The three of them exchanged glances. Seeing that Lu Mingfei had nothing more to say, Ye Sheng slowly opened his mouth.
"We know."
Lu Mingfei scratched his head, not understanding what Ye Sheng knew, but it seemed he had managed to muddle through for now, so he nodded, looking as if he had nothing more to say.
"Second question, do you believe in superpowers?" Ye Sheng continued to ask.
"Of course, I do." Lu Mingfei answered without hesitation.
He had even seen them two days ago; those rows of characters, "Bad luck, good luck" (ominous, normal, auspicious), and the three-character assessment had left a deep impression on him.
Although he hadn't seen anything truly miraculous yet, at least by following the "middle-to-upper" sign, he got an N96.
It was already a good deal.
"I super believe in them."
Looking at the astonished gazes opposite him, Lu Mingfei continued to affirm.
He thought that since the organic adaptation of "Dragon Ball" could pass, he might as well try with more anime.
As for the things he had personally witnessed, according to the inherent tropes of anime, it wasn't time to expose them yet.
"Uh, why do you believe?"
Ye Sheng asked Lu Mingfei with a smile, but his gaze carried a hint of probing.
The other two also became vigilant; Shuhtome Yaji almost overturned her previous judgment.
Lu Mingfei might have awakened his Rune with full awareness.
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and started to spout nonsense.
From Luffy's "Gum-Gum Fruit" to Jotaro Kujo's "Star Platinum," and then to Hiei's "Dragon of the Darkness Flame."
He listed all the anime he had watched, reinforcing his chuunibyo persona.
"If there were no superpowers, this world would only be left with Montblanc watches, skyrocketing housing prices, and my future would only consist of mortgage and car loans."
Lu Mingfei expressed his opinion, "If there were no superpowers, such a world would be too boring."
He chuckled twice foolishly, feeling ashamed of what he had said.
"Not without reason," Ye Sheng said. "I agree with your point of view."
Lu Mingfei was stunned, not understanding why the examiner would agree with him.
But looking at the other party's serious expression, he couldn't help but associate it with Kassel College's ethos.
Judging from the two questions just now and the serious attitude of the people opposite, Kassel College wouldn't be a gathering place for chuunibyos, lunatics, and madmen, would it?
"Then, the last question."
Ye Sheng's words timely pulled Lu Mingfei's thoughts back. He quickly straightened his posture and looked at the other party.
"Also the third question: Do you think the basis of human existence is idealistic, of spirit and soul, or materialistic, of matter and body?" Ye Sheng asked.
Lu Mingfei was a bit confused.
This was the last question already?
Are you really Chicago United University?
This isn't high school politics; does it really have anything to do with me applying to this school?
It wouldn't really be some diploma mill, would it?
Lu Mingfei's breathing hitched, but remembering the "auspicious" rating of the middle-to-upper sign, he still calmed down.
It was better than his current situation no matter what; who cared if it was a diploma mill or not, he would be an overseas returnee after graduation, which was better than attending a third-tier university.
His face flushed, he took two deep breaths, and using all the philosophical knowledge he had ever learned, he whispered a sentence.
"Matter determines consciousness; consciousness is the product of the long-term development of the material world and the reflection of the objective world in the human brain."
Recalling his entire politics textbook, Lu Mingfei could only remember this sentence.
The conference room fell into an eerie silence.
Ye Sheng chuckled twice; he, of course, knew what Lu Mingfei was saying, as he had also attended high school in China.
Using rote memorization of textbook answers to avoid personal understanding... was indeed... a method.
Ye Sheng nodded, "I understand your meaning now. Thank you for your interest in Kassel College."
He got up and walked to Lu Mingfei's side.
"Please leave your personal contact information so we can get in touch."
Lu Mingfei's brain whirred. He had spoken to Professor Guderian, and he certainly had his contact information.
Now they were asking for personal contact information again, so it definitely wasn't for that phone's number.
But besides that phone number, he really couldn't come up with any other contact information for a while.
In a moment of desperation, Lu Mingfei's mind went blank.
"Is QQ okay?"
Ye Sheng was stunned.
"Yes."
Lu Mingfei lasted eleven minutes before walking out of the conference room.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Lu Mingfei, hoping to discern something from his expression.
"Liu Miaomiao."
Ye Sheng called out the next person's name from behind Lu Mingfei.
"Here!"
The girl named Liu Miaomiao entered the conference room with elegant steps.
Lu Mingfei originally wanted to chat with Chen Wenwen for a bit, but he saw the time and it was almost eight o'clock.
He had sneaked out, and compared to the happiness of chatting with Chen Wenwen, he was more afraid of Aunt's furious roar.
After nodding to a few classmates, he hurried downstairs.
In less than ten minutes, Liu Miaomiao came out with red eyes, grabbed her backpack from her seat, and walked out.
She didn't even last as long as Lu Mingfei. Su Xiaoqiang was secretly startled, and then it was her turn next.
