Chapter 74

Ever since Zhenzhen started university, she had said she wanted to invite her professors to her home. But since she’d been busy with courses across multiple majors, she never found the time. It wasn’t until last week, when Grandma Li mentioned the flowers in the garden were blooming beautifully, that Zhenzhen got the idea to relax a bit. So she told Grandma Li ahead of time that she would be inviting her professors home for a meal.

Mingbei, who usually didn’t have time to visit Imperial Capital University, wasn’t very aware of Zhenzhen’s life at school. Thinking about how his own school’s professors were highly motivated—even continuing their lectures in the dorms at night—he still had never seen any student invite a teacher home.

So when he heard Zhenzhen was inviting hers over, he couldn’t quite believe it. “Did you talk to them in advance? They’re really coming?”

“I did,” Zhenzhen replied with a cheerful smile. “Ever since I started school, my professors have helped me a lot. Both emotionally and logically, I owe it to them to invite them over.”

Although Wang Xinwen didn’t usually have meals or classes with Zhenzhen, the two lived upstairs and downstairs from each other, so she knew about Zhenzhen juggling three majors. “Zhenzhen taking on three majors has become a bit of a landmark at our school. After her, lots of students applied to do the same, but the school, after consideration, rejected them all, worrying they’d bite off more than they could chew. Zhenzhen is the only student permitted to study three majors, and she’s doing great in all of them. The teachers all really like her.”

Grandma Li nodded proudly. “Our Zhenzhen is especially lovable. Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll make sure to host your teachers well.”

Since they were coming to her home, Zhenzhen and Professor Xie Shurang even moved their French class to the bus ride that morning. Instead of strictly following her textbook, Xie guided her through grammar and phrases conversationally. Even when Zhenzhen didn’t understand a word, he explained in French. Zhenzhen, frustrated but determined, kept pleading in French, “Say it again! One more time!”

Grandma Li had cleaned every room and sprinkled water in the courtyard to keep the dust down. Around nine o’clock, Zhenzhen and her group arrived home by bus. Grandma Li, already waiting by the gate, lit up when she saw her granddaughter leading a group of people home. Her eyes squinted from joy as she quickly opened the front gate wide: “Professors, please come in! Zhenzhen said last week she was inviting you over—we’ve been looking forward to it!” Then she raised her voice, “Mingbei, come out here quick!” Mingbei, who had been waiting at the door and had just stepped inside for a drink, hadn’t even passed the hanging flower door before being summoned back.

“Hello, professors!” Mingbei greeted them loudly from a distance, not having time to get a good look. But when he stepped closer and saw the elderly gentleman at the front with half-white hair, he was so shocked he couldn’t close his mouth. “Zhenzhen, you actually managed to invite Professor Wangwo to your home? That’s amazing!”

Professor Wangwo smiled humbly. “Zhenzhen and I are old friends despite our age difference. When she invited me to her home, of course I had to come. I’ll probably come often from now on.”

Grandma Li beamed. “That’s wonderful to hear. Please, come inside.”

Hearing voices, Li Muwu, Wang Sufen, and Wang Xinwen all came out. Zhenzhen introduced everyone one by one, then led them into the main hall to rest.

The main hall was furnished with a set of chicken-wing wood furniture Zhenzhen had bought from a scrap collection station. When she found it, the furniture had broken legs and chipped corners, discarded in a corner where nobody wanted it. But Zhenzhen noticed that the damage had clearly been done deliberately, and the broken legs could still be salvaged. So she bought the entire set.

With the help of Li Muwen’s orderly, she had the pieces moved home. Then she personally worked on restoring them, hammering and repairing until they looked like new. Li Muwu had assumed she’d simply nailed the pieces together, but in truth, she’d used her supernatural ability to rejoin the broken wood.

Once inside the hall, Professor Xu Mengguo didn’t even sit down. He crouched beside a chair, carefully admiring the intricate carvings and inlays of agate and enamel, reluctant to let go.

