The Bright Moon CH6
Songjiang University is a century-old prestigious institution. Fully deserving of this title, it boasts impressive research resources funded by ample financial investments, though its basic facilities are quite ordinary.
The air conditioning in the old office building would often break down.
When Qiu Wei entered the office and put down his bag, he tried to adjust the air conditioner. However, even after half an hour, when Tong Mingyue arrived, the air conditioner was still not working. She quickly asked if he needed help. "Take a look,” he said, “do we need to call someone to fix it again? It's broken again isn’t it?"
"It's broken," Tong Mingyue confirmed after a glance and then sat at her desk to turn on her computer.
"Hey, this affects you as well, aren't you cold?" (TN: pun unintended but I couldn't think of a better translation lol)
Rubbing his hands, Qiu Wei asked," Why are you here today instead of looking after the project?"
"Just came back from the lab. A student is coming to review a paper with me. Why isn’t the computer turning on? Could it be a power outage..."
"..."
Tong Mingyue paused, and the two looked at each other in silence.
Qiu Wei immediately went out to ask around.
Five minutes later, he returned with an unmistakable look of joy from others’ misfortune on his face, "It's a power outage. Hehe, I heard Professor Wang's two-week-long experiment was cut off at the last moment due to the power outage..."
Tong Mingyue's eyes curved slightly, but she quickly pursed her lips to stop herself.
"That's such a pity."
Qiu Wei laughed heartily, then sat at his desk to check his emails on his phone, asking, "Have you had lunch?"
"Yes."
"Oh, I've eaten too, otherwise, we could have grabbed a meal or something."
A moment later, a student knocked on the door, "Excuse me."
"Come in."
Seeing Tong Mingyue busy, Qiu Wei stopped chatting and turned to his own work.
"Follow the question outline when you write; don't stray from it."
Tong Mingyue opened a drawer, took out printed comments for the student's thesis, and went over them in detail. She then handed the neatly organised comments to the student, "Just finish fixing up these points, you’re almost there."
"Okay..."
Qiu Wei was on a call, "Xu Can, why did you miss an exam..."
The girl who was about to leave took her paper, thought for a moment, then turned back and asked, "Teacher, my roommate Yue Qianqian also missed the inorganic chemistry exam, right?"
"Yes."
The girl sighed and asked, "She wasn't feeling well, but she'll definitely take the makeup exam. It should be okay, right?"
"It will be fine."
Tong Mingyue was listening in on Qiu Wei's phone conversation without showing much concern to the student in front of her. In her peripheral vision, she was paying attention to Qiui Wei.
When Qiu Wei hung up and started working on something else, Tong Mingyue couldn't help but ask, "Was it Xu Can from your class who missed the exam?"
"Yeah, I don't know what's going on with her. I still need to get an explanation from her. Usually, she's so well-behaved, doesn't she want the scholarship anymore? Ai… she’s still young, maybe it's just the teen rebellion phase..."
Qiu Wei muttered while organising his desk, "Poor counsellor, I get blamed when students skip class, do poorly, or miss exams. My daily job is to get scolded..."
Tong Mingyue asked, "Did she explain why on the phone?"
"No," Qiu Wei paused, then added, "She just said she wasn't feeling well. When I asked in what way, she just said she was fine now. If it were any other student, I'd believe it, but would she really miss an exam over a little discomfort?"
Tong Mingyue suggested, "Don't ask her directly; she might not want to talk about it..."
The student holding the thesis was a bit stunned.
She originally wanted to inquire about her roommate but now saw her usually aloof and composed professor showing such concern for another professor’s student over a missed exam.
She knew Xu Can, a talented and hardworking junior who was well-liked and sought after by seniors for projects. However, she wasn't in Tong Mingyue's project group.
Jokingly, she said, "Professor Tong, do you only care about the pretty students?"
Tong Mingyue was taken aback, "......no…."
Qiu Wei laughed, "Maybe Professor Tong should go to talk to her. She might not want to open up to ‘other people’ but Professor Tong definitely isn’t part of the other people group haha."
Tong Mingyue smiled helplessly, "She's your student."
Qiu Wei laughed too, "but you also teach her classes."
It was well-known in the department that Xu Can and Tong Mingyue had a close relationship.
Tong Mingyue smiled without saying anything more.
Turning to the student in front of her, she asked gently, "Any other questions?"
"No, that's all. Goodbye, teacher."
The student left, closing the office door behind her.
Tong Mingyue turned on her laptop, looking focused on her work, while Qiu Wei waited expectantly for her to say something. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Professor Tong...?"
"I'll ask her."
__________________________________________________
Xu Can received a call from her counsellor while on the bus. She was almost at her stop so she didn't have time to fabricate a detailed excuse and assured him repeatedly that it wouldn't happen again before hanging up.
Walking into the familiar photo studio, she saw the cameras flashing continuously.
Xu Can had arrived early. It was not yet her turn for her shoot. She went into the dressing room, coincidentally crossing paths with professional models finishing their morning shoot.
"Hey, cutie!"
Li Mingjuan leaned in, smiling, and pinched Xu Can's soft cheeks, "So it's you shooting today, I'm short on models next week, do you have time to come in?"
