Chapter 121: A Ladle by the Pond [Sixth Update!]

On Monday morning, the freshmen of Renmin University’s Class of 2001 finally began their courses.

Over the past weekend, most of the freshmen who had just completed their military training rested in their dormitories. But early this morning, they all poured out from their rooms, instantly bringing a lively buzz to the campus.

University classes weren’t particularly intense; at the start, everyone’s focus wasn’t so much on studying as it was on acclimating to this new environment.

Before classes began, they were busy bonding with their dorm mates; once classes started, they had to busy themselves mingling with classmates.

Meanwhile, the upperclassmen were also far from idle. Whenever they had free moments, they would head to the freshman academic buildings and nearby classrooms, their eyes scanning like radar through groups of girls. Once spotting a pretty one, they immediately sought ways to uncover everything about her.

Renmin University had two campus forums: one called “Renmin World,” an official platform; the other named “By the One Spoon Pond,” after a well-known scenic spot on campus. The latter was established by a few juniors and, unlike the heavily regulated “Renmin World,” it was a freer space bustling with chatter and gossip, as the official forum strictly policed such content.

“By the One Spoon Pond” quickly gained immense popularity. Its casual gossip section attracted over ten thousand daily visitors, not only from current undergraduates and postgraduates but also from numerous alumni. It was here that Li Mu had once posted about his confrontation with Zhang Qing and his friends—a post that flared up for one day before fading into obscurity.

On the evening of the first day of classes, a user named “Crazy for Beauties” posted a thread titled “Top Beauties of Renmin University’s 2001 Freshman Class.”

This user was quite resourceful. Not only did he list the prettiest new girls from each faculty and department, but through some unknown means, he also accessed official school records to find their basic information and ID photos.

In his post, “Crazy for Beauties” ranked the top ten beauties among the freshmen; astonishingly, the number one spot was awarded to Su Yingxue.

Su Yingxue’s ID photo immediately captivated countless people’s attention—beautiful, fresh, and refined, far surpassing the so-called campus belles who later married their sugar daddies while holding a cup of milk tea.

Li Mu only applied for a dormitory internet connection after class. However, staff told him it would take three working days to install and debug. After submitting the application, he went to the gym, so he was completely unaware of the heated discussions about Su Yingxue unfolding on “By the One Spoon Pond.”

Zhao Ziqiu also came today, riding the folding bike Li Mu had gifted her, gliding gracefully all the way to the Renmin University gymnasium.

They met by the swimming pool, where Zhao Ziqiu said, “I might not be able to come here every day anymore! Classes have started, and the study load is heavy.”

Li Mu nodded slightly, feeling a bit disappointed but responding casually, “No need to worry too much. It’s just four years. As long as we pass the exams, pass the CET-4, and get through the thesis, that’s enough, right?”

Zhao Ziqiu curled her lips, “How did you get into Renmin with that kind of attitude? You should know that if you want to take the national civil service exam or work for a central or state-owned enterprise, your university grades and honors are very important.”

“Oh, really?” Li Mu’s expression showed a trace of disdain. He had zero interest in what Zhao Ziqiu was saying.

For Li Mu, university held only two important purposes: to reassure his parents and to obtain a decent diploma, so that if he succeeded later, no one could call him an illiterate upstart.

Terms like “undergraduate billionaire” simply would never appear in his story. But “high school graduate billionaire” often made headlines, showing how much the media valued diplomas. If a high school graduate made it big, even the media would exclaim, “Wow, that’s amazing—a high school graduate earning so much money!”

The founder of a certain car company had been repeatedly scrutinized by the media for years simply because he only held a high school diploma...

With these two points in mind, before coming to university, Li Mu had already decided: as long as he could get his graduation certificate and degree, nothing else mattered. His career was the priority.

But Zhao Ziqiu saw things differently. She was a true academic achiever—well-rounded in morality, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor—and was determined to excel in all learning matters. So, as soon as classes started, her innate sense of academic mission kicked into high gear.

Seeing Li Mu’s utter lack of interest in studying, Zhao Ziqiu sighed, “With that mindset, you’ll definitely regret it when you start failing courses.”

Li Mu chuckled and didn’t argue further with the scholar. He admitted he was a hopeless student, at best provincial-level undergraduate material in his past life, and even worse this time around. He was grateful that fate had spared him from taking English as his first exam. Otherwise, he might have ended up at some local teacher’s college.

From that day on, Zhao Ziqiu rarely came swimming at the university pool. Rumor had it she still swam half an hour daily but no longer made trips to the campus, saving travel time to spend more hours in the library.

Though Li Mu didn’t quite agree with her academic zeal, he respected it somewhat. Still, now that she stopped coming, he felt a bit lonely going swimming alone every day.

