That evening, Zhu Yun sat in her room, her phone in front of her. She’d been staring at it for nearly half an hour.
“What’s wrong?” Fang Shumiao walked out from the bathroom and asked Zhu Yun, “If you keep staring, will it turn into a flower?”
Zhu Yun seemed to wake from her trance, and the brushed off her hands. She grabbed her phone and walked outside.
Fang Shumiao asked, “Where are you going?”
“Making a call. I’ll be right back,” Zhu Yun replied.
She walked out onto the balcony and closed the door behind her. Then she made a call to her mother. After a few rings, the line picked up, “h.e.l.lo?”
“Mom.”
“Zhu Yun? What’s the matter?”
“Did you get off work yet?”
“Yes. Go ahead and talk.”
Zhu Yun leaned against the railing. It was cold from the nighttime wind. “It’s nothing really… I just missed you, so I called,” Zhu Yun said quietly.
After hearing her daughter, she chuckled and said, “I miss you too.”
“Mmh.”
“How have you been recently? It’s nearly time for final exams. When does your break start?”
“Our exams are next week. The holiday break starts after then.”
“Make sure to study well.”
“……”
Zhu Yun was quiet for a few seconds. Then her mother asked, “What is it?”
“It’s nothing…”
“So what are you mumbling about?”
“Noth…”
Zhu Yun hesitated. Her mother said, “I’ve been a teacher for half my life. You think I can’t tell if something’s bothering you? Tell me what’s the matter.”
Zhu Yun said, “There’s a teacher at our school who’s too strict.” She scratched her neck. That’s where Zhang Xiaobei had thrown hot tea at her. Her skin was still red.
Her mother laughed. “Strict teachers are the one’s with brilliant students. When your father was still teaching, he was famous for being strict. Otherwise, would they be able to get results? If a teacher is too lax, how will their students improve?”
There wasn’t a single star in the sky that night.
Zhu Yun was quiet a bit, and then she said, “Mom, my grades are dropping really fast.”
Her mother paused and then asked, “What?”
“At the midterms, I was 4th in the cla.s.s, but after our last exam, I dropped to 9th.”
“Why? Are your courses difficult?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then why?”
Zhu Yun looked up at the bedsheet hanging outside on the floor above theirs. What was that pattern? A cartoon or some floral pattern?
“What is it?” her mother asking again. “Are there any problems with your schoolwork?”
“No. There’s a teacher in our department who works with the graduate students. She dragged me into working on a project for her. The schedule is really tight, so I don’t have much time to study—”
“Nonsense!” Her mother cut her off before she could finish.
“Graduate students are graduate students. What does that have to do with you? How could your teacher think of dragging you in to help with their project?!”
Zhu Yun replied quietly, “She meant well. She said it would be good practice.”
Her mother said, “Zhu Yun, you’re still too young. You don’t understand enough. Forget about it. I’ll ask your father to take care of it. Just focus on your studies. I want to see your final marks later.”
“Mmh.”
“Tell me the name of that graduate advisor.”
Zhu Yun hesitated. “Mom… She’s an a.s.sociate professor at our school.”
“Is that so. Then this is a big deal.” Her mother scoffed. “A small a.s.sociate professor dares to act so arrogantly? Schools nowadays truly lack order. Tell me what that advisor’s name is.”
Zhu Yun pouted. She finally saw what was on that drying bedsheet upstairs. Dogs. (t/n: ‘Dog’ can also be a derogatory reference to a person with poor conduct, morals, etc.)
“Zhang Xiaobei.”
—
At the entrance to the hotel, Zhu Yun made a call to confirm the room number. Then she headed up. The grand and luxurious hotel was located downtown. They served Chinese style cuisine, and three floors were decorated in a Chinese style, with carved pillars, looking like a splendorous mansion. (t/n: Zhu Yun is headed to a private room in the restaurant in the hotel)
The waitstaff were well trained. After asking Zhu Yun’s room number, she was escorted upstairs with a smile. The stairs on either side had interlocking brackets on the columns. The entire layout was very elaborately done, captivating Zhu Yun’s eyes.
Their private room was on the third floor. It bore the name Baihua. The attendant opened the door and told her to enter, before leaving.
When he saw her enter the room, a man greeted her. “Zhu Yun, come here.” The middle aged man sitting inside the room who greeted her was her father, the Deputy Director and Inspector General to the Provincial Ministry of Education, Zhu Guangyi.
Zhu Yun walked over and sat down beside Zhu Guangyi. “Dad.”
Zhu Guangyi motioned to the person beside him and said, “You don’t even recognize your university president. What kind of student are you.”
Zhu Yun quickly lowered her head to the president, Qian Wendong. “h.e.l.lo, President Qian.”
“h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo.” The president quickly waved his hand dismissively and said to Zhu Guangyi, “Don’t blame the child. I’m so busy every day that my feet are hardly ever still. The students who recognize me are truly only a few.”
Zhu Guangyi said, “It truly is a busy time. The education reform has intensified, and many things are in disorder. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten off work on time.”
President Qian finsihed their greetings with a few more comments, and then the waiter was called in to bring out the food.
Her father had been friends with the school president for many years. When they met, they could talk endlessly about education. Zhu Yun snuck a glance across the table.
Zhang Xiaobei sat in the spot closest to the door. She wore no makeup and her face was extremely pale. She had on very simple business attire, and her feet… They were probably adorned with a pair of flats.
Including herself and her father, there were nine people at the table. Aside from the school president and Zhang Xiaobei, Zhu Yun didn’t recognize anyone.