Xu Can nodded, returning a sweet smile, "I'm on break now, so I'm free."
Her assistant was calling her, but Li Mingjuan just gave a non-committal response, her gaze still watching Xu Can.
"I'll contact you later then?"
"Okay."
Xu Can gestured an okay sign.
"Great, I'm leaving then."
Li Mingjuan flipped her wavy hair, smiled , and walked away in her eight-inch heels, leaving a trail of faint perfume.
Xu Can smiled as she watched her leave.
Li Mingjuan, a Taobao store owner and internet model, any clothes that required a good figure and curves she would shoot herself, and shehired other young girls for cute T-shirts and dresses.
Xu Can had worked with her twice before.
At fourteen, Xu Can claimed to be a college student doing part-time jobs. She worked as a waitress during winter break and handed out flyers during National Day. At this point she had worked every type of job that could be considered legal. (TN: Chinese National Day)
In her first year of college, she worked part-time at a Japanese clothing store as a sales assistant. The store manager asked if she was interested in modeling for a shoot, as they were temporarily short of people. The pay was high, so she agreed without much thought.
Xu Can's attractive looks and naturally slim figure made her perfect for various cute-styled outfits.
The results were excellent, and several modelling agents asked for her contact information during her first shoot.
Since then, Xu Can had intermittently taken modeling jobs. Though it was physically demanding, and she didn't have the time for out-of-town shoots, she only one or two shoots a month.
__________________________________________________
This time, she was shooting a sister outfit series.
Arriving half an hour early, Xu Can finished her makeup and waited another half hour before asking, "Sister Liu, when do we start shooting?"
"Don't ask me, I don't know either," Liu Qianyun had made several calls, not looking very happy. "Wang Jiayi said she suddenly had an exam. You two can't shoot separately, so we have to wait. But don't worry, we have the studio booked until ten-thirty, we'll definitely finish."
With sixty outfits to shoot, it was a lot.
Xu Can glanced at the pile of clothes, took a sip of water, and read a paper on her phone. She had no other plans, so she wasn't in a hurry.
After another half hour, the other model finally arrived, apologizing profusely and bowing to everyone. Xu Can stood up, ready to start the shoot.
"Jiatong, hurry up, we're running out of time you know?"
"I'm sorry, Sister Liu."
Wang Jiatong, carrying her clothes, walked into the dressing room, blinking and smiling ingratiatingly. Her smile revealed a small dimple on the left side of her nose and under her left eye, giving her an innocent charm.
Liu Qianyun immediately stopped talking, waving her hand, "Go get changed, we know you're busy with school, Ms Top Student."
After changing clothes, the two girls began the shoot.
They quickly finished the third outfit.
Walking out of the dressing room in a new outfit, Xu Can mostly kept to herself, giving minimal responses to Wang Jiatong's attempts at conversation. Wang Jiayi couldn't help but ask directly, "Are you mad at me?"
Xu Can: "No."
Xu Can wasn't a naturally outgoing person, keeping work and personal life separate. She wasn't particularly bothered by Wang Jiatong's two-hour delay. Or the fact that she had solely ignored Xu Can while apologizing to everyone else. She just felt that Wang Jiayi was similar to Gu Yi, with an innocent and naive smile.
Once bitten, twice shy. (TN: the raws is an idiom: "got bitten by a snake once, scared of ropes for 10 years")
In the sister outfit series, they had to pose in many intimate, friendly gestures.
Light conversations were of course allowed.
Wang Jiatong glanced at Xu Can beside her as they posed with linked arms.
"Sorry, my school is really strict about academics. It's not like other universities where no one cares. I'm from Tong University, you know how strict they are..." (TN: a different Tong (通) from Tong Mingyue (童明月）, in case anyone was curious)
She casually mentioned her school's name.
Xu Can had heard of it, and it truly was a fairly good university in the local area.
She nodded, saying nothing more.
There wasn't much to say to it anyway.
Wang Jiayi seemed to expect more of a reaction, pausing several times without receiving any surprised inquiries. Moving on to the next pose, she couldn't help but ask, "You're still in college as well, right?"
"Yes."
"Which one?"
Xu Can smiled at the camera, whispering, "Songjiang Women's Vocational and Technical School."
"Oh..."
After shooting twenty outfits, they finally got a short break.
Xu Can took out her phone and saw a new message.
Counselor Qiu Wei: [I wont be the one looking for you. I arranged a better listener for you: your Professor Tong. If you feel stressed, remember to talk to someone. :)]
Seeing "your Professor Tong," Xu Can couldn't help but smile. Who knew such a pleasant surprise would come her way?
Wang Jiatong who was next to her couldn't help but blurt out, "Message from your boyfriend?"
"No."
Xu Can sipped her water, in a rare good mood to talk, eyes smiling, she said, "I missed a final exam, and my teacher wants to speak with me."
"Oh..." Wang Jiayi didn't know how to respond, laughing awkwardly.
She added dryly, "I didn't expect vocational schools to be so strict..."
TN: quick note about Xu Can's university. It's an all-girls school ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), and is a university that offers more hands-on approach to teach more practical skills than pure theory. Read more about it here.)
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