“Zhenzhen, where did you get this set?” Professor Xu deeply regretted not bringing a magnifying glass. His aging eyes couldn’t make out the finer carvings, and with her family watching, he was too embarrassed to lie flat on the ground.

“From a scrap collection station,” Zhenzhen said, while helping Wang Xinwen serve honey water to the teachers, placing cups on the small square table between the chairs.

As Xu Mengguo looked up, he spotted two big bowls on that delicate table and immediately cried out in distress, pounding his chest. “Why are there bowls on this! If you spill anything, it’s going to ruin it!”

Grandma Li quickly responded, “It’s fine if it spills. I’ll just pour you another bowl. Drink it while it’s hot.”

Xu Mengguo twitched. “Ma’am, it’s not the drink I’m worried about—it’s the table!”

Seeing Grandma Li’s confusion, Zhenzhen quickly explained, “Grandma, this professor teaches historical artifact identification. Our table here is probably a Qing Dynasty noble’s furniture piece. That’s why he’s a bit heartbroken seeing us treat it like ordinary wood.”

Grandma Li nodded in sudden understanding. “No worries, you’ll get used to it. I didn’t like sleeping on that prince’s big bed at first either, but now I find it quite nice. Those stiff boards are surprisingly comfortable.” Everyone burst out laughing at that.

Since it was the professors’ first time meeting the family, Zhenzhen had been a little nervous, afraid someone might say too much. But thankfully, Wangwo and the others were tactful and never pried into the Li family’s past. Grandma Li also had a deep respect for university professors and didn’t gossip, which finally let Zhenzhen relax.

After a short break, Professor Xu finally let go of the chair, downed his honey water in one go, and asked if he could take a tour.

Seeing they wanted to walk around, Grandma Li took the opportunity to help Wang Sufen prepare lunch, while Mingbei was sent to the supply and marketing co-op to buy some canned goods. Zhenzhen stayed behind to give the professors a tour of the house.

The main house was where Grandma Li, Li Muwu, and the family lived. Zhenzhen only mentioned it briefly in the courtyard without taking them inside. Instead, she led them to the west wing.

The west wing room consisted of three connected chambers with no partitions. As soon as you entered, there was a landscape painting by Su Weiran hanging on the wall. A screen on the west side obscured the view beyond, while the screen on the easternmost side had been pushed aside, revealing a carved canopy bed at the far end.

Zhenzhen led everyone over and tidied the bed curtains. “This bed was already here when we moved in.”

Xu Mengguo tapped his fingers on the wood. “Chicken-wing wood.”

Zhenzhen nodded. “Looks like it matches the set of furniture in the outer hall. I figure that set of chairs was originally from the prince’s residence too—somehow it ended up elsewhere and got smashed. I hauled it back in pieces and spent a few months restoring it.”

Xu Mengguo recalled the barely noticeable repair marks he’d seen earlier and looked at Zhenzhen in surprise. “You repaired it yourself? It’s really well done. Hey, I’m telling you, Zhenzhen, you should switch majors. You’re a natural for cultural relic restoration. What are you studying journalism for? It’s such a waste of your talent.”

Xie Shurang chuckled. “She’s as stubborn as they come. Once she’s set her mind on something, there’s no talking her out of it.”

Everyone thought of the countless failed attempts Xie Shurang had made to persuade Zhenzhen to study Peking Opera and couldn’t help laughing.

The two chests beside the bed were made of ordinary redwood and weren’t antiques, so the group didn’t linger. As they moved past the screen toward the west side of the room, not just Xu Mengguo—everyone’s eyes lit up.

Zhenzhen had moved the original display shelf from the main room into her own room. It held all the artifacts she had purchased since coming to study in the capital. Since she had occasionally been accompanied by orderlies from Li Muwen’s unit, she had plausible explanations for the origins of these items and wasn’t worried about being questioned.

The most eye-catching item on the display was a Xuande incense burner that Zhenzhen had found buried in a pile of wood. At the time, it had been covered in grime and unrecognizable. After bringing it home, she had patiently wiped it clean with a soft cloth until the true appearance of the Xuande burner was revealed.

