I left a little of the disappearing act intact, so you would still know this was written by Zhuge Tianyao. (Because yes, I am filling it in on the 23rd.)

My first impression of Zhejiang University was big. My second was “it has everything.” Unlike every other university I had visited, this one required a bicycle instead of walking (otherwise I would never have finished seeing it). As my resident “local” explained what building after building was for, one thought burst into my head: “All of this is only one campus?” Universities really cannot be judged by the same scale.

Compared with my other classmates, it felt as though zyc and I had been apart much longer. There is that saying about seeing a scholar with new eyes after only three days, but honestly, he did not seem to have changed much. He was still the “expert” who loved tinkering with circuits and code; I was still the “newbie” marveling at his explanations. Meeting again after so many years, it was almost as if both of us had reverted to our younger, not-quite-grown-up selves.

Even though the graduate entrance exam was taking place that day, a “special invitation” from a current student still got me through the gates, haha. (Perhaps closing online reservations did cut down the number of campus visitors somewhat.) We raced around for a whirlwind tour, and I sampled the university food that evening too. The full experience, more or less.

And with that, my brief stay and string of visits in Hangzhou come—not to a full stop, but to a comma. Looking back on those hectic days, there were a few regrets, but far more laughter. Thank you to all my old classmates who made time to share a meal with this “legendary king of mooching.” I hope that, in time, I can share more of what happened over those past years. (So this means I really do have to start writing a history of our high-school class, doesn’t it?)

In one corner of the dorm library—supposedly “mostly extra books nobody wants”—I still found notebooks and exercise books tucked between the shelves…

And the cafeteria food! Delicious.