December, Jian Jing finally appeared in class.
Graduate classes were mostly specialized classes with just a few people. Other students had already been in class for three months, and they were inevitably a little strange to see a classmate who had skipped so much finally show up.
But no student made any sour remarks.
They couldn't help it. Jian Jing was studying "Contemporary Literature", and many of the key research topics involved people who were either colleagues of the same boss or fellow writers in the same circle.
When they read other people's articles and analyzed their thought processes, she may have already had dinner with them directly and obtained first-hand information.
If she tried a little harder herself, who knows, maybe in a few years she could prop up a paper herself.
So while they were envious, the students acknowledged she had this kind of privilege.
On the contrary, Jian Jing felt a little embarrassed. She didn't intend to miss so many classes. Since the start of the semester, she had first been running around investigating Wang Shi's case, then was dragged to Paris by Kang Mu Cheng. When she came back she was busy writing the script, setting traps to lure the culprit. She really had no time.
It was so cold now...
Graduate classes were only two or three classes per week. Some of the big classes were at 8am in the morning, she really couldn't get up, so could only skip them.
But this morning, the knight was hungry and scratched at her door, waking her up. After feeding it a meal, there was still time, so she didn't have the heart to find an excuse and dutifully came to fulfill her student duties.
Ahem, she had to listen carefully in class.
Jian Jing laid out her notebook, pretending to listen attentively.
One class flew by quickly.
There was a 15 minute break between classes.
Jian Jing hurried out to pick up her coffee order. After a sip of the hot mocha, she finally felt her muddled mind become clearer.
Sitting back in her seat, the two girls in front were chatting.
A said: "I was so terrified last night. Suddenly so many police showed up in the middle of the night."
Jian Jing bit on the straw, ears perking up.
B asked: "What happened?"
A whispered mysteriously: "They said there was a corpse, right by the roadside, frozen to death alive."
B immediately said: "Definitely some drunkard. Winter is here, these kinds of people have no regard for their lives."
A lamented sorrowfully: "That's for sure."
Jian Jing continued sipping her coffee.
Then the second class started. After the teacher finished the lecture content, he brought up the homework: "Did everyone finish writing what I assigned last time? Let's take turns sharing and discuss."
Jian Jing: 0.0
There was homework? Her butt that could remain calm even facing a serial killer subtly shifted.
The anxiety of not completing homework was a lifelong nightmare no student could escape.
Because of the small number of people, they didn't have to present in front of the class. The chairs were shifted into a circle for casual sharing.
The teacher sat with the students, jotting down notes.
Jian Jing was no longer calm. She poked the shoulder of the student in front. "Classmate, what was the homework from last time?"
The girl in front whispered: "Write a reflection after reading any literary work about the Northwest, no limits on era."
Jian Jing: "..." She was doomed, this was her blind spot for reading.
The teacher's requirements weren't high, the reflection only needed to be around 1,000 words, and each person only needed a few minutes.
Soon, all ten students had finished sharing.
The teacher didn't make things difficult for Jian Jing either, saying: "Just chat about anything casually, any work is fine, no limits on genre or era."
Jian Jing thought, it's easy to say that, but I can't just recite Tang poetry to fool everyone. As a graduate student reciting high school poems and lyrics, wouldn't she become a laughingstock?
But as someone focused on mystery fiction, she really hadn't read works from this genre. She pondered for a bit, and decided to sell out her enemy: "Let me gossip to everyone."
The students became interested.
"Do you know Wu Xing?"
"I remember he's from the older generation of writers, a representative of rural literature." The students were very cooperative, immediately recalling his works in a professional manner. "Are you talking about Lost Jade Gate?"
Jian Jing cleared her throat: "Last year, when I went to visit the widow in Yangguan, I saw an unpublished manuscript in their home, called Remaining Affairs of Jade Gate."
Students: Oh~
"Which work is superior?" Everyone blinked excitedly.
Jian Jing said: "The writing style isn't the same. Wu's work is more simple, Yangguan's more elegant. But the content is...quite...similar."
A stab to the heart.
She didn't expose anything, but also said everything.
Jian Jing flipped through her phone album, and could still find manuscript photos taken last year when investigating the famous painter case. She casually picked two excerpts to share with the students.
As she read, the sharing time slipped by.
Class dismissed~
Two students invited her to meet with their advisor together.
Jian Jing asked for their names. The male student's surname was Li, the female student's surname Le.
Le's long hair draped over her shoulders, she was fair and delicate, very artistic. Li had a square national character face, darker complexion, ordinary looks, but was very warm-hearted, taking the initiative to explain: "Teacher Yao is quite busy, she's only free on Wednesdays. We usually have lunch with her today."
Jian Jing nodded, thanking him for his kindness.
When they arrived at the office, Teacher Yao was indeed busy, typing away rapidly on her computer. Seeing the three of them come together, she gestured for them to take a seat casually.
After being busy for nearly 10 minutes, she finally said: "You came just in time, let's eat lunch together." As she spoke, she nodded towards Jian Jing, showing no surprise at all for their first meeting this semester, as if she came to report every week.
Jian Jing couldn't help but think, this advisor really knew how to deal with people.
No wonder she could become Dean at 40. She really was capable.
The cafeteria wasn't far. There were semi-open private rooms. Teacher Yao swiped her own card and ordered 5-6 small stir-fries before speaking: "How's reading the book I assigned last time coming along?"
Li responded actively: "Finished reading it, very thought-provoking."
Le covertly glanced at him disdainfully: "I'm almost done."
