Chapter Text
“Have you finished your last week’s assignment qianqiu?”
Lang qianqiu flinched and slowly turned his head around bracing himself for the worst possible outcome which in his case wasn’t going to be too severe considering the person who asked the question was widely known around campus for being one of those professors who wasn’t hell bent on making a student’s life miserable , but knowing the amount of times the question had been asked , he wasn’t counting on much lenience this time.
“ umm………. I’m almost done professor Xie , all i need to do is edit some of the last paragraphs and i’ll email it to you as soon as possible ……. I promise .” Lang qianqiu pleaded with a very pitiful expression as he joined his palms in complete surrender.
Xie lian sighed and shook his head in exasperation “ This is the third time qianqiu, you know I can't keep giving you extensions like this when we have other projects and practicals to account for.”
“ I know and I am extremely sorry for the delay. I'll send it to you today itself. This won’t happen again I swear…..” qianqiu said in resignation while looking extremely guilty about the situation he’d caused.”
“ Yes I should hope so , considering quite a big chunk of your grades depend on this .” xie lian looked at him for a moment , then said .” you are in university now qianqiu ,please learn to respect deadlines , this is not high school anymore . I hope this is the last warning that I had to give.” Xie lian reprimanded gently.
“ yes i understand ….. This won’t happen again .” Lang qianqiu said with his head bowed low as his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment . He truly was ashamed and couldn't even look xie lian in the eye .
At last, Xie lian was not able to say anything more as he really did not like lecturing his students ,especially students like Lang qianqiu who he knew were extremely talented and burned with passion. His students who had fire in their hearts about their majors and ambitions , had dreams and goals, aspirations and obligations to fulfill . He just placed a reassuring hand on Lang qianqiu’s shoulder , nodded and left.
As he was leaving the building , he saw many of his other students making their way towards their classes . Almost all of them stopped and greeted him warmly which he fully reciprocated, he loved his students and in turn was loved by his students . His fellow professors always had a lot of respect for him and he was also praised by his seniors for his knowledge on the subject of theoretical physics , which he taught at the top university of the country.
Xie lian was what they called a child prodigy. At eight years of age he had completed all the mathematics questions for the 9th grade and finally shifted to physics,the subject which he fell in love with .
What he really liked about this particular branch of science was the practicality and the predictable yet unpredictable nature of it . He felt he was able to fully capture the essence of how things worked in this incredibly astonishing world he lived in. He liked finding the causes of everything, the why’s and the what if’s .
That’s how he was magnetically pulled towards this stream and decided to choose teaching it as a career path .
He still however had a lot more things to do and he was fully aware of that.
Right now however, he liked his peaceful life , good job and the stability that came with it. Not to mention his dreams of getting a PhD for which he was still more or less thinking about.
He also knew that he had more than enough time on his hands since he only just turned twenty three and got into this profession at quite a young age at just twenty two .
He had a lot of awards and medals from his teenage years and his present age , he had a good reputation , his students loved him , his research about condensed matter was featured at the national daily and he was getting offers from three research institutes . So basically his life was set, since what more could there be that he could possibly want for aside from his professional prowess.
Nothing, right?
Well at least that’s what he hoped since he wasn’t exactly sure what else he wanted out of life . Or rather the fact that the thought that there was, in fact something to live for outside of his beloved occupation just never seemed to cross his mind.
But as much as he claimed to not realise it , there was this gaping hole inside him that wanted something more, something raw, something tender, something to come home to, something that would be there with him through the highs and the lows of life , something that he would cherish and be cherished by in return.
He wasn’t entirely sure what feeling this way meant and somehow he had convinced himself that it had nothing to do with a person but instead had everything to do with his work and ensuring better life for his students,after all he does feel extremely fulfilled whenever he is able to help one of his students in need whether it be financial aid or help in sorting with life or other advice or practically anything else.
This is also the reason why his students loved him so much . They recognised him for the person he truly was - sweet, soft spoken yet commanding when necessary, gentle , compassionate,utterly humble, strict when necessary but mostly loving and the list went on .
He knew many would kill for achieving his position in life at a young age and he was grateful for it ….. Really, he was…but still..
It’s not like he wasn’t truly happy….but…was he ?
Just then, a student suddenly approached him right outside the building , seemingly trying to ask him something which finally snapped him out of his reverie. “ pardon me?...... I'm sorry I didn't quite catch what you just said.” Xie lian muttered ,smiling apologetically while he quickly tried to manage the folders he was carrying with him.
“Oh it’s alright professor , I was just wondering how I could get extra credits for this semester? Specifically for physics because i’m afraid i won’t be able to…………….-
She carried on for a while with her doubts and Xie lian patiently tried to help her understand and come to terms with whatever other problems she had.
At the end after assuring her about the weightage of the essays scheduled for this semester he suddenly checked his watch and realized he was running late for his next lecture.
“ All right I wish you all the best and if you have any other doubts don’t be shy to come around my office anytime okay?”
