First University places a strong emphasis on the concept of self-discipline in its campus management.
The entire University is overseen by a Principal and two Vice-Principals. The Principal has overall responsibility and only offers guiding opinions on school affairs, rarely getting involved in specific matters. Specific school affairs are managed by the two Vice-Principals through the Professor Joint Conference and the School Affairs Committee.
The Professor Joint Conference is composed of all current teaching staff of the University and is primarily responsible for the University’s teaching work.
Unlike the Professor Joint Conference, the School Affairs Committee, as one of First University’s two major management bodies, is mainly composed of retired Professors, Lecturers, and recruited professional School Workers. Very few of the retired teaching staff retired due to age; the vast majority quietly withdrew due to experimental accidents or failed promotions.
The full name of the School Affairs Committee is ‘First University Campus Affairs Management Working Committee’. Because most of the committee members are School Workers wearing gray robes, students habitually shorten it to ‘School Affairs Committee’.
As the name suggests, all campus affairs belonging to First University fall within the School Affairs Committee’s responsibilities. This includes everything from annual teaching plans and course schedules to daily campus facility maintenance, night campus security patrols, and even guiding three of the University’s four autonomous organizations.
Due to the complexity of the affairs it manages, the School Affairs Committee is further divided into three main operational bodies: the First University Internal Affairs Committee, the First University Security Affairs Committee, and the First University External Affairs Committee. Even so, the meticulous and complex campus work cannot be fully handled by the retired teachers alone.
Therefore, in addition to recruiting students and Assistant Teachers for positions within the School Affairs Committee using academic credits, First University also implements a volunteer punishment measure across the entire University. Students who violate school rules or discipline, in addition to receiving written warnings from the University and losing academic credits, must also perform mandatory labor as arranged by the School Affairs Committee.
Zheng Qing walked into this oppressive three-story building, recalling the description of the School Affairs Committee in “Entering First University.”
According to the address mentioned on the penalty notice, the School Affairs Committee office should be in this black building.
The front hall on the first floor had no lights, and the lighting was somewhat dim.
Through the dim light, Zheng Qing could see a reception desk standing deep in the front hall.
The front desk was empty, but next to the reception desk was a two-meter-tall black tree-shaped bird stand. On the crisscrossing branches, seven or eight Budgerigars were tilting their heads, staring with their small, pea-sized round eyes at these uninvited guests.
The front hall was very quiet.
The stairwells on both the left and right sides opened like dark, gaping mouths, silently waiting for guests.
Perhaps because it had not been exposed to sunlight for a long time, a cool breeze always lingered in the stairwell.
Several new students stood quietly at the entrance, exchanging glances.
Until a light cough broke the silence.
The gray Hamster on Lin Guo's backpack was startled and scurried into the back of the backpack with a whoosh.
“Cough, cough!”
At the highest point of the tree-shaped bird stand, a Budgerigar covered its curved beak with its wing, emitting a crisp cough.
The new students looked at the parrots in surprise.
“Excuse me!” Zheng Qing tried to greet them.
The parrots’ heads all turned in unison, their small eyes fixed on Zheng Qing.
Their pea-sized eyes were dark and shiny, stopping Zheng Qing’s impending question in his throat.
“How do we get to the School Affairs Committee office?” Zhang Jixin glanced at the time, asking somewhat impatiently.
The parrots turned their gaze to the red-faced boy again.
Zheng Qing let out a sigh of relief.
For some reason, the eyes of these green birds made him a little nervous.
“Newcomers?” the Budgerigar at the highest point of the bird stand shrieked, asking.
Several people nodded repeatedly.
The gray Hamster on Lin Guo's backpack ran back to the front of the backpack, curiously observing the birds on the branches.
The Budgerigars seemed a bit excited, starting to flap their wings, shaking their round heads, and forcefully pecking at the branches on the bird stand with their curved beaks.
“How do we get to the School Affairs Committee office?” Zheng Qing recovered and couldn't help but repeat Zhang Jixin’s question.
The parrots said nothing, just stared at the newcomers, tilting their heads.
Zheng Qing thought they hadn't understood, so he slowed his speech and repeated the question.
The parrots still tilted their heads without a sound, but one parrot extended its claw and scratched its food bowl.
“School, Affairs, Committee, Of, fice!” Zhang Jixin couldn't help but lean under the bird stand, emphasizing each word loudly.
“I think they need some compensation.” Xiao Xiao held his notebook and looked at the others: “Who brought bird food?”
Several people looked at each other, shaking their heads.
Zhang Jixin helplessly spread his hands: “We’re not Li Meng, that little girl. We don’t raise birds, so why would we carry bird food around?”
“You eat feed! Your whole family eats feed!” The largest Budgerigar at the top of the bird stand began to curse.
Zhang Jixin was dumbfounded.
As if on cue, in the blink of an eye, the other parrots also joined the condemnation with chattering.
“Actually, I don’t mind eating feed occasionally. The handful of grass seeds Stendhal fed me last time was quite fragrant.” A plump parrot slowly nodded to its companion next to it.
“These newcomers look a bit silly!” Another parrot with red spots proudly raised its head, looking down at the new students in the front hall.
“They don’t even keep birds!” A parrot at the lower part of the bird stand looked very shocked.
“Aren’t they males? A few days ago, I heard some older students from Starry Sky Academy say that males all have birds!” Another smaller parrot shrieked, jumping up and down on the branch.
Lan Que turned his head with a darkened expression, covering Lin Guo's ears.
The little boy looked blankly at the chattering parrots, clearly not understanding.
Zheng Qing suppressed his laughter, pulled out a handful of mixed grains that his Hamster ate from his gray cloth bag, and extended it towards the bird stand, tentatively asking: “Is this okay?”
The parrot standing at the highest point of the branch spread its wings, glided down, pecked a mouthful of the Hamster food from Zheng Qing’s palm, nodded in satisfaction, pointed its claw at the food bowl on the bird stand, and commanded: “Fill it up!”
Zheng Qing smilingly took Fei Rui’s food from his gray cloth bag and poured it all into the food bowl.
He hadn’t seen the little guy since he changed its name.
The Hamster didn’t come with him to First University, and these things were useless lying in the gray cloth bag, so it was good to offer them to these interesting little birds.
“How did you know we were newcomers?” Zheng Qing asked curiously while pouring the food.
“What old student would ask such a stupid question as you all did!” The parrot retracted its claws, turned its head, its face full of disdain.
“What if it’s an old student who has never been to the School Affairs Committee?”
“No, no, no, you still don’t understand.” The parrot flapped its wings proudly: “The term ‘School Affairs Committee office’ is inaccurate; no old student would say that.”
The newcomers looked at it curiously, waiting for it to continue.
The parrot turned its head and changed the question: “Why are you here?”
Zheng Qing hesitated for a moment, then pulled out the penalty notice and handed it to the parrot.
“You’re the new students who got into a fight as soon as you entered the University?!” The large parrot widened its eyes, flapping its wings, and shrieked: “It’s all over the University! They say a group of heroes entered the University!”
“Heroes?!” Zheng Qing asked, feeling a bit dizzy: “Who said that?”
“My Li Meng's Older Cousin’s next-door dove’s second son, my uncle’s boss’s daughter’s mynah, and a few wild pigeons looking for handouts.” The parrot flapped its wings, leading the way, and said: “Follow me.”
Zheng Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
Doves, mynahs, wild pigeons – it turned out to be just a bunch of noisy little birds talking nonsense.
He had a lot of trouble on his hands now, and he was most afraid of anyone adding fuel to the blazing fire.