Chapter 25 Confucius Institute "We don't have this etiquette in China."...

After a twelve-hour flight, the plane landed smoothly on the runway of Budapest Liszt International Airport.

As the first flight to arrive among the seven guests, Zhu Qingting and Chai Yundu had to wait at the airport for the other members to arrive.

After unloading their luggage, Chai Yundu naturally stacked both of their suitcases together on a luggage cart and pushed it himself.

In front of the camera, they maintained a just-right distance, but every move Chai Yundu made revealed a subtle concern.

"How about we grab breakfast at Starbucks? Their flight is still half an hour away," Chai Yundu suggested.

Zhu Qingting nodded, and the two walked towards the Starbucks inside the airport. When ordering, she thoughtfully ordered coffee and breakfast for the staff who were filming.

This thoughtful gesture deeply moved the accompanying cameraman and PD. The PD quietly told the cameraman, "Give Teacher Zhu more close-ups, make sure to capture her looking beautiful."

In fact, Zhu Qingting is naturally beautiful, and unlike celebrities, she doesn't pay attention to her image in front of the camera or wear heavy makeup. Today, she only wore a black beanie given to her by Chai Yundu, drew her eyebrows, and applied a light-colored lipstick, which made her look radiant. This simple outfit, on the contrary, highlighted her unique, elegant, and refined temperament.

Chai Yundu watched her profile as she diligently distributed coffee to the staff, his gaze soft and languid. As he took the coffee from her, his fingertips inadvertently brushed against the back of her hand, earning him a reproachful look from her.

A group of people sat in the rest area enjoying breakfast in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Chai Yundu naturally pushed the half-cut bread from his plate toward Zhu Qingting, "Try this, it's better than the bread on the plane."

Zhu Qingting, in return, shared half of her croissant with him, saying, "This is good too!"

This subtle movement was keenly captured by the camera.

After breakfast, they estimated the arrival time of their flight from Beijing and headed to the arrivals gate to wait. Chai Yundu was still pushing the luggage cart, with Zhu Qingting beside him. Although they didn't talk much, they had a tacit understanding.

After waiting at the arrival gate for about forty minutes, a large number of passengers had already come out, but the other four guests were nowhere to be seen.

Chai Yundu and Zhu Qingting stood side by side in front of the railing, their postures upright, showing no signs of laziness despite the long wait. Sunlight shone from behind them, casting long, intertwined shadows.

The photographer quietly adjusted the focus, perfectly capturing the moment.

Finally, Ding Yi, Liu Xin, Shan Zhiyi, and Zhao Lin came out pushing a luggage cart, with Shan Zhiyi looking dejected.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Qingting asked with concern.

After some explanation, everyone understood that Shan Zhiyi's luggage had been mistakenly checked onto a flight bound for Australia and would have to transit through Beijing before reaching Budapest. It was estimated that she wouldn't receive it until at least the third day. All her skincare products, cosmetics, and changes of clothes were in that suitcase.

"Don't worry," Zhu Qingting comforted softly, "I can share my skincare and makeup products with you. We're about the same size, so you can borrow my clothes too. All the clothes I brought are brand new and haven't been worn before."

Only then did Shan Zhiyi smile. Although the other two female guests at the baggage claim had offered to lend her their clothes, the age difference made her worry that the clothes would look out of place, so she reluctantly agreed.

Upon seeing the elegant dancer extend a helping hand, she gratefully grasped her hand, saying, "You're so kind! When my luggage arrives, I'll dress you in my beautiful clothes!"

Just then, Chen Yifei, who had just finished his concert in Shenzhen, arrived. Dressed in trendy clothes and with his sunglasses pushed up on his head, he flashed a bright smile upon seeing everyone. "Hi! Looks like I'm the last one to arrive?"

The seven guests finally gathered, and the production team arranged a car to take them to the Confucius Institute located in the suburbs of Budapest.

On the bus, everyone was still a little awkward, except for the four guests who had flown in together from Beijing. Chen Yifei, a talkative person, took the initiative to start a conversation, "Let's decide on a way of addressing each other. Don't call each other Teacher Ding, Teacher Chai, or Teacher Liu. It's too formal."

After some discussion, everyone reached a consensus:

Ding Yi is still respectfully addressed as Teacher Ding, as this title is already familiar to people on the TV station. Liu Xin is called Sister Xin, Zhao Lin is called Sister Linlin, Shan Zhiyi is simply called Zhiyi, and Chen Yifei is called Yifei.

When it was Chai Yundu's turn, he casually said, "Just call me Yundu." But his gaze seemed to drift towards Zhu Qingting.

"I wouldn't dare call you that so affectionately," Shan Zhiyi playfully stuck out her tongue, "I'm afraid your female fans will attack me. I'll call you Brother Du! Zhu Zhu, is that alright?"

Zhu Qingting understood his little scheme and couldn't help but chuckle, "Okay, then Teacher Chai, we'll call you Brother Du."

As for Zhu Qingting's nickname, she originally wanted everyone to call her Qingting or Tingting, but Shan Zhiyi insisted, "That's too old-fashioned! Zhu Zhu sounds much better, and your surname is very rare and special!"

And so the name "Zhu Zhu" was decided.

Chai Yundu unconsciously pursed his lips. He hadn't heard the address he wanted, and his once-exclusive nickname was now known to everyone...

The bus soon arrived at the Confucius Institute. The red brick building exuded a strong sense of history, and the teachers' dormitory where they would be staying was located within the institute.

