CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 270: XINHUA’S COLLEGE LIFE

After dinner, Tian Xinhua, as usual, went down to the first floor to check the mailbox, thinking that he would come back disappointed yet again. However, upon seeing the familiar handwriting on the envelope, a happy smile appeared on his face—Anan must have returned from Guangzhou.

Brother Xin Hua:

I found my biological mother. She seems to be doing well over there; she has remarried someone else. The man she married is a bit complicated, but he treats my mother well. She must be happy, right? However, it truly pains me to think about Daddy. I don’t know how to comfort him.

Anan

The rest of the letter was filled with trivial matters of life, such as good food she had eaten and nice clothes she bought. Tian Xinhua, with a smile, read through the whole letter and then burned the page written about Mu Xiulan until it turned into ashes.

Unexpectedly, Anan’s biological mother had gone to Hong Kong and even remarried?

Tian Xinhua couldn’t help feeling a bit down. This matter must not be leaked out. If someone with an agenda finds out that Anan and Uncle He have overseas connections, it could cause big trouble. He decided to call her tomorrow to remind her to be careful with her words.

During the evening self-study, the classroom was brightly lit, and all the students sat earnestly at their desks, deeply engrossed in their books. Their ages varied greatly, with some students being bearded men in their thirties, and others, fresh-faced young girls and boys merely seventeen or eighteen years old. They looked like they were from different generations, yet in reality, they were classmates—an all too common sight on university campuses in the 1970s.

"Xinhua, are you up for climbing the Great Wall tomorrow?"

A male classmate next to Tian Xinhua leaned over and whispered in his ear. It was none other than Lei Gang from the Inner Mongolia Military Region.

Besides Lei, his childhood sweetheart Zhang Jie was there too, but she was studying in the foreign languages department at Beijing University. Also present was Wu Tianfang, renowned for his harmonica skills, who had chosen quite the prestigious field—astrophysics, something both Tian Xinhua and Lei Gang admitted they had never even heard of before.

Meanwhile, Luo Jun and Liu Datou had joined the military, taking a different path from the rest.

"Who’s going? It’s not just you and your wife, is it? I’m not up for that kind of torture!" Tian Xinhua replied without even lifting his head, completely uninterested.

Somehow Lei had started behaving differently. Back in the military region, he and his childhood sweetheart Zhang would act just like strangers, but once in Beijing, they became inseparable. If they were not restricted by their age, Tian Xinhua wouldn’t doubt that they’d rush to get their marriage registered.

Lei Gang gave an awkward smile.

"There will be lots of people this time. Brother Huang, Liu, Brother Gu, and Tianfang are all going. They’re all old buddies."

It was really quite marvelous how friends he met in Inner Mongolia ended up gathering together in Beijing in the same fashion. Huang Xiaoguang, Liu Yongsheng, and Gu Jiaming had all been recommended as worker-peasant-soldier students this year.

Unexpectedly, Huang Xiaoguang went to the Film Academy to study directing, much to his parents’ dismay who were so upset that they thrashed him and had yet to forgive him.

Liu Yongsheng and Gu Jiaming were studying at Beijing University, Liu in a subject even more profound than Tian Xinhua’s—philosophy, while baby-faced Gu studied another prestigious subject—mathematical mechanics, sharing much in common with Wu Tianfang.

Whenever these two men got together during meetups to discuss their academic achievements, everyone around could almost feel them conveying through their expressions that everyone else was but mere mortals.

Hearing that so many old friends were going, Tian Xinhua readily agreed.

After class, Tian Xinhua and Lei Gang walked out of the classroom together, followed by a female classmate in a green military uniform wearing a Chairman’s badge who called out to Tian Xinhua.

"Tian Xinhua, I’m planning to organize a discussion meeting tomorrow afternoon in our class to denounce ******. Please come and join us!"

This female classmate spoke with a Beijing accent, not a delicate or soft voice typically associated with girls, but one with a masculine energy, very crisp. She is the class leader of Tian Xinhua’s class, named Zhang Weihong, and is an extremely active and enthusiastic girl.

Zhang Weihong has a medium build, with ear-length short hair, a face as round as the full moon, and fairly pale skin, fitting the current mainstream beauty standards. However, her face always carries a very serious expression, as if she is always in a state of critique and self-critique, making her seem unapproachable and significantly more mature than her age. Although she should be a belle in her twenties, she often gives off the impression of being an older maiden.

"Zhang Weihong, I’m sorry but it just so happens I already have plans with a friend tomorrow and cannot attend the discussion meeting you’re organizing," Tian Xinhua replied seriously.

"Tian Xinhua, our discussion meeting tomorrow is a very serious session of criticism and self-review. As the class’s vice monitor, it’s your responsibility and duty to participate!"

Zhang Weihong frowned heavily, clearly very dissatisfied with Tian Xinhua’s decision not to attend the discussion. Still, she spoke rather tactfully; had it been someone else, she would certainly have directly criticized their lack of political consciousness, elevating it to a deeper level.

Tian Xinhua cursed silently, but still responded with a smile, "Zhang Weihong, it just so happens that I am going to Beijing University tomorrow to participate in a similar discussion meeting. Although holding such a discussion in our class is very important and meaningful, we also need to explore these issues with our sister schools, don’t we?"

Zhang Weihong: ....

"Zhang Weihong, I believe with your exceptional organizational skills, you’ll definitely manage tomorrow’s discussion superbly!"

After finishing, Tian Xinhua promptly grabbed the snickering Lei Gang beside him and made a quick escape, leaving a pondering Zhang Weihong behind.

Once they were far from the classroom, Lei Gang couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer, "Haha, Xinhua, I didn’t expect you to be quite the smooth talker, look how dumbfounded that old maid was by your words."

Tian Xinhua shook his head helplessly. If it weren’t for Mr. Yun insisting that he must take a position in the class, he really wouldn’t bother being this lousy vice monitor, which made Zhang Weihong always nag him with that serious tone:

"Tian Xinhua, as the class’s vice monitor, you should..."

It’s utterly annoying!

"Xinhua, could it be that the old maid has taken a fancy to you?" Lei Gang suddenly thought of a possibility and said mysteriously.

Tian Xinhua was so startled that he jumped up and grabbed Lei Gang by the neck, "What nonsense are you talking about? How could that be possible? I am a married man, don’t spread nonsense about me."

"Cough cough cough, are you crazy! You’re choking me to death."

Lei Gang rubbed his neck and glared at Tian Xinhua.

"Who told you to talk nonsense."

"I’m not talking nonsense, if she didn’t have an eye on you, why would that old maid always look for you? How come she never comes to find me, the study committee member?"

The more Lei Gang spoke, the more he felt it made sense, and he said excitedly, "This Zhang Weihong must have set her sights on you, brother, you’re quite fortunate to have caught the old maid’s eye!"