Wang Hai adjusted his glasses and, with a beaming smile, gestured to the sofa beside him.
"Sit, sit down and talk."
"Hehe, thank you, teacher."
Chen Qinglin chuckled in response, showing no signs of nervousness.
He casually placed the bag in the corner of the desk and sat down gracefully on the sofa.
Seeing this, Wang Hai's smile grew even warmer.
This student is very interesting.
"How about it? You're about to graduate, have you found a job yet?"
Wang Hai was the director of the employment office.
This year was also the first year the assignment system was abolished, so caring about student employment was a given.
"Thank you for your concern, teacher, about work... sigh..."
Chen Qinglin shook his head helplessly.
"I've looked, but..."
"Oh? Are there any difficulties?"
"Not exactly difficulties, but I have some thoughts that I'd like to report to you, teacher."
"Hehe, having thoughts is a good thing."
Seeing that Chen Qinglin only addressed him as 'teacher' and not by his position, Wang Hai's eyes deepened.
"Tell me your thoughts, I'll help you brainstorm."
Chen Qinglin's heart fluttered with a hint of joy upon hearing this, but his face still showed a conflicted expression.
"Teacher, this is what I'm thinking: as a new generation college student, I deeply feel a great responsibility..."
"In response to the national call, I want to return to the countryside..."
"But I'm also a little reluctant to leave the prosperity of the big city..."
"What do you think..."
Were Chen Qinglin's words hypocritical? Very hypocritical.
He clearly wanted a secure job in a county town, but he spoke with such grandiosity.
But to get things done, he had to speak this way.
Everything requires a proper justification, doesn't it?
"Hehe, it's very good that you have such thoughts."
"As a college student, you should have the courage to settle in difficult areas..."
"I personally strongly support your idea."
"But then again, whether in the city or the countryside, you're contributing, right?"
"Where you specifically go depends on how much courage you have, right?"
Wang Hai's words were both simple and not so simple.
To a naive young person, they would be full of positive energy.
But to Chen Qinglin, it was a different matter entirely.
I personally support your idea = This can be done.
How much courage you have = Are you satisfied with what you sent?
"Teacher, I've learned from you. Don't worry, I absolutely do not lack the courage to endure hardship."
"Please watch my actions."
Wang Hai liked talking to smart people.
Chen Qinglin was a smart person in Wang Hai's eyes.
"Alright, it's good to have that courage."
Wang Hai nodded with a smile, took a cigarette from his drawer, and tossed it to Chen Qinglin.
"Hey? Do you smoke? Xiao Chen, where are you from?"
Chen Qinglin shot up, took the cigarette, and simultaneously pulled out a lighter from his pocket.
While lighting Wang Hai's cigarette, he casually placed a half-pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket onto Wang Hai's desk.
Why a half-pack? Hehe, those who know, know.
"Teacher, my hometown is Shanhaixian."
Wang Hai glanced at the half-pack of Zhonghua on the table and already understood Chen Qinglin's 'strength'.
"Hehe, it's really quite remote. It's very good that you're thinking of returning to your hometown."
Wang Hai was purely talking nonsense.
Shanhaixian was only 200 kilometers from Tianhai City.
In later generations, that would be a 40-minute high-speed train ride, similar to a daily commute.
With the transportation of this era, it would only take half a day to get there. Remote my foot.
But to get things done, you need a proper justification.
If he didn't say it was a bit remote, how could he arrange a job under the guise of supporting difficult areas?
"Hehe, yes, when I was little..."
Bragging, who doesn't know how to do it?
Chen Qinglin followed Wang Hai's words and began to lament his hardships.
After finishing a cigarette, Chen Qinglin decisively stood up to leave.
Everything that needed to be done was done, why stay longer?
Didn't Wang Hai glance at the area under the table several times?
"Hehe, teacher, it's getting late, I'll take my leave now."
Chen Qinglin's 'understanding' pleased Wang Hai greatly.
"Hehe, it's all for the students, it's only right."
"I strongly support the idea you mentioned earlier. Go for it boldly; young people should have some drive."
"Okay, I understand. Goodbye, teacher."
Chen Qinglin never mentioned the gift or the job throughout the conversation.
Wang Hai didn't ask either.
The two seemed to have said nothing, yet they seemed to have said everything.
What is tacit understanding? This is tacit understanding.
After Chen Qinglin left, Wang Hai closed the door and, chuckling, opened the gift bag.
He pulled out the Zhonghua cigarettes, felt the envelope underneath, and nodded approvingly.
Wang Hai took out a pen and wrote "Shanhaixian" under Chen Qinglin's name.
This young man has a promising future.
Outside the office, Chen Qinglin was also smiling happily.
"Hehe, it's settled. I'm not going to be a workhorse anymore."
Humming a tune, Chen Qinglin strolled towards his dorm, enjoying the long-unseen campus scenery.
Graduation season is also breakup season.
Along the campus's tree-lined paths, couples occasionally had red eyes.
Chen Qinglin looked at the pairs of lovesick men and women with disdain.
"Tsk tsk, what's there to be afraid of? You're about to break up anyway. If you don't make a move now, it'll be too late."
"Hehe, do you think everyone is as shameless as you?"
"Hmm? Who the hell..."
Chen Qinglin turned his head, and the moment he saw who it was, the curse word on his lips was swallowed back.
He really couldn't afford to offend this woman.
"Hehe, curse, why aren't you cursing anymore?"
Facing the girl's taunt, Chen Qinglin gave an awkward smile.
"Wanru, why is it you?"
The girl speaking was Li Wanru, Chen Qinglin's deskmate from middle school and high school.
She was also the daughter of Chen Qinglin's high school Chinese teacher.
Uh... and also his ex-ex-ex-ex-girlfriend.
The main reason Chen Qinglin was so afraid of her was guilt.
Back in high school, Chen Qinglin relentlessly pursued the girl and finally won her over.
Unfortunately, the girl met the wrong person.
Before the college entrance exam, Li Wanru accidentally caught Chen, the scumbag, being intimate with someone else.
Heartbroken, the girl performed poorly on her college entrance exam. Her original scores, which would have gotten her into a key undergraduate program, ended up only being enough for a junior college.
Her father was so angry he almost chopped Chen Qinglin to pieces.
Only after the girl's desperate pleas did Chen Qinglin escape with his life.
The price was that the girl broke up with Chen Qinglin and repeated a year to retake the college entrance exam.
It was just a shame that after repeating, Li Wanru's scores didn't improve much, barely getting her into another undergraduate program.
Fate is a mysterious thing.
Coincidentally, they met again in college.
Initially, the girl was surprised, but then she happened to see Senior Chen Qinglin with another senior girl.
Now, for three years of college, every time Chen Qinglin changed girlfriends, she would inexplicably appear to mock him.
What could Chen Qinglin do about it?
Curse her? He couldn't bring himself to.
Hit her? He couldn't bring himself to.
Chase her? She wouldn't agree.
What could he do? He was desperate too.
"What, is this road yours? I can't be here?"
Li Wanru gritted her teeth, staring at Chen Qinglin's handsome face, wishing she could bite off a piece of him.
This scoundrel truly never changed his ways.
In broad daylight, he actually went with that woman to... do that kind of thing?