Jiang Kechu hurriedly followed Chen Ke away.
Wan Chu’er put away the lancholy in her heart and continued her support-teaching practice.
Because of Jiang Kechu, in the following days, Mr. Zhang took extra care of Wan Chu’er; after all, they still needed to get the remaining donation from Jiang Kechu.
Thus, most people had no objections. Even if they did, they could only keep it to themselves, like Li Jia and Yang Fan.
Yang Fan, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. When Jiang Kechu was around, he had to hide and keep a low profile, afraid that the ruthless man would spot him and take his life.
Wan Chu’er still ignored him, and Yang Fan didn’t dare to provoke her again. Moreover, he no longer had the opportunity. Teachers and leaders from the support team, such as Mr. Zhang, Zhou Weining, and Li Guohui, began to guard against him, intentionally or unintentionally.
Principal Yu was highly efficient. The day after Jiang Kechu left, he presented a construction plan which, after review by Mr. Zhang and others, was deed feasible. They visited the county with him and the village party secretary, settled with a construction team, paid a deposit, and bought a load of building materials.
Their urgent enthusiasm earned everyone’s admiration. If everything in the world was done this efficiently, who knows how much society could progress.
By the ti the first university’s support team left Heyang Village, the village had already found a location and construction was well underway. Jiang Kechu’s second donation of fifty thousand yuan had also been transferred to Principal Yu’s account.
The remaining money would be settled as the final paynt once the school was built.
As the group of eight departed, a crowd from the village once again saw them off to the foot of the mountain with drums and gongs, unable to hide their reluctance. The villagers arranged two ox carts to transport them to the town to catch a bus.
When they arrived, their luggage had been full, but it was half-empty when they left. They had given away what could be given and left behind what could be left. While they couldn’t do much, they still offered their sincere best wishes.
Finally, on the train, no one retained the excitent and relaxation they had felt on the journey up; everyone was so tired that they fell asleep as soon as they boarded.
After a few hazy hours of sleep, they arrived in the familiar Beijing.
At the train station, everyone casually said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, each eager to go ho and take a good rest and treat themselves.
Mai Qiqi said to Wan Chu’er, "An Zihao is coming to pick up; he’ll be here soon. Why don’t you wait and hitch a ride with ? I’ll drop you off on my way."
Their hos weren’t on the sa path, and surely An Zihao wouldn’t want to see her acting as a third wheel, so Wan Chu’er politely declined with a smile. Taking a taxi was also very convenient.
Pushing her suitcase, Wan Chu’er walked towards the outside of the train station, planning to hail a taxi.
But after trying to flag one down several tis on the road she never succeeded, as there were simply too many people at the station looking for rides.
Frustrated and about to give up, Wan Chu’er decided to walk a bit further and would take a ride if she ca across an empty taxi.
She had only walked a short distance along the road when a car suddenly stopped beside her. The car honked twice before Wan Chu’er realized this car was stopping for her.
The rear window rolled down, revealing a stern face—it was Old Sir Zhong, with whom she had had a few encounters.
"Co on in, I’ll give you a lift," said Old Sir Zhong emotionlessly.
His tone, akin to offering charity, wrinkled Wan Chu’er’s brows. She replied indifferently, "Thank you, but I can take a taxi myself. I don’t want to trouble you."
Old Sir Zhong snorted, "Get in the car when I tell you to. No need for so much talk."
Wan Chu’er: "..."
Ah, this old man!
Alright then, she rembered how Mai Qiqi used to be on guard around Old Sir Zhong as if facing a formidable enemy, thinking to herself that he indeed had the capital to act arrogantly.
She didn’t bother with pleasantries any further, opened the front passenger door, placed her suitcase in front, then circled around to the back seat and got in the car.
The driver was the burly man she had encountered a few tis pushing a wheelchair. Once Wan Chu’er was seated securely, he started driving and asked, "Miss Wan, where do you live?"
Wan Chu’er told him the place and added a thank you.
Old Sir Zhong, who was sitting beside, humd again after hearing this.
Wan Chu’er turned her head, looked at the old man seriously, and said, "Do you have sothing against , sir? Humming all the ti, if you find my presence botherso, I can get off right now."
Even though you’re an elder, it doesn’t an you can be so passive-aggressive all the ti, I won’t tolerate unprovoked hostility.
It’s clear that people with bad tempers easily trigger others’ tempers as well.
Although Wan Chu’er didn’t voice her internal complaints, her large eyes revealed her feelings. Old Sir Zhong looked at her, seed a bit taken aback, and said:
"I rember giving you so advice before, have you taken it to heart?"
Wan Chu’er thought to herself that the old man was jumping topics really fast, wondering if he asked her to get in the car just to ask about this.
"You were kind enough to offer that advice, and I think there was so truth to it, so I wrote it down and posted it on the wall."
Does that count as taking it to heart?
Though the handwriting was so ugly that Jiang Xiaoxiao despised it and replaced it with one of her drawings, she had posted that slip of paper on the wall by her computer desk.
Hearing Wan Chu’er’s response, Old Sir Zhong humd coldly again.
"What’s the use of sticking it on the wall, you have to rember it in your heart and implent it in your actions. After so long, you still have such a bad temper. When I scold you, it’s for your own good," the old man lectured her.
Wan Chu’er faltered, realizing the old man was taking issue with the directness of her previous words. She quickly reflected and thought, alright, the elder is right. I shouldn’t be bothered by it; the old man is aging and prone to grumble, I shouldn’t overthink it.
"You’re right, I was overthinking it, thank you for your guidance."
Seeing Wan Chu’er admit her mistake so quickly, Old Sir Zhong felt gratified and nodded his head.
The two of them fell silent, and after a while of driving, not a single sound could be heard in the car. The driver on the front seat was nearly going out of his mind with impatience.
Silly girl, Old Sir Zhong asked you to ride along, and you just sit there like a statue? Don’t you know how to respect the elderly and care for the young, to chat with the old man?
Anxious on the inside, yet he couldn’t show it, fearing that Old Sir Zhong would notice.
Oh, how he wanted to pry open Wan Chu’er’s head to see how it was put together inside!
After a while, Old Sir Zhong shook his head and asked, "Is it because school is starting, so you’re returning from your hotown?"
Wan Chu’er replied, "No, I was participating in a sumr teaching activity organized by the school. It just finished, so I’ve just returned. Then I ran into you."
Old Sir Zhong uttered an "Oh" and said, "So it seems you didn’t have ti to visit ho. Do you miss your family?"
The old man is trying to make small talk with her?
Thinking this, Wan Chu’er answered verbally, "There is no one left at ho. I’m all alone now, so it doesn’t matter whether I go ho or not."
She rembered she had planned to visit ho during the sumr holiday to pay respects to Bai Zhixi with a paper offering. Since she was teaching, she couldn’t do it and would definitely need to go back this winter holiday.
Old Sir Zhong fell silent for a few seconds, then said, "Just like , both of us are lone individuals."
Ah?
Wan Chu’er was sowhat surprised. It seed that such an influential figure actually had no family. A lone individual indeed!
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