Seeing Xu Mengguo fixate on the incense burner, Zhenzhen quickly picked it up and handed it to him. “Mr. Xu, take a look. I found this at a local collection station before the semester started. Judging by its shape and markings, it resembles the legendary Xuande incense burner, but I’ve never seen a real one before, so I can’t tell if it’s genuine.”

Xu Mengguo gave her a plaintive look. “The way you say that, it’s like I’ve seen one either.” He carefully placed the burner on the nearby desk and examined it closely. “The Forbidden City does have a Xuande burner in its collection, but I’m not in charge of bronzeware, so I’ve never had the chance to see one up close.”

While Xu Mengguo admired the incense burner, the others looked over the remaining items on the display shelf. Most of them had been purchased after the movement and weren’t particularly rare. The porcelain pieces from official kilns were among the more common types, not especially valuable.

Taking advantage of the moment, Su Weiran walked over to the writing desk and picked a brush from the brush rack. Seeing this, Zhenzhen quickly went to grind the ink and looked at him expectantly. “Teacher, are you going to paint another piece?”

Su Weiran gave her a speechless look. “You already have so many of my paintings, and the first thing you do when we meet is ask for more?”

“They’re all treasures,” Zhenzhen grinned shamelessly. “One day, when things are better, I’ll organize a gallery exhibition just for your work.”

“You really are filial,” Su Weiran laughed, then picked up the brush and wrote a poem. “That wall looks too plain with just a painting. I’ll write a piece for you, but I’m not dealing with the mounting. You’ll have to do that yourself.”

“No problem,” Zhenzhen readily agreed.

Xu Mengguo, completely absorbed by the antiques, had forgotten that they planned to tour the back of the house. So the others dragged him out. Since no one lived in the rear courtyard, it wasn’t furnished with much. Grandma Li, having little else to do at home, often swept the area clean. Every time she thought about how Zhenzhen had more rooms than she could possibly use, she would get motivated all over again.

When they reached the back garden, everyone was stunned by its lush vitality. Wang Xinwen had come to pick some fresh vegetables, but Mengwo and Su Weiran quickly snatched the basin she brought.

“We haven’t done this kind of work in two years. Little girl, go rest over there—we’ll pick the vegetables.”

As soon as Wang Xinwen heard Mr. Mengwo call her “little girl,” she was so dazed with delight that she handed over the basin and sat by the rockery, holding her face and giggling non-stop.

Bright red tomatoes, fresh green cucumbers, clusters of plump string beans, curvy and sturdy eggplants, rows of leafy greens… Su Weiran and the others had once cleared land and grown food in the mountain valleys. Though it was hard work, the satisfaction of eating food they had grown themselves was unmatched. After they returned from the mountains, their identities were restored and they received back pay and benefits. Since then, they had been buying food with ration coupons and hadn’t experienced the joy of farming in a long time.

Each of them carried a basin and wandered through the garden, picking whatever vegetables caught their eye. Ever since her family had moved to the capital, Zhenzhen hadn’t used her powers to grow crops. She’d only helped with grain back in the mountains because the yield was poor—sunlight was limited due to tree cover, and the crops didn’t grow well. Plus, the mountains were full of birds and wild chickens, which could ruin half a field on their own. Before Zhenzhen was born, the Li family only grew sorghum and soybeans as supplements; they never harvested much. Besides, Li Muwen had to work, so farming mostly fell to Grandma Li and Wang Sufen. And neither of them were young.

After coming to the capital, Li Muwen had more free time, and Grandma Li and Wang Sufen didn’t have much to do. Zhenzhen just let them tinker in the garden—it wasn’t far, and the activity kept them healthy. Zhenzhen would only slightly enhance the flavor when the produce ripened: cucumbers came out extra crisp, and the tomatoes were juicy and sweet.

With a basin full of tomatoes and cucumbers, Zhenzhen drew water from the nearby well and washed them twice, inviting everyone to have a taste.

