Jiaotung University restored at Xinzhu with its graduate school only at incipient stage during early 60s.  In 1964, it bent the rule to enroll undergraduate students of electronic engineering through joint college entrance examination.  Mr Shi Zhenrong, the Acer founder, who was one of the enrolled students and he wrote a commentary in China Times the other day to praise then KMT administration for its smart and far-sighted vision.  "Otherwise, Taiwan might not have had prosperous eclectronic businesses as it does now.", said Mr Shi.  The news jogged my memory of something I did not want to recall. 

Mr Shi must remember one of his classmates, Yu(I am too sad to tell you his first name here) who was the highest scorer among the students in that very first enrollment of Jiaotung University in Taiwan.  But their relationship as being classmate to each other had lasted just for one year.

I knew Yu since I was a fourth grader in a primary school at Yunghe County.  He was a good friend to my elder brother, and both of them were in the same class of the school as fifth graders.  Unlike ours are all boys, Yu is the only son in his home with three younger sisters.  Therefore, he liked to come over to our place to play with us, and to read concised Red Chamber, Three Kingdoms and abridged Jing Yong together.  He was an extreme model of "all brains, no brawns", being good at all kinds of "intellectual" work, like Chinese Go, chess, bridge, or even mahjong, but not anything related to physical exercises.  Often in summer vacations my father would take us, including him, to Xindain Stream to swim.  All of our four brothers learned how to swim in no more than several times of trial and error, but he just could not do it, no matter how hard he had attempted to. 

When he graduated from the primary school, he was the only boy who qualified to enter Jianguo Junior High. (My unlucky elder brother failed to be the another one though he was the summa cum laude student of the year.)  A year later, I entered the same junior high, since then I had been with him in the same school for five years.  It was the time we turned into adolescence, and he became a very handsome young gentleman with a height of 175cm or so.  My father always said that Yu must have been the prototype of Jia Baoyu in Red Chamber.  One thing impressed me most was when we listened to the radio together, waiting for my name popping out in the enrolled list of senior high school entrance examination.  When finally my name appeared, he seemed much happier than I was.

Next two years in the high school, I heard of him becoming well known with his excellent performance in science, even my teachers extolled him as that much.  One day in my junior year when my chmestry teacher was absent due to sickness, Yu, a senior, was appointed as his substitute.  Can you believe that?  I remember when after the class, he asked me if I am going to opt for pure science or engineering instead of literature and polictical science in my academic career.  That was the last time we conversed with each other.  Then he went to Xinzhu, while I was struggling for my college entrance, and we lost contact since. 

In next summer, one day when I was in Chengongling for taking military training, I was dismayed at knowing Yu was drowned at Jingshan seashore.  I remember I totally tuned out then, and I was punished for my absent-mindness twice for the day.  All thoughts occupied me then was what if he had learned the swimming skills in those summer days when we were little boys. 

I cannot tell what would have he been if he were still alive.  A business tycoon of electronic industry like Mr Shi, or possibly a Nobel laureate?  All I know is we lost a science genius forever. (I have little idea how strong his science courses were, but I do know his English was poor, and Chinese, so-so.  Then maybe we could imgine how high the scores he did attain from math, physics, and chemestry in college entrance examination.) 

I miss you, Yu.