CHAPTER 449: CHAPTER 101 RETURNING HOME, NING YUHUAN’S HOMETOWN

In the evening, Xu Lin and Ning Yuhuan took turns showering before returning to the room.

Feeling spontaneous, Xu Lin started looking through Ning Yuhuan’s old belongings.

He opened a drawer and found some trinkets, along with her middle and high school graduation photos.

"Where’s your elementary school graduation photo?" Xu Lin couldn’t find it.

"It’s back home, but it’s been so long, it’s probably covered in dust by now."

Ning Yuhuan had washed her hair that evening and was sitting there blow-drying it. Her hair was both long and thick, making the drying process quite a hassle.

"How old were you in ninth grade?"

Xu Lin picked up Ning Yuhuan’s middle school graduation photo and saw the youthful, yet gracefully budding Ning Yuhuan in the picture. Even then, her beauty was already apparent, standing out among the other girls like a fairy.

In this photo, it was clear the students were from the countryside, and Xu Lin thought this must have been a rural middle school.

"Fifteen!"

"You were as beautiful as a fairy even at fifteen, senior!"

"Hmph!"

Ning Yuhuan liked receiving compliments, and hearing Xu Lin praise her, she couldn’t help but let out a coy humph.

"Did you attend a rural middle school, senior?"

"Yeah!"

Ning Yuhuan said, "I went to elementary school in the countryside, middle school in a town, and high school in this county city."

"That must have been tough."

Actually, the promotion rate in towns is not high, and those who can get into high school often only manage to get into very ordinary high schools.

Because both students’ and teachers’ standards are just like that, and the surrounding learning environment and atmosphere are poor. For example, in some classes, there might be sixty students in seventh grade, but only about forty remain by ninth grade. Online, people joke about ’catching the slipping fish,’ and sometimes it’s no exaggeration, because some people haven’t even properly finished middle school. Even in 2026, there are many such cases, as rural children lack understanding, and sometimes parents are short-sighted, thinking that studying is useless.

But actually, apart from thinking about practical benefits like employment, the greatest significance of studying is to broaden one’s mind and perspective.

Back to the point.

Going to school in a town, Ning Yuhuan still managed to achieve good grades and later followed up by attending Jiangdu’s prestigious university, one of the top 985 schools in the 211 project. It wasn’t easy, considering the inherent disadvantages coming from a rural area, which is a natural outcome of economic development, as educational resources inevitably concentrate in economically advanced areas.

"Are your middle school classmates in college now?"

"There are... other than me, I think only about eight people are in college now."

"That few?"

Xu Lin was surprised, as there were over forty people in that graduation photo.

"Not too clear, I might be mistaken," Ning Yuhuan said, unable to remember clearly.

"What about high school?"

"More from high school. I was in the honors class, and all my classmates are in college!"

"But you were the top student, senior."

"I worked really hard in high school!" Ning Yuhuan was quite pleased, saying that in high school, she shut out all external distractions to focus solely on studying.

"How about when you were in middle school?"

Ning Yuhuan asked in return.

"I was just playing around in middle school."

"Did you have any good friends in middle school?"

"I’ve lost touch with most of my middle school classmates, occasionally running into them in town."

Xu Lin attended elementary, middle, and high school in the city. To be honest, some of his elementary school classmates were in the same high school, but it was true that they either didn’t know each other or weren’t that familiar anymore.

Friends and classmates, much like each other, are mostly for certain phases. You know them well during that period, but as time passes, those connections fade, and even if you meet, you might not even greet each other anymore.

"What about high school classmates?"

"There is one, we were desk mates for three years." Xu Lin thought of Lei Haolong, who was still looking for a way to find a girlfriend, yet a semester would end without success.

Ning Yuhuan wanted to ask about Xu Lin’s childhood friend, who grew up with him, but she held back and didn’t ask.

"How about you, senior? Do you have any classmates you were close with?"

"Seems like not really. I was mostly focused on studying, not too familiar with classmates, and then in college, I lost contact even more."

Xu Lin could also understand. Once you’re in college, it’s another new social circle.

Xu Lin put down the graduation photo and started looking through other things.

But there weren’t many things in the drawer, and before long, Xu Lin became uninterested.

Then Xu Lin opened the wardrobe and inadvertently discovered Ning Yuhuan’s school uniform.

"Senior, is this your school uniform?"

"Yes! My high school uniform!"

Xu Lin had a mischievous idea coming into his mind.

"Senior, how about wearing it for me?"

"Why?"

"I just want to see how you look in your school uniform, senior."

"No way, that’s my high school uniform, it feels weird."

"You have no choice!"

Xu Lin smirked mischievously, and Ning Yuhuan knew she couldn’t escape it.

However, Xu Lin didn’t immediately have her put on the high school uniform. Instead, to be safe, he went to the door and locked it.

"Do I really have to wear it?"

"Of course, it’s a little trick to spice up things between us, husband and wife."

"You’re full of naughty ideas!"

Ning Yuhuan teased him playfully.

Her hair wasn’t fully dry yet, but Xu Lin had already picked her up and placed her on the bed.

"My hair’s not dry yet."

"It’s fine, blow it later, quickly change into the clothes!"

Xu Lin was very expectant, and Ning Yuhuan could only blush, putting on her high school uniform bashfully.

It was a summer outfit, just a white short-sleeve shirt and a pair of black sports pants.

Very plain clothes; as everyone knows, there’s no such thing as a good-looking school uniform. The short sleeves were okay, but the pants were ridiculous, with the thighs part so wide, they looked like they were meant for someone much bigger, generally very unflattering when worn.

However, the same attire looks different on different people, and a beauty like Ning Yuhuan made even a school uniform look like an SSS-grade outfit on her.