Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

The second day in Shanghai was still sunny and bright.

Lin Feng and Shen Moran met at the agreed time and place last night and began their second day of their trip to Shanghai.

Shen Moran's itinerary for today leans more towards art and leisure, and she plans to take Lin Feng to some alleyways and art districts with a more local atmosphere.

The two had just arrived at their first stop—an independent bookstore hidden in an old neighborhood—and Shen Moran was preparing to introduce its unique features.

Her work phone suddenly rang urgently in her pocket.

It's assistant Xiaoxiao.

"Hey, Xiaoxiao, what's up?" Shen Moran answered the phone, her tone relaxed.

"Ranran! Something's happened!" Xiaoxiao's voice was filled with obvious anxiety and tension. "The director just gave an urgent call saying there's been a problem with the investors, and they're asking the crew to speed things up and shorten the filming schedule!"

"All lead actors and key supporting actors must be back on set within two hours! All scheduled rest days are cancelled; we must immediately begin filming the remaining scenes!"

"What?!" Shen Moran's smile froze instantly, and his brows furrowed tightly.

"I've already sent a driver to pick you up. Send me your location now!"

"...Okay, I understand." Shen Moran took a deep breath, suppressing the disappointment and helplessness in her heart.

After hanging up the phone, she looked up at Lin Feng, who was standing calmly beside her, her eyes filled with apology and reluctance.

"Junior, I'm sorry... there's an emergency on set, and everyone needs to go back immediately."

"The director canceled all my remaining vacation time to catch up on the schedule... I... I have to leave right away."

Lin Feng looked at the genuine anxiety and apology in her eyes and gently shook his head.

"It's alright, work is important. You go ahead and get busy."

He paused, then added, "I also have some things to take care of right now, so I'll probably be quite busy."

This statement was partly true and partly a consolation.

"Really?" Shen Moran was skeptical, but felt a little better.

"Mm." Lin Feng nodded.

"Well... junior, I'm leaving now. I'll contact you again after I finish filming this busiest scene!" Shen Moran bit her lip, then turned around and ran quickly toward the van waiting at the intersection.

She ran to the car, turned around again, and waved vigorously at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng waved to her and watched the car merge into the traffic and disappear around the street corner.

A faint sense of emptiness also lingered in my heart.

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

Shen Moran has her battlefield, and he has his journey.

The brief respite is over, and it's time for everyone to return to normal.

"Mr. Lin, shall we go back to school now, or...?" Zhao Weiguo stepped forward and asked.

Lin Feng glanced at the time; it was still early.

Returning to school doesn't allow me to immediately get back into work mode, and wandering around alone is rather boring.

A figure suddenly flashed through his mind.

That guy who was the only one he could call his friend, or even his best friend, from childhood to adulthood.

Xu Jia, a neighbor from the mountain city.

A spoiled third-generation rich kid who has always gotten whatever he wanted since childhood is the king of the kids in his neighborhood.

Until one day, he foolishly offended Lin Feng and was thoroughly taught a lesson by Lin Feng using the fighting skills he learned in his previous life, beating him until he cried for his parents.

He thought they would become enemies, but unexpectedly, the other party seemed to have been beaten into submission and became attached to Lin Feng from then on.

Especially after secretly seeing Lin Feng practicing those fierce fist techniques alone in the early morning, he was even more amazed and shamelessly begged to become his disciple.

Although Lin Feng did not formally accept any disciples, he could not refuse him and would occasionally give him some pointers.

The two continued to fight each other all the way through elementary and high school.

Lin Feng is always number one, the perfect child, and an unapproachable academic genius.

Xu Jia, on the other hand, is a student with poor grades but is generous and has excellent interpersonal relationships.

Their paths seemed completely different, but strangely enough, their relationship remained very good.

Xu Jia never backed down because of Lin Feng's coldness and aloofness, and Lin Feng also got used to having such a talkative, loud-mouthed person by his side.

They were a special presence in each other's lives.

Lin Feng remembered that when Xu Jia took the college entrance examination, his family seemed to have used a lot of connections to get him into a good university in Shanghai.

He didn't pay much attention to which one it was at the time.

Since we're both in Shanghai, going to see this best friend I haven't seen in over two years seems like a good option.

"Brother Zhao, contact an old friend of mine. Let's go see him."

Lin Feng said something to Zhao Weiguo, then pulled out a number from his contacts that he had hardly ever dialed and dialed it.

