Chapter 2: Really Traversed?

　　Zhou Yuwen was lying on the small bed in his bedroom.

　　He felt a little faint-headed.

　　Yesterday was a rare encounter with those rascals, so he had to drink to his heart’s content.

　　Zhou Yuwen assumed his 30-year-old identity when chatting with them, saying that they should hurry up and buy a house: don’t just wait around for ‘the perfect opportunity’! If you could buy in a big city, never buy in a small city; if you could buy in the city center, never buy in the suburbs. Even if you had to sacrifice everything, buy a house; not buying would be to get conned, scammed, bamboozled.

　　Buy a store today, feed three generations tomorrow.

　　A poor loser today, a rich kid tomorrow.

　　Zhou Yuwen was really earnest and well-meaning, but those stinky boys even felt that Zhou Yuwen was insane, outright saying ‘Zhou Yuwen, you’re drunk’.

　　Old Zhou, your rejection by Su Qianqian has caused you to play the fool!

　　It’s okay, brother understands you, there are more fish in the sea, not to mention that Su Qianqian gave you a chance. Grade repetition isn’t a big deal, she’ll still be yours next year.

　　”Old Zhou must be drunk now, the house prices are already so high, how could they continue to rise!”

　　Last night, while dazed, Zhou Yuwen heard someone say such a sentence.

　　It angered Zhou Yuwen to the point where he couldn’t help but curse: “Fucking idiot!”

　　”Bleurgh~~!”

　　Vomiting all over the room, he suddenly felt comfortable! Zhou Yuwen hurriedly wiped his mouth, opened his eyes and found that he was in his mother’s two-bedroom house.

　　There was even a two-dollar Super Saiyan 3 sticker on the wall.

　　So nostalgic.

　　”Mom! Get me a bottle of Coke from the fridge!”

　　Zhou Yuwen called naturally.

　　After calling out, Zhou Yuwen felt funny again. Mother is playing mahjong in her hometown. How could she be here?

　　”Don’t you have hands! Shall I wait upon your ancestral presence every day?” A sharp and impatient voice came from outside the door.

　　Zhou Yuwen was taken aback, his dizzy head suddenly cleared.

　　Let’s take another look?

　　My god, wasn’t this what he looked like when he was eighteen years old?

　　One more look at the immediate surroundings: the small room was real.

　　A broken wooden bed, a broken desk with dirty textbooks all over it, and a fat-ass computer1.

　　Was this a dream?

　　Zhou Yuwen was about to slap himself across the face.

　　In the end, he didn’t make contact!

　　My god, he wasn’t dreaming?

　　Getting up, he saw a pile of vomit on the floor.

　　It looked so real, and even smelled like Niulanshan2. It actually didn’t seem to be a dream.

　　Zhou Yuwen, wearing a white tank top, a large pantsuit, and large slippers, opened the door and left the small bedroom.

　　The clattering sound of mahjong came from the room next door.

　　Four middle-aged women with permed hair were incessantly chattering over there.

　　”Old Su’s daughter next door really is sensible, not only is she pretty, but she’s also so good at her studies, I heard she got into a first-tier university.”

　Zhou Yuwen tugged on his flip-flops, his ears full of the sound of mahjong and the gossip of his mother and her poker buddies. Completely ignoring them, he walked to the fridge and took out a can of Coca-Cola.

　　He opened the can.

　　”Hic~”

　　After burping, he felt that being reborn was really cool!

　　”A Yun3, what does your family’s Yuwen plan to do? Is it to repeat the year or to study at a third-rate college? A Yun, really, I don’t think those colleges are necessary to attend. Aren’t they just retiered former vocational colleges? They aren’t 985 or 211, what could you do after studying there? It’s better to repeat the year.”

　　”Yes, my neighbour’s kid went to a third-rate school last year, but was expelled because of a fight this year! I heard that those places are even nastier than vocational education!”

　　”True, haven’t you looked at the news nowadays.”

