The next thing to do was to wait. The three of us headed out for a meal but Dali ended up skipping lunch entirely, all to make room for our seafood feast tomorrow. Before leaving the restaurant, we made sure to take away Bingxin’s lunch.

Xiaotao had some formalities to complete but Dali and I found ourselves at leisure. We decided to take a stroll outside since running to an internet cafe didn’t exactly encourage the exemplary image we were going for.

It was already early spring and the mellow afternoon sun caressed the skin and warmed the body.

Dali asked me about my plans after graduation–take the postgraduate admission exam, sit for the civil service exam or look for a job? I suddenly felt a wave of melancholy wash over me. In a few months, I would say goodbye to my campus life and head out into society. I hadn’t even considered what I would do in the future. According to the Song family rule, I could never take the civil service exam, yet I had no other...