By Zephyria 
Episode 2: Back Then, I Was Still a Student
[Yesterday was already the seventh day since my child passed away!]
Leaving the keyboard he had been tapping, He Yu stood up from the desk in the faculty dormitory.
A room of less than seventy square meters. Beyond the wall in the living room, an old television emitted static noise whenever the signal flickered, broadcasting a verbose current affairs variety show.
The sofa was the same sofa from the story. The teacups and the snack box remained exactly as they were.
However, the wall clock pointed to 8:09. It was evening, not the crack of dawn, so the streetlights outside were bright. It was midsummer, the air humid and sultry. Moths circled beneath the lamps, and mosquitoes buzzed low. It had not yet begun to rain.
The boy stepped out from the small study provided in the faculty dormitory. Beams of light slanted through the grimy window. The space bathed in light looked somehow surreal. Far more so than the story he had just written.
On the living room sofa, where the air conditioner was set to a very low temperature, a woman was sleeping under a fluffy blanket. Clumps of tissues used to wipe away tears and mucus rolled around in front of her.
He Yu spoke.
“Wake up.”
“Mm…”
“I said wake up.”
“So noisy… I barely slept…”
The young woman mumbled in her sleep.
“Let me sleep just a bit more…”
Just as He Yu was about to speak again, the variety show on the television began introducing an old movie.
—Everyone carries a
He paused the alarm service and changed the channel with the remote.
He detested homosexuality.
—Dear viewers, welcome to our Medical Wellbeing program.
Another channel. He detested hospitals and doctors as well.
—Long ago, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, and that butterfly was so vivid that…
This time, he didn’t change the channel. This was acceptable enough to serve as background music to his taste.
Setting the remote down, He Yu glanced at the snoring woman, then turned and headed toward the kitchen. When he opened the slippery refrigerator, the light illuminated his face brightly.
He scanned the ingredients inside a few times, took out two eggs and some ham, and found the leftover rice from yesterday. Then, raising his voice, he asked the woman sleeping in the living room.
“Xie Xue, do you have any green onions? I can’t find where they are.”
The woman remained silent.
“I’ll make you Yangzhou fried rice.”
Silence flowed through the living room. When He Yu turned his head back, he saw the woman, who had somehow descended from the sofa, standing close to the kitchen door.
“…Then put in two eggs and some Spam.”
Then, she asked suspiciously.
“Do you actually know how to make it?”
He Yu, rolling up his sleeves, looked back at her and gave a friendly smile.
“Wait outside. It’ll be done in a second.”
The woman called Xie Xue immediately wandered into the other room.
Then, she sat before the laptop left on in the study and scanned through the Word document.
“He Yu! Don’t tell me you used me as a model?”
The sound of the kitchen hood was too loud for him to hear her. He Yu asked back.
“What?”
“No—! I asked— if you used— me as a model!”
Xie Xue came out clutching his laptop to her chest.
“This Professor Xie in the horror novel!”
“Ah.”
The boy paused, cracked an egg, and smiled.
“That’s right. You are the character in my imagination. Art originally comes from reality, Professor Xie.”
“The content says you have an unrequited crush on me?”
“…Art is originally different from reality, Professor Xie.”
The last part was a lie.
He definitely had an unrequited crush on her.
He Yu and Xie Xue had known each other for over ten years.
Xie Xue was five years older than He Yu. This year was the first year Xie Xue had been appointed as a professor in the Directing Department of the College of Arts at Huzhou University, and He Yu was a student attending her lectures.
When she had seen the list of freshmen in the Directing Department on the messenger, she spotted He Yu’s name and quickly sent him a message.
[Crazy, what are the odds! I’m in charge of two classes, and there’s a boy with the exact same name as you!]
At that time, He Yu, sitting in a window seat, was resting his chin on his hand, watching the blinking lights outside the apron. Soon, his phone alarm rang, and a familiar profile appeared. Just as he was about to reply to the message from the woman he had loved unrequitedly for ten years, an in-flight announcement flowed out, prohibiting the use of electronic devices.
He Yu tilted his head, contemplated for a moment, then stopped replying and turned off his phone.
Where in the world would such a coincidence be common?
How foolish.
Of course, it was a coincidence he had worked hard to achieve.
—He Yu was quite different from the version of himself in the novel he wrote.
Neither poor nor ugly, this boy was born with a silver spoon and a handsome face under the CEO of a famous pharmaceutical company. After attending high school abroad, he learned that Xie Xue had obtained her teaching certification after graduating and become a lecturer at Huzhou University. Without contemplating for even thirty minutes, he accessed the Huzhou University College of Arts website and applied for admission.
