The fifth watch!

"Hehe, why are you being so formal, little sister? You and Brother Jingze are from the same village. You can come to me if you need anything in the future."

"Thank you, Zheng. I'm an only child, and I'm really not used to people calling me 'little sister.' Let's just call each other classmates."

"Hehe, that's fine. How is it? How does the food compare to what you usually eat?"

"It's alright, it tastes pretty good, and it's about the same, but nobody usually makes tofu where I'm from."

"Eat more if you like it."

The four boys didn't say anything; they all kept their heads down.

Liu Jingze was speechless. What did Wen Hui mean by this?

"Hongmei, go back to the classroom after you've finished eating. Are we handing out books this afternoon?"

"Yes, I went back after distributing the books and there was nothing else to do."

Here are the car keys. Please be careful.

"Don't worry, Brother Jingze. Zheng and three other classmates, I'll be leaving now. Enjoy your meal."

"Zhang Hongmei, I'll go back with you." Liu Jingzhang stood up, packed his lunchbox, and the other two finished their food quickly and left with him.

Now only Liu Jingze and Zheng Wenhui remain.

"Brother Jingze, do you want to stay at my place? Honestly, why would you give away the house you bought?"

"Hehe, I didn't buy it, Zhang Hongmei paid for it. Don't say things like that again."

"You helped me buy it, otherwise how would people from out of town know there were houses for sale?"

"Zheng Wenhui, your attitude is problematic. Also, don't come looking for me again. I'm very busy with my studies." After saying that, Liu Jingze picked up his lunchbox and left, ignoring Zheng Wenhui's shouts.

Zheng Wenhui's eyes reddened with anger. In the past two years, Liu Jingze had become more and more distant from her, and she hadn't even said anything.

He lost his appetite, covered the lunchbox, and left.

Zhang Hongmei was unaware of what happened after she left. She was currently drinking water in the classroom, eating steamed buns and pickled vegetables—she was really tired of it. She should drink more water.

Students gradually returned to the classroom, sat in their seats, chatted with the students next to them, and strengthened their bonds, since they would be spending time together in the future.

The girl in the seat in front of Zhang Hongmei turned around and looked at her. "Zhang Hongmei, you're amazing! You got almost perfect scores. How did you do it?"

"Who are you, classmate?"

"Hehe, my name is Lu Yue, and I'm from Henan."

"Hehe, hello Lu Yue, I'm just young, so all my energy is focused on studying. Also, I've had pretty good luck with my exams, so that's all."

"When we picked up our report cards, our school principal ridiculed us severely, saying that our grades were truly inferior to ours."

"It's not as exaggerated as you say, it's just good luck."

The boy who was sitting next to Zhang Hongmei came back and joined the conversation.

"Zhang Hongmei, how did you study? Do you even have textbooks for politics?"

"Hehe, how could that be? It's just that we read the newspaper a lot and listen to the news every day. Our principal even specially applied for radios for us. We listen to the news in our political class. Also, our political teacher is very perceptive. He uses every available moment to analyze news reports for us."

"You guys are so lucky. We just listen to the news. Our teachers just tell us to listen and watch more. They're not as good as your teachers," Lu Yue said dejectedly.

"Hehe, the teachers' teaching methods are different."

"Zhang Hongmei, I am your deskmate. My name is Wei Huaqiang. I am nineteen years old and from Shandong. Please give me some pointers in the future."

"Hehe, let's all learn together." Zhang Hongmei was truly speechless; this young man was really something.

The girl in front of me turned around and said, "Hello Zhang Hongmei, my name is Pan Hongyun, I'm from Shanxi, and I'm nineteen years old. I hope we can become friends."

"Hello, Pan Hongyun."

A boy at the last table next to them also came over and said, "Hello Zhang Hongmei, we're from the same hometown, but I'm from F City. My name is Zhang Qiang, and I'm twenty years old."

"Really, your accent makes me feel especially close to you."

The girl in front of Zhang Qiang also pulled over a stool. "Zhang Hongmei, I'm Zhao Yanan from Hebei, and I'm nineteen years old."

Hello, Zhao Yanan.

Lu Yue asked Zhang Hongmei, "Zhang Hongmei, which dormitory do you live in? How many people live in your dormitory?"

"Hehe, I don't stay at the dormitory, I commute."

"A commuter student? Do you have relatives in the capital?"

"Yes," Zhang Hongmei replied ambiguously, not revealing that she owned the house and lived there alone.

“It’s quite troublesome to commute, there are a lot of activities, so will you participate or not?” A middle-aged woman in her thirties in the back row also joined the conversation.

"Hehe, I'll participate if I can, but if I really can't, there's nothing I can do."

"Hehe, I'm from the capital. My name is Li Hong. I'm thirty-six years old, married, and have two children. The older one is in high school."

"Hello, Li Hong."

"Li Hong, you were recommended to come here to university, right?" Zhao Yanan asked.

"Yes, I still get paid. It's great to have a salary and subsidies."

The group chatted happily until the topic shifted away from themselves. Zhang Hongmei would occasionally chime in to show that she was also having a good time.

All the students in the class returned and formed several small groups. Of course, the middle-aged men who were recommended to attend school formed their own group; they had their own things to talk about and didn't have anything in common with these children.

Zhang Hongmei thought to herself, "This is great! I'm back to university life. There are more people, which means more conflicts. Although I hate trouble, I still really long for this kind of life."

I used to be afraid of being discovered, and I would always feel discouraged and want to hide in the deep mountains and forests, but that was not practical at all. Humans are social animals, and if you live alone, you will definitely feel that there is no motivation to live.

That kind of life is too boring; I might not even be able to speak anymore in a few years.

When Zhang Hongmei saw Chen Shuang come in, she said, "Excuse me, everyone, I'm going to find the counselor. I don't know what time school ends today, but I have to go back at 3:40."

Zhang Hongmei came to the front of the classroom. "Counselor Chen, what time do we finish class today? I have something to do this afternoon, so I'll go back at 3:40."

"Okay, get out of class should be over now. This afternoon we'll be distributing books and having self-introductions."

"Thank you, Counselor Chen." Zhang Hongmei returned to her seat.

Lu Yue asked in a low voice, "Did counselor Chen Shuang agree?"

"Yes, this afternoon is for distributing books and giving everyone a chance to get to know each other."

"Everyone quiet down. Ten male students, come with me to the registrar's office to get your books."

Ten young men stood up and followed Chen Shuang out.

"Zhang Hongmei, what do you think will be on this test?"

"I'm not sure about that either, but I think it's just a preliminary assessment. It'll probably just cover high school level material, right? Do you expect it to cover university level material? Wouldn't everyone fail then?"