Seeing Yue Zhengyang’s gentle demeanor, Huang Xiu gradually began to relax.
“Given that it’s supposed to be a talk, shouldn’t we be in a five-star luxury hotel conference room or the office of some mysterious organization?”
“After all, isn’t that how it always is in novels? Have you read ‘The Lion in My Eyes’? It describes exactly that—high-end hotels, various luxury brands, spending a fortune just to win a beauty’s smile…”
“I’ve read ‘The Lion in My Eyes’.”
Huang Xiu noticed a distinctly strange expression flicker across Yue Zhengyang’s face upon hearing the book’s title.
The man then cleared his throat twice. “The author of that book is a student at our Tiandu University!”
“Really?” Huang Xiu’s face was etched with shock.
The book primarily tells the story of a group of superpowered university students, known as Night Watchmen, who battle monsters from the Void and secretly protect the world.
The plot was straightforward, even bordering on cliché.
Nevertheless, the book had become incredibly popular among students, thanks to its captivating writing style and youthful fantasy elements that resonated deeply with them.
Even Huang Xiu himself was an ardent fan of the book.
Despite Huang Xiu’s myriad curiosities, Yue Zhengyang showed no inclination to elaborate further.
“Once you have the opportunity to enter Tiandu University, you’ll understand; this author is quite famous on campus.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“As for the high-end hotel you mentioned, that’s an option too. The university has provided me with a generous budget. What do you say? Shall we go?”
In that instant, Huang Xiu admitted to feeling a slight flutter of temptation.
After all, it was a high-end hotel, a place he had never once visited.
The most expensive restaurant he had ever frequented in his life was a family-style eatery where a meal cost merely sixty or seventy per person.
Ultimately, however, Huang Xiu declined.
“Let’s not bother. Such upscale places aren’t really for me.” He clasped his hands behind his head, shaking his small head. “Besides, this is just a conversation between teacher and student today, isn’t it? There’s no need to be so formal.”
“Very well,” Yue Zhengyang nodded with a smile, then gestured towards the school gate. “In that case, let’s depart!”
After they had walked for a short while, the school gate came into view, and only then did Huang Xiu recall a crucial detail—as a student, one could not leave campus during the day without a leave slip!
Not even with a teacher accompanying them; this had always been an unyielding rule in Ying City.
“Uh, Teacher Yue…”
Standing before the school gate, Huang Xiu, eyeing the security guard who had caught him several times, was about to speak when Yue Zhengyang interrupted him.
“Just follow my lead!”
Yue Zhengyang exchanged a few words with the security guard, then effortlessly led Huang Xiu out through the school gate.
The ease of it left him with a sense of bewilderment.
“I’ve already spoken with your school leaders,” Yue Zhengyang said, turning back with a smile. “And I’ve taken the liberty of arranging your leave for today and tomorrow.”
‘What? My leave is already arranged? When? Today and tomorrow—is so much time really necessary?’
Huang Xiu stood before the school entrance, his face a picture of disarray.
“Don’t worry, these two days will be very fulfilling for you!” Yue Zhengyang raised his arm to check his watch.
“Will I be able to come back?” Huang Xiu remained still.
From the campus behind them, students walked past the gate, their playful shouts and laughter drifting over.
“Hurry up, hurry up, there won’t be any hot water left when we get back!”
“It’s fine, I’m washing first anyway.”
“Get lost, you dog!”
“Haha, I’m outta here!”
Cars occasionally sped past on the road ahead, the crunch of tires on gravel unnervingly clear.
“You can come back.”
Yue Zhengyang stood ramrod straight, like a ruler. “I only arranged two days of leave for you!”
As the students walked further away, their playful clamor faded, while the sound of cars grew steadily louder.
Huang Xiu suddenly turned to gaze back at his alma mater.
Beneath the somber sky, the orange-red school name carved into stone stood silently, its age unknown.
The elderly security guard, yawning, was scooping rice from a large porcelain mug with a handle.
He and it had collectively witnessed the rise and fall of this campus.
A gentle breeze swept through, causing the osmanthus trees on campus to sway softly, occasionally sending oval leaves spiraling down.
The main road leading from the school gate to the teaching building seemed perpetually buried under such osmanthus leaves.
So much so that students had to sweep it daily.
He remembered that during his sanitation duty, he had been tasked more than once with clearing this very road alongside his classmates.
“No, I mean afterward… you understand,” Huang Xiu said, looking intently at the young man before him.
“If you wish to return, then you certainly can. Do you truly believe I would prevent you?”
Yue Zhengyang’s smile receded. He rubbed his eyes with his right hand, then turned to look earnestly at Huang Xiu.
“But you must understand, a person might be able to retreat for a while, but can they retreat for an entire lifetime?”
“I don’t aspire to an entire lifetime; a lifetime is too long. I won’t even turn seventeen for another two days.”
Huang Xiu lifted his head, his gaze burning as he looked at the man. “I don’t want to retreat either. I just want to stop, for merely one year…”
“Whether it’s one year or two, in any case…”
Yue Zhengyang raised his right arm, his sleeve sliding back to reveal a skeletonized mechanical watch.
“It’s getting late. Let’s go eat first!”
With that, he strode forward.
“Wait…” Huang Xiu pointed to the right. “Teacher Yue, you’ve gone the wrong way. The restaurant is to the right.”
****
Xiaotian’s Family Feast, a family-style Hunanese restaurant, was nestled in the alley to the right of the school.
It had always been immensely popular among the students of No. 1 Middle School, renowned for its excellent value and delicious food…
And, of course, the proprietress of Xiaotian’s Family Feast, with her generous bosom, might have played a tiny part in its appeal.
Huang Xiu, however, could guarantee that he had chosen the establishment purely for its delicious cuisine.
“How many in your party, students?”
The apron-clad proprietress, though bustling with activity, still managed to attend to the two who had just pushed open the door.
“Four people. Do you have a private room?” Yue Zhengyang surveyed the restaurant’s interior from the corner of his eye.
Square brown wooden tables filled the main hall, complemented by old-fashioned rural-style chairs, evoking a distinct 90s aesthetic.
It was already one o’clock, well past the usual lunch rush, yet the restaurant was surprisingly full.
Most were locals speaking dialect—elderly men and women, alongside laborers.
‘The food must be good…’
A hint of pleasure brightened Yue Zhengyang’s mood.
“Yes, we have one last private room, upstairs.”
The proprietress led Huang Xiu and his companion up to the private room on the second floor. After setting down a grease-stained wooden clipboard, she descended, only to return shortly with four sets of cutlery.
“Teacher Yue, do any of you have dietary restrictions?”
Taking the clipboard, Huang Xiu unclipped the purple ballpoint pen, his left hand turning the menu pages while his right hand twirled the pen.
“No dietary restrictions for anyone. Just order a few extra dishes,” Yue Zhengyang replied, his gaze fixed on his phone, seemingly engrossed in a conversation.
“Everyone, like you, has quite an appetite.”