"Okay, wait a moment, he'll be right there. He just entered the dormitory a little while ago."
The young boy ran into the dormitory building with a flushed face. This must be the political science department, right? I didn't expect this guy to want to go into politics?
Within five minutes, Song Zigan ran over and saw the graceful young woman standing there, his heart pounding wildly.
Zhang Hongmei looked at Song Zigan, who had suddenly stopped and was staring blankly at her, and asked, "Are you stupid? Don't you recognize me?"
"No, it's just that I haven't seen you for over a year, and I was afraid you wouldn't recognize me."
"Hehe, how could that be? Congratulations on coming to Capital University! Our president and Professor Chen Sheng must be extremely excited, right?"
"What's there to congratulate me on?" Song Zigan said, but his smug expression was obvious.
"Let's go, let's talk as we walk. I'll treat you to dinner at my home, a welcome-back dinner, haha, even though it's a bit late."
“Okay, Uncle Li picked me up at the station and even wrote my name on a big sign.”
"You should be grateful. I wasn't home, so of course I had to find someone else to pick you up. They've never seen you before, so this is the best way."
"Hehe, I'm not ungrateful. It's just that I felt very uncomfortable living there, so I came to the school."
“What’s there to be uncomfortable about? If you want to commute to school but don’t want to live there, I have another house that’s a 15-minute walk from the school.”
"Forget it, I'll still have to cook for myself. It's more convenient to live at school."
The two walked and talked as they left the school gate.
"I'll leave the bicycle to you from now on, it's a women's bicycle."
"My bicycle should arrive in a few days. I actually wanted to buy a new one, but my grandma said that the old one was just sitting at home and was a waste, so she mailed it to me."
“That’s a good idea. You still have a few years left in the capital, and it’s just the two of you at home. If circumstances allow, you can bring them over.”
“That’s what I said too, but they didn’t come. My grandfather said he’d rather die at home. My dad came back just before I arrived; he went back to prepare to bring my grandparents to live with him.”
"That would be quite boring for the old couple, since they don't know anyone."
"No, my dad found a wife, and I heard she's pregnant. There's no one to take care of her, so he came to pick up my grandparents to take care of his wife," Song Zigan said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Now Zhang Hongmei didn't know what to say. A man living alone outside, especially a widower with some power, would attract a lot of attention.
The two arrived at the front door. "Song Zigan, you're a college student now, you should try to understand your family."
Song Zigan didn't speak, but looked at her with an expression that Zhang Hongmei couldn't understand.
“Let’s go home. Even if I go abroad in the future, you can come over every week to improve our lives.” Zhang Hongmei patted Song Zigan’s arm. This poor child must feel abandoned.
It was just past nine o'clock when Aunt Li came out of the kitchen to greet him. "Young man, come in and sit down. Your Uncle Li just bought some big watermelons. I just chilled one with well water and will cut it up and bring it over to you right away."
"Great, there's watermelon to eat too. Song Zigan, let's go to my study."
"Come to the living room, I'm here." Gu Chuanming's voice came from the living room.
"Okay."
The two entered the living room and saw Gu Chuanming sitting there, holding a newspaper in his hand.
"Grandpa, this is my fellow villager and my friend, Song Zigan. Song Zigan, this is my grandpa, my newly recognized grandpa, Gu Chuanming."
"Nonsense, what do you mean by newly recognized? I am your biological grandfather."
"Yes, yes, you're my biological child."
"Young man, don't be shy, make yourself at home."
Aunt Li brought in a plate of sliced watermelon. "You guys eat first, I'll go cook dinner."
Song Zigan stood up shyly. "Aunt Li, you don't need to go to so much trouble. I'm fine with whatever I eat."
"Hehe, this young man is very charming. You are a guest, please have a seat."
"Young man, you came to school by yourself. Who else is at home?"
“My grandparents went to stay with my dad; he’s in the M City Military Region.”
"They come from a military family. Not bad, they've got potential. Getting into a university in the capital is truly exceptional."
"Grandpa, you flatter me." Song Zigan smiled shyly.
Zhang Hongmei clicked her tongue in amazement, never expecting that a teenager in his rebellious phase could be so well-behaved in front of his elders.
Wang Xinyi came in carrying a pot of tea. "Old Gu, you can't eat too much watermelon. It's too cold for you."
"Okay, okay, I'll just eat this piece."
“Hongmei, you can’t eat too much either, it’s not good for women. But this young man can eat more, young people have a lot of energy, he can eat anything.”
After finishing his watermelon, Gu Chuanming stood up and said, "I'm going back to read the newspaper. You guys chat." He then left. Song Zigan also stood up and saw him to the door, which pleased Gu Chuanming greatly.
Only the two of them remained in the living room. Song Zigan let out a sigh of relief, "I get nervous in front of elders."
"Hehe, what's there to be nervous about? Really."
"I'm not as popular with older people as you are. By the way, are you going abroad? Where to?"
"I'll be leaving in September to go to the United States. Six of my classmates from our school will be going with me, along with eight people selected by the government."
"Well, now I'm all alone. I came here for you, but you're leaving again." Song Zigan looked at Zhang Hongmei with resentment, accusing her of abandonment.
"Be normal, you're giving me goosebumps."
"It's a pity you chose political science, which means you can't go abroad, otherwise I could wait for you overseas."
"You're kidding me. I don't trust you anymore. Maybe I'll endure a year of waiting, finally be able to go abroad, and then you'll come back. I'd rather stay in China. By the way, how did you know I applied to the political science department?"
"Because that classmate went to the political science department's boys' dormitory to look for you, didn't he?"
"yes."
"Heh, you want to go into politics?"
"I just want to make something of myself," Song Zigan said with a hint of bitterness.
Zhang Hongmei handed Song Zigan a slice of watermelon. "I support you. You can do it. You even got into the Capital University through your own efforts. What else can't you do? I believe in you."
"Zhang Hongmei, when are you coming back? Give me a time."
“I will definitely come back in three years at the latest. I can still teach for a while after the semester starts. I’ll introduce you to a few people. You can join the student union, the finance group. There’s a study group that I’ve worked hard to build there. I hope you can help me continue to develop it so that when I come back, it will still be serving the students.” Actually, Zhang Hongmei didn’t want to rely on personal connections like this, but Song Zigan’s lonely expression affected her.
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