What to Do if I Am Noticed by the Straight Guy Next Door?

Unlike Chinese universities that have boundaries and gates to confine students within a certain area, most universities in Country B are integrated into the city, and M University is no exception.

The school facilities are concentrated in one area without a campus gate, but there are iconic landmarks such as historic red brick buildings and teaching buildings with impressive school emblems on their facades.

Streets within the campus connect to the main roads of the city, but due to the limited commercial areas allocated within the campus, there are only a few convenience stores like “Tesco” and “Subway” on the roadside, and they mostly offer cold food.

During his time in B country, Su Bin learned that the lack of canteens in B universities is primarily due to the fact that B people value breakfast and dinner more. They don’t have a concept of lunch break, and for them, a sandwich, a boxed salad, and a cup of hot coffee are sufficient for lunch.

Of course, there is also a student activity center run by the student union within the campus, which provides some simple hot meals like mashed potatoes, sausages, and spaghetti. However, after Su Bin tried it once, he didn’t want to go there again because the food was even less appetizing than the oil-free stir-fried cabbage he had in junior high school!

On this day, Su Bin and Sun Yujie took a long walk to a restaurant outside the campus for lunch.

They heard that the restaurant was run by Malaysians and would provide dishes similar to “rice with toppings” and fried rice for lunch, which was very popular among Chinese students at M University.

When the two arrived at the legendary “Malay restaurant,” they indeed saw that the customers were mostly Asians with yellow skin, and they all seemed to be students.

Su Bin and Sun Yujie ordered the restaurant’s famous “Malay fried rice,” but it seemed like the fried rice was pre-made, as it arrived at their table less than half a minute after they placed the order.

Two shrimp, three squid tentacles, and a little corn and green peas… Such a fried rice cost 6 PDS, which was approximately 72 Chinese yuan? That was outrageous!

Su Bin took a bite and tasted a hint of “artificial” coconut flavor, which seemed to be the distinctive flavor of “Malay”…

“If this rice was sold at our university’s canteen, it wouldn’t cost more than five yuan!” Su Bin exclaimed in anger.

Sun Yujie, who didn’t know about universities in China, had come to B country for preparatory studies after graduating from high school, just like Li Meihan. So when he heard Su Bin’s comment, he couldn’t help but yearn, “I really wish the universities here had canteens too!”

Su Bin nodded, “Having a canteen would definitely be packed every day! Honestly, eating rice with side dishes feels the most satisfying.”

After eating pizza, burgers, and sandwiches for lunch several days in a row, Su Bin felt like he was only eating “ham and salad” or “chips with ketchup”… It made him feel a bit nauseous just thinking about it.

Sun Yujie rubbed his chin and said, “Hmm, it’s a good business opportunity. The number of Chinese people in M City is increasing, especially international students. Just in our finance department, there are more than ten Chinese students in our year. I heard that in the year below us, almost one-third of the ninety students are Chinese. It seems that there will be more and more Chinese international students in the future…”

“There are more wealthy people in China now, and they have started to value education… Oh, wait a minute, didn’t you say before that there were only seven Chinese students in our class? How come you’re saying now that there are more than ten?” Su Bin asked curiously.

Sun Yujie replied mysteriously, “The seven I mentioned are the ones we often see, but there are also those who are less visible!”

Su Bin: “…”

Sun Yujie continued, “There are some ‘invisible people’ in the university. You can only see their names on the attendance roster, but you hardly ever see them in person.”

“…Invisible people?” Su Bin’s hair stood on end as he listened to Sun Yujie’s words.

Sun Yujie explained, “Those are the people who have been reported, registered as students, and paid their tuition fees but never attend classes.”

Su Bin asked, “Doesn’t the university check their attendance?”

Sun Yujie said, “When studying in a foreign country, it mainly relies on self-discipline. If you really don’t want to attend class, you can also ask someone else to sign in for you and fake attendance.”

Su Bin could already sense that universities here were really different and offered a lot of freedom. Even in lecture classes, teachers wouldn’t personally call attendance or ask students questions. It didn’t matter if you came to class or not. So even if there was something preventing you from attending class, no one would know… But the tuition fee for a year was nearly 100,000 yuan, and on average, each class cost several hundred yuan. Wasn’t it a huge loss if you didn’t attend classes?

Su Bin was very curious and asked, “If they don’t attend classes, what do they do?”

Sun Yujie replied, “They stay at home playing games, going out to have fun, and doing all sorts of things. These people are basically here just to obtain a degree. As long as they pass the exams, it’s enough.”

Su Bin asked, “Can they pass?”

Sun Yujie said, “Some capable ones study on their own at home, cramming at the last minute, and they can pass with some effort. For those who aren’t capable, they have to find other channels.”

Su Bin had heard that universities in Country B have a strict academic atmosphere, with high admission standards and strict regulations against cheating. If caught, students could be expelled immediately, so he didn’t understand what Sun Yujie meant by “other channels.”

Sun Yujie gave him a real-life example involving one of his classmates in his freshman year. That classmate only attended classes a few times in the first month of school and never showed up again. For the courses that required essays at the end of the semester, he hired someone to ghostwrite them, and he failed two out of three exams. He applied for leave and returned to his home country to make up for the exams.

