Chapter 5 Goodbye Northern Hemisphere

In the evening, Ning Xuan, who had firmly declared she would never treat anyone to a meal, still ended up inviting Yan Yan for dinner at Qinye Cafeteria in Xiamen University.

"Seriously, why did you decide to go to Melbourne? Even if you wanted to study abroad, you could have waited until after university graduation," Ning Xuan felt that Yan Yan's decision was not cautious enough.

"Because apart from you, I'm not from the same world as our classmates. If it had been before high school, I would've thought this was my problem.

But now, I know that being from different worlds is just a simple fact, and it's nobody's fault.

I chose a major I thought I liked, but actually do not, and I don't want to just get by and finish my undergrad here," Yan Yan tried to answer Ning Xuan's question.

"But you can't guarantee that once you get to Melbourne, you'll find people who are from the same world."

"You make a good point, but you know, if I don't find it I can keep searching. Honestly, I'm not even sure why I have to go at this moment. I guess I just feel that my sophomore year should start on a fresh note."

"Do your parents just let you fool around like this?"

"Not really. Back in my senior year of high school, my parents had already planned to send me abroad for university if I couldn't get into a decent one after graduation, owing to my poor grades.

But when the college entrance exam results came out, they weren't as bad as my parents imagined. So, my family decided to let me give it a try, and if I liked it, I could go study for a graduate degree after graduating."

"Don't you find it very irritating when you talk like that? Do you know why so many people in our department dislike you?"

"Isn't it because I'm good-looking? Like repels like, doesn't it?"

"Get over yourself. You arrived a few days earlier at the beginning of the school year and finished all the tasks that needed to be done for our major's new students, completely depriving others of the chance to show off."

"Are you referring to going to the main school building to handle the student IDs, then moving all those IDs to distribute to everyone, as well as cleaning the dorm and organizing registration materials? Please, all of that is just manual labor! Could someone really dislike me over such things?"

Yan Yan was accustomed to being targeted. Sometimes she could rationalize it, but more often she was totally clueless, and it would take at least a year or so to get a clue.

"Many people who get into our faculty are the top arts students from their districts. Even though I was a science student, I was also my school's top science student. It's normal for you to be targeted when you go around looking like you're here just because of poor grades."

"Really? During my college entrance exams, I was ranked around the 150th in our year, as ordinary as it gets, barely top ten or twenty within my own class."

"What benefit would I get from lying to you? You might not realize it, but the way you acted when you entered college hurt many people's pride unintentionally.

Then you took on everything yourself, not leaving space for the former top scorers to shine.

The manual labor you mention is also one of the few ways for a freshman to show their value."

"If what you're saying is true, then it's like I've had an epiphany. So why don't you, the top scorer, dislike me?"

"Because I'm lazy. I don't want to do anything, let alone compete with others for college leadership roles. And I know you don't mean to show off."

"Thank you, dear. But this further proves that apart from you, I really am not from the same world as the other students. Considering that you treated me to a meal today, I'll definitely treat you to one in Xiamen when I come back to China."

"Good, I'll make sure we stick to your number one life principle when that happens."

"What principle?"

"When someone else is treating, it doesn't matter how good the food is; what matters is that it's expensive!"

"So treating me to a nine-yuan clay pot meal in the cafeteria today means I've really lost out?"

"This is already the most expensive clay pot noodles in the cafeteria. Besides, once you're in Melbourne, you'll be wishing you could have it!"

.........

Yan Yan unexpectedly ran into her high school classmate during her third year in Melbourne.

By the time Yan Yan started at the University of Melbourne, the school had acknowledged most of her freshman year's fundamental course credits, and since an undergraduate degree in Australia only lasts for three years,

Yan Yan had actually graduated from the university more than half a year ago.

When Yan Yan first arrived, she also worried that her new classmates at the University of Melbourne were not from the same world.

But once there, she found every course was chosen by herself, and the students in each course were different. Even if it was the same course, there might be different teachers and different times to choose from.

So, at the University of Melbourne, there were only "classmates," no "schoolmates." Apart from yourself, you compete with no one.

There were no class presidents or student body leaders, no "class politics," no "campus politics."

Of course, if you felt too free, you could join various clubs at school, and if you were passionate about politics, you could run for the Student Union.

The Student Union at the University of Melbourne offered many choices, not just a broad student council, but also separate ones for undergraduates, postgraduates, and international students.

The president of the student council even had the chance to join the university's board of directors, thereby monitoring the work of the university president and such.

No one pushed you to submit assignments; you did as you pleased.

No one managed your attendance or failures; you attended as you wanted.

But, if you didn't pass any course for an entire semester, the administrative staff would still suggest that you should withdraw.

Generally, if you couldn't complete the three-year degree in seven years, you would be denied a visa and ultimately sent back.

At the University of Melbourne, there were students who finished their three-year courses in a year and a half, and those who had not completed half after seven years. Only you could decide what kind of life you wanted.

So, even if those in the same course as you were from a different world, you wouldn't notice.

As "classmates," you just shared a course and weren't meant to face the world together.

But if you had a close relationship with someone who was in the same field,

You two could choose the same course, with the same teacher at the same time.

In this way, the pattern of studying together not only allowed you to be like domestic "university classmates," but also like high school "desk mates."

Yan Yan and Shen Xi had chosen just that.

Having too many competitors can be annoying, and having no competition at all, letting everyone focus on themselves without any "benchmark," can be even more vexing.

Yan Yan and Shen Xi had found themselves "benchmarks" to actively pursue. As the only two Chinese students in their major, they always felt a sense of indispensability and a heartfelt connection.