dragon raja

meet

The next morning, at the Regent Hotel.

This is the most luxurious hotel in this small city, a global chain, five-star. Uncle Lu Mingfei likes to drink tea and chat with friends in the lobby here. He always asks the waiter to refill the water until the strong tea becomes boiled water. This is not expensive and can give him the sense of superiority of enjoying the world's top service. Uncle called Professor Guderian on behalf of Lu Mingfei. The professor was very happy to say that he had arrived here and stayed at the Regent Hotel. Uncle immediately said sincerely that he was an old customer of Regent and was very familiar with it, and then naturally made an appointment for breakfast.

It was a rare occasion that the whole family came together. Uncle sat in the lobby bar with his belly protruding and legs crossed, teaching Lu Mingze the truth that "only those who endure hardships can become successful people". He also praised the good service of Meilijing, saying that dark chocolate is a good thing, rich in dopamine, and makes people feel happy. This is the excellence of top hotels. Auntie kept complaining that Uncle was a spendthrift man who spent all his money on such places. If she wanted to eat dark chocolate, she could find an acquaintance at the chocolate factory and buy a pound for 20 yuan.

"Mr. Lu Mingfei?" A well-dressed waiter walked to the table.

Lu Mingfei had never been addressed as "Sir" before, so he stood up quickly.

"Our guest, Professor Guderian, has asked that breakfast be arranged at the VIP rotating bar on the ninth floor. Let me inform him."

"I'm also a regular customer, how come I don't know about VIP rotation?" The uncle was a little puzzled.

"It's like this. The VIP revolving bar is not open to the public. It is only open to guests of the business suite and the presidential suite for free. Professor Guderian booked the presidential suite."

"Presidential suite?" My uncle was surprised.

"American schools are so rich!" Auntie instantly forgot that she had come here to verify the authenticity of this school and to see if the letter was a scam. In front of the presidential suite, she suddenly felt awe for Kassel College.

The VIP elevator took the family of four straight to the top floor. The moment the elevator door opened, a burly old man with silver hair came up to them. After a quick glance, he accurately shook Lu Mingfei's hand, "Hello! Lu Mingfei!"

"Hello... Professor Guderian, your Chinese is really good." Lu Mingfei immediately started to get stage fright.

In this VIP revolving bar where only they were, the tablecloths were snow-white and the cutlery was shiny silver. Looking out, one could see the most beautiful lake view in the city. He was actually being treated as some important person. He was totally unable to adapt to this elevation in status and was increasingly worried that he was about to be swindled.

Professor Guderian was obviously a very calm person. He completely ignored Lu Mingfei's timid look and scratched his hair happily. "Really? Is that so good? Our college has been tilting the foreign language education settings towards Chinese in the past two years. Everyone knows that China will become one of the most prosperous places in the world!" He looked at Lu Mingfei with a win-win expression on his face, "Then if you become our student, you can be exempted from foreign language courses!"

"But I have to learn English, right..." Lu Mingfei grinned, "My TOEFL score is average."

"No, that's not necessary," Professor Guderian said sincerely. "We started promoting the 'Chinese Campus' project seven years ago. Now everyone on campus speaks Chinese, from professors to librarians, including the cleaning lady! So we didn't even consider your English grades!"

Damn it, Lu Mingfei thought, if they didn't even consider that barely qualified TOEFL score, then what on earth did they value about him? A high school transcript with an average score of less than 80 in all subjects? A dry personal statement? A life without any highlights... How could this professor look so happy when facing such an applicant?

"Hello, Professor Gu, I'm Lu Mingfei's uncle." The uncle squeezed in between Professor Guderian and Lu Mingfei, unwilling to be lonely. Because he couldn't remember the four words Guderian, he cleverly simplified it to "Professor Gu".

"You uncle and nephew really don't look alike!" Professor Guderian seemed a little out of character, and his uncle looked a little embarrassed, which made his aunt, who was originally planning to go up and push his uncle away, give up the idea.

"Breakfast is ready, let's eat together." Professor Guderian invited warmly, his eyes always on Lu Mingfei.

The expensive breakfast included salmon rolls and freshly squeezed lemon juice. The exclusive VIP rotating bar was so grand, which immediately dispelled the uncle's unhappiness. After all, it was not a shame that Lu Mingfei did not look like him. Professor Guderian said that Kassel College felt that Lu Mingfei had comprehensive abilities and great potential. The uncle ate the salmon roll and was happy to say that Kassel College was an American aristocratic school at first glance. Chinese universities really could not compare with this style.

