Before they knew it, Lin Baiyu had been in this world for more than a month.
It was now mid to late August. The blazing sun scorched the earth as though it intended to melt all living things beneath it.
Even so, the villagers and the Educated Youths still had to work as usual. After all, they depended on the land for survival, and grain was their lifeline.
If they became lazy and slacked off simply because of the heat, the harvest would suffer, and the following year would undoubtedly be a difficult one.
Against such a backdrop, two people stood out from the crowd.
One was the well known “sickly girl,” Lin Baiyu. The other was the newly arrived male Educated Youth whose luck seemed exceptionally good, Xie Qingyuan.
Since everyone knew Lin Baiyu was in poor health and that the Lin family was more than willing to support her, people had long grown accustomed to her not working in the fields.
But now, while everyone else was busy with the harvest, Lin Baiyu and Xie Qingyuan spent their days heading out lightly and leisurely to attend “classes.”
Naturally, there were always people making sarcastic remarks behind their backs, but neither of them cared. Every day, they simply followed the same route between Principal Wang’s home and either the Lin family home or the Team Two Educated Youths’ Residence.
Today was no different. Lin Baiyu and Xie Qingyuan were once again attending lessons at Principal Wang’s house.
Strictly speaking, there should have been three students.
However, since Zhang Guangcan was an Educated Youth from a neighboring village and did not live with them, his lessons were being handled by an elderly teacher from that village instead.
Returning to the main topic, in Principal Wang’s opinion, both of them were outstanding recent high school graduates. Judging from their examination papers alone, teaching at an elementary school would be effortless for either of them.
As a result, he did not spend much time teaching them academic content. Instead, he was concerned that neither had any teaching experience and might not know how to conduct classes properly.
For that reason, he specifically invited them to his home for a few days to teach them some practical details and precautions regarding classroom instruction.
Principal Wang was already quite elderly. After talking for two or three hours, he inevitably grew tired.
So he left the two of them to study and discuss lesson plans on their own, using old teaching notes he had specially found for them.
Although Lin Baiyu and Xie Qingyuan had come to know a little about each other through previous events, in reality they had barely exchanged more than a dozen sentences since they started attending lessons together.
After Principal Wang left, they briefly discussed their plans and decided to study independently first before exchanging thoughts afterward.
Because Lin Baiyu had already been exposed to a wide variety of teaching methods in the past, she quickly absorbed the material contained in Principal Wang’s lesson plans.
Once she finished, boredom soon set in, and her mind began to wander.
Looking through the window, she saw Principal Wang’s watchdog lying listlessly on the ground with its tongue hanging out.
She could not help feeling grateful that she had been “born” into the Lin family. It was also fortunate that she had secured this iron rice bowl position. Otherwise, if she had to work in the fields under weather like this, she suspected she would collapse within days.
Being a farmer really was not easy.
When she got home after class, she would have to remind Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin once again to take care of themselves while working.
Life for the family was finally getting better. Her own health had only recently improved. The last thing she wanted was for the two elders to exhaust themselves and fall ill.
No, starting tomorrow she should probably cook more mung bean soup. At least it helped clear heat and relieve summer discomfort.
Hmm… there was still no response regarding the manuscript she had submitted.
But it should be fine, right?
Then what should she write for her next article…
Naturally, Xie Qingyuan noticed how quickly Lin Baiyu was learning. He could not help admiring her remarkable ability to absorb new information.
However, he was also a proud person and had no intention of falling behind, so he focused on his own studies.
Unfortunately, before long, he once again began hearing Lin Baiyu’s inner voice.
Xie Qingyuan possessed exceptionally strong willpower. Even with her voice constantly echoing in his ears, he was still capable of concentrating on and completing whatever task he was working on.
Though he had no desire to do so, he ultimately ended up listening to an entire stream of Lin Baiyu’s thoughts.
Feeling somewhat helpless, he secretly shot her several annoyed glances.
Who would have thought that someone who appeared so quiet and refined on the surface could be so talkative inside her own head? Her thoughts seemed endless.
By the time Xie Qingyuan finished studying the lesson plans and estimated that Principal Wang would soon return, he decided it was finally time to discuss what they had learned.
The moment he turned his head, however, he was greeted by a scene as beautiful as a painting.
Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across Lin Baiyu’s slender figure. One fair hand supported her delicate face.
She was gazing off into the distance, clearly lost in thought once more.
Her voice still echoed continuously in his ears, yet somehow, although he had found it noisy just moments ago, he now paid no attention to it at all.
In fact, for reasons he could not explain, his heart had begun beating somewhat faster.
At that moment, Principal Wang returned.
A couple of deliberate coughs immediately startled both of them from their thoughts.
For an instant, Lin Baiyu felt exactly like a student caught daydreaming by a teacher. She forced herself to remain calm and pretended she had not been slacking off.
As for Xie Qingyuan, he met Principal Wang’s gaze directly.
Seeing the old man’s expression, which practically screamed I understand everything, Xie Qingyuan felt a surge of embarrassment.
Why had he been staring blankly at Lin Baiyu?
And why did Principal Wang look so much like someone enjoying a good show?
For the remainder of the lesson, all three harbored their own thoughts, and the day’s instruction ended earlier than usual.
After attending lessons for another two days, Principal Wang finally informed them that they had graduated from his training.
Both of them deeply respected Principal Wang for his integrity and kindness.
Thus, on the day their lessons concluded, they independently arrived carrying gifts to express their gratitude.
After spending several days together, they had become fairly familiar with one another.
Each felt that, whatever secrets the other might possess, they were still someone worth befriending.
Therefore, when they discovered that they had chosen similar gifts, they became even more convinced of their earlier judgment and felt certain the other would make an excellent colleague in the future.
Unfortunately, that was not how it appeared to an outside observer.
That observer was none other than Principal Wang.
Ever since noticing certain signs that day, he had begun paying closer attention to the relationship between the two young people.
From his perspective, both Xie Qingyuan and Lin Baiyu were exceptional.
They were intelligent, quick-witted, and astonishingly fast learners. Many concepts required only the briefest explanation before they immediately understood them, leaving Principal Wang thoroughly impressed.
Both came from respectable backgrounds, possessed extensive knowledge, were in the prime of youth, and displayed humility and eagerness to learn. Furthermore, neither appeared to have any bad habits.
The more Principal Wang observed them, the more perfectly matched they seemed.
Now, seeing how naturally in sync they were, he became even more convinced that his judgment was correct.
Of course, nothing had actually happened yet, so it would not be appropriate for him to say anything.
Still, with the confidence of someone who had lived through far more years than they had, he felt certain they would eventually end up together.
When that day came, perhaps he would even be able to attend their wedding banquet.
After all, he was half their teacher, was he not?
Maintaining the smug satisfaction of someone who believed himself the only sober person among a crowd of drunks, Principal Wang offered them a few words of encouragement before sending them on their way.
As he watched their departing figures and recalled how both had chosen refined, inconspicuous gifts such as paper and writing supplies, a line of poetry suddenly surfaced in his mind.
It was a verse by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin: “Though separated, our hearts share a single understanding.”