Chapter 8: Maybe it's up to us

  The night is charming, on the campus avenue, students are strolling and chatting in twos and threes.

  At the entrance of Jianqing Building, a familiar figure walked over from a distance. Ning Meng's mind suddenly lit up, and he lowered his head towards the direction of the pipe and leaned in, thinking that it would be best if he could blend in unnoticed.

  Just as she thought it was all over, Ning Meng couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. Unfortunately, it seemed that she had rejoiced too early.

  "Really?"

  A familiar voice entered his ears, Ning Meng couldn't help but pause for a moment, raised his head, and in front of him was a slender tall man with glasses, an elegant-looking gentleman staring at them with shining eyes.

  She flashed a flattering smile, "Ah, Teacher Zhou is so good."

  Guan Xian stopped in his tracks, earlier he had felt that Ning Meng was a bit strange, constantly sneaking to the side, and it turned out that he was indeed hiding from someone...

  Zhou Ren nodded, seemingly delighted. "I thought you were interning recently and wouldn't be coming back to school for a while... Well, well, it's good that you're back. If not, there would be fewer opportunities later on."

  "The teacher is right. Today I just happened to be nearby, so I came over for a walk." Ning Meng saw that he had caused him a wave of nostalgia and couldn't help but break out in cold sweat, fearing that he would start a long and grand speech, wanting to escape early but unable to find a suitable excuse.

  Zhou Ren had already shifted his attention elsewhere, and was now gazing at Guan Xuan with great interest, thinking to himself: "What a handsome man, dignified in appearance, with an air of superiority, clearly not an ordinary person... Ah, I didn't expect this little girl to finally start talking about love..."

  His mood suddenly cleared up, and he smiled slightly at Ning Meng, "Aren't you going to introduce this young man beside you?"

  Her heart skipped a beat as he swept her with his gaze. Oh my, what an eerie stare! Could it be that he thought of Guan Xuan as... The moment she thought of the direct consequences of this matter, she felt a chill run down her spine.

  "Teacher Zhou, this is my friend..."

  Guan Xian seemed to know she was embarrassed, calmly leaning forward slightly and extending her hand, "Teacher Zhou, nice to meet you, I'm Guan Xian, also an alumnus of C University, I've long admired your great name."

  Zhou Ren happily revealed eight shiny white teeth, stretched out his hand and shook it, "Mr. Guan can remember me, Zhou Mou is lucky to have three lives." After he finished speaking, he looked at the two young figures in the distance, wondering why this young man was so familiar, with the surname Guan... He suddenly realized that a few years ago, when the Tian Xiang Technology Building was founded, among the representatives of the Tian Xiang Group who attended the donation ceremony, there seemed to be this young man's figure. At such a young age, he has achieved remarkable achievements that make people look up to him, it's simply admirable.

  Ning Meng seemed to have let out a sigh of relief, watching people while humming a tune. Guan Xian swept his eyes over the girl walking in front with quick steps and thought that this little girl had quite good relationships, it was clear that she should be very popular at school, thinking of this, the corners of his mouth curved up slightly.

  After two people got on the bus, there was a moment of silence. Guanxian stretched out his hand and pressed it, and the light music flowed gently, which is a light music series for leisure time.

  Ning Meng usually had pressure, to relax, often listened to light music, so she was quite familiar with these songs. She was wondering which album it was from when she heard his low and thick voice, "Are you used to work yet?"

  "She gritted her teeth, 'Those wicked capitalists, they feed on human blood and spit out glittering banknotes, each one stuffed into their own pockets.'"

  Guan Xian didn't expect her to have such deep hatred for capitalists, and couldn't help but laugh, "What's wrong, who exploited you, worth being so resentful?"

  "Of course." Ning Meng rolled her eyes, recalling Zhou Dongni's condescending attitude towards her, and felt a surge of indignation. "You have no idea, the office is not a place for humans to stay, it's simply a purgatory on earth."

  "Is it that scary? ...... " Guan Xian's mouth twitched, and he thought for a moment before asking, "Didn't you say you were in the external affairs department earlier, how did you end up in the office?"

  "Do you think I'm willing?" Ning Meng directly spat at the boss, "To put it nicely, that's giving me a chance to hone my skills. To be blunt, I'm just not clever enough, not agile enough, apart from doing some odd jobs, what else can a rookie like me do in the workplace?"

  Guan Xian raised an eyebrow, nodded in agreement, "You think the office work is a lot, but actually it's quite good exercise for people. I think maybe it's not a bad thing..."

  The man in front of him had a heroic appearance, but he was actually breathing out of the same nostril as Dong Mei... Ning Meng felt a bit depressed and simply turned his head to look at the scenery drifting by.

  "Then Guan Xian continued to ask, 'After your internship, would you like to work at Tianxiang?'"

