RIRW – Chapter 160

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Professor Zhang had just finished his class and went straight home. Today, one of his former students was coming to visit. He had initially planned to bring along his prized student, Shen Yiming, hoping to give him a chance to closely experience Western economic thought. But then he thought it might be too rushed. Since his former student would be staying for a while, he decided he would mention it today and bring Shen Yiming next time to meet him.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw his student, Chen Zhisen. Their last meeting had been brief, and now, looking at him more closely, he seemed to have grown even more weathered with time.

“Teacher, it’s been years. I hope you’ve been well. I’ve come to pay my respects,” Chen Zhisen said with a smile, standing up while leaning on a cane.

Seeing his condition, Professor Zhang’s eyes instantly turned red.

“Zhisen, what happened to you? When I briefly saw you at the conference last time, I didn’t get a chance to look closely… What happened to your leg?”

Even with his aging eyes, Professor Zhang could clearly see that Chen Zhisen was walking with difficulty, and his two legs looked noticeably different.

Chen Zhisen smiled gently. “It’s nothing serious, just old injuries. I’ve gotten used to them over the years. It’s you, teacher, who’s had a hard time. I haven’t been able to take care of you all these years.”

Professor Zhang sighed, quickly sat down on the sofa, and invited him to sit. “What hardship? We’ve all been through the same kind of days. It doesn’t really count as suffering. Fortunately, things have now recovered to how they were before, even showing signs of rapid development. I believe the future will be even better. You’ve returned to the country this time for the sake of that future, haven’t you? When I saw you at the conference last time, I thought I was seeing things. The fact that the top leadership is letting people like you return shows they’re truly beginning to embrace new ideas and theories, and plan to walk a different path.”

Chen Zhisen smiled. “Yes, I’ve also noticed during recent meetings that the domestic situation is quite different from before. I’ve had some discussions with national leaders about the state of Western capitalism. To be honest, with such a shortage of material goods in the country, change is necessary. Over the years abroad, I’ve accumulated some capital and can help supply materials to China—do my part, at least. My only concern is that some senior comrades might still resist the shift in mindset and be unable to accept us.”

Professor Zhang waved his hand. “You don’t need to worry about that. From what I see, the top leaders are very open-minded now. It’s just a matter of time. After all, nothing can be accomplished overnight. The college entrance exams were only reinstated last year, and this is just the second batch of students entering university. There’s still so much to be rebuilt. You need to be patient. The country still needs people like you.”

Chen Zhisen nodded in agreement.

After chatting for a while, Professor Zhang’s wife finished cooking a few dishes. Professor Zhang invited Chen Zhisen to have a few drinks with him. He hadn’t had alcohol in years. Ever since returning, he had been busy and hadn’t had time to enjoy life. Now, seeing an old student again, he felt the emotions of youth welling up, as if he had become young once more.

After a few drinks, Professor Zhang asked about Chen Zhisen’s family situation.

Chen Zhisen smiled and said, “I’ve been busy with work and haven’t thought much about it. But I’ve adopted two children. They’re adults now and have already graduated from university abroad. I plan to bring them to Beijing University for exchange studies. My focus is now back in China, and I hope the younger generation can contribute to the country.”

Professor Zhang sighed with regret. It felt like such a loss that someone like Chen Zhisen hadn’t married and had children of his own. If he had, surely his children would have been outstanding as well.

But the situation was what it was, and he didn’t want to bring up such a topic and make Chen Zhisen feel uncomfortable. So instead, he asked, “By the way, after the conference last time, I wanted to catch up with you, but you left in such a hurry. I thought something had happened.”

Chen Zhisen looked a little lost in thought, then said, “It was cold at the time, and my old leg injury flared up again, so I went abroad for treatment.”

“When you’re young, you need to take better care of your health. The future of the country depends on capable people like you. Old folks like us can’t do much anymore—our only role is to pass our knowledge to the next generation. Speaking of which, I have a student now who’s very impressive, not at all inferior to how you were back then. If I’d told you earlier, I would’ve brought him to meet you today. If you could give him a few pointers, it would benefit him immensely.”

Professor Zhang looked every bit the proud mentor boasting about his student.

Hearing this, Chen Zhisen smiled and said, “Anyone the teacher praises like this must be remarkable. If there’s a chance, please do bring him next time—I’d love to meet him.”

Pleased with the response, Professor Zhang laughed heartily. “Absolutely, definitely—I’ll make sure you meet him.”

