Back to the teenage years

Chapter 560 Shining
Liao Qi is the roommate with whom I have the best relationship when I first met her.

She was naturally very clear about how many boys in the school wanted to pursue the girl she had just met in the past six months since the new students entered the school last year.

The reason is simple. Those boys need to go through their roommates to act as matchmakers and try all kinds of roundabout ways to attack. As for those warriors who directly confess their love to the girls they just meet, none of them have a good ending.

In fact, even though they are both girls, they were eye-catching in high school. But after getting along with each other for more than half a year, Liao Qi had to admit that this girl was indeed outstanding. Her thoughts, character, temperament, personality, appearance, and talent were almost all top-notch.

When Liao Qi lived with this girl, he sometimes felt as if he was with a fairy, it was so unreal, but at first sight, she was such a real person who could captivate everyone in this temple of thought at Peking University!
Naturally, boys from both inside and outside the Peking University department flocked to this girl, and there were many applicants, many of whom were excellent. Good looks and a strong family background were the most basic criteria, not to mention academic performance. Which student who could study in this school was not a child of destiny with a bright future and lofty ideals?
However, up to now, no boy has been able to make Chu Jian nod his head. Liao Qi and several other roommates have already thought that Chu Jian only wants to do well in his studies, writing and social practice, and has no intention of falling in love. She never thought that the iron tree would blossom and Chu Jian actually already has a partner secretly.

There was an indescribable difference in Liao Qi's heart.

She bit her chopsticks and looked Zhang Yunqi up and down, wanting to see what was so special about this ordinary boy in front of her that he could have secretly caught up with the talented girl from the Chinese Department of Peking University.

If this matter were to be made public tomorrow, it would cause another huge uproar in the Chinese Department.

However, Liao Qi really couldn't see any special features of Zhang Yunqi, he looked very ordinary.

Then she looked between the two of them and asked, "First time seeing you, who is this..."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and took the initiative to introduce: "Hello, Zhang Yunqi, a freshman at Xiangnan University, and my boyfriend for the first time."

It was the first time that Liao Qi heard of Xiangnan University. In fact, with her college entrance examination scores, she would have no problem getting into Oxford or Harvard. She squeezed in because of Peking University's preferential policies, so naturally she didn't take Xiangnan University seriously.

Of course, she didn't show it on her face. She just held Chu Jian's hand and said with a somewhat resentful tone, "Okay, Chu Jian, you didn't even tell us that you have a boyfriend. That's really disloyal."

"Well, sorry..." Chu Jian blushed. Although she was replying to Liao Qi, the girl's full attention was on Zhang Yunqi. Her clear eyes were filled with surprise and sweetness. "Yunqi, when did you arrive in Yanjing? Why didn't you tell me in advance? I didn't prepare anything."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "I arrived in Yanjing at noon today. I thought you had classes in the afternoon, so I wandered around the Forbidden City by myself, and then rushed here in the evening. As for why I didn't tell you in advance, of course it was to give you a surprise."

Chu Jian smiled: "You haven't had dinner yet, I'll go get you some food, we can talk while we eat, and I'll take you for a walk around our school later."

Zhang Yunqi nodded and agreed.

Chu Jian took out her meal card from her pocket and went to the cafeteria window to get food for Zhang Yunqi. Although it was only a matter of a few minutes, she asked Liao Qi to chat with Zhang Yunqi before she left.

In fact, even if Chu Jian didn't say it, as soon as she left, Liao Qi took the initiative to gossip about Zhang Yunqi: "Classmate, did you and Chu Jian know each other in high school?"

Zhang Yunqi nodded: "We are from the same place and have known each other since the first year of high school."

Liao Qi smiled and said, "No wonder."

Zhang Yunqi heard a different meaning in these two words, but he didn't say anything.

Liao Qi added: "This is the first time I've seen this kind of expression on Chu Jian's face, that kind of unconcealable happiness, like a little girl with a pocket full of candies. It looks like she likes you so much."

Zhang Yunqi didn't know how to respond to this, so he smiled and said, "She is a very good girl."

After just a few simple words, Liao Qi realized that the boy in front of her was particularly rational, and couldn't help but say, "Chu Jian is indeed very good, and quite famous in the school. She is also the director of the Academic Department of the Student Union, a member of the May Fourth Literary Society of Peking University, and often organizes various activities. The journal she edited, "Unnamed Lake", has recently caused a sensation in the school several times under her leadership. There are many people who want to pursue her."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and nodded.

In high school, Chu Jian was a quiet girl. Apart from studying, she basically didn't participate in the outside world. After entering Peking University, she seemed to have changed a lot. She actively connected herself with the world and connected her learning, thinking and thinking with reality. As for how many boys pursued Chu Jian? Damn it, the beauty has already been taken, reinforced concrete!