“After he returned to his home country, he asked me for help, and I lent him my class materials and notes. Until two days before the exam, he suddenly told me that the embassy staff of the city where he would take the makeup exams contacted him privately and asked if he wanted to see the exam questions in advance for a fee…”

“Damn!” Su Bin was shocked. “Does that kind of thing happen? What did he say? Did he buy the exam questions?”

“He was suspicious and didn’t want to be deceived since he hadn’t experienced anything like that before. Besides, the exam questions were expensive, and just seeing them in advance would cost him 500 PDS, so he declined,” Sun Yujie explained.

Good job! In his mind, Su Bin silently praised Sun Yujie’s classmate and asked, “What happened next?”

Sun Yujie replied, “Then he studied on his own and took the exam.”

Su Bin asked, “Did he pass?”

Sun Yujie said, “No, he failed.”

Su Bin’s expression turned speechless.

He thought that the classmate would make a comeback, but he didn’t expect such an ending. It felt like watching a brave warrior shout, “Charge!” while the audience’s blood boiled, only to see him tripping over himself, severing a major artery, and bleeding to death… It was truly painful!

Sun Yujie sighed, “But he brought it upon himself. Who told him not to study properly?”

Su Bin nodded and asked, “So, how is he doing now?”

Sun Yujie answered, “He repeated a year, still doesn’t attend classes, and I heard he spends all day in the dorm playing Warcraft…”

“Oh my, he’s beyond help… What will he do about failing his exams?” Su Bin wondered.

“M University allows undergraduate students a maximum of seven years to graduate. In other words, as long as he can obtain his degree within seven years, failing three years in his freshman year is not a problem,” Sun Yujie explained while eating fried rice. “And he said he won’t fail next time.”

Su Bin nodded, “Well, even though he didn’t attend classes, at least he has reviewed once.”

“No, that’s not it,” Sun Yujie exclaimed in frustration. “He said there was once an opportunity in front of him, but he didn’t cherish it… Next time, he will ask that staff member to buy the exam papers in advance.”

Su Bin remained silent.

Sun Yujie glanced at the speechless Su Bin and continued with another story, “There are also those who don’t attend classes and focus on working instead, especially those who find that working as an illegal immigrant in Country B is profitable.”

Su Bin was aware of the issue of illegal employment and asked, “Do you know someone who went to work as an illegal immigrant?”

Sun Yujie shook his head, “I heard about it too. There was a senior from the Material Science department. He came to Country B four years ago when the exchange rate was higher than it is now. He worked every day, doing all sorts of jobs like moving fish, washing dishes, distributing flyers, and doing shopping… Then I heard he earned over 400,000 yuan in his first year!”

“Chinese yuan? Damn! That’s impressive!” Su Bin exclaimed excitedly. “So, did he pass his exams?”

“No,” Sun Yujie said, “He managed to balance work and study. It’s said that he slept less than three hours every night, and his grades were pretty good.”

“Amazing!” Su Bin admired him greatly. “Did he graduate and work in Country B?”

“No,” Sun Yujie shook his head, looking disappointed. “He passed away.”

Su Bin almost sprayed the mouthful of fried rice he had just taken into his mouth. Damn it, why does it always end up like this, shattering people’s hopes!

Sun Yujie spoke with a heavy voice, “When he was about to graduate, he stayed up for several nights writing his thesis, feeling exhausted. He decided to take a nap, and then… he never woke up again.”

Su Bin felt like he was bleeding internally. The story was so inspiring in the beginning… How could it turn out like this?

Sun Yujie sighed as well and summed it up, “This incident tells us one thing…”

That we need to balance work and rest? Not to prioritize the means over the end? That people shouldn’t set overly ambitious life goals? Only those who know when to stop know how to speed up? Su Bin quickly recalled some famous quotes from his idol, Yu Minhong.

Sun Yujie looked at Su Bin and said seriously, “Don’t work as an illegal immigrant!”

Su Bin couldn’t follow Sun Yujie’s train of thought at all. He decided not to talk to Sun Yujie for the next five minutes.

However, Sun Yujie continued talking, “But well, those stories are rare… I also heard about a foreign student in City G who never attended classes, travelled everywhere, and then collaborated with friends to start a travel agency specifically for Chinese tourists visiting Country B, providing Chinese-language tour guides. The business became successful, and he didn’t even bother getting his degree. Now he owns a company and has obtained permanent residency in Country B.”

…Finally, an inspiring story! Su Bin decided to let go of the past and continue the conversation with Sun Yujie. But as he was about to say something, he noticed that Sun Yujie’s attention had drifted away.

Following Sun Yujie’s wandering gaze, Su Bin saw a handsome foreign guy leisurely passing by, with well-toned arms and developed chest muscles…

“Hey, your drool is about to drip!” Su Bin reminded Sun Yujie with a face full of exasperation… But he was also curious and asked Sun Yujie, “Hey, what are you thinking when you look at guys like that?”

“Just like how you guys look at beautiful girls~” Sun Yujie gave Su Bin a look that said, “Do I even need to ask?”

Su Bin proudly said, “I don’t look at beautiful girls. Looking at my girlfriend is enough for me.”

Sun Yujie squinted his eyes, smiled mischievously, and asked, “Then, when you look at your girlfriend, what are you thinking?”

Su Bin pondered for a moment and said with an infatuated expression, “She’s so beautiful, so wonderful…”

Sun Yujie paused for a moment, then whispered, “Don’t tell me… you don’t want to sleep with her? (>////