Chapter 435

Jingzhang's matter caused quite a stir, and Jiao Yuan even called specially to ask about it. Fortunately, by year‑end the students were busy preparing for final exams, buying souvenirs, and snatching train and plane tickets home, so fewer people went to block Jingzhang, but now Jingzhang isn't as free on campus; whenever he steps out and is seen, someone immediately gives chase.

The students chase, Jingzhang runs, so now Zheng Tan rarely sees Jingzhang strolling leisurely on the roads when he walks around campus; he can only hide in the courtyard playing with A Huang or go to the little flower bed to bond with the two dogs.

This is the downside of fame — no benefits, just a heap of trouble. Seeing Jingzhang's predicament, Zheng Tan feels fortunate to have kept a low profile all along, and A Jin also hasn't revealed himself.

After Christmas and New Year's, the Jiao Family counted the days every day, waiting for Jiao Yuan to return.

This is Jiao Yuan's first time being away from home for so long — half a year — and only with difficulty could he finally come back. Jiao Yuan called the Jiao Family to say he'd likely be delayed; he's helping out in his advisor's lab over there, and a project in the lab is keeping everyone busy, so no one in the research group has left, and Jiao Yuan feels awkward just leaving on his own. Even though he's only a freshman, if he really left, the other students in the group might not say anything to his face, but they'd surely have thoughts about it.

Jiao Ba can understand this; his students are like that now, watching the undergraduates leave one by one, while some graduate students still have unfinished work and want more hands to help. In fact, this also deepens Jiao Yuan's bonds with his senior fellow students, which will become useful connections later. It also lets the advisor form a better impression of Jiao Yuan, so after graduation — whether he goes abroad or takes the postgraduate entrance exam — the advisor will surely help him.

Understanding is understanding, but Jiao Ma still feels uneasy in her heart and continues to await the days.

On the twenty‑sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Chu Hua Da Xue was deserted; Jiao Yuan had just returned, and Jiao Ba drove to the station to pick him up.

After half a year away from home, Jiao Yuan has changed considerably. Before, he could only be described as a student, possessing the purity and youthful recklessness of a student, but now his speech and actions appear much more mature. Indeed, leaving one's parents really can accelerate a person's growth.

What annoys Zheng Tan is that anyone who comes back likes to bring him up and weigh him down. Protests are useless.

Although he returned late, being able to spend a reunion year is also a good thing. Jiao Yuan said that some of his senior fellow students in that lab still have to stay in the capital for the New Year, because the experiment has reached a critical stage; they can't leave, and they can't go home either, spending all day in the lab racing against time. Some hot research topics are also being studied by many people abroad; if you fall behind a step, your results may seem meaningless to some, regardless of how much time, money, and effort you've invested or how much sacrifice you've made.

That's especially tough, and such things happen often in this field; Zheng Tan has heard about them several times.

After the New Year, everyone returned, and Jiao Yuan's few friends gathered again, making plans to take Zheng Tan to "Triumph" to swipe his cat card. The four from the courtyard plus Fu Lei made five, and they spent the night at "Triumph" chatting, joking, drinking, and playing, while Zheng Tan listened on the side as they complained about their miserable college lives.

Roughly speaking, among the five, only Xiong Xiong is the most leisurely; Jiao Yuan, Su An, and Lan Tianzhu are all very busy, and outside of class they have to stay in the lab, and they can't easily slip away because their advisors know their own fathers and keep in touch; if they slack off and get caught, it's not just unpleasant for them, their fathers also lose face.

Everyone else thinks they have connections, that someone above is looking out for them, so they have nothing to worry about — yet no one realizes how much pressure they themselves are under. When others are having fun, they have to go to the lab to lend a hand; when others are chasing girls, they wordlessly attend to their experimental subjects; when others go home, they still have to stay in the lab to help their senior fellow students. Who is luckier, who is more miserable?

As for Fu Lei, he works part‑time; his family's situation is poor, and they spent a lot on his high school education, and now supporting him through university is also a strain. Since he doesn't have many classes, he even dares to skip some, going out to look for part‑time jobs and internships to ease the financial burden, and also so he can quickly find a place to settle after graduation — his father lacks the ability to pull strings and find connections, so he can only rely on himself.

