Chapter 4, Cool Night

No matter how heavy the rain is in the world, it cannot fill a single flower.

He smokes very slowly, as if he has something on his mind

Su Nan turned to look at him, "Has Teacher Chen been there?"

For a moment, it quieted down, and all that could be heard was the sound of rain, gently passing through the leaves.

Maple City ... ... '' Chen Zhiyu suddenly fell into a daze, `` ... ... The autumn there is quite nice, it rains for a month, suitable for finding a place to drink and enjoy the maple leaves.''

She nodded absentmindedly

Can you sing another song

Su Nan replied: I understand

He replied: Can you be a bit more serious?

On Saturday, Chen Zhiyu took out his phone and glanced at it, saying, "I don't need it this Saturday; I will return to Chongcheng. Starting next week."

No need, just find the relevant ones and paste them. There are subsidies calculated by word count. Chen Zhiyu glanced at her and said with a smile, "Just make sure not to paste irrelevant content to fill the space, I will check it."

The campus of S University is quite small, with a cluster of Republic of China-style buildings to the south. A couple of years ago, a Republic of China idol drama was filmed here, which gained a bit of popularity.

"It is troublesome to return to the hotel, and I still need to check the equipment later." Su Nan raised his hand to touch the corner of his mouth

Chen Zhiyu opened the door and walked straight to the desk, taking a stack of documents from the bookshelf. "According to what is listed here, please help gather these materials."

She was taken aback for a moment, "Do you have something to discuss?"

"I have been there," Chen Zhiyu smiled faintly, "many years ago."

Yesterday I went to bed late and got up before six in the morning. I was already sleep-deprived, and when the midday sun shone down, drowsiness surged up like a tide. Seeing that there was still plenty of time before the afternoon session began, I set an alarm for half an hour and lay down to sleep.

She looked a bit dazed, as the sleeve of the knitted sweater she was resting on had left several red imprints of woven patterns on her face.

Su Nan felt extremely uncomfortable, unsure whether to stay or leave, and even more uncertain about whether he should speak up and ask himself whether to stay or leave

He pointed his finger and flipped back. After a pause, it stopped on one of them. On the black wooden bridge over the Bixi River, he said, "Is this bridge still here?"

Autumn is thick... She suddenly thought of a song and unconsciously hummed, "Autumn is thick in the hearts of the departed, a glass of wine, various emotions of parting..." She couldn't remember the rest of the lyrics, so she just hummed the melody. She hummed the four lines over and over again.

She didn't know why Chen Zhiyu wanted to say this to her, and didn't know how to respond. She remained silent for several seconds, and it seemed that the appropriate time to respond had passed, so she simply didn't say anything.

Well.

This action is entirely unconscious

Chen Zhiyu lit another cigarette, the single flame flickering, now bright, now dim

It is better to abandon it, as that bridge is unsafe

Sunan always felt that Chen Zhiyu was a bit strange today. It was one thing to speak deeply despite their shallow acquaintance, but in his words, there seemed to be a hint of nostalgia for the past.

Fortunately, after finishing the busy tasks, there was a box meal consisting of fried fish, diced chicken, and stir-fried bean sprouts, which had already become somewhat cold by the time it was delivered. After delivering to the teacher, Jiang Mingqian went to find a high school classmate from S University to share a meal, but in the large lecture hall, only Su Nan remained.

There are no maple leaves now; in recent years, during the road construction, all the maple trees along Ping'an Road were cut down, and only a few remain on Maple Mountain

Perhaps it is the lack of some wine, and also the absence of some late autumn maple leaves

Su Nan instinctively dodged to the side, only to see Chen Zhiyu extend an arm and pull out a USB drive from the drawer of the seat—she was sitting in the position he occupied in the morning

The schedule for the sub-venue is largely similar to that of the main venue in Dancheng. Upon arrival, we will first meet with the professors from S University and hold the morning forum.

Su Nan walked to the eaves and put away the umbrella

Feiming

After waiting for a moment, Su Nan said softly, "Teacher Chen, I will return to the hotel first"

Su Nandong paused and said, "I have photos on my phone, would Teacher Chen like to see them?"

Chen Zhiyu's office is located on the third floor, on the southern side, in a room that offers the best view of the entire floor. In summer, opening the window reveals a lush green landscape. However, in late autumn, when the leaves fall and the branches wither, on rainy days, it instead feels desolate.

Chen Zhiyu finished looking at the photo and returned the phone to her, "Thank you"

A sound of "click" came from behind, and Su Nan turned around, "Teacher Chen."

The person paused for a moment and stepped this way.

Dazed and confused, I heard footsteps approaching. My legs moved slightly, and suddenly I was jolted awake. I quickly raised my head and met a gaze that startled me, causing my breath to catch. In a flurry, I stood up and said, "... ... Teacher Chen."

He turned and walked outside, stopping again at the door, smiled at her, and instructed: "Keep it a secret for me"

After finishing class in Southern Jiangsu on Thursday, when it was time to turn off the equipment, Chen Zhiyu placed the reference books and water cup he brought in front of her, saying, "Please take this to the office for me, wait for me for a moment, I have something to discuss with you."

just browsing

Chen Zhiyu stared for a moment, then suddenly leaned his upper body forward.

