Twenty-five

On Sunday, Astragalus Zhou woke up early once again, opening her phone right away to wait for Xiao Ying’s call. She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, worried her movements might disturb her roommates, who always slept in until noon on weekends. She got up, rummaged through her wardrobe, and, imitating yesterday’s look, dressed herself carefully. After a simple breakfast in the dining hall, it was still only a little past seven.

No one would go visiting so early, so she rode her bicycle around the campus twice, from the dormitory to the bus station and back again. Bored from waiting, she began scouting the campus, mentally rehearsing the route she’d take Xiao Ying on when he arrived.

She waited until half past nine before finally receiving a message from Xiao Ying: “Are you up? I’m leaving now, should be there in about half an hour.”

Though she’d waited so long, the lovestruck Lady Zhou had forgotten all about the agony of waiting. She rushed to the bus stop, eagerly counting each bus as it arrived, watching for half an hour until at last, the figure she had dreamed of stepped off the bus and waved to her through the crowd.

Sha Zhouyin ran up to her. When apart, she had a thousand things to say, as if there were endless words bottled up inside, but now that they were face to face, shyness took over, and those words turned into trivial small talk.

“You… waited a long time, didn’t you?”

“No, I saw your message and dawdled a bit in the dorm before coming out. I just arrived, right as you got off.”

“Have you had breakfast?”

“Yes, I ate around seven this morning. How about you?”

“I’ve eaten too.”

The meaningless conversation carried on for a few rounds, and Lady Zhou found herself at a loss for words again. “Shall we… head into the campus? It’s pretty big, takes a while to walk through.”

Astragalus Zhou pulled her bike out from the shed. It was a deep blue, 26-inch straight-bar frame. Sha Zhouyin asked, “Why did you buy a men’s bike?”

“There are too many bike thefts here, so I got a secondhand one. This was the best available. Aside from the straight bar up front, it’s not much different from a women’s bike. I learned to ride on my dad’s 28-inch big bike when I was nine, much taller and heavier than this, but I managed.”

“I knew you were tough.” He laughed, taking over to help push the bike. “Perfect—if you get tired, I can give you a ride.”

Astragalus glanced at the straight bar, pondering whether to sit up front or behind… Buying this bike really was foresight!

They strolled along the tree-lined campus road. Sha Zhouyin asked, “Little Astragalus, you had breakfast at seven? Up so early?”

“Yes,” Lady Zhou lied with a straight face, “We usually have classes at six or seven, so I’m used to it. Besides, the dining hall only serves breakfast until eight.”

“Same for us—we start work before seven.” He lowered his head slightly. “Actually, I woke up at five thirty but thought you’d want to rest on the weekend, so I waited until after nine to head out…”

What a mistake! Wasting two whole hours they could have spent together. If only she’d messaged him earlier! Lady Zhou was frustrated. “Next time, just come earlier. Fewer people on the bus in the morning, and it’s cooler.”

Sha Zhouyin looked up at her, smiling. “Alright.”

They walked down the north-south road from the south gate, passing teaching buildings and dining halls. When they reached the Environmental Sciences building by Dining Hall Ten, Astragalus pointed casually, “That’s our department’s building, pretty shabby, isn’t it?”

But Sha Zhouyin stopped. “You have classes here?”

“Some specialized classes are here, most are in the main teaching buildings ahead.”

He was intrigued, parking the bike by the roadside. “I have to see where you study.”

“Huh? It’s really run-down inside, just classrooms and labs, nothing to see. Our department is building a new hall—all labs will move there soon. When it’s done, I’ll take you to visit. Let’s go to the old campus area by the main teaching buildings, lots of sights there; and the main hall by the east gate, all new department buildings—very impressive… Hey!” Before she could finish, he had already pulled her inside.

The Environmental Sciences building, built in the eighties, lacked the charm of old architecture and had grown shabby over the years, offering little to see. Nevertheless, Sha Zhouyin was full of enthusiasm, exploring from the first to the third floor, then looping back down, even reading the notices on the walls with great interest.

“Is it really that fascinating?” Astragalus approached, only to find him reading the department’s holiday notice word by word.

He turned to her. “This is where you’ve spent three years—I want to see it all, to understand it, so it feels… like I’m closer to you.”

Lady Zhou turned her face away, avoiding his gaze. “I rarely come here. My dorm is where I’ve truly lived for three years. Do you want to see that too?”

He chuckled and resumed reading the bulletin board, noticing the scholarship list and spotting Astragalus’s name. “Little Astragalus, you got a scholarship? You must have excellent grades.”

“It’s nothing, just a second-class scholarship. Lots of people get it…”

“But there are only five first-class scholarships.” He counted the names. “Is this ranked by grades? How many students are in your year?”

“Just a few dozen. Oh, are you done yet? The campus is huge, plenty left to see, let’s go!”

Sha Zhouyin let her pull him out of the Environmental Sciences building. “What’s wrong, Little Astragalus, embarrassed already?”

She unlocked and pushed her bike; he came over to help. “Let me push it.”

After a while, he glanced at her, then spoke slowly. “Little Astragalus, seeing how outstanding you are honestly makes me happy. I’m actually quite thick-skinned, so don’t worry I’ll feel… um…” He stopped himself just in time, pretending to cough, but his cheeks reddened noticeably—so much for being thick-skinned.

Lady Zhou, not much thicker-skinned herself, retorted, “What’s wrong with feeling embarrassed that I worked so hard but still didn’t get the first-class scholarship?”

Sha Zhouyin laughed and jogged to catch up, changing the subject. “Isn’t it almost final exams for you? Does college summer vacation last two months?”

“Exam week is late June, generally done before July, so vacation starts then—semester begins early September, similar to primary and secondary schools. But in the third year, we have social practice, which counts for credits, so at most a month’s break.”

He hesitated. “Will you… go home this summer? Where’s the social practice?”

She looked at him, finally understanding. “How long will your project here last?”

“It’s just begun. The planned duration is a year, so I’ll be here until next spring.”

Construction workers work intensively, with no weekends or holidays—he’d be here for the next several months. “I haven’t decided yet. Social practice is flexible, no set workload, but I want to find a bigger project—it’ll help with job hunting or grad school next year. If I get something good, I won’t have time to go home…”

Sorry, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma—please forgive your unfilial daughter for chasing love. I promise to call often!

“Great!” he replied, unable to hide his delight, then tried to rein it in. “Uh… what did you mean by ‘grad school recommendation’?”

“Direct admission to graduate studies. Most of us are recommended, those who aren’t go job hunting—few take the entrance exam.”

“With your grades, you’ll definitely be recommended. Oh, I saw something about third-year summer practice on your department’s bulletin board—didn’t really understand it, maybe check it again later.”

“I know—it’s the department lab recruiting undergrads for internships, counts as social practice credits.” Generally, students prefer finding external companies for practice: it counts as formal internship, offers some pay, and is more relaxed. Some even pick distant companies to combine it with travel. Few choose opportunities offered by the department. But…

“Interning on campus is convenient, like attending classes, less hassle. I’ll go and ask for details.”

Yes, that would make it easier to meet up, just like now… They exchanged glances, sharing an unspoken understanding.