The food was served.
Presdent Qian laughed and started off the occasion. “Inspector Zhu and I are old schoolmates and friends. It’s been a long time since had the chance to meet. They say when old friends meet, tears are bound to fall, and recollections go on endlessly. Let’s not be miserable today; let’s enjoy our meal happily. Since we’re all free today, let’s have a chat and take care of any misunderstandings.”
As he nodded, he continued, “Don’t just stare at me, everyone. You haven’t eaten, right? Let’s eat first. We can talk as we eat.”
Everyone had just picked up their chopsticks when Zhang Xiaobei stood up. She walked over to Zhu Guangyi and Qian Wendong and lowered her head. “President Qian, Inspector Zhu, there are a few things I must say. If I don’t say them… I’m afraid I won’t be able to swallow any food.” And then she quickly wiped at her eye.
Was she crying? Zhu Yun couldn’t see very clearly from her seat.
Zhu Guangyi didn’t say anything, but President Qian replied, “If you have something to say, go ahead.”
“First, I’d like to admit that I made a mistake,” Zhang Xiaobei said. “I’m too young and I was too anxious to get promoted. That’s why I made this kind of mistake.” Her voice sounded fragile, like that of a young, sick girl with little chance of recovery.
“But I truly didn’t act with ill intentions. You must believe that I acted with good will! Zhu Yun had previously partic.i.p.ated in a project for Languan Company, and her performance was praised by everyone. That’s why I asked her to partic.i.p.ate in my project.
“I was in too much of a rush, and my temper got out of hand. The issues that came up in our exchanges…” Zhang Xiaobei turned to Zhu Yun. “I genuinely apologize to you. I overstepped my bounds.”
Zhang Xiaobei was the only person standing up in the room. She lowered her head, trembling slightly, looking ever so helpless. Zhu Yun believed that she genuinely felt helpless. Because in this Baihua room, the only person in a lower position than her was Zhu Yun.
Or perhaps… Zhu Yun glanced at her father out of the corner of her eye. She had a casual thought. Perhaps her position right now was actually higher than Zhang Xiaobei’s.
After Zhang Xiaobei finished speaking, Zhu Guangyi spoke calmly. “Right now, professors and students are both under a lot of pressure. They should work to understand each other.”
Zhang Xiaobei nodded her head.
Zhu Guangyi continued, “Professors are pressured by their teacher evaluations. This is the crux of many problems that occur.”
Zhang Xiaobei finally appeared to want to speak. She lifted her head, but Zhu Guangyi turned to President Qian. “For that reason, we must investigate more thoroughly. We need to put an end fo those rotten and chaotic academic t.i.tles!” His words suddenly turned harsh, causing Zhang Xiaobei’s shoulders to tremble.
Zhu Guangyi continued, seriously, “There are many professors nowadays who lack morality, who have fallen, acting only in their own interests! They have fake academic histories, fake research papers, fake awards! Their ability to teach is extremely lacking, and they depend upon all forms of obscenity to further their positions. They are devoid of ethics and conscience, oppressing their students, breeding corruption. Was this the purpose of those academic t.i.tles?”
President Qian’s expression was also stern. With a frown, he agreed, “That’s right. Although the repurcussions have increased, there are still those who creep through loopholes by luck. These are things we must eliminate.”
Zhang Xiaobei’s face was extremely pale. He body was shaking, and she could barely keep herself upright. During the meal, two people ate without tasting a thing. One was Zhang Xiaobei, the other, Zhu Yun.
There was a bowl of mushroom soup in front of her. Zhu Yun looked at the floating droplets of oil and felt nauseous. She was disgusted at the soup, disgusted at Zhang Xiaobei, and disgusted at herself.
After their meal, Zhu Guangyi and Qian Wendong both had more to discuss, so Zhu Yun took a taxi back to campus. The sky was already dark. When she arrived at the laboratory building, she saw that a window of the practice base was still lit. There was just one person there, only one row of lights on.
As always, he was nestled in his chair, his legs up on the desk. On his legs was a laptop, and beside his hand was an ashtray. Li Xun was typing away, focused on writing his code, up until a head appeared right beside him.
A startled Li Xun dropped cigarette ash onto his hand. It was so hot that he dropped the cigarette and stood up. Zhu Yun laughed at the side.
Li Xun glared at her. “Are you a person or a ghost?!”
“Guess.”
Li Xun rolled his eyes and dusted off his clothes before sitting back in his chair. Zhu Yun took the seat next to him.
Li Xun asked, “Why did you come here?”
“To watch.”
Li Xun looked at her.
Zhu Yun asked, “What?”
Li Xun shook his head and continued working.
Zhu Yun asked, “So how far have you gotten?”
Li Xun waved his finger and Zhu Yun moved closer.
He let her look over a completed function. The room was quiet. Li Xun didn’t speak loudly. Zhu Yun listened attentively, and slowly, she forgot what he was saying.
Right. She was right.
Just as she’d previously thought, coming here to take a look and have a listen, caused that nauseous feeling to completely disappear. She discovered that besides yelling at people and writing code, Li Xun had another function—aiding in digestion and soothing the liver.
“Hey.”
Zhu Yun came back to her senses and realized that Li Xun was silently looking at her. He’d already been working all day, so he didn’t have the energy to tease her. He just asked directly, “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”
Zhu Yun replied, “It’s already taken care of.”
“Really?”
“Mmh.”
He frowned. “Don’t torture yourself.”
“…Mmh.”
Li Xun complained about her a bit before returning to his work.