Xu Lin and Lin Jingrou, along with the mother-daughter pair Shang Wanjun went upstairs.

Many windows on the second floor were still open.

Shang Wanjun and her companion were there to buy tangyuan, while Xu Lin was buying fruit tea.

The two windows happened to be right next to each other.

"Teacher, do you want some fruit tea?"

Xu Lin casually asked.

Shang Wanjun thought for a moment, "I'll try a little. What's good?"

"I've only had the Golden Tangerine Lemon, it's pretty good."

"Then I'll have a cup of Golden Tangerine Lemon too."

"And Auntie?"

"She doesn't drink fruit tea, nor milk tea."

Hearing Shang Wanjun, Xu Lin still asked Lin Jingrou.

"I don't drink these kinds of beverages."

Lin Jingrou slightly shook her head, feeling that fruit tea and milk tea are both unhealthy.

Beside her, Shang Wanjun said, "It's no problem to have some occasionally."

Lin Jingrou didn't say anything, she looked up at the menu above the window.

"Xu, do you want some tangyuan?"

"Auntie, then I won't be polite!"

"No problem."

Lin Jingrou smiled. She was a beautiful woman with a graceful temperament, and Shang Wanjun resembled her in terms of aura.

So, Lin Jingrou ordered three servings of ginger soup tangyuan, as it was the only kind available there.

Later, the Golden Tangerine Lemon that Xu Lin ordered was ready, and he gave a cup to Shang Wanjun.

Less ice, thirty percent sugar.

Xu Lin also took a serving of tangyuan, and then they all parted ways.

Shang Wanjun and her mother Lin Jingrou headed towards the faculty dormitory.

Lin Jingrou said, "That Xu just now was quite handsome and polite. If he were older, it would be better. Freshman year, he's only eighteen?"

"Mom, what are you trying to say?"

"I was thinking you should find a partner, right?"

"I'm only twenty-two."

Shang Wanjun sipped the Golden Tangerine Lemon that Xu Lin bought, her expression unchanged.

"But you've graduated with a master's, and you said you're preparing to pursue a Ph.D. next year. Finding a partner isn't a bad idea."

Lin Jingrou also worried a bit about her daughter finding a partner. Her daughter wasn't an arrogant girl, but she was very picky, saying she wanted someone with common interests and a common language, some sort of soulmate. Lin Jingrou, in her early forties, certainly knew this was wishful thinking.

Who, under heaven, could connect with her daughter's mindset?

Lin Jingrou was a university teacher, though not at a prestigious university, but as an associate professor at a top-tier university in Jiangdu.

Her daughter had loved reading since she was young, and later, at some point, developed a fondness for classical studies, which she began to enjoy for her own amusement. At first, Lin Jingrou didn't think much of it. As a university associate professor, especially one teaching the Chinese department, she thought reading was beneficial, but gradually she realized something was off. Her daughter seemed to have become a literary youth, feeling misunderstood by the world. It was not until the past few years that she had begun to tone it down a bit.

Shang Wanjun casually said, "Let's talk about finding a partner later, and it's not necessarily about finding a partner. A person doesn't necessarily need a companion. In this world, there are many meaningful things for us to do. Did we come into this world just for reproduction? I've thought about this question and felt that maybe not."

"Sigh."

Lin Jingrou felt a bit helpless, unsure where things had gone wrong.

Soon, mother and daughter returned to the dormitory.

This was Lin Jingrou's first visit to her daughter's dormitory. She glanced around the dormitory and then her gaze fell on Shang Wanjun's bookshelf.

"Why are you reading Buddhist scriptures?"

Lin Jingrou was a bit afraid, worrying her daughter wouldn't become disillusioned with the world.

She had a friend of a friend, a female Ph.D. student, who for some unknown reason suddenly experienced something and ended up leaving her family to become a nun.

Lin Jingrou feared her daughter might do the same.

Shang Wanjun placed the Golden Tangerine Lemon on the table and said, "In our Huaxia's ancient culture, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are the three main schools. I find some Buddhist thoughts quite meaningful. For example, the Diamond Sutra says: 'All things are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or a flash of lightning.' It means that everything in the world is illusory, so there's no need to be too attached."

Lin Jingrou hurriedly said, "This kind of thinking is overly pessimistic. Life in this world, in essence, has no meaning because there is birth, aging, sickness, and death for people, and formation, dwelling, decay, and emptiness for things; everything will decay and eventually perish. But the important thing is, we experience this important journey of life, meet some people, do some things, and feel emotions, all the flavors of life. From a macro perspective, life has no meaning because an individual compared to the long river of history is not even a splash; but from a micro perspective, life is full of meaning, like me coming to see you today and seeing you healthy and well is very meaningful to me. So, I think the Buddhist thoughts are a bit pessimistic, don't read this."

...

On the other side, Xu Lin also returned to the dormitory.

It was already nine o'clock in the evening.

He took two sips of the Golden Tangerine Lemon, then turned on the computer.

Currently, he's serializing a novel, and he needed to update it.

