I was a top student in America.

Li Ao and his friends left the dormitory building and headed straight for the student cafeteria of the Illini Union.

When I encounter unfamiliar campus buildings on the street, I always make a few comments about them.

As they walked together, the young people became increasingly familiar with each other.

Taylor found everything fascinating and pointed to an old building with pink stone walls in the distance, asking, "That building looks like a castle, what's it used for?"

"That's Altgerld House." Kevin had clearly done his research. "The math department used to be there, and there was also a math library. The clock tower there chimes on the hour, and if you're lucky, you can hear the whole bell."

"No, why would the math department live in a castle?" Taylor asked, puzzled.

Kevin shrugged and joked, "Probably so it's easier to lock students up and have them do their homework."

Ethan, clutching the campus map, couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this, but he didn't stop walking, closely following the group in front of him, afraid of getting lost on the first day.

Not far from where you walk, a large, open lawn comes into view.

To the north of the lawn is the UIUC student activity center – the Illini Union.

The imposing red brick building sits beside the main road, with students constantly coming and going through its main entrance.

Some people were holding laptops in one hand, some were carrying coffee cups, and a few were throwing frisbees on the lawn.

Upon reaching this point, Kevin excitedly stopped and began acting as a tour guide:

"Make a note of all this. The Illini Alliance is the heart of the entire school. Student organizations, meeting rooms, restaurants, rest areas, all sorts of departments are here. If you ever run into trouble and don't know who to contact, you can't go wrong coming here first."

After saying that, he walked straight toward the notice board next to the entrance.

Taylor and Ethan were curious about college life and quickly caught up with it.

In his previous life, when he was a consultant for studying abroad, Li Ao often gave students a lot of information about the campus environment of UIUC.

After all, this is one of the most student-friendly American universities, admitting hundreds of new students from China every year.

Unfortunately, he himself never actually set foot on this campus, which is somewhat of a regret.

Standing here now, I can't help but feel a mix of emotions.

Instead of joining the crowd to read the official announcement, he was drawn to a row of sticky notes in the corner of the bulletin board.

"Used bicycle for sale. Brakes are so-so, chain is newly replaced."

"Summer sublet, eight-minute walk from the engineering building."

"The Putnam Mathematics Competition Training Group is recruiting. We meet every Wednesday evening, and you are welcome to audit our classes."

There were also a few posters for club recruitment and lectures squeezed together next to it, the transparent tape at the corners was already peeling off, and it made a rustling sound when the wind blew.

Ethan stared at the Putnam training group flyer, then turned and asked, "Is this match important?"

"It's important for college students," Kevin waved his hand. "But let's not worry about that for now; summer camp alone is enough to keep us busy."

Taylor also peeked at the bulletin board, then suddenly raised his voice:

"Holy crap, they even sell homework answers here?"

At the bottom of the bulletin board was a handwritten note that read: "Complete set of linear algebra exercises and answers, handwritten copy, accuracy guaranteed, price negotiable."

"It's a university town, that's normal," Kevin casually chimed in. "Cars, houses, textbooks, homework—there's someone selling everything, and someone buying everything."

Kevin is a typical sharing person; he can't keep anything to himself.

"Speaking of assignments, our black belt group's assignments and discussion sessions are the main focus. Don't be intimidated by tomorrow's diagnostic test; the participation grade is the biggest factor. Last year, the teaching assistant revealed that the diagnostic test accounts for at most 10%, the subsequent mock tests account for 50%, and the remaining 40% depends entirely on the performance in assignments and discussion sessions."

"Especially when it comes to homework, just writing down the answer isn't enough; you have to clearly explain the proof process. If you miss one assignment, the teaching assistant will come and have a chat with you. If you submit two assignments in a row with poor quality, you can forget about having any free time in the evening."

He paused, then lowered his voice, "As the senior student said last year, black belt group assignments are like a get-out-of-jail-free card. Missing one assignment means you're headed straight to 'jail'."

Taylor's face turned green when he heard that.

Ethan quietly folded the map in his hand and put it in his pocket, looking like he was about to go back and start doing practice problems.

Li Ao listened to these words and nodded to himself.

It must be admitted that Kevin, as a veteran who has watched the show twice, does know a lot and has done his homework very thoroughly.

"Um...did you guys know that black belts can transfer to red or blue belts?"

Taylor swallowed hard, a hint of regret creeping into her heart about the summer camp trip.

Ethan looked at Kevin with a serious expression: "Kevin, you're the only one among us who participated in summer camp last year. I'll have to ask you for advice more often in the future."

"No problem." Kevin nodded readily, then offered advice, "But the safest way is to get to know the other black belts as soon as possible. Those who made it into the national team last year basically all have their own discussion groups."

However, since it was only the first day of summer camp, the thought of the grueling schedule that was about to begin gave them all a bit of a headache.

No one lingered on this heavy topic; they quickened their pace and finally arrived at the student cafeteria of the Illini Union.

The restaurant was quite crowded.

