Jin Zhenliang was two grades younger than Ha Yue. He didn't have much talent in his studies and started working early after graduating from high school. He was a warm-hearted person with a good reputation. He had good friends all over Suicheng, and they all affectionately called him Jinzi.
Ha Yue is no exception.
After getting married, Jinzi got a temporary job at the Municipal Bureau of Culture through her father-in-law's relatives. Her job was to drive for the leaders. The work wasn't too busy, and the working hours were flexible. When she was free, the official car was practically her personal car.
As long as the excess fuel costs are borne by the individual, the leaders of the Cultural Bureau will not interfere much.
Sure enough, Ha Yue was right. She led the two pigs to the car and squeezed the brakes. She saw her neighbor Jin Zi bowing and scraping as she explained something to the people getting off the car, her face full of apology.
The group of men varied in height and build, all with flushed faces reeking of alcohol. The tallest man among them wore a dark brown overcoat that reached past his knees, and had fair, white fingers. He was facing away from her, so her face was not visible, but judging from his matching trousers and shoes, he was probably wearing a suit underneath.
Such fashionable attire is rare in Suicheng. Buses run infrequently here, and most people travel by electric scooter, exposed to wind and sun, so their clothes are designed for ease of movement.
In late autumn and early winter, a thin cotton short jacket is the best choice, preferably made of a smooth, waterproof material, paired with a pair of jeans so dark that you can't see any oil stains, just like what Ha Yue is wearing today.
Having spent the last two years in Suicheng, Ha Yue has developed what's known online as "fear of trendy people." She merely glanced at the man in the overcoat, shrugged, and looked away without giving it much thought. She immediately greeted Jin Zhenliang and asked if he needed her help.
In fact, Jinzi had already called a familiar tow truck ten minutes earlier. The Suicheng Cultural Bureau is always short of funds, and this Toyota Coaster, which looked quite decent, did not have commercial insurance. Without commercial insurance, there was no free roadside assistance. On the phone, the other party claimed that he would come from 40 kilometers away, so the service price could not be less than 400 yuan.
Jin Zi had just started to haggle over the price when Director Zhao, who was standing next to him, objected.
With his eyes narrowed behind his blue-tinted glasses, he earnestly warned Jinzi not to be foolish enough to be ripped off. He explained that the people in their car were all prominent figures in Suicheng, and they couldn't be fooled by a mere tow truck driver.
Two hundred yuan, not a penny more. The Cultural Bureau won't pay. They're just putting on airs, taking it or leaving it.
Director Zhao's original intention was to show off his official power in front of Xue Jing. Although he addressed Xue Jing as "teacher" in a polite manner, Xue Jing was still quite young. At the dinner table, Xue Jing's affected politeness had almost completely dissipated. Back in the car, he even closed his eyes to rest. He was feeling unwell due to the alcohol, but to outsiders, it looked like he was deliberately pretending to sleep, as if he was too lazy to waste words with these country bumpkins.
Director Zhao also graduated with a master's degree from Jizhou University many years ago. However, unlike Xue Jing, who is a true Jizhou University graduate, he studied at a non-elite university near Suicheng for his undergraduate degree, placing him at the bottom of the degree hierarchy.
After failing the college entrance exam, the young Zhao thought that as long as he could get into a 985 university for graduate studies, he could turn his academic career around. But he didn't expect that the snobbish employers in Jicheng didn't care about his master's degree at all. As soon as they saw his undergraduate degree, they frowned and shook their heads, their faces full of discrimination.
By then, Xiao Zhao was already quite old. He couldn't swallow his pride, so he started studying hard to pass the civil service exam. It took him two years to pass. After entering the unit, he inevitably encountered backstabbing and intrigue in the workplace. Naturally, he suffered a lot before becoming the head of a department in the Suicheng Cultural Bureau.
Director Zhao, a senior figure at Jizhou University, was extremely sensitive to academic qualifications and believed that since he was a few years older than Xue Jing, the other party should give him plenty of face.
