The first time in history

"What are you going to do after graduation?" Lin Xiao asked.

"I want to be a teacher," Qian Mingduo replied. "We are studying history. If I can be assigned to a school after graduation and become a history teacher, I think it would be great to teach students what I have learned."

“It’s great to be a history teacher, but it’s hard to say how and where I’ll be assigned.”

"We'll talk about it later. I just have this idea now. As for whether I will be assigned a job or find a job on my own in the future, it's still unknown." Qian Mingduo nodded to a person who greeted him, then turned to Lin Xiao and asked, "What are your plans?"

"As for me, I don't have any specific idea of ​​what to do, but you know I have always liked the profession of journalist. Maybe I will become a journalist."

Lin Xiao smiled and said: "It would be great if it were possible to become a travel journalist. I like traveling and seeing things here and there. I just don't know if there is such a specialized profession as a travel journalist."

"There should be reporters who specialize in introducing and exploring tourist attractions and natural scenery in various places," Qian Mingduo said as he opened the door of the coffee shop for Lin Xiao.

The cafe was packed with people, mostly students from the school. Qian Mingduo and Lin Xiao smiled at each other and shook their heads.

After sending Lin Xiao back to the dormitory, Qian Mingduo returned to his own dormitory based on his memory. The dormitory was empty. He collapsed weakly on his bed, staring straight at the upper bunk.

"The girl next door." Qian Mingduo frowned. "I don't have any impression of girls next door. Lin Xiao is just a classmate, so she can't be considered a girl next door, right?"

Qian Mingduo habitually reached into his trouser pocket, but he didn't touch anything except a bunch of keys. I didn't smoke when I was in college.

"The two families on the first floor belong to Uncle Chen and a young couple. The family on the second floor belongs to Grandma Li, and the person living opposite her is a single female teacher. My home is on the third floor, and no one has lived opposite me." Qian Mingduo had no idea who this girl next door might be.

He turned over and thought, since tomorrow is the weekend, he might as well go home and take a look.

Qian Mingduo did not take the bus or ride a bicycle. He originally wanted to ride a bicycle home, but he could not find where he had put his bicycle. It was no wonder. After more than ten years, who would remember where they had put their bicycle?

Qian Mingduo's home is in the central area of ​​the city, a separate courtyard, like a pearl surrounded by green trees. It is a three-story building with only one unit.

During the Republic of China, this small building was a privately-run elementary school. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it underwent some renovations and adjustments and became a residential building with two families living on each floor, for a total of six families.

Qian Mingduo slowly opened the door of his home. Everything in the house was both familiar and strange. After more than ten years, he actually traveled back to this home that he had once guarded alone.

Sitting at the desk, he carefully flipped through his old textbooks and notes. The immature handwriting looked as if he had written it yesterday.

At this moment, there was a sudden and sharp "clattering" sound in the corridor. The sound kept echoing in the narrow corridor, as if something heavy was sliding down the stairs.

The girl let out a sharp cry of "Ouch!", which was full of panic and surprise.

Upon hearing the noise, Qian Mingduo hurriedly opened the door and looked toward the corridor. He was surprised to find a pretty girl sitting crookedly on the stepping platform between the second and third floors.

"The girl next door." These four words flashed through Qian Mingduo's mind in an instant.

The girl was kneading her thighs gently with her hands, her brows furrowed, and a painful expression on her face. Next to her, a bright pink mountain bike was lying on the ground, with some scratches on the body and the wheels still turning weakly.

Without thinking too much, it must be that the girl accidentally fell down while carrying the mountain bike upstairs. Seeing this, Qian Mingduo walked down the stairs without hesitation and quickly put the pen in his hand into his trouser pocket.

Just as he was about to lend a helping hand to help the girl up, something unexpected happened - the girl warily pushed his hand away and demanded, "Who are you? How did you get into our building?" Her voice was trembling and defensive.

Qian Mingduo was slightly stunned, and quickly explained: "Don't get me wrong, I also live in this building, 301, and I heard the noise and came out to see what happened."

"Are you really from 301?" the girl asked doubtfully. "Why have I never seen you before?"

"I really live in 301." Qian Mingduo was amused by the girl's alert expression. He smiled and said, "I have lived here for almost years."

Qian Mingduo straightened his mountain bike and leaned it gently against the wall. "If you think I am a bad person because I am not a resident of this building, then I have never seen you before! Are you a resident of our building?"

"Why am I not a resident?" The girl rubbed her thigh and cried, "My home is 302, and I just moved here last week."

In Qian Mingduo's impression, it seemed that no one had lived in Room 302 opposite, but now there was suddenly a new resident.

"Who cares!" Qian Mingduo said to himself, "Let's help the girl up first."

At this moment, the door of Room 201 slowly opened, and an old lady with silver hair came out. She was leaning on a slightly orange cane and wearing an old-fashioned double-breasted dress. She said to Qian Mingduo, "Xiao Ming, you're back?"

"Grandma Li!" Qian Mingduo quickly ran down the stairs and supported the old lady. "Why did you come out? I just came back a while ago."

"I heard some noise in the corridor, so I came out to check. Ouch! What happened to this girl?" When Grandma Li saw the girl fall, her face was full of concern. "Fell? How could she be so careless? Xiaoming, help the child up quickly! Don't keep her sitting on the ground."

"Grandma! This little girl thought I wasn't from our building," Qian Mingduo said with a smile, "She was afraid that I was a bad person, so she didn't dare to ask me to help her."

"I didn't say you were a bad person!" the girl said anxiously, "I just have never seen you before. I don't know who you are."

"Grandma Li, can you please testify for me that I live in this building?" Qian Mingduo walked up the stairs again and put his hands under the girl's arms to lift her up.

"Ouch, ouch!" the girl cried out in pain, "My legs hurt so much, my ankles hurt so much!" She put one hand on the wall, her body trembling slightly, beads of sweat on her forehead. Her other hand was still on her left thigh, kneading it gently, trying to relieve the pain.