Chapter 617: Chapter 617

Zhou Yiyi practiced calligraphy regularly, but she skipped the Swimming Club to cheer on Zhou Mo, as he was under great academic pressure and needed such physical activity to relax. He was also a key player on their freshman basketball team and frequently competed against upperclassmen.

Gradually, he began to make a name for himself and became a notable figure among the freshmen.

However, like Zhou Yiyi, he did not run for the Student Council. Hua Yang, on the other hand, joined the Student Council, and with his outstanding social skills, it was possible that he could become the Student Council president in the future. In contrast, the reticent Zhou Mo preferred to clear his mind on the sports field and was more keen on studying during his free time.

He was indeed busier than Hua Yang, as Hua Yang’s extracurricular time was spent moving among various clubs, the Student Council, and keenly participating in competitions. Follow current novels on novel⚑fire.net

Apart from street dance and basketball, Zhou Mo was indifferent to other activities. He spent all his free time in the library or the lab. Being a double major meant he did not have much spare time to waste. Of course, his efforts also yielded many achievements.

In April, he and his team won the First Prize in a physics competition. Although it was a team project, the achievement could also be attributed to individual effort, as it was the result of their collective hard work. Out of all the participants, he was the only freshman and the only one from the Computer Department. This meant that no freshmen from the physics department were selected for their team.

Of course, this was not to say that the other students were not good enough but that Zhou Mo was more adept at this particular research project. Other physics students naturally had other projects to conquer. Even within the same broad field of physics, there were numerous research topics to specialize in.

By mid-May, both Zhou Yiyi and Zhou Mo had successfully passed the College English Test Level 4, and she planned to tackle Level 6 the following year.

Initially, Zhou Mo had approached the exam with a just-give-it-a-try attitude, but he was lucky to scrape by with a just-passing grade. In comparison, Zhou Yiyi almost aced it, clearly demonstrating her solid English skills.

In May, she submitted her entry to the Lanting Calligraphy Competition Organizing Committee.

By mid-June, she received the notification for the re-exam, and in early July, after school examinations ended and the holidays began, the Lanting Award re-exam started.

Lin Mu went to Changsha to participate in a talent search competition for male singers, while Zhou Mo, having not gone home in nearly a year, decided to visit his hometown.

After her competition, Zhou Yiyi continued her training, which had become a custom by then, so even if Zhou Mo wanted to stay with her, she sent him back to his hometown.

Joking aside, how could she sell anything or do business with that kid around?

After his competition ended, Lin Mu called Zhou Mo to Hengdian to work as an extra, considering the month and a half of summer vacation remaining. It would be a waste not to do something, and with their experience and good looks, they found it easier to land roles.

By mid-August, the Lanting Award winners were announced. After going through the initial test, re-exam, and the live finals, Zhou Yiyi, guided by Professor Guan and her own year-over-year effort and accumulation, genuinely won the Second Prize on her own strength, earning thirty thousand yuan in prize money. She gave all the prize money to Professor Guan as tuition to repay him, but he vehemently declined, preferring the sausages, cured meat, and desserts she brought every time. He said her thoughtfulness and filial sentiments were enough, which deeply moved Zhou Yiyi.

With the addition of the prize money, Zhou Yiyi’s stock investments surpassed the 250,000 yuan milestone. She had twenty thousand yuan in accessible funds, bringing her total to 270,000 yuan. At the time, the average price of an apartment in the Haidian District, where Tsinghua University is located, was around 4,800 yuan per square meter. After much deliberation, Zhou Yiyi decided to purchase a 60-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment in Qingqiu Garden, Haidian District, before summer vacation ended, at 4,500 yuan per square meter, paying the full price of 270,000 yuan. Additionally, there were a few thousand yuan in transaction taxes and other miscellaneous expenses. After buying the apartment, she was left without even ten cents and had to borrow ten thousand yuan from Zhou Mo. The remaining money was just enough to cover the transaction tax, tuition, and living expenses for the first month.

Zhou Mo’s finances, swelled by continued scholarship awards and project prize money, had also crossed the fifty thousand yuan mark. Zhou Yiyi borrowing money surprised him since she did not seem like someone short on cash. Upon returning from Hengdian and learning the details, he was utterly astonished.

"Buying real estate? How come you’re buying a place? And your first move is 270,000 yuan?"

"The apartment is ready to move in, and it’s in a good school district. It seems no one else is used to buying property yet. It’s on the first floor, so it’s 4,500 yuan per square meter; the second and third floors are 4,800. Having a two-bedroom apartment means I won’t have to rent over the winter and summer vacations. However, I don’t have the money to furnish it."

"No, what I mean is, how did you even think of buying property? Isn’t living on campus good enough? Why spend money on buying a place? After graduating, the company will allocate housing anyway!"

Because in 2007, housing prices soared. But even if she talked about this now, people might not believe her. In this era, few people are accustomed to buying homes, still believing that companies will allocate housing, little knowing that this system would change in the future. Buying a house had become a trend, the sooner, the better; buy late, and you might not afford it.

"The dorms are only livable during the term, not during the winter and summer vacations. Also, it’s not like you get housing as soon as you start at a company. Having no family back home, I surely won’t return. So, I want to settle down in Beijing and feel a sense of belonging,"

Zhou Yiyi patiently explained her reasons for buying a house, and with a sigh, Zhou Mo showed his support, "How about I withdraw my money to help with the renovation?"

"No need," Zhou Yiyi shook her head. "I won’t live there right away. I can save up money slowly."

"How do you plan to save?"

Zhou Yiyi laughed, "Besides the Lanting Award, there is the national exhibition, as well as other calligraphy exhibitions. Plus, I’m thinking of trying my hand at writing online novels. Maybe I could succeed?"

It was the second half of 2004, and by the next year, the online novel monetization system would have matured somewhat. Although not yet booming, she could start early, gain a foothold on a platform, and build a readership. By 2005, she could slowly climb higher. She believed that writing was a process of continuous growth and improvement, so she wanted to give herself this opportunity.

Of course, her means of making money were not limited to these avenues. Each winter and summer vacation she would also make some income. As for the apartment, a simple fitting would be more than enough for the standards of the era; with fifty thousand yuan, one could have a pretty nice finish, especially given her apartment was just sixty square meters—thirty thousand would be sufficient.

The main focus would be the kitchen and bathroom. For the rest, just some wall plastering, electrical and plumbing work, and laying down some floor tiles should do it.

With such an apartment and location, becoming outdated was only a matter of time, but by 2020, selling it for a few million would be a breeze.

This was Zhou Yiyi’s very first apartment in this lifetime, and truthfully, she was quite thrilled and concerned about it.