---

When the dormitory finally got internet access, Li Mu took out his laptop from its dusty cabinet for the first time. This B20 model’s debut in Room 606 instantly caused a stir.

After all, it was worth twenty thousand yuan—a sum exceeding the annual salary of an ordinary worker. So when it suddenly appeared before everyone, it naturally carried a shock factor.

His dorm mates all called Li Mu a tycoon. Li Mu said nothing, but Li Yawei excitedly asked, “Li Mu, do you have PPStream on your computer?”

PPStream? Li Mu was momentarily stunned. Except for Liu Nian, who looked clueless, the other three eagerly nodded, “Yeah, do you have it? If so, download a couple of videos!”

“No...” Li Mu shook his head helplessly. He knew what PPStream was—the earliest peer-to-peer downloading software in China, which for a long time had been the go-to tool for downloading adult films.

Li Yawei urged, “Hurry up and get it! Let’s watch some movies!”

The others chimed in enthusiastically. Li Mu asked, “Are you all planning to watch together?”

“We don’t mind at all!”

Li Mu could only laugh and cry, “You can watch when I’m not around.”

Sun Jian then said, “Why don’t you just go out for a bit? Take a walk. Oh, right, weren’t you going to the gym? Go on then.”

Li Mu looked at Xue Jianfeng. “Jianfeng, heading to the gym?”

Xue Jianfeng thought for a moment, then gave what was probably the fakest yet heartfelt lie: “Not today. I pulled something in my back from barbell training yesterday.”

Li Mu immediately saw through the lie but didn’t press further. His computer contained no questionable material anyway, so he decided to share it as a communal machine.

---

When Li Mu returned from swimming, the five guys in the dormitory were all radiant, faces flushed with satisfaction. The laptop sat on the desk, unattended, while each of them lounged on their beds, clearly content.

Li Yawei, on the upper bunk, looked at Li Mu and said, “Hey, Li Mu, your high school classmate is really popular now.”

Li Mu furrowed his brows, “Su Yingxue?”

“Exactly! The gossip section on ‘By the One Spoon Pond’ is flooded with posts about her. Many people worship her as their goddess.”

Li Mu asked curiously, “Really?”

“Why would I lie? You should check out the gossip section yourself.”

Li Mu smiled, “It’s understandable she’s revered as a goddess.”

Li Yawei said, “At first, they called her just the ‘freshman flower’ of the Economics Department, then she became the acknowledged belle of the Economics School. Now many say she’s the campus queen of Renmin University. Supposedly, every day lots of guys go to the Economics Department just to see her. In these opening days, countless love letters have been delivered on her behalf, though no one knows the exact number.”

Li Mu was indifferent. In his previous life, after attending a second-tier provincial university, he had followed Su Yingxue’s story and kept an eye on “By the One Spoon Pond.” He knew Su Yingxue had become an undisputed campus beauty shortly after enrollment and that countless admirers pursued her. Yet, in that life, she never had a single romantic relationship during her four years at university. This life showed no signs of deviation either. So Li Mu firmly believed that no one at Renmin University could win Su Yingxue’s heart—not even himself.

After wrapping up the topic with Li Yawei, Li Mu opened the casual gossip section on “By the One Spoon Pond.” Among dozens of threads on the homepage, over ten related to Su Yingxue appeared. Some revealed snippets of her personal information; others gossiped about certain guys secretly sending her love letters only to be rejected, then resorting to targeting her dorm mates. Some said Su Yingxue hadn’t read a single love letter received in her dorm but had thrown them all directly into the trash.

Every post about her sparked heated discussion. Among the voices were some less friendly ones, mostly stemming from sour grapes. They claimed Su Yingxue had high standards, favoring wealth and power, telling those from ordinary backgrounds to give up hope. Others spread rumors that she lost her virginity back in Haizhou to the son of a local tycoon—though Li Mu, a native of Haizhou, had never heard of such a person.

Li Mu considered registering an alternate account to defend her but saw that countless others had already fiercely attacked the slanderers. Even administrators had revealed the registrant’s information. The defender of Su Yingxue was quickly identified as Dai Chao, a third-year student from the Economics School.

Once Dai Chao was exposed, more rumors surfaced—he had recently blocked Su Yingxue at her classroom door, attempting to deliver a love letter, only to be publicly rejected in front of the entire class, leaving him embarrassed.

Dai Chao then became the subject of widespread condemnation, with many male students storming his dorm to berate him. Under pressure, he even opened a post to apologize and repent to Su Yingxue.

Li Mu sighed, truly impressed by Su Yingxue’s influence. She already had a loyal fan base, which was a good thing. With such protectors, she could avoid many troubles.

(To be continued.)

P.S.: This is the sixth update. Thank you all for your support today—it is a great honor and encouragement. Tomorrow, the story will continue to unfold with even more excitement!