Lu Mingfei didn't enter the house; he put down the groceries and books and headed straight for the stairs, going all the way up to the top floor.
Above was the rooftop, where air conditioning units hummed loudly.
The staircase leading to the rooftop looked a bit eerie in the afternoon twilight, with cardboard boxes, broken motors, discarded old sofas, and wooden tea tables intertwined, forming an indescribable dark silhouette.
There was almost no place to step, and at the end, there was an iron door with a "Rooftop Closed" sign on it.
Lu Mingfei deftly stepped through the gap in the iron door, like a nimble kangaroo.
This was his secret territory, the only place where he could hide his secrets.
Here, he was free to enjoy his life, whether it was the wind or the daylight, or the fragrance of locust flowers downstairs, or the sweet smell of pineapples on the street.
Lu Mingfei opened his phone and searched through the reply from Kassel, indeed finding a contact in his address book.
"Professor Guderian."
This greatly boosted Lu Mingfei's confidence, making him feel that the credibility of the matter had increased.
He found a corner and wrapped the expensive N96 with the reply from Kassel, only keeping the reply from the University of Chicago in his hand.
After confirming that the hiding place was sufficiently concealed, he left the rooftop.
It was dinner time, and not coming home on time would incur Aunt's scolding.
He went downstairs, returned home, and upon entering, saw that Aunt was indeed waiting for him.
Lu Mingze, rolling the "Novel Painting" in his hand, looked up at Lu Mingfei, snorted, and shifted his body, becoming still.
Aunt, however, was still staring at Lu Mingfei.
"Did you ask at the reception room today?"
Aunt was clearly dissatisfied with Lu Mingfei's act of putting down the groceries and leaving, and her voice carried a hint of emotion.
"I just remembered it when I went downstairs," Lu Mingfei scratched his head, shrunk his body, and handed over the reply from the University of Chicago.
Hearing Lu Mingfei, Uncle, who was nearby, also came over and leaned in to read the contents of the reply.
"It's alright, Mingfei. If the path of studying abroad doesn't work out, there's still the domestic college entrance exam. If you work hard these few months, getting into an undergraduate program won't be a problem."
Uncle patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder, comforting him.
"If worst comes to worst, you and Mingze can retake the exam for a year. Uncle believes that by then, even a top-tier university won't be an issue for you."
Upon hearing that he was involved, Lu Mingze, rarely, sat up straight on the sofa:
"A top-tier university? That's a piece of cake! I'm someone who's going to a C9 university, so studying abroad certainly won't be a problem either."
Lu Mingfei didn't speak, only quietly retreated behind the three of them.
This scene was somewhat like when his Chinese teacher used his essay as a negative example.
The teacher said his essay lacked imagination, just as Aunt thought he had no chance of going abroad.
At that time, Lu Mingfei didn't stand up and say he had imagination, fantasizing about one day being discovered for his earth-shattering talent and accomplishing something monumental.
Now, he also couldn't stand up and say that he actually had an acceptance letter from Kassel College, waiting for him to make a call to confirm the interview time.
Lu Mingfei actually understood that there was no point in saying such things.
He even knew that Aunt could accept him not studying abroad, but once he brought out the reply from Kassel College, Aunt would probably nag him all night.
Most people, including himself, expected him to attend an obscure university, fall in love there, then find a job and rent a place.
If his parents remembered him, he would have children early, and then continue going to work day after day.
Lu Mingfei not being able to study abroad was something everyone had guessed, so the topic quickly ended.
After dinner, Lu Mingfei excused himself by saying he was in a bad mood and wanted to clear his head alone, returning to the rooftop.
Aunt's family didn't suspect anything.
Lu Mingfei restarted his N96 and logged into his QQ.
The girl's avatar with a baseball cap was gray, indicating offline or invisible status, with no messages, which disappointed Lu Mingfei a bit.
16 hours ago, he had left a message asking Chen Wenwen if she wanted to participate in the upcoming Literary Club activities.
No reply.
But there was some activity in the class group chat.
Lu Mingfei scrolled up, finally seeing what the conversation was about.
Kassel College.
Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed himself.
Indeed, he wasn't the only one who received a reply from Kassel College; other classmates planning to study abroad had also received it.
This made him feel much more at ease.
In the group chat, Zhao Menghua, Su Xiaoqiang, and Liu Miaomiao all spoke up, saying that they had received replies from Kassel College, and their families were contacting the school to prepare for interviews.
Lu Mingfei sighed inwardly; he had to solve this matter himself.
He had no choice but to dial the number of "Professor Guderian."
The call was quickly connected, and through the speaker, Lu Mingfei felt that the person on the other end might be busy.
As expected of someone of professorial caliber.
"Hello, I'm... Lu Mingfei. I received a reply from your school, so I'm calling to ask, when is the interview time?"
His voice was weak; thinking that the person on the other end was a professor from the University of Chicago, he, being a poor student, found it hard to have any confidence.
"......"
The other side was silent for a while.
Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that the other party was not a domestic professor and might not understand Chinese, so he quickly stammered to utter "Hello."
Just then, there was movement from the speaker.
"Hello! Lu Mingfei! I am Professor Guderian!"
The other party was very excited, and his Chinese was quite fluent, which surprised Lu Mingfei.
"I didn't expect you to call to ask. The interview time is the day after tomorrow morning, at Lijing Hotel. Unfortunately, I'm not in China right now. I'm booking my ticket now, and we'll see each other in two days!"
"There are some things I must tell you in person, Mingfei!"
With a rustling sound of book pages, the other party hung up the phone.
Lu Mingfei held the phone to his ear, stunned for a long time, not quite understanding the other party's attitude.
But at least he got the time and address, so he could prepare these two days.
Putting down his phone, Lu Mingfei noticed that Chen Wenwen had already come online while he was on the phone.
"Go, we'll see each other in a few days."
This was Chen Wenwen's message to him.
At the same time, Chen Wenwen also posted in the group chat: "I also received a reply from Kassel College."
The group was filled with congratulatory messages. Lu Mingfei posted a +1, originally wanting to say that he also received a reply from Kassel College.
But in the end, he deleted those dozen or so words.
He had little presence in the class, and few people would care whether he received a reply from Kassel College.
It's worth mentioning that those in the class who planned to study abroad were actively participating in the chat.
Someone saw Lu Mingfei post a +1 and casually asked about Lu Mingfei's situation.
But by this time, Lu Mingfei had already wrapped up his N96 and returned to Aunt's home.
Sitting in front of Uncle's old computer, Lu Mingfei logged into his QQ as usual.
A big-faced cat avatar suddenly flashed.
The ID was "Nono."