“But have you thought about the issue of student sources? Many families these days aren’t willing to spend money on educating their daughters. And after graduation, these girls might have difficulty finding jobs, so they’ll just end up back in the home,” Gong Ze asked her.
The woman hadn’t expected Gong Ze to hit the nail on the head so directly. “I will actively advocate. There are already many girls with an independent consciousness. Even if we have only fifty to start with.”
“But among those fifty, some will become teachers, some will become employees. As long as a few of them enter society, the new ideas about women will spread, and more will join!”
“Hmm… like a single spark, then.”
When one awakened person appears among slaves, it means there will soon be a group of fighters who will change the era.
Gong Ze paused thoughtfully, then looked up at her and smiled. “I understand. I’ll invest.”
The woman: “!!”
Gong Ze put on his customary gentle expression. “This is a good thing. There are more women in this country than men. In this era, it’s not enough for only half the population—the men—to strive. If the other half can also shine, then the Hua nation will surely develop even better.”
There was a shortage of talent everywhere.
The more people who could contribute, the better. That was why the Hua nation was striving to implement educational equality.
“You’re absolutely right! That’s it! That’s exactly it!” The woman’s eyes widened, too moved to speak. She didn’t know how to move her hands or feet.
“This is what I want to do,” she said.
She kept wiping away her tears.
Everyone else thought she was trying to make girls “rebel.” But they were unwilling to support such a “great cause.”
“See? I told you. This guy is different.” Feng Xueping smiled proudly, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Gong Ze.
Gong Ze glanced at him with amusement, then handed the woman his handkerchief and said gently, “You just go ahead. Leave the funding to me. I’ll set up a special foundation to help keep your women’s school running.”
Gong Ze continued, “Also, I was thinking—could you train them for various professions? For example, foreign languages, teaching, accounting, scientific research. For those you find talented and gifted, I can help connect them with places that need such talent. And for those of average aptitude, they could come to work in my shops.”
Teaching according to aptitude.
That way, ordinary girls wouldn’t give up just because they discovered they had no special talent, and they could still graduate.
The woman covered her tearful, choked-up face and thanked him repeatedly.
“Thank you, thank you, Mr. Gong.”
“You’re welcome. I should be the one thanking you for everything you’re doing for the Hua nation.”
Although his investment in the women’s school later drew some not-so-kind remarks, perhaps it was his generous behavior that led many people to seek him out, hoping for his investment.
Gong Ze invested in some that he thought were necessary.
Or those who would achieve great things in the future but were very poor at the moment—Gong Ze invested in all of them.
As for those who only had grand, empty ideas and were just trying to get money out of him, Gong Ze politely declined.
What was even more interesting was that one of the people who came to him for investment was from the Olympic committee.
The Hua nation first participated in the Olympics in 1952. The previous ones before that didn’t count, as they were mostly forced by circumstances. Although in history, the outcome that time wasn’t great either.
Sports were just emerging. Government funding was very scarce. Even the travel expenses and necessary food and drink required athletes and coaches to tighten their belts.
Many pieces of equipment were so old they could no longer be used.
The coach who came to him had heard Gong Ze’s name from a friend of a friend of a friend. He had come to try his luck. But Gong Ze didn’t hesitate for a moment—he sponsored them.
Come on, it’s the Olympics!
Even Gong Ze’s eyes lit up a little.
“I have only one request: I’ll provide the uniforms, and you print my company’s logo on the back. It can be very small.”
The coach was still stunned by the amount Gong Ze was investing. When he came to, he quickly grabbed Gong Ze’s hand and happily agreed.
Both men smiled, each feeling they had gotten an incredible deal.
Apart from this unexpected delight, Lu Youling’s fame had spread abroad. Several of his papers had been published in xx magazine—which was cause for great celebration.
It was the first time a Hua name had appeared there.
The three of them—Gong Ze, Lu Youling, and Feng Xueping—happily had a few drinks at home. Feng Xueping had also been promoted and would soon take up his new post.
“This time, when we part, who knows when we’ll see each other again.”
The three, slightly tipsy, looked out at the moonlight. In Feng Xueping’s peripheral vision, Gong Ze’s reflection shimmered.
A touch of melancholy silence fell over them.
