Chapter 13, Female Supporting Character in a Historical Fiction
This postman is really savvy; he doesn't even need to brag about his two kids' grades anymore!
Xu Qingzhou and Yu Wanwan's results spread throughout Maolin Brigade in less than a day.
In particular, the brigade leader held a grand banquet to celebrate the two men's achievements, which quickly spread to people in the neighboring village.
The news spread like wildfire, and soon the entire Qingshangang knew that the province's top scorers in the college entrance examination came from their Qingshangang, and that they were a young couple!
Yu Wanwan and Xu Qingzhou became two emotionless tools, repeatedly dragged around by the brigade leader and his wife to be shown off in front of everyone.
The fact that the couple scored the same in the college entrance examination and became the top scorers attracted the attention of the media, who came to Maolin Brigade to interview them.
These reporters were cunning; instead of interviewing the parties involved first, they visited the village to find out about the two people's reputations.
Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that almost all the educated youth in Maolin Brigade had passed the exam.
This situation is extremely rare. Although it may not attract as much attention as the top-scoring couple, it is still very worthy of being reported.
The reporter stayed in Maolin Brigade for several days before leaving satisfied.
Within half a month, the incident involving Maolin Brigade, along with the top-scoring couple, made the newspapers.
The newspaper used all sorts of beautiful words to praise the villagers of Maolin Brigade, and to promote their simplicity, kindness, and ambition for learning.
Almost every villager in Maolin Brigade had a copy of this newspaper, even those living the hardest lives.
They treasured the newspaper, and many years later, they would take it out and tell their descendants about the resumption of the college entrance examination.
Those educated youth who left Maolin Brigade did not completely sever ties with the brigade. After they graduated and achieved success, they spontaneously turned back to repay the village that had provided them with the convenience of taking the college entrance examination in their own way.
Because of this incident, Maolin Brigade responded to the call and rebuilt the school as soon as education resumed nationwide.
Every household with children, whether boys or girls, sent them to school and told them to study hard.
Those former educated youth who failed the exams became the first batch of teachers in Maolin Brigade, responsible for teaching these children.
Later, Maolin Brigade was renamed Maolin County and became an independent county.
It took them only about twenty years to go from having their own primary school to having a middle school, a high school, and then a university.
Even in later generations, when various professional schools flourished, Maolin County remained a sacred place of learning that countless students aspired to.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
Now, Yu Wanwan and Xu Qingzhou are carrying their luggage and boarding a train to study in Kyoto.
In this era, people still travel long distances by rickety green trains.
Even if Xu Qingzhou had the money to buy a sleeper berth, it still wouldn't change the fact that the conditions on the train were poor.
As soon as Yu Wanwan got on the bus, the smell made her dizzy, and she didn't even want to read the books she usually liked.
Lying paralyzed on the cramped bed, Yu Wanwan regretted for the nth time why she had followed Xu Qingzhou to Kyoto and what was the point of going to school? Wouldn't it have been better to stay in Maolin Brigade and wait for Xu Qingzhou to achieve success and come back to her?
Xu Qingzhou was completely helpless when it came to her motion sickness.
He sent Yang Qiang to fetch water, sat down on the edge of the bed, and pulled Yu Wanwan up.
"What are you doing?"
Because of motion sickness, Yu Wanwan was not in good spirits and was even a little irritable.
Xu Qingzhou was already used to her occasional irritability and didn't care.
He held her in his arms, letting her lean against him, and reached out to massage her temples.
"Let me massage you, that should make you feel better."
Yu Wanwan glanced at him only once before closing her eyes again to enjoy his service.
As he massaged her, Yu Wanwan did feel a bit more comfortable.
Most importantly, he carried the aura of her soul, which could effectively alleviate her discomfort.
Although she had recovered somewhat, Yu Wanwan still didn't want to move much, and lazily nestled in his arms, taking a nap.
Why did you bring Yang Qiang out?
"There are a lot of things to take care of in Beijing, so I need an assistant. Although Yang Qiang isn't very educated, he's quite efficient."
Xu Qingzhou hesitated for a moment.
"You don't want him to come along?"
He took Yang Qiang out on his own initiative without consulting her.
It's not that he didn't want to, or that he didn't consider her feelings.
She simply wasn't interested in his affairs. She had only occasionally caught him ordering Yang Qiang around a few times before, and she hadn't said anything about it.
He thought she didn't care.
"No, just asking."
Yu Wanwan pushed his hand away and slid down, using his legs as a pillow.
"I'm going to sleep for a while, don't disturb me."
Her impolite manner left Xu Qingzhou speechless.
He really couldn't understand her.
Since we got married, apart from sleeping in the same bed every day, there has been no progress at all.
He could tell that she wasn't interested in him, so he didn't force her.
But sometimes she would hug him, snuggle into his arms to rest, and even kiss his face, doing some intimate things that could be misunderstood.
For example, right now, she just naturally lay down on his lap, and did so with an air of self-righteousness.
Xu Qingzhou sighed silently, adjusted his position to make her more comfortable, then took a clean blanket and covered her stomach before picking up a book to read.
The book was the kind that Yu Wanwan often read.
It's entirely in English.
I must say, she has a good eye; she writes quite well.
I have no idea where she found these books, since she spends all her time holed up in Maolin Brigade, practically living at home.
