A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The next day, Gui'er went to school. She recalled Song Xichen's suggestion at the dinner table the day before that she should go to school. This had caused a huge uproar. Not only the master and his wife, but also the second young master and the young lady were surprised.

The master frowned and said, "A servant going to school? Are you crazy?"

Song Xichen said nonchalantly, "She can't do much housework at home with her small body anyway. Let her go out and learn a few words and a little math. Then she can help me out later, reading to me, writing letters, and so on."

The second young master, Song Xilun, said, "Brother, are you really going to take her in?"

Gui'er felt something was not right when she heard this. Did the word "take" mean to take her as a concubine?

Song Tingting's eyes widened as she asked, "Brother, is this true? She's only nine years old."

Song Xichen frowned and said, "She's only nine years old. You know she's only nine years old, a little yellow-haired girl. I don't have that kind of interest."

"Then why do you do so much for her?" Song Tingting asked curiously.

Song Xichen took a leisurely sip of tea and said, "I'm not like you, sitting around doing nothing all day. It's just right that you have a little girl to play with. I can't possibly drag this little girl around everywhere. Maybe she'll be useful in the future if she learns a few words in school. I think women should read more books and learn to read."

Song Tingting said innocently: "If you find it troublesome, you can give her to me and I will take the two of them to play together."

Song Xichen looked at his sister helplessly and said, "Don't just play around all day and not do your homework. I see you're only concerned with fashionable clothes and new movies. What's your future going to be like?"

Mrs. Song then spoke up, "Your sister is a lady from a wealthy family, the daughter of a newly rich family. She doesn't want to be a teacher, a newspaper reporter, or a waitress. Why would she need to study so much? I think she should learn more about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting so that she can get married when the time comes."

Song Tingting blushed and said angrily, "Mom, why are you bringing this up?"

Mrs. Song said, "You think you're still young? I heard that the young master of the Fang family will be back to visit his relatives soon. I'll see if there's a chance for you two to meet. If it's suitable, I'll make the betrothal gift first."

The topic of Guier going to school was just passed over, and no one strongly objected.

So early this morning, Song Xichen took out a set of school uniforms and asked Guier to change into them. Although it was called a school uniform, it was actually a cheongsam, but it was more low-key. The skirt was black, and the top was a small phoenix-shaped, worker-blue one. With black stockings and cloth shoes, and a pigtail, Guier looked like a schoolgirl.

Song Xichen drove Gui'er to the school's main gate. Gui'er looked up and saw the words "St. Mary's Girls' School" written in large letters. The school building was different from the other buildings in the city, with a more Western architectural style. The school was small, surrounded by buildings in a circle with a playground in the center. The tallest building was only two stories high, but because the city was mostly one-story, the second-floor corridor could already be seen quite far away.

Guier was taken to a seat at the very edge of the classroom on the first floor by the female teacher in charge of receiving students. She said, "This is your seat." She also gave her a few books. Guier opened the books and took a look. The books were arranged vertically and the fonts used were traditional Chinese characters. The rest was okay and she could probably recognize them.

There was still some time before class started, so Guier quietly observed her surroundings. She found that her classmates ranged from seven or eight years old to eleven or twelve years old, and there was no uniform age limit. Moreover, according to her observation, the soles of some classmates' cloth shoes were badly worn out, and some of their socks had holes in them. It seemed that not all students in this school came from wealthy families. Then she felt relieved. Since there were both rich and poor students, at least she would not be easily bullied.

Just as Gui'er was quietly observing her surroundings, a girl older than her approached her. She looked to be around 12 or 3 years old. She walked up to Gui'er and said, "Hello, my name is Tong Yujun, and I'm a student in Class ."

Guier said a little shyly, "Hello, my name is Wu Guier. Today is my first day of school. I'm a student in the first class."

Tong Yujun smiled and said, "I know. I've never seen you before. I also saw that you were driven here by Song Xichen, the eldest son of the Song family. What is your relationship with him?"

Gui Er felt that if she said she was a servant of the Song family, she would seem inferior, so she said, "I was rescued by the Song family due to some misfortune. The eldest young master took me in and arranged for me to come here to study."

Tong Yujun said happily, "So that's how it is. Then you are considered a member of the Song family. What a coincidence! My sister Tong Yulan is a student at St. Mary's Girls' High School and is a classmate of your Song family's eldest daughter, Song Tingting."

Gui'er guessed that Tong Yujun must be the daughter of a wealthy family. Perhaps the two families would interact someday. If she told a lie too blatantly, it would eventually be exposed. So she cautiously revealed a little, smiling and saying, "Oh, so your sister and our daughter were classmates. What a coincidence! Please give me some advice."

Tong Yujun was stunned for a moment when she heard Gui'er call Song Tingting "Miss", but she quickly recovered and said with a smile, "I'm in the classroom next to the stairs on the second floor. If you have anything, you can come find me."

Gui'er quickly thanked Tong Yujun again. She knew Tong Yujun could tell from her addressing of Miss Song that she wasn't a relative of the Song family or any other equal, but she didn't act strangely, suggesting she didn't have a strong class bias. This person was worth making friends with; perhaps she could help him gain a foothold in the world in the future.

On the first day of class, Guier performed well. She already knew the basics of Chinese characters, but the only difference was the difference between traditional and simplified Chinese. So, she learned them quickly. The subjects taught at this girls' school were a bit different from modern ones: Chinese, math, English, history, and home economics. The program lasted five years. Some students from poor families would stop attending after the first five years, while those from more affluent families would continue their studies at St. Mary's Girls' High School, effectively taking a higher education.

By evening, Guier noticed the clock on the school wall had already struck 5:00. The school bell finally rang, signaling dismissal. Students filed out, some heading home in small groups, some picked up by their families, and some simply skipping home if their homes were nearby. By then, many carts selling fruit and snacks, some carrying baskets, had arrived at the school gates. Students would often linger, some dipping into their pockets to buy a snack or two.

But Gui'er was not in the mood for that. She had no money and the young master hadn't said he would come to pick her up. When they came by car in the morning, Gui'er carefully memorized the road in case she had to walk back after school. The car drove for about ten or twenty minutes. Gui'er knew the approximate road and direction, but if she walked back, she didn't know how long it would take. She didn't know how safe this world was in this day and age.

Gui'er waited at the school gate for more than ten minutes, but seeing no one coming to pick her up, she had no choice but to walk forward. At this time, a man in uniform walked up to her and asked, "Are you Gui'er?"

Gui'er nodded and looked carefully. The uniform the man was wearing was very similar to the uniform Song Xichen wore on the day he fought the bandits and rescued them.

The police officer said, "Please follow me. Our Chief Song wants to see you."

Gui'er guessed that the Director Song he was talking about was Song Xichen, so she followed him through an alley next to the school and arrived at another busy street. Right next to the exit of the alley, there was a three-story Western-style building with a plaque with black letters on a white background that read "Jiangcheng Police Headquarters".

The police officer took Gui'er directly to the door of the innermost office on the second floor and knocked. A familiar voice said, "Come in." The police officer pushed the door open and walked in. He saluted first, then said, "Chief, I have brought her here."

Gui'er looked over and saw it was Song Xichen. He said to the police officer, "Okay, thank you for your hard work. You can go down now."

Then he turned around and saw Gui'er timidly peeking out from the door. He found it a little funny and said, "What are you standing at the door for? Come in."

Gui'er then walked into Song Xichen's office. She didn't know why, after not seeing him for a day, she suddenly felt a lot more at ease when she saw Song Xichen.