The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 139 - 137: Comrade Jiang’s Thoughtfulness

"Niannian, after a while, let’s get married, okay? We will live our own sweet little life."

Xue Jianian glanced at him and said, "You’ve severed ties with the Wei Family, so our marriage should be called off."

"Niannian, I may resent the Wei Family, but I truly like you. Let’s start over."

"I’m only eighteen this year; I’m still young."

"Not so young anymore. Niannian, you’re in university now. You’re becoming more and more exceptional. I’m afraid someone else will snatch you away, so I need to keep you close to feel at ease. Niannian, I’ll work hard too, work hard to treat you well and give you a good life."

The two of them had been childhood sweethearts, and both had only their mothers since childhood. Later, when their mothers were gone too, the two who shared similar experiences could understand each other’s hearts even more.

Xue Jianian was especially unwilling to let go. Now hearing Wei Jincheng take the initiative to propose, her heart was filled with joy: "Okay, we’ll get married and live our own sweet little life. I have to tell my Grandpa Xue."

Wei Jincheng’s eyes were filled with laughter, a mix of excitement and nervousness, "Good, tell Grandpa Xue; if they agree, invite Grandpa Xue and Grandma Xue here. I have some savings, enough to buy a house here."

Wei Jincheng had served in the military for four years and was now just a platoon leader, not yet eligible for a housing allocation.

"No need. My grandparents are doing quite well back in our hometown."

The elderly couple was in the county town, living a better life than her. Grandpa Xue watched the gate every day and sometimes received gifts like tobacco and alcohol from people coming and going.

Grandma Xue made handmade shoes at home and set up a little stall outside. Although she only sold them in the afternoon, she earned more than Grandpa Xue.

The heavy rain lasted most of the night, but by early next morning, the sun had already risen early. Lu Jingqiu got up early to cook: sweet red dates with millet porridge, scrambled eggs with chives, steamed buns made from a mix of corn and white flour, and she also prepared a steamed egg for Hua Hua. When Jiang Nanzhou arrived, everything was just coming out of the pot.

"You arrived just in time, let’s sit down and eat."

Jiang Nanzhou had come early, before the cafeteria opened for breakfast, worried Lu Jingqiu wouldn’t be up yet, he’d even bought some buns from a breakfast shop on the way.

"What time is your first class?"

"Eight o’clock."

Jiang Nanzhou checked the time; it was already six-forty.

Cycling would take an hour, driving only twenty minutes.

They ate breakfast quickly. Lu Jingqiu still took a few minutes to wash the dishes since her father might not come home for the next couple of days.

With little Aunt and Aunt Liu, there was no worry for Hua Hua.

Jiang Nanzhou dropped her off at school by half-past seven and hurried back to his dormitory, dropped off his luggage, and rushed to class.

It was just seven-fifty when he arrived at class.

Calculating this way, she could come on Monday mornings in the future.

Catching the bus at 6:30 a.m., there’s one at seven, and she could make it to school by 7:30. Hmm, not bad. freēnovelkiss.com

"Jingqiu, why did you just get here? You gave me a fright, I thought something happened to you," Luo Xinyue, who had arrived the previous afternoon and hadn’t seen Lu Jingqiu, had been worried about her all morning.

"It rained yesterday, so I thought I’d come today."

"I came by bus in the rain." But that was Shang Ze who had taken her.

The course had just started for a week, and it wasn’t too intense yet; everyone was still adjusting.

At lunchtime, Xu Yu and Mi Qiaomai were about to go to the canteen with the two of them.

At the moment class ended, Professor Shi suddenly called the two of them aside.

The two not knowing what was happening felt their hearts suddenly tighten, but when they approached the professor, he shared good news: "Editors from the Children’s Publishing House just came looking for you two; they’re in the office now."

Professor Shi knew Lu Jingqiu, and this Classmate Luo also belonged to the Children’s Publishing House, her illustrations had been published in the newspaper; both students were exemplary.

"I think the publishing house wants to commission work from you both. You can take up the work, but don’t let it affect your studies. The next two years are still very important to you."

