The farewell party for classmates that night ended up moving from the classroom to the campus. A group of people revisited the vegetable garden that brought them deep memories and walked through familiar corners.
Finally, on the lawn not far from the second door, they looked up at the starry sky, sharing their feelings from the past five years and teasing each other.
They chatted until dawn without sleep. There were many topics, but the time was short. After watching the sunrise, everyone would pack their bags and head to their respective workplaces.
At the train stations across the country, they clearly realized once again that it was truly time to part from the classmates they had spent five years with day and night.
Everyone had tears in their eyes, holding each other’s hands tightly, bidding farewell. They repeatedly said, "Keep in touch, don’t forget to write letters!"
Train after train left, and the classmates who remained in Beijing said farewell with red eyes. They were the lucky ones, still able to breathe in the same city.
And those who left?
Back at the Big Courtyard, the Zhou Family’s living room was already filled with friends and relatives who cared about the young couple. Even the usually distant Lin Xueying and her husband were there.
Old Mrs. Cheng, hearing from Aunt Chen that they were back, didn’t care about her usual demeanor and rushed to the door: "Why are you back only now?"
Startled, Cheng Ruzhu hurriedly followed to support her, "Mom, don’t rush. You should sit down first."
As Zhou Jiao stepped into the courtyard, she saw Old Mrs. Cheng at the doorway of the living room and quickly ran over. Zhang Guoqing, seeing her run, followed worriedly behind her.
This sped up the pace, but also left Little Ping’an dumbfounded. It seemed everyone wasn’t as composed as he was. He didn’t run; his parents were so capable, why didn’t they have confidence in them?
"How was it?"
"Did Auntie know we got the placement certificate?"
"We received the news by noon, why are you only coming back now?"
"Went to the train station to see off classmates." Zhou Jiao supported her into a seat and greeted everyone. Over there, Zhang Guoqing was already reporting to his father-in-law.
Compared to everyone’s joy, although the father-in-law seemed calm, Zhang Guoqing still noticed his clenched fists suddenly relax. He was happy too, wasn’t he!
——Now his precious daughter finally had leisure and money.
Zhou Jiao solemnly handed the notice and placement certificate to her dad with both hands.
To be honest, despite all the preparations, she didn’t have much hope. Especially since her dad said he couldn’t intervene in her graduation placement. There were times when she really worried about being sent to some secret research institute with those documents.
Who wouldn’t want to rise to a higher place, ideally with leisure and confidence? How could she not be excited? She gave up a comfortable lifestyle and spent five precious years to achieve this great result.
Hands full of blisters, bloodshot eyes from staying up late, painstaking performance, and resentment suppressed without retaliation.
——Finally, Zhou Jiao took a big step forward successfully!
With such a good starting point, Zhou Jiao was no longer afraid of any storms to come, and never again needed to wear a hypocritical mask to guard against those with ulterior motives.
Zhou Xiaozheng could feel the excitement beneath his daughter’s calm demeanor. After reading, he gave her an encouraging smile: "Well done!"
The father and daughter exchanged smiles and both looked at Zhang Guoqing. The next move was up to him!
Old Mrs. Cheng, following the gaze of the father and daughter, thought about how Zhang Guoqing would also go to military school for three months next month, and she laughed heartily.



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