A few months later, Huzhou University opened for the semester.
However, Professor Xie Xue, who had taken up the podium for the first time, was still too young and did not know the bitterness of society.
Jiang Liping, the supervisor in charge of freshmen classes 1, 2, and 3 of the Directing Department, was a well-known eccentric on campus. Despite lacking knowledge and refinement, it was said she had secured a redundant position by sleeping with a director of the school foundation. The strikingly beautiful Professor Jiang, without a shred of shame, rolled around in bed with the foundation director in broad daylight every day. Furthermore, she openly antagonized women, whether they were students or professors.
Entering the classroom clutching her laptop, Xie Xue could see the hem of Jiang Liping’s red skirt as she occupied the lectern, emphasizing precautions to the freshmen.
“I’m sorry, Professor Jiang, but the first period has started…”
Xie Xue said tentatively.
But who could have known the other party would wave her hand dismissively?
“Just a moment. The morning self-study time was too short. I’ll just mention the last two points.”
Whether she was being spiteful on purpose or not, Jiang Liping’s ‘last two points’ only concluded after about sixteen minutes had passed.
“Alright, that’s all for the reminders. We can’t let the lecture be delayed any further. Um… sorry, I can’t remember the name of the new professor. Anyway, don’t be nervous and do your best.”
Professor Jiang walked away, her fifteen-centimeter bright red high heels clicking. Her vintage Hong Kong-style long skirt created a haughty wave behind her. Xie Xue climbed onto the podium, head bowed, clutching her laptop tightly.
I’m seriously going crazy.
It might have been different if she had just stayed quiet. At Jiang Liping’s single remark, Xie Xue became genuinely nervous and swallowed hard.
High-level, haughty students of a prestigious university originally did not trust young professors. Moreover, since Jiang Liping had gloomily undermined Xie Xue before leaving, it said everything.
These intelligent talents quickly read the atmosphere. Ah, the professor in charge of this subject is just a practicing lecturer whose name even the supervisor doesn’t remember.
To make matters worse, even the capable and courageous Xie Xue could not stop the students in this wide classroom from salivating. It took only ten minutes for the confident new Professor Xie to start stuttering. Soon, her eyes lost their focus, and her legs began to lose strength.
Thus, she completely failed to notice that a tall male student was sitting in the very back row of the wide classroom, languidly spinning a pen and leaning against the back of his chair, watching her.
“Hello, students. I am Professor Xie Xue of the Directing Department. Um…”
The students didn’t even give her a glance.
“How old are you, Professor?”
“Noona, do you want to go grab a milk tea with us?”
“Professor, you look younger than me…”
While panicking internally at the atmosphere on the verge of exploding, Xie Xue blustered like a paper tiger.
“Quiet! I have no intention of chatting with you. While you attend school, don’t waste your wonderful youth and focus on your studies. To put it more realistically, I am not a pushover. I am quite strict. The probability of me giving you an F is much higher than my colleagues. Since you’re all smart, don’t let my words go in one ear and out the other; keep them in mind.”
He Yu couldn’t help it and laughed out loud with his head bowed. The corners of his mouth curved instinctively with the laughter.
Meanwhile, Xie Xue was left stunned.
The students filling the classroom stared at her silently, as if watching a monkey at a zoo. One male student sighed, packed his bag, and stood up entirely.
“Wait! Student, where are you—”
“No matter how much the professor poses, there’s no way I’ll get an F. I have a date with my girlfriend, so I’m leaving first.”
“This is interesting. Does Huzhou University hire practicing lecturers who threaten people with grades? Who do you think worked their ass off to enter a prestigious university just to be a lab rat for a new professor? Why on earth are you in charge of our class? The next class has Professor Sun. I should go file a complaint with the principal. Well, I’m off.”
Xie Xue was at a loss, not knowing what to do.
She tried her best to remain calm, finding out the students’ names and marking deductions on the list, but internally, the severely shocked Xie Xue couldn’t regain her composure for a long time. Forgetting the lecture content she had prepared, she just babbled incoherently. Even when she reached the parts the students would find most interesting, not a single person stepped forward to cooperate.
“Professor, I’ll do it.”
Just as Xie Xue felt like crying and running away, a male student’s voice was heard from the very back row of the classroom.
Her mind and body being worn to shreds, she didn’t even realize how familiar that wonderful voice was, and in a state of gratitude, she searched for the voice of the rescue party.
