Chenlong Hotel.
It is not the most luxurious hotel in Anshui County, nor is it the one with the best food.
However, because the owner of Chenlong Hotel has been rooted here for many years, has made many connections, and is generous with the quality of ingredients, business is exceptionally good.
After school, Wang Donglai and his four friends walked straight out of the school gate, hailed two taxis, and headed straight for Chenlong Hotel.
With the college entrance examination approaching, many senior students have been gathering together to find a restaurant to eat at.
Ordering a table full of dishes and a few crates of beer to have a good drink is a way to vent the sorrow of impending separation.
When Wang Donglai and the others arrived at Chenlong Hotel, Song Yi seemed a bit more mature, greeting Wang Donglai with enthusiasm and attentiveness.
Since they had booked a private room in advance, Song Yi simply gave their name, and the group entered.
The room was decorated in a rather antique and elegant style.
Once inside, the group seemed quite excited.
"How about we get two bottles of beer today? Beer has a low alcohol content, so if we don't drink too much, we shouldn't get drunk."
After sitting down, Song Yi looked at Wang Donglai and asked.
"No need. We are still students, and we have to study this afternoon; drinking would have an impact."
Wang Donglai refused without the slightest hesitation.
"Donglai is right, drinking would have an impact. Let's just drink some fruit juice instead."
Song Yi didn't show any displeasure at being refused; he smiled and said, not minding at all.
Time passed quickly.
Dish after dish was brought out, all of them signature specialties of Chenlong Hotel.
Dongpo pork knuckle, stir-fried pork intestines, scallion-braised beef, braised prawns, shredded pork with garlic sauce, Kung Pao chicken, red-braised pork...
Almost all of them were hearty meat dishes, and once served, the aroma was mouth-watering.
"Enough talk, let's eat!"
Song Yi didn't waste any words. With a shout, he picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of food onto Wang Donglai's plate.
"Donglai, you've been tired from studying lately, eat more to build yourself up."
His movements were smooth and natural, without a hint of awkwardness or shyness.
"Everyone eat up. If you don't get enough to eat after a day of classes, it's truly a misery."
Wang Donglai was perfectly calm. He didn't have any special reaction to Song Yi's gesture, but instead smiled and urged the others.
"Eat!"
Huang Cheng didn't stand on ceremony either; he had already grabbed a chicken leg and was devouring it.
High school is the tail end of puberty, and with the heavy study load, these eighteen or nineteen-year-old boys had massive appetites.
Since they were all guys, they didn't bother with manners and started digging in.
Often, a single sweep of the chopsticks would leave a noticeable gap in the plate.
After eating for over ten minutes, the group was about half-full and slowly slowed down.
"Donglai, let's all toast. Even though this isn't alcohol, what I'm saying comes from the heart."
"Out of over a thousand students in our grade, we were assigned to the same class. Out of fifty-six people in our class, with only twenty-some boys, the fact that the five of us ended up in the same dormitory is such a stroke of fate. My dad always tells me that high school friends are friends for life. Any earlier and you aren't mature enough; after university, everyone scatters to the four corners of the earth, making it hard to open up. Only the friends you make in high school are true friends. In my heart, Donglai, Liu Jun, Wangcai, and Huang Cheng, you are all my best friends."
"I didn't feel it before because we lived in the same dorm and the college entrance exam felt far away. But now, with the exam right around the corner, the thought of us separating makes me realize how deep our bond is."
"Donglai is definitely going to Qingbei. Out of the five of us, only Donglai can get into a top university. After graduation, I reckon Donglai will be the most successful."
"When you become rich and powerful, don't forget us. If Donglai takes off, don't leave us behind."
Song Yi held up a glass of juice, speaking to Wang Donglai in a tone that was half-serious and half-joking. Without waiting for a reply, he looked around the table and downed the juice in one gulp.
Seeing this, Wang Donglai didn't say anything and followed suit, drinking his juice.
"Donglai, I'm curious about your study methods. Look, we're all in the same dorm; can you tell us about them?"
After sitting down, Song Yi leaned toward Wang Donglai and asked as if it were a casual remark.
The room seemed to go quiet for a moment at these words.
