The Bright Moon CH3
Xu Can stayed in the cafeteria to review for her afternoon exam.
The library was always packed with students, and the dormitory was quite a walk away.
Hardly any students stayed in the cafeteria to study because it was noisy and smelled of food.
But for Xu Can, this was nothing.
When she was a child, she lived in a garage that was converted into a living space in the old village, studying while taking care of her grandfather. The light bulb flickered at night due to unreliable electrical connection, and rats sometimes crawl by her feet or even brush against her ankles.
The school cafeteria environment was excellent.
There was nothing to be dissatisfied with.
She hadn't slept the previous night, and as she reviewed, the material became more and more familiar. At this point she had nearly memorised both textbooks.
Xu Can closed her book and rubbed her brow, debating for a few seconds whether or not to take a nap. Her thoughts wandered, and a smile gradually spread across her face, reflected in her eyes with a bright sparkle.
Professor Tong, are you busy now? I wonder if you're at school.
Xu Can took out her phone, taking a deep breath, but her heart was still beating a bit fast. Stay calm, stay calm. She was just a diligent student eager to learn, seeking answers from her professor amidst her academic journey... that's all.
She closed her eyes for a while to get into character,
Typed out the email in one go, sticking strictly to academic questions without any extraneous words.
OK, sent.
She quickly put her phone away and returned her gaze to her book. Now was not the time to let her heart race so fast.
__________________________________________________
After leaving the exam hall after her second exam, Xu Can immediately checked her phone—no service.
The exams this time around had signal jammers installed in the entire exam hall.
She quickened her pace as she walked out of the teaching building.
A few steps to the side, and the signal bars on her phone jumped to full strength, but there was no reply.
Of course, Xu Can had Tong Mingyue's WeChat, but she didn't want to disturb her. She usually confirmed a meeting time via work emails. Other students weren't so polite with their professors.
With two exams done, Xu Can had only eaten a pack of cookies since getting up, skipped lunch, and was now starving.
Helplessly, she walked towards the cafeteria.
She hadn't submitted her exam early, and the invigilator had been slow to collect the papers. As she exited the exam hall, it was already crowded with students. Most students started going to a signal area, some stopped to contact friends and family, while others dispersed in different directions.
Xu Can walked silently with her hands in her coat pockets, occasionally glancing at the distant, artificially green plant leaves. The wind was calm, but still had a cutting chill to it.
She put on her hat, took a few steps, and the wind took it off again. She put it back on...
Her phone suddenly beeped, a short notification sound.
Xu Can was stunned and quickly took out her phone to check the message.
She had set a special notification tone for messages from Tong Mingyue, so she was very sensitive to this sound.
A long message. The beginning was an answer to her question.
Xu Can read it carefully, scrolling down slowly, and saw the answer she was looking for. Her face creased in joy, she laughed delightedly, unable to take her eyes off the screen.
[It's hard to explain everything clearly in a few hundred words. If you're still confused, come to my office. I'll be there from 6 to 9:30.]
Xu Can couldn't help but raise her hand above her head and make a victory gesture in the air. She even started waving her arms around.
Then, she walked straight into a silver lamp post.
……
This place had a bizarre slope. After hitting it, she staggered back a few steps, lost her balance, and fell to the ground in a very awkward position, tripping over her own legs.
From a passerby's perspective, it looked particularly funny.
Xu Can was stunned for a couple of seconds, then quickly got up using both hands and feet.
Her awkward fall made it impossible to get up gracefully. Even as she stood up, she stumbled a bit.
She still clutched her phone tightly.
She looked down, then quickly walked a few steps nonchalantly, glancing around furtively.
Fortunately, most people weren't paying attention to her.
Though Xu Can had a carefree personality, she was pretty and used to attracting attention since she was young. So she was subconsciously quite concerned about her image in unfamiliar environments. It was truly embarrassing.
This incident prevented her from replying immediately.
She waited until she sat down in the cafeteria to respond.
