Chapter 64 "I would never mistake you for someone else..."
Chapter 64
On the night they returned from Xishan Village, Yu Pan snuggled up in bed with Shen Yanzhou, chatting about what she had seen and heard on her way back.
Just as they were having a pleasant chat, Yu Pan's phone rang in her bag.
He took out his phone and saw it was Ling Luo.
"Yu Pan! I'm going to New York!"
As soon as the call connected, Yu Pan heard Ling Luo say these words. Yu Pan was stunned for a moment before she realized what he meant: "New York? Is it the New York I'm thinking of?"
"Yes, yes! It's New York! New York in America!" Ling Luo exclaimed excitedly on the other end of the phone. "My flight is early the day after tomorrow! I'm going with him!"
This "he" naturally refers to the lunchbox vendor.
Ling Luo originally wanted to call Yu Pan to invite him out so they could have some fun before he left.
Upon learning that Yu Panren was still thousands of miles away in Qingyu, Ling Luo's voice immediately deflated: "Why did you go so far away? I wanted to see you before I went abroad."
“It’s okay,” Yu Pan comforted him, “We’ll get together again when you come back from your holiday.”
Ling Luo hummed in agreement, and soon began chattering to Yu Pan about the school he was going to interview at, talking about how many famous designers had come from there, his words filled with anticipation for the future.
Yu Pan held his phone and listened quietly. He suddenly remembered why he was so persistent about Peking University. Besides Shen Yanzhou's guidance, wasn't it also because of his longing for that academic holy land and those names?
After Ling Luo finally finished speaking, Yu Pan said sincerely, "Ling Luo, you will definitely succeed."
"Of course!" Ling Luo said confidently, "I will definitely succeed!"
Seeing her friend so full of vigor on the road to pursuing her dreams, Yu Pan was naturally unwilling to fall behind.
He now goes to practice driving every morning without fail. Shen Yanzhou is busy with work and doesn't have time to teach him, so he hired an instructor for him.
For Yu Pan, the coach's teaching and Shen Yanzhou's teaching were very different. Shen Yanzhou would not scold him, but would patiently teach him. However, they would always become close together while teaching and learning. Sometimes, after two or three days in a row, Yu Pan only learned how to turn the key, shift gears, honk the horn and turn on the windshield wipers.
Teaching with an instructor is different. Although the instructor is very professional and doesn't speak harshly, he is not Shen Yanzhou after all. Yu Pan is more able to get into a learning state. In just over ten days, he went from being nervous when he first sat in the driver's seat to being able to reverse into a parking space skillfully and even drive for a distance. This can be described as remarkable progress.
After finishing his driving practice and having lunch, Yu Pan rested briefly and then spent the afternoon at home writing. He didn't want to be confined to the same type of writing style and content, and while writing, he was also trying to shape the story from different angles.
He usually finishes writing the manuscript in one go, then makes simple revisions, checks for typos, and sends it to different magazines.
This kind of life continued until the end of the month. During this period, Yu Pan received four notifications of acceptance of her manuscript. Because the length of the manuscripts varied, the price per thousand words charged by different magazines also differed, so the manuscript fees varied as well.
However, Yu Pan didn't care much about the specific amount. Every time he received his royalties, he would hand the money directly to Shen Yanzhou.
More than the amount of payment, he felt that the spiritual satisfaction of seeing his articles published in magazines and being seen by many people through his writing far outweighed everything else.
-
On the morning of September 1st, Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou boarded a flight to Beijing. While waiting for their flight, Shen Yanzhou noticed that Yu Pan was feeling very tired, so he told her that he had prepared a surprise for her in Beijing and asked her to guess what it was.
Yu Pan felt much better after hearing this, racking his brains to think about what Shen Yanzhou would give him. He couldn't come up with anything specific even after boarding the plane and sitting down. So he shook Shen Yanzhou's arm and said, "Brother, just tell me! What surprise is it?"
"Didn't I tell you to guess? You're not even willing to use your brain?" Shen Yanzhou looked at him amusedly.
"So mysterious..." Yu Pan muttered, pinching Chen Yanzhou's firm thigh, when suddenly a thought struck her, "Could it be a car? I dare not drive! I haven't even gotten my driver's license yet!"
He was a good driver and had even taken to the road a few times with Shen Yanzhou's help, but driving without a license was something he would never even consider.
He, Yu Panke, is a law-abiding citizen.
Shen Yanzhou shook his head, a smile in his eyes: "No, guess again."
"What is it...?" This surprise made Yu Pan so curious that he was itching to answer. He grabbed Shen Yanzhou's arm and shook it. "Brother, just tell me, even a little hint will do?"
"Get some good sleep," Shen Yanzhou said, holding his hand. "You went to bed late yesterday and got up early today. Get plenty of rest, and you'll see when we get there."