At this time Chu Jian brought over the meal. Hai Hai slowly cooked a lot of dishes. Zhang Yunqi smelled the aroma of braised pork, and the soup spread out amber spots on the rice. When he took the plate from Chu Jian, his fingertips touched the thin calluses on her palms, which were the marks left by years of holding a pen.

Zhang Yunqi said nothing, had a simple meal, and wandered around Peking University with Chu Jian.

Liao Qi was very tactful and went back to the dormitory first. But when she left, she said with a mischievous expression, "First time meeting you! The dormitory manager said that she will check the rooms tonight——"

When I first saw her, her little face turned as red as a persimmon.

Peking University was originally a famous private garden of literati and residence of royal relatives in the suburbs of Beijing. Later it became an imperial garden and a royal garden. After the merger of Peking University and Yenching University in 1952, a modern garden-like campus was built on the basis of the remains of Yenching Garden. It is picturesque, ancient, thoughtful, profound and poetic.

Chu Jian took Zhang Yunqi, who was visiting here for the first time, for a walk. They walked through the rice garden with its simple and fresh style of the south of the Yangtze River and the Tsinghua campus with its bold and generous style of the north. When they arrived at a Russian building, Zhang Yunqi was attracted by a mottled wooden sign next to it, which read "Entrepreneurship Information Board". It was filled with advertisements for the transfer of 386 computers and the recruitment of BASIC programmers. He felt that the entrepreneurial atmosphere of this century-old prestigious university was also very strong.

The two walked to the area of ​​the most famous Weiming Lake, where the forest was deep and lush, and the smoke was vast. The lights of the library in the distance suddenly lit up one after another, like a handful of broken diamonds scattered on the lake, startling a line of gray magpies roosting at night, and also a few couples kissing in the dark.

When we first met, we were sitting on a piece of grass by the Weiming Lake holding Zhang Yunqi's hand. The moon rose quietly, and there were sounds of insects and frogs everywhere. A few drunken poets were sitting in the pavilion, arguing over whether Haizi died of capitalist alienation.

Zhang Yunqi thought it was very interesting and said with a smile: "Peking University is indeed different from other schools. The spirit of reflection is very strong." Chu Jian leaned her head on Zhang Yunqi's shoulder. Zhang Yunqi felt the slenderness and softness of the girl's body. She pursed her lips and said: "Yes, there has been a big discussion on humanistic spirit in our school recently. It may be the collision of values ​​caused by social transformation in the early stage of market economy. This is more common in Peking University."

Zhang Yunqi reached out and pulled off a flying catkin stuck to Chu Jian's ponytail, then lowered his head and kissed her cheek, saying, "What are the clashes of values?"

Chu Jian thought for a moment and said, "This is mainly because Professors Chen Lai and Wang Shouchang from the Department of Philosophy initiated a lecture called "How is the Humanistic Spirit Possible under the Market Economy?" Professor Chen Lai proposed the view that 'the humanistic spirit is the last bastion against materialization', while Professor Zhang Dainian emphasized the 'crisis of subjectivity in the dialogue between Chinese and Western cultures', criticized the erosion of humanistic values ​​by instrumental rationality, and called for the reconstruction of the spiritual independence of intellectuals. This lecture triggered a discussion across the entire school, and then students from the Department of Chinese and the Department of History organized several debates to explore the mission of intellectuals and the impact of the commodity economy."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "Did you also participate in the debate?"

Chu Jian blushed and nodded: "Well, I want to train myself. Yunqi, do you support me?"

Zhang Yunqi stood up and touched Chu Jian's cheek: "Of course, it's not good for gold to be buried in the soil for too long. My wife should shine brightly."

When she first saw him, she smiled and tilted her head back to rub her face against Zhang Yunqi's neck.

Zhang Yunqi asked again: "What are the topics of your debates?"

Chu Jian thought for a moment and said, "There are quite a few, such as whether academia should serve the market? Should intellectuals stick to their studies or get involved in society? The demise of elite culture and the rise of popular culture, etc. This debate even triggered an open confrontation between teachers and students. Our department also held a 'Wang Shuo Phenomenon Criticism Conference' in the Second Teaching Building, viewing the popular literature craze as a microcosm of the elite culture crisis, and debating the 'boundary between the refined and the vulgar' and the 'cultural leadership' issues."

Zhang Yunqi started, saying that since the early 20s, China's market-oriented economic reforms have accelerated, social values ​​have undergone drastic changes, and the wave of commodity economy has impacted the traditional humanities field. The so-called elite culture and intellectuals are facing the dual pressures of "marginalization" and "academic utilitarianism." As a major center of humanities and social sciences, Peking University has become the core position for reflecting on this transformation, which is also normal.