After the assignments were made, Zhu Qingting and Shan Zhiyi, who were of similar age, shared a room, Liu Xin and Zhao Lin shared a room, Ding Yi shared a room alone, and Chai Yundu and Chen Yifei became roommates.

When carrying luggage upstairs, the male guests naturally went to help the female guests. Chai Yundu wanted to take Zhu Qingting's luggage, but Chen Yifei, who was closer, beat him to it.

"Zhu Zhu, let me help you with this!" Chen Yifei laughed heartily, picked up Zhu Qingting's suitcase, and rushed upstairs.

Chai Yundu's eyes darkened, but he maintained a polite smile in front of the camera. Zhu Qingting keenly sensed his emotions and gestured for him to help the other female guests.

After settling in, everyone was still awake, so we decided to wander around the area and get familiar with the surroundings.

The Confucius Institute is located in a quiet neighborhood. Stepping outside the institute, you'll find well-arranged detached villas, beautifully landscaped, and filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. The sky is a clear, deep blue, with low-hanging clouds that seem almost within reach.

Following the navigation, they walked towards the supermarket. Within a fifteen-minute walk, there were babbling brooks, cascading waterfalls, mirror-like ponds, and even butterflies, a rare sight in China, fluttering about.

"It's so nice to live here," Zhu Qingting couldn't help but exclaim, taking a deep breath of fresh air.

In the supermarket, Chai Yundu happened to pick up all the fruits that Zhu Qingting liked. Seeing her stop in front of the foreign-brand potato chip shelf, he pretended to like them and casually grabbed a few different flavors and put them in the shopping cart.

Along the way, they also discovered several unique restaurants. After checking the ratings using a foreign app similar to Dianping, they chose an authentic Hungarian restaurant for lunch.

After getting tired from fighting, I went back to my dorm to rest and recover from the long flight.

Zhu Qingting, who was lying on her single bed eating potato chips, received a WeChat message.

Chai Yundu: "You had a very pleasant chat with Chen Yifei?" There was a hint of sourness in his words.

Zhu Qingting couldn't help but laugh. She had only chatted with Chen Yifei about his concert tour during their walk, and she hadn't expected him to care so much. "Are you jealous?" she replied.

"Yes, how are you going to coax me?" he replied matter-of-factly.

Zhu Qingting sent a kissing emoji, along with the message: "How about you have some of the potato chips I just bought?"

"I clearly bought that! [Presses her head and kisses her]"

The next day, Monday in Hungary, marked the official start of classes at the Confucius Institute. Led by local teachers, the guests met the foreign students in the classroom and participated in their lessons.

Zhu Qingting found the Chinese listening test the most interesting part. Teacher Ding, with her authentic broadcasting voice, and Shan Zhiyi, with her Kunqu opera accent, gave the students the questions.

The meaning of "单" is: How much does tofu cost?

Teacher Ding: Two pieces.

The meaning of "单" is: Two pieces for one?

Teacher Ding: One piece.

The meaning of "单" is: one or two yuan.

Teacher Ding: Two pieces.

The question is: Is it two pieces for one, or one piece for two?

Teacher Ding: It's two pieces and one piece.

The meaning of "单" is: So that's fifty cents or one yuan.

Teacher Ding: Question: How much does tofu actually cost?

As Zhu Qingting listened to the two seriously posing questions, the foreign students scratched their heads and laughed so hard they were bent over.

Then they played mahjong, a traditional Chinese game, with the foreign students.

Having learned the rules in Hengdian, Zhu Qingting was confident that she had mastered them and should have no problem dealing with foreigners.

To everyone's surprise, these students were all experts. They proudly said in broken Chinese, "We have a mahjong class every week, and we also organize our own games in private!"

Seeing that she was about to lose, Zhu Qingting looked to Chai Yundu for help. Chai Yundu chuckled and pulled up a chair to sit next to her, offering to play a card for her.

Under his guidance, the game immediately turned around. The foreign students marveled and called him the "Gambling Saint."

In the afternoon, the guests showcased their talents to the foreign students, and the students also demonstrated their special skills.

The program required each guest to choose a student as their partner, spend three afternoons rehearsing a program, and perform it at the party on Friday night.

Zhu Qingting chose a Hungarian boy named Liszt, who gave himself the Chinese name Li Le.

Liszt has a typical Eastern European appearance, with deep-set features and a tall stature. His performance of Hungarian folk dance is truly impressive.

“We combined classical Chinese dance with Hungarian folk dance,” Zhu Qingting said to Liszt in slow, clear Chinese, “to showcase the fusion of the two cultures.”

After agreeing on their ideas, the two quickly began rehearsing in the open-air area. Nearby, Chai Yundu and the thin, dark-skinned foreign man he had chosen were also rehearsing martial arts.

However, his eyes kept subtly glancing towards Zhu Qingting, watching her touch Liszt's arm and waist, instructing him on movements. Liszt, in turn, would occasionally adjust her posture by supporting her hand. Chai Yundu could only grit his teeth inwardly, comforting himself that this was all normal teaching contact.

The performance at Friday night's gala was a great success. Zhu Qingting's graceful Chinese classical dance and the bold Hungarian folk dance blended perfectly, creating a dazzling display of the two cultures on stage and winning the most enthusiastic applause from the students.

After the performance, Liszt went up to Zhu Qingting and hugged her, kissing her on the cheek, and said in broken Chinese, "This is our local etiquette."

Upon seeing this, Chai Yundu, who was behind him, immediately stepped forward and pushed him aside, saying in a harsh tone, "We don't have this kind of etiquette in China."