CHAPTER 213: CHAPTER 211: SENIOR FROM THE PAST

"How come you’re here, Senior?" Chen Xin looked surprised at the person appearing in front of him, as he never imagined seeing his senior again ten years after graduation.

"I’m here on a business trip. Xiao Chen junior, this is... Oh, I remember now, your home is here. During the club activities back then, you even brought lotus pods." The senior seemed equally surprised to meet Chen Xin here and greeted him while also sizing up this old classmate whom she hadn’t seen in a decade.

Due to being out, Chen Xin was wearing his own Protective Suit. Although he had taken off the protective mask indoors, one could still tell at a glance that it was an excellent Protective Suit, not easily available for purchase.

Compared to the ordinary warm clothing of people around him, Chen Xin’s attire clearly made him stand out.

Moreover, after not seeing each other for many years, the senior’s memory of Chen Xin still lingered in their past student days. Back then, Chen Xin didn’t possess the steadiness and the temperament honed by time like now; he was spirited, confident yet somewhat naive, which was how the senior remembered him.

But after many years, the current Chen Xin is no longer that naive young man, and the senior is no longer the gentle woman with long hair and a light-colored long dress in Chen Xin’s memory.

Looking at the senior now with her neat short hair and a black winter coat, Chen Xin greeted her with a hint of nostalgia, "Really long time no see. Since you graduated, it’s been ten years, right?"

"From my graduation, it’s been over ten years." The senior gazed at Chen Xin, similarly feeling nostalgic. "It’s been ten years in a blink of an eye! How are you doing now, Xiao Chen junior?"

"Not so bad. In these times, no one can claim to be doing well; just managing to survive." Chen Xin shook his head slightly, not dwelling on the topic. "And you, Senior? I remember after you graduated, you seemed to have taken the civil service exam, right?"

The senior nodded and showed Chen Xin the national emblem pinned to her collar. "The Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission, it’s alright. Since there was such a big incident in your city, I was sent by the province to investigate some matters."

The senior didn’t elaborate on what exactly she was investigating, as that was confidential. But with people from the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission appearing in the city after such a major event, it was clear what their purpose might be.

So when the senior said she was investigating matters, it wasn’t considered leakage.

The name of the Discipline Inspection Commission made Chen Xin feel a chill, but he couldn’t help but laugh. Even if the senior came wielding the imperial sword to slay traitors, what concern was it to him, an ordinary citizen?

If that were true, he should be applauding and calling her a wise and just official.

Thinking of this, Chen Xin couldn’t help but smile, "Such a choice is typical of you, Senior. Back then, when I heard you were taking the civil service exam, I thought you’d go to another agency!"

"My family wanted me to go to the Tax Bureau, but I chose my current job to fulfill my original ideal." The senior said this with curiosity about Chen Xin’s path, "What about you, Xiao Chen junior? I remember you said you wanted to ’write the history of spring and autumn, and depict life’s injustices’."

Recalling his slightly idealistic, youthful aspirations, a trace of embarrassment appeared on Chen Xin’s face. Although at the time he didn’t think of himself as naive, looking back now, there was some self-consciousness in retrospect.

However, he still jokingly replied to the senior, "I later chose to write online novels, fulfilling the first half of my dream at least. But as for life’s injustices, even if I wanted to write, I couldn’t publish them!"

Hearing Chen Xin’s words, the senior couldn’t help but laugh, "In school, we all thought we should set our hearts for the world, establish a destiny for the people, continue the learning of the past sages, and bring peace for all generations. But when you really do it, you realize it’s much harder than the ideal.

Knowing what to do is easy, doing it is hard. It’s already not easy, Xiao Chen junior, for you to be doing what you want to do. We’ve all been changed by time..."

The senior seemed to want to say more, but the person in charge of preparing the medicines for Chen Xin had already returned.

Seeing the senior standing beside Chen Xin, he was surprised and quickly greeted her, "Leader Tang, what brings you here? Do you know Comrade Xiao Chen?"

"He’s my university junior; we even set up a club together back then." The senior briefly explained her relationship with Chen Xin but seemed to emphasize that they hadn’t been in contact since university to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble for Chen Xin. "Unfortunately, we lost touch after graduation, so to meet again over a decade later is really something."

