189: Chapter 185: Exhibition Hall 189: Chapter 185: Exhibition Hall Over the following few days, Chen Hai stuck to a simple routine.
Aside from school, he spent his time at West Mountain Villa.
The task of learning to drive continued without pause.
When it came to teaching Chen Hai how to drive, Ye Qingqing’s patience was notably good.
Even so, after teaching Chen Hai a few times, she still felt a bit nervous and fearful; every time Chen Hai drove, she would get out of the car at the first chance.
For Chen Hai, driving was actually quite simple.
As long as he knew which one was the accelerator and which was the brake, he could fiddle about on his own, slowly trying to figure it out.
However, due to a lack of experience, his judgement of distances was still somewhat off.
For instance, just yesterday, when he ran into a telephone pole, he thought there was enough space to pass through.
But when he actually drove through, it turned out there was just not enough clearance.
Luckily, the area around West Mountain Villa was rather open and deserted, so driving around in circles there hadn’t caused any issues so far!
Otherwise, with his current skill level, actually driving on the streets would unquestionably make him a typical road hazard.
Early one morning, taking a ride with Ye Qingqing’s carpool, Chen Hai got off near University City.
He did not go to Capital Political and Legal University itself but instead waited at a nearby bus stop at the school’s gate for a public bus.
“Chen Hai?
Bumping into you here, what a coincidence?” The person greeting Chen Hai was Yang Xi, a senior from his department.
Although he had been skipping classes quite a bit recently, ever since the first day he met Senior Sister Yang Xi, they would greet each other whenever they crossed paths.
Chen Hai was alone, while Yang Xi was accompanied by two other girls.
However, Chen Hai was meeting these two girls for the first time and did not know them.
“Xixi, who is this…?” the girl with pale skin wearing a batwing shirt next to Yang Xi asked with a puzzled face, sizing Chen Hai up a few times out of curiosity.
“This is my junior, Chen Hai!”
Pointing at Chen Hai, Yang Xi introduced him to her two companions.
Then, pointing at her companions and looking towards Chen Hai, she continued, “Chen Hai, let me introduce you, these are my roommates, Zhong Fang and Zhao Xiaoyan.”
“Even though they are not from the Astronomy Department, they are also sophomores at Capital Political and Legal University.”
“Strictly speaking, you should also call them Senior Sister.”
As a new student who had just entered Capital Political and Legal University, he was expected to call males ‘senior’ and females ‘Senior Sister’.
Chen Hai found this rather speechless.
After all, as a perennial student who had been held back several times even in elementary school, in terms of age, he might not even be younger than those third and fourth-year students at the school.
“Hello, Senior Sister Zhao, Senior Sister Zhong!” Speechless as he might have been, he still greeted Yang Xi’s companions as a formality.
“Hello, Junior Chen…” both Zhong Fang and Zhao Xiaoyan smiled and nodded in response.
Of course, their greetings did not go beyond this.
They were not familiar with Chen Hai and it was only their first meeting.
If Chen Hai’s charm were on par with those stars from Dehua and Fucheng, they might have tried to chat with him a bit more.
But in their eyes, Chen Hai had a somewhat dark complexion and, though his features were quite regular, he wasn’t particularly handsome.
“Chen Hai, it’s been hard to catch a glimpse of you in class lately.”
“What have you been so busy with that you’re heading out so early in the morning?” It was Yang Xi, who was more acquainted with Chen Hai.
While waiting for the bus, she smiled and asked him.
“Senior Sister, my family is poor, unlike you all!”
“A few days at school in Capital City not only emptied my pockets, but I also ended up in debt!”
“If I don’t work hard to earn some money, in a little while, I reckon I won’t even be able to afford congee and steamed buns!”
Chen Hai explained with a smile.
This was not an attempt at garnering sympathy as it was, after all, the truth.
If other students were in his shoes, owing hundreds of thousands, who knows how distressed they would be?
Today was the fifteenth, and the reason he came early to catch the bus was to meet up with Dong Dahai and see if he could encounter someone at the exchange meeting who knew the value of the Danghui Talisman so he could sell it directly.
“Chen Hai, are you also heading out this early to earn your living expenses through work-study, just like us?” Yang Xi chuckled behind her hand, probing.
In their school, work-study was no longer a rare occurrence.
Students like Yang Xi, already equipped with independent thinking, would rather earn money on their own and not reach out for financial help from home unless absolutely necessary.
“Sort of!” Hesitating slightly, Chen Hai shrugged and casually asked, “What about you guys?
Where are you planning to earn your living expenses?”
“There’s an event today at Boyue Exhibition Hall, and we signed up to work part-time as greeters!”
“Whether this temp job pays well is secondary; the key is that it allows us to broaden our horizons.”
“I heard from the student union that those attending the event are generally wealthy or noble.”
“Mingling with such distinguished people can broaden our perspectives and teach us many things we can’t learn from books.”
