Zhu Yun and her father returned home at 7pm that night. As they left the car, they ran into Jiang Lin and her son. Jiang Lin and Zhu Guangyi exchanged greetings as they headed into the house. Zhu Yun and w.a.n.g Yuxuan trailed behind their parents.

“The semester just finished, right?” he asked her.

“Mmh.”

When the front door opened, the warmth and aroma of food flowed out. Zhu Yun’s mother enthusiastically greeted everyone. “What a coincidence,” her mother said. “You all came together!”

“That’s right,” Jiang Lin replied. “Such a coincidence.”

Jiang Lin and Zhu Yun’s mother were good friends. When they met, they never had enough time to talk about everything. Zhu Yun was changing her shoes in the foyer when she heard her mother say, “Why does it feel like you just keep getting younger?”

Jiang Lin politely reponded, “What do you mean young. I’m 50-somthing years old, an old woman.”

“Who would believe that you were 50?” Zhu Yun’s mother pat Jiang Lin’s shoulder and laughed. “It must be because your son works so hard. He never causes his mom to worry, so she gets younger the longer she lives.”

Jiang Lin also laughed. She turned back to w.a.n.g Yuxuan and said, “Hurry and greet your Aunt Liu. Don’t just stand there.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan gave a forced laugh. “What can I do but stand here? You’re blocking the way.”

Jiang Lin smacked him. “Rotten kid. You just came home and you’re already talking back.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan turned to Zhu Yun’s mother and greeted her, “Auntie Liu, h.e.l.lo.”

“h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo. Quickly, come in.”

Dinner was already prepared, so everyone sat down to eat. Zhu Yun first stopped by her room to change her clothes. When she went to wash her hands, she ran into w.a.n.g Yuxuan. They stood still a moment. Then he turned to the side and said, “Ladies first.”

“Thanks.”

After she washed her hands, she returned to the dining room. Her mother and Jiang Lin were having a cheerful conversation. When she saw Zhu Yun, she waved her over. “Come over and chat with your Auntie Jiang.”

Jiang Lin waved her hand, dismissive. “No need to talk to me. You should talk with Xiao Yu. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen each other. How long has it been…”

Zhu Yun’s mother quickly spoke up, “Nearly six years. We haven’t seen Xiao Yu since he went abroad.”

“Aiya, really. Time just flies by. Zhu Yun’s already grown up into a young lady. What a good girl.”

“What do you mean good.” Zhu Yun’s mother laughed and then looked over at her. “Hear that. You should be good.”

Zhu Yun, “……”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan arrived to the table, and Zhu Yun’s mother had him sit next to Zhu Yun. Zhu Yun’s mind was elsewhere though. After awhile, she’d only had a few bites of dinner.

“Not hungry? Or are you on a diet? Why are you eating so little?” w.a.n.g Yuxuan whispered to her.

“It’s nothing. You should eat.”

“Well, I’m starving.” w.a.n.g Yuxuan ate quickly, and his bowl was empty in the blink of an eye. “Auntie Liu’s food is still as delicious as ever.”

Across the table, Zhu Yun’s mother smiled at his words. “You’re still so nice, Xiao Yu. Eat more. I cooked a lot.” Then she turned to Zhu Yun and said, “Make sure to talk to Xiao Yu later on. He’s what a truly great student is. He received a full scholars.h.i.+p. Xiao Yu, I heard that your mom say that you coud join the faculty when you graduate?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan replied a bit helpless, “Are my mom’s words even trustworthy?”

Jiang Lin pointed at him and told Zhu Yun’s mother, “Look at this child. His lips are always closed. He never tells people anything.” She turned to her son and asked him, “What are you afraid of? We’re not strangers here.”

“It’s because we’re all family that I have to tell the truth. I’d have boasted about it already to others.”

