185: Long time no see!

The Teachers Wife, being on the side, didn't understand the academic world, but she understood social dynamics.

Teacher Zhang certainly had the ability, but his temper was terrible. He used to be able to teach the Key Class, but now that he was older, he was still teaching the Regular Class, simply because the Vice Principal who had appreciated him back then had retired. If he hadn't met a student like Lin You, Teacher Zhang likely wouldn't have seen much improvement until retirement.

Of course, these words were not suitable to be said in front of Teacher Zhang's daughter and student.

The Teachers Wife also agreed that Lin You should follow a teacher who appreciated him, but she couldn't find any suitable analogies. She could only smile while using serving chopsticks to put food on Lin You's plate, saying, "Lin You is a good child. No matter where you go, you will succeed. Since you are so smart, you will definitely make the best decision."

Zhang Leyun grumbled, "Mom, why are you blindly trusting Lin You just like Dad? He's only 18!"

The Teachers Wife retorted, "When you were 18, could you improve from over 400 points to 700 points? How many people capable of such improvement have you ever met?"

Zhang Leyun opened her mouth, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

Lin You didn't mind. He was used to chatting casually with his own parents at home, so he was very accustomed to the way Zhang Leyun, Teacher Zhang, and the Teachers Wife interacted.

Moreover, he had chatted happily with Zhang Leyun in the living room earlier. They had already exchanged contact information and were just waiting to start school together in September—one as an undergraduate freshman, the other as a graduate "freshman."

Lin You smiled and added, "Teachers Wife, you're exaggerating. The highest I've ever scored was 699; I haven't hit 700 yet."

The Teachers Wife smiled and said, "That's only a matter of time. Teacher Zhang said you've been working hard on Chinese Language and Literature for the past month. I believe you will definitely score above 700 on this Final Exam!"

Facing the Teachers Wife's blind trust, Lin You stopped arguing and accepted it with a quiet smile.

The topics at the dinner table then shifted again. Lin You looked at Teacher Zhang, whose face was flushed from drinking beer, suddenly remembered something, and flashed a mischievous grin.

"Teachers Wife, Teacher Zhang pursued you back then, right? Was it quite difficult for him?"

The Teachers Wife paused the hand holding the serving chopsticks, but Zhang Leyun asked curiously, "Lin You, how did you know that? Doesn't Dad brag at school that he was the one being pursued?"

"Teacher Zhang doesn't usually talk about family matters at school, nor does he like to brag like some male teachers. It's just... Senior Sister, your name, Zhang Leyun, although pronounced as the 'le' for happiness, it's likely just for ease of reading, isn't it? It should actually be the 'le' (yào) meaning 'to enjoy' from 'The benevolent enjoy the mountains, the wise enjoy the waters,' right? Zhang enjoying Yun—doesn't that contain Teacher Zhang's surname and the 'Yun' from the Teachers Wife's name? Teacher Zhang is indeed a cultured man. Zhang Aiyun would be vulgar, but Zhang Leyun is quite refined."

The dinner table slowly fell silent following Lin You's explanation.

The family of three looked at each other, and finally, Zhang Leyun spoke up, asking, "Mom, so that's what my name means? Wait, you hid even this from me? Were you afraid I'd find out you were showing off your affection..."

The Teachers Wife was also a bit stunned. She looked at her husband of twenty-three years across the table, then at her twenty-two-year-old daughter. Even though she was a middle-aged woman, her face couldn't help but flush slightly.

"I didn't know. Your dad never told me."

Usually busy with work and acting as a role model, Teacher Zhang rarely drank. Coupled with his poor alcohol tolerance, the alcohol from just two bottles of beer had gone not only to his face but also to his head.

"Lin You is right! That's exactly what I thought! Who said your Chinese Language and Literature was bad? Your Chinese Language and Literature is excellent!"

"Seriously? Dad, did you really hide the true meaning of my name for twenty-two years? Or did you not even think of that meaning yourself? Was the 'Le' character just meant to wish me happiness?"

"What do you know about the romance of the older generation of cultured people?"

"comrade Teacher Zhang, you only have a Normal School degree and a Self-Study Undergraduate Degree, while I'm a graduate student at a top national university..."