Wang Donglai looked around, a smile on his face, and said, "When I study, you've all seen it. There really aren't any big tricks. The first step is to make a study plan and follow it."
"The second step is persistence. Like how I get up at six every morning and go to bed at eleven at night. Honestly, I get sleepy too, and I don't want to get up so early or sleep so late, but for the sake of my grades, I have to persist."
"The third step is to deeply understand the content in the textbooks. You might not believe me, but I've flipped through those dozen books at least a hundred times. 'Read a book a hundred times and its meaning will reveal itself'—there's a lot of truth to that."
"The fourth step is to keep up with the teacher's pace. On the premise of understanding the concepts, familiarize yourself with different types of problems; no matter how they change, the core remains the same. Actually, as long as you master the basics, getting into a second-tier university isn't hard."
As Wang Donglai spoke, he noticed the expressions of the others turning somewhat sour, so he stopped.
In truth, Wang Donglai knew his words were empty platitudes.
Studying is never that simple.
Just like in his past life, he had clearly worked hard, but he just couldn't understand or learn, and he would get everything wrong the moment he tried.
Problems that others called simple—that required no thought and could be solved just by doing this or that—looked like an undecipherable script to him; he had nowhere to start.
Sometimes, the gap in intelligence between people is even greater than that between a human and a dog.
He used to think that was an insult, but now he knew it was the truth.
He had been a poor student once, and comparing that to his current state as a super-achiever, he could fully understand how bad he really was back then.
Poor foundations, low comprehension, lack of flexibility—even rote memorization was slower than everyone else's.
"Donglai, isn't that just talk? There are plenty of people in our class who study just like you, but their grades haven't changed. You must have some special study technique."
Liu Jun grinned, looking at Wang Donglai with intense seriousness.
Huang Cheng also wore a slightly sycophantic smile, adding, "Yeah, Donglai, if you have any good study techniques, why not share them with us? It's almost the college entrance exam anyway; even if we knew, we wouldn't be competing with you for first place."
"Study techniques aren't one-size-fits-all. You've all seen my methods; there's really nothing I'm hiding from you."
"We all live in the same dorm. You've seen that I don't watch online courses or buy extra tutoring books. I just keep reading the books the school issued."
"Learning is about understanding. High school knowledge isn't that hard. Once you understand it, it's simple. I just had a sudden breakthrough, and combined with hard work, that's how I raised my grades."
"We're in the same dorm; I wouldn't lie to you guys."
After finishing, Wang Donglai took a sip of juice and observed their reactions.
Liu Jun looked disappointed, Huang Cheng also seemed let down, while Dang Caizhi and Song Yi remained expressionless.
"By the way, Donglai, are you planning to play the field? Guo Xing and Chen Mengni are actually quite pretty. They just don't know how to dress up yet. Once they change their hairstyles and clothes, and get to university, they'll transform into different people. They definitely count as beauties."
"I have the most experience with these girls. It's really true what they say: girls change eighteen times before they grow up, and they only get prettier. They might look like ugly ducklings now, but they'll turn into white swans soon enough."
The topic suddenly shifted to the girls, specifically Guo Xing and Chen Mengni, who were close to Wang Donglai.
"I almost forgot, didn't you have a crush on Chen Mengni before? And now you're flirting with Guo Xing. Are you really trying to play the field?"
Hearing the gossip, Huang Cheng's eyes lit up, and he pressed for an answer.
"That's not it. What crush? Relationships are the most boring thing ever. I don't plan on dating, so don't go spreading rumors. We're just classmates; they were just asking me questions."
It was strange—ever since he had gone through blind dates in his past life, Wang Donglai had lost faith in romance.
So, even though he was at the best age, with his grades and the flirting techniques he knew, he could have easily found a few girlfriends if he wanted to, but he didn't.
Dating was too much effort, and he despised the idea of being a "scumbag" from the bottom of his heart.
Therefore, Wang Donglai had no thoughts about the two girls, and he denied it immediately upon hearing Song Yi's words.
For the rest of the meal, the group chatted, but they didn't bring up Wang Donglai's study techniques again.
(End of chapter)