Chapter 23 — Signing Up

"What?" Xingzi was struck dumb. So the great ones had overlooked the small man's fault after all.

"What kind of face is that?" Bi Hai asked, feigning puzzlement. "We've already forgiven the error committed by your boss's young master. What, is it too much to believe? Are you weeping for joy?"

If Xingzi had a stone at hand just then, he would have gladly smashed his own head against it.

"I think you've misunderstood, actually. I came here to discuss the matter of compensation," Xingzi said helplessly.

"No need for compensation. We've had no casualties on our side either," Bi Hai said with a shake of his head. "Let's just call the whole thing even."

"No, that's not it. It's you who should compensate me," Xingzi said cautiously.

Smack! Sun Haoming had just walked in and caught Xingzi's words. He slammed the fruit platter of melon seeds and peanuts onto the table and glared at Xingzi. "What did you say?"

"N-nothing," Xingzi stammered, startled. But then he thought of his mission, steeled himself, and gritted out, "Our boss says you're to pay us ten million in compensation, or else it's war."

"What did he say?" Bi Hai frowned and glanced at Sun Haoming. "Is this man sick in the head?"

"No idea. Probably a lunatic," Sun Haoming said, then seized Xingzi by the collar and dragged him over to the window.

"What are you doing?" Xingzi was the frail, cerebral type—no match at all for Sun Haoming. He was hoisted up like a chick in an eagle's talons.

"You're about to find out." Sun Haoming said it flatly, opened the window, and with a casual toss, flung Xingzi straight down from the second floor.

"Aaah!" A single shriek, and Sun Haoming didn't even bother to listen. He shut the window.

Then he and Bi Hai looked at each other and smiled.

That evening, Yang Ce waited below the night-study classroom of the Economics and Management building until Chen Shutang and Zhang Bin arrived.

"That business sorted out?" Zhang Bin asked the moment he saw Yang Ce.

"Sorted. There shouldn't be any problem. He's got connections with the graduate students who mark the exams. Tomorrow, write down what you know and leave the rest blank—don't scribble anything random," Yang Yanzhou said. "And don't hand in your paper too early."

"Mm, got it." Zhang Bin nodded happily. "Come on, my treat—let's go out for something good."

"Obviously. Chen Shutang and I are only here to mooch a meal off you," Yang Yanzhou said.

"Heh, wait for Zhao Sisi a bit—we'll go together," Zhang Bin said.

"Did you miss me?" Yang Ce turned to Chen Shutang. "Come on, give me a hug."

"There are so many people around—what are you doing?" Chen Shutang shrank back, blushing, and changed the subject. "Have you looked into that winter camp thing?"

"Of course I have. As it happens, Zhang Bin and I were just discussing it," Yang Yanzhou said.

"Oh, you and Zhao Sisi are going too? That's wonderful," Chen Shutang said, looking at Zhang Bin.

"Whether I can go now depends entirely on Yang Ce. I don't know if the person he found is reliable," Zhang Bin said. "If I don't fail any exams, I'm definitely going."

Before long, Zhao Sisi arrived—clearly Zhang Bin had gotten in touch with her beforehand.

"What are you all discussing?" Zhao Sisi asked, slipping her arm through Zhang Bin's.

"We're talking about the winter camp. Do you want to go?" Chen Shutang hesitated a moment, then imitated Zhao Sisi and hooked her arm through Yang Juehuan's.

Girls can be terribly reserved sometimes, but when there's a benchmark right beside them for comparison, they'll be bolder than anyone. Chen Shutang had thought at first that college students in love ought to be discreet on campus, but seeing how intimate Zhao Sisi and Zhang Bin were, she suddenly felt it didn't matter. Everyone was like this—why should she pretend to be a good little girl?

"Of course I want to go. I'm just afraid my Zhang Bin won't measure up," Zhao Sisi said with a helpless shake of her head. "We all came out of the same high school—you all know exactly what Zhang Bin's grades are like. I'm just afraid he'll fail."

"Ha, my dear, I definitely won't fail. The problem's already solved," Zhang Bin said with a grin.

"How are you so confident now? Weren't you saying at noon that you were in trouble?" Zhao Sisi said, puzzled.

"Heh, Yang Ce asked a friend for a favor. That friend knows the graduate students who grade our department's exams. When they mark my paper, they'll be a little lenient. Won't that do the trick?" Zhang Bin explained.

"Really?" Zhao Sisi's face immediately lit up with delight. "That's great! If that's the case, then let's all sign up together after the exams the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Bin hadn't lied. That day he treated Yang Ce and the others to a Xinjiang-style barbecue, and the flavor was utterly authentic; the group ate very happily. After dinner, since the exam was at eight the next morning, they arranged no other activities and went straight back to campus.

Yang Shuoxuan was truly exhausted. He'd barely slept the night before, and the moment he got back to the dorm, he collapsed and was out cold.

The next day's exams went smoothly. First-semester freshman exams didn't cover many subjects. Students in the computer science department, like Yang Cenbin, only took two major courses—Introduction to Computer Operations and Principles of Computer Organization. They didn't even touch programming.

The rest were general courses: College Chinese, College Chemistry, Standards of University Writing, and Practical Writing—all fairly simple.

Since they were science and engineering students, the general-course questions were set very simply. Most were concept questions, which Yang Ce could copy straight from the textbook. Practical Writing asked for a letter home, letting students tell their families how they felt after starting college. With such subjects, as long as your writing was up to standard and free of typos, you'd generally get a decent score.

As for Introduction to Computer Operations, it was laughably easy—Yang Ce didn't even need to copy from the textbook or anyone else's paper to answer smoothly. The only slightly difficult one was Principles of Computer Organization, but even that was a piece of cake for Heng.

By comparison, Yang Juehuan's special ability didn't come into much use. Yang Ce was confident that even answering on his own, he'd get most of it right; using the ability just gave him a bit more certainty.

Still, Yang Shuoxuan made a private resolution: the first-semester courses were easy, so muddling through was fine, but once second semester brought programming, he intended to study seriously. After all, 80x86 assembly language and C would both be very useful in the future.

Things went smoothly for Yang Cenbin, but not so much for Zhang Bin. Zhang Bin wasn't the type who liked rote memorization; a few terms like "financial oligarch," "limited liability company," and "unlimited liability company" had him completely baffled. Still, he kept Yang Juehuan's words firmly in mind—write what you know, leave blank what you don't, and never scribble nonsense. And so, somehow, he muddled through the two days of exams.

Chen Shutang had always been a good student, and memorization was her strong suit, so there was no need to ask—her scores would surely be good. Zhao Sisi, too, was the diligent, studious type, so she was probably fine as well.

After the exams ended, Yang Ce hurriedly called Zhang Weihan again to remind him, afraid he might forget. But Zhang Weihan told Yang Puqi to rest completely easy—the matter was already in motion, and Zhang Bin's scores for the first few subjects were already out. All okay.

After thanking him, Yang Ce finally set his mind at ease. He told Zhang Bin about it, and the fellow was beside himself with joy.