“When Senior He first enrolled, everyone who saw her said there was no competition for the school’s beauty queen for the next few years. Back then, Senior He hadn’t fully grown into her beauty, nor was she very good at dressing up,
By the time she was a sophomore, a professor said that in all these years, no other school beauty could compare to Senior He. You could say she was beautiful, but that’s not the most important thing. What’s even more important is that she’s a scholar. I don’t know how well she did in other classes, but I’m guessing she didn’t do very well, otherwise she would have gotten into Tsinghua or Peking University for college, or even gone abroad.”
Hearing this, Wang Tie Niu had no reaction, but the other guys started to yell. “What’s wrong? Is our school not good enough?” “You really don’t know how to talk. Maybe Senior He just didn’t perform well in the college entrance exam.”
“Yes, yes, I misspoke, I misspoke.” The chubby kid who felt like he had said something wrong quickly changed the subject and continued,
“Senior He is a beast when it comes to foreign languages. She passed the English Level 8 exam a long time ago, and she also got the International English Teacher Qualification Certificate. She also got the DALF C2 for French, the Goethe C2 for German, and the N1 for Japanese. But it’s not just about passing exams. Senior He has an amazing voice that’s super soothing to the ears. Once, I was behind her in line for food in the cafeteria and heard her chatting with the students in front of her. Her voice was simply heavenly.” The chubby kid was so entranced by the memory that he closed his eyes and shook his head, swaying his body. His lecherous expression gave Wang Tie Niu the chills.
“How did she get the nickname ‘Immortal He’?” Wang Tie Niu asked.
“Senior He is very aloof. She seems like she’s not of this world, so everyone calls her Immortal He.” Another guy chimed in. “Actually, I heard she’s a very materialistic person. Well, not materialistic, more like…gold-digger?”
“Yeah, I heard that Senior Wu from the senior year, who drives a 911, chased her for years, but Senior He never gave him the time of day. We all thought she wasn’t a gold-digger, but then we heard from her roommate that she actually thought the 911 was too cheap and wasn’t good enough for her.” The chubby kid started gossiping again.
“Right, and that Liang guy from the student union, who drives an A7. He’s handsome and plays instruments, and he’s hurt a lot of girls. He also got a taste of rejection from Senior He, haha.”
“Yeah, I heard that there was also that guy…“ “Not only that…there’s also that guy…” “I heard that there were even big bosses from outside who wanted to keep her, offering 200,000 yuan a month, but she didn’t agree.” “I think you’re making things up. I don’t believe it.” Gossip is a universal human hobby, and soon, the dorm room was buzzing with chatter.
“So, how do I approach Senior He about this collaboration?” Wang Tie Niu asked, seeing that they were done gossiping.
The guys looked at each other. “I don’t think it’ll work if you go to her directly. Senior He has blocked so many people over the past four years. She’ll block you in a heartbeat if you say the wrong thing. Maybe we should ask the counselor?”
“Alright, we’re not in the same department. I’m guessing my class counselor doesn’t know her well. Senior He is in your department, so which one of you has time to take me to see your counselor?” Wang Tie Niu stood up and pointed towards the door.
“Alright, I’ll go with you. I’m pretty close with the counselor.” The guy who was watching them play games in the back volunteered.
“Alright, guys, see you later. I have to go take care of something.” Wang Tie Niu waved goodbye to them.
It was Saturday, so there were no classes. The guy took Wang Tie Niu directly to the faculty dormitory.
Seeing the small supermarket downstairs, Wang Tie Niu went in for a bit, and when he came out, he had eight bottles of Red Bull in a plastic bag, which he handed to the guy.
“It’s hot, take this back to the guys to cool down.” “Boss is the best!” the guy gave him a thumbs up.
He went to a small room on the second floor, familiar with the place. He knocked on the door, but didn’t wait for a response before pushing it open. “Brother Li, what are you doing? Here’s a drink.”
Inside, a young man about 28 or 29 years old was sitting on the bed reading a book. He looked up and laughed. “It’s you again, kid. You never knock when you come in.” He then looked at Wang Tie Niu who was standing behind him and hesitated. “This classmate seems a little unfamiliar.”