He dared to call him "teacher," and Xue Jing actually dared to agree immediately? That's incredibly audacious.
Adding to the misfortune of encountering a broken engine, Director Zhao's smile was forced, and the muscles under his eyes twitched violently, as if all the misfortunes in his life were brought upon him by Xue Jing, a prodigy, and he felt a deep resentment of class struggle.
To everyone's surprise, the tow truck driver ignored his threats and hung up the phone before Jinzi could say anything more.
And so, the deal fell through, and Jinzi got a scolding for nothing. Director Zhao was full of resentment and had nowhere to vent, so he simply took it out on the driver. He first asked him how he usually maintained the car, and whether the car maintenance receipts he had issued before were all fake. When he got angry, he put his hands on his hips and asked the kid if he still wanted to work there.
Everyone around could see that this wasn't about a few hundred yuan. Except for Xue Jing, who was trying to hail a taxi using a mobile app, everyone else tried to smooth things over and calm Director Zhao down.
Given Xue Jing's personality, he should have been able to offer some advice, but at this moment, he was intoxicated and had been exposed to the wind, causing his temples to throb with pain. He was afraid that if he didn't go back to the hotel to rest soon, he might catch a cold.
A healthy body is the foundation for completing work; he must first protect his own foundation.
Ha Yue's shout actually moved Xue Jing. He had a premonition that he was about to encounter a jump scar in a horror movie. Without turning around, he almost instinctively stuffed his phone into his coat pocket.
His heart pounded with panic. He turned and grabbed Director Zhao's right hand, pulling him tightly to his side. He said earnestly, "Director, senior, please calm down. Things have been tough for us. In this urgent situation, let's call a tow truck first. It's quite cold, isn't it? If all else fails, I'll cover the cost..."
Unfortunately, before he could even utter the word "out," the woman's voice behind him not only failed to discreetly move away from their group, but instead drew even closer.
Jin Zi was honest and knew that Suicheng had low passenger traffic and no drivers who made a living by driving for ride-hailing services. Moreover, the place where their car broke down was remote, and taxis would only come once every year or two. When he heard Teacher Xue in the back say that it was cold, he immediately called out to Ha Yue and asked her, "Sister, you see, our car broke down, and the tow truck won't be here for another half hour. I can wait, but our esteemed guests can't. Could you help me take a few people back to the city first?"
Ha Yue glanced back at her electric scooter. Two half-grown piglets were huddled together behind her, whimpering. But there was still room on the long seat next to her, so she immediately agreed, “Of course, but I’m carrying piglets in the back, so I can probably only take one person. Besides, the scooter has been running all afternoon and the battery isn’t fully charged yet. If you want to go, hurry up.”
"Okay, okay, it doesn't have to be too far, just go to the corner building where you can get a taxi. There really aren't any cars around here."
Jinzi and Hayue talked enthusiastically, and in just a few words, they decided how to deal with this group of people.
The air was getting thinner and thinner, which meant that Xue Jing, who had his back to him, could hear their conversation more and more clearly. If two minutes ago he had an instinctive aversion to a voice like Ha Yue's, now he was completely certain that this was not a horror warning in a movie, but a real-life thriller: the woman behind him chatting with the driver was his ex-girlfriend.
His ex-girlfriend, Ha Yue, whom he could recognize even if she were ashes.
Xue Jing had completely sobered up from the alcohol. Enemies meeting should be extremely hostile, but fortunately, he had developed a poker face through years of interviews. He managed to calm himself down by changing his expression several times while looking out the car window.
The others were still discussing whether to stay or leave.
Ultimately, they decided to give this precious spot of traveling with pigs to Xue Jing.
“Director Zhao, what do you think? Why don’t we let Teacher Xue go first? He’s dressed so lightly, he might not be able to stand the cold.”
"Hmm." Director Zhao hummed in agreement. He had already felt quite pleased with Xue Jing's warm handshake and the way Xue Jing addressed him as "senior." He agreed with every word the driver said, turned around and patted Xue Jing's shoulder familiarly, replacing the respectful address with "you."
