Chapter 97: Classes at the Medical University

No one knew quite how Principal Gu had made his way out of the medical university. As he looked at Zhong Yuxiu beside him, his feelings were in utter disarray.

“Comrade Zhong, congratulations on getting what you hoped for.”

“Thank you, Principal Gu. If you hadn’t helped make the connection, I’m afraid it would have taken me quite a bit of effort to achieve this.” Zhong Yuxiu smiled up at him. “And thank you for introducing me to such a fine teacher. I’ll study hard.”

Principal Gu: “......” That was not what I meant to say.

Never mind. There was no point saying any more.

“Work hard,” he said at last. “Don’t give anyone cause to laugh at you.”

“I will.” Zhong Yuxiu nodded solemnly, the smile still lingering in her eyes. “I’ve taken up your time. If you’re busy, you should go back to your work.”

“And you? Aren’t you leaving?”

Zhong Yuxiu gave a soft laugh. “I’d like to walk around a bit.” She wanted to get familiar with the place. After all, she would be studying at the medical university from now on.

“Very well. Take your time.” With guards at Zhong Yuxiu’s side, Principal Gu had not a trace of worry about her safety. After reminding her once more not to forget to report to school, he rode off on his bicycle.

After parting with Principal Gu, Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo emerged from the shadows.

“Comrade Zhong, congratulations on reaching your goal.”

“How did you know I succeeded?” Zhong Yuxiu glanced at them sidelong, smiling brightly.

“You look happy.”

Understanding dawned on Zhong Yuxiu’s face. “Starting tomorrow, for the next year, unless there’s something special, I’ll only go to Hua University for regular reporting; otherwise I won’t be going. I’ll come to the medical university every day for classes until I’ve finished my studies.”

“Understood.” Anything that needed reporting would still have to be reported.

“Come on, let’s take a look around the medical university. It’s my first time here.”

The three of them walked through the streets and alleys around the medical university in turn. With her extraordinary memory, Zhong Yuxiu memorized the routes one by one. When she got home, she drew a map on the computer and uploaded it into the chips of Dog Egg and the little electric scooter.

Early the next morning, Zhong Yuxiu was escorted to the medical university by Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo. Once they arrived, the two vanished without a trace, and Zhong Yuxiu found Principal Xu. When class time came, Principal Xu took her to the class she was transferring into.

The desks and stools at the medical university were not much different from those at Hua University. The quality was more or less the same, and neither was anything to boast of.

There were about thirty students in the class. When they saw the professor leading them enter, they all greeted him.

“Good morning, Professor.”

“Good morning, everyone.” Principal Xu wore a faint smile. “The first thing we will do today is not to begin the lecture, but to introduce a new classmate to all of you. Starting this semester, she will be joining our class and studying alongside you.”

“A new classmate? We still have someone who hasn’t shown up yet?” It was already the second semester.

Principal Xu smiled. “This student has some foundation in traditional medicine. She is transferring into the class for her own reasons, and I ask that everyone respect others.”

The students began to whisper among themselves. Some were curious about the newcomer; others were suspicious and speculating. To be transferring in after a full semester had passed, they could think of no explanation other than favoritism.

“Classmates, don’t assume our new student is here because of special connections. She earned her place through real results. There is no need for any doubt about that. I examined her personally.”

So that was it.

Then there was nothing to doubt.

The students knew Principal Xu’s character fairly well. He was upright and rigorous, fair and impartial, and disliked any form of special treatment; so his words carried great weight.

“Professor, where is our new classmate?” a young woman who looked a little older asked.

The thirty-odd students in the classroom all turned to look outside the door.

“She has arrived. She is right outside,” said Principal Xu. As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhong Yuxiu stepped out from the side and entered the classroom.

“This is Zhong Yuxiu,” Principal Xu said. “She has just come to our school, so I ask all of you to look after the new student.”

Pretty.

Very striking indeed.

Her skin was pale beyond measure, and after returning to the capital, with proper nourishment, it had improved even more than when she had been in the countryside. There was a saying: fair skin covers a hundred flaws. Once a person was fair, they could hardly be ugly.

With a smile, Zhong Yuxiu said, “Hello, classmates. My name is Zhong Yuxiu. I’ve transferred into the Chinese medicine and therapeutic studies class at the medical university. We’ll be spending a long time together, so I ask for your guidance.”

“Hello, Classmate Zhong.”

“Hello there, Classmate Zhong!”

The students greeted her here and there, but although Principal Xu had vouched for her, they did not know her well enough to be warm. Their response was naturally rather restrained.

Zhong Yuxiu noticed that many of them were lukewarm toward her, even somewhat cold. Her expression remained gentle, her smile clear and bright. “Now that I’m at the medical university, I’ll devote all my energy to studying, and strive to become as soon as possible someone who can answer to society, to the professors, and to myself. Let us encourage one another in that.”

She had no patience for petty nonsense. She was here to study, to study well, and to qualify as quickly as possible. She had no extra time to deal with troublesome matters.

“Classmate Zhong has spoken very well. Since you are here at school, study earnestly. You are the future of the nation. The reason you study now is to become people useful to the country and capable of contributing in the years ahead.”

“We understand,” the students answered in unison.

Even those who were unwilling still suppressed their doubts about Zhong Yuxiu.

Principal Xu swept his gaze around the classroom and pointed to the seat in the very middle of the last row. “Classmate Zhong, you may sit there.”

“Very well, Professor.” Zhong Yuxiu crossed the rows of desks and the students sitting at them, walking to the last row and taking the seat in the middle. It had a good view, allowing her to see the blackboard clearly, with no tall student in front blocking her sight.

“All right, let us begin today’s lesson. Open your books to page twenty-three.”

Zhong Yuxiu took out the paper and pen she had brought. She did not have a textbook, but she could take notes. The textbook was of little use to her. Even when studying physics, she rarely needed to rely on it. On the one hand, she possessed knowledge far beyond this era; on the other, she usually read the textbook once and set it aside. The contents were already stored in her mind.

She had not yet seen the medical university’s textbooks, but she could simply collect a set later.

When the bell rang for the end of class, Principal Xu put down the chalk. “Classmate Zhong has just arrived and does not yet have any textbooks. Class monitor, take her to collect a set. Also collect a set of last semester’s textbooks and bring them back.”

“Yes, Professor.” A tall, thin young man stood up.

“All right, that concludes this lesson. Class dismissed.”

After Principal Xu left, the class monitor turned around and said, “Classmate Zhong, come with me to collect your books.”

“Coming. Sorry to trouble you, Class Monitor.” She gathered her things and carried them with her; she had developed that habit and would not leave her belongings in an unfamiliar place.

“It’s nothing.” The class monitor nodded faintly and led her out of the classroom. The students there and then broke into scattered discussion.

At the storeroom, they collected textbooks for two semesters. The class monitor said, “My surname is Ning, my given name is Qingyuan. If anything comes up in the future, you can look for me.”

“All right, Class Monitor Ning.”

“You already knew Professor Xu before?” Ning Qingyuan couldn’t help asking, seeing that she was easy to talk to.

Zhong Yuxiu understood immediately. Transferring in out of the blue, and in such a particular year at that, the students in the class were bound to speculate endlessly. Someone like Ning Qingyuan, who asked directly, was probably the only one of his kind.

“No, we didn’t know each other. I’m a student at Hua University. Later, for some reason, I was recommended here by the head of Hua University’s physics department. At first Principal Xu did not want to accept me. I got in only after passing the entrance examination.”

She had not come in entirely through connections.