"Oh, so Comrade Xiao Chen is Leader Tang’s junior? That’s certainly unexpected!" The person in charge, hearing this, looked at Chen Xin with a different gaze, a tone growing more amiable, "By the way, Comrade Xiao Chen, here are the medications you need. They’re mainly for preventing frostbite and common illnesses caused by cold, along with some common drugs; hope they help you."

"Thank you so much; with these medicines, I feel more at ease." Chen Xin accepted the medical box offered by the person in charge, expressing his thanks.

"Xiao Chen junior, this is..." The senior noticed the considerable medicine box in Chen Xin’s hand and couldn’t help showing concern, clearly not for regular use.

"I’m planning to go to Anhui Province; that’s where my family is, and my parents were stranded there before the disaster. I’m planning to bring them back now." Chen Xin explained to the senior.

However, Chen Xin’s explanation startled the senior. She widened her eyes at Chen Xin in disbelief, "Are you really going to Anhui Province, Xiao Chen junior? How will you get there? In this environment, planes can’t fly, and the railway isn’t open for civilian use. How are you going to go?"

"I’ll drive myself." Chen Xin didn’t find the senior’s shock surprising; he just showed her the medical box in his hand. "That’s why I need to prepare more medicines for the journey, in case of emergencies along the way we can handle it."

Hearing this, the senior found herself speechless. She had never expected that their reunion after ten years would lead to Chen Xin heading out on what seemed to her an almost reckless endeavor.

"Is your car ready? Driving yourself, a civilian car would freeze overnight; you wouldn’t be able to drive at all!" The senior still found Chen Xin’s plan unrealistic and wanted to dissuade him.

Below freezing temperatures can be quite harsh for cars, making them difficult to start unless the engine remains in operation; otherwise, the cold could freeze the vehicle and damage parts and equipment not built for such temperatures.

Chen Xin had naturally prepared for this, smiling at the senior, "You don’t have to worry about that, Senior. When have you ever seen me dive into something unprepared? I’ve readied an RV and made modifications suitable for the current environment."

"That does sound like you, very thorough as always, Xiao Chen junior. I suppose I was overthinking." The senior shook her head, laughing at her needless worry, deciding against persuading Chen Xin otherwise, and extended her hand, "All I can do then is wish you a safe journey, Xiao Chen junior! If you have some time upon your return, you can find me in Star City easily."

"Thank you, Senior, for your blessing. I’ll take my leave first and visit you once I’m back." Chen Xin grinned at her and then turned away, medication box in hand.

However, before Chen Xin got too far, the person in charge called out to him, arranging for a car to send him back.

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Back at his shelter, Chen Xin sorted the medical supplies he’d brought back, transferring them to his armored RV.

While organizing the medicines, Chen Xin couldn’t help but reflect on unexpectedly seeing his senior again.

Though he called her Senior, she was only half a year older than Chen Xin, and they were actually the same class year. But as they grew more familiar, she playfully used her age as a reason for Chen Xin to always call her Senior, while she called him Xiao Chen junior.

Back then, although the senior appeared gentle, she was quite strong-willed, joining the student council in her first year and even dragging Chen Xin along to set up a club, making her quite a notable figure at school.

Chen Xin remembered their second year; she successfully became the student council’s vice president. For issues like cafeteria food quality, she organized students to co-sign a letter to the school, pushing for improvements...

During her two years as vice president, she accomplished quite a lot, thanks to which she smoothly became the student council president in her last year on campus.

But since everyone was nearing graduation, with internships and little energy to focus on student council work, her presidency didn’t leave much of an impact on Chen Xin. Rather, he remembered more about her tenure as vice president.

After graduation, she pursued a civil servant career and, with her capabilities, naturally passed and became a public official. In contrast, Chen Xin found a regular job that he eventually left for a career in online writing, leading to losing touch with her.

Looking back now, it seemed like his entire university life was shared with her, as if she occupied a significant part of his memories from that period.

Despite them being just friends throughout college, for Chen Xin, she truly was inseparable and was a significant part of his university life.

It was surprising for Chen Xin to realize that, despite not being in touch after graduation, he still referred to her as Tangtang, a nickname from those days of creating a club together in college.