The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized several social gatherings each year. These weren’t the kind of parties where young people danced cheek-to-cheek, but rather formal networking events attended by officials from various ministries and departments. Young officials were invited to gain experience and network, while older ones often used these occasions to arrange potential matches for their children – a perfectly normal practice!
This highlighted why university students in the 1980s were truly privileged – after graduation, the state assigned them jobs and housing. If someone couldn’t find a partner on their own, the organization would surely arrange one.
Not getting married?
Impossible – it must mean they haven’t found the right person yet.
For some, these gatherings were networking opportunities; for others, they were matchmaking events.
Guan Hui’e used to avoid attending because she was busy with work and Zhou Cheng wasn’t of marriageable age yet. But before Guan Hui’e could take action, Zhou Cheng brought home his girlfriend himself. While Guan Hui’e no longer needed to attend these gatherings for matchmaking purposes, the events’ popularity made them the perfect venue to introduce Xia Xiaolan to society. After all, the Zhou family couldn’t exactly put an advertisement in the newspaper with Xia Xiaolan’s photo announcing Zhou Cheng had found a girlfriend!
Since Guan Hui’e mentioned that many people would attend, Xia Xiaolan contemplated how to present herself after leaving the Zhou residence.
Heavy makeup was definitely out of the question.
She wasn’t a high-ranking official’s daughter, and at such gatherings, even someone like Tong Lili, whom she’d met before, would appear with a clean face and at most some light, fresh makeup.
Xia Xiaolan had no intention of dressing too conspicuously. Success in such settings wasn’t about appearance but rather about substance. Besides, she wasn’t there for matchmaking – she was accompanying Guan Hui’e!
Yet she couldn’t dress too shabbily either.
At school, Xia Xiaolan needed to blend in with the student population, but at this gathering, she neither needed to flaunt wealth nor pretend to be poor. She decided to be herself – since there would be heating indoors, she’d wear a down jacket, which she could remove to reveal a sweater and jeans underneath, perfectly suitable for her student status.
Xia Xiaolan had plenty of winter clothes, including three down jackets for rotation.
She wasn’t foolish – she’d chosen similar styles and colors, so unless someone scrutinized her daily with a magnifying glass, they’d assume it was the same jacket. She had initially considered getting identical jackets, but her Aunt Li Feimei had been concerned, saying, “Is it necessary to be so cautious just for attending school?”
The school wasn’t exactly a den of tigers and dragons, so to avoid worrying her family, Xia Xiaolan settled for three similar-styled jackets.
Wearing any one of them while being well-groomed would be appropriate for any occasion.
Her dormmates in Room 307 hadn’t guessed she’d be attending a Ministry of Foreign Affairs gathering. They were more concerned about Ji Ya’s situation, which remained unresolved.
Everyone knew Xia Xiaolan had been visiting Zhou Cheng’s home these past few days.
Room 307 had accepted the news about Zhou Cheng being Xia Xiaolan’s boyfriend. No one questioned whether her “Outstanding Military Training Graduate” status had anything to do with Zhou Cheng being the chief training instructor. Xia Xiaolan’s physical capabilities were genuine – she was unmatched in Room 307. Even Yang Yonghong, who shared her rural background but had a larger build and less exercise due to constant studying, couldn’t match Xia Xiaolan’s endurance!
Xia Xiaolan’s excellent endurance, quick learning ability, consistently high scores during training, and participation in the Tiananmen Square ceremonial guard as a freshman all contributed to her earning the “Outstanding Military Training Graduate” title.
Room 307 had witnessed her performance and trusted her character; no one suspected any impropriety.
“Xiao Liu, going out again tonight?”
Xia Xiaolan nodded: “I’m meeting some friends with Aunt Guan. Senior, if the room check comes early, please cover for me – I’ll be back before lights out.”
On weekend nights, they checked if resident students were present.
The library closed at 21:30, so students should be back in their dorms by 22:00.
The school conducted room checks around 22:00, and staying out overnight was forbidden. However, where there’s a policy, there’s a workaround. When someone was occasionally delayed, roommates would cover for each other. These small acts of mutual support – during room checks, bringing meals, helping with attendance – built revolutionary friendships among classmates.
Room 307 had a great impression of Guan Hui’e. If Ji Jiangyuan’s mother hadn’t caused a scene at school, they wouldn’t have known about Xia Xiaolan’s “future mother-in-law.” Su Jing constantly teased about this. Yang Yonghong, being the oldest and likely having seen much in her rural background, immediately pulled Xia Xiaolan into the hallway when she heard about another outing with Guan Hui’e:
“Xiao Liu, don’t be foolish. No matter how good your in-laws are, can they be better than being independent? Dating shouldn’t interfere with studies, and you shouldn’t always be trailing behind your future in-laws – you’re not even family yet!”
Guan Hui’e wasn’t an ordinary person.
And how could Zhou Cheng’s family be simple when he became a high-ranking official in his early twenties?
Xia Xiaolan hadn’t hidden that Zhou Cheng was studying in Ji Bei Province for two years. In Yang Yonghong’s opinion, with Xiaolan’s beauty and academic excellence, who could say she wasn’t good enough for Zhou Cheng?
Being a cadre’s wife might be honorable, but Huaqing’s female students didn’t need that honor to enhance their worth.
Huaqing’s female students could serve the motherland and contribute to national development on their own – why rely on men?
If anyone wasn’t good enough, it was Zhou Cheng who didn’t match Xiaolan’s cultural sophistication. Yang Yonghong felt their relationship might not work out and that there was no need to curry favor with Zhou’s family.
Xia Xiaolan appreciated her room leader’s concern.
But she understood her relationship with Zhou Cheng. She wasn’t trying to rely on her in-laws, and Yang Yonghong’s thinking was clear – marrying well wasn’t as good as achieving success independently. With personal success, one could choose whom to marry, actively selecting rather than passively waiting to be chosen!
“Senior, I understand. Aunt Guan invited me out to prevent incidents like what happened with Ji Jiangyuan’s mother.”
“Good that you understand!”
Yang Yonghong felt this most deeply, having taken four years to get into Huaqing. Marriage couldn’t solve everything. She knew Xia Xiaolan also came from a rural background, and although her family had made money in private business, fundamentally, she and Xia Xiaolan were most similar.
Both needed to work hard to change their fate, carrying not just their own destiny but their families as well – could this be achieved by “marriage”? Better to rely on oneself!
Xia Xiaolan left around 7 PM, and shortly after, a senior from the student council came looking for her:
“Is Xia Xiaolan here?”
Surely they weren’t doing room checks this early! Before Yang Yonghong could think of an excuse that wouldn’t be exposed, the impatient senior at the door said: “I’m just passing along a message – the department teachers want to see her!”