　　Zhou Yuwen opened the door and entered holding a Coke.

　　What caught his eyes was his mother sitting with three very familiar aunts that he hadn’t seen since entering college, each one with a curly perm. Seeing Zhou Yuwen enter, they abruptly stopped the conversation, and greeted him with a smile.

　　”Yuwen is getting more and more handsome now.”

　　”Yeah, you’ve become a young man!”

　　”Yuwen, it’s okay if your results aren’t good, grade repetition isn’t a big deal~”

　　”Exactly, I heard from my son that your confession to Little Su was rejected?”

　　”???”

　　Zhou Yuwen was really speechless. They were already in their forties, but why were they still so gossipy? Which brat told them?

　　”You confessed to Little Su? Why don’t I know?” Mother Zhou immediately turned her head, looking curious.

　　Last week, Zhou Yuwen had just gone back to see his mother in their hometown. Now, suddenly seeing his mother without the burden of over ten more years of age, Zhou Yuwen couldn’t help but feel sad. Why hadn’t he noticed that his mother had been young before?

　　In his mind, his mother never seemed to have changed.

　　”Mom.” Zhou Yuwen didn’t know why, but spoke out anyway.

　　Called this way, Mother Zhou was a little confused: “What, what’s wrong?”

　　The three card-playing aunts were also taken aback, why did they feel sympathetic?

　　Confession was rejected?

　　Come to mom for consolation?

　　They stared at Zhou Yuwen with wide eyes.

　　”No, no money.” Zhou Yuwen stammered for a while before finding an excuse.

　　The four middle-aged women were all taken aback, good boy.

　　That’s all?

　　”The two hundred dollars given to you yesterday were just spent like this? I told you to drink less, but you just don’t listen. You can’t just let yourself go after graduation.” Mother Zhou said, while taking out two hundred-yuan bills from her small drawer and handing them to Zhou Yuwen.

　　Zhou Yuwen took them with a grin.

　　”This is the last two hundred for you. You’re free during summer vacation, so you can earn the rest yourself!”

　　”O-K! I will buy you a house after the holiday!” Zhou Yuwen said as he received the money.

　　Mother Zhou gave Zhou Yuwen a scornful look, but didn’t say anything.

　　Zhou Yuwen counted the money and went out. To be honest, upon meeting his mother again, it was not so cordial, but he was still a little touched. Not seeing her for over ten years, playing mahjong, nagging himself to get married, saying that his job was not reliable, telling him to just go home to take the teaching examination4, setting up blind dates, that would be the life of a normal person.

　　Zhou Yuwen sighed when thinking about his mother’s old-fashioned manner, alas, it seems that he would once again have to listen to last life’s nagging.

　　When Zhou Yuwen went out, Zhou Mu and her group of friends continued to play mahjong over there.

　　An aunt opened the mouth and said: “A Yun, what do you think? Are you really going to let the child study at a third-rate college? I heard that those schools are very messy.  My cousin’s son5 went to one last year. The tuition is expensive, but the conditions are very disorderly. I even heard that there are young ladies working as prostitutes in them.”

　　”I also heard about that. Third-tiers are really troublesome. On the outside, they have undergraduate programs, but actually they’re just for diplomas6. Tell me, after going there, how can you find a job in the future?”

　　”That’s right! If you don’t get into a 985 or 211 now, how could you find a job in the future? A Yun, you spoil your child too much!” 　　

　　Faced with such questions from her mahjong friends, Mother Zhou simply smiled and said: “When the child grows up, he has his own ideas. It’s fine to just stay healthy; he’s not expected to become the president of the country.”

 

TLNs:

Presumably something like this.Brand of liquor, ~42% abv according to Google.‘A+pronoun’ is a form of endearment, in this case for Zhou Yuwen’s mother.Apparently, a basic teaching certificate just needs an exam+interviewFull breakdown: “My cousin’s wife’s cousin’s son”Cf bachelor’s degree