At night, the roommates still hadn’t returned. Samuel Clark opened her laptop and searched online for this year’s Beihang University freshman representative speech. The web quickly gave her the answer.

Samuel Clark sat in front of the computer, quietly watching Jason Harris in the video.

Jason Harris stood on stage. The audience was a bit rowdy. He suddenly reached out his long arm and raised the microphone in front of him by a large margin, clear mockery on his face, causing a burst of laughter from the students below.

The director, who had just finished speaking and was only 1.6 meters tall, felt a headache: This year’s students are really hard to manage.

After adjusting the microphone, Jason Harris stood before everyone and spoke leisurely, “Fellow students, I’ll keep it short. Of course, you can also think of what I’m about to say as nonsense.”

“Wow.” Someone in the audience teased.

“I believe many of you have gained a preliminary understanding of Beihang after military training. I don’t care whether you still hold onto your dreams, or if you’re already discouraged by the alarm clock that rings at six every morning,” Jason Harris swept his dark eyes over the audience, a bit of a rogue mixed with a casual air, “The future may be even harder—elimination rates, disasters faced by pilots, being grounded, and so on.”

“I don’t want to worry about these things. I once read a line in a book, and I’d like to share it with everyone who chose to become a pilot—”

The audience suddenly quieted down, all waiting to hear what Jason Harris would say. Jason Harris stood on stage, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below, his voice carrying a wild arrogance.

“God is silent; everything is up to me.”

The students below fell silent again, the quiet spreading to every corner. Jason Harris smiled slightly, folded his speech into a paper airplane, and tossed it toward the audience.

The white paper airplane fluttered in the air, circling once before flying toward the sea of students. Suddenly, a burst of applause and cheers erupted from the crowd.

All the students, as if inspired by those words, jumped up, trying to catch the paper airplane. It was their moment of wild celebration, and they shouted:

“I’m going to become the best pilot!”

“I’ll definitely take a picture of the blue sky to show my mom.”

A breeze blew, lifting the corner of Jason Harris’s black T-shirt. He stood on stage, watching his classmates in their uproar, and slowly smiled.

A boy in black, sharp and cold, just like before—his smile was wild and unrestrained.

Samuel Clark watched Jason Harris on the screen, her heart pounding uncontrollably, her emotions surging. There were many comments below the video, and she clicked through them one by one.

Someone asked: [Who is this guy? Why is he so arrogant?]

An enthusiastic alumnus replied: [You’re being shallow. After the college entrance exam, he went skydiving at the Grand Canyon in Colorado, USA, and casually got a private helicopter license.]

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening came from outside. Samuel Clark hurriedly closed the webpage with her mouse.

Grace Lee swaggered in, pushing the door open, and immediately put her arm around Samuel Clark’s shoulders as she entered. “Suísuí, didn’t you say you wanted to find a part-time job? I happen to know a senior who’s looking for a tutor. I’ve sent you her contact card.”

Samuel Clark nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

“No need to be so polite.” Grace Lee pinched her cheek again—the feel was just too good.

After adding the senior, Samuel Clark took the initiative to introduce herself. The senior was very enthusiastic and said: [Hello, I heard from Grace Lee that you’re the clinical medicine junior who’s quick and bold with dissections. She’s always praising you as a top student. My aunt is looking for a tutor to teach a sixth grader math and English. It’s once a week, but each session is two hours. Can you manage your time for that?]

Samuel Clark asked: [Where is the location?]

The senior replied: [Amber Lane, Xinhe District. There’s no direct subway, so you’ll have to transfer buses a few times. It’ll take a little over an hour in total.]

Over an hour—it’s a bit far. If only there were a direct subway line. Plus, Samuel Clark gets a bit carsick. She was hesitating about whether to go when the senior sent another message: [A lot of people have turned it down because of the commute... Anyway, it’s hard to find a tutor. Could you do me a favor and go for an interview this weekend? Maybe you’ll really like the kid. If it doesn’t work out, you can always say no later.]

Since things had reached this point, it wouldn’t be right to refuse again, so Samuel Clark agreed to go for the interview.

No one expected that the days in the dorm would soon become anything but peaceful. One day, Evelyn Baker suddenly came back and burst into tears in the dorm. After crying, she made several phone calls, but none went through, and in her anger, she smashed her phone to pieces.

Sophie Hill comforted her, “Don’t cry, what happened?”

Samuel Clark quietly crouched down to pick up the broken pieces. Evelyn Baker wiped away her tears, her voice cold: “It’s nothing, just had a fight with my boyfriend.”

Within a couple of days, rumors started spreading in the class that Evelyn Baker had been dumped by her boyfriend. They said she waited outside his dorm all night but still didn’t get back together. Everyone had something to say.

Grace Lee and the others didn’t believe it. It’s normal for couples to argue.

On Thursday afternoon, Sophie Hill received a text in the dorm, sat up in bed, and winked at Samuel Clark: “Jason Harris is at our school for something. He’s free right now. Come on, let’s go get a free meal.”