BSS - Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Zhou Liu's tail swept against Xu Wei's arm, now and then. His soft, warm belly pressed against her. The night was deep. In the watery silence, Xu Wei drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
Her eyes were closed, her brow lightly furrowed, not even smoothing out in her sleep.
Fortunately, the next day was clear and fine. The campus was lush with greenery, and the path was bathed in brilliant spring sunlight, offering her a little comfort.
Xu Wei had no classes in the morning. As usual, she first went to the classroom to check on the morning reading session. Although she had no class to teach, she couldn't really get away. After class, students would come to find her from time to time.
"Establish a Cartesian coordinate system with the line AB as the x-prime axis. Then, by substituting it into the hyperbola's equation, we can get an equation in terms of x-prime and y-prime." Xu Wei held a black pen and fluently wrote down the substituted equation on a white sheet of paper, then lifted her eyes to see the student's reaction.
The girl bit her lip, staring blankly at the formula on the paper.
The young girl was a student from another class she taught. Her foundation wasn't very good, and with the Gaokao drawing nearer, the students were all feeling a bit anxious.
This was a time to be even more patient.
Seeing this, Xu Wei softened her voice. "Can you understand this step?"
The girl bit her lip and nodded, a bead of sweat appearing on the tip of her nose.
"Similarly, based on this new Cartesian coordinate system we've established, we can derive the equation for the line CD."
"Then substitute the equation for line CD into the equation we found in the first step. We can get..." As Xu Wei spoke, her hand moved without pause, writing out a long equation.
By this point, the look in the girl's eyes had become very complicated-a mix of shock, confusion, and anxiety.
Xu Wei's voice continued at a steady pace. "We've gotten this far, so now is not the time to be afraid. It looks long and complicated, but we can organize it and combine like terms to get..."
Xu Wei's handwriting on the paper was as fluid as her train of thought. She intentionally wrote out every step of the simplification process completely so the student could clearly understand it.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, just stared at the writing on the paper.
After a while, guessing the student had more or less understood, Xu Wei looked up to see the girl's reaction. "Next, using Vieta's formulas, we can solve for its slope."
"Then, by substituting the slope back in, we can solve for the equation of this line."
"From the equation, we can see that this line passes through a fixed point. Note that we must place this fixed point back into the original Cartesian coordinate system to get the final answer."
Xu Wei wrote down the original coordinates of the fixed point in the Cartesian coordinate system on the paper.
"Do you understand?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Seeing her nod, Xu Wei flipped to a new sheet of scratch paper and wrote down a few similar problems for her.
"Go back and try to understand and practice these. If there's anything you don't get, come ask me again." She thought for a moment. "Bring them to me to check during evening self-study tomorrow. Is that okay?"
The girl took the torn-off sheet of scratch paper and nodded hastily.
"Okay." Xu Wei put down her pen and looked up at her. "Any other questions?"
"No. I'll head back now, Teacher. Thank you, Teacher."
"You're welcome."
Watching the girl's figure disappear from the office doorway, Xu Wei let out a sigh of relief. She looked through her upcoming work schedule, her brow furrowed, and placed the folder back in her drawer. For a moment, she didn't notice the person who had walked in.
An elegant hand held a sprig of fresh white magnolias up before her eyes.
A rich fragrance spread faintly through the office.
In the brilliant spring sunlight, unaware that she was the focus of most of the teachers' gazes, Deng Chuan smiled openly. "Teacher Xu, isn't it beautiful? It's for you."
"..." Xu Wei looked at her, then at the gazes of her colleagues behind her. For a moment, she couldn't tell if her racing heart was from affection or nervousness. She pressed her lips together and said calmly, "Thank you."
A teacher nearby chimed in at the right moment, "It smells so good. Teacher Xu, you should find some water to put it in. It might stay fragrant for a long time."
Xu Wei frowned slightly. "It might rot in water, right?"
"That seems right, too," said the teacher, who was from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region. "When we were kids, people sold magnolias on the roadside. They'd stay fresh all day. I don't know how they preserved them."
"I see."
Deng Chuan placed the magnolias on her desk. Paying no mind to their conversation, she sat down in the chair the previous girl had brought over and studied Xu Wei with a smile.
After she finished speaking, Xu Wei turned her head and met her gaze. Her fingers nervously picked up the pen on her desk as she asked what she already knew, "What are you looking at?"
Looking at you, Deng Chuan answered in her heart, but what she said was, "Teacher Xu, after the Gaokao, will you still be staying in town?"
Xu Wei said, "Not necessarily."
Seeing the immediate disappointment in the kid's eyes, Xu Wei thought for a moment and added, "I haven't made any plans yet. So I can't give you a definite answer."
The meaning was, we can get in touch then.
Deng Chuan understood this underlying meaning, and her eyes lit up. She was quick to seize the opportunity, saying, "In that case, if I do well on the Gaokao, will you give me some kind of reward?"
The teachers nearby all laughed. "You haven't even taken the test, and you're already asking Teacher Xu for a reward?"
Xu Wei didn't answer, but her eyes were clearly smiling, waiting for Deng Chuan to continue.
Deng Chuan's lips curved up. "Does Teacher not have confidence in me?"
Her young face was a perfect blend of confidence and obedience. Her words held a hint of arrogance, an arrogance Xu Wei secretly liked, but all she said was, "We'll see when the time comes."
But they were both confident that she would do very well.
So, to Deng Chuan's ears, it meant she had agreed. Her eyes instantly filled with a sparkling smile. The smile was so obvious that Xu Wei couldn't bear to let her own mood remain downcast.
