February 12th, the day before classes started at Xuyuan.
Students returning to campus dragged their suitcases along Xue Lin Road. The cold early-spring wind rustled the leaves of the plane trees. Along the Pearl Lakefront, the early cherry blossoms were dense and clustered, resembling a pink cloud from a distance.
A silver Bentley drove slowly from the direction of the faculty apartments, passing the stadium and library before heading off toward the East Gate.
"Hey, I think that's Senior Chen Yansen!"
"Forget 'I think'! Besides the chancellor and the deans, he's the only one at our school who can drive a private car on campus."
"Oh yeah, I heard Orange Technology is hiring voice data labelers. It's ten yuan an hour. Too bad my Mandarin proficiency is only Level 2-B; they require 2-A."
"Are there a lot of openings? I have a Level 1-B certificate. I want to give it a try."
