Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"This student is right, but the 300-plus acres also include the undeveloped back mountain because snakes frequently appear in the summer, so the back mountain is usually off-limits, making the actual usable area not that large. There are definitely over 200 acres,"

The leading teacher seemed to have overheard Xu Qingfan's discussion and added through the loudspeaker.

"Wow, that's still incredible!"

"It's much bigger than our crappy school."

"Never mind, I'm going to apply to Licheng Middle School!"

Xu Qingfan smiled and nodded at the teacher, as a way of greeting.

The group was quickly brought to the school's auditorium. Upon entering, they saw that about two-thirds of the seats were already taken by students from various schools, judging by the colors of their uniforms. However, no other junior high group had brought 200 students in one go, like theirs.

Once they had also found places to sit, the enrollment promotional seminar began shortly after.

Xu Qingfan was quite impressed with the teacher presenting the PowerPoint; he was his math teacher in his previous life after the arts and sciences divisions and, if nothing unexpected happened, would also be the deputy grade leader when they started high school in September.

A very motivated young man, graduated from the East China Normal University's English department, yet he became a math teacher.

His teaching level was unquestionable, as evidenced by him becoming deputy grade leader just a few years after graduation.

One downside, though, was that he had bad breath—literally, in the physical sense. Xu Qingfan, having sat in the first row in his past life, had often been at the receiving end of it.

Because the college entrance examination results had not yet been released, the presentation mostly covered the various facilities of the school, its club culture, and the numerous awards it had won.

Xu Qingfan wasn't too interested, but the five girls listened avidly; after all, Mr. Fan was quite witty and humorous when he spoke.

For example, he wouldn't outright list the data to explain the size of the school but would instead use an exaggerated tone to describe how every year, during the first few weeks of the new term, students would get lost.

Then there was the story that got beaten to death by the teachers every year: the warning to be wary of mosquitoes, snakes, and rats in the summer, as some senior students had been bitten by a snake while sneaking into the bushes for a romantic rendezvous.

This incident was true, as Licheng Middle School was built at the foot of a mountain known as She Tou Ridge—it's easy to imagine how many snakes roamed the area.

It became an annual spectacle for the boarding students to watch the dormitory supervisors kill several snakes.

The seminar didn't last long, and just over half an hour later, Mr. Fan on the stage announced that they were free to go about as they pleased; after all, seeing the school for themselves would leave a deeper impression than just hearing about it.

The six of them left the group and started wandering around the campus. Xu Qingfan naturally slipped into the role of a tour guide, patiently explaining to the five girls what each building was for.

"That one ahead is the library, it also has the Dragon Clan series, but they're pretty popular. You'll probably have reading classes there in your freshman year," Xu Qingfan explained, pointing at a building that resembled a rice cooker.

"Wow!"

"It's Confucius, yeah!"

"Hahaha, there are so many offerings!"

The library was open, and in the center of the hall stood a three-meter-tall statue of Confucius. Due to the recent end of the college entrance exams, many offerings left by students for good luck had not yet been cleaned up, though it's also possible that the school administration wanted to wait until after the exam results were out to clean them up.

"Haha~ It turns out that these seniors also engage in feudal superstitions," Xiao Ruawen said with a laugh, squinting her eyes.

"Superstition can be quite nice, life should have a little ritual, after all." Having already been through rebirth, if Xu Qingfan still claimed to be a steadfast materialist, that would be pure nonsense.

"Yeah, let's do some praying too!" Seeing the names of universities written on the sticky notes, Lin Wanning was also tempted.

"Does anyone have sticky notes?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked.

"No," the five people shook their heads in unison, as they hadn't anticipated this activity before heading out.

"The convenience store should have some for sale, right?" Zhang Yiyi turned her gaze to Xu Qingfan, feeling that he was really knowledgeable today, like the king of the place.

"Oh, they definitely have that, besides avoid... lightning rods, you can buy any living supplies at the school's convenience store." Xu Qingfan nearly blurted out condoms, but thankfully caught himself in time.

