Restarting your life starts with filling out your college application.

Chapter 57 Zhou Shutang Invites You to Dinner

Chen Zhiyuan was unaware that his afternoon test results had alarmed the national team coach, prompting him to rush over overnight.

He left the track and field stadium, which was still filled with excitement and discussion, and slowly walked back to his dormitory.

The evening breeze was cool, dispelling the post-exercise heat.

He walked along, pondering: Where should I eat tonight? With my roommates, or...?

Before he could figure it out, his phone rang.

When he took it out and looked at it, the name displayed on the screen made him pause slightly—it was Zhou Shutang.

Upon seeing the three characters "Zhou Shutang" flashing on the screen, Chen Zhiyuan understood and roughly guessed the reason for the call.

He smiled slightly and pressed the answer button.

"Good afternoon, Sister Zhou." His voice was filled with laughter.

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Shutang's voice was as crisp and capable as ever: "It's almost evening. Zhiyuan, I heard you've already registered at Jiangnan University?"

"Yes, I arrived yesterday afternoon, and all the formalities are done. I'm in my dorm now."

"Come out, I'll treat you to dinner to celebrate you officially becoming a college student!" Zhou Shutang's tone was warm and direct.

"Okay! Where are you? I'll come right away." Chen Zhiyuan readily agreed, his mood improving even more—he was just wondering how to solve the dinner problem, and now this was settled.

"I'll be waiting for you at the main gate of your school. My car is parked on the side of the road; you should recognize the red one."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Zhiyuan changed into a clean and refreshing casual outfit, tidied his hair and collar in front of the mirror, and then went out looking energetic.

Although Jiangnan University's campus is large, Chen Zhiyuan walked briskly and reached the magnificent main gate of the school in just over ten minutes.

His gaze swept across the area and, sure enough, he saw the familiar red sedan parked quietly by the roadside.

He walked over, opened the passenger door, and got in.

"Sister Zhou, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Not long after, I've only been here a few minutes."

Zhou Shutang turned to look at him, her eyes filled with a smile, "What do you want to eat? It's on me today, as a congratulatory gift for entering a new stage of your life."

Chen Zhiyuan smiled happily: "I'm easygoing. I'm not familiar with this area. You can decide, Sister Zhou. I'll just eat with you."

Zhou Shutang nodded and started the car: "On the way here, I saw a restaurant that looked nice and clean, so let's go there."

A few minutes later, the two were already seated in a private booth by the window on the second floor of the restaurant.

They didn't specifically ask for a private room; the two of them sat by the window, where it was quiet and they could see the bustling crowds and gradually lighting up the street below through the glass, experiencing a unique blend of local liveliness and warmth.

We ordered a few delicate home-style dishes, but no drinks, just freshly squeezed juice.

The dishes were served quickly, and the two chatted casually while eating.

After chatting for a while about recent events and school happenings, Zhou Shutang put down her chopsticks and her tone became slightly more formal: "Zhiyuan, the reason I'm talking to you today, besides having dinner, is also to formally solicit your opinion on behalf of the newspaper."

"The serialization of 'Those Things About the Ming Dynasty' in the newspaper was a huge success, with readers expressing great interest."

"The newspaper is considering increasing the daily word count for the serialized story from the current 5,000 words to 8,000 words. What do you think... can you keep up with the writing pace? Will you feel any pressure?"

Her main concern was that Chen Zhiyuan would face military training and heavy coursework after the start of the school year, and his creative time would definitely not be as ample as during the summer vacation.

Chen Zhiyuan smiled confidently and nodded, "Sister Zhou, that's no problem. Even if I had to write more than 8,000 words a day, I could manage."

"To be honest, I've finished writing the second volume of this book. Like the first volume, it's over 300,000 words long, and I'm planning to send the manuscript to Jiangnan Publishing Group in the next couple of days."

Zhou Shutang's eyes lit up, her surprise evident: "My God! Zhiyuan, your speed... is amazing!" she exclaimed.

Having lived two lives, Chen Zhiyuan's mental age was far beyond that of a naive teenager. Hearing the description "too fast," especially coming from a beautiful woman, a subtle and mischievous smile involuntarily crossed his mind.

He just smiled modestly and didn't respond to the comment. He actually didn't like it when people praised him for being "fast," especially pretty girls.

Zhou Shutang, clearly unaware of the ambiguity in her words, remained immersed in her delight: "That's wonderful! I'll go back and report to the editor-in-chief, and we'll increase the chapter count to 8,000 words starting next week!"

"The readers are going to be overjoyed. You have no idea how many letters our editorial department receives every day. Besides praising how well the book is written, most of them are asking for more chapters to be serialized."

The two chatted happily for a while about the serialization and publication of "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" and reader feedback.

Then, Zhou Shutang naturally inquired about Chen Zhiyuan's upcoming university life.

"Zhiyuan, you'll soon be a real college student. What specific plans and goals do you have for these four years?" she asked earnestly, her eyes filled with concern.

He Fei asked this question not long ago, and Chen Zhiyuan gave a rather brief answer at the time.

Facing the more mature Zhou Shutang, he thought for a moment and organized his thoughts, saying, "Besides doing well in my major, I do have some ideas."

"Simply put, I plan to try developing in both the 'literature' and 'sports' fields for the time being."

“I can roughly guess about the ‘literary’ aspect,” Zhou Shutang said, showing great interest. “You’re definitely not satisfied with just one book, ‘Ming Dynasty,’ you must have other writing plans.”

"However... it's about the 'body'."

She tilted her head slightly, a curious look on her face. "Do you still plan to pursue a career in sports? This path is not easy, and I know you didn't get in as a sports specialist."

Chen Zhiyuan smiled confidently, leaning back slightly to project a relaxed yet resolute posture: "Sister Zhou, do I look like I'm frail?"

He half-jokingly bent his arm, revealing the faint outline of his muscles beneath his shirt. "Seriously, I'm in pretty good shape, and besides, what a coincidence..."

He briefly recounted how he met Coach Su Bingying during his morning run, had a preliminary 100-meter test, and then underwent two more formal retests in the afternoon using professional equipment, achieving times of 10.03 seconds and 10.02 seconds.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shutang's beautiful eyes widened instantly, sparkling with disbelief mixed with excitement.

Although she is not a sports professional, as a media person, she has basic common sense and sensitivity.