Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Yes, of course I’m going back…” Gu Nianzhi broke into a happy grin, her voice naturally turning into honey, “Huo Shao, do you miss me?”
“Yeah.” Huo Shaoheng calmly replied but a hint of a smile flashed through his eyes as he shared a glance with Gu Nianzhi through the video call.
After a long moment, she reached out to stroke his face on the screen and said quietly, “I miss you too, everyday…”
“Then I’ll come pick you up?” Huo Shaoheng typically had no time to pick Gu Nianzhi up on Friday and according to schedule he typically finished all his work Saturday at 6am. But with the spell cast by Gu Nianzhi’s longing gaze, he decided to not sleep tonight and continue working so he could pick her up 7 or 8pm on Friday.
Gu Nianzhi nodded happily and said with generosity, “Ok, I’ll wait for you.” She then added with some regret, “I didn’t drive my car here, otherwise I’d take you for a ride.”
Huo Shaoheng smiled, “Wait for my call on Friday.” He then ended the video call.
Gu Nianzhi threw the phone, then herself on the bed. She rolled around gleefully on the mattress, the excitement seeping out of her heart. Compared to Huo Shaoheng’s typically aloof attitude, he now treated her better and better everyday. Yeah! Gu Nianzhi made a victory sign in her heart and giggled as she hugged her small panda pillow. So this was what it was like to love someone and have them love back–a bittersweet happiness was about to spill from her heart. She put her hand against her thundering heartbeat, happily imagining the approaching weekend. Her face got red and she finally stared at her innocent little panda pillow for a whole 10 minutes before the dirty thoughts left her mind. Although she had no indecent thoughts now, she couldn’t help herself from having a dream of Huo Shaoheng that night… The warm embraces, passionate kisses, feelings of being within each other and having no distance between their skin made her cheeks flush and heart thud even in her dreams. When she woke up the next morning, she couldn’t believe she had such a wild dream and forced herself to repent for a few minutes. After sitting on the bed in a stupor for a while, she finally removed the blankets and got up.
Ma Qiqi got up early in the morning and was humming in the living room as she practiced ballet and made breakfast. After the food was done, she knocked on Gu Nianzhi’s door, “Nianzhi, get up for breakfast. I made rice porridge today myself today! It’s perfectly cooked and creamy, so delicious.” Ma Qiqi’s family came from the northern part of the Empire, so she was very good at making flour based dishes.
Gu Nianzhi opened the door and was instantly intoxicated with the aroma of the rice porridge. Taking several deep breaths, she felt refreshed and the light sheen of sweat on her back also woke her body up. “Qiqi, I love you so much!” Gu Nianzhi walked over with a grin and sat at the dining table to look at breakfast. Aside from the golden colored rice porridge, there was also peeled hard boiled eggs, halved duck eggs with oozing yolks, as well as big meat buns and fried donuts fresh from the cafeteria. “These are all my favourites!” Gu Nianzhi looked at Ma Qiqi with excitement, “How did you know I love this food?”
Ma Qiqi was shocked, “Really? These are my favourite too!” With a similar palate, the roommates bonded closer together.
Gu Nianzhi brought a glass of warm milk to Ma Qiqi and said, “I’m going home this weekend, I’ll see if we have any more sweetpea cakes and fried rice cakes so I can bring you a few more boxes?”
“Ok! Thanks Nianzhi!” Ma Qiqi nodded, “I couldn’t stop thinking about them after that one time. Too bad the onesfor sale aren’t as good as yours.”
Gu Nianzhi had asked Huo Shaoheng where the sweetpea cakes and fried rice cakes were from but he had said they were specially provided for the military so she didn’t ask again. She would nag him to bring her some more when she went home this time. “I asked the person who got the snacks last time and he said they are not for sale, so I’ll just get some for you.” Gu Nianzhi said awkwardly as she picked up a piece of halved salted duck egg with oozing yolks for Ma Qiqi.
Ma Qiqi nodded with a smile, “I was guessing they are not for sale, otherwise how could a foodie like me miss out on them?!”
