Because of academics
Accelerating through a bend in this weather is practically suicidal. Without a second thought, Yu Zou pressed the button, gripped Du Pianjian's hand, shifted gears to slow down, and pulled the car over to the side of the road. His heart was still pounding: "What are you doing?"
Du Pianjian handed him the documents, pointing to the logo under the engagement dress. Yu Zou understood immediately: "You don't like it? Then change it."
Who is the designer?
"I don't know. Can I ask you tomorrow? Don't move anymore, it's dangerous."
“I don’t dislike it.” Du Pianjian suddenly changed her tone, becoming quite gentle. “From now on, I will try my best to get along with you and respect your preferences. I will wear this dress.”
"Is this something that can be achieved simply through effort? Don't push yourself."
"I didn't force you."
The rain pattered softly, blurring the car windows. The interior was slightly warm, and the lights were bright.
Yu Zou unbuckled his seatbelt, rested his arm on the steering wheel, looked at Du Pianjian, pointed back and forth between them, and said, "Although our relationship is complicated and we haven't known each other for long, based on our brief cooperation on the yacht, I'd say we're half friends."
Du Pianjian closed the folder and nodded solemnly.
"How about we talk like friends and have a heart-to-heart talk?"
"Um."
“If we follow this procedure, we can be husband and wife.”
"Um."
"Are you really going to cooperate with this process?"
"Um."
"You really broke up with Chi Hengxun? Would he agree to that?"
"Um."
Yu Zou immediately felt a touch of respect for him, for he had cut off his affections so swiftly: "Don't you feel regret?"
"Hmm." Du Pianjian tilted her head and thought for a moment before asking, "What's there to regret? Didn't you accept it?"
"I'm different from you." You've already met your true love, but I haven't.
"What's different? Are you disappointed?" His brows furrowed slightly, and the clouds outside the window darkened a bit more. "I remember saying that I don't accept open relationships."
“No, I remember. So I won’t.” Yu Zou sat up, fastened his seatbelt again, and started the car. Since he couldn’t undo it, then, “Let’s be loyal to each other like business partners.”
The car drove steadily on the road. Du Pianjian opened the document booklet again and asked Yu Zou for his opinion on each item. When he got to the end, he asked for a pen to make corrections by circling and marking on the documents.
The engagement process was no different from signing a contract, except that there were two people making the final decision. As the end of the year approached, work piled up like snowflakes, and various parties and social events were held non-stop, like visiting relatives during the New Year. With these few days being the only time to maintain relationships, Yu Zou could only squeeze in time to discuss things with Du Pianjian.
This time was no different. Just as Yu Zou was leaving a party, his secretary appeared beside him with a terminal and clothes, took him to the lounge to try on his engagement dress, and the tailor determined the size and made alterations on the spot.
Yu Zou stood with his eyes closed, letting the tailor take his measurements. His secretary, holding a terminal, called to him, "Boss, we need to choose the clothes for the Du family's old house the day after tomorrow. Mr. Du sent a message, 'Which clothes would you like to choose for the day after tomorrow?'"
Yu Zou half-opened his eyes, and his secretary immediately adjusted the full-length mirror placed in front of him. The mirror reflected Yu Zou's clothes changing in sets, and he changed clothes with a swipe.
"This one, please."
"Okay, I've sent Mr. Du the picture of the clothes. I'm waiting for his reply." The secretary turned off the button, and the mirror returned to its normal state, reflecting Yu Zou's tired appearance.
"Why can't the engagement dress be like the one we just had?" Yu Zou complained after the tailor finished taking her measurements.
The terminal received a reply, and the secretary reported: "Mr. Du replied: Okay, please come to Shoushu University to pick me up at 9:00 a.m. the day after tomorrow. Don't forget the time."
“This time it won’t happen,” Yu Zou said.
"Okay, I've replied with those exact words," the secretary reported.
In late November, winter was creeping in. The roadside trees at Shoushu University had already shed their leaves. Yu Zou drove at less than 30 mph, his eyes scanning back and forth, finally spotting her under a sycamore tree ahead. Underneath a white coat was a long-sleeved shirt with matching bamboo embroidery, three amber-patterned buttons adorning the asymmetrical placket, a butterfly brooch resting quietly on her chest. The elegant Du Pianjian was listlessly tearing at the already dwindling amount of bark, her embroidered handbag lying around her feet, surrounded by fallen leaves.
Yu Zou pressed the call button, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. He watched as Du Pianjian twirled his fingers, took out his phone from his pocket, and answered it. He then tormented the victim with his other hand, saying, "I've arrived, ahead of you on your right."
Du Pianjian looked to the right, but there was no sign of anyone, not even a car: "Where? I don't see you."