[I'll come at six, is it okay to disturb you until 9:30?]
Xu Can shamelessly sent the message.
Soon, she received a positive reply: [It's okay.]
Xu Can held her phone, smiling happily with narrowed eyes.
She remembered that in her previous life, she often asked questions in Tong Mingyue's office too.
Most of the time, she wouldn't leave until she finished asking the questions she wanted to ask. If Tong Mingyue was busy writing a paper, Xu Can would borrow books from her bookshelf and quietly read on the small sofa nearby.
When Tong Mingyue finished her work, Xu Can would have mostly finished reading a book.
They would talk about the contents of the book, exchanging their views.
There were so many books on the shelf, and it seemed Tong Mingyue had read them all. From chemistry textbooks to highly related biophysics, to logical psychology and other "miscellaneous books," Xu Can had read them one by one in order.
Each time she finished a book, she felt closer to her.
She was particularly happy with this feeling.
Although she hadn't achieved the ultimate goal of mutual affection, she had already reached a small achievement of shared interests.
Whenever she had the chance, Xu Can would stick to her, pretending to be docile and obedient, making her laugh. Accompanying her in her experiments and in her daily life.
……
[Professor, why are you at school on the weekend? Are you in the lab now? I'm in the cafeteria, want me to bring some food over?]
[I was filling in for another teacher as an invigilator, I'm almost at the cafeteria too.]
So that's it.
Xu Can sat in her spot, thinking she could wait for her to arrive and order food together. She kept her eyes on the entrance.
Soon, she saw the person that was on her mind all the time, the person she missed so dearly that it was etched into her bones.
She entered the cafeteria, Rays of sunlight collided with the indoor lights, surrounding her in a soft white glow. Her smooth, black hair, her brows and eyes like ink paintings, poetic and graceful.
She wore rimless glasses, the reflection on the lenses made it hard to discern her emotions.
This woman had earned her PhD at the age of twenty-five and was promoted to associate professor at twenty-seven this year.
Her cold exterior and academic reputation led everyone, from colleagues to students, to believe she had an icy personality.
In fact, Professor Tong was only unsmiling and serious during work, otherwise, she just didn't talk much.
But Professor Tong was often single mindedly focused on her work and rarely socialised.
And in social situations, she didn't talk much...
Only Xu Can knew how gentle she was.
__________________________________________________
Xu Can watched her approach. Her eyes searched through the crowded cafeteria and quickly found Xu Can's spot among the crowd of students.
Their eyes met, and she smiled faintly.
Xu Can's heart skipped a beat, then pounded rapidly, as if the ice had melted and she had come back to life.
Her eyes grew moist, and she lowered them to avoid looking at her.
It's been so long...so long.
Professor Tong.
Tong Mingyue sat down across from her. Just as she was about to say something, she noticed Xu Can seemed off.
"What's wrong?"
"Just got out of the exam," Xu Can felt like she was about to cry, quickly making up an excuse, "I'm so hungry..."
Tong Mingyue smiled, "What do you want to eat?"
"Beef noodles."
"Alright."
Xu Can waited at the window for the noodles. Suddenly, she thought, there was only one main road from the two teaching buildings of their department to the cafeteria.
Since she was just behind her, did she see her bump into the lamp post and fall?
No way, what were the chances.
When she returned to the table with the noodles, Xu Can couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Professor, did you come from Xingjian building too?" (TN: it says 行健 building in the raws which I’m pretty sure means temporary building but it could also be a name for the building)
"Yes," Tong Mingyue actually didn't particularly like noodles, especially when wearing glasses, as the steam would fog up the lenses.
"Was it tiring to invigilate?"
"Not really, I just sat at the back and watched."
Tong Mingyue hesitated for a moment, then took off her glasses, looking a bit resigned, "glasses are still so troublesome."
Xu Can smiled, showing a bit of her front teeth, and said mischievously, "I recently read some literature that said people like me who don't get nearsighted no matter how much they read or stay up late don't have the gene for nearsightedness."