Professor Guderian was well prepared. He took out a copy of the official university license registered with the U.S. Department of Education for the aunt who was still a little suspicious to look at. He also took out a photo album to show Lu Mingze, and introduced one by one that this was the library of Kassel College, this was the gymnasium of Kassel College, and this was the concert hall of Kassel College. It seemed that the architecture of this college was classical and the facilities were luxurious, as if it was a medieval castle that had been fully renovated. There was also a photo in the photo of a windsurfing board with the Kassel College emblem painted on its sail flying on the blue waves of Lake Michigan in summer. Professor Guderian introduced that it was the college's annual windsurfing competition, and they had surpassed the University of Chicago for three consecutive years. The implication was that the University of Chicago, as a top-notch university in the United States, was nothing.

After the uncle praised the girls who were watching the windsurfing competition for their good figures, he talked about Lu Mingfei's education. He believed that Lu Mingfei's diverse abilities and potential had a lot to do with his relaxed education method for Lu Mingfei since childhood. Professor Guderian nodded frequently. The uncle was very happy to be recognized. Suddenly he remembered an old book called "Harvard Girl Liu Yiting". He couldn't help but slap his thigh and said that he could also write a book called "Kassel Boy Lu Mingfei", which could also sell millions of copies in China. It would be great to be famous and make money. So he asked in detail how much less influential Kassel College was in the United States than Harvard. Professor Guderian was stunned for a while and then patted his chest and said that Kassel College, a refined aristocratic school, actually had the same influence in the upper class society as Harvard, so the uncle could rest assured.

Lu Mingfei lowered his eyes and listened to the two people getting along happily. He couldn't help but feel a strange feeling. This was not an interview, but a daughter's marriage. He, Lu Mingfei, was the daughter who would lose money if she stayed at home and earn a betrothal gift if she got married. The man was very eager, and the woman's family was happy to go along with it.

When his uncle ran out of words, Lu Mingfei finally mustered up the courage to ask the question he had always wanted to ask, "Professor Guderian...what do you think is better about me?"

Professor Guderian was stunned for a moment. "All right! We recruit students based on their overall quality, and we don't care much about transcripts."

"But," Lu Mingfei insisted, "Kassel College is offering scholarships, the conditions are so good... Why do I find it so hard to believe?"

Professor Guderian scratched his gray eyebrows and had to deal with this question seriously. "In addition to grades, there are other reasons. Your parents happen to be honorary alumni of our college, and have donated to important research projects of our college. We will give priority to the children of alumni, even honorary alumni."

The four members of the family were stunned. Lu Mingfei's heart was jumping up and down as if a rabbit had just woken up. He had forgotten how long it had been since he had received accurate news from his parents. Every time his mother wrote to him, she just kept repeating things like taking care of yourself and studying hard, and never mentioned what they were doing abroad.

"Then can I see them?" Lu Mingfei asked anxiously.

Professor Guderian shook his head. "In fact, I haven't seen them either. I heard that they have been busy with an important research project, so they have been going in and out of the jungles of South America in recent years. But I have a photo of them, and a letter your mother wrote to the college about this matter."

He turned over the last page of the album, the photo that was originally facing outward, and placed it on the table in front of Lu Mingfei. It was a summer garden. In the distance, the classical and luxurious library of Kassel College was vaguely visible. In the near distance, there were countless creepers, which were dark and transparent. A man and a woman were walking hand in hand in the creepers. The man was wearing a loose white shirt and a pair of loose-legged pants, and a pair of wooden slippers. The woman was wearing a pure white home cotton skirt, which looked a bit like Chen Wenwen's first time reporting. Lu Mingfei stretched out his fingers and gently touched the faces of the two people in the picture. They were his parents. He could still roughly remember their faces. Lu Mingfei had a strange feeling that the man and woman were so far away from him, far away in a corner of the world that he could never go to. He suddenly felt a little sad. The man and woman looked at each other's faces with a warm smile. It was obviously a world of two people. They probably forgot that they had a child together.

My uncle and aunt nodded as well, and my aunt made a pithy comment, "They're both older people, but they're still quite romantic!"

The letter was short and typed, probably something like an email:

"Dear Principal Angers:

It’s been a long time since we last contacted each other. I hope you are in as good health as before.

It will probably be a long time before we meet again. We have been very busy with our studies lately and cannot leave, so please be sure to keep your bottle of Château Latour for us to taste when we return.

My child Lu Mingfei is already 18 years old. He is a smart kid, maybe his grades are not that good, but we all believe that he will make a difference academically, so if possible, please help Kassel College in accepting him.

