Chapter 226 - 224: I Came to Qingmei for Only Three Things

Chapter 226: Chapter 224: I Came to Qingmei for Only Three Things

"My name is Zhou Cailiang, and I’m from Rongcheng. In my free time, I like listening to music, drawing, practicing calligraphy, and playing badminton. I especially love the works of Master Monet and the Slender Gold script of Emperor Huizong of Song, but my badminton skills are terrible."

"I have dreamed countless times of this university, Tsinghua. Today, that dream has finally come true, and I am now a part of Qingmei."

"And now, standing here on this stage, meeting all of you in this vast sea of people... I consider this a precious stroke of fate."

"I hope we can become friends who can talk about anything, not just classmates in the literal sense. Here at Tsinghua, this sacred ground of infinite possibilities, I want to sow and reap alongside all of you, until we bear brilliant fruit together."

"Thank you."

The first guy to go up made a pretty good impression. He was wearing a gray T-shirt, had a cheerful personality, and his medium-length hair gave him the artistic air of a male lead in a trendy idol drama. His eyes were just a little small, which threw off the overall look.

Jiang Xia couldn’t help but take a few extra glances. It couldn’t be helped. Qingmei wasn’t like other schools, where departments might have dozens of students, and it was common to see hundreds or even thousands in a major.

This class, on the other hand, had only ten people in total. There were only eight he didn’t know, so by the time the introductions were over, he’d more or less remember everyone.

’Besides, since I’m moving the company to the Imperial Capital and expanding the studio, I’ll need to hire more people. In that case, why not look to my classmates?’

’Anyone who can get into Qingmei must have solid drawing skills. After a few days of training, like Wang Ming, they should be able to work on Cat and Mouse. If they also take specialized animation courses, they’ll be perfectly capable of handling other types of animation I might produce in the future.’

The next few introductions were all more or less the same: name, hometown, hobbies, and the goal of studying hard to meet expectations.

Everyone had a humble attitude. After all, their classmates were all elites who had fought their way through the massive army of the gaokao. No one was weaker than anyone else; in fact, they were more likely to get completely shown up by all sorts of prodigies in their various classes.

The only exception was a rich kid from Shanghai, who showed an air of arrogance and self-importance the moment he stepped on stage.

"Hey everyone, I’m Song Qingshu. Not the Song Qingshu from *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*—my ’shu’ is the character for ’tree.’ I’m from Shanghai. I’ve loved animation since I was a kid and I’m currently working on my own short film. In the future, I want to study abroad and then open a company like Disney."

"So pretentious."

The heavy-set guy behind Jiang Xia muttered quietly. Hearing the speech, Jiang Xia nearly burst out laughing. ’It seems not everyone who gets into Tsinghua is a normal, rational person after all,’ he thought.

Of course, that wasn’t entirely fair. Perhaps many others in the room had the same idea; he was just the only one to say it out loud.

After all, it was extremely common for Tsinghua students to go abroad, especially in an era where self-proclaimed public intellectuals were rampant.

Next, it was Su Qing’s turn. He first glanced at Jiang Xia, then walked slowly and steadily to the front of the room.

He first bowed to the instructor, then to his classmates, before turning to write his name on the blackboard.

Su Qing’s chalk handwriting was excellent, clearly the result of practice. His height, nearly six-foot-three, combined with his sunny and handsome features, immediately captured the attention of all the girls in the class.

"My name is Su Qing, and I love animation."

His gaze swept over the other students as he said slowly, "Just as Teacher Zeng said earlier, Qingmei is like a honey pot. How much honey we can scoop out in the end depends on our own abilities."

"My dream is to work hard to become an animation producer and to add a brick and a tile to our country’s animation industry, contributing my own small part."

"Thank you all."

At the side, Zeng Yixing listened and nodded frequently. It wasn’t often he saw students with this kind of awareness these days. In his years as an instructor, he had seen far too many "refined egoists."

Many students used Tsinghua as a springboard to go abroad, never to return, which had caused the university’s reputation among the public to plummet.

Jiang Xia watched with a dry smile as Su Qing walked down from the stage. He had already decided that he would recruit him into his studio, no matter what. ’An animation producer, huh? I can make other people’s dreams come true with my own two hands.’

"Well said, Nanny Su."

Su Qing clapped Jiang Xia’s shoulder in resignation. "Your turn."

Jiang Xia smiled faintly and strode confidently onto the stage.

"Hello, Teacher Zeng. Hello, classmates. My name is Jiang Xia, and I am someone who is willing to dedicate his heart to the animation industry."

"Bai Yansong once said, ’Whatever stage of life you are in, you should do what is appropriate for that stage.’ University happens to be the part of our lives that is most suited for learning."

"Therefore, I’ve come to Qingmei to do just three things: study, study, and study some more."

"First, to learn professional knowledge. Second, to learn new ways of thinking. And third, to learn practical application."

"Once I’ve accomplished something with my studies, I want to do something meaningful for this country and for this society."

"Thank you."

Jiang Xia bowed to everyone in thanks.

According to his original plan, he had thought about just going ahead and announcing his identity as the creator of Cat and Mouse. After all, at Tsinghua, the more outstanding you appeared, the more resources would be skewed in your favor.

It wasn’t even out of the question that an instructor might step in and help him secure a space in the university’s startup incubator.

But after careful consideration, he decided against it.

’There’s no need to be so high-profile; it would just attract unnecessary trouble. If I really need to freeload off the school’s resources, it’s better to just tell a teacher privately.’

After listening to all the self-introductions, Zeng Yixing smiled and applauded. This year’s batch of students was quite good—they had ideas, ambition, and drive. A few of them had ’crooked’ viewpoints, plain to see, but there were also students with a strong sense of patriotism and national sentiment.

"Okay, everyone should be more or less acquainted now. Let’s move on to the second item on the agenda. Who wants to be the class president? Our class is small, so one president will be enough for the class committee. They’ll be responsible for handling all class matters, big and small. Any volunteers?"

The moment he finished speaking, Song Qingshu raised his hand without hesitation. No one else made a move.

’Being the class president in university is definitely a thankless job. You’re buried in bullshit all day long. The only benefit is getting closer to the counselor, but what’s the use of that?’

Jiang Xia glanced at Su Qing. "Nanny Su, you’re not running? I’d support you with both my hands and feet."

"I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. I’m sick of it. It’s boring, I want a break," Su Qing said.

"Totally boring."

Zeng Yixing’s gaze swept over the students. "Since there are no objections, our class president will be Song Qingshu. Welcome."

Applause rose from below the stage.

Song Qingshu’s face was a picture of delight.

"Now for the third item.

"From August 28th, which is the day after tomorrow, until September 20th, will be the military training period for new students. The class president will need to go to the Student Community Management and Service Center at Bauhinia Apartment tomorrow to pick up the military training uniforms and textbooks, and then distribute them to the class."