Once again, they made her guess but refused to give any hints. Yu Pan puffed out her cheeks, but seeing that Shen Yanzhou wouldn't reveal any information, she had no choice but to compromise and obediently put on the blindfold.
Perhaps it was because he got up too early, or perhaps it was because he felt particularly safe next to Shen Yanzhou, but he soon tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep.
They arrived in Beijing at noon. After leaving the airport, Shen Yanzhou made a phone call, and soon a black sedan came to a smooth stop in front of them. The driver got out and put their luggage in the trunk.
As the car entered the bustling city center, Yu Pan watched the street scenes rushing past the window. It had been over a year since his last visit to Beijing, and the streets had changed quite a bit. He couldn't help but whisper to Shen Yanzhou, "Brother, where are we going? Are we going to school?"
“No,” Shen Yanzhou turned to look at him, her tone natural, “Let’s go home first.”
"Go home?" Yu Pan didn't react for a moment, her eyes blank. "Go home which way?"
Shen Yanzhou reached out and rubbed the back of Yu Pan's head, his voice gentle: "Our home in Beijing."
The car eventually drove into a quiet residential area and stopped in front of a brand-new-looking apartment building. Yu Pan, full of doubts, followed Shen Yanzhou upstairs.
Finally, they stopped on the third floor. When Shen Yanzhou opened the door with his key, Yu Pan was stunned.
The interior design style is almost identical to the small two-bedroom apartment that Shen Yanzhou moved into when he was promoted in Lanzhou.
The only difference is that the space here is more spacious, with a bright master bedroom and a study filled with new books and featuring a huge window.
There was also a small bed in the study.
Yu Pan walked into the study, touched the small bed, stood by the window and looked out. After a while, as if he had discovered something, he exclaimed "Ah!"
"Did you see that?" Shen Yanzhou asked him, seemingly waiting for Yu Pan's reaction.
"I see it!" Yu Pan excitedly pointed to a familiar spire in the distance, "It's that spire by the lake!"
"Hmm, Panpan has a good memory." Shen Yanzhou took his hand. "Come on, let's go downstairs and I'll show you around."
This was a house that Shen Yanzhou specially bought for Yu Pan in a neighborhood just one street away from Peking University, after Yu Pan took the college entrance examination.
Shen Yanzhou led Yu Pan along the tree-lined streets to the entrance of Peking University, then circled around the nearby residential area and took a look at the vegetable market inside.
“If you don’t want to stay in the dorm on the weekend, you can come back here,” Shen Yanzhou said.
"Yes!" Yu Pan nodded vigorously.
-
On the day of official school registration, Shen Yanzhou accompanied Yu Pan to complete various enrollment procedures and receive dormitory keys, meal cards, and military training uniforms...
Yu Pan followed closely behind Shen Yanzhou, watching him busy himself for her. The unease she felt in the unfamiliar environment was gradually dispelled by the sense of security that Shen Yanzhou brought her.
After completing the formalities, the two found the dormitory building where Yu Pan was located. It was a six-person room with bunk beds on one side and three large desks side by side on the other. Yu Pan was assigned to the lower bunk on the side closest to the door.
When they arrived, one of the roommates and his parents were already making the bed. After a brief greeting and introduction, Shen Yanzhou rolled up his sleeves and began to make the bed, wipe the table, and hang up clothes for Yu Pan.
Her movements were so swift and efficient that Yu Pan could only sweep the floor from the side.
After making her bed, two new roommates arrived in the dormitory, and Yu Pan tried to communicate with them.
Seeing Yu Pan's appearance, Shen Yanzhou felt a little relieved.
Before leaving, Shen Yanzhou called Yu Pan to the dormitory corridor and told him: "Take good care of yourself at school. Make sure you eat on time and don't overeat, it's bad for your health. Spend money when you need to, don't be stingy."
"If you don't like living in the dorm, or if you're unhappy about anything, just call me anytime, and I'll find someone to get you out."
The school generally prefers students to live in dormitories for easier management and integration into group life, but if you really want to move out, you can apply for a suitable reason.
Shen Yanzhou initially thought that since Yu Pan had just started school and was unfamiliar with the place, he should let him gradually get to know the campus and the surrounding environment first. If he didn't want to stay in the dormitory later, he could move out.
Hearing Shen Yanzhou's seemingly arrogant statement, Yu Pan couldn't help but laugh: "I know! What do you mean by 'get me out'...? Am I in jail?"
"It's good that you know." Shen Yanzhou smiled as well.
Yu Pan looked at Shen Yanzhou with great reluctance in his heart. He touched the hem of Shen Yanzhou's clothes and tugged at it, "Brother, don't work too hard. You need to rest more."
