Chapter 73

Zhenzhen wrinkled her nose in mild frustration. “Actually, I really like Professor Xu’s class on historical artifact appraisal. I’ve always been learning from him too. But I just don’t want to major in History or Classical Literature.” Suddenly remembering something, her eyes lit up as she looked at Wangwo. “Sir, sir, if I’m allowed to take on more majors, could you help me apply to the school? I want to double major in Economics and French in the Western Languages Department.”

Wangwo looked at her and chuckled, shaking his head. “You want to study quite a lot. Aren’t you worried that you won’t be able to do well in any of them?”

Zhenzhen thought for a moment and answered confidently, “I got into the best university in Huaguo—wouldn’t it be a waste not to learn as much as I can? I just want to study the things I’m interested in. I don’t really care about diplomas or credits.”

Wangwo nodded in agreement. “It’s rare that after all these years, your drive to learn is still so strong. But have you considered majoring in English? I remember teaching you for a year—your language sense was very sharp, and you improved quickly.”

Zhenzhen grinned sheepishly. In her previous life, she had majored in English and passed the highest-level proficiency test. Even though she hadn’t spoken it for many years, picking it back up would be easy. Since she already had a strong foundation, there was no need to waste time retreading the same ground. She might as well learn a new language with that time.

Seeing that Zhenzhen was determined, Wangwo agreed to help her apply to the school. As they were talking, Wangwo saw Xu Mengguo walking over with a lesson plan tucked under his arm. He smiled and asked Zhenzhen, “I heard from Xu Mengguo and Su Weiran that you’ve been studying painting and artifact appraisal with them all these years. Are you planning to keep learning?”

“Of course I am!” Zhenzhen nodded immediately, her eyes full of admiration as she thought of her teachers. “I need to master all of my teachers’ core skills!”

“Is that so?” A familiar voice suddenly came from behind. Zhenzhen turned around sharply and saw Xu Mengguo standing right behind her, looking displeased. “You little brat. I’ve been your teacher for so many years, and you just disappeared without a word. Do you know how worried we were?”

Zhenzhen gave a sheepish smile and pointed toward the classroom. “Uh, Professor Xu, how about we start class first? You can scold me later when there’s time.”

Class was about to begin, so there wasn’t time for much conversation. Wangwo glanced at his watch and gave the two a quick reminder: “Come straight to my place after class. I’ll call Old Su and the others. You’re having lunch at my place today.”

Zhenzhen only had one big lecture that morning. Originally, she had planned to head to the library after Wangwo’s class, but when she saw that Professor Xu would be lecturing on artifact appraisal, she followed him into the classroom.

This year, all the students majoring in Classical Literature were male. So when a beautiful girl suddenly entered the room with the professor, every guy turned to look at her—then quickly looked away and opened their notebooks, eyes shining with anticipation as they focused on Professor Xu. As for the pretty girl? She was less exciting than the knowledge the professor was about to impart.

Back in the mountains, Professor Xu had taught Zhenzhen with a practical approach—how to distinguish real artifacts from fakes. But at the university, his classroom teaching emphasized foundational knowledge and theoretical frameworks. Only after his students had a solid base would he take them to handle real artifacts and test their understanding.

Zhenzhen sat near the back and opened her notebook, jotting down notes at lightning speed as she listened intently. During the lecture, Professor Xu kept an eye on her expressions. When he noticed that she was particularly interested in a topic, he would naturally delve deeper, packing the lecture with valuable information. The students barely dared to breathe, afraid they’d miss a single word.

Only when the bell rang did Professor Xu stop. “Class dismissed,” he said as he began gathering his lesson materials. The students stood reluctantly, clearly full of questions but too unfamiliar with the content to know what to ask. They scratched their heads in frustration.

Seeing their confusion, Professor Xu smiled lightly. “It’s normal not to understand much when you’re just starting out. Once you learn the foundational history curriculum alongside the History Department, you’ll be able to take it further.”

The students bowed to him in unison. As Xu Mengguo walked to the door with his lesson plan, he turned to see Zhenzhen still standing in place and chuckled. “Come on, let’s go. We’re having lunch at Wangwo’s place.”