In less than five minutes, Su Xiaoqiang stormed out angrily, turning her head and leaving.
Zhao Menghua and Chen Wenwen exchanged glances, feeling flustered.
They knew Su Xiaoqiang's level well; if even Su Xiaoqiang couldn't last five minutes, one could imagine Lu Mingfei's level.
"Could it be a wolf in sheep's clothing?"
Chen Wenwen whispered.
Zhao Menghua didn't reply; he was next.
In less than three minutes, Zhao Menghua came out with a blank look in his eyes.
"I, he, sigh."
Zhao Menghua couldn't even speak and walked away.
Chen Wenwen also lost her confidence at this point, seeing that the time was getting shorter and shorter for each person, she also started to panic.
Could Lu Mingfei really be some master at playing dumb to catch a tiger?
Just as she was thinking, she was called in too.
Ten minutes later.
Chen Wenwen, who had left the conference room, proactively contacted Lu Mingfei on QQ.
At this time, Lu Mingfei was already home, sitting in front of the computer, scrolling through forums boredly.
"They said I didn't pass, what about you?"
Seeing the baseball cap girl's avatar flicker, Lu Mingfei was startled and opened the chat window.
Seeing Chen Wenwen ask, Lu Mingfei told her about his situation in detail.
"They asked me for contact information, didn't they ask you guys?"
"No," Chen Wenwen said.
Lu Mingfei was dumbfounded and quickly comforted her.
"It's okay, it's okay. They haven't contacted me yet. Maybe they just asked for it casually."
"I'm fine," Chen Wenwen said, sending a smiling emoji.
"Congratulations, Lu Mingfei."
Lu Mingfei was stunned, suddenly realizing something.
Late at night.
Lu Mingfei sat alone on the rooftop, his feet dangling outside, drinking a bottle of cola bought with his uncle's leftover money, gazing at the city under the night sky.
The lights of the entire city were on, the rigid skyline was hidden in the lights, and the high-rise buildings in the business district looked like square cages woven with light from afar.
In the distance was a wide lake, and adjacent to the lakeside, traffic surged on the elevated road, car lights converging into a stream of light.
Lu Mingfei felt that every point of light in this stream was a living firefly, trapped within this curved, slender elevated road, able only to rush forward with all their might, searching for an exit.
He wondered where his exit was, beside him was the N96 with its screen lit, showing the two words "Passed" sent by Ye Sheng on QQ.
There was also a line of text where Lu Mingfei said he needed to think about it again.
On the other side of the screen, Ye Sheng was in a mess.
Professor Guderian had already rushed to him and told him that Lu Mingfei was an S-rank candidate and must be secured.
He also knew how shocking Lu Mingfei's words during the interview were; if he were sent to the college, he would definitely be rated A-rank.
"Why is he hesitating?" Ye Sheng was puzzled.
"Noma has checked his information; his high school grades are very unsatisfactory. Studying abroad is clearly his best option."
Shuhtome Yaji shook her head, just refilling Ye Sheng's cup with hot water.
Chen Motong, on the other side, seemed to have an idea, suddenly speaking as she looked at the information provided by Noma.
"Could it be a first love?"
Chen Motong twirled the pen in her hand, "A classmate girl who likes to wear white clothes, has long hair, is very gentle, very quiet, and is one meter sixty-five tall."
She turned her notebook in front of her, displaying the photo on it.
"Chen Wenwen?"
Ye Sheng remembered this person; she also came for the interview in the morning and spent ten minutes educating them about aliens and UFOs.
"I just said it casually. Don't you have his QQ? You can use this girl to start a conversation."
Chen Motong replied lazily. She had been practicing StarCraft recently and was very annoyed after being crushed by Lu Mingfei's strategic awareness last time.
It was too humiliating to not even win with a map hack.
So, until she was sure her strategic awareness was a match for Lu Mingfei's, she wouldn't contact Lu Mingfei again.
She was determined to get her revenge.
Ye Sheng glanced at Shuhtome Yaji, suddenly enlightened. Following Chen Motong's line of thought, Lu Mingfei's hesitation indeed made sense.
This was a bit tricky.
"Isn't it bad to break up a couple?"
"It's not breaking up a couple," Chen Motong took a sip of hot water, "It's unrequited love. Lu Mingfei likes Chen Wenwen, but Chen Wenwen isn't interested in Lu Mingfei."
"That makes it easy." Ye Sheng slapped his hand, having an idea.
Chen Motong hesitated to speak; she actually had a method too, but since Ye Sheng had one, she wouldn't do anything extra.
Men understand men better.
After getting the information, Ye Sheng reopened the chat window with Lu Mingfei.
His phone vibrated, and Ye Sheng sent another message to Lu Mingfei.
"Junior brother, something on your mind?"
Lu Mingfei hesitated, "A little."