"What are you two squabbling about?"

...Seeing that his "over-interpretation" had caused a family "dispute" for Teacher Zhang, Lin You quickly lowered his head to chow down, struggling to suppress his laughter.

Lin You didn't leave the table until his stomach was perfectly round from the seven-dish, one-soup home banquet.

The Teachers Wife genuinely liked and was grateful to Lin You. To a certain extent, although Teacher Zhang was the teacher, Lin You's rise was almost a Debt of Gratitude for Teacher Zhang.

Although teachers and students are said to achieve success together, meeting a student like Lin You was Teacher Zhang's good fortune.

Whether it was his future Professional Title, benefits, career, or bonuses, or even the recent psychological sense of achievement and satisfaction, all of it was invaluable to a middle-aged teacher who had been disappointed for many years.

The Teachers Wife knew that young people nowadays didn't like the tradition of visiting for a home banquet, and Lin You definitely wouldn't come often in the future, so she insisted he eat his fill before letting him leave the table.

After leaving the table, Lin You went to the dining room and accompanied Teacher Zhang while he drank some Sobering Tea. Lin You didn't get up to say goodbye until it was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon.

After leaving Old Zhangs home, the sky, which had been clear that morning, turned cloudy. Although it was already the Start of Spring, the wet cold weather in Ancheng wouldn't gradually disappear and warm up until mid-to-late March.

Lin You hailed a Ride-Hailing Car on the road. After getting in, he called Physics Teacher Qu Qinghuan. After agreeing on a meeting time, Lin You hung up the phone and dozed off for a bit. When the driver woke him up, he had already arrived at the location Qu Qinghuan had sent.

Old Zhangs home was previously located in a new residential complex in the North of the City, whereas Qu Qinghuan lived in an old Street-Facing Residential Building, situated right next to an Old Urban Area street not far from Ancheng No. 7 Middle School. The back faced Yanjiang Road.

Yes, Lin You had scheduled two home banquets today: lunch at Old Zhangs home, and dinner at Teacher Qu Qinghuan's home.

The day after tomorrow was the Minor New Year. According to the customs of Ancheng, the New Year celebrations officially began after the Minor New Year, and every household was busy cleaning and preparing New Year Goods, so they didn't typically receive guests.

That's why Lin You had arranged the two teacher banquets for lunch and dinner on the same day.

After Lin You got out of the car, he saw Qu Qinghuan standing by the roadside, bundled up in a Down Jacket and looking small.

"Teacher Qu, long time no see~"

Qu Qinghuan tilted her head, looking puzzled. "It's only been six days. Is that a long time?"

Lin You was speechless. Clueless teacher, this is just conversational small talk, why are you questioning it so seriously? Don't you socialize normally?

"We used to see each other almost every day. Six days is a long time."

"We didn't see each other every day. We didn't have tutoring on weekends, and the seven-day National Day holiday before was even longer."

Lin You: "..."

"Let's go, come with me to the supermarket to buy groceries? What do you want to eat tonight?"

Lin You looked at the "drastically reduced" standard of treatment compared to Old Zhangs home, but he didn't mind. "I'll eat whatever you make, Teacher."

Qu Qinghuan: "...I was prepared to make whatever you wanted to eat."

Lin You was amused. He remembered Qu Qinghuan wasn't very good at cooking before. How long had it been since she started bragging like this?

"I want Steamed Pork with Rice Flour, Beer Duck, Steamed Sticky Rice and Ribs, Braised Pork Belly, Taro Stewed with Beef Brisket, Stir-fried Edamame with Green Peppers, Stir-fried Bok Choy, plus a serving of Mushroom Stewed with Old Hen Soup—a total of seven dishes and one soup, eight items." Lin You cheekily recited the exact menu from Old Zhangs home.

As Lin You read the menu, Qu Qinghuan's eyes gradually lost focus.

"Of everything you listed... I only know how to make Stir-fried Bok Choy and Stir-fried Edamame with Green Peppers."

Lin You strongly resisted the urge to rub the small head positioned 1.6 meters in front of him. "So, Teacher Qu, just make whatever you can. I'm not picky."