The girl answered in affirmative and Xie Lian quickly made his way towards his next lesson of the day.
………………………………….*****.........................................................
The day was finally over as Xie Lian packed up his things and neatly assembled everything else in his drawers and shelves as he did every day and was on his way out when suddenly , there was a knock on his office door.
“Come in.”
It was the director, Jun Wu.
“ I hope I'm not intruding while you are trying to leave , Xianle. After all, I'm sure you must be quite tired, however you must know this interruption is not without cause.”
He said calmly while moving closer towards his desk . He was wearing a three piece rose gray coloured suit with black piping , he was around forty five to fifty years old however one could certainly argue that he looked considerably younger even though forty five in itself isn’t that old of an age.
He’s middle aged but definitely doesn't look like it.
Xie Lian often found himself wondering just what exactly he’s been eating to still look that youthful but always came to the conclusion that it probably had something to do with insane genetics and left it at that.
“ of course sir you’re always welcome at my office and no you are not intruding in any way”. Xie Lian politely replied while maintaining a calm and smiling front even though he was really itching to just get back home already. “ How may I help you?”
“ I know that I can always count on you, Xianle. You have always been a very reliable person since the start . It's a quality I really admire and hope you are always able to maintain it.”
Jun wu smiled pleasantly and placed his hand on Xie lian’s shoulder in a reassuring way as he peered down at him and continued-
“Do you remember what I told you about at the start of the year, Xianle?”
“Umm…… I'm guessing that this is about the fundraising event to be organised a little more than a month later ?”
“ That’s correct . And since you’re already aware of the fundamentals I'm assuming you have also realised what exactly I'm going to ask of you now.” Jun Wu said smiling, in his usual good natured way. His eyes formed crescents as he looked downwards at the younger one.
“I am afraid I don’t really understand your point?” Xie Lian replied , his expression incredibly perplexed and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he was trying to keep up with his polite demeanor.
It was proving to be exceptionally difficult since he really did not want another agenda in his already overflowing calendar and he didn’t know how long he could remain sane at this point.
He really needed a break.
“ What I mean is , for you, Xianle to start forming student groups willing to perform in all types of cultural arts for the upcoming fundraiser in front of our potential sponsors . You know how important this is right ?” Jun wu then removed his hand from Xie Lian's shoulder and reached towards the calendar kept on his desk .
“Hmm……. I should get the final list at my desk by Friday next week. Is that alright with you ?”
Now xie lian knew exactly what that ‘question’ meant. It wasn’t a question but an indirect order that it must be at his desk by Friday.
‘Is that alright with you ? ‘ usually always meant that reluctance on accepting the assignment given by him was non - negotiable.
“Yes sir, it's alright with me . the list will be on your desk by Friday evening.” Xie lian affirmed while suppressing a big sigh threatening to spill out at any moment considering just how tired he was.
“ Good job xianle, you always know how to take a burden off my shoulder.” Jun Wu said as he kept the calendar back at its place, smiled again and turned around to leave .
He was just about to leave through the doors when he suddenly turned around yet again as Xie lian had finally started to relax and breathe a sigh of relief , catching him by surprise as he quickly stiffened again. He continued-
“ Oh and make sure to add a few elements of the physics department too as the students are all required to make a scientific model based on their assigned topics which are to be given by you. It is compulsory for all students to hand in their projects by the end of this month and be sure to tell them that this project carries thirty percent of their overall grade in this semester.Hence it is quite important for them to make the project worthy of appraisal as is expected.”
He then nodded to himself as if making sure that he wasn’t forgetting anything else, looked up in the air for a few moments then smiled again at him and walked away leaving Xie lian in an internal crisis.
…..”.....”......
Xie Lian just stared ahead at the door which was swishing inside and out as he completely zoned out and tried to think about absolutely nothing at all .
And then he took a deep breath and finally let out the biggest sigh known to mankind. Or at least the biggest sigh known to himself.
He definitely has been sighing a whole lot lately. It was unsettling him,he wasn’t usually like this but these days he felt a little more drained than how he normally feels. Maybe it's because of the constant counseling he did for his students which more often than not included advice on every possible thing and not just academics .
But he couldn’t really blame himself after all, his students are his lifeline , the very existence of them gives him the motivation to endlessly carry on despite some struggles along the way .
What truly mattered to him at the end was whether or not his students were doing alright. He knew exactly how demanding college could be and he was ready to help anyone who came to his doors to ask for it.
This new assignment however, was really pushing his limits though. It was getting infinitely tougher to remain optimistic at this point.
He then shook his head dejectedly and went on with packing his things as he was doing twenty minutes ago or what felt like an hour ago ….. He just really can’t tell right now.
………………………………********.........................................................
He was making his way towards the bus stop . It was late in the evening at this point and it was already quite dark around when he finally reached the bus stop and realised that he wasn’t alone.
To his left , he saw there was a strange man loitering around wearing a big black hoodie and a mask like he was a serial killer from the movies.