Zhenzhen responded immediately and dashed over to help carry his teaching materials. Seeing the two of them chatting and laughing like old friends, the other students were filled with envy.

“Is she some professor’s kid or something? She seems really close to both Wangwo and Professor Xu. Must be nice to talk to them anytime,” one student said with awe.

“I think she’s a Journalism major? She was just in the same lecture with us,” another guy suddenly said. “I need to find out her name.”

A student who looked about thirty and clearly older than the others adjusted his glasses and gave him a teasing glance. “Why do you want to know her name? Got something in mind?”

The younger guy replied seriously, “Of course! I figured if I ever want to discuss class content with the professors, I could ask her to pass along the message.”

The older students, clearly already married, all burst out laughing. The younger one scratched his head in confusion. “Wait—is that not okay? Then I guess forget it.” He sighed regretfully. “I’ll just try to catch the professors after class.”

Unaware that the guys from her department were discussing her, Zhenzhen had followed Xu Mengguo to Wangwo’s campus residence at Imperial Capital University. After returning to the country, Wangwo had requested a place to live, and Huaguo assigned him a small courtyard. It wasn’t large but was quiet and peaceful—perfect for his reclusive lifestyle in recent years.

Wangwo had assumed he would live out the rest of his days in peaceful obscurity. But last year, when the national college entrance exams were reinstated, Imperial Capital University seized the opportunity to extend him an invitation. He agreed without hesitation. However, since his previous home was too far from campus, the university gave him a new apartment in the faculty dorms—right next door to Xu Mengguo, who had also been specially invited.

Following Xu Mengguo to Wangwo’s small courtyard, they had just pushed open the gate when laughter could already be heard from inside. Xu Mengguo immediately beamed. “Everyone’s here already?”

Sure enough, as soon as the two of them stepped inside, they found several distinguished guests already present: master painter Su Weiran, esteemed traditional Chinese medicine doctor Zhang Renzhe, renowned TCM expert Cheng Xuewu, Peking Opera maestro Xie Shurang, and Peking and Kunqu Opera virtuoso Yan Baozhu. Xu Mengguo ushered Zhenzhen in and called out with a laugh, “Guess who’s here!”

Everyone instantly gathered around. Yan Baozhu tapped Zhenzhen lightly on the forehead and playfully scolded her, “You heartless little girl! You just vanished without a word. Don’t you know how worried we were?”

Looking at Yan Baozhu’s still-beautiful face—seemingly unchanged from when she looked about thirty—Zhenzhen hugged her arm and smiled sweetly. “Sister Yan, I was wrong. I’ll make it up to you—come visit my place sometime.”

“That’s more like it.” Hearing the fresh-faced young girl still calling her “sister,” Yan Baozhu immediately beamed and pulled Zhenzhen to sit with her on the couch. It seemed that Wangwo had already conveyed what Zhenzhen had said earlier, so Su Weiran and the others didn’t bring up the matter of thanking her uncle. After all, having experienced the political upheavals of the past, they weren’t keen on associating with government officials anymore and preferred a purely academic atmosphere.

After the greetings, they brought out the dishes from the kitchen. Wangwo also brought out a bottle of wine and filled everyone’s glasses. “This is the first time we’ve all gathered together like this since we parted a few years ago. Everyone, except Zhenzhen, please drink up—let’s toast to our reunion.” Everyone raised their glasses. Zhenzhen raised her teacup and clinked it with everyone else’s, downing it in one go.

Wangwo picked up his chopsticks and said with a smile, “These are dishes I made with Old Zhang. Everyone, try them and see how they taste.”

Xu Mengguo ladled a bowl of mushroom soup and took a sip, smacking his lips in praise. “Just like the old taste. Ever since I left our mountain hideaway, nothing’s tasted as good. I’ve been longing for Old Zhang’s health food ever since. Today, I owe it to Zhenzhen.” Meanwhile, Zhenzhen picked up some scrambled eggs with garlic sprouts—the sprouts were homegrown by Wangwo and were especially fresh and tasty.

