Chapter 98 Old Friends
Gu Qiuyue paused, her heart inexplicably tightening. Academic debates were common, but the solemnity in Professor Wang's words and the words "radical" and "cautious" made her feel vaguely uneasy. She knocked on the door, and the debate inside stopped abruptly.
Teacher Li, who is in charge of student affairs, opened the door and smiled warmly when he saw her. "Gu Qiuyue, you're back? I hope your visit went well."
Here, these are the letters and notices you've accumulated recently. Your class schedule is also here. Make the most of the time to catch up on any missed classes." Teacher Li's attitude remained normal, as if the argument in the office had never happened.
Gu Qiuyue took the thick stack of letters and materials, expressed her gratitude, and the doubts in her heart were temporarily suppressed.
When I opened the door of the dormitory I hadn’t visited for a long time, the familiar smell of books hit me in the face.
Gu Qiuyue put down her luggage and breathed a long sigh of relief. The fatigue of the journey suddenly surged up. She didn't bother to tidy up. She sat down at the desk, spread out the letter paper, and picked up the pen to write a letter to Xie Shiyu:
Shiyu:
I have arrived in Beijing safely. I had a smooth journey. Don't worry. The dry food and wheat egg pancakes I brought to the camp have come in handy. I received the kindness of Sister Lin (she asked me to tell you that she has decided to change her name to Lin Xiaohua, Xiao is the Xiao that knows, and Hua is the Hua that represents China). The egg pancakes are very fragrant and almost made the child sitting opposite me cry with greed.
Xiaohu also wrote me a note on behalf of his mother (the handwriting was very careful). Sister Lin was very determined and even told me those bad old nursery rhymes that she heard when she was a child. I was really happy for her.
I'm still thinking about what Mrs. Zhang and the others mentioned about the difficulty families face finding work. I have some preliminary thoughts, and I'll share them with you in detail once I've sorted them out. Make sure you rest well in the camp and eat on time.
Autumn Moon Today
After writing the letter, she sealed it carefully, her eyes fell on the corner of the desk where there was a note carrying Lin Xiaohua's determination and Xiaohu's innocence. She picked up the note and read it again, her fingertips running over the words "I'll teach her!", and a warm smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of her mouth. Hope, is this how it grows bit by bit?
She turned to a new page in her notebook and clearly circled the key words "Family Production Mutual Aid Group", "Fengtai Town Bedding Factory", "Lin Xiaohua", and "Literacy Mutual Aid".
Tomorrow, she will start taking action. First, she will go to the library to check for information and see if there are any policy supports. Then she will think about the specific steps...
"Knock knock knock." There was a soft knock on the door.
Gu Qiuyue thought it was the classmate next door, so she casually replied, "Come in."
The door was pushed open a crack, revealing the slightly hesitant face of roommate Zhou Li. She didn't come in, but instead lowered her voice, with a strange look in her eyes: "Qiuyue, downstairs...someone is looking for you."
"Looking for me? Who?" Gu Qiuyue was a little surprised. She had just returned, who would know the news so quickly?
"I don't know him," Zhou Li shook her head, her tone a little uncertain. "He doesn't look like someone from our school. He's dressed... quite conspicuously."
Gu Qiuyue became even more confused. She walked to the window, lifted the beige curtains and looked down.
Under the dim light of the street lamps in front of the dormitory building, a figure wearing the most fashionable waist-length red woolen coat in Beijing and a long white scarf was particularly eye-catching. He was out of tune with the surrounding students in plain blue-gray uniforms. As if sensing the gazes from upstairs, the man slowly raised his head.
The pale street light shone on her carefully made-up face, reflecting a person that Gu Qiuyue absolutely did not want to see at this moment and here - Bai Xiaolian!
Why was she here? And why had she come to my house? The unpleasant encounter in the park instantly came to mind. Bai Xiaolian's resentful and vicious gaze and Chen Xiangsong's tug at her made her extremely uncomfortable.
Now, this person had actually come all the way to school? What was she trying to do? Was she looking for trouble? Or was she just looking for trouble?
Gu Qiuyue took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. This was her territory, a palace of knowledge, not a place where Bai Xiaolian could act wildly.
She, Gu Qiuyue, is not a timid woman who would be scared away by a few gossips or a provocative look. The experience of visiting relatives in the military camp and Lin Xiaohua's determination to break free from the shackles have given her more calmness and the courage to face the storms.
"Qiuyue? Are you okay?" Zhou Li saw her face change slightly, and asked worriedly while standing at the door.
"It's okay." Gu Qiuyue loosened her grip on the curtains and turned around. Her face had returned to its usual calmness, and she even gave Zhou Li a reassuring smile. "It's just... an 'old friend' I don't know very well. I'll go down and check it out."
"Do you want me to accompany you?" Zhou Li was a little worried.
"No need, it's just downstairs, in the school, what can she do?" Gu Qiuyue's tone was calm, with a natural confidence. She straightened her clothes, picked up the letter she had just written to Xie Shiyu on the table, and carefully put Lin Xiaohua's precious note into her pocket, as if these things with warmth and strength could give her a layer of invisible armor.
Outside the dormitory building, the wind is cold.
Bai Xiaolian wrapped herself tightly in her red woolen coat, and the snow-white scarf made her delicately made-up face look even more deliberate under the pale street lights.
Seeing Gu Qiuyue walking out alone, the provocative smile on her lips deepened, and her eyes were like ice-hardened hooks, looking up and down at Gu Qiuyue's simple clothes.
"Oh, Miss Gu, you are finally willing to come down? I thought you were too busy and arrogant." Bai Xiaolian's voice rose with a deliberately created sarcasm, which instantly broke the tranquility of the campus at night and attracted the attention of several students passing by.
Gu Qiuyue stood three steps away from her, her posture straight and her eyes calm, as if she was looking at a unreasonable stranger: "Comrade Bai, do you have something to talk to me about? This is the school dormitory area, please be careful with your volume." Her voice was not loud, but it clearly penetrated the cold wind, with an unquestionable calmness.
Bai Xiaolian was choked by her cold and condescending attitude, and her prepared opening remarks almost got stuck.
She hated Gu Qiuyue's appearance the most. She seemed to be always high and mighty, so aloof that she looked like a clown. She straightened her chest and tried to regain her composure: "If there is nothing wrong, I can't come to see you. After all, we went to the countryside together before. Can't we just catch up?
Gu Qiuyue, you married a high-ranking official, and now you're turning your back on me? Even your old friend stood downstairs in the cold wind waiting for you for a long time, and you couldn't even get a polite word from him?
"Old friend?" Gu Qiuyue raised her eyebrows slightly, with just the right amount of doubt and distance in her tone, "Comrade Bai, if I remember correctly, we are not very familiar with each other, and I have no desire to reminisce with you, the person who stole my place back in the city.
As for the talk of 'climbing the ladder', that's sheer nonsense. My lover and I are in a free relationship, approved by the organization, and it's an upright relationship. You were blocking the way downstairs of the female university student dormitory late at night, making noise just to spout these groundless rumors. I'm sorry, I don't understand your intentions."
Every word she said made sense and her attitude was upright, which made Bai Xiaolian's accusations seem like a shrew's scolding on the street, which was completely groundless. Several students who were watching nearby looked at Bai Xiaolian with scrutiny and contempt.
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