America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"Is this what they call the generation gap?" John Wick said with a hint of helplessness.

Chapter 368 Dad said...

Although they enrolled in the fall of 2002, on their school T-shirts, Li Qun and his classmates were identified as students of the class of 2006.

In Columbia University tradition, a new student is named according to the year they are expected to graduate, not the year they enroll.

Of all the orientation activities for new students at Columbia University, the freshman parade is the largest and most spectacular.

Li Qun stood in the loosely packed procession, with Peter and Harry beside him.

Gwen and Stephanie were in the girls' group.

Separating boys and girls will make the parade look more organized during the procession.

Standing in a line to participate in a large-scale event like this, with thousands of people walking together, feels like a scene from the old world.

President Boglin took office in July of this year. As a new president, this is his first time presiding over a freshman parade. He stood on the side of the freshmen and planned to march with them.

Li Qun didn't remember the route of the freshmen parade; they just needed to follow along, which basically involved walking around the roads around the school.

The roadside was filled with older students and onlookers. Helen, John Wick, and Wade Wilson had a good vantage point, with Wade eating a hot dog.

“I told you so, these enrollment activities are almost like the rites performed when joining a new religion.”

"Uniform clothing, meaningless slogans, and..."

"Say less." John elbowed Wade, telling him to shut up.

“They even have a marching band!” Wade shouted.

“It’s the same every year,” John said casually.

“If a lunatic showed up at this time, all the Columbia freshmen would be doomed,” Wade said.

“The NYPD is watching over us.”

Wade had this idea, and so did the New York police; both the school and the police were on guard.

The freshman parade began, starting from 114th Street and proceeding north along Broadway. When it reached the Columbia University main gate on West 116th Street, it passed through the main gate and entered College Road, where upperclassmen on both sides of the main gate cheered.

"Should we cheer too?" Li Qun complained in the parade.

Peter let out two Tarzan-like shouts from the side.

The freshmen parade continued west along College Road, passing Hamilton House, and finally arrived at the stepped plaza in front of the Rockefeller Library, the central landmark of the campus.

Li Qun looked around and when he saw the podium set up in front of the tiered square, memories of his past at Aurora Education were triggered in his mind. As expected, the next part was another speech by the school leaders.

Principal Li Bogelin stood on the podium, his expression revealing a suppressed excitement.

"Does he really enjoy giving speeches?" Li Qun whispered to Peter.

“Liqun, look over there, they’re going to release pigeons later,” Peter said.

“I understand, our principal likes big events,” Li Qun said.

Principal Boglin gave a speech for about ten minutes. After finishing the last sentence of his speech, the principal raised his hand to signal that the pigeons in the coop were released and fluttered into the sky.

Student photographers from the Columbia Daily Observer were snapping away at the sight of the pigeons flying, while photographers from other New York City newspapers were also snapping away.

"The event is over, watch out for pigeon droppings," Liqun reminded everyone.

“They’re here,” Peter said.

Peter ducked his head, and white pigeon droppings landed right in front of him.

The group dispersed, and Columbia University freshmen wearing the 2006 freshman T-shirts spread to every corner of Upper Manhattan.

"What bad luck."

Li Qun handed Harry a tissue and told him to wipe the white pigeon droppings off his head.

“Where did he get so many pigeons?” Harry complained.

"Get up early and you can see flocks of pigeons flitting between the buildings from the rooftop."

“As long as they don’t fly directly overhead, flocks of pigeons soaring in the sky are quite a sight to behold,” Li Qun said.

“Pigeons are dirty, they’re called the rats of the sky,” Gwen said as she walked over, also complaining about pigeons.

"You weren't attacked by air, were you?" Li Qun asked with concern.

“No,” Gwen replied.

"Where to next?" Harry asked.

“I need to go home,” Stephanie said.

"Tomorrow is Labor Day, September 2nd, and classes will start the day after tomorrow," Li Qun said.

"Is your father back?" Peter asked.

“It’s Labor Day holiday,” Stephanie said.

“Stephanie, what are you worried about?” Harry asked.

"I'm worried that my dad and mom will argue."

“I dreamt that they were getting a divorce,” Stephanie said.

"At this point, I have a question to ask."

Do you like your dad or your mom more?

"After the divorce, will you stay with your father or your mother?" Li Qun asked.

“I’m not choosing anyone,” Stephanie said.

“I need to go home too,” Peter said.

“I’ll go back and take a look too,” Gwen said.

"So, you're leaving just me and Li Qun?" Harry asked.

“Harry, don’t be sad, I also want to go home and visit,” Li Qun said.

“OK.” Harry shrugged.

"Wave goodbye, Harry."

"Goodbye."

The four of them waved to Harry and walked toward the subway station.

"This alley is nice."

Liqun stopped at the entrance of a small alley, looked inside, and saw no one.

“Magic is so convenient,” Gwen said.

Li Qun opened a portal that led to his father's rooftop, and the four of them walked back to Queens.

Li Qun opened three more portals, and after passing through them, Gwen, Peter, and Stephanie appeared near their home.

"Call me if you need anything, I'll be there anytime," Li Qun said to the three people in the portal.

"clear."

Li Qun came down from the rooftop and went to the pawn shop on the first floor. His father was lying on a recliner listening to the radio.

"You're back..."

The old man glanced at Liqun.

"Dad, does Wade count as skipping work today?" Li Qun asked.

"It's alright, just deduct it from his salary," the old man said with a smile.

"Liqun, there's something I want to tell you." The old man sat up.

"Dad, do you have a girlfriend?" Li Qun asked, leaning against the counter.

"No."

"Liqun, how old do you think I am?" the old man asked.

“He looks only in his sixties, but it’s a bit hard to guess that Steve pawned something with you sixty years ago,” Li Qun replied.

"I am over two thousand years old."

The old man smiled as he looked at Liqun, his face full of wrinkles.

"Over two thousand years old... Dad, why are you saying this?"

Liqun looked at his father's weathered face.

"You are the first person in two thousand years to know my secret. I am a man from the Liang state during the late Warring States period."

"I was forty years old when Qin conquered Liang. Six years later, King Ying Zheng of Qin unified the world. You can calculate how old I am now."

"The Qin state unified China in 221 BC..." Li Qun recalled the history of China.

Chapter 369 is full of numerical monsters.

Wade walked out of the cake shop carrying the cake. He paid extra to have the cake maker put aside his other orders and use someone else's cake base to complete this custom cake.

The cake was decorated with cream and chocolate that formed the numbers "2268," and Wade wondered why Li Qun was emphasizing this number.

Does someone want to be 2268 years old for their birthday?

Wade parked the Mazda in the parking space and got out of the car carrying the cake.

"Is Li Qun in the kitchen? Where's the cake?" Wade asked his father, carrying the cake.

"Liqun is in the kitchen, and Banner will be coming over for dinner later."

"Dad, whose birthday is it?"

Wade keenly sensed something unusual.

"Guess what?" Old Man smiled as he looked at Wade.

"Dad, is it your birthday?"