Chapter 13: University Registration
Gu Wanrong, considering that Wu Ai’ai and Zhou Siyin came from ordinary families, only briefly browsed a few high-end beauty stores, buying only a few sunscreens and skincare products. Then, the three of them shopped together for essential household items for their dorm rooms.
The next morning, after packing everything she bought the previous day into an extra suitcase, the three of them checked out of the hotel and went to register for university.
Since they were going to different schools and majors, they separated at the entrance of Jinhua University and went to register individually.
The upperclassmen at the Chinese Language and Literature Department’s registration point were chatting. This year, many beautiful girls had enrolled in their department, which had the most beautiful girls in the university after the Foreign Languages Department.
They were talking about the girl who had just arrived and was walking towards the entrance of the Han Language and Literature major. She had slender limbs, fair skin, and looked like a little fairy.
They were referring to Gu Wanrong.
Gu Wanrong’s beauty, skin, and figure were all above average; she had an oval face, gentle and soft features, flawless and smooth skin, and a slender figure. After practicing Pilates for half a month, her temperament had improved significantly, and after using “Fragrant Sleeves,” a faint, alluring fragrance emanated from her, making her look like a fairy from a different world.
“Junior, which major and class are you in?” A senior wearing a white baseball cap approached Gu Wanrong.
“Han Language and Literature, Class 1,” Gu Wanrong blurted out; she had been in Class 1 in her previous life.
“Come with me,” The senior enthusiastically led Gu Wanrong to her class registration point. “My name is Yu Muchun, I’m from the Student Union, Architecture Department. If you have the chance, I’ll take you to visit our department.”
“My name is Gu Wanrong, thank you, Senior.” Yu Muchun was very enthusiastic. She talked non-stop during the short walk, and Gu Wanrong couldn’t get a word in, so she just listened quietly.
At the class registration point, two girls sat at a table. When they saw Gu Wanrong, one handed her a pen, and the other took her admission notice.
“Gu Wanrong? Gu Wanrong, you’re here!” The girl who took the admission notice said, thinking, I finally got to meet this Gu junior.
“Junior Gu, after signing and receiving your registration materials, go to the counselor’s office. Teacher Chen Sheng said he wants to see you after you register.” Chen Sheng was the counselor of Gu Wanrong’s class, and he had introduced himself in the class group chat before school started.
“Oh.”
“Did Teacher Chen say why he wanted to see me?” Gu Wanrong was puzzled. In her past life, she had signed and registered and gone directly to the dormitory; the counselor hadn’t contacted her.
“I’m not sure, he just said he needed to see you.” The senior shook her head, indicating she didn’t know either.
After receiving her materials, Gu Wanrong politely declined Yu Muchun’s offer to take her to the counselor’s office. “Senior Yu, I can go myself. I won’t delay your work with the new students.”
She temporarily left her suitcase at the registration point and, based on her memory from her previous life, went towards the counselor’s office.
At the entrance of the office, the door was ajar. Gu Wanrong knocked and entered.
Chen Sheng was a fit man in his thirties.
His head was slightly balding, and he was wearing a gray polo shirt and dark casual trousers. He was sitting in a chair answering a phone call when Gu Wanrong entered and waited.
“Okay, goodbye.” When Chen Sheng saw Gu Wanrong, he quickly finished the call and hung up.
“Gu Wanrong, Gu classmate, right?” Chen Sheng looked at Gu Wanrong for a moment, remembering her name from the student information he had seen earlier.
“Teacher Chen, I’m Gu Wanrong. Is there something you need?” Gu Wanrong nodded.
After confirming that he hadn’t mistaken the person, Chen Sheng lowered his head, opened a drawer, took out a registration form from a stack of documents, placed it on his desk, and looked up. “I posted the personal information registration form in the class group chat. After reviewing everyone’s completed forms, I saw that your parents are both deceased. Are you living with a relative now?”
The registration form on the desk was a form used by the school to collect information on students from economically disadvantaged families. Chen Sheng had called Gu Wanrong because of this.
“Teacher, I’m living alone now. My grandparents and great-grandparents are all gone,” Gu Wanrong’s tone was slightly low. In her previous life, her grandparents were still alive, but now she was alone.
