Section 10: Plans Never Keep Pace with Change

In any case, having the city’s top scorer was always a good thing. Changzhou High School’s science stream had produced few outstanding results that year, so Sima had no choice but to play the school’s “useful tool,” appearing in public for interviews, sharing his study methods, and encouraging the younger students.

In those days, universities did not compete for students as fiercely or as blatantly as they would in later years. Admissions representatives from Beizhi University extended an offer to Sima through the school: if he wished, he need not report to Beizhi Foreign Languages University; he could choose any major in the liberal arts at Beizhi University. Sima politely declined, saying that his excellent performance in the entrance examination had been a matter of chance. If the opportunity arose, he hoped to pursue postgraduate studies at Beizhi University after completing his undergraduate degree.

Like a high fever, the excitement surrounding the title of top scorer soon subsided, and Sima’s life returned to normal. He received his admission notice from the Department of English at Beizhi Foreign Languages University, where he would major in English Language and Literature. His choice of school and major was largely based on convenience: he already knew the territory, and it would save both time and effort. The next four years would be crucial. He had to concentrate on feeding the demon gu, leaving little room to devote himself to his studies.

During the long summer vacation, he spent his days eating and sleeping, then sleeping and eating, like an old bear frantically storing fat before hibernation. Si Daoyan watched in alarm and could not help grumbling a few words, urging him to eat less and exercise more. If he grew fat while still young and developed health problems in middle age, it would be too late for regret. That was sound advice, and for once Xia Ting did not argue. If such consequences arose, she would have been unable to evade responsibility. Fortunately, Sima remained much as he had always been. Not only did he fail to gain weight, he was even somewhat thin, which secretly relieved both parents.

Thin he might be, but his muscles and bones were growing stronger by the day. In private, Sima had tested himself: sixty push-ups in one breath, a five-minute plank, and two hundred consecutive squats, all performed with ease. Thanks to the spirit gu, his physical condition had improved dramatically in a short time. He did not know where the limits of his body lay, but he understood that this improvement would not last forever. Until the gu fully matured, he was still an ordinary man—at most, an unusually strong ordinary man.

The day of his departure drew closer with every passing day. Sima had already packed his luggage. He told his parents that he planned to leave for Beizhi in late August, having arranged to meet several classmates there. They would spend a week sightseeing before reporting to their universities, settling into their dormitories, and attending military training for freshmen.

When Xia Ting first heard her son’s plans, she was surprised, and beneath that surprise lay a deep melancholy. Her son had grown up. She had originally intended to accompany him to Beizhi, settle everything for him, and then return home, but it seemed there would be no need. Still, fledglings had to leave the nest sooner or later. She could not keep her son tied to her side for the rest of his life. He should go out and make his way while he was young; once he married, started a family, and settled down, they could think about the rest.

In her wishful thinking, Xia Ting felt that Sima’s best option after graduation would be to remain in Beizhi for work. She would rent a place and live with him, taking care of his daily needs, while Si Daoyan stayed in Changzhou. What the eye did not see, the heart would not resent.

The final moments together always passed in a blur. And so Sima left Changzhou, the city where he had been born and raised, never to return. He slung a travel bag over his shoulder and pulled his suitcase behind him. Under Xia Ting’s watchful gaze, he boarded the train and set out toward an entirely new life.

There really had been an agreement to meet his classmates and travel together. The original proposal had come from Lu Yu, but he had performed disastrously in the entrance examination and could only fall back on Beizhi United University, which accepted students in the first admission batch. He himself did not care in the least. Grinning as usual, he organized the students heading north into a “group expedition.” It would give them someone to rely on, and they could also have a good time in Beizhi before the start of term.

Lu Yu had the makings of a student leader. The educational tour through Ba Wan Province had already demonstrated his organizational abilities, and many classmates responded to his call. Sima was among them. But plans could never keep pace with change. Lu Yu’s parents could not accept Beizhi United University and arranged for him to attend a foreign institution instead. The schedule was too tight for him to wait for the larger group, so he had no choice but to hand the task of leading them to his good friend Lin Zixuan.

Lin Zixuan was one of Changzhou High School’s most prominent figures. Tall and handsome, he looked like a movie star from a picture magazine and was extremely popular with the girls. The school’s director of student affairs, however, was well versed in breaking up young romances. Before a spark could grow into a blaze, he would snuff it out in the cradle, and Lin had made it through all three years of high school without a single scandal.

After graduation, everyone went their separate ways, and the chains that had bound their hands and feet vanished without a trace. Among the classmates traveling north together were two of Lin’s “admirers,” one from his own class and one from another. One came from a respectable family, the other from a modest household; one was poised and generous, the other gentle and dependent. Together, they provided the group with no shortage of conversation.

There were not many trains from Changzhou to Beizhi, and tickets were difficult to obtain. Lu Yu had used his connections to reserve them. The train would leave Changzhou Station at 7:10 in the morning and arrive at Beizhi Station at 9:47 that evening—a journey of fourteen hours and thirty-seven minutes. It stopped at relatively few stations, required no overnight travel, and saved them considerable time.

Their accommodation in Beizhi had also been arranged. The group would stay at the Furen Guesthouse, which was inexpensive, clean, and conveniently located. Sima learned from Lu Yu that the guesthouse was operated by his family’s business and was not generally open to the public.

By the time Lin Zixuan led the group out, Lu Yu had already boarded a flight across the ocean. Before leaving, he called Sima to say that he had been keeping an eye on Great Qin Shipping. The stock had remained lukewarm and unmoving for a long time. Sima told him that something would definitely happen within ten years and that he should be patient; there would be plenty of time to pay attention to it after he returned from overseas.

Lu Yu was both amused and exasperated, feeling that Sima had lured him into a trap. Even so, Sima’s words gave him a strange confidence. He felt that the stock might bring an unexpected surprise.

The main group consisted of ten people, six men and four women. Five had been Sima’s classmates, while four came from other classes. They had all been admitted to good universities: three to Haidian University, two to Beizhi University, one to Beizhi University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, two to Beizhi Institute of Technology, and one to Beizhi Normal University. With Sima heading to Beizhi Foreign Languages University, they were essentially the “elite” of their graduating class.

Connections were sometimes more important than ability. The reason so many families were willing to respond when Lu Yu raised his arm and called out was that certain “well-informed people” had the foresight to coordinate everything from the middle.

Lu Yu had put in tremendous effort, and most of the train tickets were arranged in adjacent seats. Lin Zixuan handled the seating. The girls sat by the windows, while the stronger boys took the aisle seats and acted as their “protectors.”

With more monks than bowls of rice, everyone wanted to sit beside a girl. Sima, however, made no effort to compete, so Lin Zixuan assigned him a window seat, allowing him to enjoy the same treatment as the girls.

At 7:10, the train whistle sounded, and the train began to move slowly. They were young, after all, and it was their first journey far from home. Unable to contain themselves, they cheered, attracting the attention of the passengers around them.

Fourteen hours and thirty-seven minutes was a long journey. At first, everyone was excited. They passed snacks around, chatted and laughed, their faces animated with enthusiasm. Later, however, sleepiness began to overtake them, and one by one they nodded off.

Lin Zixuan had experience. He reminded the classmates sitting by the aisle to remain alert and not fall asleep. If they truly could not hold out, they were to exchange seats with one of the other boys.

By six-thirty in the evening, even Lin Zixuan was beginning to struggle. He traded seats with Sima and seized the chance to close his eyes for a while and regain his strength.