Xu Lin spent an hour, went into octopus mode, and churned out ten thousand words, divided them into four chapters, and posted them directly.

No need for revisions, at most the writer's backend corrected some typos.

Done.

He checked the progress.

As of 10:15 p.m. on September 22nd.

Followers: 112,103.

Monthly votes: Thirty-two thousand.

Xu Lin posted four chapters.

He waited for about ten minutes, and the comments section started to explode.

This book he wrote used a more literary style, and as some people said: true art seems clumsy, the great is simple.

Great is simple: The most valuable truths are the most plain and simple, not complicated at all.

True art seems clumsy: Appears simple and unpretentious, but actually hides great mystery.

This level of writing is not something that ordinary writers can achieve.

For example, in a high school essay, there's a line from "On the Xianji Pavilion": There is a loquat tree in the courtyard, planted by my wife the year she died, now flourishing like a canopy.

When studying this essay in high school, the boys and girls, due to their age, couldn't possibly understand the weight of this sentence. But years later, one day when you suddenly see this sentence, at a particular moment, after having experienced some things, perhaps seeing something left by your first love, you suddenly recall the past, and in a fleeting moment, experience a sense of disorientation that triggers an emotional resonance. You might involuntarily sigh: Gambling at books, wasting the fragrant tea, back then it was just ordinary.

This is the power of words.

Xu Lin glanced at the comments.

"Big sister wrote it so well, after a few chapters, the characters are vividly alive, right before your eyes!"

"Which big shot came down to write this book, the writing is too amazing!"

"Predicting it's going to be hugely popular!"

"It's already popular, come on!"

Xu Lin flipped through them without really looking too much.

"I wonder how much money this book can make for me?"

Xu Lin sometimes is quite practical.

A few minutes later, Chi Linyue sent him a message: "Finished reading, it's really good!"

Then, another message followed.

Chi Linyue said: "This time, don't write anything explicit!"

Xu Lin: "Why?"

Chi Linyue: "Just feels weird."

Xu Lin: "Then I'll release a censored version in the book, and give you a private uncensored version?"

Chi Linyue: "Dream on! Sneaky laugh.jpg"

Chi Linyue: "What's the ending?"

Xu Lin hadn't really thought about the ending, isn't the ending supposed to be everyone happy, family reunited?

However, that's not the actual ending, it's like knowing one day you will die, but not knowing whether you'll die of old age or illness, or due to an accident.

He thought seriously for a moment.

Xu Lin replied: "The male and female lead have a pair of twin daughters."

Xu Lin thought again, "Let's name them Xu Tingyue and Xu Hanyan!"

Chi Linyue said: "Sounds lovely, then I'll look forward to it!"

The two chatted for a while.

Then, Xu Lin opened Yu Xinyan's message, Yu Xinyan had also sent a message half an hour ago.

Yu Xinyan sent over a piece of English poetry for him to translate.

"I love three things in this world. Sun, moon and you. Sun for morning, moon for night, and you forever."

Yu Xinyan: "Xu Lin, I came across an English poem, do you know what it means?"

Xu Lin: "Let me see."

Xu Lin originally wanted to copy and paste it for an online translation.

But he suddenly thought that was too dismissive for Yu Xinyan.

Yu Xinyan replied instantly: "Alright."

He looked at the piece of English poetry and tried to translate it.

"I love three things in this world, sun? moon? and you?"

"Sun for the morning, moon for the night, and you forever?"

Xu Lin scratched his head, translating was giving him a bit of a headache, he felt the translation could be better.

Xu Lin called out to Xie Zhengrong, who was playing Black Monkey behind him, "Xie Zhengrong, how much did you score on the college entrance exam English?"

"150!"

"150? You kidding?"

Xu Lin was very surprised, "150 you're still here?"

Xie Zhengrong turned his head and said: "I was almost bad on other subjects, otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"Then, come over and help me translate this piece."

Xu Lin copied the English poem onto a Word document.

"What's this?"

Xie Zhengrong paused the game and came over to look.

Xie Zhengrong looked for a while, then started translating: "I love three things in this world, the sun, the moon, and you. The sun for day, the moon for night, and you for always. It's a love poem."

Xu Lin suddenly understood.

"Thanks, Xie Zhengrong."

"No problem, I'll continue playing Black Monkey."

Xu Lin organized Xie Zhengrong's translation and sent it to Yu Xinyan.

"Honey, translation done."

Xu Lin sent: "I love three things in this world, the sun, the moon, and you. The sun for day, the moon for night, and you for always."

Yu Xinyan: "Shy.jpg"

Yu Xinyan also replied with a piece: "Of the myriad things in this world, I love three, sun, moon, and thee. Sun for morning, moon for evening, thee for ever and ever."

"What's this?"

Xu Lin was puzzled.

"It's the translation of the English poem from earlier, from a piece in Voltaire's 'Birds in Flight Collection'!"

Yu Xinyan asked him: "Isn't it very beautiful and poetic?"

Xu Lin read it aloud, "Indeed, very beautiful, full of poetry and sentiment."

Yu Xinyan: "And also, very romantic!"

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