Just then, a black car drove up from the opposite direction, and Du Pianjian asked, "Is it a black car?"
"White. Ah, I see you. Don't knock on the tree, the tree is pitiful."
Du Pianjian stopped writing and looked at the black car again: "White? Are you sure?"
The black car sped past, its dark blue body quietly stopping on the asphalt road in front of Du Pianjian. Du Pianjian glanced at it, picked up her bag, took a half step back, and continued talking on the phone: "Are you lost? I'm at the main gate of the school."
Yu Zou opened the door and got out of the car, smiling as he waved his phone. The second half of the sentence came through the receiver: "On the main road ahead."
Du Pianjian silently hung up the phone: "You're so boring."
Yu Zou walked to the other side and opened the passenger door. Du Pianjian got in and tried to open the door, but couldn't. She looked up in surprise. Yu Zou, who was holding the door, let go and spun around to show off her clothes. She wore a long black coat with gold bamboo branches from the hem to the shoulders, and a white shirt with embroidered butterflies flying on flowing cloud patterns. She leaned against the car door with a proud look on her face: "It suits me, doesn't it? I didn't expect I could pull off this style."
"It looks nice, come on in. I have something to tell you." Du Pianjian opened the car door, and after Yu Zou got back into the driver's seat, she took a photo album out of her bag and handed it to him. "You need to be careful about everyone in there."
Yu Zou fastened his seatbelt with his left hand and reached for the album with his right, but missed. Du Pianjian raised the album, her eyes telling him to take it seriously. Yu Zou then raised both hands and waited for the album to be given to him.
The first page of the album was a group photo. Yu Zou immediately recognized Du Pianjian in the upper right corner. His face was even more youthful than it is now, probably only seventeen or eighteen years old. He immediately pointed it out to him as if to show off: "This is you, isn't it?"
"Hmm." Du Pianjian brushed his hand away and pointed to the male Alpha sitting in the middle, saying, "This is my uncle, Du Junwu, the head of the Du family. He presides over all the ceremonies. In the morning, we will worship our ancestors and inform them of my marriage. We will have lunch, and the gathering will end in the afternoon. By the way, what is your educational background? If it's too low, they will look down on you."
"Does your family discriminate based on educational background?"
"Of course, because academic excellence is paramount."
Knowing only that Du Pianjian was a university teacher, Yu Zou had never paid attention to his academic resume. Ji Huisheng had a doctoral degree, so wouldn't Du Pianjian, as a colleague, also have one, and he was more than ten years younger than Ji Huisheng? Yu Zou suddenly felt a sense of awe: "May I ask what your academic standing is?"
"Compare yourself to me?" is a way of advising the other person not to humiliate themselves.
"Never mind, I'll just ask directly, what happens if I have less than a bachelor's degree?"
"Being seen as a monkey."
"And what about a master's degree?"
"It began to take on a human form."
"A master's degree is what makes someone normal." Yu Zou was shocked and looked down sharply. This meant that everyone in the photo had at least a master's degree. After all, no one would marry a monkey! What kind of family is this?!
Du Pianjian lowered her head slightly, tightened her lips, and hid the mole under her lip with her hair: "Education is not the point I want to make. I'm telling you this because you might, no, you will definitely be criticized by them because of me."
Du Pianjian pointed to two people in the photo: his eldest uncle, Du Junwu, and his second uncle, Du Junguang. Du Pianjian's grandfather and Du Junwu's father were brothers from the same mother. However, Du Pianjian's lineage was Beta two generations back, with few descendants and little academic achievement. Therefore, they could only be considered a collateral branch. If they went down a generation further, they probably wouldn't even be qualified to return to the Du family's old house.
On the other hand, the two brothers each made great achievements and had many descendants. In particular, Du Junwu's pair of Alpha twins, a brother and sister, were academic luminaries at a young age, which made Du Junwu's authority in the large Du family even more unassailable.
"They'll probably make sarcastic or open remarks about you from various angles, but don't take it to heart. They're not insulting you, they're insulting me. Just pretend you didn't hear anything."
Du Pianjian pointed to a few more people, but Yu Zou didn't look at them. He only stared at Du Pianjian's drooping, broken eyebrows and the pounding of his heart. The other person's voice was completely overshadowed by the clamor in his mind: How can you pretend you didn't hear it?
"Yu Zou, are you listening? Don't be alone with him, understand?"
"I will definitely retaliate."
"What?"
"Definitely." Yu Zou repeated firmly, pressing the clutch, releasing the brake, starting the car, and making a clean U-turn at the broken line. Du Pianjian smiled slightly, like a tea leaf that still retained its bitterness after years of steeping in water: "Don't do that."
"no."
"Why?"
