I'm back in 1990

Chapter 288: Reciprocity

After the last class on Monday morning, Huang Xiaochuan followed Ding Yi and Chen Zhe out of the classroom and ran into Zhang Yun.

The woman was still dressed up, wearing a "Baijiali" outfit, a unique style that made her stand out from the crowd. She stood in the porch holding lecture notes, seemingly waiting for someone.

Since they had run into each other, Huang Xiaochuan nodded and greeted her.

"Teacher Zhang!"

Unexpectedly, the person she was waiting for was Huang Xiaochuan.

"Huang Xiaochuan, wait a moment, I need to talk to you."

Upon hearing this, Ding Yi and Chen Zhe immediately abandoned Huang Xiaochuan without any sense of loyalty. Before leaving, Ding Yi even gave Huang Xiaochuan a "good luck" look.

"Teacher Zhang, what's the matter?"

"Come with me, I'll treat you to dinner!"

Huang Xiaochuan: "???"

"Why did you invite me to dinner out of the blue?"

"I've resigned and I'm leaving in a couple of days. We've been teacher and student for a while, so I'd like to treat you to a meal as a farewell gift!"

"Resign?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yun nodded.

"Teacher Zhang, why are you suddenly resigning?"

"Coming to Shanghai was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I really wanted to come and see Shanghai. I've been here for so long and seen all the places I wanted to see. Now I'm going to do what I want to do."

"What's going on?" Huang Xiaochuan was completely bewildered.

Huang Xiaochuan really didn't know anything about Zhang Yun's affairs, so it's normal for him to be confused.

"I got an offer from Goldman Sachs and will start next week."

Goldman Sachs? No wonder!

"A major international investment bank! Congratulations, Professor Zhang!"

"So, will you accept my invitation?"

Huang Xiaochuan said seriously, "Professor Zhang, according to Chinese custom, I should be treating you to lunch as a farewell gesture. I'll arrange lunch!"

"Are you treating me to dinner? Knife-cut noodles, perhaps?"

Damn it, why bring up something you shouldn't be talking about? How could that be! Huang Xiaochuan couldn't help but complain in his heart.

"You can eat whatever you want, you pick the place, I'll pay. But it would be best to arrange it in the evening, because I have class in the afternoon, and if I have lunch with you, I can't drink alcohol."

"Hahaha!" Zhang Yun laughed so hard her body trembled.

Huang Xiaochuan found this woman rather strange; what was so funny about her?

"Okay, then let's do it tonight!" Zhang Yun agreed to Huang Xiaochuan's arrangement.

After agreeing on a time and place with Zhang Yun, Huang Xiaochuan followed Ding Yi and Chen Zhe to the cafeteria.

When he arrived, the food was just served, and Huang Xiaochuan sat down and ate without any hesitation.

This greatly displeased Ding Yi, who had just returned with the soup: "Hey! Who's so inconsiderate? Everyone else hasn't even started eating yet, and you're already eating? Don't you think you're part of the family?"

Huang Xiaochuan's mouth was full of food, so he couldn't speak. After swallowing the food, he said, "Why should I be polite with you?"

Ding Yi had no way to deal with this guy. He put the soup bowl in front of Huang Xiaochuan, sat down and picked up his rice bowl to eat.

Suddenly he asked, "By the way, what did that woman want from you?"

Huang Xiaochuan was drinking soup when he heard this and put the soup bowl down.

"How dare you talk like that? Would it kill you to at least call me Teacher Zhang? Haven't you heard the saying 'A teacher for a day is a mother for life'?"

Chen Zhe couldn't hold back and spat out the mouthful of food he was eating.

"puff!"

Huang Xiaochuan, who was sitting opposite Chen Zhe, must have had the worst luck in the world. This guy sprayed him all over his head and face.

A chewed leek, along with grains of rice, slowly slid down his hair, leaving his face and body covered in rice grains and chewed leek.

Ding Yi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed so hard he lay on the table and slapped it repeatedly. After a while, he straightened up, pointed at Huang Xiaochuan, and continued to laugh.

The unrestrained laughter attracted the attention of students dining in the cafeteria. Upon seeing this scene, everyone, whether they knew Huang Xiaochuan or not, laughed.

Chen Zhe hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from his schoolbag to wipe Huang Xiaochuan's face.

Huang Xiaochuan didn't let him wipe it; he took the handkerchief and wiped it himself. Who could he blame for suffering this in silence? He could only blame himself for being so foul-mouthed.

How could they possibly eat like this?! The three of them quickly packed up and left. Huang Xiaochuan went to the pool to wash up first, and then he felt a little better.

Huang Xiaochuan called Zhou Wei to drive him home to change his clothes. He couldn't wear these clothes anymore, let alone wear them for an afternoon. Besides, he was going to invite Zhang Yun to dinner that night, so he couldn't go wearing these clothes, could he?

The first thing I said to Chen Zhe when I saw him in the afternoon was, "Old Chen, you aimed carefully when you sprayed me, didn't you? You didn't waste a single drop; you sprayed it all on me."