She gazed at her, thinking to herself, it's so good to be young. Even happiness comes so directly and easily.
With that thought, her heart quietly softened. She added another sentence to the easily pleased young woman, "Let's be clear, if your request is too outrageous, I have the right to refuse."
"Okay!"
Deng Chuan stayed in the office for a while longer. When someone came to see Xu Wei, she didn't leave, and Xu Wei paid her no mind, busying herself with her own work.
It was the long break between classes, and people were constantly coming and going in the office-teachers working at their computers, students coming to ask questions. Deng Chuan sat at Xu Wei's desk, watching her patiently explain a problem to someone from the next class.
After carefully reading the problem and confirming it was a type she had already mastered, Deng Chuan focused all her attention on watching Xu Wei. She continued until Xu Wei told the other student to digest the previous step and then looked up to give her a warning glare.
Only after that glance did Deng Chuan subconsciously avert her gaze and look at the things on Xu Wei's desk. Then she pulled over a sheet of scratch paper and buried her head, writing something.
Xu Wei had no time to deal with her, and she was happy to be left to her own devices. It wasn't until the bell for class rang that she slowly said her goodbyes along with the student from the next class.
The office grew quiet again, with only the occasional sound of keyboards from the teachers still working.
Xu Wei took a sip of water. She pulled out the scratch paper that Deng Chuan had pinned under a book, curious to see what she had written.
"Spending a whole spring, then crossing half a summer, you came, a sprig of cloud-like white magnolias, falling into the cabin of my youth."
On a clean A4 sheet of paper, only this one sentence was written.
Xu Wei took a breath, calmly folded the paper, and carefully put it away.
With so many concerns, it was hard for Xu Wei to articulate what she was feeling. But upon seeing that sentence, the very first thought that surfaced in her mind was, surprisingly: she wanted to let her have her wish.
Deng Chuan passed another peaceful day.
Pei Qingyu had already passed the Art Proficiency Exam, the school's independent exam, the joint exam, and the provincial exam, and had received her certificate of qualification. She had transferred back to the school to study for her academic subjects.
Her arrival lessened Deng Chuan's pressure considerably. The two of them went to the cafeteria to eat. Pei Qingyu always knew what she wanted to eat before they even got there, and she dragged Deng Chuan to get the pickled fish soup.
They carried their two-person portion of pickled fish soup and found a table to sit at.
Pei Qingyu picked up a trembling slice of fish. "I went to your classroom to look for you during the break this morning. I didn't see you."
Deng Chuan let out an "ah."
"I cut up an orange and was going to ask if you wanted some."
Deng Chuan asked her, "You cut it in the classroom?"
"Yeah."
"There are... security cameras in the classroom."
Pei Qingyu's eyes widened.
She immediately thought of many terrible consequences. "I'm not going to get my picture taken and printed out for a public criticism, am I?"
Her class was an art class, and compared to the others, the teachers weren't as strict. Otherwise, a teacher would have come out to stop her the moment she took out an orange and a knife.
"I don't think so. I've never seen that happen," Deng Chuan said with a small laugh, lowering her head to eat.
They were quiet for a while.
As they ate, Pei Qingyu gradually realized something. "Wait. You still haven't told me where you went!"
Deng Chuan said frankly, "I went to find Xu Wei."
"I knew it..." Pei Qingyu muttered. "What were you looking for her for..."
The next second, she heard her best friend, who had always been an unattainable ice queen, give a silly little laugh and say, "Recharging."
Pei Qingyu felt like she could just pick up her bowl and leave. Along with the pickled fish soup on the table.
She couldn't stop herself from wrinkling her face in disgust.
Unfortunately, Deng Chuan had already lowered her head to eat after saying that and didn't see her complicated expression.
The next day was another bright, sunny day.
The days grew hotter one by one. The second mock exam, the third mock exam-life was like a tightly wound gear, every moment arranged with seamless precision.
Deng Chuan gradually got used to these high-pressure days, and to a life with no leisure time. For most of the students in her grade, including herself, the only entertainment was watching the evening news during the break, or interviews that could be used as material for essays.
When Deng Chuan later recalled this period, she found that the memories that remained were always tied to the time of day.
Memorizing texts in the hallway at dusk, she could look up and see the violet-blue sunset.
Eating breakfast in the cafeteria after waking up early, the sky would be perfectly bright as she walked out the door, with clouds like golden brocade against an azure sky. The weather was always exceptionally good.
Walking back to the dorm at night, the whole campus would be filled with the pleasant scent of plants. Pei Qingyu would always buy a late-night snack from the cafeteria, perhaps a double-skin milk pudding, or a sausage bread, and as they walked, the aroma would drift along with the evening breeze.
These memories were etched into Deng Chuan's very being along with this unforgettable time. When she looked back long, long afterward, she could still recall the feelings of that time.
It is always a fortune for a person to remember the path they came from.
Just like now. Deng Chuan finished packing the last stack of books on her desk. Tomorrow was the Gaokao, and the classroom had to be set up as an exam hall. They had to move the books and materials they needed for review to a temporary study room the school had arranged for them.
People were coming and going in the hallway. Xu Wei stood at the door, accompanying them as they moved their books.
She saw her and seemed to want to say something, but in the brief moment their eyes met, it seemed only a wordless silence could fill the space between them.
A single glance surpassed a thousand words.
Deng Chuan turned around, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked toward the study room, feeling an immense sense of peace in her heart.
Her silhouette against the backdrop of the bustling crowd was, in Xu Wei's memory, the most radiant image of that summer.
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