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re the best.” Gu Nianzhi set down her chopsticks with a grin, “I’m full now, you go wash up. I’ll do the dishes.” Gu Nianzhi couldn’t cook so she was always proactive about washing dishes. She had quite the preparation for it–aside from a pair of elbow length rubber gloves, she also wore an apron and specially formulated dish soap that didn’t damage her hands.
After Ma Qiqi washed up and came out in a change of clothes, she almost laughed so hard she couldn’t stand straight at the sight of Gu Nianzhi in full protective gear.
Gu Nianzhi heard the laughter and knew Ma Qiqi was making fun of her dishwashing “armor”. She pouted, “Qiqi, you might think I’m being dramatic but this is the greatest protection for the skin on your hands. Even the best dish soap can damage your skin, so it’s best not to touch it.”
Ma Qiqi shook her head, “I hate washing dishes, since you’re willing to do it how about we get a dishwasher one day?”
“Ok, I’ve wanted one for a long time but doesn’t the dorm control the amount of electricity we use? Can we buy household appliances on our own?” Gu Nianzhi recalled the dorm guide she read and thought it said that students were forbidden from using their own household appliances. Even all the TVs in the dorms were installed by the university. As for a dishwasher, they probably wouldn’t allow it.
Ma Qiqi sighed and crossed her arms against the kitchen door, “That’s true, the kitchen is so tiny it was never meant for us to actually cook in.” There were so many cafeterias on campus anyway so there was something for everyone. They were just letting their imaginations roam.
Gu nianzhi scrubbed the dishes while she asked Ma Qiqi, “Did you sort out your reference letters?”
“Yes.” Ma Qiqi snapped her fingers, “I called my parents yesterday and told them about the reference letters so my dad said he’ll ask his colleagues to write them for me.” After some thought, Ma Qiqi attempted to ask nonchalantly, “Nianzhi, do you need help with getting yours? My parents know a lot of people…” She worded it carefully because she was worried Gu Nianzhi would get sensitive and think she was showing off how her parents were still alive…
Gu Nianzhi was not overly sensitive and the fact she was an orphan girl was nothing to be ashamed of. If she was really worried about it then her life would be very difficult. Although she was an orphan girl, Huo Shao had always been taken care of her. He treated her so well, so what was there for her to be dissatisfied with? Gu Nianzhi calmly put a cleaned dish back into the cupboard and smiled, “That’s ok, thank Qiqi, I already asked someone to help with my reference letters yesterday.”
“Oh? You already asked someone? That’s great!” Ma Qiqi was reassured that Gu Nianzhi wasn’t upset. She was a straightforward person so she always avoided overly sensitive classmates because they were hard to deal with. But Gu Nianzhi was different–she was smart and knew everything, yet wasn’t too sensitive so it was nice being her friend.
“Yes, my three roommates from my undergraduate years. They are very nice to me.” Gu Nianzhi turned around with a smile as she undid the apron to hang up on a hook, then took off the long rubber gloves and washed them with soap before hanging over the sink.
Ma Qiqi was truly shocked, “You just asked your undergraduate roommates? Is that ok?!” Reference letters had the function akin to their name so they are only useful when written by capable and respected people? This was common knowledge. But Gu Nianzhi always thought that with He Zhichu’s position and capabilities, he must have a different outlook. Perhaps he valued things different from those of normal people. Of course, she might not be right or misjudged He Zhichu, those were certainly possibilities as well. So she couldn’t just assume that becoming his teaching assistant was something she had in the bag. It would be luck if she got it, and fate if she didn’t–there was no need to blame anything or anyone else.
The next few days, Gu Nianzhi stayed in the library to read reference books and analyze case studies. She went out early, came back late and even attended several renowned B University computing science courses. Her time was well spent and happy. By the time it was 4 or 5pm on Friday, Gu Nianzhi received a text from Huo Shaoheng saying he would pick her up at 7pm. So she didn’t have dinner and quickly finished all her homework at the library then send it to He Zhichu’s email. As soon as she sent it out, she received a text from He Zhichu asking, “Nianzhi, are you free this weekend? I have some work that I need help with.”