And so, her eyes met the boy she was seeing for the first time in three years. Xie Xue’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“He, He Yu?”
The male student sat in front of the lectern. A refreshing gaze and a curved mouth. His thin lips were quite characteristic; they looked somewhat cold, yet on the other hand, somewhat sly. It was as if one were watching the scene from the movie
He quirked an eyebrow.
“Long time no see, Professor Xie.”
The story was roughly as follows.
As soon as Xie Xue returned to the dormitory, she burst into the tears she had been holding back. Although he liked her, He Yu, who was quite lacking in eloquence, didn’t know how to comfort her and said this:
“Then just cry for now. I’ll write some things in your study. I’ll come out when you’ve calmed down, and we can have dinner together then.”
“How can you not even comfort me!”
“Then do you want me to not do the assignment you gave me?”
“…Just go.”
Of course, by the time He Yu finished writing and came out, Xie Xue had fallen asleep, exhausted from crying.
There was no response even when he called. He Yu was in no hurry either.
Xie Xue loved eating the most and sleeping second. If he made her delicious food, she would surely spring up from the bed. This was a trait that remained even after she became a university professor.
Fifteen minutes later.
“…What is this?”
The male student, looking down at the sticky ‘ham-egg stir-fry lump’ he had brought out, felt slightly embarrassed. Being exceptionally proud, he spoke to his professor in a confident tone.
“Can’t you tell? It’s Yangzhou-style fried rice.”
“This is Yangzhou-style fried rice?”
“…Then don’t eat it. I’ll just order delivery.”
The male student turned serious and took out his phone to search for the restaurant with the highest rating. While he was in the middle of writing the delivery address, the doorbell of the faculty dormitory rang.
He Yu narrowed his almond-shaped eyes.
“What is it? Another professor?”
“Probably not. I haven’t even gotten close to those people yet.”
Xie Xue put down her chopsticks and looked up at the clock.
“Who on earth is it at this hour…”
Muttering that, she dragged her slippers and ran to the entrance.
Soon, a few seconds later—.
“Oppa!”
Xie Xue’s delighted voice echoed from the entrance.
“What brings you here? Weren’t you working overtime today?”
“…!”
The single word ‘Oppa’ fell like a bolt from the blue. His expression, which had been indifferently relaxed due to his somewhat arrogant personality, collapsed in an instant. The trauma that rushed in instantly pierced through his reflexes.
Springing up from his seat, He Yu snatched the embarrassing fried rice and sprinted toward the kitchen trash can.
But it was already too late. Xie Xue had already brought her eldest brother inside.
“Oppa, I haven’t told you yet, but He Yu returned to the country and became a student in my class. He’s sitting inside right now. Isn’t it a total long time since you two saw each other? —Hey, He Yu!”
Xie Xue called out to him.
“Where are you going with that plate?”
“…”
Fine.
Since he had returned to the country, he had to meet him eventually.
He Yu stood with his back to the two of them, completely erasing the inner thoughts reflected on his face, and then slowly turned around with an elegant and wonderful poise.
Even in front of the eldest brother of the Xie family, who was thirteen years older, his aura did not waver.
He looked at the head of the Xie family, who vaguely resembled Xie Xue.
Then, rubbing the back of his neck and narrowing his eyes, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“It’s been a long time, Mr. Xie. You are truly…”
His gaze scanned the man in front of him thoroughly.
The man was no different from before. A cool gaze, sharp features, and a very aggressive jawline. His eyes were beautiful peach blossom eyes, just like Xie Xue’s. It is common sense that anyone with such eyes would be beautiful, but he was exceptionally so. To the extent that these eyes alone could explain what it means for a beautiful spirit to dwell in a beautiful face. Or to the extent that he could freeze the Peach Blossom Pool that frequently appears in Bai Juyi’s poetry. Despite being siblings with the same eye shape, he walked the opposite path from Xie Xue’s cute impression. His ice-cold pupils gave the impression of erecting a wall from a thousand miles away and rejecting everyone. In short, he was a person who looked cold and arrogant from head to toe.
There was also a tyrannical and dictatorial atmosphere. One might say he had an impression reminiscent of a patriarch from the feudal era. It felt like it would be perfect if that pale face were draped in jet-black fur and the collar were adorned with the silver chains found on military uniforms.
He Yu gave a kind smile at the end. Of course, his eyes were not smiling at all.
“…You haven’t changed a bit from before. You’re still young. To the point where I can’t feel your age.”