In the quiet atmosphere, only the clinking of glasses could be heard.
“I wonder what we’ll become in the future,” Feng Xueping said jokingly.
“Well, I’ve already decided to become a doctor,” Lu Youling said, his face flushed red from drink, his head resting on Gong Ze’s shoulder.
Gong Ze sighed. “People today don’t see the moon of ancient times, yet tonight’s moon once shone on the ancients… I hope that many years from now, the three of us can still raise our glasses together under such moonlight.”
“Naturally,” Feng Xueping answered without hesitation.
The front lines were dangerous, but he would definitely return.
Gong Ze raised his glass. “To yesterday.”
Lu Youling raised his glass. “To today.”
Feng Xueping raised his glass. “To the future.”
Their glasses clinked together.
The next morning, Feng Xueping got into a car and left the capital. Gong Ze and Lu Youling watched him disappear into the distance.
Ten years later.
Gong Ze was thirty-two. Lu Youling was twenty-nine.
Neither had changed much.
Except that Lu Youling had become the youngest and most renowned medical genius in the Hua nation.
He could now lead his own students in surgeries. Almost every wealthy person who had heard of him and fallen ill would come to their doorstep, begging Lu Youling to be their surgeon.
That was one of the benefits of this era. Even though Lu Youling was young, as long as he was excellent enough, he could break through many barriers and rise.
As for Gong Ze, his wealth had grown so vast that he no longer needed to manage it himself. The numbers increased at an astonishing rate every day.
Gong Ze poured out huge sums in investments.
He became the patron saint of dreams for many aspiring people.
Newspapers in the Hua nation reported on him. Journalists interviewed him. His good deeds were praised all across the country.
As long as he didn’t commit murder or arson, Gong Ze’s reputation had become so spotless it seemed to glow on its own.
Feng Xueping sent them letters from time to time, and occasionally called on the landline.
The young man’s position rose higher and higher. Once, he was nearly killed by a landmine. After waking up, he called Gong Ze late at night on a military phone and stayed on the line all night.
He didn’t say anything. He just kept the line open.
Feng Xueping said he couldn’t sleep otherwise.
Lu Youling sat on the bed, expressionless, and glared at Gong Ze all night long as well.
Gong Ze: …
“He likes you,” Lu Youling said to Gong Ze, stiff and blunt, now a great doctor.
His tone said: If you two don’t get this sorted out, we’re getting a divorce.
Gong Ze: “…Didn’t you already know that, dear?”
Lu Youling: “Hmph.”
Although the relationship among the three of them was a bit strange—when Feng Xueping nearly died, the first person he called was Gong Ze, and he kept the line open all night because otherwise he’d have nightmares and couldn’t sleep—they also knew that none of them would ever destroy their friendship.
“I hate you.” Lu Youling’s chest heaved with anger, his face cold. “Not just Feng Xueping, but that female secretary at your company. Every time you go out for business dinners with those bosses now, you always have a bunch of beautiful women around you. Do you think I don’t know?!”
He had been bottling this up inside for a long time!
Gong Ze was now too wealthy. Countless young, beautiful women surrounded him. Even if Gong Ze had no such intentions, there would always be people who, to please Gong Ze, would send countless beauties his way.
Even pretty young boys.
“Last time, that boy with the tragic background—the one Shuisheng said looked like me from ten years ago—why did you help him? Why did you find him a job? Why did you go to his house for a meal—”
Lu Youling felt uneasy and threatened.
And on top of it all, he was now damned busy.
Surgeries. The lab. Papers.
He hadn’t been home in a long time. He couldn’t keep an eye on Gong Ze. He was afraid…
“Listen to me, dear.”
Gong Ze tried to calm them both down and explained, “I admit he does resemble you a bit, and that stirred some compassion in me. But Shuisheng was also there when I went to his house for that meal…”
“I won’t do anything with him just because he looks like you. The real you is right in front of me. And you’re only twenty-nine—still beautiful, still lovely. Besides, even when you’re old, you’re still my part—”
Lu Youling couldn’t believe he actually admitted it. His eyes instantly reddened. “So you really did find a substitute who looks like me but is younger?!”
Gong Ze: …
Is that the point? Shouldn’t it be ‘I love you, I won’t cheat on you’?!
