Chapter 43: Common Topic

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Common Topic

Just like yesterday, Zhong Qing returned to her dorm after lunch and shared a brief update of her daily life with Chen Jingle. Worried that he might find her routine boring, she carefully picked out topics she thought were particularly interesting.

Today’s conversation starter was the senior orange cat by the Lake of Ultimate Goodness, who had tried to catch a fish and almost fell in. She felt incredibly lucky to have captured the moment on her phone. Although the photo wasn’t framed perfectly, it flawlessly recreated the hilarious scene.

When Li Yuting returned and saw this, she immediately knew: her roommate was doomed!

There was a high probability this girl was falling head over heels in love. The lethal charm of a naturally handsome guy was simply too much for a pretty girl to resist.

To be completely honest, it was human nature and completely understandable. If she were the one chatting up a handsome guy, she’d probably succumb even faster. Wasn’t there a saying that went, "Ugly guys will never know just how proactive a girl can be"?

Li Yuting didn’t mock Zhong Qing. Instead, she happily watched the drama unfold from the sidelines. She thought, "As expected, romance is always most entertaining when you’re watching other people fall in love."

Especially observing the subtle shifts in Zhong Qing’s expressions. If recorded, that footage would be enough to break the hearts of countless boys on campus. Perhaps this was the so-called feeling of a fluttering heart.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen.

Chen Jingle suddenly remembered something. "I don’t think I’ve ever asked you what your college major is."

"Huh? Did my sister not mention it to you? I’m studying Ideological and Political Education, in the teacher-training track," Zhong Qing replied, feeling a little dazed.

The two of them had chatted so much and shared plenty about themselves, yet neither had actually asked what the other majored in. It was a bit comical. She thought Chen Jingle already knew, while Chen Jingle had genuinely forgotten to ask.

Ideological and Political Education? And it was a teacher-training track?

Surprised, Chen Jingle asked, "Guangda isn’t a normal university. Does it also offer teacher-training majors?"

"It does. If I remember correctly, there are about fifteen education-related majors."

"That’s quite a lot."

Zhong Qing felt a twinge of regret. "I originally wanted to get into Huashi University, but my scores weren’t high enough, so I could only choose Guangda."

"Guangda isn’t bad either. Do you want to be a teacher after graduation?"

"I wouldn’t say I desperately want to, but I certainly don’t dislike the idea of teaching. During high school, I spent most of my time just burying my head in books. I never had a clear plan for the future, and my family, including my sister, couldn’t really offer much guidance. So, I ended up picking this major in a bit of a daze. However, after studying it for a while, I found it actually suits me quite well. That being said, it’s not easy to become a teacher right now since the job market is pretty saturated," Zhong Qing explained.

Suited her?

Ideological and political studies were indeed interesting, but this was the first time he had heard a girl say it suited her.

A little surprised, Chen Jingle thought for a moment before asking for advice. "If someone wanted to self-study your major’s courses, are there any books you would recommend?"

"Are you planning to take the postgraduate entrance exam for a different major or something?" Zhong Qing asked.

Chen Jingle denied it. "I don’t have any thoughts about that at the moment. Let’s just call it an effort to upgrade my personal knowledge base."

Zhong Qing didn’t overthink it. After considering his question seriously, she replied, "Actually, you could refer to the talent cultivation programs of the Ma Institute at top domestic universities, like Jingda and Renmin University. The teaching quality here at Guangda still can’t compare to those top-tier prestigious schools.

"So, I can only give recommendations from my own perspective. For the general courses—like Mao Zedong Thought, Ideological and Moral Cultivation, the Outline of Modern Chinese History, and Situation and Policy—you probably already took those during your own college years.

"As for our core courses, we study the Principles of Ideological and Political Education, Marxist Philosophy, the History of Marxist Philosophy, Political Economy, the Methodology of Teaching Political Science, Important Historical Thoughts, and Selected Readings of Classic Works by Marx and Engels, among others.

"Furthermore, our professors require us to read a lot of original Marxist philosophical works outside of class, such as ’Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right’, ’The Condition of the Working Class in England’, ’Theses on Feuerbach’, and ’Critique of the Gotha Program’.

