He originally thought he would have to exert a lot of effort to squeeze past, but before he got close, the students at the front noticed him, each one enthusiastically greeting him:
"Good morning, Senior Brother Jiang!"
"Senior Brother, have you had breakfast?"
"Hello, Senior Brother Jiang!"
"..."
These students greeted him while instinctively stepping aside, creating a narrow temporary passage for Jiang Yu.
Although Jiang Yu was a bit surprised, he didn’t say much, smiling as he nodded to the greeting students, quickly making his way through, feeling inexplicably nostalgic.
The simplicity of students on campus is heartwarming; if you’re nice to them, they naturally warm up to you.
This is also why Jiang Yu is willing to stay at the school to run the dining hall; he can’t bear to leave this innocence behind.
It’s still early now, and no one has come to the second floor. Jiang Yu plans to find a place to sit down, relax by playing a game of chess, when his phone in his pocket suddenly rings.
He took it out to have a look; it was Teacher Xiong calling. He didn’t think much of it and reached out to answer:
"Hello, Teacher Xiong?"
"Xiaojiang, I have already received the notice that the alumni I talked about with you before are coming this afternoon."
Teacher Xiong got right to the point, saying,
"When they arrive, they might first come to the Seventh Dining Hall to meet you, considering they are your senior brothers and sisters. They’re quite curious about you and want to get to know you first.
How’s it on your side? Will it be busy today?"
"It’s alright for now, pretty much the same as usual."
Jiang Yu smiled and asked, "Is the school’s reception dinner scheduled for evening?"
"Yes, including the accompanying personnel, there will be a total of five people."
Teacher Xiong replied, "I’ll accompany them to find you when they arrive in the afternoon."
"Okay."
Jiang Yu didn’t say much more, chatted a bit with Teacher Xiong, and then hung up.
Actually, Teacher Xiong had mentioned this to him a few days ago. These alumni were invited back by the school to guide the school’s sports team in training, in preparation for the Provincial Games in July this year.
The Provincial Games are held every four years. Reportedly, in the last Provincial Games, Jiangzhou University organized a sports team to participate but barely had any noteworthy achievements, while neighboring Jiangzhou University of Finance and Economics and Jiangzhou Normal University both had students standing on the podium.
A sophomore from Jiangzhou University of Finance and Economics School of Sports even won a gold medal in the 58kg taekwondo competition and was directly recruited into the national team after the competition.
This made the president of Jiangzhou University feel quite embarrassed, thus determining that this time the Provincial Games must showcase both style and substance, aiming for remarkable achievements.
That’s why the School of Sports invited these excellent alumni, who had made achievements in international and domestic arenas, to come back and assist with the training.
Coincidentally, October is also the centennial celebration of Jiang University, and these alumni were also planning to make a visit back to their alma mater.
The overlap of these two events made everything fall into place naturally.
...
"This is just ridiculous! I clicked the reservation button the moment it lit up, only for it to say, ’Dear, we’re very sorry,’ leaving me dumbfounded!"
"Boohoo, my finger is almost swollen from tapping the screen, and I still couldn’t snag a booth. Whoever got one, please come out and let me see!"
"Upstairs, you’re lucky your finger only got swollen. I broke my screen from tapping, who’s going to pay for that? It’s a newly bought phone, ahhh!"
"..."
Just a little past eight o’clock, hundreds and thousands of new comments instantly appeared in the comment section of the latest video on the "Jiang University Seventh Dining Hall" Douyin account.
The surge of resentment and unwillingness in those comments makes one feel a chill down the spine.
Those unaware might be surprised, but regular visitors of the "Jiang University Seventh Dining Hall" know this is just normal.
After all, it’s Monday!
After waiting for so long, filled with anticipation and eagerness to seize a chance to taste the legendary delicacy, all that effort ended in failing to secure a booth, leaving some understandable resentment.
Aside from the complaints, there were also those who came to "spread joy" after successfully booking a booth:
"Hahaha! I’m so happy! After so many attempts, I finally snagged a booth! In two days, I’ll bring my family to the Jiang University Seventh Dining Hall to savor Master Xiao Jiang’s culinary skills!"
"Envy, jealousy, hate! Ever since the reservation line opened, I’ve never secured a booth, what rotten luck I have!"
"I got one too! I got one too! Haha, I can hardly believe my eyes. With my usually bad luck, I managed to snag a booth at the Seventh Dining Hall!"
"Don’t get too happy just yet, upstairs. You might have used up your luck for this lifetime on this one."
"Friend, your words are too harsh, there’s no need to be so mean just because you didn’t get a booth. Maybe the original poster will have good fortune from now on?"
"Hey, I’m asking the original poster, which day did you reserve? Mind letting me join? I’ll pay!"
"..."
Some netizens even started giving "suggestions" to the Seventh Dining Hall:
"Hey, there are only four booths for one meal, that’s too few. It’s not what a normal restaurant should have. With so many people trying to snag one, it’s no wonder we can’t get one!"