Chen Zhe hurriedly apologized: "It really wasn't intentional. You just blurted out a joke out of nowhere, and I couldn't hold it in."

Ding Yi was still gloating: "Serves you right for talking nonsense! You've got your karma now!"

Huang Xiaochuan glared at him but didn't say anything, and walked straight towards the teaching building.

During class, Ding's mobile phone kept vibrating. He bent down and slipped out of the classroom through the back door to answer the call. A few minutes later, he returned in the same manner.

After class, Ding Yi said to Huang Xiaochuan and Chen Zhe, "It was Lao Wu and Lao Zhang who called just now. They asked me to tell you that he and Lao Zhang's flight is the day after tomorrow, and they will arrive at Hongqiao Airport at 3:15 pm."

Chen Zhe asked, "Aren't they planning to go home first?"

"There are only seven days of vacation in total. Two days will be spent on the road, and then two more days will be needed to adjust to the time difference. At most, they can only stay here for three days before heading home. So, they'll be busy traveling! I'm really fed up with these two. Can't they just wait another month or two for summer vacation?"

"Just say less!"

Huang Xiaochuan continued, "By the way, I'm treating Teacher Zhang to dinner tonight. You two can come with me."

Ding Yi blinked his small eyes, looking puzzled, and asked, "Why would you invite her to dinner out of the blue?"

"Teacher Zhang has already submitted her resignation to the school and may leave as early as this week. Let's treat her to a meal as a farewell gesture!"

Ding Yi immediately objected: "I'm not going. I promised my Huanhuan I'd go to the movies with her. It's rare for her to have some time to relax."

Seeing that Ding Yi refused to go, Huang Xiaochuan turned his gaze to Chen Zhe.

Chen Zhe waved his hands repeatedly, "I have things to do tonight, I'm not going!"

"Damn it! You two won't even go to dinner when we invite you, are you doing this on purpose?"

There was nothing Huang Xiaochuan could do; since neither of them wanted to go, he couldn't just force them to go, could he?

That evening, Huang Xiaochuan had to go to the banquet alone.

Zhang Yun chose the location. When Huang Xiaochuan arrived at the restaurant, Zhang Yun was already there. Huang Xiaochuan thought he was late and couldn't help but look at his watch.

"You're not late?" Upon closer inspection, I realized I was eight minutes ahead of the agreed time.

This is a private room of moderate size, and it even has its own courtyard. The window leading to the courtyard is open, and a red plum tree is in full bloom in the courtyard, its faint fragrance drifting into the private room.

Huang Xiaochuan thought to himself, "This woman has really traveled all over Shanghai. How could she find a place like this?"

"Teacher Zhang."

As soon as Huang Xiaochuan entered, he greeted Zhang Yun.

"Just call me Catherine! Or you can just call me by my first name!"

Huang Xiaochuan was about to say "A teacher for a day is a father for life" when he suddenly remembered the embarrassing incident at noon and didn't dare to say it.

"Alright then! I'll still call you Catherine!"

"It seems you've been here before, so you must know this restaurant better than I do. In that case, why don't you order?"

Zhang Yun remained noncommittal, bent down, took out a delicate little bag from her purse, and handed it to Huang Xiaochuan.

"This is for you!"

"Oh! There's a gift for me?"

Huang Xiaochuan took a box out of the bag. He recognized the logo on the box, which resembled the Iron Cross medal of Germany during World War II. It was the logo of the famous Swiss watch brand "Vacheron Constantin".

Huang Xiaochuan returned the box and bag to Zhang Yun without even opening them.

As the saying goes, one should not accept a gift without merit. Vacheron Constantin watches are never cheap, and Huang Xiaochuan dared not accept such an expensive gift out of the blue.

Zhang Yun firmly pushed the watch in front of Huang Xiaochuan again: "Take it! I took so many clothes from you for free, consider them as replacements for those clothes you had."

"Clothes are not the same thing as this. This watch is too valuable, I cannot accept it." Huang Xiaochuan pushed the watch back.

"I consider you a friend. As the saying goes, friends should reciprocate. I accepted the clothes you gave me, so isn't it normal to give you a gift in return?"

The two argued over the watch for a long time, but in the end, Huang Xiaochuan couldn't persuade Zhang Yun and temporarily accepted the watch.

After seeing that Huang Xiaochuan had accepted the gift, Zhang Yun began to order food.

After finishing two glasses of red wine, Huang Xiaochuan couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Catherine, you're not from Northeast China, are you?"

Zhang Yun smiled slyly: "Indeed, I was born and raised in Northeast China, but my ancestral home is Shanghai."

"Were your parents sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution?" Huang Xiaochuan still couldn't understand. Were there such wealthy families in China?

"The story is rather complicated."

Zhang Yun told Huang Xiaochuan about her complicated past, which almost made Huang Xiaochuan's jaw drop.

Considering Zhang Yun's actions, all of this makes sense.

Author Four Seasons Leeks highly recommends: I hope you enjoy the story of "1990, I'm Back" on Cola Novels.