"Dongxue, you don’t know how long I had to pester your brother in the army to get his agreement to be here today," He Zhilan sounded a bit exasperated. "Your brother, getting him to come out is getting tougher the higher he goes!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" He Teng glanced sidelong at He Zhilan and then explained, "I just am not used to crowded places. This is filled with your classmates and teachers, why should I join the fuss?"
"To make up numbers, of course!" He Dongxue chimed in with a cheeky laugh, "Graduation is a big deal, it’s necessary to have important people around you!"
Being a mere number is not He Teng’s cup of tea. When the crowd increases, everyone tends to glance at him twice and he feels uncomfortable all over. If he glares back at others, the faint-hearted would be terrified.
It wasn’t that He Teng looked terribly ferocious, but his unexpressive wooden face paired with his sharp gaze could intimidate others.
"Brother, I plan to bring Dad and Second Brother to the capital for a while during my summer break. Conveniently, I have some spare time over the break, so I want to take Second Brother to the hospital to get a prosthetic," He Zhilan looked up at He Teng. "Can you take some time off? If you can’t, then Dongxue and I will go back by ourselves."
"Second Brother will be absolutely delighted!" Dongxue knew that all these years, Zhilan hadn’t forgotten what she wanted to do. She worked hard to earn money, then planned to bring Second Brother to the capital for proper treatment.
The graduation ceremony was bustling with activity. College graduation is a critical event in everyone’s life. For those who have parents in the capital, all would make time to attend the ceremony. Even parents like Tan Heqian’s, who traveled from afar, make it a point to be present.
"Uncle Tan, Aunt Tan!" as soon as He Zhilan walked in, she saw a group of friends gathered together. She greeted the elders first, then asked Chen Xiting why Biyun had not arrived yet.
"She went to pick up her parents!" Said Chen Xiting. "Wow, you guys are so lucky to have your families with you. I’m all alone!"
"We’re alone too~" Huang Cai and Wang Bingbing laughed and then asked everyone about their plans after graduation.
Graduation is a topic bound to bring both joy and sadness.
"I will go back to my hometown," Wang Bingbing smiled. "Once we graduate, I’m unsure when we’ll get another chance to see each other."
Everyone sighed and then turned to look at He Zhilan.
Zhilan’s plans had been arranged long before — just as she had told the Political Commissar’s wife during her army days. She decided to become a school teacher at the high school where Chen Ya’nan went, which was less than an hour’s drive from the army base. Nevertheless, it was inevitably far from the capital.
However, you can’t have everything perfect. Thus Zhilan chose to stay near where He Teng was. Everything at the company had become routinized, and she only needed to set aside a few days each month to check in, only having to work a bit harder at the end of the month.
After waiting outside for a while, Jiang Biyun arrived bouncing with joy, holding her father’s hand and her mother’s hand. After the older generation, including He Teng, who is considered an "elder" to Zhilan, exchanged a few words, they all entered the hall together.
As a consistently outstanding graduate with top scholarships and a young entrepreneur who had already established her business, it was inevitable for He Zhilan to have a spotlight moment in front of all the graduates. She had to give a graduation speech. If it hadn’t been for her reluctance to end college on a bad note with the school, He Zhilan would never have undertaken such an unrewarding task.