The next morning, Mai Xiaoshu and Song Feifei appeared at the gate of Qingteng College in the morning light.
The magnificent European retro building suddenly appeared before their eyes. The breeze of the summer morning blew by, and the air was filled with the faint fragrance of grass. Looking around, the four exquisite stone-carved characters of Qingteng College appeared before their eyes against the light, looking extremely eye-catching.
In the green playground in the distance, several boys were playing football vigorously. All around them were freshmen who were dragging their suitcases to register, looking fresh, energetic and full of vitality.
"Wow! This campus I haven't seen for a long time!" Mai Xiaoshu couldn't help but sigh as he stood in the middle of the school gate square.
After turning the corner, Song Feifei was heading to the junior communication school teaching area, while Mai Xiaoshu was heading to the administrative building to attend a scholarship interview.
"Come on!" Song Feifei took out a pink amulet from her pocket and handed it to Mai Xiaoshu, then winked at her, "I know you can do it! Of course, it doesn't matter if you fail, I will support you!"
She was a little nervous at first, but when she heard her best friend cheering her up, her pounding heart suddenly calmed down: "Yeah, I can do it!"
After they said goodbye, Mai Xiaoshu walked towards the administration building and quickly found the interview address. The corridor was empty. Was she the first one to arrive?
As soon as she stepped into the interview room, everyone inside looked at her. One boy was the most eye-catching. He sat right in the middle of the interviewer's seat. He had neat short hair, deep features, and handsome three-dimensional features. He looked a bit like a mixed-race boy, but his expression was a bit serious.
Seeing Mai Xiaoshu coming in, he nodded at her and gestured, "You're not in the wrong place, please come in!" Then, he took the resume handed to him by Mai Xiaoshu and looked down at it carefully.
"Mai Xiaoshu?" Suddenly, a female voice sounded from the interviewer's seat.
"Hmm?" She was too nervous just now and didn't see the facial features of all the interviewers in the classroom clearly. Now that she saw the faces clearly, Mai Xiaoshu felt a cool breeze blowing on her back.
Oh my God, how could it be her?
The girl had a pair of almond-shaped eyes and long black hair that fell behind her head like a waterfall. She was wearing an off-white Chanel suit that outlined her slender waist. Her skin was snow-white and her lips were as red as cherries. However, the smile on her face was a little unfathomable, and wherever her eyes went, people felt cold.
This person is none other than Mai Xiaoshu’s nemesis – Yin Lunmei!
The two were classmates in junior high school and later went to the same university. Because Mai Xiaoshu took a year off, he returned to school one grade lower than before.
After realizing that Yin Lunmei was one of the interviewers, Mai Xiaoshu's nervousness instantly turned into disappointment. There was a 99.9% chance that she would fail in the scholarship interview!
"Hello, Lunmei!" Even though she realized the seriousness of the situation, Mai Xiaoshu was still unwilling to give up the 0.01% possibility. She tried to suppress her anxiety and greeted him with a smile. Well... With such a fluke mentality, Mai Xiaoshu comforted herself that the conflict between them happened several years ago, and Yin Lunmei should have forgotten it long ago.
Just when she was immersed in her beautiful fantasy, Yin Lunmei took over her file and read it out -
"What! You took a year off from school? Why? I was wondering why I hadn't seen you for a long time, and I thought you went abroad to study!"
Forgetting about the holidays...seems impossible!
The other interviewer was a girl with short hair and a stern face, looking even more serious than the boy in the middle. She glanced at Mai Xiaoshu, then turned to ask Yin Lunmei: "Do you know each other?"
"We were classmates in junior high school! What a fate!"
Fate? I'm afraid it's an unlucky fate!
How could I meet her here? Mai Xiaoshu just wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.
"Even if you are classmates, you have to do things impartially and not use backdoors!" the short-haired girl reminded.
"Of course, Mai Xiaoshu is very capable!" Yin Lunmei looked at her with a smile. Mai Xiaoshu felt that her smile was full of calculations.
"There are people queuing outside, let's get back to the topic." The boy spoke with great authority. Yin Lunmei and the girl with short hair immediately fell silent and returned to their seats.
The boy introduced himself, "I am Jiang Xingye, the new president of the Student Union. I am the chief examiner of this scholarship selection. The other two are vice presidents of the Student Union. You know Yin Lunmei. The other one is Jiang Fangfang. Both of them are members of the scholarship review team and will assist me throughout the process. Your information shows that you have been on leave for the past year. What is the reason?"
Unexpectedly, the first question was such an embarrassing one. Mai Xiaoshu coughed and explained, "I can't continue my studies because of tuition fees. After taking a leave of absence, I worked in the zoo to earn money, so I hope to apply for a scholarship to ease the pressure of life..."
"Is it true? Because you can't afford the tuition?" Yin Lunmei asked with curiosity on her face, even though she knew the answer.
Mai Xiaoshu felt the mockery in her smile, and suddenly he could no longer remain calm, and began to tug at the corner of his clothes nervously. Just as the atmosphere froze, Jiang Xingye's low voice sounded again.
"I heard that taking care of animals is very hard work. You are studying veterinary medicine. You can do some social practice before graduation. I believe it will be of great help to your future career development."
Jiang Xingye's words eased her embarrassment. Mai Xiaoshu looked at him gratefully, but he looked at her as usual.
"It is quite helpful... hehe." Since the student council president said so, Yin Lunmei, as the vice president, lost the opportunity to taunt his rival and could only snort.
"Thank you for your encouragement!" Mai Xiaoshu's blood suddenly boiled. For the first time, he felt that his efforts this year were not meaningless.
"How were your grades as a freshman? Can you provide me with the certificates you obtained?"
"Of course." Mai Xiaoshu turned around and took out the prepared folder from her bag, and handed it to Jiang Xingye respectfully. "I got A in all the subjects in the first grade, and I also obtained the veterinary qualification certificate. I... I am the only student in the grade who got the qualification certificate."
"That's great. We will keep your information and conduct a comprehensive evaluation later."
“And an assessment?”
"You have no confidence?" Jiang Xingye asked back.
“Of course not, it’s just…” Mai Xiaoshu still had confidence in her professional performance, but she was afraid that Yin Lunmei would do something to hold her back… Of course she couldn’t say this out loud, and she hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to end the topic.
"You are very good, but there are still many students applying for scholarships. The number of places is limited, and we need some time to consider." Jiang Xingye's face was calm, and he wore a pair of glasses on his high nose bridge. Under the sunlight, the glasses reflected an inorganic cold light, making it impossible to see through his emotions.
When Mai Xiaoshu heard the three words "wait for news", his heart skipped a beat, and his boiling mood instantly subsided.
In her opinion, "waiting for news" is equivalent to a tactful refusal. Especially after seeing Yin Lunmei's smirk , Mai Xiaoshu became more certain that her application for the scholarship had failed, and her mood became heavy.