After washing their hands by the well, none of them cared about the dirt on the ground. They just sat down right there, surrounding a basin full of cucumbers and persimmons, munching away endlessly.

After absentmindedly finishing a cucumber, she reached for a persimmon, watching the butterflies fluttering nearby and listening to the clucking of chickens in the yard. She couldn’t help but sigh, “This kind of life is just too beautiful.”

—

Zhenzhen had now been at Imperial Capital University for five months and was already a famously busy figure in the Literature Department. Re-entering school life—especially in a top university like this—meant she had to work hard. No one at Imperial Capital University was just coasting along; everyone wished they had more than 24 hours a day to study. If they weren’t in class, they were in the library. The dorm was really just a place to sleep.

But compared to Zhenzhen, the other students often felt a bit inadequate. Zhenzhen had strong mental stamina and only needed very little sleep to keep going. As a result, she had entered full-on academic overdrive, waking up before dawn and not returning until deep into the night.

Back in the production team, Wei Yujin had gotten used to waking up early, and now she couldn’t sleep in even if she tried. Every morning, she’d wake to darkness all around, with no decent spot to read. Noticing that Zhenzhen left early every day, she figured Zhenzhen must’ve found a place to study, so she quickly got dressed, grabbed her book, and followed. But once she stepped out of the dorm, Zhenzhen was nowhere to be seen.

With no choice, Wei Yujin went back upstairs. Just as she was about to open the dorm door again, she noticed the restroom at the end of the hall had its lights on. Her eyes lit up. She quietly fetched a small stool and went to the restroom to study.

In a place full of academic overachievers, a competitive spirit easily emerged. Once one person started studying somewhere, others couldn’t sit still. Before long, the restroom was packed, full of students with their noses in books. Thankfully, the dorm restroom was cleaned twice a day, so there wasn’t much of a smell—otherwise, no one would’ve been able to endure it.

Compared to her classmates’ hardships, Zhenzhen had it much easier. She sat comfortably on a sofa in a Western-style house, with fresh fruit and honey water on the coffee table and a delicious breakfast on the dining table. Every week when she returned home, Zhenzhen would buy a week’s worth of breakfast and store it in her space. It was always piping hot and she never had to worry about it spoiling.

She read through her French lessons twice, marked a few parts she wasn’t sure about, and planned to ask the French teacher in class. After sipping her honey water and finishing breakfast, she noticed it was still early and pulled out her economics textbook to catch up on the material she’d missed.

After spending three hours in her personal space, it was finally time for class. Zhenzhen used her consciousness to scout out the right location before quietly appearing there. Wei Yujin had saved her a seat and waved when she arrived. Zhenzhen hugged her books and sat in her usual spot, setting them on the desk and greeting her roommates one by one.

Xu Jiajia, who lived on the bunk above Zhenzhen, leaned over and whispered, “Girl, where are you studying these days? I woke up just a little late today and there were no spots left in the restroom—I had to thicken my skin and snatch a stall in the upstairs one.”

Zhenzhen smiled awkwardly. “I found a place for myself. It has light but it’s really tiny—there’s barely room for one person, so I really can’t bring anyone else along.”

Xu Jiajia believed her. That morning, she had seen Zhenzhen’s sister-in-law, Wang Xinwen, also huddled in the restroom with her law books. If Zhenzhen could bring people along, she would’ve brought Wang Xinwen first.

That morning, Zhenzhen had two major classes—one for journalism and one for economics. Although the journalism students had only been studying for a few months, they were eager to start their own campus news club, aiming to publish articles on school happenings and commentary. Their professional course instructor, Professor Song Shihai, praised the idea and taught a lot of relevant knowledge during class. The students were so inspired that they couldn’t wait to finish class and get started.

Zhenzhen listened as Wei Yujin and the others excitedly discussed the plan. She was also quite interested in the news club, but given her current schedule, she knew full participation was impossible. At most, she could contribute some articles and use it as practice for her news writing skills.

