"Is it that simple?" Xu Nianhua seemed to think it was too simple and added, "What about family background?"
Su Xi’s family background was quite prominent, so Xu Nianhua asked this question.
Unable to hold it in, Su Xi laughed. Her laugh, inaudible yet echoing like silver bells, carried far. A breeze lifted her long hair, and even Xu Nianhua, a woman herself, found the scene enchanting. It was like the future term "first love face".
"Nianhua, do you think it’s still the old days where we care about matching families?" Su Xi looked into the distance and said, "I just want to find someone who truly loves me, whom I also love, to be with each other for life, growing old together."
"What, Nianhua, are you going to introduce me to someone?" Su Xi joked offhandedly.
Xu Nianhua pursed her lips and smiled without nodding. If she straight out mentioned her elder brother and Su Xi wasn’t interested and outright rejected him, what then?
"By the way, it’s Sunday today. Why did you come to school?" Xu Nianhua changed the topic.
Su Xi didn’t dwell on their earlier conversation. She said, "It’s because my mom left some documents at school, and I had to be the errand girl."
Su Xi’s playful words indeed brought the two closer, a stark contrast to her unapproachably genteel demeanor when they first met while she was playing the guzheng.
In truth, Xu Nianhua really liked Su Xi, who had none of the airs of a dainty lady and wasn’t the type to be overly shrewd.
"Alright, then I’m heading back to the dorm. I still have to prepare for the English competition. I’ll be going now," Xu Nianhua waved to her.
"Nianhua, you’re back." Ding Guo saw Xu Nianhua and hurriedly said, "The radio your elder brother sold is really good, it can pick up English broadcasts!"
"That’s great, it’s also a good method for practicing our English listening skills," Xu Nianhua praised, believing that English is all about listening, practicing, and speaking more, with no shortcuts.
"It’s just that the signal isn’t very good," Ding Guo said somewhat disappointedly. "It would be better if the signal were stronger."
"It will be better eventually," Xu Nianhua said. Over time, fewer people would use this radio, she was not sure if Walkmans were available now, but English tapes were the best as they could be played many times, and most importantly, they had clear sound quality.
"By the way, is the English competition date set?" Xu Nianhua asked.
"It’s set for two Wednesdays from now."
Ding Guo answered and consulted Xu Nianhua about some questions she didn’t understand, and the dorm room slipped back into a studious atmosphere.
One by one, the dorm room’s occupants returned; since the competition was two Wednesdays away, everyone in Dorm 302 was participating. They intended to not let down anyone from their dorm room, whether they were cramming last minute or not.
It was agreed that whoever finished last in the dorm room would treat everyone to a meal.
A meal wasn’t a big deal, especially for Chang Hui from their dorm, who had earned quite a bit of money helping everyone sell tea, so funding a meal was completely feasible.
By the end of April, the much-anticipated English competition arrived.
Xu Nianhua also received good news that their family’s house was repaired, just waiting for the furniture to be arranged, and then they could pick a good day to move into the new house.
Xu Qinghe and Ji Ying, the couple, hoped to wait until their siblings returned to move, but Xu Nianhua and Xu Nian’an agreed that there was no need to delay two months just for them.
Now being under May, with vacations not starting until the end of June, picking a good day would mean another two plus months.