I can't tell him in person, so I ask you to tell him that dad and mom love him.

Sincerely,

"Giovini"

Professor Guderian put the letter back into the envelope and handed it to Lu Mingfei. At the same time, he did something unexpected. He said in an extremely affectionate tone and not very standard pronunciation, "Mingfei, Dad and Mom love you."

This blunt message made Lu Mingze burst out laughing, and his uncle and aunt couldn't hold back their smiles either. Lu Mingfei's mother, Qiao Weini, had said that in the letter so tenderly that it was almost tear-jerking, but when it came out of the mouth of Guderian, a burly man who was 1.9 meters tall, it was indeed funny. Lu Mingfei and Professor Guderian also laughed, and the atmosphere at the table was harmonious.

"Are you relieved now? We are not liars!" Professor Guderian scratched the back of his head with a smile.

"Well, I'm going to the bathroom." Lu Mingfei said.

Lu Mingfei walked into the bathroom, closed the door, leaned against it, and tears flowed silently. In fact, he felt that there was nothing funny about everything. It was so touching. After so many years, his mother still remembered to tell him that she loved him. This gave Lu Mingfei a reason to exist in the world. Even if it was repeated by a burly professor who was 1.9 meters tall, it would make no difference. "I love you" must be said. Saying it out loud is different from writing it on paper, especially for a wilted child like Lu Mingfei who lacks love. He shed tears and felt more and more sad. Anyway, there were only their group of people in this VIP rotating bar, and no one would come in to disturb them. The bathroom was more luxurious than the standard rooms in other hotels. Lu Mingfei squatted down against the door, tears streaming down his face.

Until a pair of jogging shoes with dark purple patterns suddenly appeared in front of him.

Lu Mingfei was startled and looked up suddenly, and saw clearly that the person standing in front of him was a girl. From bottom to top, she was wearing a pair of jogging shoes, a pair of tight jeans, a white vest, a short shirt with blue vertical stripes on the outside, and a baseball cap on her head.

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, feeling that there was something wrong with the scene before him, but he couldn't tell what it was. In front of him was just a tall, pretty girl, looking at him with sidelong glances. The sterling silver four-leaf clover pendant on her earlobe was swaying, and the broken diamonds embedded in it shone brightly.

"This is the women's restroom." The girl slowly revealed the problem to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei shrugged his head and returned to the breakfast table. The pretty tall girl followed him with a stern face. Her pair of slightly charming eyes were like sharp knives.

"Oh, let me introduce you. This is Chen Motong, a student of our Kassel College. She is of Chinese descent and is accompanying me to China this time." Professor Guderian said, "Nono, this is the family of our new classmate Lu Mingfei. Why did you come so late?"

"Nono?" Lu Mingfei was stunned when he heard the name.

"I ate at a food stall last night and my stomach feels a little uncomfortable, so I've been in the bathroom just now." The girl named Chen Motong took off her baseball cap, letting her long hair down, and sat next to Professor Guderian calmly.

"Why didn't you ask me to join you at the food stall?" Professor Guderian's reaction was regretful.

"Professor, Norma said that your weight loss treatment is not over yet and you can only eat two meals a day." Chen Motong ignored the old man's desire for food and glanced at the last salmon roll on his plate. "You'd better eat more. After this, you will only have one meal left."

Professor Guderian, like a child being disciplined by a strict mother, scratched his head, sighed, and began to eat his last salmon roll.

Lu Mingfei was very grateful that Chen Motong didn't tell him about the embarrassment of going to the wrong bathroom, but after the girl appeared at the table, the happy atmosphere immediately dissipated. The girl was like a proud princess with sharp words. Even when she looked directly at you, you would feel that you were not in her eyes. Her beautiful pupils were actually focused somewhere behind you. At this moment, she was sitting in the seat closest to the window, spreading butter on her bread. In the sunlight, her long hair was a deep red, like wine.

This was the first time Lu Mingfei met such a beautiful girl. He was not like Su Xiaoqiang who cared a lot about how envious other people were of her, nor was he like Chen Wenwen who was weak and only thought about her own things and avoided other people's gazes. Chen Motong didn't care about other people's gazes at all, and looked fearless, which obviously made the uncle feel pressured. The uncle was secretly looking at Chen Motong's wrist, not focusing on the lines of the lonely wrist. Lu Mingfei knew what he was looking at, he was looking at the silver diamond-encrusted Omega watch on Chen Motong's wrist.

