TITLE: <<<TITLE My roommate in a shared apartment TITLE

TEXTMARKDOWN: <<<TEXTMARKDOWN The new roommate is surnamed Gao, from Hami, Xinjiang, but he doesn't look Xinjiang exotic at all. In conversation, he says his ancestors are from Gansu, and that he was sent to Xinjiang for rural work during the Down-to-the-Countryside Movement and stayed there.

Xiao Gao is a genuine top student, majoring in Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics; it’s a top university, and his major is one of the school's flagship programs—he’s a real big shot! He is currently preparing for the graduate entrance exam. Last year he failed, scoring a little over 400; this year he scored around 370, about 30 points short. This year, while interning, he is studying for the exam; he passed interviews with the Big Four banks, but the Ningbo company he interviewed with is stronger and offers better compensation.

Xiao Gao is also quite lost now, because his ambitions aren’t here; he’s at a crossroad in the middle and very uncertain—going up to gild himself with graduate study is too competitive, while going down won’t meet his expectations. If he passes the postgraduate exam this year, he’ll continue studying; if not, he’ll stay in Ningbo to work.

Xiao Gao is really a very nice person, eager to share; we get along well, we’re both chatty and like to share. I’ve really found some invaluable qualities in him that are well worth learning from! I like to be verbose, but because he’s in finance, he’s very rigorous. When faced with problems, I often blurt out stereotyped, not quite accurate answers; he’s meticulous and likes to be precise.

To give an example, Xiao Gao’s supervisor has a Lenovo ultrabook bought in early January 2023, with a 45Wh battery. Recently the supervisor feels that after only six months the endurance has dropped significantly; it used to run for more than eight hours off power, now it’s only 5–6 hours. Is the battery damaged?

If it were me, I might search for how long the notebook was originally expected to last, and whether others with the same model report similar endurance; then tell the supervisor: Yes, I checked. This should be normal—many users only get 5–6 hours.

Xiao Gao printed the notebook battery wear report (battery-report), and after going home, we discussed it together, making the entire data’s underlying principles clear, then consulted customer service for the normal wear range and concluded: normal.

This, to me, is really impressive—very rigorous! Later in chats, Xiao Gao said that he doesn’t like to go into a fight unprepared; since he took on this question, he wants to figure it out. If someone asks, Why is this normal? How did you derive the conclusion? and you don’t know, it’s awkward; with data to support you can persuade people, and he isn’t afraid of questions.

This has left a deep impression on me, and there are many more things about him worth learning. Perhaps it’s fate—the dream roommate I once imagined didn’t enter my life, but I later met such an outstanding roommate!

Hanging out with Xiao Gao is also very enjoyable; yesterday we went to see the summer blockbuster The Super Family, and in the evening we grabbed a barbecue. Today Xiao Gao attended the Ningbo regional alumni gathering; many attendees are successful seniors from the school, some in politics, and many well-known finance figures, and they attended to share with younger students.

Xiao Gao came back in the evening and we chatted; I’m really looking forward to and envious of having a platform like this to exchange ideas. Xiao Gao also said we can often share some of his views with me, and shared today’s insights and happenings—really loving this new roommate!

Alright, it’s very late; I wanted to jot down a few more topics, but it’s already 12:23. Going to sleep! See you next time!

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