Chapter 35#

Why Didn’t He Come With You?#

The three people who had just come downstairs were still chewing on bread. The director took the opportunity while they were eating to say:

“Once you finish breakfast, start packing your things. Let’s aim to arrive before noon today; we might even make it for lunch. After that, go to your rooms to pack…”

As soon as the director mentioned rooms, those sitting on the sofa flinched reflexively.

The director was also startled by their reaction, but then realized and said with a smile: “Don’t be afraid this time. Didn’t I tell you before? Everyone will be staying in equivalent rooms. Besides, finding a small wooden hut on North-South Avenue is harder than finding a large villa; even if I wanted to find one, there’s no such place.”

Li Jing grabbed the arm of the Best Actor sitting next to her and let out a sigh of relief, saying mournfully: “Even though we know that, the trauma from the previous wooden hut is still there. I’ll probably need a lifetime to heal from the gloom of these past few days.”

Shen Le and the others finally understood why the people who had lived in the wooden hut before were smiling so happily.

They had gone to see the wooden hut before; when they said it was “primitive,” it really was primitive, without a hint of faking.

After all, there was even moss growing on the door panels, which didn’t look like something the program crew could have manufactured.

This time, moving to a new place, the fact they weren’t beating gongs and drums was already considered extremely restrained.

“Excuse me, where is North-South Avenue?”

Shen Le smiled somewhat shyly and said, “I just returned from abroad, so I’m not very familiar with the capital yet.”

“Where is it… it’s the national highway where Jinghua University is located. The ancient city you are going to is just a bit behind Jinghua University,” Li Jing paused and then asked, “You must at least know about Jinghua University, right?”

Shen Le nodded.

Jinghua University is a world-renowned institution; if he said he didn’t know it, he would look very stupid.

“It’s pretty much there,” Li Jing smiled and said, “I’ve visited it before and have some impression of it.”

The man sitting next to her was a bit surprised and asked: “When did you go?” He had never heard her mention it.

“Just recently. A friend at Jingda asked me to go over and help with something,” Li Jing remarked with emotion. “It really is quite different inside. I didn’t expect to be able to enter the gates of Jingda once in my life.”

The director sighed.

“Jingda has an anniversary coming up later. I originally wanted to contact the organizers to have our variety show do a crossover, but I was rejected. So we’ll probably only be able to catch a glimpse of it as we pass by.”

The difficulty of entering Jingda’s gates was already widely rumored, but no one expected it to be difficult to such a perverse degree.

Other universities would open part of their areas as tourist spots, with sightseeing buses on campus, but Jingda was different—they wouldn’t even let you through the front gate.

The organizers of Jingda’s anniversary were only students, but their attitude was firm and more capable than people already in society. In the end, it was impossible to reach an agreement, so he simply gave up and planned to stay in the ancient city around Jingda for two days.

The guests and some staff members, including the director and the cameraman, unconsciously moved from talking about Jinghua University to talking about academic qualifications.

Du Minsheng’s past was like a blank sheet of paper, and his academic background had long been thoroughly scrutinized. The same went for Luo Wenyun; his credentials had become widely accepted knowledge among fans.

The others’ academic qualifications looked very impressive, especially Shen Le’s. He listed a string of English names. Although the domestic education level is currently not much different from abroad, the deep-seated impression left from earlier years remained; most people didn’t know what he meant, but it didn’t stop them from thinking it sounded very high-end.

Mo Xuzhi sat to one side without speaking, looking down to start another game of Tetris.

—He had paused his movements just now and lost the game.

The others also looked at him from time to time.

He was the only one present whose true academic background was unknown.

Some people online said he hadn’t attended university at all and had come to the entertainment industry to rake in money after one year of vocational high school. Others said he attended a “Excavator University”—although it sounded absurd, surprisingly many people believed it.

Although no one knew the truth, the perception that “Mo Xuzhi has a very low level of education” had been etched into the minds of those present, becoming an established perception.

The more silent Mo Xuzhi was, the more the others wanted to know. Finally, Shen Le became the one to speak up, directly asking: “Senior Mo, what university did you attend? It must be very impressive, right?”

Mo Xuzhi didn’t even look up, “Excavator University.”

The others stared at him, trying to discern whether he was joking or serious.

But he kept looking at his phone, his face expressionless, so the others couldn’t guess the truth.

Du Minsheng stood to one side, silent.

He knew Mo Xuzhi was just saying it casually.

The person who was once cherished and pampered by the No. 1 High School next door would never go to an “Excavator University.”

The others had received an ambiguous answer, and their curiosity was temporarily satisfied. Realizing the topic couldn’t progress further, they dispersed. Shen Le and the others went up to pack their luggage, while Mo Xuzhi continued to hang out with Li Jing and the others, playing Tetris.

When he found out they were moving, he had already processed the pile of documents in his room for expedited delivery and sent them back to the Academy of Sciences.

The place the program crew was going was close to Jingda, so he could take advantage of the free time to go to the Academy and handle some matters. If possible, he could even quietly pull an all-nighter at the Academy.