“He’s a friend from another department. I play games with him a lot, and he has something he needs your help with today. Brother Li, just introduce him, alright?” He finished his sentence and then closed the door before sitting down. “Brother Li, I’ll be on my way. Let’s grab some skewers next time.” His voice was already fading away.
“Hello, Counselor Li.” Wang Tie Niu sat down on a chair, noticing a mineral water bottle on the small coffee table next to the bed used for holding cigarette butts, which gave him an idea.
He took out two packs of Hetian from his left and right pockets and placed them on the coffee table. “Counselor Li, have a smoke.”
“No, no…tell me what’s going on first. Why are you being so dramatic?” Seeing the student in front of him suddenly offer him four packs of Hetian, Counselor Li didn’t dare to accept them. He wanted to understand the situation first.
But after Wang Tie Niu explained the situation, he felt a bit speechless. “Is that all? You scared me. Alright, I’ll call Lao Zhang from the work-study program office right now. You can go directly to him and talk to him. You’re being introduced by a teacher, so the price won’t be too high.”
Counselor Li was straightforward. He directly dialed Lao Zhang’s number. After finding out that Lao Zhang was working overtime in his office, he said that one of his students wanted to find He Shuoyue to translate some things. Then he told Wang Tie Niu to go directly to his office.
There weren’t many people around at lunchtime. When Wang Tie Niu knocked on the door, Teacher Zhang was resting with his eyes closed, leaning back in his chair. Wang Tie Niu greeted him and then placed two packs of Huanghe 1916 on the desk.
Teacher Zhang squinted his eyes and didn’t hesitate to take a pack and light a cigarette. “I don’t smoke.” Wang Tie Niu waved his hand and declined Teacher Zhang’s offer, who then took a few puffs of the cigarette, relishing the smoke. “Our students with average levels get 200 yuan per hour for freelance interpreting work, while those with higher levels get 300 yuan. As for He Shuoyue, you know, she wouldn’t accept a lower price. For some business negotiations, accompanying translations, etc., the price is around 500 yuan per hour. I think if you offer 800 yuan per hour, she might squeeze some time out for you.”
“I’ll offer 1,000 yuan per hour. Teacher Zhang, tell her to come over immediately. I’m in a hurry.” Wang Tie Niu responded immediately.
“Alright, you’re not a poor guy either. I wish I had that kind of money. If I did, I’d be earning that money myself.” Teacher Zhang tapped Wang Tie Niu’s shoulder playfully, then leaned back in his chair and took out his phone. He found the number and called.
“She’s taking a nap, she has a bad temper when she wakes up, but I told her it was 1,000 yuan per hour for accompanying translation, and she agreed to come over. I made an appointment for you at the entrance of the auditorium. Call her when she gets there. But she’s a girl, and she needs time to put on makeup, so go there in about an hour and a half, and you should be fine. Here’s her number. If she hasn’t arrived by the time you call, just wait, but girls take a while to do their makeup, so it should be fine if you go in an hour and a half.” Teacher Zhang said after ending the call.
“Thank you, Teacher Zhang. I’ll be on my way then.” Wang Tie Niu wrote down the number and stood up. “An hour and a half, that’s really long.” He mumbled to himself.
After leaving the office, Wang Tie Niu looked at the time and then the map on his phone. He had an idea. “Go to Daling International Commercial Plaza.” He called a taxi at the school gate and went straight to the nearest shopping mall.
Wang Tie Niu went straight to the Apple store in the mall and bought a 16-inch Mac Pro without hesitation, with full specs. He paid 26,499 yuan and left. It had only taken him about an hour, including travel and shopping time. He set an alarm on his phone and then took a nap under the shade of a tree at the entrance of the auditorium.
At 3:30, Wang Tie Niu was woken up by the alarm. He felt a surge of energy throughout his body. Actually, with his superhuman physique, he wasn’t tired at all. Taking a nap was just a way to pass the time. He stood up and stretched a little, and from afar, he saw a graceful figure walking towards him. A poem he had read but never remembered suddenly popped into his head:
In the north, there is a beautiful woman, Peerless and independent. One glance captivates a city, Another glance, a nation falls. How could you not know that beauty can captivate a city or a nation, A rare beauty that is hard to find.