As they ate, the conversation naturally turned to what everyone had been up to. Yan Baozhu took a sip of soup and tilted her head at Zhenzhen. “Where are you living now? I have to know, so I won’t lose track of you again.”

Zhenzhen laughed helplessly. “I’m a student at Imperial Capital University now—where could I go?” Still, she gave Yan Baozhu her address. “Courtyard One, Houyang. When the weather warms up, come visit my garden and see the flowers.”

“That’s a great place,” Xu Mengguo said, knowing the old houses in the capital like the back of his hand. “It used to be the middle section of a prince’s residence—four courtyards deep, beautifully preserved. If it’s convenient, I’d really love to take a look.”

“No problem at all,” Zhenzhen agreed readily. “Just… when the time comes, please come as my teachers and elders. Don’t mention anything about the past—my grandma and dad are simple folks, they scare easy.”

Su Weiran chuckled. “Wangwo already explained your situation to me. We respect your wishes. But while we won’t speak of it, a token of thanks is still due.”

Zhenzhen’s eyes lit up. “Is Master going to give me a painting?”

“Haha!” Su Weiran burst out laughing. “I’ll give you a few of my best works.”

“Deal!” Zhenzhen immediately held out her pinky for a promise.

Imperial Capital University didn’t have a lunch break. No sooner had they finished eating and chatted a bit than it was time for afternoon classes. Zhenzhen glanced at her watch and gave everyone an apologetic smile. “I have a big class this afternoon—I have to head to the lecture hall now.”

“Go on,” Wangwo nodded. “I’ll take care of your application to double major in economics and French in the Western Languages Department this afternoon. But juggling three majors means you’ll miss a lot of classes. You’ll have to work extra hard to catch up.”

Zhenzhen nodded earnestly. “I know. I’ll make sure to attend the key courses in each major and use my spare time to study the rest on my own.”

Xie Shurang pondered for a moment. “I’m not familiar with the others, so I won’t comment. But language courses aren’t something you can skip at all. And you’ll need a speaking partner. If you’re living in the Literature Department dorms, and no one nearby speaks French, how will you practice?”

His question left Zhenzhen a bit troubled too. “Maybe I could visit the teachers more after class?”

Wangwo laughed and patted her shoulder, pointing at Xie Shurang. “Why look elsewhere? He’s your best option. Shurang studied in France for six years. His pronunciation is even more authentic than our school’s French teachers.”

Zhenzhen’s eyes sparkled. She threw herself in front of Xie Shurang and looked at him with starry eyes. “Teacher Xie, will you teach me?”

“Finally calling me teacher?” Xie Shurang snorted proudly. “Back when I wanted to teach you Peking Opera, you said your teeth were crooked and refused no matter what. Such a waste of a good voice.”

Zhenzhen laughed awkwardly and covered her face. “Well, you need a good voice to learn languages too—it makes you sound better.”

“Twisting logic,” Xie Shurang muttered, but couldn’t help laughing. “Once you’ve got your class schedules sorted for the three majors, give me a call whenever you have time. I’ll come help you practice.”

At the mention of calling, Zhenzhen’s first reaction was still a leftover habit from her previous life—she reached into her pocket for a phone. But when she pulled out a handkerchief, she realized, “Oh… I don’t have a phone.”

Xie Shurang burst into laughter. “I was wondering what you were rummaging for—so you really thought you could pull a phone out of there?” He pointed to Wangwo and said, “Mr. Wangwo’s office has a phone, and that’s where you’ll find my number. Just call me from there.”

Zhenzhen agreed, then looked at her watch again—it really was getting late. She quickly said her goodbyes and hurried off to her afternoon class.

Wangwo handled matters efficiently, and the school administration also respected him greatly. Before long, he had Zhenzhen’s student IDs for all three departments ready, and her name was officially added to the rolls of both the Economics Department and the French major in the Western Languages Department.

