The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 146 - 145: Bought a House

In the afternoon, Xiao Zhou found them using the address He Lang had left for him.

"The owner agreed to knock five hundred yuan off the price, but you have to pay in one lump sum."

"No problem," Xue Yue agreed instantly.

She then followed Xiao Zhou back to the courtyard home. After carefully inspecting it inside and out, Xue Yue grew more and more pleased. ’This is the one,’ she thought.

She went straight with Xiao Zhou to pay the owner and take possession of the property. On the way, they stopped by the housing authority to update the ownership records.

The moment she held the property deed in her hands, it finally sank in for Xue Yue: they were truly going to settle down in Beijing City. They had a home.

She basked in the happy feeling for a while. The house needed cleaning and a lot of new things, a task she entrusted to He Lang.

The next day, they had to register at their universities. Aside from He Ziqing, Xue Yue and the other two were heading in the same direction, so their routes were compatible. He Lang took He Ziqing to register at Beijing University, while Xue Yue’s group of three went their own way.

After dropping Xue Yue and Zhang Qian off at their respective universities, Xue Xingzhou made his way to the Public Security University.

Signing documents, submitting her admission notice, collecting materials, being assigned a dorm and classroom—there were quite a few steps. Since Xue Yue wasn’t living on campus, she was able to skip some of them. After collecting her books, she went to her assigned classroom.

Following her brother’s earlier advice, Xue Yue was majoring in English with minors in German and Russian.

When she arrived, the classroom was already filled with students.

The moment Xue Yue walked in, a collective "Whoa" rippled through the room. She faltered for a second, then lowered her gaze and quickly found a seat in a less crowded area.

The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, so everyone was still chatting amongst themselves. Xue Yue sat quietly, but she could feel eyes constantly drifting in her direction.

A moment later, another guy walked in, eliciting a similar "Whoa" from the crowd. Xue Yue looked up. The newcomer was tall, maybe six-foot-three, with a buzz cut and handsome features. His posture was almost too erect. He scanned the room, his eyes met Xue Yue’s for a moment, and then he walked to the seat behind her and sat down.

Xue Yue wasn’t particularly fazed. She was surrounded by good-looking people, and besides, He Lang was her type.

Xue Yue’s deskmate was a girl a little older than her, with two long braids and a dark complexion.

Covering her mouth, the girl snuck a peek behind them. "So handsome," she whispered. She wasn’t the only one; many others were looking their way, which meant Xue Yue was also being gawked at. She was starting to regret her choice of seat.

"I’m Song Wenli. What’s your name? Which dorm are you in?"

Xue Yue glanced at her. "Xue Yue. I don’t live in the dorms, I’m a commuter."

"Oh, so you’re from Beijing City?"

Xue Yue shook her head. "No, I’m from Black Province. But my husband and children came with me to Beijing City, so I’m not staying in the dorms."

Song Wenli stared at her in surprise. "You brought your whole family with you? Wait, you’re married?"

Xue Yue looked so beautiful and young; she didn’t look like someone who was married with kids at all.

Xue Yue nodded with a smile. "I married young. I have two kids already."

After her initial shock, Song Wenli said with a touch of envy, "I’m married, too. It’s just that my husband and child are back in our hometown. The cost of living in Beijing City is just too high, and the travel expenses are steep."

Xue Yue nodded. "It certainly is."

Song Wenli asked casually, "So where are you all living? Are you renting a place?"

Xue Yue hesitated for a second. "Uh, we’re staying at an uncle’s house right now."

"Oh, so you’re just staying with someone."

Xue Yue didn’t bother to explain. It was, after all, the first time they had met.

After a while, once the classroom had mostly filled up, a man in his fifties wearing glasses walked in. He stood at the front, scanned the students before him, and then introduced himself.

"My name is Ji Cheng," he said, writing it on the blackboard. "I’m your counselor, and I’ll also be your oral language teacher. I hope we can all learn from and cooperate with each other during your time here."

Then he began taking roll, followed by the classic round of self-introductions.

It was only then that Xue Yue realized how varied the ages in her class were. The youngest were eighteen or nineteen, having just graduated high school the previous year and caught the resumption of the national college entrance exams. The oldest were even older than He Lang.

Xue Yue also learned the name of the handsome guy sitting behind her: Wei Yuyang. He was a veteran.

After the course schedules were handed out, they were informed that classes would officially begin the next day and they were free to go.

Xue Yue left the classroom, but instead of exploring the campus, she went straight to the university gate to wait for her brother and Zhang Qian.

Perhaps because Xue Yue was so eye-catching, in the short time she stood there, several guys approached her. They’d ask for directions, or where she was headed, or if she needed a ride. She saw right through their transparent ploys, simply offering a smile and saying little in return.

Just then, Wei Yuyang was coming out of the gate and saw a guy hitting on Xue Yue. He hesitated for a moment before walking over to her. "You haven’t left yet?"

Xue Yue was taken aback and didn’t reply.

Seeing Wei Yuyang approach, the guy who had been talking to Xue Yue glanced at her one last time and tactfully took his leave.

"Sorry," Wei Yuyang explained. "I saw someone was bothering you."

Xue Yue gave him a small smile. "It’s alright. Thank you."

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"Mhm."

Wei Yuyang paused, glancing at Xue Yue. "Well, I’ll get going then."

Xue Yue nodded. "Alright."

A good while later, Zhang Qian and Xue Xingzhou finally showed up.

"Our counselor is an old guy, and he’s so long-winded. He talked forever. You must’ve been getting impatient waiting, huh?" Zhang Qian said.

Xue Yue shook her head. "It’s fine. Let’s head back. He Lang went to drop off Ziqing, and I wonder how the three kids are doing at home."

Today was the first time Daya was looking after Shiyi and Ruanruan all by herself. Ruanruan was manageable, but Shiyi, that little rascal, was a wild card. When they got home, however, they found everything in perfect order. The three children were sitting quietly in the living room, playing with building blocks.

Half an hour later, He Lang returned by himself.

"Where’s Ziqing?" Xue Yue asked, looking behind him.

"She’s decided to stay in her dorm starting today. She already took her luggage this morning."

"That’s good. Saves us a trip tomorrow." Beijing University was quite far from their place—the trip alone took an hour.

That afternoon, Xue Yue and He Lang went to the new house to clean. It was filled with old furniture, some with the paint completely worn off. Xue Yue decided they would make do with it for now and gradually replace the pieces with things she liked. However, they’d need to buy bedding and kitchen supplies as soon as possible if they wanted to move in.

They spent the whole afternoon cleaning but only managed to tidy up the main building before heading home.

It was already late by the time Xue Yue and He Lang got back. Xue Xingzhou had already bought takeout and was just waiting for them. After dinner, Xue Yue was so exhausted that she washed up and went to bed early, leaving He Lang to get the two younger kids ready for bed.

The next day, Xue Yue and the others went to their classes as usual. He Lang decided to take all three children to the new house with him. They would have a simple lunch there and come back in the evening. In four or five days, he had the house cleaned from top to bottom, inside and out, and had purchased most of the essentials.

He Lang wanted to move in as soon as possible. The new house was closer to the university, which meant Xue Yue wouldn’t have to wake up so early.

Since it happened to be Sunday, they all agreed to move that day.

They bought meat and vegetables for the first meal to be cooked in their new home. They decided to have it in the evening, waiting for Zheng Guofeng to get off work so they could all celebrate the move together.

"Here’s to a bright and prosperous future! Cheers!"