"..."
Tong Mingyue rolled her eyes at her, “keep making cynical remarks like that and I’ll make you regret it.” (TN: she actually says “saying cold windy words will make wind escape from your lack of front teeth” basically saying she’s gonna punch her teeth in I think, jokingly of course)
Xu Can giggled, then switched to discussing academic questions, asking while eating her noodles.
When she asked about a theory that was still incomplete, Tong Mingyue paused, not because she didn't understand but because it was from her latest paper.
"Have you been reading papers lately?"
Xu Can thought for a moment, "Yes, I'm quite interested in organic chemistry."
"Reading is fine, but don't strain yourself trying to understand everything."
Tong Mingyue didn't look at her, wiping her glasses, "this exam was already very challenging, and you scored ninety-nine points. There's no need to rush; you're only in your second year, building a foundation."
"But I still lost a point."
Xu Can said seriously, "losing a point means my learning isn't solid enough, my understanding isn't deep enough..."
"The mark you lost was for neatness."
Tong Mingyue interrupted her. Her slightly raised eyes reflected Xu Can's smiling face, her tone calm, "Don't doodle on the exam paper next time."
"..."
Xu Can remembered, in the blank space of the last big question, she had drawn three little pictures.
<A little furball who was slapped on the cheek while making a heart sign>, <A little furball who was crying while making a heart sign>, and <A little furball who finished crying and was still making a heart sign>.
A childish way to get the professor’s attention.
Xu Can recalled and felt a bit embarrassed, laughing quietly for several seconds.
When she looked up again, she put on a pitiful face and said, "is it that my drawings aren’t very good?"
"..."
Xu Can nodded, "Since the professor thinks it's good, how can it be considered doodling?"
She added, "Don't deduct points next time, okay? If you blink I'll take it as an agreement. You just agreed, right?"
"..."
Tong Mingyue hadn't said anything yet.
"Xu Can." Her tone was slightly exasperated.
"Then deduct away," Xu Can immediately became "understanding and considerate," smiling sweetly like a little flower, "Deduct as much as you want. I’ll earn as many points as you want for you to deduct, I'm not stingy."
"..."
A few seconds of silence.
"Pfu," Xu Can pursed her lips, trying to hold back her laughter but failing.
She loved the way Tong Mingyue looked at her, helpless, reproachful, yet doting.
Tong Mingyue put her glasses back on, and the steam from the noodles no longer rose so aggressively. She could start eating. After being teased for so long, a faint smile remained on her lips, "Be careful next time. Try not to look at your phone while walking."
"..."
It took Xu Can a few seconds to react...
Damn, she really did see her fall...
After leaving the exam hall after her second exam, Xu Can immediately checked her phone—no service.
The exams this time around had signal jammers installed in the entire exam hall.
She quickened her pace as she walked out of the teaching building.
A few steps to the side, and the signal bars on her phone jumped to full strength, but there was no reply.
Of course, Xu Can had Tong Mingyue's WeChat, but she didn't want to disturb her. She usually confirmed a meeting time via work emails. Other students weren't so polite with their professors.
With two exams done, Xu Can had only eaten a pack of cookies since getting up, skipped lunch, and was now starving.
Helplessly, she walked towards the cafeteria.
She hadn't submitted her exam early, and the invigilator had been slow to collect the papers. As she exited the exam hall, it was already crowded with students. Most students started going to a signal area, some stopped to contact friends and family, while others dispersed in different directions.
Xu Can walked silently with her hands in her coat pockets, occasionally glancing at the distant, artificially green plant leaves. The wind was calm, but still had a cutting chill to it.
She put on her hat, took a few steps, and the wind took it off again. She put it back on...
Her phone suddenly beeped, a short notification sound.
Xu Can was stunned and quickly took out her phone to check the message.
She had set a special notification tone for messages from Tong Mingyue, so she was very sensitive to this sound.