Zhenzhen copied down the course schedules for all three majors and, with Xu Mengguo’s introduction, visited each of the respective professors. In the end, she finalized a mixed schedule combining all three majors. Fortunately, as a freshman, the three majors shared many general education courses, so the pressure wasn’t too intense yet. However, starting from the second semester of sophomore year, when specialized courses would increase, her workload was expected to double.

Wang Xinwen and Zhenzhen were in different majors and had classes in different locations, so after class, they both went straight to the library to study and barely saw each other. A week flew by, and by Saturday afternoon, after Zhenzhen finished her economics class and returned to the dorm, Wang Xinwen was already waiting downstairs. As soon as she saw her, she hurriedly asked, “Your roommates are already back—I was wondering if you forgot about going home today.”

“I didn’t forget.” Zhenzhen quickly ran upstairs, put her economics textbook in the cabinet, grabbed her backpack, and dragged Wang Xinwen toward the East Gate. At that moment, Mingbei was anxiously waiting for them. Only when he saw the two girls appear did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. “Hurry up, it’s the last bus.”

After a week of school, Mingbei and Wang Xinwen sat on the bus, excitedly discussing their majors and everything they had seen and heard at university. Watching Zhenzhen resting her chin in her hand and daydreaming, Wang Xinwen looked at her with some concern. “How’s your major? I sometimes see your roommates around, but I rarely see you. Are they hard to get along with? If so, I’ll eat with you from now on.”

“It’s all good. I’m the youngest in the dorm, and everyone takes good care of me,” Zhenzhen replied with a smile. “Actually, I’m just in class most of the time. Besides my journalism major, I also applied for the French program in the Western Languages Department and the economics major, so my schedule’s pretty packed—I don’t get to hang out with them much.”

Mingbei and Wang Xinwen were stunned for a moment and asked in unison, “You can apply for other majors?”

Everyone would find out sooner or later, so Zhenzhen figured she might as well tell them now. “It’s because of my literature professor, Mr. Wangwo. You’ve heard of him, right?”

“Who hasn’t?” Mingbei immediately responded. “He’s the first person in Huaguo to win the Nobel Prize in Literature—a national treasure! You’re so lucky to get to attend his lectures.”

Wang Xinwen nodded in agreement. “I wonder if I could sit in sometime. Do you think he’d let me in since I’m in a different major?”

“Of course he would.” Zhenzhen smiled. “The teachers here all wish students would learn more—they wouldn’t kick anyone out. I’ll check your schedule later, and if you’re free, I’ll take you with me.”

Wang Xinwen eagerly nodded. Mingbei couldn’t help asking, “So what was that you said about the multiple majors?”

Zhenzhen explained, “I told Mr. Wangwo that I wanted to study a few more majors, so he helped me assess whether it was feasible and submitted the application for me. That’s how I got permission to study all three majors.”

Mingbei looked at her, unsure whether to praise her ambition or think she was nuts. “Sis, we already struggle with just one course—you want to study everything? And isn’t English the trendy choice in Western languages? Why’d you pick French?”

Seeing the sympathetic look on his face, Zhenzhen couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not that bad. For the French program, I only attend the language classes. I’ll study the related history and arts content on my own. As for English…” She winked playfully at him. “Mr. Wangwo is actually an expert in English. He’s translated many English works that have earned international acclaim. He’s agreed to tutor me in his spare time.”

Mingbei stared at her with his mouth wide open. It took him a while to recover, and then he exclaimed, “I guess whether it’s elementary school or college, teachers always love hardworking students. I don’t even dream of being top of the class—I’d be happy if the teacher just remembered my name.”

“That’s not good enough.” Before Zhenzhen could scold him, Wang Xinwen spoke up, clearly unhappy. “You might not be top of the class, but you still have to learn what the teacher teaches. I’m counting on you to build me a house one day.”

Hearing his girl’s expectations, Mingbei pounded his chest dramatically. “No problem! Once I graduate, I’ll build you a one-of-a-kind house.” He paused and added with a grin, “Just like Zhenzhen’s, with a big garden.”

