Chapter 34 - 34

  Xiang Yu wrote a letter to Han Xing, sharing her thoughts. In both her past and current lives, Xiang Yu didn't have many female friends. In fact, she didn't have many friends at all and had always been quite a lonely person. However, she was fortunate that in this life, she and Han Xing hadn't drifted apart. Even though they were in different countries, they still kept each other in mind. Xiang Yu asked Han Xing about her plans to return to China for her studies and also talked about her situation with Lu Heng. "Should I confess to Lu Heng?" Xiang Yu wrote. "I still feel like I haven't sorted out my thoughts."

 The letter was sent, and life went on as usual. Zhou Siping passed the high school entrance exam and was admitted to Xiao Zhanyuan's school, meaning he would start living in the dorms. This made Siping very happy, but since he had been spoiled at home from a young age, his family was both worried and reluctant to let him go. During the summer vacation, Siping enrolled in a Japanese language class and asked Xiang Yu if she wanted to join him. Although Xiang Yu was always eager to learn, she wasn't particularly interested in studying Japanese. So, she went to the training school to check out the courses and ended up choosing a French class. The two of them attended classes twice a week during the summer, in addition to other tutoring sessions and Xiang Yu's ongoing art lessons. This summer turned out to be busier than any previous ones. Except for a few swimming outings at the swimming pool, they hardly saw each other. Xiang Yu couldn't swim and was a bit afraid of water. Despite the combined efforts of Lu Heng, Zhou Siping, and Xiao Zhanyuan, she still didn't learn. However, it was summer, and playing in the water was a must, so Xiang Yu happily joined in.

 Shortly after the start of the second year of high school, the school organized a ten-day agricultural training program, which required everyone to stay at the farmland. For Xiang Yu and Lu Heng, who weren't boarding students, this was an exciting and highly anticipated event. Xiao Zhanyuan's school also had agricultural training, but it wasn't at the same base as Xiang Yu's. Zhou Siping, having completed his military training, was already enjoying his boarding life and found it particularly pleasant. In his words, it was like paradise. During a morning assembly, the homeclass teacher announced the arrangements for the agricultural training and mentioned that there would be two social dance events during the training period. He advised everyone to bring a set of formal clothes: dresses for the girls and white shirts for the boys, similar to the attire of the drum and bugle corps during the flag-raising ceremonies. Amid the enthusiastic cheers, the homeclass teacher frowned and called for silence. "The purpose of this agricultural training is to understand the hardships of farming and appreciate the difficulty of growing crops. It's not for you to have fun. Look at you all, what do you think you're doing? Sit down and get ready for class." After saying this, the homeclass teacher left the classroom. Everyone started discussing excitedly, talking about what to bring and who to room with. Lu Heng and Xiang Yu glanced at each other and smiled. It was indeed quite delightful.