Teacher Yao didn't rush them, just said: "Hand in your papers before next weekend, write well. Our faculty will hold a seminar in January, I hope you all try your best."
The two students immediately acknowledged.
Teacher Yao also asked Jian Jing with concern: "The sick leave you took, was it serious? Don't force yourself to attend class if you're still unwell."
Jian Jing thanked her for her concern, saying: "I'm fine now."
"Don't be stubborn just because you're young." Teacher Yao advised in the tone of someone experienced. "Read the book list I gave you slowly. Hand in a paper to me at the end of the term, write it seriously. You all have assignments, you need to submit papers. Don't come begging me when you graduate without publishing anything."
The three students nodded in unison.
Other than assigning homework, Teacher Yao could be considered an empathetic good boss overall. After official business, she also gossiped about entertainment news with them.
But a boss was still a boss. When it came time to order the students around, she wouldn't go easy.
Halfway through the meal, Teacher Yao looked towards Li and Le: "You two don't have any more classes today right? Help me deliver these documents to Dean Wan's house, I sent the address in the group chat."
As usual, Li jumped to respond: "Okay, we can go in the afternoon?"
"Try to go quickly." Teacher Yao said.
Hearing her tone, Jian Jing pondered for a bit: it sounded like Teacher Yao didn't plan on exploiting her labor. But being overly partial and relying on favoritism were both detrimental to unity. So she said: "I drove here, why don't we go together?"
Teacher Yao looked slightly surprised, but very happy: "That's perfect."
And so, Jian Jing took on an additional task of driving her classmates to Dean Wan's house.
"Thank you so much." Sitting in the passenger seat, Le livened up a bit, generously saying: "Otherwise we'd have to take the subway and transfer twice."
Girls tended to get along more easily. Jian Jing also smiled and said: "It's nothing."
The two sensed each other's goodwill, and the atmosphere eased a lot.
But males were another species.
As soon as Li got in the car, he looked all around, sizing up the interior decor: "This car is pretty nice, a BMW. Do girls also drive such big cars? I thought the pink one next to us was yours."
Jian Jing: "..."
Li remained oblivious, still chatting actively with Jian Jing to get closer: "I've read your books before. I heard they're making a movie? When's the premiere, we'll definitely go support."
"Thank you." Jian Jing politely responded with one phrase, pretending to concentrate on driving.
The air was quiet for a moment.
Li (thought he was being) secretly looking at her through the rearview mirror for a while. To liven up the atmosphere, he said: "Jian Jing, you haven't interacted with Teacher Yao much right? She's actually really nice, at most she'll have us run errands."
"A boss who doesn't make students run errands isn't a good boss," he "humorously" cracked a joke, "I have a classmate who studied science. Poor guy, not only did he have to pick up the boss's son, he also had to help the boss's wife buy groceries. Who has time to go to the market every day? He could only order takeout food. As for money..."
He dragged out the tone, the implications were loud and clear.
Le Classmate was obviously annoyed by him, but still had to chime in: "Yes, Teacher Yao is very nice."
"I can see that," said Jian Jing.
Li Classmate went on and on, bringing up all kinds of topics.
Jian Jing occasionally responded with "Is that so," "Oh," and "Really?," quickly mastering the art of playing along.
Also rising was the car's speed.
She kept the speed right at the limit, going faster and faster, and finally arriving at Dean Wan's house in half an hour.
Dean Wan, associate dean of the Literature Department, was a dean with a questionable reputation.
He lived in a villa district.
After registering at the security gate, Jian Jing drove into the complex, checking the house numbers one by one until she found the place tucked away in a corner. She parked the car and knocked on the door with the two classmates.
Ding dong, ding dong went the doorbell.
No one answered from inside.
"Strange, is the dean not home?" Le Classmate wondered.
Li Classmate knocked on the door again: "Hello, is anyone home? Teacher Yao asked us to bring something over. Hello??"
Still no response.
"Looks like no one's home." Le Classmate turned her head and saw Jian Jing staring intently at the packages in the yard. She couldn't help but ask curiously: "What are you looking at?"
Jian Jing didn't answer, but said, "Call Teacher Yao and ask."
"Oh right," Li Classmate eagerly volunteered to report the situation to the boss. After saying a few words, he relayed: "The teacher said the dean was sick at home these past few days, so he should be in. If not, just leave the stuff by the door."
Jian Jing frowned.
The delivery slip on the package was wrinkled, evidently dampened by water and dried again. It hadn't rained yesterday or today, so it must have been delivered the day before.
How could a sick person at home not even collect a package from two days ago? Strange as it was, she didn't investigate further - maybe he had more than one home, or went directly to the hospital.
She turned and said, "I'll take you back."
But Li Classmate was excited and eagerly asked, "We're already out, the book fair is today, why don't we go take a look together?"
Le Classmate was aloof: "I'm going back to study."
"What about you, Jian Jing?" Li Classmate looked at her intensely. "My friend gave me two tickets, want to go together?"
Jian Jing...looked at him complicatedly. They just met today, and he already wanted to ask her out - who gave him the courage?
She flatly nipped the karmic tie: "I can get the books at the fair for free whenever I want."
Kang Mu Cheng University had a library that displayed books from major publishing houses nationwide each year as references. If she wanted them, Wang Shi could send her truckloads.
- Of course, other authors could also get them for free.
But Li Classmate didn't know that. He just felt rejected and forced out a laugh: "I see, then never mind." After a pause, probably hurt in his pride, he couldn't help but mock, "Well, a big shot author after all."
Jian Jing smiled: "You flatter me, I've only won a Dream Pen award."