"What do we need lightning rods for?" Xiao Ruawen asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Right, Brother Qingfan, aren't lightning rods supposed to be on top of buildings?"

"Cough cough... I just meant to indirectly say that the convenience store sells many things, don't read too much into it!" Xu Qingfan playfully gave himself a knock on the head.

"Ow~"

Six people quickly arrived at a small store in the cafeteria under Xu Qingfan's lead. In his past life, Xu Qingfan particularly enjoyed spending money here because the owner always treated everyone equally—calling the guys "handsome" and the girls "pretty."

Just to hear that one word "handsome," many students who initially had no desire to spend would specially come to buy a pack of Mimi snacks.

"Handsome, that'll be ten dollars."

Xu Qingfan quickly seized the opportunity to pay, the long-missed appellation "handsome" putting him in a good mood.

'Handsome' was a common term of address in Hong Kong, so the five girls didn't notice the little delight it brought him.

With the sticky notes and offerings in hand, they quickly returned to the library.

The content written by the six people on the sticky notes was the same: "On September 1st, let's all report to Licheng Middle School together!"

They attached the date and their own names below.

After sticking the notes in an empty spot, they held the offerings—Mimi snacks—in their hands and sincerely bowed to Confucius.

Lastly, they left the offerings behind, concluding their mission successfully.

"Let's go, let's continue to look around other places," Xu Qingfan waved his hand, signaling the girls to leave.

"Yeah!"

Next, Xu Qingfan took the five of them to visit the gymnasium, the science buildings, and the sacred dating spot for couples on campus—Love Avenue.

"I heard about this too. They say that if a boy and girl walk side by side on Love Avenue at night, they will become a couple within a month," Xu Qingfan shared the gossip he heard in his past life while they walked down Love Avenue.

"Huh?"

All four girls' danger alarms went off, except for Xiao Ruawen, who was still making comments: "Quack quack quack~ Isn't this just an ordinary cement road? What's so mysterious about calling it Love Avenue?"

"Probably because it's close to the dorms, it's convenient for couples to hang out until the last minute before running back to their rooms. That's why it's called Love Avenue," Xu Qingfan shrugged his shoulders.

What he said was nearly the truth; Licheng Middle School didn't crack down on mobile phones or early relationships, which meant that every evening, the avenue was filled with dozens of couples.

"Plus, think about it, if the opposite sex is willing to accompany you to stroll around campus late at night, they obviously already have that kind of intention, so it's not unusual for them to get together within a month," he added.

"Heh~ So that's how it is, Brother Fan, you sure know a lot!" Xiao Ruawen patted his shoulder with a lascivious look in her eyes, though she was contemplating whether she could set up Xiaoxiao with Brother Fan.

"I can't wait to start high school!" Lin Wanning said, full of longing.

[When the time comes, with Brother Qing Fan and Yiyi, the three of us can hold hands and stroll down Love Avenue, just like when we're running!]

"Doesn't the school clamp down on early relationships?" Xia Xiaoxiao was thinking about another issue, as the junior department was very strict about early relationships, calling parents in as soon as they found out.

"I don't think so. They don't care about electronics or early relationships, high school is quite free. That's what I heard from the veterans on Tieba," Xu Qingfan added afterward.

"Oh."

Xia Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up; if high school didn't care about early relationships, then that meant...

[In high school, I can have a super sweet relationship with this stinky dog!]

Wu Lingyu stole a glance at Brother Fan but didn't have many thoughts.

Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi exchanged glances that agreed to stick to the original plan.

After leaving Love Avenue, it was almost time to gather and head back.

"By the way, there's also a statue of Einstein at the school. Should we go pay our respects there too?" He suddenly remembered that in his previous life, it had become customary for literature students to worship Confucius and science students to worship Einstein.

"No need."

"Why worship a foreigner? He's not our ancestor."

"Ha ha ha, I say, let the foreigners die!" Xiao Ruawen suddenly recalled the famous scene from the TV drama "Toward the Republic," where Cixi said those words.

"Ha ha ha..."

...