Ordinary college students chatting while serving dishes, summer camp members with temporary cards hanging around their necks, and even a few parents dragging suitcases were mixed in the group.

After swiping their temporary meal cards to enter, Li Ao and the others truly experienced the benefits of the summer camp.

The project covered all meals, with a allowance of $25 per meal.

Within this area, you can order any food and drinks you like, without having to pay out of your own pocket like regular students.

Salads, sandwiches, and desserts are displayed next to the food selection window, while the hot food section offers Indian curry, Korean bibimbap, hamburgers, and fries.

The beverage machine in the corner offers unlimited refills.

Taylor carried the plate around for a while, and finally brought back a plate of pasta, a piece of roast chicken, and two large cups of drinks.

"This restaurant is alright, much better than I expected."

"I thought the same thing during the first week last year," Kevin said calmly. "Once you've eaten home-cooked meals for four weeks straight, you'll start to miss them."

Ethan carefully picked up some vegetable salad and put it on his plate, afraid that taking too much would result in extra charges.

Li Ao headed straight for the high-calorie zone.

He doesn't care much about the taste, as long as it fills his stomach and ensures he has enough energy to exercise and do practice problems in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, the group ran back and forth on campus under the scorching sun.

After going to the project office to pick up the handouts, to the dormitory management office to sign the bedding list, and then to the bookstore to buy draft paper, whiteboard markers and punched folders, everyone was covered in sweat after all that.

This was a last resort; the summer camp schedule was extremely full. Tomorrow afternoon was the placement test, followed by various lectures, discussion classes, and evening worksheets, so we had to prepare all the necessary equipment in advance.

After returning to the dormitory after shopping, Kevin and everyone studied last year's diagnostic test questions together for a while.

Even after dinner, everyone's minds were a bit fuzzy.

Taylor suggested taking advantage of the cool weather to stroll around the campus and get a taste of university life.

Li Ao didn't want to move. UIUC, this famous cornfield, didn't have much to offer in terms of scenery. It was far inferior to Peking University and Tsinghua University in his previous life.

However, I couldn't resist my roommate's high spirits, so I decided to go for a walk with him.

……

"Hey, do you guys think there are any girls in our black belt group? I didn't see a single one when I reported for duty."

After spending the whole day together, Taylor's true nature was completely revealed.

Walking along the path beside the main lawn, he shed the filter of being a sunny track and field team member and quickly steered the conversation towards girls.

"I focused solely on studying and training throughout my three years of high school, and I didn't even have a proper relationship..."

As he spoke, a hint of regret even appeared on his face.

Ethan, who lives next to him, comes from a traditional Catholic boys' school in a small town. He hasn't seen many women in his three years of high school and can't get a word in edgewise.

Kevin chuckled: "Don't tell me you're planning to find a girlfriend at math summer camp."

"Why not?" Taylor protested. "We're here at summer camp, not a monastery."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Li Ao, his face full of gossip:

"Leo, what type of person do you like?"

"I enjoy studying," Li Ao replied casually.

Kevin nodded in agreement: "Leo is right. With the insane intensity of our summer camp, who has the energy to date? Even if there are girls in the black belt group, they probably aren't in the mood for romance right now."

As he was talking eloquently, one of the female college students walking towards them suddenly quickened her pace and headed straight for them.

The person who came was a white girl with golden-brown hair, wearing a light-colored short-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, her long legs dazzlingly white in the sunset.

The two female companions beside her, who were chatting and laughing while holding milkshakes, exchanged a glance and curiously followed.

"Leo?"

The girl stopped in front of her.

"It's me. You are..." Li Ao raised his head, looked at the smiling stranger in front of him, and was slightly taken aback.

"I am Emily."

The girl laughed heartily and extended her hand generously. "Emily Brown. You're already at UIUC, why didn't you call me?"

Li Ao shook hands with her briefly, his mind racing before he finally recognized her.

This must be the daughter that Mr. Brown mentioned.

It's no wonder he didn't recognize her; it's really hard to associate the young and beautiful girl in front of him with that bald, fifty-something-year-old Mr. Brown.

"Ah, I..." Li Ao stammered, a rare occurrence for him.

I couldn't help but wonder: Who says I have to call you just because I'm here?

Before Li Ao could finish speaking, a petite Asian girl next to Emily couldn't contain her curiosity and interjected, "Emily, who is this...?"

"My friend," Emily replied generously and warmly. "He did me a huge favor before, and I haven't had a chance to treat him to a meal yet."

Upon hearing this, Taylor and the others exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes fixed on what they considered rare animals, their gossip-loving spirits burning brightly.

"Actually, it's not necessary. Mr. Brown has helped me a lot before, and that's what I should do."

Li Ao replied politely, "One thing at a time."

Emily glanced at her phone. "I'm rushing off to an event right now, so I won't keep you any longer. Remember to call me when you have time."

After saying that, she smiled and winked at Li Ao, then waved to Taylor and the others before striding away quickly...

……