No. 1 High School was not far from the government residential compound. It took about twenty minutes to get there by bicycle.
Zhong Yi had come on the off chance that she might find Guan Shujun at home. She went to the guardhouse at the entrance and asked the guard to pass along a message, hoping to find out whether Guan Shujun was home.
It was not the weekend, so Guan Shujun should normally have been at school. As luck would have it, however, she had a meeting that afternoon. She had decided to return home for lunch and skip going back to school afterward.
Upon receiving the notice from the guardhouse, Guan Shujun personally came to the entrance to welcome her. She also instructed the gate guards that Zhong Yi could be allowed in directly whenever she visited in the future.
After all, they were family now.
“Sorry to trouble you, Aunt Guan.”
“You’re not troubling me at all. Come inside and have a seat.”
After entering the house, Zhong Yi noticed that Gu Qingtang was home as well. Out of courtesy, she smiled at her.
Gu Qingtang did not say a word. She simply got up and returned to her room.
Zhong Yi did not feel awkward about it. She sat down on the sofa while Guan Shujun got up to prepare some malted milk for her.
Zhong Yi hurriedly stopped her. “Auntie, you don’t have to go to all that trouble. I came because there’s something I’d like to ask you about.”
“There’s no rush. Let me make you some malted milk first.”
Guan Shujun insisted on preparing it anyway. She even washed an apple and brought it over to Zhong Yi.
“Aunt Guan, you’re a teacher, so I’d like to ask you about admissions to evening colleges. Do you know much about them?”
Guan Shujun looked a little surprised. “You want to apply to an evening college?”
As the name suggested, evening colleges held classes at night and on weekends. They provided working employees and cadres with an opportunity to pursue higher education while continuing their jobs.
More importantly, the qualifications and certificates they awarded were officially recognized by the state.
Quite a few teachers at Guan Shujun’s school were taking the entrance examinations for these programs as well.
Although the acceptance rate was not as high as that of the regular college entrance examination, getting admitted was certainly no easy feat.
Zhong Yi explained, “I’ve been thinking about it. My grades in high school were pretty good. I usually ranked around fifteenth in my grade. I wasn’t exceptionally outstanding, but if things had gone smoothly, I should have been able to get into college. Unfortunately, I didn’t perform well in the college entrance examination. Now that I’ve learned there’s another route through evening college, I’d like to give it a try.”
“Did you attend No. 1 High School?” Guan Shujun asked.
Zhong Yi replied, “I went to No. 2 High School.”
Although No. 2 High School was not quite as good as No. 1, it was still one of the best schools in the area, ranking just below it. Students who placed among the top twenty at No. 2 High School might not necessarily get into a prestigious university, but they would certainly have a good chance of entering an ordinary university. If they chose the right major, they could even graduate with a job assigned to them.
“What a pity,” Guan Shujun remarked.
Zhong Yi smiled. There was little point in dwelling on the past, but she genuinely wanted to make up for the regrets of the original owner of this body.
No matter the era, educational qualifications were still an important stepping stone. Even if she did not pursue a career that required a degree in the future, she still wanted to earn one.
In Guan Shujun’s eyes, Zhong Yi had just revealed another admirable quality. Getting into No. 2 High School meant that, even if her grades were not outstanding, she was still a capable student.
Even a high school diploma was considered a respectable qualification at the time. It would be more than enough for her to find a job teaching at an elementary school.
And now, Zhong Yi was showing even more ambition by seeking to improve her educational qualifications.
As a teacher, Guan Shujun had never believed that studying was useless. Education might not necessarily make someone rich, but it could help a person understand the world and distinguish right from wrong.
“I do know a little about evening colleges…”
The two women discussed the matter in detail, focusing mainly on application dates, available majors, and which schools to consider.
In 1985, evening college admissions were not yet conducted through a unified national examination. Instead, each province or city organized its own admissions process, and the evening programs at individual universities recruited students separately. Applicants had to undergo a strict review after submitting their applications before they could qualify to sit for the entrance examinations.
“Although our province has some decent universities, they’re still not as good as those in several coastal provinces. The problem is that applying across provincial boundaries makes it much harder to pass the application review.”
Zhong Yi listened attentively. The universities in her own province were indeed fairly average, but she was confident that she could pass the examinations for the subjects required.
There was another factor she had to consider. Unless something unexpected happened, she was probably already pregnant.
Studying at an evening college would not put too much pressure on her. She would only need to take a few months off when giving birth and recovering after childbirth. After that, she could return to class as usual without significantly disrupting her life.