Gong Ze’s head ached. “Youling, let’s talk this through properly. I won’t see him again, alright? I promise I’ve never developed feelings for anyone other than you, nor have I been intimate with anyone else. And you have just as many admirers around you, yet I trust you every time.”
Lu Youling sobbed and roared, “That’s because you don’t care about me at all!”
“…”
The complaints eventually turned into a quarrel.
Gong Ze and Lu Youling fell into a cold war, just like any married couple’s relationship encountering turbulence.
Because they loved each other, it was unavoidable. They couldn’t tolerate any factor of unease appearing around the other person.
And their marriage had no legal protection—only the love between Gong Ze and Lu Youling held it together.
Morality. Law.
Neither sheltered them.
The drawbacks of being a same-sex couple were now becoming starkly apparent.
And then came temptation.
Feng Xueping’s companionship. Lu Youling’s announcement that he was going abroad for a year of study and exchange—which felt like Lu Youling’s version of Gong Ze’s admirer, the boy who clearly adored him. And there were also several students around Lu Youling who worshipped him and secretly had crushes on him…
During that time, Gong Ze’s mood was truly terrible. He spent every day in silence.
Exhaustion was his overwhelming feeling.
Lu Youling didn’t come home. His friend called Gong Ze to say that Lu Youling hadn’t rested for a long time, had collapsed after surgery, and looked terribly haggard.
Even Lu Youling’s assistant had seen him secretly crying in the break room.
Love should be about mutual tolerance and consideration for each other.
And so, when a visibly thinner Lu Youling was preparing to board a plane to go abroad with his students and assistant, Gong Ze—who had been missing for many days—appeared at the airport, suitcase in hand.
Lu Youling caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. He froze, then turned to look at Gong Ze in disbelief.
Gong Ze smiled and opened his arms. Lu Youling burst into tears and ran over to hug him tightly.
“Living apart after a fight isn’t good. I’ll come with you.”
“What about the company?”
“Well, I’ll probably have to fly back from time to time.”
“…”
Lu Youling’s face was crumpled with tears, which fell into Gong Ze’s neck.
“I regretted it a long time ago… I was afraid you would break up with me… I was too scared to go back…”
Gong Ze closed his eyes, turned his head, and kissed his hair again and again.
“I know. I understand everything.”
Time tested everything.
They would get through these trials together.
It was also on that day that Lu Youling’s favorability recovered.
Later…
A year later, they returned home together. Another year passed, and Old Mr. Feng passed away at the age of ninety. Feng Xueping rushed back for the funeral.
Old Mr. Feng’s only regret in dying was not seeing Feng Xueping settle down.
At the funeral, Feng Xueping invited Gong Ze out to talk for a long time. They didn’t discuss feelings—just talked about their developments over the past two years.
Some things had been buried too deeply for too long, and had become a dead sea without ripples.
Even later…
Feng Xueping got married. His spouse was also in the military.
Feng Xueping wasn’t actually gay. He liked women. What he had felt for Gong Ze could only be called an anomaly.
After letting go of that relationship, he had calmly and openly embraced a new life and pursued his current wife.
They were very much in love.
Lu Youling, on the other hand, became the proud national treasure of a doctor he was meant to be, changing the fates of many historical figures, just as in the original story.
He was a dazzling star of the era.
And Gong Ze loved him as he always had.
Ten years. Twenty years…
When they were both fifty, Lu Youling confessed everything—time travel, the golden finger of the spiritual spring water.
Before Gong Ze passed away, Gong Ze asked him jokingly, “If I wanted your golden finger, would you give it to me?”
Lu Youling held his hand and nodded repeatedly, tears streaming down his face.
“I would… wuwu, Gong Ze…”
Even if it was a joke, his heart was sincere.
As Gong Ze closed his eyes, he heard the familiar system chime…
[Ding—]
[Congratulations! You have completed the grand finale!! Changed fate. Obtained the spiritual spring water!]
[Character is now disengaging… Disengagement successful. Host, please prepare. You will now proceed to the next world.]
And then all sounds faded away from Gong Ze.
Crying. Shouting.
Lu Youling’s voice. Feng Xueping’s and their friends’ voices.
“Ding————”
“Gong Ze!!!!”
…
…….
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