Chapter 128 Performance
She glanced quickly at Meng Qingshan and stammered an explanation: "Um... Zhiyi, our cultural troupe had a joint performance outside today, and the task ended late. It just so happened that some people from Comrade Meng's unit were also going to participate in the event, so... so they gave me a ride back."
Meng Qingshan stood aside, offering no rebuttal, but his smile deepened.
"It's just on my way. Sister-in-law, Gu Xiao isn't home, please take care of yourself. I'll be going now."
He turned his gaze to Zhou Anping, "Tomorrow... I'll come pick you up."
After he finished speaking, he nodded slightly to Nan Zhiyi and Wu Ma, and then got into the jeep nimbly.
Nan Zhiyi glanced at the departing car, then looked to her side. Zhou Anping's gaze was still following the direction the car had gone.
"Still looking? You can't even see the tire tracks anymore."
Nan Zhiyi suppressed a laugh and gently waved her hand in front of her eyes.
Zhou Anping snapped out of his daze, exclaimed shyly, and grabbed Nan Zhiyi's wrist, shaking it gently: "Zhiyi, don't laugh at me!"
Nan Zhiyi took her arm, and the two walked slowly together toward the Gu family's courtyard.
Aunt Wu had already gone home and was busy collecting the bedding that was drying in the yard.
We walked for a while.
“Tell me,” Nan Zhiyi said with a mischievous smile, “What’s the current situation between you and this Comrade Meng? His ‘on-the-way’ delivery was really timely.”
Zhou Anping blushed and lowered his head, his voice trembling, "No...nothing's wrong. It's just...I sometimes run into him at work...he's a really nice guy, very considerate of his colleagues..."
She was vague in her response, clearly not wanting to discuss it in detail, or perhaps she hadn't fully sorted out her own thoughts.
Seeing her embarrassed expression, Nan Zhiyi knew that if she pressed the matter further, the girl might run away, so she considerately stopped asking and simply said "Oh".
"Have you been busy lately? You look great."
Zhou Anping breathed a sigh of relief and immediately took the opportunity to back down: "It's alright, it's just rehearsal and performance."
Her gaze fell on Nan Zhiyi's protruding belly, her eyes filled with concern: "Zhiyi, your belly looks really big. How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable?"
Nan Zhiyi placed her hand on her lower abdomen, her brows and eyes relaxing: "It's alright, the little guy is quite well-behaved. Sometimes he moves inside, gently, like a little fish blowing bubbles."
"Really?! It can even move?!" Zhou Anping's eyes widened in astonishment, filled with disbelief.
She stopped and instinctively reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly as she tried to touch Nan Zhiyi's stomach. "Is...is he moving now?"
Nan Zhiyi smiled and nodded, then took Zhou Anping's hand and placed it on her side.
Both of them held their breath, sensing the life force emanating from beneath the thin fabric.
Perhaps sensing the touch from the outside world, the little guy responded appropriately, gently nudging Zhou Anping's palm.
"Ah!" Zhou Anping exclaimed in surprise, pulling his hand back. Then he exclaimed excitedly, "My God, it moved! It really moved! How amazing, Zhiyi!"
Nan Zhiyi also found the process of life's creation to be very mysterious. "When I first felt him move, I was also startled."
The excitement of this new life overcame her earlier shyness.
The two looked at each other and smiled, and before they knew it, they had arrived outside the Gu family's courtyard.
Zhou Anping looked down and rummaged through the military green canvas bag he was carrying. He quickly pulled out two pieces of paper with red writing on them and stuffed them into Nan Zhiyi's hand. "Here, take this."
Nan Zhiyi took the tickets and saw that they were two tickets for a performance by the cultural troupe. The tickets were printed with the title of the play: "Youth Battle Song" and the date was tomorrow night.
"Tomorrow night, our troupe has a performance at the Grand Theater, and I..."
Zhou Anping's voice carried a hint of pride, "I have a pretty important role in it. If you have time, why don't you come watch with Aunt Wu? I've saved you a front-row seat."
Seeing the sparkle in Zhou Anping's eyes, Nan Zhiyi nodded happily, "Of course I'm free! This is a big day for Anping, we must go and support him. I'll go with Aunt Wu tomorrow!"
Zhou Anping grinned, revealing his white teeth: "Okay! It's settled then!"
She waved to Nan Zhiyi and ran briskly towards the Zhou family's courtyard.
Nan Zhiyi pushed open the courtyard gate, and Wu Ma was carrying the folded quilts inside.
“Aunt Wu, Anping gave us two tickets. Her troupe is performing tomorrow night, and she's inviting us to go.”
“Okay, we’ll go together then.” Aunt Wu replied with a smile. “Anping has become quite accomplished. You should go inside and rest; standing for too long is tiring.”
"Okay, I'll go in right away."
Nan Zhiyi walked into the living room and carefully placed the tickets in her hand on the coffee table.
Then, she quickly went to the desk in her bedroom, picked up the letter from People's Literature Magazine, and carefully cut open the envelope with a paper cutter.
Inside were two neatly folded sheets of paper and a form printed with a table.
She first unfolded the two letters.
The first document is a formatted notification letter, with "People's Literature Magazine" printed at the top and a red seal at the bottom.
Comrade Nan Zhiyi:
Your short story "Spring" has passed the initial review of this journal and is scheduled for publication in the April 1976 issue. This is to inform you.
"Spring"...was accepted?
A surge of joy rushed to her head, making her vision blur slightly and her fingers tremble a little.
She blinked hard before picking up another sheet of paper.
This is a brief handwritten note from the editor, written in neat and powerful handwriting:
Comrade Nan Zhiyi:
The essay "Spring" is written with delicate touches and sincere emotions. The structure is slightly immature, and the details could be more concise, but its core is moving. I hope you will continue to strive for improvement.
Additionally, the manuscript "Lights" lacked sufficient emotional expression and the character portrayal was superficial, failing to meet the standards for publication.
Royalties will be paid according to the standard (a royalty notification will be attached).
A sample copy will be sent to you by our publishing house after publication.
Zhu Bijian
Edited by: Lin Yuan
Nan Zhiyi's heart was pounding. She read the words again to make sure she hadn't misread them before picking up the remittance slip.
The amount is clearly printed on it: Twenty Yuan Only. Recipient: Nan Zhiyi. Remitter: People's Literature Magazine. The bottom right corner bears the magazine's bright red finance seal.
The thin paper felt incredibly heavy in her hands.
This was the recognition and value she earned through her writing, the first recognition she gained through her own pen.
As for the rejection of "Lights", she was not discouraged, but rather felt a sense of relief, as if she had been enlightened.
The editor was able to point out her shortcomings and help her find a direction to continue improving, which is already very good.
She pressed the remittance slip under the glass of her desk, held the editor's letter in both hands, and looked at it over and over again, unable to suppress the upward curve of her lips.
The little one inside seemed to sense the mother's surging emotions and moved powerfully, even more clearly than when Zhou Anping had felt it before.
Nan Zhiyi let out a soft "Ah," lowered her head and touched her lower abdomen, her smile becoming even gentler.
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