The Secret Realm of Time, His and Her Life Through the Changes

Before returning to their dormitory, the two went to a small supermarket near the school gate to buy beer.

Jian Zheng: "How about we splurge a little today and buy a can of beer?"

Wang Jie: "We can only buy canned beer; it's not convenient to bring bottled beer into the dormitory."

Jian Zheng: "You've all graduated, who cares about you anymore? Watch me in a bit."

Wang Jie: "Don't cause trouble. Zhang Qian is still living in the dormitory. If he breaks the rules, the school will require him to move out. Where will he live then?"

Jian Zheng: "That's true."

"Zhang Qian's promotion to a permanent position should be pretty much guaranteed."

“I saw Zhang Qian a few days ago, and he seemed preoccupied, not like he was confident.”

"I heard from Director Li of the recruitment office that the personnel department of the machine tool factory came to conduct an external investigation of Zhang Qian last week. Isn't that a good thing?"

Wang Jie took two bags of peanuts, fish slices, and dried tofu as snacks to go with his drinks.

Jian Zheng, carrying a dozen Tsingtao beers, rushed to the cashier to pay.

"Put them all together and charge them." He pointed to the peanuts, fish slices, and dried tofu that Wang Jie had brought over and said to the cashier.

"Let me do it. You always pay the bill," Wang Jie said in a low voice, blocking Jian Zheng's way.

Jian Zheng had already handed 50 yuan to the cashier, then turned to Wang Jie and said, "You pay next time."

Student dormitory rules prohibit drinking alcohol, and beer can't be brought into the dorms? They have plenty of ways to get around that.

Jian Zheng took off his shirt and put several cans of beer and snacks into a large plastic bag, then stuffed a few more cans of beer into the large shoulder bag that Wang Jie was carrying.

The two of them swaggered back to their dorm.

As soon as I pushed open the dormitory door, a stuffy and humid air rushed out, hot and stuffy, mixed with a strong smell of sweat, making me frown.

The dormitory was unusually stuffy and hot. To keep out the heat from outside, the windows were tightly closed and the curtains were drawn shut, blocking out the summer heat and preventing air circulation, making it hard to breathe.

Zhang Qian was indeed in the dormitory. When Wang Jie and Jian Zheng came in, he was shirtless, lying on his side on the bed facing the wall. It was unclear whether he was asleep or not, as he did not react to their arrival.

"Hey, get up." Jian Zheng slapped Zhang Qian's bare back.

"Holy shit!" Zhang Qian jumped up in shock, bumping his head on the upper bunk. "What are you doing?"

“We bought some beer, let’s have a drink together.” Wang Jie took the beer out of his bag and placed it on the desk in the middle of the dormitory.

"Sleeping in the dormitory during the day."

Jian Zheng opened the dormitory door as wide as possible, found a wedge to block the door, and let the shade from the corridor into the room.

"Sigh, what else can I do if I don't sleep?" Zhang Qian sat on the edge of the bed, his head drooping.

"Didn't go to work today? Taking a break?" After setting out the beer, Wang Jie started taking out snacks.

Jian Zheng went to draw back the curtains and open the windows for ventilation.

Zhang Qian: "I've already been notified that my internship has ended."

Jian Zheng: "Didn't they give you a permanent position?"

"Sigh..." Zhang Qian sighed heavily.

Jian Zheng: "What happened? Last week you told me it was a done deal, wasn't it?"

Wang Jie: "Come and sit down first."

The three of them sat around the desk in the middle of the dormitory.

Jian Zheng couldn't wait to open a can of beer, tilted his head back and gulped down half of it. "Ah..." he exhaled with a satisfying breath, then raised the remaining half of the can and shouted to Wang Jie and Zhang Qian, "Brothers, cheers!"

"Take a sip." Wang Jie found a glass, opened a can of beer, poured it into the glass, raised the glass to clink with Jian Zheng's, and took a big gulp.

Zhang Qian didn't say anything, picked up a can of beer, took a small sip, and put it down.

Wang Jie and Jian Zheng exchanged a glance; they both sensed that Zhang Qian was unusually down today.

There were four people living in their dormitory. Besides Wang Jie and Jian Zheng, who were locals, there were two others who came from other places: Zhao Shi, who came from the mountains of Guizhou and Guizhou, and Zhang Qian, who came from Xiongzhen County, Yunnan Province and was the youngest in their dormitory.

Zhao Shi had decided to return to his hometown to become a village official. During the winter break in the first half of the year, which coincided with the Spring Festival, his family arranged a blind date for him. It was very successful; the two got engaged before the end of the first lunar month and were just waiting for Zhao Shi to graduate so they could get married. It's not easy for a college student to come out of Zhao Shi's hometown, so the county attached great importance to it and directly arranged a job for him. He returned to his hometown right after finishing his exams.

Zhang Qian, who also came from a poor area, had a different idea from Zhao Shi. Now that they had finally gotten out, why would they want to go back?

He studied desperately for the past four years and actively participated in various school activities, hoping to leave a good impression on the school and have more opportunities for job recommendations after graduation.

He had already entered the No. 1 Machine Tool Factory in southern Jiangsu for his graduation internship. The factory was profitable, with high income and bonuses. The best part was that it was a large state-owned enterprise with quotas for settling down in Xichuan. If he could become a full-time employee, he could settle down in Xichuan and become a true Xichuan resident.

Who would have thought... "Sigh..." Zhang Qian felt a pang of sadness at the thought that he had no hope of getting a permanent position and would have to go back to his hometown at the end of the month.

Wang Jie: "When I went back to school last week, I saw you and you said that the factory office had already issued your internship report and that the evaluation results were all excellent, so there was hope for you to be promoted to a full-time position."

"Is it because there aren't any quotas? Usually, large state-owned enterprises like this need to have quotas," Jian Zheng said, popping a peanut into his mouth. "I heard it from my mom."

Zhang Qian shook his head, sighing but remaining silent.

"Did you ask the factory office if the results of your formal employment appointment have already been released, or are you just guessing?"

Jian Zheng nudged Zhang Qian, "Don't just sigh, tell me what's going on, so I can help you figure something out."

"Hey, don't rush," Wang Jie stopped Jian Zheng.

"When I went to the factory office to submit the report, I overheard the factory office director telling the personnel department, 'Sun Xiaoyun has passed the probationary period and can be notified to complete the formalities.'"

"Who is Sun Xiaoyun?" Jian Zheng interjected.

“Sun Xiaoyun is another student who interned with me; she is a female student.”

"They're not from our school, are they? We haven't heard of this name in our year," Wang Jie couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Qian: No, Sun Xiaoyun is a recent graduate of "Suwen Accounting School".

"What? Accounting school? Graduated from a vocational high school?" Jian Zheng asked, pursing his lips.

"No, I graduated from a junior college," Zhang Qian explained.

Wang Jie: "When the First Machine Tool Plant came to recruit on campus, the job posting required applicants to have a bachelor's degree."

“Yes, yes, I remember too. It required a bachelor’s degree.” Jian Zheng nudged Zhang Qian again and said, “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Is this the same job as you?”

“How could there be a mistake? Because the personnel department informed me this morning that my internship is over.” Zhang Qian opened a can of beer and handed it to Jian Zheng. He then picked up another can of beer, opened it, and poured the beer into the glass in front of Wang Jie. Then, he raised his own can and said to the two of them, “Let’s not talk about my business, it’s too annoying. Let’s drink.”

All three were silent.