  "Tianxiang is a big company, the welfare and all that are not bad... It's just that I studied foreign languages, these miscellaneous things have nothing to do with my major, and besides, it's said that Tianxiang has always been strict with interns, very few people can stay in the end, even if I can hold on until half a year later, I estimate the opportunity is zero."

  Ning Meng leaned back in his chair, dejectedly staring at the night view outside the window.

  Guan Xian slanted his eyes and smiled meaningfully, "How come you're so quick to give up? As the saying goes, 'it's up to people to make things happen'. If you don't strive for it, how will you know the outcome?"

  Ning Meng disdainfully curled her lip and sighed, saying, "What can be done by man is often difficult to achieve nowadays."

  There was a moment of silence.

  A low and gentle voice came again, "Actually when I was a kid, I was very interested in astronomy, my dream after growing up was to be an astronaut, the college entrance exam was just a little bit off from enrolling in the best aerospace university in the country, but later due to family pressure, had no choice but to switch to studying business management. As I studied, I also developed an interest..."

  Ning Meng imagined him as an astronaut, and her heart skipped a beat... Earlier, he was talking about the universe, galaxy, constellations and all that in front of her, thinking back it's really embarrassing... She didn't expect him to suddenly mention these things, she raised her head, glanced sideways at him, his dark eyes were deep like water.

  "You're giving up just like that?"

  Gu Xiang smiled helplessly, "Work is something that can't be helped, but astronomy is still one of my hobbies. Actually, people's hobbies and specialties are not fixed, I believe that as long as there is an opportunity, you will be able to show off your strengths."

  Before I could respond, the car had already stopped at that old familiar spot in the neighborhood.

  She pushed open the door and waved at him before the car disappeared from view in an instant.

  The steering wheel turned, and the car sped towards the suburbs.

  The orange garden was originally the ancestral home of Guanxian's maternal family. His mother liked it, so she specially invited people to build a villa and garden here. Over the past decade or so, it has been renovated several times and has become a great place for summer vacation and relaxation.

  The courtyard was lit up with dim yellow streetlights, and the car suddenly stopped in front of the villa gate. Guan Xian pushed open the door and got out of the car, raising his wrist to look at his watch, which already showed past 10 o'clock. Zhang Shu had long since opened the heavy gate and was waiting there.

  "Zhang Shu, has grandma rested yet?"

  Zhang Shu closed the door again and smiled back, "Wanyi knew you were coming over, how could she still be sleeping?"

  Guan Xian went upstairs to the second floor, under the warm wall lamp, an old lady with white hair was staring intently at the TV, on which a Huangmei opera was being sung. He hooked his mouth and leaned against the sofa.

  "Grandma, what play is so good?" Zhou Wanyi used to be in the county drama troupe and was a leading actress when she was young. She especially liked Huangmei Opera.

  Zhou Wanyi's eyes sparkled behind her old glasses, "Xianzi, come take a look at this young fellow, called Ruan Yiyiy, he sings exceptionally well. Even in my prime, I couldn't produce such an effect." She sighed, "Indeed, the blue outdoes the indigo."

  The strings and pipes are not aware of their own elegance.

  "Is Xiao Di asleep?"

  "She went to bed very early, otherwise you can go take a look." Zhou Wanyi was still humming along with the music in her mouth.

  Guan Xian went up to the third floor, pushed open the door of the room at the end of the corridor, and saw that the bedside lamp was still on, casting a dim light. The person lying under the pink bedspread was already asleep, but their face looked pale and haggard.

  He walked over quietly and sat down on the sofa beside the bed, gazing at his sister silently. She breathed lightly and evenly, as if she had already entered a dreamland, her small white face peaceful and calm, with two curved eyebrows slightly relaxed, without any signs of pain or struggle.

  The air was quiet, with only the sound of breathing left.

  When he left, Zhang Shu followed behind him and whispered: "Xianzi, don't worry too much. I think Xiaodi is doing all right here, her appetite has improved a lot compared to before. However, one day, I saw her holding a paintbrush and sitting by the river, staring blankly for half a day."

  Guan Xian nodded: "Zhang Shu, you've worked hard."

  After the car accident, Xiao Di was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The doctor said it was psychological trauma and that with psychological comfort and anti-anxiety medication, she would enter a stable period after a while. Most people gradually recovered and healed.

  Guan Xian also knew that excessive intervention was useless, so he had no choice but to wait for time to pass and adjust his mentality. However, the situation was worse than he had imagined. A year later, Xiao Di was still wandering in a dark world of guilt and self-blame, unable to extricate herself. Guan Xian had no other way out, so he sent her to the countryside for recuperation. Unexpectedly, the effect was immediate, and it seemed that she was already recovering rapidly.

  On his way back, he let out a sigh of relief.