Shen Yanzhou gave him a deep look, and finally couldn't help but hug him tightly. "Okay, I'm leaving now. Call me anytime if you need anything."
Yu Pan stood at the entrance of the dormitory building, watching Shen Yanzhou's back disappear into the crowd until he was no longer visible. Then she sniffed and turned back to her dormitory.
-
Following closely behind was a two-week military training program.
The September sun was still at its most intense. On the playground, students wore uniform green camouflage, and the sounds of slogans and footsteps rose and fell. Yu Pan stood in the ranks, her camouflage uniform already soaked with sweat.
Standing at attention, marching in formation, standing at attention, marching in formation... Day after day of training was undoubtedly very tiring for Yu Pan, who didn't do much physical exercise normally.
After the first day of training, Yu Pan was already sore all over and had blisters on the soles of her feet. When she got back to the dormitory, all she wanted to do was collapse on the bed and she was too lazy to even move her fingers.
The physical strain was secondary; what Yu Pan found most difficult to adapt to was the school's public bathhouse.
He will always remember the first time he went in and saw a naked body in the swirling mist; he was so frightened that he turned around and left.
It's not that he's being pretentious, but he simply can't accept a large group of people taking a bath naked in one room. When he was a child, people in the village would wear underwear when playing in the river.
So the bicycle that Shen Yanzhou bought for Yu Pan came in handy.
Kyoto University's campus is very large. After Shen Yanzhou finished the formalities for him that day, he also bought Yu Pan a bicycle to make it easier for him to get to and from get out of class.
It's just that it hasn't been used in class yet, but it's already being used for the issue of taking a shower.
Every evening after the military training singing and other group activities, Yu Pan would rush back by bicycle to take a shower.
While taking a shower, he would throw his clothes into the washing machine. By the time he finished showering, the clothes would be almost washed. He would then put them in a bag and ride his bicycle back to the dormitory to hang them up to dry. After finishing all this, Yu Pan could still lie in bed and make a phone call to Shen Yanzhou for a chat.
A week of military training has passed in the blink of an eye. Yu Pan's roommates don't seem to talk much. There are no particularly active people. They usually do their own things quietly. When it's time to eat, they will call each other to come together. They get along fairly well.
During lunch break, Yu Pan would go to the cafeteria for lunch with a roommate named Yu Yiming.
That day, the two followed the flow of people to the cafeteria as usual. Yu Yiming said as they walked, "I want noodles today. Shall we sit at our usual spot later?"
Yu Pan nodded: "Okay."
Long queues formed at each window in the cafeteria. Yu Pan stood in the queue, looking at the menu written on the blackboard and silently thinking about which dishes she wanted to order.
The line moved forward slowly, and just as it was about to be his turn with two people ahead of him, Yu Pan was suddenly patted on the shoulder from behind.
Yu Pan turned around in confusion and saw two unfamiliar boys.
One of them, grinning, said in a familiar tone, "Wu Chongzhi, could you get me some food while you're at it?"
Yu Pan was even more confused this time, and frowned slightly: "Who are you?"
Seeing Yu Pan's completely unfamiliar reaction, the boy looked him over carefully for a few moments, then looked embarrassed and apologized repeatedly, "Ah! I'm sorry, classmate! I mistook you for someone else! I'm so sorry!"
It turned out that she had mistaken him for another classmate named Wu Chongzhi. Yu Pan shook her head, indicating that it was okay.
This little incident didn't bother Yu Pan too much, but when she had her usual phone call with Shen Yanzhou that evening, she couldn't help but bring it up again.
“That’s so strange, bro. He later told me that he was wearing a hat and that he mistook you for someone else because he didn’t look closely,” Yu Pan said quietly into the phone microphone while sitting cross-legged on the bed. “Just because someone is wearing a hat doesn’t mean they can mistake you for someone else. There are so many people on your construction site, and I never mistake you for someone else.”
"Yeah, Panpan is amazing. He recognized me at a glance," Shen Yanzhou praised him on the other end of the phone, then added, "He's probably just tired from training and his eyes are playing tricks on him."
"Right? It scared me to death. I thought I had offended them and they were deliberately picking on me," Yu Pan told Shen Yanzhou, expressing her first thought.
"It's alright if you offend them, I'll take care of it," Shen Yanzhou said.
Upon hearing Shen Yanzhou's words, Yu Pan was so amused that she twisted into a caterpillar on the bed. "Brother, what you said is so domineering, hahaha!"
Shen Yanzhou raised an eyebrow and replied, "So, I'll just let you get the trouble you're being harassed?"
"Then let's not," Yu Pan said, lowering her voice even further since they were in the dorm. "I still really need you."
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Author's Note: Panpan [Cat Head emoji]: I'm a college student! [Sprinkling flowers emoji]
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