It really feels like they're taking care of him as if he were their own junior.
"Xiao Xue, you should go ahead and go back to the hotel to rest. Tomorrow our bureau has arranged a field trip up the mountain. You need to conserve your energy. The day after tomorrow, there's a special meeting on art creation guidance from the Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau. There are quite a few people attending, and they're all important figures. You can't be absent; you have to attend."
When Ha Yue heard the name "Teacher Xue" from a meter away, her eyebrows twitched. She narrowed her eyes slightly and focused intently on examining the back of this "Teacher Xue." Suddenly, a cold wind swept past her back, and the piglet squealed a few times from the cold. She was surprised to find that the "Teacher Xue" in front of her looked somewhat familiar.
The half-exposed, pale fingers peeking out from the sleeves were familiar, as were the small, thick, black hair at the back of the head. Even the person's beautiful ears seemed familiar to her.
She was so familiar with him that, if she hadn't still retained some rationality, she would almost have thought that her ex-boyfriend, who frequently appeared on her social media, had appeared right in front of her like a twist of fate.
As soon as the thought popped into her head, Ha Yue quickly denied it.
Please, what is Xue Jing's political background?
Anyone who uses the internet has seen those marketing press releases that went viral across the internet back then.
"A bestselling author with millions of copies sold," "The Little Hu Shi of Jicheng," "A young male author praised by People's Daily," "A pioneer who successfully broke down the barriers between serious literature and youth literature"—these titles bestowed upon Xue Jing are a dazzling array of truths and falsehoods, and there are many more than a few.
Xue, who used to share a bed with her, their heads close together as they studied how to stack discount coupons for Western restaurants, is now a completely different person. Putting aside how good-looking he is and what his family's financial situation is, just count on your fingers that he graduated with a master's degree last year, well past the legal age to get married.
In 1949, the People's Republic of China abolished arranged marriages, and free love inevitably brought market benefits. For the past 73 years, men like him, who are knowledgeable, good-looking, and wealthy, have been highly sought after in the marriage market. Regardless of their gender, they are always in high demand.
Without a doubt, coupled with some inexplicable artist's filter, there would be plenty of girls who admire him and would be willing to be his life partner.
Even if he were truly as described in the report: a man who loves literature above all else, living a solitary life and disregarding personal feelings, he would have already set off for a distant foreign country to pursue a doctorate in literature by now.
The US project was easy for him, but European countries were also good. In short, Xue Jing had too many choices, and each one was the best. Her hometown, such a godforsaken place, was definitely not an option.
Suicheng is not a place with a strong literary atmosphere. In recent years, the schools for children of employees have been merged into the regular schools in the city. However, with fewer schools, the two primary schools and one middle school in the city center are still experiencing a decline in enrollment rates.
There is a serious loss of teachers in the senior grades. She heard Jinzi gossip that the college entrance rate for junior high school students this year is less than 50%.
The only Xinhua Bookstore in Suicheng is only half the size of a store, mainly selling supplementary teaching materials and recommended readings.
The pattern is similar to how God only descends upon places with many believers.
Nobody reads novels here. Classic literature is barely gathering dust on the bookshelves, and bestsellers are even less likely to be put on the shelves. Without readers, there's naturally no such thing as an author.
Ha Yue, like a little mongrel with wet ears from the rain, shook her head, flinging away all the useless romance from her hair.
This person is not Xue Jing, nor could he possibly be Xue Jing.
When Ha Yue proposed breaking up four years ago, she was already fully aware of the situation.
The two were not a good match, like two parallel lines that would never intersect. Their 768-day relationship before graduation started with lust at first sight, and their breakup was destined.
It is truly her fault that she still occasionally reminisces about Xue Jing.
She really needs to correct this flaw of hers—her tendency to reminisce about her first love as if it were a part of her youth.
Just as she was trying to force a harmless smile at the back of this distinguished guest's head, Xue Jing turned his face away.
Clearly, fate had decided to play a less-than-friendly joke on her today.
The "Teacher Xue" opposite her is her "Classmate Xue".
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