She could earn a degree while still having time to pursue other things during the day.
“Wasn’t Zhou Shu stationed in Dong Province?” Zhong Yi suddenly asked.
Guan Shujun’s eyes lit up. “How could I have forgotten that? There are several excellent universities there. Once you and Zhou Shu get married, you can transfer your household registration there, so you won’t have to apply across provincial boundaries. That should greatly improve your chances of getting accepted. Besides, if you really do attend evening college there, you’ll have Zhou Shu nearby to look after you.”
Zhong Yi had actually been considering the same thing.
Since she and Zhou Shu were going to build a family together, she certainly did not intend to stay here alone, giving birth and raising their child by herself while enduring all the hardships of motherhood, leaving Zhou Shu—the child’s father—to sit back and do nothing.
That would be far too easy on him!
Guan Shujun grew more pleased the longer she thought about it. It was wonderful that her future daughter-in-law wanted to improve herself. And if the young couple could live in the same place, that would be even better.
“Here’s what we’ll do. I have a classmate in Dong Province. I’ll ask her to mail me the admissions brochures from the various universities there. Once they arrive, we can start making preparations. As for the military…”
Zhong Yi said, “I’ve called them. They told me Zhou Shu is still away on a mission and hasn’t returned yet.”
Worried that Zhong Yi might become anxious, Guan Shujun quickly reassured her. “That’s just how military life is. There was a time when we couldn’t get in touch with him for half a year.”
As she spoke, she began to worry that Zhong Yi might reconsider marrying her son after realizing how difficult it was to have a husband in the military.
Fortunately, Zhong Yi had already prepared herself for that.
Being a military wife was hardly easy. Thankfully, Zhou Shu’s rank was…
Wait a minute. Wasn’t Zhou Shu the male lead? She had subconsciously assumed that his rank must be fairly high.
But what rank did he actually hold in the military?
Would his family be allowed to accompany him at his posting?
Zhong Yi suddenly realized that she had been rather careless about these details.
“Aunt Guan, may I ask what rank Zhou Shu holds in the military?”
Guan Shujun froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“You silly girl! You don’t even know his military rank, yet you’re still willing to marry him? That rascal has really struck gold with you!”
Zhong Yi smiled modestly.
Guan Shujun continued, “A few years ago, he was a battalion commander, which meant his family was eligible to accompany him and receive housing in a military family compound. I haven’t heard him mention any promotion in recent years, so I assume he’s still a battalion commander.”
A battalion commander? Zhou Shu was still young, and that was already a respectable rank.
Seeing that Zhong Yi did not look disappointed, Guan Shujun felt relieved. She returned to the topic of evening college admissions.
“Although Zhou Shu is away on a mission, his military records and organizational affiliation are still in place. If you still can’t get in touch with him by then, you can go there yourself. Bring your marriage certificate and all the necessary documents. Once you arrive at his military unit, the officers there will help you sort things out. As long as you get the required paperwork and proof in order, you’ll be able to apply to the universities’ evening programs there.”
Zhong Yi had been thinking along the same lines.
Of course, being in the same place as Zhou Shu would be ideal. But she had no intention of gambling with her own future.
Put simply, she wanted both the man and her future. Adults did not have to choose just one. She wanted everything that belonged to her—and she was going to get it all!
“I have some books and study materials at home. You can take them with you and read through them. If you’re going to sit for the entrance examination, you can start preparing in advance.”
Guan Shujun went into the bedroom and soon returned with a stack of books and study materials tied together with twine.
Zhong Yi happily accepted everything.
Guan Shujun still had to hurry off to her meeting that afternoon, but she invited Zhong Yi to stay and relax for a while.
Zhong Yi politely declined. As it happened, they were both heading in the same direction, so the two women left the Zhou residence together.
After they had gone, Gu Qingtang came out of her room.
The two women had been talking in the living room earlier. Gu Qingtang had not deliberately eavesdropped, but she had still overheard most of their conversation.
What she had learned came as a surprise.
She had originally assumed that Zhong Yi was merely a country girl with little knowledge or education, someone whose only advantage was her pretty face.
She had never expected Zhong Yi to have such good grades or to hold a high school diploma.
And what about herself?
She had neither a father nor a mother. Her only real advantage was her diploma from a health school.
If Zhong Yi managed to get into an evening college, she would become a university student. Then Gu Qingtang would lose even that small advantage.
Gu Qingtang clenched her fists, digging her fingernails deep into her palms.