After the journalism class, there were no other major lectures, so when the bell rang, most students and the teacher stayed put, continuing to discuss the formation of the campus news club.

Zhang Chenghai, the most energetic student in class, volunteered to be the president. He walked up to the blackboard and wrote down everyone’s suggestions for discussion one by one.

Professor Song Shihai watched the enthusiastic brainstorming with great interest. Some ideas weren’t very feasible, some were clearly inefficient, and some were overly naive—but he said nothing. Only through bold attempts can students gain experience and maybe even come up with innovative ideas.

Zhenzhen had to rush to her economics class, so she couldn’t stay. She told her roommates and hurried off with her backpack. Her classmates were used to her jam-packed schedule from dawn till dusk and didn’t think much of it. Only a few boys sitting behind her looked a little disappointed. One of them muttered, “If only Li Mingzhen could be our news club reporter. With her image and charm, she’d be able to land tons of interviews.”

Wei Yujin overheard and turned around with a smile. “With our Li Mingzhen’s personality, even if she were a reporter, she’d be a lone wolf—no way she’d partner up with anyone.”

The boys were clearly embarrassed at being seen through. Liu Chengmin, the bolder one among them, grinned and tried to negotiate with Wei Yujin. “Sister Wei, the news club is a big deal for our class. Can’t you try persuading Li Mingzhen to get more involved? We’ll totally help out if you guys need someone to run errands or carry heavy stuff.”

Wei Yujin chuckled. “Back in the production team, I could carry two-hundred-pound sacks of grain.”

Liu Chengmin swallowed hard, looking awkward. Another boy, Xu Zehai, came over and added, “Your arms are thicker than mine. There’s no way Li Mingzhen’s built like you. She looks like a delicate flower—we’ve got to show some class solidarity and help her out more.”

Xu Jiajia also turned around, looking at him with a face full of sympathy. “Last time we had an arm-wrestling match in the dorm, do you know what happened?”

Liu Chengmin and Xu Zehai glanced at each other, completely confused as to why the topic had suddenly shifted. Seeing the bewildered looks on their faces, Wei Yujin kindly revealed the truth: “I arm-wrestled with Li Mingzhen—and I lost.”

Instantly, the area around Wei Yujin fell silent.

Liu Chengmin clutched his chest in heartbreak. “That’s impossible! Li Mingzhen clearly has that ethereal, otherworldly look!”

Xu Jiajia and Wei Yujin burst out laughing and didn’t bother with the silly guy anymore. They turned back around and continued discussing the journalism club. Liu Chengmin wiped the sweat from his forehead, a bit frustrated, and muttered to Xu Zehai, “Your plan doesn’t work either.”

Xu Zehai frowned as well. “Back in the day, when I was chasing my wife, I won over her dorm mates first to put in a good word for me. Maybe you just need to try harder.”

Liu Chengmin immediately perked up again, deciding to take the initiative and ask Li Mingzhen directly about her thoughts on the journalism club. So, estimating when her class would be over, he left the classroom early and waited on the path from the economics lecture hall to the cafeteria.

Sure enough, his efforts paid off. After about ten minutes, he spotted Li Mingzhen hurrying toward the cafeteria. He quickly smoothed his hair, adjusted his shirt, and walked over with a “casual encounter” vibe. “Hey, Li Mingzhen!”

Li Mingzhen turned around, looking at the extremely average-looking classmate in front of her—the kind of face that would disappear into a crowd—and asked with confusion, “Who are you?”

Liu Chengmin, KO’d on the spot.

Watching Liu Chengmin stumble away with an especially tragic posture, Li Mingzhen felt a little embarrassed. With three majors, she had close to two hundred classmates, and often took general education classes with students from other departments too. Altogether, she’d probably had class with several hundred people. For someone with such a totally forgettable face, she genuinely couldn’t remember.

She rubbed her chin and chuckled. If he looked like that stunning French major Xi Junjie, she swore she’d recognize him instantly.