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墨書 Inktalez
After the New Year's Day, the winter vacation at the university started early, and Hu Ruoyun and Cui Shuigen's "business" came to a temporary halt. They both focused on reviewing their coursework for the semester.
Throughout middle school and high school, Hu Ruoyun had been considered a "poor student," but upon entering Jiangbei University, he seemed to transform. Although he still struggled with English, he no longer faced the headaches of mathematics and science. In his major courses—ranging from Chinese Ancient Literature, Contemporary Chinese Literature, Foreign Literature, Literary Theory, Classical Chinese, Modern Chinese, Introduction to Linguistics, Basic Writing, to foundational courses like Computer Fundamentals—he performed quite well.
Additionally, he actively enrolled in elective courses such as Ancient Literature Bibliography, History of Chinese Literary Criticism, Selections of Classic Texts, Topics in Chinese Contemporary Literature, Taiwan-Hong Kong Literature, Overseas Chinese Literature, Folk Literature, Drama Literature, Film and Television Literature, and Creative Writing. Perhaps interest truly is the best teacher.
As the winter break approached and with their busy study schedules, Hu Ruoyun and Mao Na had not seen each other for quite some time. Both were preoccupied with their studies. Furthermore, after spending several months in the same city, the initial passionate romance they shared had mellowed into a warm and gentle affection akin to that of a long-married couple. Although they were not yet married, the fiery excitement of love had faded into a thick bond of warmth and intimacy.
In any situation, the balance between effort and reward remains constant. When the final exam results were released, Hu Ruoyun ranked second in his class, with the class leader Ji Hongmin taking first place. Among the six roommates in their dormitory, Zhao Jinpu was more laid-back and scored twentieth out of thirty-eight students without much concern. Miao Shujie achieved twelfth place; Jie Bing made significant progress by moving up from last place to nineteenth; Liu Jiawang ranked ninth; only Cui Shuigen dropped from eighth to thirteenth place, which left him feeling quite frustrated.
Mao Na also completed her exams and ranked ninth in her class. With winter break approaching, she sought out Hu Ruoyun to discuss plans for going home.
As of now, several classmates in the dormitory still believed that Mao Na was Hu Ruoyun's sister. With so many people around in their room, it was inconvenient for the "siblings" to talk freely. So Hu Ruoyun put on a military coat gifted by Fat Boss's wife for him and Cui Shuigen and took Mao Na for a stroll between the two campuses along the river.
Mao Na linked her arm through Hu Ruoyun's and even tucked her hand into his warm coat pocket. With just over a week left until January 20th when Jiangbei Postal and Telecommunications School would be on break—while Jiangbei University would not start its vacation until the 22nd—Mao Na would have to wait alone in the dormitory for two days if they traveled together.
"I'm a bit scared being alone!" Mao Na said.
"How about I take you back to Annan first?" Hu Ruoyun offered.
Mao Na pouted and fell silent; she clearly wasn't keen on that idea.
Hu Ruoyun continued, "What if I ask some girls from our class? You could stay with them until your break starts!"
"I don't know them; that would be so inconvenient!" Mao Na replied.
Hu Ruoyun sighed in exasperation. "Then what do you suggest?"
Suddenly turning around, Mao Na nestled her head against Hu Ruoyun's chest playfully and said, "Can't you leave two days early?"
That made sense; after all, exams were over and those two days wouldn't make much difference… So they agreed on this plan.
As dusk approached, they pulled into a small hot pot restaurant near the school for a warm meal. Only then was Mao Na satisfied enough to return to her campus.
The next morning, after finishing the exam review for the Language course, Teacher Zhou returned to his office and called out to Hu Ruoyun, “Go to my office and take a call; your sister is on the line.”
The phone number was one that Hu Ruoyun had given to Mao Na, in case she needed to reach him urgently. Hu Ruoyun hurried over to listen. On the other end of the line, Mao Na sounded excited: “You don’t need to leave with me on the 20th! I received a letter from Qiuying today. She said she’s already on break and will come over from Ji Nan in a couple of days. I’ll take her around Jiangcheng for a couple of days, and then we can go back together. With her here, I won’t be scared at all.”
In the final week, they reviewed the exam papers for all subjects and conducted the end-of-term evaluations as per the school’s unified arrangements. Class leader Ji Hongmin was not only recognized as a school-level "Three Good Student" but also awarded "Outstanding Student Cadre" and "Excellent Youth League Member." Our Hu Ruoyun received the title of "Outstanding League Cadre," while Cui Shuigen was honored as an "Advanced Individual in Social Work."
On the afternoon of the 21st, after school, the fathers of Zhao Jinpu, Miao Shoujie, and Jie Bing all came specifically to pick them up. Hu Ruoyun and Lao Si helped carry their things downstairs.
Zhao Jinpu's father enthusiastically offered cigarettes to everyone, but they all politely declined (they hadn’t paid attention at the beginning of the semester, but now they had to adhere to the school’s no-smoking policy). Miao Shoujie’s father was a burly man with a shiny watch on his wrist, resembling actor Niu Zhenhua. He drove a Mercedes S500 with a memorable license plate. He smiled as he responded to Jie Bing's father's inquiry: “I’m just a driver…”
If he was driving for himself, it indicated considerable wealth; if he was driving for someone else, it suggested that his passenger held an important status.
Jie Bing's dad and mom arrived in a Peugeot 405, but with red and blue police lights on top and “Judiciary” written on the side. His elegantly dressed mother remained quite reserved; she simply greeted Hu Ruoyun and her friends lightly before chatting briefly with the other two parents and then left with Jie Bing’s dad.
Zhao Jinpu's father shook hands with Hu Ruoyun and the others as they bid farewell: “We’ll be off now. We won’t talk about it before New Year’s; after New Year’s, Uncle will treat everyone to dinner!”
Miao Shoujie’s father wore a broad smile: “Meeting is fate; you guys being classmates for three years is quite a bond… Take care of each other, and when you graduate, make sure to stay brothers!”
Once the three cars drove away, the dormitory felt suddenly empty.
Hu Ruoyun asked Liu Jiawang, “Lao Si, when are you leaving?”
Liu Jiawang replied, “Tomorrow. I’ll head to the South Station to catch a long-distance bus back to our county.”
She then turned to Cui Shuigen: “Cui Shuigen, what about you?”
Cui Shuigen looked rather dejected: “I’m not planning to go home for New Year!”
Hu Ruoyun and Liu Jiawang were somewhat incredulous. Liu Jiawang said, “Cui Shuigen, why aren’t you going home during New Year?”
Hu Ruoyun asked, “Out of money? That shouldn’t be…”
Cui Shuigen sniffed: “I sent most of my earnings back home. My parents are really happy; they used that money to pay off my school loans. Brother San, I have money—over a thousand left! I figured it would be just like any other year at home; it’s better to stay at school where I can save several hundred bucks on travel expenses…”
Lao Si asked curiously, “Don’t you miss home?”
Cui Shuigen said nothing, pulling the blanket over his head and shaking beneath it as he cried.
Often, we can never truly understand what the world of others is like.
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