Lu Jingqiu and Luo Xinyue hurriedly said, "We understand, Professor. We won’t fall behind in our studies."

Professor Shi took the two of them to the office, where Zhang Miao and Ban Dalin had arrived.

Upon seeing the two of them, she sprang to her feet and said with a smile, "Now that you both are attending school, we’re really in trouble."

"Editor Zhang, Editor Ban, we heard from the professor that you were looking for us."

Ban Dalin nodded. "Yes." He glanced around at the many teachers who had returned, realizing it wasn’t the place for a discussion.

Professor Shi considerately suggested, "Classmate Lu, Classmate Luo, the two comrades have been waiting for you for a whole class period, they must be hungry. Why don’t you take them to our canteen for a look around?"

"Okay."

"Thank you very much, Professor Shi."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Professor Shi, they left the office.

Once outside, the restraint that Zhang Miao had been feeling disappeared. "Wow, this is my first time visiting a university. This place is really nice, Xinyue, I had no idea that without mentioning a word, you also got into university, and even in the same class as Jingqiu."

Luo Xinyue tilted her head and smiled, "I’m sorry, Sister Zhang, I didn’t mean to hide it. I was worried I might not be admitted, which would have been quite embarrassing."

Ban Dalin remarked, "Embarrassing? If we had the means, we’d also try for the exams. It doesn’t matter whether we got in or not; the important thing is to take the exams first."

Lu Jingqiu led them toward the canteen. When there were fewer people around, she inquired, "Sister Zhang, Big Brother Ban, you’re not here to give us a task, are you?"

Ban Dalin nodded and, after glancing around, said, "Let’s not go to the canteen right now; there are too many people. Is there a quiet place where I can discuss the recent assignment with you two?"

"There’s a pavilion behind the dormitory," Luo Xinyue suggested.

With that, they headed for the pavilion, which at the moment was deserted.

Without dilly-dallying, Ban Dalin produced the texts for two small stories and said, "In addition to picture books, the publisher wants to release some scientific titles this second half of the year, including ones about animals, as well as some children’s books on basic knowledge for infants and toddlers.

Therefore, Yang Bo alone is too busy to handle everything. He’s currently focusing on a scientific title and another one about animals. He has a lot on his plate right now.

Today, these two picture books are being assigned to you two. Jingqiu, you will handle Peacock River. Your style is suitable for this one. Two Visits to the Door, Xinyue will do this one."

They each took their respective assignments and began to look them over. Peacock River was a story about a soldier helping the local people.

Two Visits to the Door was a story about a little lamb borrowing items.

Zhang Miao suggested, "Jingqiu, for Peacock River, you can use a full-spread illustration style, similar to the one you did for the young soldier. Two Visits to the Door will be one illustration per page."

Lu Jingqiu nodded, "That’s doable."

Luo Xinyue also expressed no concerns.

"Two Visits to the Door needs to be finalized for printing next month. Peacock River should be finalized by early November. So Xinyue, your assignment is a bit more pressing. Is that alright?"

Zhang Miao then said, "You both need to draft a sample for us to review. Um...is two days enough time?"

Lu Jingqiu and Luo Xinyue furrowed their brows, "Two days is quite rushed. We need to go back and think about how to design the illustrations first. A week would be better. If the samples are approved, the rest will go quickly."

Ban Dalin nodded, "Alright, then, could you come by the publisher’s office next Monday at noon?"

Zhang Miao interjected, "It’s a bit difficult for us to come to you."

Lu Jingqiu nodded, "Okay, from now on, we can stop by the office every Monday and Friday."

Ban Dalin and Zhang Miao were pleased with this arrangement; their visits would certainly save the publisher’s office a lot of trouble.

Something else occurred to Zhang Miao, and she added, "By the way, your Twenty-Four Solar Terms Chart has been submitted by our province to the National Outstanding Picture Book Competition, and the I Can Do It may become the national best-selling picture book."

"Really?" Lu Jingqiu hadn’t expected her picture book to be entered into a national competition and was quite excited.

Ban Dalin stated, "We should have the results by November."

Their publishing house was looking forward to winning an award for their work; it was a result everyone was eager to achieve.