A long message. The beginning was an answer to her question.
Xu Can read it carefully, scrolling down slowly, and saw the answer she was looking for. Her face creased in joy, she laughed delightedly, unable to take her eyes off the screen.
[It's hard to explain everything clearly in a few hundred words. If you're still confused, come to my office. I'll be there from 6 to 9:30.]
Xu Can couldn't help but raise her hand above her head and make a victory gesture in the air. She even started waving her arms around.
Then, she walked straight into a silver lamp post.
……
This place had a bizarre slope. After hitting it, she staggered back a few steps, lost her balance, and fell to the ground in a very awkward position, tripping over her own legs.
From a passerby's perspective, it looked particularly funny.
Xu Can was stunned for a couple of seconds, then quickly got up using both hands and feet.
Her awkward fall made it impossible to get up gracefully. Even as she stood up, she stumbled a bit.
She still clutched her phone tightly.
She looked down, then quickly walked a few steps nonchalantly, glancing around furtively.
Fortunately, most people weren't paying attention to her.
Though Xu Can had a carefree personality, she was pretty and used to attracting attention since she was young. So she was subconsciously quite concerned about her image in unfamiliar environments. It was truly embarrassing.
This incident prevented her from replying immediately.
She waited until she sat down in the cafeteria to respond.
[I'll come at six, is it okay to disturb you until 9:30?]
Xu Can shamelessly sent the message.
Soon, she received a positive reply: [It's okay.]
Xu Can held her phone, smiling happily with narrowed eyes.
She remembered that in her previous life, she often asked questions in Tong Mingyue's office too.
Most of the time, she wouldn't leave until she finished asking the questions she wanted to ask. If Tong Mingyue was busy writing a paper, Xu Can would borrow books from her bookshelf and quietly read on the small sofa nearby.
When Tong Mingyue finished her work, Xu Can would have mostly finished reading a book.
They would talk about the contents of the book, exchanging their views.
There were so many books on the shelf, and it seemed Tong Mingyue had read them all. From chemistry textbooks to highly related biophysics, to logical psychology and other "miscellaneous books," Xu Can had read them one by one in order.
Each time she finished a book, she felt closer to her.
She was particularly happy with this feeling.
Although she hadn't achieved the ultimate goal of mutual affection, she had already reached a small achievement of shared interests.
Whenever she had the chance, Xu Can would stick to her, pretending to be docile and obedient, making her laugh. Accompanying her in her experiments and in her daily life.
……
[Professor, why are you at school on the weekend? Are you in the lab now? I'm in the cafeteria, want me to bring some food over?]
[I was filling in for another teacher as an invigilator, I'm almost at the cafeteria too.]
So that's it.
Xu Can sat in her spot, thinking she could wait for her to arrive and order food together. She kept her eyes on the entrance.
Soon, she saw the person that was on her mind all the time, the person she missed so dearly that it was etched into her bones.
She entered the cafeteria, Rays of sunlight collided with the indoor lights, surrounding her in a soft white glow. Her smooth, black hair, her brows and eyes like ink paintings, poetic and graceful.
She wore rimless glasses, the reflection on the lenses made it hard to discern her emotions.
This woman had earned her PhD at the age of twenty-five and was promoted to associate professor at twenty-seven this year.
Her cold exterior and academic reputation led everyone, from colleagues to students, to believe she had an icy personality.
In fact, Professor Tong was only unsmiling and serious during work, otherwise, she just didn't talk much.
But Professor Tong was often single mindedly focused on her work and rarely socialised.
And in social situations, she didn't talk much...
Only Xu Can knew how gentle she was.
__________________________________________________
Xu Can watched her approach. Her eyes searched through the crowded cafeteria and quickly found Xu Can's spot among the crowd of students.
Their eyes met, and she smiled faintly.
Xu Can's heart skipped a beat, then pounded rapidly, as if the ice had melted and she had come back to life.
Her eyes grew moist, and she lowered them to avoid looking at her.