Of course, he didn't even need to understand, to know that the discussions of these Peking University's brightest talents were mostly at the theoretical level, and no one could come up with a workable plan for cultural reconstruction.

As for the so-called humanistic spirit being the last bastion against materialization? Let’s wait and see in another ten years. Even the lightning rod on the top of the Boya Tower, the fortress of Peking University, will be contracted by a mobile company!
Therefore, in his opinion, most of these discussions are just nostalgia, nostalgia for the past spiritual life with a filter that lacks material basis, and cannot directly respond to the rationality of popular culture.

Of course, he also admitted that Peking University professors and students are elites who can think deeply and dare to debate the ills brought about by the development of the times, but what is elite culture? If it cannot take root in the land, cannot cater to the development of the new era, and cannot respond to the ardent expectations of hundreds of millions of grassroots people for a better life, then the so-called elite culture is a pile of colorful feces!

Looks good, but can't be eaten.

Of course, these are just his personal thoughts. He doesn't want to impose his own ideas on Chu Jian and thus influence the judgment of this independent girl. On the contrary, he is very happy that Chu Jian can be exposed to the deeper and more realistic side of the society in Peking University, the birthplace and temple of modern Chinese cultural thought.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "When you were getting your meal, I heard from Liao Qi that the magazine "Weiming Lake" that you recently co-edited has published many famous articles, which have caused a wide range of discussions in Peking University. How come my wife is so outstanding? She can shine in Jiangchuan and she can shine just as brightly in Peking University."

Smile with pursed lips when you first see me.

The warm moonlight shines through the treetops, and the girl's clear smiling face is white with a rosy glow.

The girl seemed happy. The corners of her mouth, eyes, and eyebrows showed the kind of happiness that only a young girl can have: "She just praises me randomly and makes me happy."

Zhang Yunqi said, "Isn't it natural to make your wife happy?"

Chu Jian said "hmm" softly, and then she leaned her body into Zhang Yunqi's arms, looking at the round moon hanging high in the sky and the rippling blue waves in the Weiming Lake: "Yunqi, you know what? I'm really happy today, even happier than when I got the top score in the college entrance examination."

Zhang Yunqi looked at the girl in his arms and said, "I will come to Peking University to see you often in the future."

Chu Jian smiled, then shook his head and said, "No. You are so busy, I want you to do what you want to do, and when you come to Yanjing for business in the future, just come and see me. Yunqi, I will also work hard, be down-to-earth, and try to follow your pace."

At this point, Chu Jian smiled and touched his thin cheek: "So don't praise your wife carelessly in the future. Your words are very important to your wife, so I am also easy to get lost and slack. In fact, those articles in "Weiming Lake" were not written by me, but after reading them, I felt that they were very thoughtful. Those students were so young, but they were able to write such profound articles. I admire them very much. For example, "The Dissolution of Respect by the Weiming Lake" criticized the destruction of academic purity by the "business fever" and "textual research fever" on campus, such as "The Last Nobles? - Elegy for Elite Culture", analyzing the identity anxiety of traditional intellectuals under the commodity economy, and "Silicon Valley and the Study: The Schizophrenia of Peking University Students", recording the contradiction between students' part-time sales in Zhongguancun and their academic ideals."

Zhang Yunqi laughed and said, "You are just teasing me. You are a graduate of a prestigious university, but you are cheating people out there to do business."

Chu Jian was stunned for a moment, then sat up and looked at Zhang Yunqi, pursed his lips and said seriously: "How can you say that about yourself? Everyone is an independent individual, and naturally looks at problems from different perspectives. Yunqi, in fact, compared to what you have done over the years, we students can only be regarded as paper talk. No matter how nice we say it, it lacks a real-life foundation."

At this point, Chu Jian thought of something again, and took Zhang Yunqi's hand, her face full of anticipation: "Yunqi, do you want to write an article for me? With your experience and perspective, the article you write will definitely have more practical reference significance. I will publish it in the next issue of "Unnamed Lake" and let the proud students of Peking University see how amazing my boyfriend is!"

The moon is at its zenith.

The shore of Weiming Lake was quiet, and the silver-like moonlight filled the entire lake surface.

The spring breeze blew, and the willow branches gently brushed the lake water, creating ripples, just like Zhang Yunqi's heart at this moment.

He looked at the little face he had just met in his arms. It was clear, clean, and smiling, like a good girl. He said, "People are afraid of being famous, just like pigs are afraid of being fat. Didn't you say that people should be low-key and down-to-earth?"

“No.” Chu Jian shook his head and said, “I can be low-key, but my Yunqi is shining brightly.”

******