“I can’t stand them insulting you.” He wouldn’t turn a blind eye even if a stranger were to be so harshly criticized in front of him. Besides, he believed, or perhaps only believed, that Du Pianjian was his friend.
The car was moving very fast, and the speech was even faster.
"They've always been like this, don't confront them head-on."
“I don’t care about their past, now that I’m here, it won’t work. I’ll still send a note, go to the ancestral hall, offer incense, and let the ancestors know that you are really important to them.”
With fifteen seconds left on the red light, Yu Zou stopped at the white line and looked earnestly at Du Pianjian: "If you just say yes, I will endure it for you."
The numbers were ticking, but the car was silent. Before the countdown reached 1, Du Pianjian turned his head and looked straight ahead: "No, it doesn't matter at all."
"Great." Yu Zou smiled, pushed the joystick, and then drove towards the Du family's house.
The two characters "Wangyuan" on the plaque are simple and vigorous. The threshold is half a meter high. Du Pianjian stepped in first and said to him, "Follow me."
In just ten minutes, Yu Zou understood why Du Pianjian had said those words.
The carved beams and painted pillars are exquisitely beautiful; one could easily lose one's way through the winding corridors and secluded paths. The winding corridors offer ever-changing views with every step; latticed windows replace walls, like reading a comic book. Light awakens the tangible life in the shadows, and the wind grants them limited freedom. Du Pianjian remained silent, quietly matching his pace, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
Passing through the courtyard with its four-walled corridor, we arrived at the main hall. Laughter and conversation drifted from the east wing; half an hour before the appointed time, everyone had already arrived.
As soon as the two stood at the door, the hall immediately fell silent.
At the head of the mahogany table and chairs directly below the painting, a middle-aged Alpha, impeccably dressed with a tortoiseshell glasses chain hanging from the front of his custom-made suit, chatted and laughed, making the silent female Omega beside him seem rather dull. This was Du Pianjian's uncle, Du Junwu, and aunt, Shen Xin.
On the east side, at the head of the table were Du Junguang and his wife, their sharp, meticulous expressions scrutinizing the two from head to toe, as if they could see right through them. Below them was Du Junzhang, as always, reserved and silent. On the west side, at the head of the table was a young couple, their striking features identical. The man kept his eyes downcast and remained silent, while the woman glanced at them gloomily before looking away. They were Du Pianren and Du Junmei, the twins from the eldest uncle's family.
Below them was Du Pianxing, his eyes fixed on them, a smile on his smooth face that looked like a cartoon sticker, his hand gently stroking the rim of his cup. His sister, Du Qianmei, who resembled him by about five or six points, had been yawning, but instantly woke up, her expression becoming much more familiar.
Yu Zou grasped Du Pianjian's wrist, his thumb and forefinger enveloping the ulna, making it look like they were holding hands. After greeting each of the elders and presenting gifts, they circled around. Then, Du Pianjian, who was behind Yu Zou, quietly pulled his hand and led him to sit on two chairs below Du Qianmei. Yu Zou was in front, and Du Pianjian was behind.
Not long after sitting down, Du Qianmei, who was scrolling through financial news on her phone, gasped, held up her phone close to Yu Zou, and said in a low voice that could be heard from both sides: "You really are the boss of a big company! Are you really going to marry him?"
His enunciation was so strong that Yu Zou couldn't ignore it: "Yes, it was love at first sight, and I will marry no one but him in this life."
Du Qianmei was speechless. His words were so inconsistent with his appearance. She had predicted that Du Pianjian would lose his virginity and heart and then be abandoned, so she didn't believe a word of it. She said meaningfully, "Then you must not understand him."
"You don't know yourself very well either."
Yu Zou, who was about to reply, heard Du Pianjian's words and silently leaned back in his chair, tightening his chest muscles so that Du Pianjian could see Du Qianmei. He felt a vague sensation in his heart, as if a hand was scratching at him.
Du Pianjian tilted his head slightly, the mole under his lip resembling a scope: "How many more years will it take you to graduate with your doctorate? I will definitely read your masterpiece, the culmination of years of hard work."
Du Qianmei's face flushed instantly, and her jaw muscles trembled as she heard Yu Zou, who was leaning towards Du Pianjian, whisper, "You've already graduated, and she's still studying?" Seeing Yu Zou lower her head to accommodate Du Pianjian's whisper, she smiled and replied, "Indeed, you seem to be the smarter one."
“And I was the first to get married.” Du Pianjian’s breath brushed against Yu Zou’s neck almost imperceptibly. “Here, no matter what you do, being the first is the smartest, and being one step ahead is victory.”
Just as Yu Zou was lost in thought, Du Pianjian tugged at his sleeve and pointed to the other side. Only then did Yu Zou realize that Du Junwu was calling him.
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