"Do you mind if I eat yours?" Chen Motong finished his codfish, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked up at Lu Mingfei. The codfish on Lu Mingfei's plate was still untouched.

Lu Mingfei had no choice but to nod. He didn’t know how to refuse Chen Motong, nor did he think that fried cod with lemon juice was delicious.

"Nono, please be polite. We are not in the college restaurant." Professor Guderian said while eating his salmon roll with reluctance.

"He has no appetite," Chen Motong glanced at Lu Mingfei, "Look at how absent-minded he is. He probably even went to the wrong restroom."

Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat. Chen Motong gave him a teasing smile that only Lu Mingfei could understand, and brought Lu Mingfei's entire breakfast plate over.

"Really? Mingfei, are you still worried about something?" Professor Guderian stared into Lu Mingfei's eyes and said, "The opportunity to enter Kassel College is very rare. I suggest you don't give up!"

"I need to think about it." Lu Mingfei lowered his head.

Uncle, aunt and Lu Mingze all showed the same look of "Is this guy crazy?". The information brought by Professor Guderian had been checked over and over by Aunt, and it was stamped with the stamp of the US Department of Education. Uncle saw several American politicians who often appeared on TV in the photos, talking with students and teachers wearing dark green school uniforms with a smile. Everyone had the "World Tree" school emblem of Kassel College on their chests. The scholarship plan that Professor Guderian took out was signed by the National Institute of Health Research (NIH) and Citibank. NIH deposited the scholarship into Citibank, and Citibank guaranteed to issue a cash check to the recipient of the scholarship "Mingfei Lu" on a monthly basis. In addition, the supporting evidence included Professor Guderian's own certificate of tenure at Harvard University and his letter of appointment as a director of the American Paleontological Research Society. Even Lu Mingze felt that Lu Mingfei really had a very good pair of parents. Although they had not shown their faces for seven or eight years, they immediately did such a big thing at the critical moment of their son's life. But in the face of such a great opportunity, Lu Mingfei "still has to think about it."

Professor Guderian's face looked a little grim. "Is it that the conditions at Kassel College are not good enough?"

“No,” Lu Mingfei waved his hand, “I…”

"She's my first love." Chen Motong said while chewing the cod.

The table suddenly became quiet. Lu Mingfei was so embarrassed that he wanted to crawl under the table. Lu Mingze's ears were obviously perked up, and his uncle and aunt also cast suspicious glances. Only the sound of Chen Motong chewing the silver cod was particularly clear. She showed her bright white teeth and gave Lu Mingfei a beautiful but unfriendly smile.

"You're kidding." Chen Motong pushed the empty plate forward, "We're not familiar with each other. We just met today, right?"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, except for Professor Guderian, who looked around in confusion, not knowing why the atmosphere suddenly became like a string that was stretched taut and then relaxed.

"Our Mingfei won't fall in love, right Mingfei?" Auntie cast a gratified look at Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei didn't hide his girlfriend from her, which made her feel that her leadership position in the family was not shaken. She also felt that someone shouldn't be so blind to fall in love with Lu Mingfei. If anyone found a girlfriend, it should be Lu Mingze.

“No way, who wants me?” Lu Mingfei grinned and chewed a piece of asparagus in his mouth. This way his mouth was always moving and he didn’t have to pretend any expression.

"Students should focus on their studies," said my aunt happily.

"You are upgrading the third-level base." Chen Motong said suddenly.

Lu Mingfei's expression suddenly became indescribably strange.

After sending Lu Mingfei and his family to the exclusive elevator, Professor Guderian frowned and asked Chen Motong for his opinion, "You said they didn't believe us? But there's nothing wrong with the documents. The documents from the Ministry of Education approving the establishment of a private university, the photos, the business license, and my professorship letter are all real. What problems can be found?"

"The most problematic thing is that you come here with money to recruit students, but you still have to bring so many documents to prove yourself. You also have to invite parents to have breakfast in the VIP club of a five-star hotel, and you have an eager and expectant expression on your face." Chen Motong was blunt.

"But Lu Mingfei's importance on the admissions list is 'S' level. If we let an 'S' level student run away, the school directors will be very unhappy!"

"It's okay. We're playing hard to get." Chen Motong shrugged. "That guy will definitely obey us!"

"How do you know? I see he is very hesitant, but his family is fine." Professor Guderian scratched his head. "What is he hesitating about?"

"She's my first love." Chen Motong said.

"Don't joke around now that they're all gone."

"I'm serious." Chen Motong stuck out his tongue, "I'm not full. I'm still hungry."