"Is it about your high school classmates?" Ye Sheng coaxed, not directly mentioning Chen Wenwen.
"Senior brother, you guessed so accurately." Lu Mingfei saw Ye Sheng use "junior brother" to address him, so he followed suit and called him "senior brother."
"Male classmate, female classmate?" Ye Sheng specifically added a dog head emoji after "female classmate."
Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, then confessed, "Female classmate."
"Oh~" Ye Sheng mimicked high school boys' teasing, "Who is it? Is she among the people interviewed today?"
"Yes."
"Chen Wenwen?"
Lu Mingfei shivered, not knowing why his senior brother guessed so accurately.
"..."
"Haha, I asked because I saw you sitting next to that girl. I didn't expect to actually guess it." Ye Sheng sent an "It's me, of course" emoji.
"Senior brother, have you had such an experience too?"
"Of course," Ye Sheng replied quickly.
"Chen Motong or Shuhtome Yaji?" Lu Mingfei turned the tables.
"...Shuhtome Yaji." Ye Sheng typed out four words, embracing the mindset of sacrificing a child to catch a wolf.
"Senior brother, what's your relationship with Sister Shuhtome Yaji now?" Lu Mingfei put himself in his own shoes with Chen Wenwen and typed out this sentence.
"Guess?"
"Couple."
"No."
"Friends."
"Not that either."
Lu Mingfei suddenly understood; his senior brother was in that state of being more than friends but not yet lovers.
"Want to be like me? I can teach you." Ye Sheng said.
"Really?" Lu Mingfei's spirits lifted. The successful experience of a senior was very important in this regard.
"Of course, but you have to tell me first why you like Chen Wenwen."
Lu Mingfei's heart stirred, recalling a certain afternoon.
Only Chen Wenwen and he were in the classroom. He was wiping the blackboard, and Chen Wenwen, wearing a white cotton dress, sneakers, and white short socks, sat on the podium humming softly. The setting sun's slanted light shone on the newly replaced desks.
The creeping fig outside the window hung down, and the evening between spring and summer was exceptionally quiet.
Chen Wenwen suddenly turned her head and asked Lu Mingfei, "Will you join our Literary Club?"
Lu Mingfei felt as if he had turned to stone, only his heart thumping wildly.
The flowers and plants outside the window grew wildly, the setting sun fell, and the cicada's chirping seemed to accelerate a hundredfold. Time slipped through his fingers, light and shadow changed, and his gaze with Chen Wenwen seemed eternal.
Lu Mingfei honestly told Ye Sheng all of this.
Unexpectedly, Ye Sheng sent him a message he never would have thought of.
"Are you really sure you like her?"
"Senior brother, what do you mean?" Lu Mingfei was confused.
"Simply put, I like Shuhtome Yaji not because of a certain moment, but because being with her makes me feel very comfortable. In the process of being together, I unconsciously imagine a future with her."
When saying this, Ye Sheng had completely thrown caution to the wind. To retain the college's S-rank talent, he was going all out. At worst, he would be punished later.
Moreover, he was only telling this to Lu Mingfei; if Lu Mingfei didn't mention it, he wouldn't get into trouble.
"Would you?" Ye Sheng asked Lu Mingfei in return.
"From the scene you described, I didn't feel that you had spent a long time together with her."
"It seems more like what novels refer to as a 'white moonlight.'"
"At that moment, Chen Wenwen touched your heart, so you forever remembered that beautiful scene. With the beautification of time, you misunderstood your feelings, mistakenly believing that you liked her."
Ye Sheng said a lot in a continuous stream.
He had originally intended to make Lu Mingfei give up his unrequited love, but now it seemed to have turned into guiding Lu Mingfei and correcting his views on love.
Lu Mingfei typed line after line, looking at Ye Sheng's messages, unable to find a single point to refute.
He couldn't help but recall his experiences with Chen Wenwen over the past two years.
Aside from the Literary Club, he really hadn't spent much time with Chen Wenwen.
That girl's greetings to him seemed to be based only on politeness; "Good morning," "Good evening," she would say to everyone.
Even her initiative message to him today only came after she knew he was admitted to Kassel College and then there was no follow-up.
"She doesn't like you, and you actually don't like her either. You're just classmates," Ye Sheng added.
The images in his memory turned yellow and deteriorated like old photographs. Lu Mingfei recalled Chen Wenwen whom he saw today.
She was still in a white dress, but it truly wasn't as pure and flawless as that afternoon.
A faint ink stain on the hem of her skirt magnified infinitely in Lu Mingfei's mind, along with Chen Wenwen's message to him today.
"Congratulations, Lu Mingfei."
It was as formal as the day she invited him to join the Literary Club.
It seemed like both were just polite words.
Lu Mingfei froze instantly; something cracked in his mind.
Water suddenly overflowed from the corners of his eyes.
"I understand, Senior brother."
"Give me a few days, and then I will join Kassel College."