Zhu Yun’s mother couldn’t help laughing at w.a.n.g Yuxuan’s words. Zhu Yun watched quietly as the words bounced back and forth between the others. She really wanted to leave the table… Zhu Yun shot a glance at w.a.n.g Yuxuan, wondering to herself when he would finally finish eating.

w.a.n.g Yuxuan must have heard Zhu Yun’s silent call, because after he finished his second bowl, he put down his chopsticks and pat his belly. “I’m so full. Auntie Liu, since we’re done eating, we’ll leave (the table) first. Take your time with your conversation.”

Zhu Yun’s mother called to her, “Show Xiao Yu around a bit and talk to him.”

Zhu Yun stood up and she and w.a.n.g Yuxuan walked away from the table. Behind them, her mother was still chatting with Jiang Lin. “I’d like to send her abroad to study too. Let her see more of the world. To be honest, the education in our country right now…”

When the two headed to the second floor, the voices below faded away.

Zhu Yun opened the the door to her room. w.a.n.g Yuxuan asked, “This is your room?”

“Mmh.”

“It’s very neat and tidy.”

“Of course, since no one’s living in it.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan said, “That’s different. A hotel room is tidy as well, but it feels cold. At a glance, you can tell that this room’s owner has good habits.”

Zhu Yun chuckled. She turned and replied, “Don’t talk like it’s your first time here.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan also laughed. “Isn’t this what they call ‘a walk down memory lane’? Just trying to add some freshness to things.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan was five years older than Zhu Yun. Because their mothers were good friends, the two had met when they were young. w.a.n.g Yuxuan always told Zhu Yun that he’d carried her when she was still just a baby, but she never believed him. Unfortunately, after school started, everyone was focused on their studies, and so the two didn’t get to hang out much.

Zhu Yun got w.a.n.g Yuxuan a gla.s.s of water, and then the two sat down on the couch.

“You’re not going to ask me anything?” w.a.n.g Yuxuan asked. “That’s what auntie told you do to earlier.”

Zhu Yun pulled out her laptop from her bag. “Is the moon pretty abroad?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan replied with a click of his tongue. “How insincere.” Zhu Yun powered on her laptop and w.a.n.g Yuxuan pouted. “Is it really so boring to talk to me? You even have to go online to entertain yourself.”

“…No, it’s not that. I have to check my email.” Well, actually, Zhu Yun didn’t really need to check her email. It had just become a habit to open her laptop when she was bored.

w.a.n.g Yuxuan watched her from the side, so she really had to check her inbox. She hadn’t expected that she’d really have a new email. It was a school notification that grades were up.

“Oh, oh, oh!” w.a.n.g Yuxuan cried out, excited. “Grades are up. Hurry and check!”

“……” Zhu Yun had no words for w.a.n.g Yuxuan.

w.a.n.g Yuxuan urged again, “Hurry and check them.”

Zhu Yun logged onto the school network and clicked on the semester transcripts. w.a.n.g Yuxuan was more concerned than she was. He leaned over to see her results, and then exclaimed with admiration, “Not bad, cousin! Your results are high in all your cla.s.ses! Hurry and check your national ranking.”

After he spoke, Zhu Yun didn’t move from the screen.

“Cousin Zhu?” w.a.n.g Yuxuan turned and then saw Zhu Yun laughing. Now, she wasn’t laughing at him. She was laughing at one of her final scores.

The Basic Principles of Marxism: 97 points.

Three points short. But alas, the world wasn’t perfect. The image of a certain top scorer’s cold, c.o.c.ky expression floated into her head, which only caused her laughter to deepen. When she came back to her senses, she saw that w.a.n.g Yuxuan was looking at her, a bit stumped. She asked, “What?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan shook his head. “Nothing.” He looked away, towards the bookcase at the side. But he quickly turned back to her. “Cousin Zhu.”

“Mmh.”

“Can I praise you on something?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m worried you’ll become arrogant.”

“Then don’t say it.”

“But I have to.”

“……”

Zhu Yun closed her laptop. Then, all of a sudden, w.a.n.g Yuxuan said, “You’ve gotten pretty.”

