Chapter 351 – Helping Out
The girl fell silent for a moment upon hearing this.
Evidently, she understood Lu Xia’s intention. Based on their English conversation just now, she also guessed that Lu Xia was likely an English major student. But she believed her and was willing to help.
“Thank you, I know what to do now.”
Seeing tears in the girl’s eyes, Lu Xia managed to force a smile, though she felt quite uneasy herself.
“It’s alright, I’m just offering a suggestion. The rest depends on you. By the way, classes for the English department start at eight o’clock tomorrow morning and end at eleven-thirty in the afternoon. You can wait at the teaching building.”
The girl nodded. Her mind was in disarray at the moment, but she kept repeating her gratitude, “Thank you.”
Lu Xia sighed, unsure of what else to say. Knowing her identity, Lu Xia couldn’t let her stay in the dormitory anymore. So she spoke up, “I think you should stay at an inn tonight. Just in case you get sick tomorrow, it’ll be hard to deal with if you’re not well.”
The girl nodded again, agreeing, “I know, I’ll go later. I was thinking about saving money before, just in case I wasn’t admitted to Peking University. I’d have to spend time going to other schools to inquire, so I wanted to save some.”
Listening quietly, Lu Xia pondered. Did this mean that she was certain she got admitted to Peking University now? Just based on the name Xie Guifang?
Lu Xia didn’t say much more. “You probably don’t know the location of the inn, right? Should I take you there?”
This time the girl didn’t refuse, “Sure, thank you!”
Lu Xia didn’t waste time either. When it was about time, she escorted the girl to the place she had arranged to meet Jiang Junmo.
After Jiang Junmo arrived and saw the extra person, he didn’t ask much. Together, they took her to the inn near Peking University.
They waited until she had completed her check-in before leaving.
On their way back, Lu Xia finally mentioned this matter to Jiang Junmo.
After listening, Jiang Junmo fell silent for a while before asking, “Have you confirmed that what she said is true?”
Lu Xia sighed, “More or less. Mainly, the strong sense of inconsistency that Xie Guifang gave me earlier. She clearly got into the English department, yet her English is so poor. She knows very few words. She doesn’t seem like someone who passed the supplementary exam.”
And she used to think Xie Guifang had hearing issues. During the beginning of the school year, she had to call her several times before she responded.
But thinking back, it’s likely that she wasn’t called by that name before, so she didn’t realize she was being addressed.
However, this kind of situation had become less frequent recently, indicating that she had grown accustomed to being called that name.
Jiang Junmo nodded after listening, “No matter what, you’ve genuinely helped this Xie Guifang. Whether she can sort things out from here on, that’s up to her.”
“Yeah, this matter isn’t easy to handle. If everything she said turns out to be false, there’s only so much I can do to help.”
Jiang Junmo nodded, seeing that her mood wasn’t great. He reached out and patted her head, “Don’t overthink it. Everyone has their own path. Since she’s found Peking University, she’ll eventually figure things out.”
Lu Xia sighed, “I know, but I’m thinking about the flaws in our society. Xie Guifang’s situation might be just one example. Do you think there might be others who’ve gone through similar experiences?”
After a moment of silence, Jiang Junmo responded, “The country is developing, and over time, it will find ways to eliminate these problems. Don’t worry, I believe our country will keep getting better.”
Lu Xia nodded, thinking about the rapid development of the 21st century China, “I believe so too!”
*
Chapter 352 – Jiang Junmo’s Desire to Make Money
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After discussing that matter, seeing that Lu Xia still wasn’t in a great mood, Jiang Junmo thought for a moment and said, “Aren’t you curious about why the teacher wants to see me tonight?”
Lu Xia’s attention was instantly diverted.
Curious? Why wouldn’t she be curious?
In the morning, on their way to school, Jiang Junmo had mentioned that his teacher wanted to talk to him tonight, but he didn’t reveal the reason.
“So, what’s it about?”
Jiang Junmo chuckled, this time not keeping it a secret, “The teacher also found me a part-time job through a work-study program.”
“Oh? What kind of job?”
Hearing this, Lu Xia became even more curious. Jiang Junmo, an art student, was his part-time job also related to art?
And indeed it was.
“There’s a porcelain workshop at the Glass Factory. They need someone to paint on the porcelain. The person there is a friend of the teacher’s, so the teacher recommended me.”
“Well, that’s great! It’s directly related to your field!”
Jiang Junmo also laughed, “Yes, and they fire a batch of porcelain every now and then. If I do well, there’ll be a steady income in the future. Then, our family won’t solely rely on your earnings.”
“Huh? Are you saying you got a job because you saw me doing a part-time job and wanted to contribute too?”
“Well, it’s not really that I looked specifically for it. It’s just that I’ve always felt that as a man, earning money to support the family should be my responsibility. And when I saw you working so hard with the translations, I felt a bit sorry for you.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xia didn’t know what to say, her emotions complex.
“You’re overthinking it. While the job serves as a way to earn money, it’s mostly for me to improve my skills.”
“I understand.”
Jiang Junmo smiled at her, “But I also want to make some money. I’ll take care of providing for the family in the future, you just relax a bit. I don’t want you to be too stressed.”
Touched, Lu Xia hugged his arm and leaned her head on him, “Junmo, you’re so good to me. I’m so lucky to have met you!”
Feeling the warmth of her embrace, Jiang Junmo’s heart softened, “Meeting you is my luck!”
…
The distraction caused by Jiang Junmo’s conversation the previous day had momentarily made Lu Xia forget about Xie Guifang’s situation. It wasn’t until they were back at school that she remembered.
Then, she started to feel a bit uneasy. She didn’t know when the girl would show up or if the matter could be resolved at all.
Thinking about these things, she found it hard to concentrate in class. Luckily, it was an English class, so she didn’t need to pay full attention to the teacher’s questions and wasn’t caught off guard.
Finally, the class ended, and Lu Xia packed up her books to head downstairs with Yu Wan.
Meanwhile, Xie Guifang had already left once the bell rang, probably to meet with Li Hua.
The entire morning passed without seeing the girl from yesterday. Lu Xia didn’t know whether she had checked the results at the admissions office or not. What if they didn’t let her check? She worried.
With these thoughts, her unease grew. She felt like she was too concerned about matters that had nothing to do with her.
“What’s wrong with you?” Yu Wan noticed Lu Xia’s absent-mindedness and asked in concern.
Lu Xia snapped back to reality, “Huh? What’s wrong?”
Yu Wan was still worried, “Is something bothering you? You seem really preoccupied.”
Lu Xia shook her head, offering a casual excuse, “It’s nothing. I just feel like the workload for this semester is quite heavy. I’m a bit concerned.”
Hearing her, Yu Wan also wore a troubled expression, “Yeah, tell me about it. They’re cramming a semester’s worth of classes into two. I feel like my brain’s about to explode. But if even you’re feeling tired, then I can at least take some comfort in that.”
Seeing her like this, Lu Xia laughed, “It’s not just me, I think everyone feels the same way. And don’t worry, I’m sure the teachers understand too.”
Yu Wan nodded listlessly, “Well, thinking won’t change anything. It’s better to think about what to have for lunch. I heard they’re serving meat in the cafeteria today. I’m going to get an extra steamed bun!”
Lu Xia chuckled upon hearing this, “I hope you can finish it!”
