“You’re not in a hurry, so of course an old man like me is in no rush either.” The old principal laughed, then fell silent, as if lost in memories of the past. David Clark took the hint and excused himself. The old principal snapped back to the present at just the right moment and didn’t forget to walk David Clark to the office door. This immediately made the two “door gods” standing guard outside look at David Clark with newfound respect, especially the young counselor who had just transitioned from student to teacher. He already had a good impression of David Clark from his own class, and now probably knew just how much leeway to give him in the future.

Everyone is just making their way through the world and the workplace, working hard to build their own networks and invest in potential stocks—human nature, nothing to do with elegance or vulgarity.

The old principal strolled out of the office at a leisurely pace, gave a few instructions to his two subordinates, then hunched over, maintaining his usual smiling silence. When he occasionally encountered someone greeting him with enthusiasm and respect, he would only nod slightly, never pausing his slow but steady steps.

What a seemingly humble yet truly unfathomable old man.

David Clark walked out of the office building, thinking it would be best to avoid disturbing this “Maitreya Buddha” in the future. But from the first day he chose this university, he never intended to do anything earth-shattering—at most, he just wanted to make sure a few properly planned matters wouldn’t be interrupted. Under that premise, he could chat about life and ideals with beautiful senior sisters and teachers. David Clark wasn’t crazy enough to try juggling multiple relationships at once; if he did, Alan Clark would be shy and embarrassed.

Chapter 8 Family Portrait

David Clark pushed his bicycle through campus. This time, he didn’t dare hope the heavens would send him another “Lin Daiyu.” He walked honestly back to the somewhat distant dormitory building, not saying a word. This was the school where he’d spend the next four years. There was a counselor who seemed flexible, an old principal whose connections had been smoothed over by Jack Clark, and three distinctive roommates—life probably wouldn’t be too dull.

Unlike Ben King’s outlook on life, Alan Clark, who considered himself not deeply weathered but full of small stories, walked down the long street. The streetlights stretched his shadow, people came and went, girls chattered like orioles and swallows, and the guys boasted loudly. At that moment, David Clark thought that if he could just find a girlfriend who actually liked a “toad” like him, his life would be complete. Lately, his taste had shifted from campus beauties to the pure girl-next-door type. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but recall the girl he seemed to have a fated connection with—the more he thought about her, the more she fit his taste. Remembering how she’d run away like a startled fawn, David Clark grinned foolishly to himself, laughing all the way back to the dorm. His roommates, worried he’d been “killed in action” at the office building, were baffled. Frank Thompson joked, “Jiadi, I was just discussing with Henry Sullivan how to split your assets. We figured there was no way you’d make it out of the office building alive.”

“I don’t have anything valuable. This IBM I’ve used for five or six years isn’t even worth selling as scrap, and only my new bedding is worth a little money.” David Clark laughed. The IBM itself wasn’t worth much, but if some of the encrypted files on the computer fell into the wrong hands, they could still be worth a lot. Tangshan is just a step away from Beijing and Tianjin, so even if David Clark hadn’t eaten pork, he’d seen plenty of pigs run. The so-called “resource-rich” crowd—on one hand, people like Jack Clark, who became the first wave of wealthy businessmen in Tangshan through coal and oil; on the other, the “red” offspring in Beijing, the second and third generation officials, who made money by reselling permits or playing the stock market with insider information. Maybe it was because he’d seen too many wild boars run and even elephants dance that David Clark could so calmly make himself a bowl of Master Kong instant noodles, take off his pants, and, wearing only boxers, focus on his noodles.

“Are you really okay?” Henry Sullivan asked with concern.

“It was just a painless scolding. Then the principal had something to do in the office and let me go.” David Clark took a few seconds to come up with this explanation. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was close enough. As for how his roommates understood it, or whether they were misled, David Clark didn’t care.

Max Taylor, seeing everything was fine, went back to playing games. This guy had brought every high-tech gadget a student could get his hands on. Frank Thompson was using his PSP to play “Final Fantasy VII.” David Clark wasn’t that interested in the games themselves—mainly, he was often pestered by Ryan Clark back in Clark Village to help him clear levels. If David Clark ignored him, the kid wouldn’t kneel or make a fuss; he’d just roll around on the floor, over and over, until David Clark gave in. Up to now, David Clark had helped him clear more than 20 classic PSP games, like the “God of War” series, “Warriors Orochi,” “Ace Combat,” and all sorts of others. As a die-hard fan of game settings, David Clark only wasted time on games with interesting concepts. Of course, as for “Tail of the Trail” and other adult games, the otaku David Clark was quite fond of those too.