pursed her lips, and the group exchanged a knowing glance, a mixture of surprise, disdain, and a subtle displeasure at being dragged down. Lu Mingfei was like a glass marble that had accidentally landed on a pearl platter, completely out of place.

He shrank back, almost shuffling, to the only empty chair in the last row of the conference room. On the chair lay a form and a pencil. He lowered his head, pretending to focus intently on filling in his name and age, but his gaze couldn't help but sneak up, drifting through the throng of people to that figure.

Chen Wenwen was unusually different today. Usually casually dressed, she had meticulously put together a dark blue preppy-style skirt suit, white lace stockings, black flat leather shoes, a white silk scarf tied at the neckline, and even her hair clip had been replaced with an elegant mother-of-pearl one. She sat there quietly, like a girl who had stepped out of a classic European film, exuding a clear, artistic aura that seemed out of place with her surroundings.

Lu Mingfei stared, somewhat lost in thought, and unconsciously scratched his head, muttering in a voice only he could hear, "...She looks really good."

Just then, Chen Wenwen seemed to sense his gaze and turned her head slightly. Seeing it was him, she gently put her finger to her lips in a "shh" gesture, then pointed to the closed door of the inner room and mouthed silently, "The examiner is here, inside. Don't make a sound."

Lu Mingfei immediately fell silent, but his heart began to beat faster than usual because of this brief and unexpected exchange.

Just as Lu Mingfei entered the interview room, a Maybach pulled up in front of the Regent Hotel.