With his things packed, Mo Xuzhi had nothing to do but wait for the others to finish packing while playing on his phone.

The staff went up to urge them, and the few of them quickly packed their luggage and boarded the bus they had come in.

Once on the bus, Li Jing and the other four watched Wanwan Town grow more distant with tears in their eyes.

The cameraman didn’t expect them to be so emotional, so he asked: “Are you reluctant to leave this place? Ah, parting…” It’s normal, don’t mind it too much.

Before the cameraman could finish, Li Jing sobbed: “Finally, we don’t have to stay in that wooden hut anymore. It’s small and broken; only those who lived there would know.”

Cameraman: “…Oh.”

Mo Xuzhi sat to one side and smiled.

The director sat at the front of the bus. Hearing the voices behind him, he turned his head and said: “The first episode airs at noon today. Don’t forget to contribute a view, and share it on Weibo to give the crew a boost.”

The others gave a few responses, mostly vague, without truly promising. The director also knew this would be the result and turned his head back after speaking.

The bus kept driving forward, and high-rise buildings gradually became visible.

Mo Xuzhi was fiddling with his phone. He looked up and asked the director: “Director, are there any plans for today?”

“No,” the director said. “If we pack quickly today, we can find a place to eat. After eating, you can rest for half a day. Filming officially starts the day after tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Mo Xuzhi looked down and sent a message.

—I’m going back to Jingda this afternoon. Do you have Ji Baiwen’s contact information?

The reply came quickly. Mo Xuzhi saved the phone number sent to him in his contacts and then turned off his phone.

The bus arrived at North-South Avenue a little after eleven. From a distance, they could see the white gates of Jingda.

The sun was very strong today, and the white gates reflected the light, looking a bit dazzling.

The others hadn’t really seen Jingda before and all leaned over to look. Mo Xuzhi also looked up for a moment and then lowered his head.

It was currently lunch time. After the group arrived at the quaint inn booked by the program crew, packed their things, and went out, the streets were bustling, and various restaurants were full of people.

Du Minsheng asked the director: “Where are we going to eat?”

The director gave a sheepish smile: “I didn’t expect there to be so many people.”

It meant he hadn’t booked seats in advance at all.

Even if they didn’t go out to eat, if the inn was to provide three meals, they would need to be booked in advance. Looking at the director’s appearance, one could guess he hadn’t prepared anything.

The others were speechless.

Zhang Xuanxuan rubbed her stomach, looking completely aggrieved, “So we won’t be able to eat today?”

They had woken up very early today and hadn’t eaten much for breakfast. They had just spent energy packing their luggage and were waiting for lunch to keep them going, only to be told now that lunch was gone.

The staff, especially those carrying equipment, were now beyond complaining.

The director could only say dryly: “How about we go back to the inn and wait for a bit, and come back in an hour? There shouldn’t be many people then.”

Mo Xuzhi followed behind the crowd, glanced down at the time, and then at the full restaurants. He then spoke up: “There’s a place that might have food.”

The others’ spirits lifted.

Mo Xuzhi continued: “It’s a home-style restaurant. Usually, it only opens in the evening, but we can go and try our luck.”

The owner of the home-style restaurant’s main business was collecting rent on this street, but over time he felt bored, so he opened a home-style restaurant to find something to do. He would go buy groceries in the morning, and after buying them, he would start playing mahjong until the afternoon, when he would start preparing the dishes for the evening.

He and Wang Zhifeng often came here to eat, and over time they had figured out the pattern. The owner of the mahjong parlor next door would go pick up his daughter from school every week on this day and wouldn’t open. The restaurant owner would have no mahjong to play and would sometimes open early at noon.

The restaurant was in a remote location and didn’t really attract customers, so there usually weren’t many people. If it was open, they should be able to get a meal.

The others automatically ignored the words “try our luck” and wanted to rush to the restaurant immediately.

So Mo Xuzhi moved from the end of the line to the center and began to lead the way.

The location of the restaurant was truly remote. Mo Xuzhi led the group around several turns. Some people could remember the way at first, but after a few turns, they gave up on memorizing and followed closely behind Mo Xuzhi.

Luo Wenyun looked down at Mo Xuzhi, who was leading the way expressionlessly with his hands in his jacket pockets.

—He was very familiar with this place.

“We’re here.”

Mo Xuzhi suddenly stopped and looked back to see Luo Wenyun’s gaze on him.

He looked away as if nothing had happened.

Their luck was pretty good today; the restaurant was open.

Hearing the noise, the lady boss poked her head out from the courtyard and saw Mo Xuzhi standing at the entrance. Her features relaxed, and she called out in surprise: “Xuzhi, you’re here again?”

“Yeah.” Mo Xuzhi also curved his eyes and asked with a smile, “We want to have lunch today. Have you prepared any food, Ma’am?”

“Yes, yes,” the lady boss nodded hurriedly, then looked past the crowd again and asked with some confusion, “Where’s Teacher Wang? Why didn’t he come with you today?”