Zheng Tan listened on the side and couldn't help sighing, wondering how he felt nothing special when he himself was in college back then, yet now he feels these five guys have suddenly started to mature quickly.

"Suddenly I feel like my high‑school self was awesome — knew astronomy above and geography below; after half a year of college I've forgotten a lot, and by the time I graduate, I'll probably have forgotten all the non‑professional knowledge." Fu Lei, who did part‑time tutoring during his freshman year, exclaimed.

Jiao Yuan said, "Exactly, I often run into people asking, 'You're a student at a prestigious university — how can you not know middle‑ and high‑school material?' But now I only read a lot about what's related to my major; outside of that, my impression has faded."

The other three nodded in agreement.

"Actually, that's mostly the case; there's nothing strange about it." Su An said.

Xiong Xiong gave a hehe laugh and said, "A cat once said, 'The more you study, the more you know; the more you know, the more you forget; the more you forget, the less you know; so why study at all?'"

"Haha!"

"Hey, Xiong Xiong, do you remember that teacher who wrote a comment at the end of your Chinese exam back in middle school?" Lan Tianzhu asked with a smiling, narrowed‑eyes look.

Xiong Xiong straightened his face, imitating the usual expression of that middle‑school Chinese teacher, and said solemnly, "Your lack of kindness is truly excessive!"

"The other day I went to the vegetable market to help my mom carry a basket, and I ran into that teacher again — he looks much older now."

"Let's all go visit those middle‑school teachers together sometime soon, since they don't live far from here." Jiao Yuan proposed.

"Sure, let's also take in the high‑school teachers on the same trip. We probably only get to come back this way once or twice a year."

……

This year went fairly smoothly.

Jiao Yuan, Su An, and Lan Tianzhu couldn't finish the full fifteen days at home; after the eleventh day of the first lunar month they left one after another, and Jiao Ma cried for several days at home — not just her, but Su An's and Lan Tianzhu's families were the same.

Su An's mother also came over and pulled Jiao Ma into tears together, saying, "When they weren't back I kept hoping and waiting, but after they returned I felt restless after just a few days. I even told him, 'Hurry up and go back to school,' but now that he's left, my heart…"

They hadn't finished speaking when the two mothers burst into tears.

Zheng Tan hid outside the door, afraid to go in lest he be dragged into mediating the mood. After thinking it over, looking at the paths Jiao Yuan and the others have chosen, it seems they'll probably continue studying further or go abroad, since in many fields foreign authority is indeed greater, and many domestic things aren't recognized internationally. So the chances of them returning to Chu Hua Da Xue are slim; following that logic, will it happen every year that as soon as the kids leave home, a few mothers gather together to cry?

Probably, once you get used to it, it'll be better.

Of course. Technological development has made long‑distance contact much easier. Jiao Ma video‑calls Jiao Yuan every week, and occasionally sends a message — this is far better than the days when there were no phones and one could only hope for slow letters.

When the school‑opening season came around again, Jiao Ma and the others got busy, so they didn't have as much time to feel sad.

Zheng Tan wandered to the outer wall of the school, picked up a pencil, and added a note reading "2011‑02‑28". Finding the message too plain, he looked up at the big sun in the sky, then drew a circle after the date and added a few strands of "fur" outside the circle.

At noon Zheng Tan ate lunch in Jiao Ba's office; Yi Xin now comes here every day to eat together, Jiao Ba is currently heading a major project, and Yi Xin participates as well. Sometimes the mentor and disciple discuss the project's progress at length, then assign tasks to the graduate students they're supervising.

"Hey, Professor Jiao, when do you think I'll make it big?" In private with Professor Jiao, Yi Xin is also quite casual.

Jiao Ba looked up at Yi Xin and said, "Wait until they stop calling you 'Yi Shixiong.'"

Because Yi Xin is easy‑going and young — only a few years older than many graduate students — most people in the institute now follow Jiao Ba's graduate students in calling him "Yi Shixiong" rather than "Professor Yi"; Jiao Ba's remark makes sense, for once Yi Xin truly makes his mark, even if he appears amiable, no student would dare call him "Shixiong" so casually.

When talking about the recent lab's few white mice, Yi Xin also thought of the red‑haired mouse under strict care.