What Mingbei didn’t expect, though, was that the garden he always looked forward to had taken an unexpected turn. Once a quaint corner with a small wooden pavilion—likely meant for resting while strolling through the garden—had now been repurposed by Grandma Li. She had filled it with baby chicks, ducklings, and goslings.

Before Zhenzhen and the others could even put down their bags, Grandma Li cheerfully led them to the backyard to see the new flock. “I specifically asked your uncle to find these for me. The wooden hut may be small, but it has a fire pit. Once I light it in the morning, it stays warm all day. I reckon by the time the Qingming Festival passes, these little ones will be ready to move outside.”

Zhenzhen looked at the delicate little wooden house now taken over by a group of fist-sized baby chicks. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Holding onto Grandma Li’s arm, she asked, “Grandma, what else have you been up to this week?”

“Not much else. The government folks came and installed the heating pipes. It was fast—they finished in three days.” Grandma Li clicked her tongue in praise. “The workers were so careful. They said our house is historically significant and mustn’t be damaged. They said the whole street will be done in a couple of days, and we’ll have a month of heating before Qingming.”

Zhenzhen nodded, helping her grandmother back inside. “The capital may not be as cold as Beicha, but the houses are so big that just using the stove doesn’t really keep it warm. Once the heating comes on, it’ll be much more comfortable.”

Knowing the three kids were coming home today, Wang Sufen had prepared dinner early. As soon as Grandma Li and the others came in, she brought out a kettle of hot water for them to wash their hands and faces. Grandma Li beamed as she watched her granddaughter scrub her face clean and asked with a cheerful smile, “How’s school? Are you eating well?”

“I can get enough to eat—there’s meat and vegetables every day. I’m not worried about myself, I’m just worried my brother won’t have enough food stamps for his double meat meals,” Zhenzhen teased when she saw Mingbei staring at the table with shining eyes.

Mingbei looked a little embarrassed. “That was just once. I don’t usually buy that much. Besides, we guys get more food stamps than you girls, enough to keep me well-fed.”

As soon as Li Laotai heard that they were eating well, she was relieved. Wang Sufen brought out a plate of freshly steamed buns and called everyone to eat.

Zhenzhen glanced at the dishes on the table—thin slices of pork and bright green vegetables—and asked curiously, “Did my Eldest Uncle bring us vegetables and meat?”

“Your Eldest Uncle brought us the tickets,” Li Laotai said, handing a bun to Zhenzhen. “He said their household’s food is uniformly distributed by the military district, and the ration tickets would just expire if left unused. From now on, he’ll give them to me every month. Even if we stop farming, we won’t go hungry.”

Wang Sufen added with a smile, “He was only here a couple of days, but your grandma spent them pacing around the garden, thinking about planting soybeans here, corn there, and wheat somewhere else. Now it’s much easier. Once the ground thaws in spring, we’ll just plant some vegetables to eat.”

Upon hearing this, Zhenzhen quickly said, “I’ll help you plan it out later. I’ll set aside a separate vegetable garden for you both. I want to plant flowers in the rest.”

“Flowers?” Wang Sufen didn’t quite understand. “Can you eat those?”

Zhenzhen couldn’t help but laugh. “Some you can eat, but I’m not planting them for that. They’re just pretty.”

Wang Sufen was about to say something when Li Laotai interrupted quickly, “The child’s house, the child’s rules. Let her decide from now on.”

Realizing her overreach, Wang Sufen laughed. “Look at me, always meddling. Fine, plant whatever you like.”

And so, a few months later, when Wangwo and the others visited Zhenzhen’s home for the first time, they stood beside the Taihu stone rockery. On the right were clusters of tomatoes, cucumbers, chili peppers, and chives; on the left were gardenias, jasmine, canna lilies, and crabapple blossoms. In front of them, lotus flowers bloomed in the lake, ducks paddled playfully in the water, and behind them, sunflowers lined the wall while chickens pecked across the entire garden. They were all momentarily speechless.

Su Weiran held back his words for a long time, then looked at Zhenzhen with a conflicted expression: “After all these years of you learning art from me, this is the first time I’ve realized… your sense of aesthetics is really something else!”