Chapter 323: Chapter 323: Eagerly Awaiting
The young man from the Han family was Han Jingyi, son of the family’s third son, while the young man from the Xiao Family was Xiao Rui, son of their eldest son.
They had brought a change of clothes beforehand, so all they needed was a room to sleep in. No special arrangements were necessary.
After Su Shuochi and Gu Jiaojiao returned to their room and washed up, Gu Jiaojiao was eager to get to bed early. Her husband had been wearing her out for the past few days straight.
While blow-drying her hair, she said, "Su Shuochi, let’s go to bed early tonight. We have to be up early tomorrow."
"Alright. We’ll finish breakfast early and go look at houses. If we find one we like, we’ll buy it. Then we can ask Geng Haoyi to help find someone for some light renovations."
This was Su Shuochi’s first real visit to the Imperial City, and he was curious about everything.
He was good at hiding his emotions, so no one else noticed, but Gu Jiaojiao could tell. "You don’t need me to come along?"
"You just need to pick out the house. Leave the renovations to me. Mr. Han invited you to their compound at noon tomorrow, so we’ll have to go our separate ways."
Su Shuochi’s voice was tinged with the lazy, relaxed air of someone fresh from a bath, and he looked completely at ease.
The sound was so pleasant it made Gu Jiaojiao’s ears tingle.
But remembering all they had to do tomorrow, she could only say, "Whatever you say. Let’s get to sleep."
Su Shuochi was wide awake and didn’t actually want to sleep so early. But he knew this wasn’t their own home, so he reined in his other ideas.
「The next day, after breakfast.」
Mr. Gu asked his son-in-law, "Shuo Ci, you and Jiaojiao are going to look at houses near the university, right? Why don’t you ride with me?"
He had been appointed Dean and Professor of the Chinese Department at Imperial University, and the university had provided him with a car.
Although Old Sir Gu had officially retired, the university was short-staffed, so he still held a position there. He planned to retire completely in two years once they had enough teachers.
Both Old Sir Gu and Mr. Gu had earned countless awards and honors over the years at this top institution in the Empire.
A decade or so ago, it was unheard of for a professor as young as Mr. Gu to hold such a high-ranking position.
Moreover, Old Sir Gu had commanded immense prestige at Imperial University for thirty years.
Under the leadership of their generation, the history of Imperial University had only grown more glorious.
Before Su Shuochi could respond, Han Jingyi cut in, "Uncle Gu, perhaps it’s better if they ride with us."
"Dad, you should go ahead if you’re in a hurry," Gu Jiaojiao said. "Shu Ci and I will go with them. We’ll have to visit several places to look at houses, after all."
"Then I’ll be on my way. If you don’t find a house you like, you can stay here. This will always be your home."
"Thank you, Father-in-law. A friend of mine has already scouted out a few places for us. We just need to go with Jiaojiao and make the final call."
Su Shuochi was quick to clarify they wouldn’t be staying. ’Last night I didn’t even dare to have any ’meat’,’ he thought. ’How could I possibly survive living here long-term!’
Gu Jiaojiao had assumed that property in the university district would be hard to buy, but it turned out that in this day and age, people didn’t yet have the concept of ’school district housing’.
Tall, dense parasol trees flashed past on both sides of the road leading to the university. Peeking through the canopy, one could see rows of red brick buildings nestled along the shaded avenue.
These red brick buildings, so full of the character of the times, were all newly constructed. Straight ahead lay Imperial University.
On the stone monument by the main gate was an inscription: "As the Fu River rushes, so we strive relentlessly. As the land of Shu is vast, so we carry the world with great virtue."
Gu Jiaojiao remembered it vividly. Even when viewed from a future era, these words seemed to silently tell a story.
The spirit of struggle and the dream-chasing passion passed down from those fervent years still shone with a brilliant light.
This was especially true of the small, detached villas a few kilometers from the school, once home to the gifted scholars and beautiful ladies of a bygone era.
Though the beauties were long gone, one of the scholars was still living, and one of the detached villas Geng Haoyi had picked out for Gu Jiaojiao was very close to his home.
It seemed those scholars and beauties really knew how to live; the environment was superb. Gu Jiaojiao fell in love with one of the detached villas at first sight.
The villa’s owners had moved abroad with their entire family in June, so Gu Jiaojiao decided to buy it.
She figured they only needed to renovate the master bedroom and the study; the layout of the other rooms could remain as is.
She was especially fond of the yard, where the flowers and plants were still stubbornly thriving.
"Jiaojiao, put my wheelchair into your Space, then go see Mr. Han. I’ll tell Geng Haoyi privately that I can walk perfectly fine now."
"Just leave it in the room. Not many people here know you, but what if my dad comes looking for you?"
"You’re right, you think of everything, Jiaojiao. Xia Qiuming quietly asked me yesterday when I was having the surgery. I told him it was already done and that I’m in recovery now. I said I wanted to surprise my father-in-law and the others."
"Hah, that was a good way to put it. Why didn’t he ask me, though!" Gu Jiaojiao felt a bit helpless.
’It seemed Su Shuochi would have to be inconvenienced for a while longer. There was nothing she could do about it!’
’It had only been twelve days since she returned from the war zone, and Su Shuochi was already walking around perfectly. It was the truth, but who would possibly believe it?’
’How could she explain it? Was she supposed to reveal her Spiritual Spring Space? Impossible. So, Su Shuochi would just have to pretend to be crippled for another three months.’
After reminding Su Shuochi to be careful, Gu Jiaojiao got into Han Jingyi’s car and headed to the grand compound to see Mr. Han and Elder Xiao.
Xiao Rui showed his identification to the guard at the compound’s sentry post, and the car was waved through.
This compound was countless times larger than the one in Qing City. Even people like Old Sir Gu weren’t qualified to live here.
It was clear that the residents here were of extraordinary status. Gu Jiaojiao gazed out the window.
She could see people strolling in twos and threes, elderly men gathered around roadside tables playing chess, and children chasing each other boisterously down the street.
Within the compound, there was a recreation center specifically for retired senior officials to gather and socialize, equipped with all sorts of simple amenities.
There was a basketball court, ping-pong tables, and a badminton court. Beneath the large trees were benches of various sizes where people could sit, chat, and rest.
There were also three or four stone tables with chessboards carved directly into the surface, provided for the old men’s entertainment.
Although the facilities were simple, they provided more than enough leisure and joy for this group of retirees, men who had spared no effort for their country and people throughout their entire lives.
As they drove through the compound, everything exuded an air of quiet, peaceful life.
Everything from the people within to every flower, blade of grass, and building filled Gu Jiaojiao with a sense of solemn respect.
The car drove for a full forty minutes within the compound before finally arriving at the gates of the Xiao and Han family residences.
Several old gentlemen were playing chess under a large tree, and Mr. Han kept looking up from the game in eager anticipation.
When he saw his grandson’s car, he tossed his chess piece aside and called out, "Jiaojiao! Jiaojiao, you’re here!"
"Hello, Mr. Han. Hello, everyone," Gu Jiaojiao said, getting out of the car and greeting them all with natural grace.
"Brother Han, which of your grandsons is married to this girl who looks like an immortal?"
"Haha... Jiaojiao isn’t my granddaughter-in-law. She’s, ah, the disciple of... Divine Doctor Su Gu."
’Mr. Han desperately wanted to tell these old coots that Gu Jiaojiao was his sworn sister and also Divine Doctor Su Gu herself.’
’But he was afraid they wouldn’t believe him, which would just make things awkward.’
Upon learning that she was the disciple of Divine Doctor Su Gu, the other old gentlemen all began enthusiastically trying to get on her good side.
