Chapter 61: The Literary Girl

While Zhai Da and Lu Wei were cooking together.

Several kilometers away.

"Wenwen, your TOEFL teacher is coming at nine. Remember to be prepared. I’ll have Auntie Liu bring your dinner up in a bit."

In the only villa complex in Dongyang County, Lu Siwen was changing her shoes while bouncing her legs, saying crisply: "Okay, Mom, I’m going now."

She actually didn't have evening self-study today either, because she had a tutor. Being in the classroom earlier was just waiting for the driver to pick her up.

Slipping into her giraffe-patterned plush slippers at the entryway, Lu Siwen walked upstairs. A ragdoll cat appeared from nowhere, following its little owner with a "meow," struggling to climb the stairs.

A show-quality blue-bicolor ragdoll, worth 80,000, equivalent to a small car that poops.

If Zhai Da were here, he would probably have to bring out his "monetary unit of measurement" again.

Lu Siwen’s room was on the third floor of the villa, very spacious, and had its own bathroom.

Even with a large bed, desk, computer desk, and bookcase, there was still plenty of space for various decorations.

A bear doll over a meter tall, various exquisite ornaments, and several musical instruments hanging on the wall.

Lu Siwen pulled the curtains and took off her school uniform. The youthful, soft spring scenery was watched intently by the ragdoll cat. Lu Siwen chased it away with her slender ankles: "Go away, male cats can't watch."

The ragdoll cat patted Lu Siwen’s ankle with its paw in dissatisfaction, as if emphasizing that it no longer had a "Doraemon" (a euphemism for being neutered).

After changing her clothes, Lu Siwen found the study materials for her "TOEFL" tutor and laid them on the desk.

Her future path was different from most people in school.

Having been well-off since childhood and receiving countless affection, under the influence of the times, her family naturally wanted to arrange for her to go abroad.

If it hadn't been for her grandfather’s opposition back then, insisting she finish the Gaokao, she might have been sent away in middle school.

And now, that time wasn't far off. After the Gaokao, she would go to the United States to study. Even though her own grades weren't bad and she could safely get into a key university, it hadn't shaken her parents' ideas.

In their eyes, the top universities in China couldn't compare to ordinary universities abroad.

Furthermore, her parents hoped she could stay in the United States in the future, because they wanted to go there too.

Making money in China and then taking all assets to "where people should stay" was the collective consensus of the vast majority of the "propertied class" of this era.

But Lu Siwen wasn't interested in foreign countries. Like many international students, this wasn't a choice made after careful consideration, but rather following her parents' arrangements and the trends of society.

While waiting for dinner, Lu Siwen looked at the golden-red sunset outside the window, lost in thought for a moment.

The orange light dyed her short hair red, like a canary looking at the sky from inside the window.

Lu Siwen inexplicably thought of the scene when she first met Zhai Da.

That day was also filled with lingering afterglow, golden-red everywhere.

Thinking of the 50,000-word 'The Long Journey of Lu' that Zhai Da gave her, her heart felt a bit happier. However, such good stuff was better left for the night when everything was done and she was alone. She wanted to savor the words Zhai wrote.

After a moment of hesitation, Lu Siwen fished out the paper stained with a few saliva marks from her bedside table.

Once again, she savored Zhai Da’s words.

"The sunset drowns in the orange sea, the evening breeze sinks into the city's forest."

"But the streetlights only shine on me; she watches me look up at the bright moon, she watches me bend down to pick up broken silver."

"I marry the girl surnamed Lu home..."

The girl surnamed Lu... is it her... Lu Siwen had always felt this way. Even if it was a coincidence, it was a coincidence that belonged to her.

Or, was it the girl on the back of the bicycle that day...

But it should be me... after all, my surname is Lu...

Lu Siwen couldn't help but think this.

Before Lu Siwen could pull herself away from those words, dinner was brought in by Auntie Liu.

And before Lu Siwen could finish eating, the TOEFL teacher walked in.

She was like a machine that operated at high speed, with every day fully scheduled.

The TOEFL tutor was specifically hired from Qian City, a female teacher around thirty years old.

She had study-abroad experience, dressed fashionably and stylishly, and had the trendiest Chinese-English mixed accent of the time.

Twice a week, she was driven to Dongyang County. As for the price, it was naturally far more beautiful than the person.

The tuition for Maofang Middle School (excluding books and miscellaneous fees) was only 900 yuan a year, while this TOEFL teacher charged 2,000 for three hours.

Because of their business, although the Lu family couldn't leave Dongyang, they strove for the best "quality" in everything, even if it cost several times more.

The smaller the place, the more the rich needed to show they were different.

Immediately following this, Lu Siwen faced three hours of English study.

Listening, speaking, reading, and writing—everything had to be covered. She hadn't stopped TOEFL classes since her first year of high school, and she was diligent and intelligent, with a spoken accent more standard than the English teacher at Maofang Middle School.

The English teacher never called on her in class, just to avoid embarrassment.

After the TOEFL teacher left, Lu Siwen rubbed her temples with her slender fingers, feeling dizzy.

Then she had to continue writing homework for various subjects. After all, she wasn't the type who went abroad because she couldn't study anymore. Having excellent grades in the Gaokao would make applying to prestigious foreign universities easier.

By the time she finished her homework, showered in her own bathroom, and lay back in bed, it was already twelve o'clock.

From this time on, the time belonged to her.

She finally took out Zhai Da’s notebook, full of anticipation.

Her fingertips traced over the four characters 'The Long Journey of Lu'.

Compared to English, she preferred Chinese characters, liked every metaphor, rhetorical device, and the story behind these square strokes. This was something English letters couldn't give her...

When her grandfather was alive, he taught her to write stroke by stroke, which also cultivated her interest in writing, influencing her to this day.

After going to the United States, would these interests of hers... become worthless?

Grandfather said that only one's mother tongue could touch the deepest emotions of a person; it defined a person's way of thinking and extended a person's way of dealing with the world...

Just like... just like Zhai’s 'Streetlights and Wine', why could it capture so many people’s hearts?

Li Bai gave meaning to the two characters "bright moon," Bai Juyi wrote the bitterness of the two characters "broken silver." For thousands of years, countless writers and readers had jointly constructed this "synesthesia" carved into their bloodlines.

So thousands of years later, when a new user of the language picked up a pen to write "bright moon," it was equivalent to reaching out and catching a wisp of light from the Poet Immortal of thousands of years ago.

Compared to just now, Lu Siwen could be said to be in two completely different states. Even she didn't know that she, with her special constitution, had earlobes that were starting to heat up, becoming flushed and translucent.

Stretching, her graceful figure unfolded its charm. Her height could only be considered standard, 166cm, but she had no excess flesh where there shouldn't be, and nothing was missing where it should be. The overall proportions were very pleasing to the eye.

If one had to say, she belonged to the type that looked thin but felt soft when squeezed.

Unfortunately, this spring scenery was still only appreciated by a eunuch cat without a "Doraemon."

"Then, I’ll read Zhai’s work today. I only read the beginning last time."

"This time it’s a full 50,000 words... It’s too extravagant to finish in one day. I’ll just read a little... just 2,000 words..."

"2,000 words is enough, it’s already very long. Zhai said that reading as it’s updated is the best way to read..."

In the blink of an eye, bird calls came from outside the window.

Lu Siwen, with dark circles under her eyes, lifted her head blankly.

She tilted her head.

"Hmm?"