When Yang Qiang returned with the water, he saw the two of them like this, so he wisely kept quiet, put the water on the table, and quietly went to his own private room.
Xu Qingzhou was not short of money. Knowing that Yu Wanwan did not like to be disturbed, he specially bought two sleeper berths when he bought the tickets.
Yang Qiang lives next door.
The journey was long, and the train swayed and rattled for two days and one night before finally coming to a slow stop and arriving at its destination.
Perhaps because she was not fully conscious, even with the male lead by her side at all times, the long journey still made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Even after getting off the train, she still couldn't muster any energy.
In this day and age, society is not open enough, and people's customs are generally simple and honest, so he couldn't openly carry her away.
Xu Qingzhou could only hold her hand and let her lean against him.
"Just bear with it a little longer, Yang Qiang is going to find a car."
"Um."
Having followed Xu Qingzhou for so long, Yang Qiang's work skills have improved day by day, and his personality has gradually become more efficient and decisive.
He was quick and found a car.
Because Yu Wanwan wasn't feeling well, Xu Qingzhou wasn't in a hurry to look for a house.
He took her to stay in the hotel for a few days and took good care of her until she fully recovered. Only then did Xu Qingzhou relax and put finding a house on the agenda.
"Do you want to come with me, or rest a little longer?"
"Let's go together."
After staying in the hotel for a day or two, Yu Wanwan felt incredibly bored.
Xu Qingzhou had no objection and took her out with him.
While Yu Wanwan was resting at the hotel, Xu Qingzhou had already asked Yang Qiang to buy a car.
While he was in Maolin Brigade, he didn't sit idle either. He used his connections with the brigade leader to get a letter of introduction from Secretary Yang Guodong and obtained his driver's license.
He had wanted to buy a car for a while, but considering that he was destined to return to Kyoto, and that there were few opportunities to drive in Maolin Brigade, and that private ownership was not yet open, he didn't want to be too ostentatious, so the matter of buying a car was temporarily put on hold.
Now that I've bought a car in Kyoto, getting around has become much more convenient.
At first, Xu Qingzhou was a little worried that Yu Wanwan would get carsick, but fortunately, she didn't have any discomfort while riding in a car.
It seems she only gets motion sickness in vehicles that require long journeys and have unpleasant environments.
Xu Qingzhou secretly made a note of it and decided that next time he went back to visit his relatives, he would drive her back himself.
Houses in Kyoto are not easy to find, especially considering that they need to go to school. They want to find a house in a good school district near Kyoto University.
After running around for several days, spending a lot of money, and smoothing over many connections, I finally managed to book a room before the start of the semester.
The house wasn't in a good school district; good school district houses are too scarce, and neither Xu Qingzhou nor Yu Wanwan had any connections, so even if they spent money, they couldn't get one.
This is a small courtyard house with three rooms, a kitchen, and a small vegetable garden. It's enough for the three of them.
It's not too far from Kyoto University, about a ten-minute drive.
Xu Qingzhou was fairly satisfied.
As for Yu Wanwan?
Oh, she was only responsible for eating, drinking and sleeping, and didn't interfere in anything else, letting Xu Qingzhou make all the decisions.
Others might think that Yu Wanwan is showing him respect, treating him like a god, and listening to everything he says.
But Xu Qingzhou himself knew that it wasn't true at all.
She was simply too lazy to care, didn't care about him, and didn't pay any attention to him.
He had initially considered whether or not to try and win her over.
But as time went by, Xu Qingzhou gave up on that idea.
His mission was simply to protect her and ensure she would live a carefree life.
The mission did not require her to fall in love with him.
The day for reporting to Kyoto University is fast approaching.
Yang Qiang was responsible for looking after and tidying up the house, and did not go with them.
Since private ownership is still restricted and we're in a place like Kyoto, Xu Qingzhou didn't let Yang Qiang go out to find work.
Although Yang Qiang was anxious, he was smart because he knew his own limitations and was willing to listen to Xu Qingzhou.
Even though Xu Qingzhou didn't explain much to him, he still readily agreed and patiently tidied up the house without going out to look for business on his own.
Xu Qingzhou, carrying Yu Wanwan's belongings, took her to school with him.
They were both from the finance department, which doesn't have many applicants, and there was no issue of them being in the same department but different classes.
This made things convenient for Yu Wanwan, as she left all the reporting matters to Xu Qingzhou.
She was only responsible for standing on the sidelines, being a quiet decorative vase, and would step forward to sign something when needed, which made her extremely happy.
Both of them had been in the newspapers, and their appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Fortunately, most students these days are self-controlled and don't rudely crowd around them. Even if they look at them curiously, they do so discreetly and don't cause any trouble for the two of them.
Registration is quite simple now. After confirming the identities of the two individuals, completing the enrollment procedures, confirming that they will not be living on campus, and receiving the textbooks, it's basically over.
Now, all we need to do is wait patiently for the start of the new school term.
However, Xu Qingzhou was not in a hurry to go back. He took Yu Wanwan for a walk around the school to familiarize her with the environment, and then went to see their classroom.
To Xu Qingzhou's surprise, he would run into Xu Yang here.
His stepmother's son with his father, his adopted brother.
"Xu Qingzhou? What are you doing here?!"
A note from the author:
All the coins have been distributed! Thank you all for your comments and for following along!! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
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