Chapter 92: University? Sorry, I’m Not Interested

In today’s universities, academic achievement is no longer the only thing they pursue; athletic results have also become a matter of pride.

Especially for universities eligible to compete in national tournaments, the desire to win a strong result and bring honor to the school is even greater. In such circumstances, many universities recruit a number of students with exceptional athletic talent every year.

And at this very moment, the university teachers scrambling to court Li Sicen were doing so entirely because of that miraculous tactic—something no one could quite make sense of.

In the eyes of those teachers, if Li Sicen were to join their school and build a volleyball team around that astonishing strategy, then in the years to come their university might well win several national championships. It might even go on to supply talent for the national volleyball team.

If that happened, it would not only bring honor to their school, but also spread the school’s name beyond the country’s borders.

What’s more, Li Sicen’s tactics were so extraordinary. Who could say that in the future he might not even take charge of the national volleyball team and forge an Olympic gold-medal squad?

By then, it would be their school basking in his glory.

Such a bargain was simply too good to pass up.

Watching the teachers from every university scramble over Li Sicen, the students and parents in the gymnasium felt nothing but envy and jealousy.

If these schools were merely obscure no-name institutions, that would be one thing. But among them were also prestigious universities such as Westlake University and Yongcheng University.

Under ordinary circumstances, getting into those top schools would require exceptionally high entrance exam scores. Yet now they lay before Li Sicen, free for him to choose. The most outrageous part was that, in order to attract him, they were offering one jaw-dropping condition after another.

Shocking.

That was all anyone could feel at the sight.

A senior in high school stared at Li Sicen with a long, envious sigh. “Westlake University! That was my first choice for the college entrance exam. Damn it, why don’t I understand volleyball? Sigh... At my current level, getting into Westlake next year is harder than climbing to the heavens.”

Even the students of Class Three, Grade Ten, were now envious of Li Sicen to the extreme.

“Just think, we still have to study our hearts out and get a great score on the college entrance exam before we can get into famous schools like Westlake University and Yongcheng University. But what about Li Sicen? He only adjusted his tactics once in a volleyball match, and suddenly all these top universities are fighting over him... It’s just unfair! Comparing people really can make you want to die of envy!”

Many students, amid their jealousy, even began imitating Mitsui Hisashi’s famous line:

“Coach, I want to play volleyball...”

Though many admired him, the person at the center of it all, Li Sicen, did not feel pleased at all. On the contrary, he found the teachers from those universities noisy and irritating.

Still, they meant well. As the saying goes, you do not strike a smiling face. No matter how annoyed he felt, he did not speak harshly to them.

He merely spread his hands and said with a wry smile, “Sorry, teachers. I only just started high school this year. I’m not old enough yet to take the college entrance exam and go to university...”

Unfortunately, his words did not dampen the teachers’ enthusiasm.

Someone immediately shouted, “That’s fine. Our school can admit you through special recruitment. Even if you don’t take the exam, it doesn’t matter! As long as you nod, I’ll go back and handle all the procedures for you right away. In just a few days, you can go straight from high school into university!”

Compared with ordinary universities, prestigious schools like Westlake University and Yongcheng University had much stricter admissions rules. Even so, the teachers from these schools all said:

“We can’t directly admit you through special recruitment, but we can wait. When you take the college entrance exam, we’ll give you the status of an exceptional talent, so you can receive bonus points and enter our school smoothly!”

Go to university?

At the mere thought of it, Li Sicen was a hundred percent unwilling.

“Are you kidding me? The reason I came to Yongcheng was to sustain my life, not to study. If I went to university, where would I find such favorable feng shui and such a perfect environment to nourish my fate? Besides, what’s so special about university? It’s not like I’ve never been to one...”

Of course, he only grumbled these things in his heart and would never say them aloud. He knew very well that even if he did, no one would likely believe him.

Even though everything he said was the plain truth.

Seeing the teachers growing more and more heated, even beginning to undermine one another and nearly come to blows, Li Sicen hurriedly raised his voice. “Teachers, please calm down for a moment and hear me out!”

All of the university teachers wanted to leave a good impression on him. Hearing his words, they quickly quieted down and looked at him expectantly, hoping to hear good news from his mouth.

But Li Sicen said, “I’m very moved and very grateful for your kind regard. But right now, I don’t want to go to university. I only want to enjoy my high school life properly. As for whether I’ll study at university in the future, let’s talk about that then.”

Rejected?

Though Li Sicen did not say it directly, his meaning was clear to everyone there, whether it was the university teachers surrounding him or the students and parents from Nanshan Middle School in the gymnasium.

And so the crowd once again fell into shock.

After a moment, those who recovered their senses broke into cries of disbelief, turning the quiet gymnasium into a roaring uproar.

“My God! He... he actually turned down Yongcheng University’s invitation? That’s unbelievable! As long as he nods, even if he performs poorly on the college entrance exam three years from now, he could still get into a prestigious university like Yongcheng. That kind of treatment is practically the same as guaranteed admission!”

“He refused? He actually refused? Does that mean he doesn’t look up to any of these universities? What the hell... just how high is this kid’s standards?”

“If a prestigious school like Westlake University or Yongcheng University invited me, I’d be on my knees immediately. How could I dare refuse? This kid is truly insane! Idol! I declare that from today on, he is my idol!”

For the vast majority of people, the main point was Li Sicen’s refusal of the universities’ invitations.

Only Gao Zixi frowned and muttered to herself, puzzled: “Strange. If I didn’t hear wrong, Li Sicen just said something like ‘whether I’ll study at university in the future.’ Why did he use the word ‘again’? Could it be that he really has been to university before? How could that be? He’s only how old...”

Li Sicen’s refusal left the university teachers deeply disappointed.

But they had not given up completely. In their hearts, they were already preparing for a long campaign, a war of attrition.

“Anyway, he’s only a freshman in high school this year. There are still three years until the college entrance exam. I refuse to believe that three years won’t be enough to persuade him to join our school!”

Li Sicen had no mind to care what those teachers were thinking. At the moment, he had something even more important to do.

“Teacher Pang, wait. Where are you going? Don’t tell me you’re trying to welch on the debt and run?” Li Sicen pushed his way out of the teachers’ encirclement and strode after Pang Jiahui, who was trying to slip away in the confusion.

Pang Jiahui looked awkward.

He never imagined that Li Sicen’s eyes would be so sharp, catching his movements even from within the crowd.

“What kind of attitude is that? I’m a teacher! Is that how you speak to a teacher? Teacher Gao, how do you educate your students? Not the slightest bit of manners!”

Pang Jiahui shouted, looking furious and flustered.