Before the Gathering
Li Dongjun is ten years older than Su Ziyang. He usually calls Su Ziyang "teacher" in the courtyard, but outside, Li Dongjun prefers Su Ziyang and other students to call him "brother".
Moreover, Li Dongjun was happy to help with some daily life matters, so he was well-liked by his students.
During the meal, Li Dongjun kept asking Su Ziyang how he was doing: whether he was busy at work, whether he was tired, how his salary was, whether he had a girlfriend, and so on.
The two chatted happily, and after dinner, they strolled around the school twice. Li Dongjun invited Su Ziyang to stay at his house for the night, but Su Ziyang lied and said that he had a classmate with him. The two booked a room and decided not to bother Li Dongjun.
Li Dongjun then gave up and went home.
Looking at everything in this school, Su Ziyang realized that he had left his entire youth here—studying, drinking, playing, fooling around...
Su Ziyang wandered around until nine o'clock before finally finding a small hotel that looked relatively clean to stay in.
There are many hotels around the university town, mostly where university couples stay. Su Ziyang had never stayed in one before. It cost eighty yuan a night, which wasn't expensive, and the rooms were quite clean.
Su Ziyang had just finished showering and sat on the bed when his phone rang.
"Su Ziyang, let me check up on you! I'm here to see what you're up to!"
It was a video call from Fairy Li.
"I just finished showering. I went to see my teacher this afternoon." Su Ziyang lay on the bed, Yangyang with Fairy Li.
"Couldn't you spend a little more money and stay in a nicer hotel? You're really stingy, Su Ziyang." Fairy Li had Su Ziyang take a look at the room and found it wasn't very nice.
"Hey, all I need is a bed!"
Su Ziyang and Fairy Li had barely exchanged a few words when they heard strange, gurgling noises coming from next door.
The soundproofing in this hotel is terrible. The two chatted for a while longer, and then it seemed like the noise from next door was getting louder and louder. Su Ziyang looked helpless...
"Alright, Zijun, I'm not talking to you anymore. I have to get up a little earlier tomorrow morning."
Fairy Li seemed a little embarrassed by the voice and hung up the phone as well.
Having never stayed in a hotel before, Su Ziyang felt his head was about to explode from the cacophony of sounds coming from all directions.
"I should have listened to Zijun and spent more money to find a better hotel..."
Lying in bed, Su Ziyang, who was feeling overwhelmed, suddenly remembered a line of poetry. "Let him be strong, the bright moon shines over the great river."
Whether it's the bright moon over the great river, or the midday sun scorching the fields...
In short, Su Ziyang didn't want to stay here for even a moment longer. Fortunately, it wasn't too late, Su Ziyang put on his clothes and went out.
Wandering aimlessly through the streets, watching the lights flash in the distance and the cars speeding by, Su Ziyang felt as if he had returned to five years ago.
The medical profession is different from other professions; it is a five-year undergraduate program and a three-year master's program.
It takes eight years in total, one year longer than other majors.
When Su Ziyang was wondering when he would graduate, two years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Walking down this street, looking at the endless road, Su Ziyang suddenly remembered something.
That year, one of my roommates was feeling down about something, so a few of us went to a nice restaurant a little further from school and drank with him.
Everyone drank quite a bit, especially this roommate, who drank the most. By the time it was time to leave around 9 PM, he was completely drunk and unconscious.
The three of them took turns carrying him back to school, since they had all drunk quite a bit.
Anyone who has ever been drunk knows that when you drink too much, you have very little energy.
The three of them carried their roommate back to the dormitory. That night, Su Ziyang never felt that the street was so long, as if they would never reach the end.
I wanted to take a taxi, but when the taxi drivers saw how we were, they were afraid we'd throw up in their cars, so they didn't dare take us.
Looking at the flickering lights in the distance, Su Ziyang thought, how wonderful it would be if there was one of those lights that belonged to his family, one that he could leave on for himself.
This was the first time Su Ziyang, who had been away from home to study, had truly felt homesick.
Walking down the street again, Su Ziyang suddenly realized that it wasn't as far as he remembered.
Watching groups of students drinking beer at roadside stalls, Su Ziyang suddenly felt that youth is truly wonderful.
It wasn't until around 11 p. m. that Su Ziyang returned to his room to rest. Fortunately, everyone was probably tired by then, and the gunfire had subsided considerably, allowing Su Ziyang to finally get some rest.
The next morning, Su Ziyang was awakened by the sound of gunfire. He got up, checked out of his room, and headed straight to the place he had arranged to meet Liu Hua.
"Ziyang." Liu Hua greeted Su Ziyang at the school gate.
"Brother." Su Ziyang walked over and patted Liu Hua's arm.
You've lost weight!
The two said it in unison, then looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"We've chosen this place; everyone's going to get there on their own anyway. We'll meet at the destination and then the two of us will pick up the teacher."
Liu Hua pointed to a car parked on the side of the road.
"You drove here, bro!"
Su Ziyang was suddenly a little shocked. Where did Liu Hua get the car?
"Haha. It's our advisor's car. I arrived two days early. He lent me his car for a couple of days. Let's go pick him up, bye-bye!"
The two got into the car and headed straight for the teacher's house.
"Master's wife!"
I knocked on the door, and my mentor's wife answered.
"Hey, you're here! Come in quickly, your teacher's changing clothes. We're coming, come in and have a seat!"
The teacher's wife was very easygoing and invited the two of them in to sit down.
"Teacher, you're already very handsome!" Liu Hua joked as he saw the teacher picking out clothes.
"Ha ha."
The teacher chuckled softly, "What do you two think of these clothes?"
"Great! Very energetic." Su Ziyang nodded in approval.
In front of his mentor, Su Ziyang was always too shy to speak much and behaved very well.
"Yes, teacher, you look so energetic!"
Liu Hua also chimed in somewhat. Liu Hua had a good relationship with his teacher and had always been responsible for some of the tasks and liaison work of this huge sect, so he spoke more casually in front of his teacher.
"Now that you students are all back, I need to dress smartly to show how much I value you all. Haha!"
The teacher was a cut above Su Ziyang; he was very tall, not particularly burly, but definitely well-proportioned. Although he was over fifty, he was always energetic and looked like he was in his thirties.
"Alright. Your students all say you look energetic. That's good. Your teacher often talks about you guys. He's happy that you're all here!"
The master's wife was also happy to explain to the two of them.
"Master's wife, why don't you come along too?" Liu Hua said to his master's wife.
"I'm not going. I have classes at school today. You guys go ahead, but keep an eye on your teacher. Don't let him get too drunk!"
"Don't worry, Master's wife!"