Chapter 98: Nickname

Ning Qingyuan paused slightly. "You’re still studying at Huada University?"

Zhong Yuxiu nodded, unwilling to say more. If not for wanting to avoid misunderstandings and trouble, she wouldn’t have spoken of it at all.

"Why did you transfer to the Medical University? Isn’t Huada good enough?" Ning Qingyuan was utterly baffled.

"I came to the Medical University for the sole purpose of studying medicine." She had already completed her studies at Huada.

Ning Qingyuan grew increasingly perplexed. It was the first time he’d met someone so shrouded in mystery, as if wrapped in mist, impossible to see through or grasp.

After picking up their textbooks, Ning Qingyuan offered to carry some for her, but Zhong Yuxiu politely declined.

Two semesters’ worth of textbooks amounted to a considerable number. Medical theory books were always hefty, each thicker than the physics department’s, and together they weighed about ten pounds.

She could handle that weight.

"If you can’t manage, you can hand some over to me," Ning Qingyuan said, his tone light and casual, retracting his hand and turning to walk back.

Zhong Yuxiu followed him back to the classroom. "Thank you, Class Leader Ning."

"No need to thank me. Professor Xu asked me to bring you," Ning Qingyuan replied without looking at her, returning to his seat.

Zhong Yuxiu found her own seat as well. No sooner had she sat down than a girl with slightly yellow skin and a round face leaned over, speaking with a strong regional accent, "Hello, Zhong Yuxiu, I’m Zhong Yuan. We share a surname; perhaps we were family eight hundred years ago."

Such an opening was all too familiar.

Images from her first life surfaced unbidden—those uncles always eager to establish a connection with anyone sharing their surname, talking about family ties, being kin from eight hundred years ago, and soon everyone would be chatting warmly and exchanging numbers for future contact.

"Hello, Zhong Yuan."

"Zhong Yuxiu, you’re so pretty, and your skin is so fair!" Zhong Yuan’s eyes brimmed with envy. "If only I had skin like yours. Your eyes are beautiful, so bright and lively."

With eyes like hers, she could never be a simpleton.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul; one can glimpse a person’s nature through them.

Zhong Yuxiu was amused by her. "You’re quite lovely yourself! A round face is the most endearing." She wasn’t actually stunning, but in an era when most faces looked sallow, her fair skin stood out.

"Ha! You’re so kind, Zhong Yuxiu." Zhong Yuan’s smile became more genuine. "You’re the first to say I’m attractive. People only call me cute because of my round face, never beautiful or anything like that."

"I think round faces are the kind that grow more charming the longer you look."

Zhong Yuan squinted happily. "Even though I know you’re just comforting me, I’m still delighted."

"It’s not comfort. Round faces are truly lovely; some people are striking from birth, some become more pleasant over time, some have beautiful bone structure—everyone has their own charm." She herself wished for a round face; when chubby, it was adorable, and when slim, it highlighted the bone structure.

"Alright, I’ll take your word for it," Zhong Yuan said, leaning on the desk to look her in the eye, feeling their relationship had grown closer. She asked, "Comrade Zhong Yuxiu, can I ask you something? If you don’t want to answer, just say so—I’m just curious, nothing more."

No need to ask; Zhong Yuxiu already knew what the question was.

"You want to know why I transferred here after a semester?"

Zhong Yuan was startled, then laughed knowingly. "Exactly, I’m just curious. It’s likely hard to catch up at this point. Professor Xu is quite strict and serious—if you fall behind, he’ll scold you."

"That won’t happen." She had confidence in herself.

"Won’t be scolded, or won’t fall behind?"

Zhong Yuxiu smiled softly. "You’ll see soon enough."

"Alright." Zhong Yuan laughed and didn’t pursue it further. "Are you living on campus?"

"No, my home isn’t far from here. I live at home."

Zhong Yuan’s envy deepened. "Local students have it so good, school is so close."

"Where are you from?" Zhong Yuxiu asked. "Your accent sounds like it’s from Province S."

"How did you know?"

"I’ve met a few people from Province S before—their accent is quite similar to yours, and they like to add ‘ha’ at the end, very lively."

Zhong Yuan chuckled, "That’s true. My accent is pretty strong; it’s hard to change in a short time."

"Her dialect-accented Mandarin is much better now. When she first came to Medical University, I couldn’t understand a word she said," said a tall, lanky male student, turning from the front to expose her little secret without mercy.

"Hmph." Zhong Yuan shot a cold glance back. "That’s still better than you. When you arrived, you couldn’t even speak Mandarin!"

"Now I speak it better than you."

"You’re not much better than me."

The two kept bickering, sparring endlessly, their conversation veering completely off track.

Zhong Yuxiu sighed quietly and covered her ears.

What a pair of troublemakers.

Why must she encounter these two on her very first day?

The surrounding students shook their heads with amused smiles. "Stop squabbling, you two. You’re scaring little Zhong Yuxiu."

Zhong Yuan and the young man stopped simultaneously to look at Zhong Yuxiu, who indeed was covering her ears, her face full of pain.

"Sorry, Zhong Yuxiu, he and I just can’t stand each other," Zhong Yuan apologized, unable to resist sparring with him.

Zhong Yuxiu lowered her hands and said weakly, "Class is about to start. Let’s get ready."

Please, stop arguing near her; her ears felt as if a swarm of mosquitoes were buzzing hungrily.

Zhong Yuan smiled apologetically and, seeing no reason to return to her seat, simply moved her textbooks over to sit with Zhong Yuxiu.

"Sorry, Zhong Yuxiu, I’m so used to sparring with him."

What could Zhong Yuxiu say? She could only smile.

"I prefer peace and quiet. Don’t worry about me—just be yourselves."

Zhong Yuan smiled and was about to speak again when the boy in front turned back. "Little Zhong Yuxiu, let me introduce myself. I’m Min Jianguo, the class’s welfare officer. If you have any issues, feel free to come to me."

"Hello, Min."

"No need to be formal with him, Zhong Yuxiu—just call him Min Turtle," Zhong Yuan laughed.

"What’s the story behind that?" Such a mischievous nickname.

Min Jianguo’s fair skin flushed with a rosy blush as he smiled shyly.

Zhong Yuan leaned in conspiratorially. "Min Jianguo is even more refined than the girls—always quiet and gentle in speech and action. He walks extra slow, too. At first, everyone called him Min Tortoise."

"Everyone has their own habits." Nicknaming people—there was no escaping it in any era.

Fortunately, Min was good-natured and didn’t mind, letting the nickname slide. If he’d been sensitive, those who gave it would have been embarrassed on the spot.