Chapter 434 - 430: September, New Students Report

And just like that, it was September.

Lorcain University, one of Cathay’s premier academic institutions and its highest-ranked university in global standings.

"Sis, don’t drive any further. The entrance is going to be packed today; there’s no way we’ll find parking. Let’s just find a spot somewhere around here and walk the rest of the way, okay?"

Ethan suggested, seeing how bad the traffic was getting.

Cecilia was all too familiar with the chaos of move-in day, so she nodded immediately. She drove slowly around the neighborhood for a while before finally finding a place to park.

Ethan carried his suitcase and wore his backpack, a quiet excitement bubbling up inside him. Even now, the fact that he was actually attending Lorcain U felt like a dream.

It wasn’t that he doubted his own abilities. His original plan had been to attend a university in Veridia to stay close to his mother.

But once the wheels of fate started turning, the butterfly effect had rippled through his whole family.

His sister had given him a better option.

And today, she was the one dropping him off at school.

Seeing her brother’s barely contained excitement, Cecilia stepped closer and straightened his collar. "Nervous?"

Ethan shook his head, his eyes shining brighter than the stars. "Not nervous. Just excited."

Cecilia loved her brother’s bright, fearless energy. She gave his hair an affectionate ruffle. "Let’s go!"

Once inside the Lorcain U campus, upperclassmen holding signs were there to welcome and guide the new students. The walkways were crowded, filled mostly with parents seeing their children off. Many who had traveled from out of town were laden with bags of all sizes.

"Ethan!"

A voice called out from the crowd. It was one Ethan knew all too well. He turned and quickly spotted Jameson Stone squeezing through the throng toward him, accompanied by his parents.

"Jameson!"

Once they were face-to-face, Jameson eagerly introduced him to his parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Ethan Sterling!"

Jameson’s parents were visibly moved to finally meet Ethan. His father grasped his hand, his voice trembling slightly. "Ah, we finally get to meet you, son! Thank you so much for helping Jameson. He only got into Lorcain U because of you!"

His mother’s eyes welled up. "We’ve been telling Jameson to invite you over for dinner for ages. Your uncle and I need to thank you properly."

Jameson stood by with a smile, letting his parents lavish praise on Ethan.

Ethan felt a little embarrassed and quickly deflected the praise. "You’re too kind, sir, ma’am. Jameson and I are best friends. When he decided to buckle down, of course I was going to help. But the credit isn’t all mine. Jameson’s grades were already good to begin with. Getting into Lorcain U was the result of his own hard work. I was just a little push, that’s all."

"Oh, what a good kid," Jameson’s mother said, her face filled with relief. "We couldn’t be more at ease knowing Jameson has friends like you and Renee."

"Okay, Mom, Dad, this isn’t the best place to stand around talking," Jameson cut in at the perfect moment. "Let’s go register and get me settled in the dorm. You two can head home after that."

"Oh, that’s right. The dorms first," his mother agreed with a nod. As they were about to part ways, she made sure to add, "Come over for dinner when you have time, Ethan! I’ll cook something special for you."

"I will. Thank you, ma’am."

Once they were gone, Cecilia asked, "What are Renee Reid’s and Jameson Stone’s majors?"

"Jameson just barely scraped by to get into Lorcain U, so a lot of the more popular majors were out of reach. He went with Industrial Bioengineering."

"Renee was a guaranteed admit from a special recruitment program, so she had her pick of majors, just like me. She chose architecture. Lorcain U’s architecture department is ranked in the top ten globally by QS—it’s amazing. Renee has excellent spatial reasoning skills, so the major is a perfect fit for her."

As the brother and sister were talking, a tall, clean-cut young man with a friendly demeanor approached them. "Hi, are you a new student registering? I’m a junior. I can show you where to go."

Wyatt Sherman had handsome, almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with life as he spoke to Cecilia.

Standing to the side, Ethan watched the upperclassman who’d appeared out of nowhere. He rolled his eyes when he realized the guy was offering to help his sister, not him.

’Bro, do you have to be so obvious?’

Cecilia suppressed a smile. "Thanks, but I’m just here dropping off my little brother."

At her words, Wyatt finally seemed to notice the other person standing next to the beautiful woman. He gave a slight, embarrassed jump. "Oh, my bad. You’re the freshman, right?"

Ethan gave a cool nod, though his tone was still polite. "Hi."

Wyatt snuck a glance at Cecilia, then took the bags from her hands. "Here, let me get those. I’ll show you the way. What’s your major?"

"Computer Science and Technology!"

Wyatt’s eyes lit up. "No way, that’s my major too!"

"Oh, really?" Ethan’s attitude shifted in an instant, and he grew excited. "What a coincidence!"

Lorcain U’s Computer Science and Technology program was world-class, ranked number one globally by US News and number thirteen by QS. The university was a leader in fields like artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

It was also home to the world-renowned advanced experimental programs: Team Inferno and The Luminar Class. These two programs had cultivated countless leading figures in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and computer science.

The admissions office had offered Ethan direct entry into one of these advanced programs as a condition of his acceptance, and he had chosen Team Inferno without a moment’s hesitation.

With Wyatt leading the way, everything went smoothly.

After Ethan got his room key card, he read the assignment: "Men’s Dorm, D Block, Room 707."

It was a quad.

He hadn’t used the privileges of his special admission to opt for a single or a double. For Ethan, the quintessential college experience he longed for was sharing a room with three other people.

They say the friends you make in college are friends for life, and he wanted to experience that to the fullest.

Just like his sister and Estelle and Blair.

When they arrived at D Block of the men’s dorms, they found it was a newly built section from a couple of years ago, complete with an elevator.

Room 707. It had an electronic lock. After swiping his card and entering, Ethan saw he was the first one there, which meant he could pick a bed by the window.

Cecilia came in after him and inspected the room’s layout and condition. It was quite a bit larger than the dorms at Lorcain Tech. The bathroom was spacious, and it even had a balcony for drying clothes.

"Thanks, man. I can take it from here," Ethan said, taking his things from Wyatt with a grateful smile.

Wyatt waved it off. "No problem." He then casually pulled out his phone. "Let’s add each other on WhatsApp. If you ever need help with anything on campus, feel free to hit me up."

"Okay."

The two exchanged contact info on WhatsApp while Cecilia watched quietly from the side. "Alright," she finally said. "Your college life begins now. Enjoy it. I should get back to campus too."

Ethan nodded happily. "Thanks for dropping me off today, Sis."

Cecilia gave a dismissive wave and turned to leave.

Seeing his chance, Wyatt quickly said goodbye to Ethan and hurried after her.

"You mentioned you had to get back to campus. What school do you go to?"

Wyatt was completely unabashed, catching up to walk beside Cecilia as he asked.

Cecilia glanced at him. He had such a clean, wholesome look that it seemed to purify his every word and action.

Even his obvious intentions didn’t come across as off-putting; there was nothing unpleasant about the way he carried himself.

Cecilia answered truthfully, "Lorcain Tech."

"Oh, that’s really close to Lorcain U," Wyatt said, his lips curling into a smile. The corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, giving him a particularly warm and friendly look. He tilted his head and asked bluntly, "Can I get your WhatsApp?"