Dragon Raja; Chapter 10: Cassell’s Gate (8)

Dragon Raja

This hotel is so damn luxurious! American schools are so damn rich! Lu Mingfei marveled to himself.

He sat outside the conference room on the executive floor, where exactly 17 chairs were placed, one for each of the 17 interviewees—nothing more, nothing less. No one asked them for any identification. As Lu Mingfei cautiously stepped through the hotel’s doors, a staff member smiled and asked if he was there for the Cassell College interview. “Please follow me to the executive floor.” Then he was led into a room by a beautiful lady in a suit and ten-centimeter high heels, where he saw his acquaintances.

Chen Wenwen, Su Xiaoqian, Zhao Menghua, Liu Miaomiao—they were all there. There were also some familiar faces whose names he couldn’t recall, all coming from his school, as well as some he had never seen before.

“Lu Mingfei?” Every person who recognized him exclaimed in surprise, as if it was very strange for him to appear in this setting.

In response, Lu Mingfei could only wave the letter in his hand and smile sheepishly, “I’m here for…” He swallowed. “The interview.”

Then he sat down in the last chair, which had a form and a pencil placed on it for filling out names and ages. As he filled it out, his gaze darted around the room.

The situation looked dire; everyone was well-prepared and appeared to be strong competitors. Zhao Menghua’s pronunciation was impeccable; his tutor was an American. Su Xiaoqian’s pronunciation was also flawless; she had lived in America for a year during middle school. Even the usually carefree Chen Wenwen had carefully chosen her outfit: a deep blue suit, white lace-trimmed socks, flat black shoes, and a white scarf, with a hairpin made of pearls that resembled the uniforms of British aristocrats seen on TV.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head and sighed.

“You look really good,” he said, losing interest in comparing strengths as he turned to look at Chen Wenwen.

The waiter brought tea and snacks—croissants and a cup of hot milk. After eating the bread and drinking the hot milk to satisfy his hunger, he continued to watch Chen Wenwen. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind… What if he got incredibly lucky and passed the interview? Then he could go abroad to study with Chen Wenwen!

He tilted his head back to look at the ceiling and suddenly let out a silly laugh, startling those around him.

“Lu Mingfei, be quiet; the examiner is coming in!” Chen Wenwen whispered, covering her mouth and pointing to the conference room inside.

“Are you ready?” Lu Mingfei asked, beaming as he tried to distract her. It was a useless question; he just wanted to hear her speak.

“I’m not very confident,” Chen Wenwen glanced at Su Xiaoqian and Zhao Menghua nearby, lowering her eyelids, looking a bit dejected. “My speaking skills aren’t as good as theirs…”

“You’ll be fine! I think your spoken English is pretty…” Lu Mingfei began.

“Is Liu Miaomiao here yet?” The door to the conference room opened, and a tall, slim young man walked out, speaking fluent Chinese with a face that looked undeniably Chinese. He wore a dark green suit, well-fitted, with a silver trim at the collar and shiny gold buttons on his cuffs. There was an embroidered badge on his chest made with silver thread that resembled a school uniform, but Lu Mingfei had never seen such an exquisitely tailored uniform.

The piano beauty, Liu Miaomiao, immediately stood up, her voice slightly trembling, “Here!”

“I’m the examiner, Ye Sheng. Please follow me,” the young man smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth.

Liu Miaomiao walked gracefully alongside Ye Sheng into the room, and the door closed behind them. The remaining 16 candidates turned to each other, unable to hide the tension on their faces.

“Hey, have you all searched for this Cassell College’s website?” Zhao Menghua looked at Su Xiaoqian and Chen Wenwen, lowering his voice. “I heard it’s a prestigious school; many Harvard professors have transferred there to teach!”

“Yeah,” Chen Wenwen nodded. “But I received an interview notification without even applying there.”

“That’s how prestigious schools are; they don’t care about application fees; they only look at qualifications,” Zhao Menghua said.

“If they only care about qualifications, how did someone like this get in?” Su Xiaoqian shot a sideways glance at Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei shrugged his shoulders, adopting a carefree attitude as if he were a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.

“I wonder how many will be accepted,” Chen Wenwen said quietly.

“Just picking one or two would be good!” Su Xiaoqian replied. “Haven’t you heard? Harvard only admits a few undergraduates from China each year.”

Lu Mingfei’s heart sank. He had no idea how many students Harvard accepted from China each year, but considering the vast population, it was indeed a rare opportunity for luck to fall upon him. The little confidence he had built up had diminished significantly.

“Yeah, I’m just here to give it a try; I’m not expecting much,” Chen Wenwen said in a soft voice.

“We’re all not expecting much,” Zhao Menghua comforted her.

“I don’t care,” Su Xiaoqian said arrogantly as always. “If I’m not accepted, I’ll just go to Stanford; my dad has friends there!”

The door opened, and Ye Sheng politely gestured for someone to enter. Liu Miaomiao walked out, turned back, and thanked Ye Sheng. It was evident she was forcing herself not to show her disappointment, but the disappointment was clearly written on her face.

The piano beauty couldn’t even last ten minutes! Liu Miaomiao’s eyes were a bit red as she returned to her seat, grabbed her backpack, and turned to leave.

“Su Xiaoqian,” Ye Sheng called out.

“The Little Fairy” also stood up with a start, her beautiful eyes wide, teeth chattering.

Watching Su Xiaoqian walk stiffly behind Ye Sheng, Lu Mingfei couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Don’t laugh at her; aren’t you afraid?” Chen Wenwen pushed him on the shoulder.

“I’m not afraid; what am I afraid of? I’m just here to tag along,” Lu Mingfei replied, resting his hands behind his head and sprawling out in his chair.

When “The Little Fairy” came out, her steps were even stiffer than when she entered. Rather than looking disappointed or dejected, her expression was more one of anger. Ye Sheng smiled politely behind her, and Su Xiaoqian shot him a fierce glare. Ye Sheng then called Zhao Menghua in.

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