At the entrance of the office, a man stood at attention. Upon hearing Gu Wanrong’s answer, he slightly turned his head to look at Gu Wanrong, whose expression was downcast, then lowered his head as if lost in thought prompted by her words.
“I’m sorry for bringing up your sadness, but, classmate Gu, once you start living with your classmates, you won’t be alone anymore. You must live a good life.” Chen Sheng didn’t know that Gu Wanrong’s other relatives were also deceased, and his words seemed to have saddened her, so he quickly consoled her.
“It’s okay, Teacher. Although my family members are gone, I have friends and classmates, and I’m doing well now.” Gu Wanrong tucked the hair that was covering her eyes behind her ears, hiding her disappointment.
The man at the door received a phone notification; he turned around and quickly walked to the end of the hallway to answer the phone.
Gu Wanrong’s bag, which she had been carrying under her arm, flipped over as she tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the brand logo. Chen Sheng saw the Fendi logo.
As a counselor, Chen Sheng was quite busy at the start of the semester, and he turned the conversation to the reason for the meeting.
“Classmate Gu, are you facing any difficulties living alone?” Although Chen Sheng didn’t know much about handbags, he had heard of Fendi as a luxury brand; Gu Wanrong’s living conditions seemed to be good, but he still needed to verify it.
“Teacher Chen, the inheritance left by my parents is enough to support my daily life,” Gu Wanrong shook her head.
In this life, she was truly alone. The counselor had called her to understand her situation and whether she needed help, so the situation was different from her registration process in her previous life.
Chen Sheng then had another conversation with Gu Wanrong, giving her some encouragement, telling her to study hard in university, not to dwell on the past, to face life positively, and to strive for progress every day.
Finally, Chen Sheng waved his hand, ending the conversation. He said he wouldn’t take up her time and let her go to the dormitory to settle in.
Following Chen Sheng’s advice, Gu Wanrong said goodbye to him and left the office, closing the door behind her.
Outside the office, Gu Wanrong no longer hid her melancholy expression. She leaned her hand on the railing and looked into the distance.
Living alone in the world with no family is lonely. She usually didn’t think about it, and nobody mentioned it, and she lived her life positively, but when someone brought it up, a sharp pain still pierced her heart.
Although she was lonely, she hated her former self, trapped like a caged animal in the quagmire of her original family. Compared to that, her current life was much better.
Gu Wanrong calmed herself down and walked away with a light step.
The man at the door earlier, Xie Xian, after finishing the call, put his phone back in his bag and saw Gu Wanrong, her expression relaxed, a warm smile on her lips.
Her appearance was refined, her eyebrows and eyes gentle. A ray of sunlight shone into the hallway, falling on the tears she hadn’t yet wiped away, shimmering.
Xie Xian felt as if he were about to be intoxicated by this gentle breeze, her slightly lifted hair, and her autumn-water-like eyes.
Xie Xian, passing Gu Wanrong, unconsciously slowed his pace, his eyes meeting hers, then shyly avoiding her gaze, as her faint fragrance brushed against his nose.
Her name seemed to be Gu Wanrong.
Watching her figure gradually disappear from his sight, he came to his senses and remembered that he was here to excuse his younger sister from military training.
His younger sister was his second uncle’s late-in-life child; her grandparents, second uncle, and older brother all doted on their only girl. It wasn’t an unconditional indulgence; only he, who looked serious but was unrestrained inside, would secretly find a way to get his younger sister excused from military training.
Gu Wanrong collected her suitcase from the senior, thanked her, and went to the dormitory building.
Jinhua University assigned dormitories by class and then by registration order, one room at a time.
With the help of a volunteer senior, she took her suitcase to the fifth floor, where the Han Language and Literature Class 1 dormitory was located.
After thanking the senior at the entrance of the fifth floor, Gu Wanrong pulled her suitcase to the dormitory.
This time, because the registration time was different from her previous life, her roommates were also different. In her past life, she didn’t talk much and was self-conscious about her appearance, so she didn’t interact much with her roommates and classmates. This time, Gu Wanrong treated them as new acquaintances.