Zhu Yun paused, her brows jumping up. “Really?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan replied, “See, I knew you’d get arrogant.” Zhu Yun shrugged, and then he moved on to something more serious, asking, “Auntie Liu wants you to study abroad. What do you think about it?”

“I haven’t thought about it.”

“The time to think about it is now, before it’s too late. If you plan to study abroad, you should start getting ready as soon as possible. No need to go overboard, but your major courses should be outstanding. Better yet would be to get some articles published in journals. I have some connections for that, so if you need help, let me know.”

Zhu Yun scratched her face. “I’m not really a theorist, so I don’t like dealing with articles much.”

“Going the practical route is fine too. Join some big compet.i.tions. The more activities you have, the better.” w.a.n.g Yuxuan continued, “I work with finance, so I’m not very familiar with computing. But the pathways are similar enough. When I get back, I’ll help—”

“Stop.” Zhu Yun reminded him, “I haven’t even finished my first year yet…”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan looked at her, and then he smiled. “Right. You’re still a kid. But still, you should prepare for it. Opportunities go to those who are prepared.”

You could stay at school to lecture on student affairs.

“Is it tough living abroad?” Zhu Yun attempted to change the topic.

w.a.n.g Yuxuan shook his head. A bit pensively, he said, “Once you see yourself clearly, it’s not tough at all.”

“What’s that mean?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan said, “Life is filled with distractions, so it’s very easy to lose sight of things. A lot of people give up who they are. They spend their time chasing after things that don’t suit their life. I’ve been on my own for six years, and I’ve seen a lot of people like that.

“But what can you do about it.” He continued, “When you’re in a foreign place, in order to gain acceptance into the society, you’re bound to have to give some things up. Get rid of some habits, widen your outlook. To be honest, I’m trying really hard to stop myself right now.”

Zhu Yun asked, “Stop yourself from what?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan playfully replied, “Stop myself from using English.”

Zhu Yun laughed.

At 9:30pm, Jiang Lin called to w.a.n.g Yuxuan, “Get ready, we’re leaving!”

Zhu Yun’s mother and Jiang Lin set the date for their next get together. The 7th of the new year.

“It’s not often that Xiao Yu comes home. Look how skinny he’s gotten. We’ll have to fill him up.” As Zhu Yun’s mother sent her friend off, she added, “Xiao Yu, have you left your contact info with Zhu Yun?”

“Of course,” he replied.

“If she doesn’t understand anything in the future, please help her out. Don’t think of it as bothersome.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan grinned at Zhu Yun and said, “I like being bothered. Remember to bother me, Cousin Zhu!”

Zhu Yun, “……”

After sending their guests off, Zhu Yun’s mother grabbed her hand. “Aiyo, I’ve missed you. Let’s go inside.”

Before her mother’s talk with her, Zhu Yun first went upstairs to retrieve her laptop. “Mom, have a look.”

It was her semester grade report. Zhu Yun had scored full points in four cla.s.ses, and she was ranked 2nd in her cla.s.s. Her mother was extremely happy, and she called her husband over. “Look at Zhu Yun’s grades.”

Zhu Guangyi glanced at it and then replied calmly, “Not bad. There’s still s.p.a.ce for improvement.”

Zhu Yun gave an, “Mmh.”

Her mother gave her father a nudge. “Don’t pressure her too much!” A grade report was simply magical. With it, a conversation flowed very smoothly.

“Go on and get to bed. Tomorrow, I’ll take you out to buy some new clothes. New Year’s is nearly here. You came back too late.”

Zhu Yun returned to her room and took a shower. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Eventually, she pulled out her phone and texted Li Xun. It was a simple text, one sentence long: “I got 97 points for Marx.”

A few seconds later, Li Xun replied: “Why’s that higher than my score?”

Zhu Yun laughed but didn’t reply. She buried her head in her soft pillow, afraid that her laughter would be too loud. The moonlight s.h.i.+ned on her head, gentle as a stream of water.