Thanks to this red mouse, it has supported several high‑impact‑factor papers in the institute; to this day it is still treasured by all the senior researchers in the Life Sciences Institute, its food is meticulously prepared, any leftovers are discarded the same day, drawing a blood sample is done with extreme care, and the senior researchers dare not let undergraduates handle it, fearing that if they exert even a little more force than they would with a white mouse they might snap the red mouse's cervical vertebra — otherwise the institute's instructors would all break down in tears in the Life Sciences Institute's restroom.

Good that the red rat is still vigorous, although not as energetic as when it was first sent here, but its vitality is still much stronger than other rats; looking at it this way, this red-furred rat could live another three to five years without problem, which many would consider a miracle. Now the red rat's temperament has become "gentle" a bit, but those who take samples and are responsible for feeding it still need to be cautious, otherwise getting bitten would be no small matter.

The institute actually wanted to use this red rat to breed more red offspring, but unfortunately, they never succeeded—either the white rats sent in got bitten to death, or the offspring produced had no red fur and suffered various congenital diseases; someone even tried cloning, but alas, still unsuccessful. Moreover, if pressed, this red rat would go on a hunger strike, frightening the usually dignified bigwigs who put on airs before provincial leaders into pale faces, prompting them to hastily back off; normally, if this little guy has trouble defecating or his stool is abnormal, it can prompt the bigwigs to hold a meeting to discuss solutions. After all, this red rat is considered quite old by many; if one careless mistake kills it, what then?

As they spoke, Yi Xin glanced at the black cat dozing with half-closed eyes nearby, thinking: After so many years, this cat isn't young either.

Zheng Tan didn't notice Yi Xin's expression; after eating his fill and taking a nap here, he climbed out the window and left, and in the afternoon he still had to go to the affiliated primary school to pick up Zhuo Xiao Mao. Today Xiao Zhuo had a meeting and planned to ask a student under the Buddha Master at the institute to help, but unexpectedly Zhuo Xiao Mao refused and instead called to have Zheng Tan pick him up from the Jiao Family.

Anyway, Zheng Tan had nothing else to do, and he had previously picked up Xiao Youzi this way, so he headed over there.

Today the affiliated primary school let out early, with the first two classes ending ahead of schedule and the last two being interest-group classes; Zhuo Xiao Mao hadn't signed up for them, so after class he simply slung his backpack and went out.

Seeing Zheng Tan squatting on the wall by the school gate, Zhuo Xiao Mao's eyes lit up; he called out "Hei Ge" and came running, the pencil case in his backpack rattling.

Zhuo Xiao Mao is now in the second semester of second grade; in fact, given his knowledge and ability, completing second grade would be a waste of talent. However, Xiao Zhuo had no intention of sending him to an advanced class or the like; she hoped Zhuo Xiao Mao could study and interact with peers his own age and integrate into this generation.

In class, Zhuo Xiao Mao often didn't look at the textbook, instead reading his own books, and the teachers didn't say anything. Because many of the books he read and the questions he asked were beyond what elementary school teachers could answer, and moreover the Buddha Master and Xiao Zhuo had already instructed the teachers, so the substitute teachers didn't really try to restrain Zhuo Xiao Mao.

Upon seeing Zheng Tan, Zhuo Xiao Mao pulled out ten yuan from his pocket and waved it at him, saying, "Hei Ge, please have some lamb skewers!"

Zheng Tan glanced at Zhuo Xiao Mao. "Isn't this kid planning to go home directly?" However, Zhuo Xiao Mao's classmate seemed to have something on his mind. Zheng Tan shook his head and hurried to catch up.

The little Zhuo Xiao Mao, familiar with the route, walked to outside the school gate and bought two skewers of lamb; Xiao Zhuo had told him that outside food was unclean and not to eat too much, so he just bought them to satisfy his craving.

After buying them, he didn't head straight back to the Xiqu Dayuan; instead, he went onto a small path in the campus, sat on a long wooden bench, offered one skewer to Zheng Tan, and held the other in his hand to eat himself.

With Zhuo Xiao Mao holding it, Zheng Tan only needed to move his mouth.

As they were eating, Zhuo Xiao Mao suddenly said, "Hei Ge, I think I'm about to get another dad."

Cough!

Zheng Tan, who was eating mutton skewers, choked magnificently. (To be continued...)

ps: Many people have asked about the completion time; Chen Ci specially explains here that it will probably be finished next week.