Age was catching up to him. After the meal, Professor Zhang began to feel tired and needed a nap. He had a class in the afternoon, so Chen Zhisen didn’t stay any longer and got up to leave.

Once in the car, Chen Zhisen rolled down the window and looked at his old alma mater.

So many years had passed, and yet the scenery remained almost unchanged. The only real difference seemed to be the students’ deeper enthusiasm for knowledge. Everywhere the car passed, there were students reading intently under the shade of trees, completely absorbed in their books. The atmosphere for learning was strong.

Just as they neared the school gate, a bicycle zoomed past them—faster even than their car. On it, a female student appeared to be venting frustration, urging the male student ahead of her to hurry up.

Chen Zhisen was suddenly stunned and urgently said, “Stop the car.”

The car screeched to a halt, and Chen Zhisen hurriedly opened the door and looked out, but the bicycle had already disappeared into the distance.

His assistant asked, “Mr. Chen, is something wrong? Should we drive back to check?”

Chen Zhisen paused for a moment, then shook his head. “No, it’s nothing. I must’ve seen wrong.” He had to have been mistaken. After so many years, how could someone still look so young? And how could they be at Beijing University?

Back in the car, Chen Zhisen closed his eyes.

He recalled what he’d heard during that last meeting:

“Xiao Hui has already married and had children. She has a happy family. You mustn’t appear before her again. She’s finally living a good life—you’ll ruin it if you interfere.”

“At your age, it’s not about love anymore. Stability matters more. She’s already a grandmother—don’t destroy her life.”

Nothing had changed. And yet, everything had changed. The things remained the same, but the people had long since moved on.

“Comrade Shen Yiming, did you not eat enough? Why are you riding so slowly? I’m going to be late!”

At the base of the teaching building, Zuo Dan jumped off her bicycle, frowning as she spoke.

Shen Yiming calmly checked his watch. “There are still ten minutes. Don’t worry.” Then he looked at Zuo Dan. “And whose fault is it, really? You softened up and said you’d wean him, but as soon as the kid started crying, you felt bad. If you hadn’t breastfed him at noon, we wouldn’t have been late.”

Zuo Dan fumed. “So it’s my fault now? He was wailing in the middle of the night—what could I do? He’s usually easy to take care of, but when it comes to milk, he’s stubborn—just like you. Once he gets something good in his mouth, he won’t let go. I think I really ought to try what others do—rub some chili on it.”

Shen Yiming’s expression immediately changed. “No way, that must hurt!”

Zuo Dan rolled her eyes at him. “It’s not you who’s going to feel the pain!”

“I feel heartache.”

“…”

Seeing that class was about to start and there was no time to bicker, Zuo Dan shot him a glare and went straight to the classroom. Shen Yiming got back on his bike and headed to class, all the while pondering how to wean his son off breastfeeding. Letting that little guy hog his stuff all the time really didn’t sit well with him.

When Zuo Dan entered the classroom, she casually picked a seat. As soon as she sat down, a few girls quickly moved to sit with her.

Xiang Honghua snatched the seat next to her and whispered, “I think something’s up with Zhu Min lately. She rushed back during lunch, dolled herself up, and went out again. And now she’s not even in class.”

Zuo Dan looked around the room and didn’t see Zhu Min either.

Xiang Honghua continued, “She said she’s divorced and is single now. It’s fine if she’s dating someone, but she’s been late and leaving early all the time. That’s not normal. This is such a great learning opportunity, and she’s not even cherishing it.”

Zuo Dan said seriously, “That’s an important issue. I suggest reporting it to the class leader. I’ll focus on ideological matters, but disciplinary issues should be the class leader’s responsibility.”

She really didn’t care about Zhu Min’s messy personal life. It was obvious Zhu Min was already looking for a new partner. So eager to move on right after a divorce—how persistent could she be?

Xiang Honghua thought Zuo Dan didn’t want to overstep her role, so after class, she reported the matter to class leader Zhao Qianjin.

Zhao Qianjin was bewildered. A female comrade slacking off in class for the sake of a relationship—how was a male class leader supposed to handle that? But like it or not, it was his job. So he braced himself and had a talk with Zhu Min.

“Comrade Zhu Min, I think you should cherish your college life. Focus on your studies. Even if you’re dating, you still have to keep up with school.”

Zhu Min replied calmly, “I’m not dating. I was just helping a new student get familiar with the campus. I’ll be more mindful in the future.”

Zhao Qianjin wasn’t sure if she really took it to heart, but he said what needed to be said and left it at that.