It's been so long...so long.
Professor Tong.
Tong Mingyue sat down across from her. Just as she was about to say something, she noticed Xu Can seemed off.
"What's wrong?"
"Just got out of the exam," Xu Can felt like she was about to cry, quickly making up an excuse, "I'm so hungry..."
Tong Mingyue smiled, "What do you want to eat?"
"Beef noodles."
"Alright."
Xu Can waited at the window for the noodles. Suddenly, she thought, there was only one main road from the two teaching buildings of their department to the cafeteria.
Since she was just behind her, did she see her bump into the lamp post and fall?
No way, what were the chances.
When she returned to the table with the noodles, Xu Can couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Professor, did you come from Xingjian building too?" (TN: it says 行健 building in the raws which I’m pretty sure means temporary building but it could also be a name for the building)
"Yes," Tong Mingyue actually didn't particularly like noodles, especially when wearing glasses, as the steam would fog up the lenses.
"Was it tiring to invigilate?"
"Not really, I just sat at the back and watched."
Tong Mingyue hesitated for a moment, then took off her glasses, looking a bit resigned, "glasses are still so troublesome."
Xu Can smiled, showing a bit of her front teeth, and said mischievously, "I recently read some literature that said people like me who don't get nearsighted no matter how much they read or stay up late don't have the gene for nearsightedness."
"..."
Tong Mingyue rolled her eyes at her, “keep making cynical remarks like that and I’ll make you regret it.” (TN: she actually says “saying cold windy words will make wind escape from your lack of front teeth” basically saying she’s gonna punch her teeth in I think, jokingly of course)
Xu Can giggled, then switched to discussing academic questions, asking while eating her noodles.
When she asked about a theory that was still incomplete, Tong Mingyue paused, not because she didn't understand but because it was from her latest paper.
"Have you been reading papers lately?"
Xu Can thought for a moment, "Yes, I'm quite interested in organic chemistry."
"Reading is fine, but don't strain yourself trying to understand everything."
Tong Mingyue didn't look at her, wiping her glasses, "this exam was already very challenging, and you scored ninety-nine points. There's no need to rush; you're only in your second year, building a foundation."
"But I still lost a point."
Xu Can said seriously, "losing a point means my learning isn't solid enough, my understanding isn't deep enough..."
"The mark you lost was for neatness."
Tong Mingyue interrupted her. Her slightly raised eyes reflected Xu Can's smiling face, her tone calm, "Don't doodle on the exam paper next time."
"..."
Xu Can remembered, in the blank space of the last big question, she had drawn three little pictures.
<A little furball who was slapped on the cheek while making a heart sign>, <A little furball who was crying while making a heart sign>, and <A little furball who finished crying and was still making a heart sign>.
A childish way to get the professor’s attention.
Xu Can recalled and felt a bit embarrassed, laughing quietly for several seconds.
When she looked up again, she put on a pitiful face and said, "is it that my drawings aren’t very good?"
"..."
Xu Can nodded, "Since the professor thinks it's good, how can it be considered doodling?"
She added, "Don't deduct points next time, okay? If you blink I'll take it as an agreement. You just agreed, right?"
"..."
Tong Mingyue hadn't said anything yet.
"Xu Can." Her tone was slightly exasperated.
"Then deduct away," Xu Can immediately became "understanding and considerate," smiling sweetly like a little flower, "Deduct as much as you want. I’ll earn as many points as you want for you to deduct, I'm not stingy."
"..."
A few seconds of silence.
"Pfu," Xu Can pursed her lips, trying to hold back her laughter but failing.
She loved the way Tong Mingyue looked at her, helpless, reproachful, yet doting.
Tong Mingyue put her glasses back on, and the steam from the noodles no longer rose so aggressively. She could start eating. After being teased for so long, a faint smile remained on her lips, "Be careful next time. Try not to look at your phone while walking."
"..."
It took Xu Can a few seconds to react...
Damn, she really did see her fall...
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