It would’ve been helpful having someone accompany or guide her, but practicing by herself in the dormitory was like a monkey practicing Tai Chi in a room, ridiculously funny. Anyways, whenever she practiced, Chen Xiting never failed to chuckle.
Even though Chen Ya’nan was younger than He Zhilan, every move she made, every action she took was filled with poise and precision, which caused He Zhilan to feel greatly embarrassed. She always said she was a quick learner, but when it came to innate skills in martial arts, she really wasn’t on par with Chen Ya’nan.
She stayed on the training field until about eleven o’clock when Chen Ya’nan’s advisor finally arrived at the army base. Upon hearing the news, Chen Ya’nan swiftly invited He Zhilan and rushed to the base entrance.
As luck would have it, Chen Ya’nan’s mentor had hitched a ride back from a meeting with He Teng. Standing at the entrance, Chen Ya’nan, holding He Zhilan’s hand, was shaking with curiosity and excitement.
He Teng stepped down from the car, seeing He Zhilan standing with Chen Ya’nan. Her face was flushed, her long hair braided at the back of her head, her face covered in sweat despite the weather, and she was wearing very comfortable clothes. Chen Ya’nan looked similar. He realized then, that something big must have occurred.
"What have you been up to? Not messing around with Ya’nan at the base I hope?" He Teng approached them and without a second thought, raised his hand to rub He Zhilan’s head, before quickly retracting it.
"No way! I’m not a three-year-old!" He Zhilan responded with a look that needed approval, "I was practicing moves with Ya’nan."
"Good! This afternoon, I’ll check what you’ve accomplished in half a month." After saying this, He Teng gestured to his comrades with whom he had shared the car ride and they strolled away.
"Sister Zhilan, why is Uncle He always like my Dad, patting your head affectionately? It seems as though Uncle He is patting his daughter’s head!" Chen Ya’nan quietly said to He Zhilan and without waiting for her reply, she pulled He Zhilan one step forward and said, "Mr. Zheng, this is my Sister Zhilan! She’s a freshman at Capital University, in the Foreign Languages department! She’s very remarkable, much of my academic improvement this year is thanks to her!"
"Nice to meet you!" Upon hearing Chen Ya’nan’s introduction, Zhou Rong, Chen Ya’nan’s advisor, was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected the teenage girl in front of him to be a student at Capital University. Indeed, in those days, this was rather remarkable.
Out of the fellowship between scholars, Zheng Rong greeted He Zhilan first, but didn’t forget the purpose of his visit to the base. Therefore, he didn’t chat with He Zhilan too much and asked Chen Ya’nan to take him to meet her parents.
There is a certain type of person who becomes anxious when it’s time to meet the parents, like Chen Ya’nan for instance. Hearing Zheng Rong say that he wants to meet her parents made her pause for a moment, "Mr. Zheng, could I ask you a few questions first?"
After receiving a nod from Zheng Rong, Chen Ya’nan let out a mischievous giggle, "You won’t tell my parents about the time I kicked a football during lunch break and broke the classroom window, will you?"
Zheng Rong shook his head, Chen Ya’nan smiled relieved, and continued, "You also won’t mention to my parents about the time I and some classmates climbed up the tree to roast bird eggs and got denounced by the principal, will you? You won’t tell them about the time I got into a fight with some boys and made one of them bleed from his nose, right?"