Chapter 419 – A Scene Witnessed
Afterward, Teacher Li finally revealed her purpose.
“I’m sharing all this because I want to ask if you would be willing to take on some part-time work that can help you practice your oral skills while earning some money.”
“The best way for you to practice now is by interacting with real foreigners.”
“Coincidentally, I know people from Huaxia Travel Agency. They often have foreign clients who need translators and guides. You can give it a try.”
Lu Xia was surprised to hear this. She didn’t expect Teacher Li to find them another opportunity for learning.
Both of them agreed without hesitation, expressing their gratitude to Teacher Li, and arranged to go whenever there was a need on their side. Then they left.
Today, they only had one class in the afternoon, but Teacher Li had taken up a lot of their time, so Lu Xia didn’t feel like going back to the dormitory.
Checking her watch, she realized there were less than twenty minutes left until school was over. So, she decided to walk over to the building where the architecture department was located.
Usually, it was Jiang Junmo who came to pick her up after his class, and she rarely went to find him. This was her first time going to the architecture department’s classrooms.
Peking University was quite large, and by the time Lu Xia reached the architecture department area, Jiang Junmo’s class was almost over.
She found a spot to sit downstairs, planning to wait until the class bell rang before going up.
After a short wait, students began to trickle out of the building.
Soon enough, Lu Xia spotted Jiang Junmo’s figure. She was about to greet him when a female student called him over.
The girl was dressed in a floral dress, wore small leather shoes, and had a butterfly-shaped hairpin. She looked like a little princess.
Her face was blushing slightly as she talked to Jiang Junmo, who, on the other hand, showed no change in expression. After exchanging a few words, he left.
The girl was clearly upset and even stomped her foot in frustration. Finally, she gave Jiang Junmo’s departing back a resentful look before leaving with the other girls nearby.
Observing this, Lu Xia pondered for a moment before making her way toward Jiang Junmo.
Usually, Jiang Junmo would head straight to the parking lot after his classes because he didn’t want Lu Xia to wait for him. This time, however, he was running late due to the earlier incident and was in a hurry.
As he unlocked his bicycle, he was surprised to see Lu Xia approaching.
“Why are you here? Why didn’t you wait in the dormitory?” he asked.
Lu Xia smiled and replied, “Teacher Li had something to discuss with me, and by the time we finished talking, it was getting late. I didn’t feel like going back to the dorm, so I came to find you. Why, don’t you want me to come?”
“How could that be?” Jiang Junmo shook his head. “I was just worried you’d get tired. How about I leave my bike on your side from now on? That way, it’ll be more convenient for you to find me.”
Lu Xia shook her head after hearing this. “No need, today was just an exception. Usually, I’ll be like before.”
However, she took a closer look at him and said, “But today, I did notice something interesting. You seem to be quite popular among the female students!”
Jiang Junmo was taken aback by her observation. “You noticed?”
Lu Xia nodded seriously. “I did. A young and pretty girl was talking to you with a shy smile on her face.”
Jiang Junmo sighed helplessly. “I don’t even know her. When she called me, I was a bit confused. She asked if I was Jiang Junmo, and when I asked who she was, she said her name. I couldn’t hear it clearly, and I was in a hurry to find you, so I just left.”
Lu Xia chuckled. “I see.”
She understood that Jiang Junmo had brushed the girl off, which was why she didn’t think much of it.
*
Chapter 420 – Encyclopedia
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At this point, Jiang Junmo glanced at her with a hint of helplessness. “So, were you just watching the show, and that’s why you didn’t come directly to find me? Did you find it amusing?”
“Absolutely not!”
Of course, Lu Xia wouldn’t admit it and quickly explained, “I wasn’t just watching. I was about to come over to help you out, but before I could get there, you left!”
Jiang Junmo didn’t bother investigating if she was telling the truth and simply said, “She’s probably a new freshman who doesn’t know I’m already married. Once she finds out, it’ll be fine.”
Lu Xia smiled and said, “It seems like I’ll have to visit you more often in the future to assert my identity. That way, you won’t attract so much attention from other girls.”
Jiang Junmo agreed with a nod. “That’s a good idea. It saves me the trouble of saying it myself. I’ll also visit your department more often.”
Lu Xia was a bit speechless. “You don’t need to do that. If you keep coming to pick me up every day, I think most of the freshmen who just arrived should already know!”
Jiang Junmo was quite satisfied with that and said, “Good.”
Later, Lu Xia told him about Teacher Li’s suggestion of working as a translator for the travel agency.
Jiang Junmo nodded in agreement. “That’s a good opportunity to interact with foreigners, which is excellent for language learning.”
However, Lu Xia had her concerns. “I’m not afraid of speaking with foreigners, but I’m worried about translating the names of tourist attractions. I’m afraid I won’t do a good job.”
“No worries. Before you go, you can prepare by looking up the names of the attractions. There aren’t many famous ones in Beijing, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Lu Xia agreed. “I guess that’s the only way.”
“What surprised me, though, is that there are travel agencies in China now? I always thought that in a developing country like ours, people didn’t have much money to travel, so there wouldn’t be many tourists,” she said.
Jiang Junmo chuckled. “You’re right; ordinary Chinese people don’t travel much, but Huaxia Travel Agency mainly deals with international clients, including foreigners and overseas Chinese. It has been around for many years, even since the 1950s.”
Lu Xia nodded in understanding and then remarked with some amazement, “I didn’t expect you to know all this. It’s like you have an encyclopedia in your head. Do you know everything?”
Jiang Junmo looked at her with a helpless smile and said, “You live with me every day. Don’t you know whether I have a book inside my stomach?”
Lu Xia rolled her eyes at his remark and grumbled, “No sense of humor!”
…
On National Day, not only did Lu Xia and her friends have a holiday, but even Kang Kang was off from kindergarten. He had heard from his teacher that National Day was the day the nation was founded, and there would be a grand flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square.
He wanted to go see it.
Since Kang Kang rarely had any specific desires, Lu Xia readily agreed.
They made plans to get up early the next day to watch the flag-raising ceremony.
So, that night, Lu Xia intended to go to bed early.
However, her habitual sleep pattern made it difficult for her to fall asleep after lying down.
At this moment, Jiang Junmo suddenly asked, “Xia Xia, were you jealous today?”
Lu Xia was momentarily stunned and then realized that he was still thinking about the incident at school. She refused to admit it and quickly explained, “Jealous? Not at all!”
Jiang Junmo moved closer with a teasing smile. “Really? I don’t believe you.”
Lu Xia gave him an exasperated shove. “If you don’t believe me, why bother asking?”
Jiang Junmo chuckled and repeated, “You should visit the architecture department more often. Show off that I have such a beautiful wife. It might deter others from approaching me.”
Lu Xia raised an eyebrow and asked, “So, there are others?”
Jiang Junmo immediately shook his head. “No, I told them on the first day that I’m married. Most people in our year should already know, so there’s no one else.”
Lu Xia felt relieved after hearing that.