“It’s just too bad that you, Chen Hai, are a guy.
They’re only recruiting greeters at Boyue, not waitstaff; otherwise, you could have joined us there.”
Yang Xi explained with a smile.
Her companions, Zhong Fang and Zhao Xiaoyan, seemed a bit proud that they could work as temporary greeters at the Boyue Exhibition Hall.
When Yang Xi mentioned that at the Boyue Exhibition Hall, there might be a chance to meet people of wealth and prominence, they intentionally pushed out their chests with pride.
“Senior Sisters, my Bus No.
16 has finally arrived!”
“Let’s chat another time; I’m so broke lately, I’m practically eating dirt.
Please give me some tips on part-time jobs next time!”
Chen Hai, who was about to chat with Yang Xi and the others, noticed his awaited bus slowly pulling into the station.
He quickly said goodbye to Yang Xi and her group.
The doors of the bus had just opened, and he was the first to dart inside.
This bus happened to pass by the Glass Factory area.
If he had missed this bus, Chen Hai would have had to wait at least another half hour here.
In Capital City, the area is quite extensive; without a car, getting around can indeed be inconvenient.
Getting a driving license wasn’t a difficult thing for him!
If he went to ask his cheap uncle-in-law, Ye Cheng, he believed a few words would suffice and he would have the license in hand in no time.
Of course, nowadays, cars on the road hardly ever get stopped to check for driving licenses.
A car with a W sign is a Volkswagen brand, and since Chen Hai was learning to drive, he had specially picked up a few car magazines and read them carefully several times to avoid embarrassing himself.
Dong Dahai’s car was a Volkswagen Santana.
After getting off the bus near the Glass Factory, it only took Chen Hai a few minutes to meet up with Dong Dahai.
“Mr.
Chen, the people in our circle are a bit of a mixed bag,”
“There are crooks and honest folks, the powerful and the wealthy.
Once you’re inside the exchange meeting, try to look more and talk less, to avoid offending someone.”
“Aside from the organizer’s items, the authenticity of the private goods on sale can be hard to discern.”
“If something catches your interest, feel free to look around, but don’t act hastily if you’re unsure.”
“To be honest, even I, Brother Dong, have been fooled two or three times at these kinds of exchange meetings.”
As he drove Chen Hai, Dong Dahai shared this advice.
He felt it was better to clear these things up in advance.
After all, it was he who had brought Chen Hai to the exchange meeting.
If something went wrong and Chen Hai got swindled, it would save him the blame.
“Don’t worry, Brother Dong, I’m just going there to set up a stall and see if I can sell the talisman I have.”
“As for buying things at the exchange meeting, I never even considered it!” Chen Hai responded with a toothy grin.
His words were quite sincere; after all, given his financial situation, even if he took a fancy to something, he probably couldn’t afford to buy it!
Better to not look at all the tempting items and drool over them; it’s more comfortable that way.
“That’s good then!” Dong Dahai nodded.
The two chatted idly for a while.
Around 9:30 AM, Dong Dahai’s car finally stopped near a building that resembled a flying bird.
According to Dong Dahai, this exchange meeting was going to last for three days.
For this event, the organizers had definitely put in a lot of effort.
No sooner had he gotten out of the car, Chen Hai saw several huge advertisements for the exchange meeting.
“Boyue Convention and Exhibition Center?
What a coincidence!” His whole being froze for a moment when his eyes fell on the building that was hosting the exchange meeting and he saw the row of large golden letters.
If his memory served him correctly, Yang Xi and her two roommates were supposed to be the greeters at this place today.
Having just gotten out of the car and still about a hundred meters away from the entrance of the exhibition hall,
Chen Hai could already see many young girls, dressed in pink cheongsams and acting as greeters, bustling in and out of the entrance of the exhibition hall.
“Mr.
Chen, let’s go inside,” Dong Dahai called out to Chen Hai after parking and locking the car.
While the two appeared to walk side by side, Dong Dahai always deliberately stayed half a step behind Chen Hai.
To the unaware, it might seem like the grinning Dong Dahai was one of Chen Hai’s followers.
“Gentlemen, may I ask if you are here for the exchange meeting?”
“Could you please show us the invitation so we can have a look?”
Just as Chen Hai and Dong Dahai reached the entrance of the exhibition hall, two tall young women in pink cheongsams approached them.
The antiques exchange meeting was naturally different from a car show; the average Joe had no business entering.
It is said that those who registered on their own to obtain an invitation needed to have their financial status verified by the organizers first.
Dong Dahai had a considerable net worth and being an insider with deep connections in the circle, an invitation was naturally not a problem for him.
He took out a gold-embossed invitation from his bag and handed it to one of the greeter girls in front of him.
“President Dong, hello, and to this young, handsome man, please follow us,” said the greeters with a smile, after verifying the invitation, and led Chen Hai inside the hall.