"If you want to pursue postgraduate studies, there’s even more to learn. Introduction to Political Science, Introduction to Comparative Political Systems, the History of Eastern and Western Political Thought, Government and Politics, Sociological Research Methods, Social Development Theory, ’Das Kapital’, Western Marxist Economics, Introduction to International Politics, Contemporary Western Political Trends, Contemporary Western Sociological Theory, Logic and Argumentation, and so on."

She typed out an enormous amount of text.

Chen Jingle had taken the initiative to talk about her major, which naturally made her happy. Speaking about her area of expertise was far easier than struggling to come up with new topics to discuss.

Realization dawned on Chen Jingle. He had completely forgotten that he could just refer to the talent cultivation plans of top-tier universities. He quickly replied, "Thank you!"

As expected, it was best to consult a professional. Working behind closed doors without guidance simply wouldn’t cut it.

"You’re welcome. I’m just glad I could help."

Zhong Qing felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of accomplishment. Moreover, this was the first time she had genuinely experienced the charm of a shared intellectual topic, rather than merely trying to cater to his interests by sharing cute daily cat stories.

She wondered, "Should I chat with him more about these academic topics in the future? Would that be too weird? It might end up feeling like an academic symposium."

Chen Jingle said sincerely, "I previously read books like ’Selected Works’, ’The Governance of China’, ’How China Works’, and ’The Hubbub of a Small Town’. I learned a lot, but I always felt like I lacked a systematic, theoretical framework. I felt like I couldn’t grasp the fundamentals. With this list you’ve given me, I finally have a clear direction forward."

"You’ve read quite a bit, then," Zhong Qing said, surprised. "Actually, finishing those books is already quite sufficient, as the core principles remain the same. The key is just to persistently observe and analyze problems through the lens of materialist dialectics."

"I just skimmed through them without really digesting the information," Chen Jingle replied, not thinking it was anything impressive. He then asked, "By the way, do you have any plans to pursue a master’s degree?"

Truthfully, Zhong Qing had been agonizing over this very issue. After all, she was in her senior year. If she didn’t take the postgraduate entrance exam, she would have to start job hunting.

She thought for a moment before replying, "I feel like a postgraduate degree in the humanities doesn’t carry as much weight as one in STEM, so it won’t give my resume that massive of a boost. Plus, the competition is insanely fierce. The number of applicants this year might even surpass last year’s. I’ve decided to sign up, but there’s a high chance I’ll just be dead weight padding the numbers."

"How will you know if you don’t try? You have to believe in yourself," Chen Jingle encouraged.

"Mhm, I’ll do my best!" Zhong Qing happily sent a peace-sign emoji.

Chen Jingle smiled and added, "However, taking the postgraduate exam is a means to an end, not the end goal itself. It’s meant to help you better achieve your life goals. If it won’t aid your ambitions, then there’s no need to take it. If you’re only doing it because everyone else is, or because your relatives and friends are urging you to, or because you just want to avoid the workforce and stay in school to snag a diploma, then it’s really not worth it. You must always be clear about what you truly want to do."

"Thank you!"

Zhong Qing read his message carefully and gave it serious thought, feeling that his words made perfect sense. Sure enough, someone who had graduated a few years prior understood things a little better than university students like her.

"Do I sound too preachy?" Chen Jingle scratched his head, feeling a little regretful after sending that.

Zhong Qing was taken aback. "Huh? Not at all. Isn’t it a good thing to have someone willing to impart their life and study experiences? It’s not like you’re endlessly nagging me without regard for the situation."

Chen Jingle finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped imaginary sweat from his brow.

"As long as you don’t mind. My lunch break is over. Let’s chat again this afternoon or evening when we have time."

"Okay, good afternoon. I’m going to take a rest too."

Zhong Qing still felt like chatting more, sensing that today’s conversation had drawn them considerably closer than yesterday. She cheered herself on.

Having already climbed into her bed, Li Yuting took one look at Zhong Qing’s expression...

SHEESH!

Yep, her roommate had definitely been utterly reeled in.