Chapter 234
By the time they left the school, Shen Nanchu had gained nearly two thousand points of aversion.
Indeed, without contrast, there is no sense of injury.
A small base number doesn't matter when you have sheer volume!
When she returned home, Shen Nanchu still wore a smile on her face, clearly in an exceptionally good mood.
Seeing this, Pei Zhengnian couldn't help but feel his own spirits lift.
He thought back over the day but couldn't pinpoint anything that should have made his wife so happy.
Had he missed something?
While Pei Zhengnian was puzzling over it,
Shen Nanchu had already picked up Little Anchen, kissing the little one's chubby cheeks.
Having not seen his mother for half a day, Little Anchen was overjoyed at the sight of Shen Nanchu, his tiny mouth beginning to babble and sing nonstop.
"Nanchu, are you really sure you don't want to live on campus?"
Pei's Mother asked, her face full of concern.
"There's quite a distance between Peking University and home. Even by bicycle, it takes nearly an hour."
"I'm home for now. I can take them in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon."
Pei Zhengnian said.
"But what about when you get busy? Will they ride their bicycles then?"
Pei's Mother wasn't very supportive.
"That's too much of a hassle."
"It is a bit of a hassle,"
Pei Zhengnian indeed thought so too.
But to ensure his wife lived more comfortably and ate better, Pei Zhengnian felt the hassle was worth it.
"Don't worry, I'll drive to university."
Shen Nanchu held Little Anchen, looking completely unfazed.
"What, drive?"
Pei Yunzhou was the first to exclaim.
"Sister-in-law, does that mean we'll be driving to and from school every day?"
"Mm-hmm."
Shen Nanchu nodded, then looked at Pei Zhengnian with a sly smile.
"Director Guo helped me buy a car using his unit's name."
She had gone to considerable effort to get Director Guo to agree.
Pei Zhengnian was speechless.
His wife was truly a force to be reckoned with.
Getting the Cultural Relics Bureau to bend the rules for personal benefit wasn't something just anyone could pull off.
Having the connections was one thing, but money was also needed.
"Do you have enough money on hand?"
"If not, I have some here."
As soon as Pei Zhengnian's words fell, Pei Yunzhou's voice rang out.
"Big brother, you've been hiding private savings?"
Shen Nanchu also looked over.
"No, I haven't."
Pei Zhengnian hurriedly explained,
"I have a stipend about to be issued. I was just thinking of bringing it all back to give to you."
Shen Nanchu didn't respond.
She wasn't concerned about Pei Zhengnian's modest earnings.
The gold bars in her space were enough for her to live lavishly for several lifetimes.
Just as they were chatting and laughing, the sound of a car horn came from outside the gate.
"It should be Director Gu sending the car over."
Shen Nanchu handed Little Anchen to Pei's Mother to hold and walked out into the courtyard.
Sure enough,
a black sedan was parked at the gate, driven by Director Gu's chauffeur.
Shen Nanchu had met him twice before.
He also recognized Shen Nanchu.
"Comrade Shen, Director Guo asked me to bring the car over. The tank is already full."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble."
Shen Nanchu took the keys from the driver.
Pei Yunzhou had already eagerly climbed into the passenger seat.
Shen Nanchu took it for a test drive; it was excellent.
With the car, her commute to university would be much more convenient.
"Sister-in-law, driving to and from school every day from now on is going to be so cool!"
"You're overthinking it. I still have to work at the Cultural Relics Bureau."
Otherwise, why would Director Guo have been so accommodating as to arrange a car for her?
"It's fine, sister-in-law. You know a lot anyway, and practice yields true knowledge."
"Sister-in-law, when you go to the Cultural Relics Bureau, I'll go too. I'll help you as your assistant."
Pei Yunzhou grinned, looking utterly sycophantic.
Shen Nanchu smiled and didn't refuse.
...
Two days later, the day for formal classes arrived.
Shen Nanchu sat in the driver's seat of the black sedan, her hands steady on the steering wheel. Pei Yunzhou sat in the passenger seat, his face full of excitement.
In the rearview mirror, another military jeep driven by Pei Zhengnian followed closely behind.
Pei Zhengnian, wearing his crisp military uniform, still had to rush to a meeting at the army base later.
They arrived at Peking University.
The guard at the gate, seeing the license plate number on the car Shen Nanchu was driving, immediately opened the barrier.
Director Gu had specially arranged a parking spot for Shen Nanchu at the university.
This made it much more convenient for her to park when coming and going.
Just as Shen Nanchu parked the car, Pei Zhengnian's vehicle also slid smoothly into the spot beside hers.
He pushed the car door open, stepped down, and lifted two travel bags from the back seat.
One was Pei Yunzhou's, which looked not only small but also light, containing a thin quilt and a mattress pad.
The other was Shen Nanchu's large blue printed cloth bag, bulging and stuffed with a freshly fluffed thin cotton quilt, a pillow, and a brand-new set of bed linens.
Class was about to start.
They couldn't be late for the first lecture of the semester.
Shen Nanchu and Pei Yunzhou headed towards the teaching building.
Pei Zhengnian, carrying the luggage, turned and walked towards the dormitory area.
He wore an olive-green military uniform, his posture upright and his steps firm, carrying two travel bags of vastly different sizes. This drew frequent sidelong glances from many students on the path.
Several female students, seeing Pei Zhengnian, couldn't help but stop and whisper among themselves, their eyes filled with curiosity and admiration.
Soon, Pei Zhengnian reached the girls' dormitory building.
The building was constructed of red brick, five stories tall.
As soon as Pei Zhengnian stopped, a middle-aged woman walked out of the reception room holding an enamel cup steaming with heat. She was the dormitory supervisor for this building, Auntie Zhang.
Auntie Zhang saw Pei Zhengnian, paused for a moment, then frowned and walked over to ask,
"Comrade, who are you looking for? This is the girls' dormitory. Men can't just enter."
Pei Zhengnian stopped, gave a slight nod, and spoke in a tone that was gentle yet carried the steadiness characteristic of a military man,
"Auntie Zhang, hello. I'm Shen Nanchu's family member. She has class today, so I'm bringing her luggage over first."
As he spoke, he pulled a note with Shen Nanchu's dorm room number from his pocket and handed it to Auntie Zhang.
Auntie Zhang took the note and scrutinized Pei Zhengnian again. Seeing his military uniform, her originally stern expression softened considerably.
"Alright then! Follow me up."
Pei Zhengnian nodded.
"Thank you for the trouble, Auntie Zhang. I'll deliver the luggage and leave quickly, so as not to disturb anyone."
Pei Zhengnian pulled a box of shortbread pastries from one of the bags and slipped it into Auntie Zhang's hand.
"No trouble at all, no trouble!"
Auntie Zhang accepted the pastries, grinning from ear to ear.
"Come on, I'll take you up. Room 302 is on the third floor."
With that, she led Pei Zhengnian into the dormitory building.
The building was quiet, as most students were in class. Only a few students without classes moved about in the corridors.
Seeing Auntie Zhang leading a man in military uniform upstairs, they couldn't help but peek out curiously, their eyes full of surprise and intrigue.
Soon, the two reached the door of Room 302.
Auntie Zhang knocked on the door and called out, "Is anyone in Room 302?"