Zuo Dan had even less time to worry about Zhu Min’s affairs. The weaning process for little Shen Youyou wasn’t going well at all.

That night when they got home, Zuo Dan prepared to apply chili to her breast, but Shen Yiming stopped her no matter what.

So Zuo Dan handed Shen Youyou to him and went to sleep in the grandmother’s room, leaving father and son to face each other.

Shen Youyou pouted and was about to cry. Shen Yiming stuffed a bottle into his mouth.

“You’re already one year old. You have teeth. If you keep nursing, people will laugh at you!” Shen Yiming said seriously.

“Daddy bad,” Shen Youyou complained.

Shen Yiming’s tone turned stern. “Protest denied. You can cry all you want. This house is big—no one’s going to hear you.”

“Daddy bad, bad bad bad bad bad.”

Shen Yiming ignored him, turned off the light, and lay beside him, gently patting his back. “You can either sleep or cry. Your choice.” Then he closed his eyes to sleep. He had class tomorrow—who had time to deal with a baby?

Seeing the room suddenly go dark, with no mom and a dad who ignored him, Shen Youyou began to cry, his mouth trembling. He cried a few times and listened. No response.

He cried a few more times. Still no response…

After a few rounds of this, he realized his dad was really heartless, and grandma and mom couldn’t hear him either. So he sucked on the bottle a few times, set it aside, and went to sleep. He even deliberately draped one leg over his dad.

In the next room, Zuo Dan heard his intermittent crying. At first, her heart ached a little, but as the cries grew softer and then disappeared altogether, she finally felt relieved.

She felt like they should’ve done this from the start. The kid had figured out that grandma was softhearted, so he cried nonstop in her room. But now, stuck with his ruthless dad, he had no hope, so he gave in.

Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming slept in separate rooms for ten days. Eventually, Shen Youyou realized nursing was no longer an option, and he changed his preferences, switching to eating the sweet potato and rice cereal made by great-grandma.

Shen Yiming couldn’t stand it anymore and brought Zuo Dan back to their room.

Those ten days without her had been miserable.

That night, after putting Shen Youyou to sleep and moving him to his crib, Shen Yiming eagerly pulled Zuo Dan into bed, climbed on top, and stripped her clean in no time.

Kissing and groping her, he quickly turned Zuo Dan into a puddle.

Finally, Shen Yiming’s lips made their way to the source that had once been Shen Youyou’s food supply.

Just as things were getting steamy, they heard Shen Youyou cry. Both of them were jolted awake. In their haste, they had forgotten to turn off the lights, so everything was clearly visible. They immediately saw Shen Youyou sitting in his crib, pointing at his former food source with a face full of grievance. “Daddy bad!”

“…”

The next day, Shen Yiming decided to put up a curtain in the room for Shen Youyou. As he put it, the boy could talk and walk now—he deserved his own private space.

Zuo Dan agreed, blushing.

So the couple pulled out a mosquito net and made a little private nook for Shen Youyou.

The grandmother initially felt reluctant, wanting to let the child sleep with her. But after seeing how Shen Youyou acted differently with her versus with his parents, she decided not to interfere.

Parenting should be left to the parents.

If elders get too involved, the parents lose their authority, making it harder to discipline the child in the future.

Thanks to this arrangement, Shen Yiming finally got to have some proper alone time with Zuo Dan again. They both felt refreshed, like they had rediscovered their two-person world.

Of course, Shen Yiming still occasionally got up at night to check on his son. Seeing the little one sleeping sweetly with a stuffed tiger in his arms, he felt reassured. “Definitely my son—adaptable and sharp,” he thought.

Before the National Day holiday, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming planned to take grandma and Shen Youyou out for a little trip. Since they couldn’t usually spend time with the child or the elder at home, they wanted to make the most of the holiday.

“I might not be free on the first day,” Shen Yiming said one evening while they were discussing plans.

Zuo Dan asked, “Comrade Yiming, what are you busy with again?”

Shen Yiming smiled. “After class today, Professor Zhang told me he’s taking me to a small gathering. He said it’s important and will broaden my horizons. It’ll help me better understand Western economic issues.”

Zuo Dan immediately felt jealous. “Comrade Shen Yiming, why is your professor so nice? Mine never invites me to anything like that. All he ever says is, ‘Zuo Dan, got any new ideas lately? I think I’m running out of steam. My persona is about to collapse!’ No, no, I can’t just goof off during the holidays. I need to hit the library and find some books to read!”