The phone rang seven or eight times, and just when Lin Feng thought no one would answer, it was suddenly connected.

"Hey? Who is it?!" A loud, impatient male voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's me, Lin Feng," Lin Feng said calmly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Immediately following, an exaggerated scream, almost deafening, rang out:

"Holy crap! Brother Lin?! It really is you?! The sun must have risen in the west! You actually called me on your own initiative?!"

Xu Jia's voice was filled with unbelievable surprise and excitement.

"You little brat! You've disappeared since you went to college! You haven't replied to my messages at all! I thought you'd vanished!" Xu Jia began to launch into a barrage of accusations.

"I'm quite busy with school matters," Lin Feng explained simply before getting to the point.

"I'm in Shanghai right now, and I happen to have some free time. I was thinking of seeing if you had any time too."

"What?! Brother Lin, you're in Shanghai too?!" Xu Jia's voice rose again. "Where are you? Send me your location! I'm coming right now! No, you have to come with me today so I can properly show you some hospitality!"

"I'll come find you, it's hard to describe my location," Lin Feng said.

"Sure! I'm at Shanghai University! You come to the East Gate, and I'll be waiting for you there! Hurry up, Brother Lin, I've missed you so much!" Xu Jia said impatiently.

Shanghai University?

Lin Feng was slightly surprised.

With Xu Jia's college entrance examination score that year, he was far from meeting the admission requirements of Shanghai University.

It seems his family has indeed put in a lot of effort for this only son.

"Okay, I'll be there in about an hour."

"No problem! I'll be waiting for you! See you there!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Feng said to Zhao Weiguo, "Go to Shanghai University."

An hour later, in front of the magnificent East Gate of Shanghai University.

As soon as Lin Feng and Zhao Weiguo got out of the car, they saw that familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure.

Xu Jia is indeed thinner than he was in high school, but he has a large frame and still looks very strong.

He was dressed head-to-toe in trendy brands, his hair was slicked back, and he wore an expensive sports watch on his wrist.

He was standing at the door, craning his neck to look around, surrounded by five or six men and women.

The boys were all dressed very fashionably, while the girls had exquisite makeup.

They all appear to be friends Xu Jia made in college.

"Brother Lin! Over here!!"

Xu Jia, with her sharp eyes, spotted Lin Feng getting out of the car at a glance, and immediately waved her arms and shouted excitedly.

As soon as he shouted, all the men and women around him turned to look at him.

When they saw that the person walking towards them was a young man dressed in simple casual clothes, with a cool and outstanding temperament, and who was almost too handsome, accompanied by a bodyguard with a muscular build, sharp eyes, and who looked like someone not to be trifled with.

Their faces involuntarily revealed curiosity, scrutiny, and even a hint of...examination.

Especially those girls, their eyes visibly lit up.

Xu Jia didn't care about any of that. He rushed forward and opened his arms to give Lin Feng a bear hug.

"Brother Lin! I've missed you so much!"

Lin Feng subtly stepped to the side, avoiding the enthusiastic hug, and simply patted his shoulder.

"Fatty, long time no see."

This familiar, slightly disdainful dodging gesture only made Xu Jia happier.

"Haha, Brother Lin, you're still the same!"

He didn't seem to mind at all. He put his arm around Lin Feng's shoulder, turned to face his group of friends, and spoke with undisguised pride and smugness:

"Come on, let me introduce you all! This is my best buddy, my brother who grew up with me, Lin Feng! A super-achiever from Chongqing, he's currently... uh, studying at Harbin Institute of Technology!"

Xu Jia originally wanted to boast about Lin Feng's great achievements, but considering Lin Feng's consistently low-key nature, he changed his mind at the last minute.

"These are all my classmates and friends from Shanghai University," he introduced to Lin Feng, then called out their names one by one, "This is Wang Hao, this is Li Ming, this is Zhang Wei, this is..."

The group of men and women all nodded and greeted Lin Feng politely.

"Brother Lin, you've come at the perfect time!" Xu Jia said excitedly. "We were just planning to go to a newly opened upscale club in Xintiandi. I heard it's really classy! Let's go together! It's on me, I have to treat you to a nice welcome!"

He turned to his friends and yelled, "Everything's on Xu Gongzi today! Let's have a blast!"

"Young Master Xu is awesome!" His friends immediately cheered.

Lin Feng shook his head helplessly as he looked at Xu Jia's extravagant spending.

This fat guy hasn't changed at all.

However, since we're already here, let's just go with his arrangements.