Take it back and work on it slowly. You have three months' time; collect as much as you can. Just report to me once a week.

Su Nan moved nimbly backward, bent down to pick up the umbrella on the ground, and walked away with slow steps

As she reached the corner, she glanced back.

It's fine, you sit down; I won't be coming this afternoon

What a pity. His tone was very flat, making it difficult to discern any emotion

In the night, the figure became increasingly clear. As it approached, she called out with a complex mix of emotions: "... ... Teacher Chen."

He held a cigarette in his mouth, lowered his head to light it, and leaned against the desk to reply to her: Go to bed early, I only give you this little money, it's not worth your staying up late and worrying.

She took a book out of her backpack, sat by the bed, and pretended to open it, her thoughts having long wandered elsewhere. Suddenly, her phone vibrated, and she quickly reached for it to take a look; it was a message from Jiang Mingqian, asking if she wanted to stroll around the cultural street near the school in the evening.

Chen Zhiyu took a slow drag from his cigarette and raised his hand to point to a spot in the night ahead, "That is an art museum, can you see it?"

Su Nan placed the book and teacup on the desk, stood by the window, and glanced outside. Students hurriedly passed by, and umbrellas bloomed one after another in the rain

After a moment, Su Nan replied: I understand.

The hot water supply was sufficient, and Su Nan poured himself a cup of water, secretly taking a few snacks from the tea party. He made do with a meal in a corner of the conference venue.

She looked along and it really did resemble it a bit

Chen Zhiyu fell silent, gazing through the heavy curtain of rain at a corner of the art museum

She replied hesitantly: "... ... It won't happen."

Without hesitation, I politely declined. Upon raising my eyes, I saw the teacher I lived with working on the computer, creating a dull atmosphere. I truly could not stay any longer, so I simply took this opportunity to go downstairs.

Su Nan placed the umbrella on the ground, took out his phone from his pocket, and opened the photo album. After a moment, he handed the phone over, saying, "Flip back, the following few pictures are all of them."

He lay on the bed, listening for a long time, unable to fall asleep

She did not dare to voice any objections, "So... will I report to you for the first time this Saturday?"

Yet I heard someone nearby say: "The view here is great; from this angle, the top of the art museum resembles a kite."

The green locust and red maple trees stretch for several miles along the mountain path, glowing brilliantly as if ready to ignite

How to sleep here

He thought for a moment, then took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Su Nan

This person, it is unclear whether they are genuinely foolish or feigning foolishness

It was designed by my friend

On a rainy night, the shadows of the trees are heavy, with blue bricks and black tiles, and a corner of the eaves is hidden among the leaves

He chuckled, raised his hand to pull out the cigarette box from the desk, took out a cigarette while replying to her: "Don't you understand sarcasm? What I mean is, just tidy it up casually, no need to be so serious. I still need to go through this information myself later."

It is awkward

Chen Zhiyu took it and glanced at the screen

He tucked the USB drive into his pocket, raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Gone, off to have some fun"

However, at 8 o'clock that evening, Chen Zhiyu received an email from Su Nan, containing a document of two thousand words, asking him if he could organize it according to this format. The document was neatly arranged and easy to understand

At around 3 or 4 PM, the sky, which had been clear for most of the day, suddenly turned overcast, and it started to rain at the end of the meeting. The teachers' plan for a night stroll along the city moat was thwarted, and after dinner, they had no choice but to stay in the hotel to pass the time

She shook her head and put her phone back in her pocket

She cast a glance at him from the corner of her eye; in the night, his silhouette inexplicably evoked a sense of loneliness, unlike the somewhat flamboyant and unrestrained Chen Zhiyu she had come to know in recent days

After a long time, Chen Zhiyu seemed to finally remember that there was someone like her beside him. He extinguished the half-finished cigarette, cleared his throat, and asked as if looking for a topic, "Where are you from?"

Sunan is extremely tired, but living with a lecturer from the school, he does not dare to act recklessly when returning to his room

Conducting a literature review

In the early morning, the computer emitted a beep, indicating a reply to the email.

He chuckled, tossed his phone aside, and got up to pour himself a cup of hot water

After a moment, he saw the line of input prompts flashing for quite a while, and finally, three words popped up: Teacher Chen

Chen Zhiyu: "Hmm"

Distributing materials, contacting teachers, and handling small tasks such as serving tea and water are all the responsibility of Su Nan. After the morning session concludes, Jiang Mingqian will lead the teachers to the pre-arranged hotel for lunch, while she must stay behind to organize the seating arrangements for the afternoon.

Chen Zhiyu had just finished taking a shower. Upon opening the door, he nearly burst into laughter.

In Dancheng, autumn is often marked by continuous rain, as if it never ends

Returning to Dancheng, all is peaceful.

Maple City

The tone is imbued with an indescribable and ambiguous meaning

The sound of rain pattered outside, and Su Nan asked the front desk to borrow an umbrella

Sunan was so startled that he held his breath. Following the sound, he turned to look and discovered that a person had appeared in front of the nearby building, though he could not tell when this had happened

Chen Zhiyu's gaze seemed to be lost somewhere, as if he had not heard a thing

The second document from Su Nan is more detailed and meticulous than the first. At the end, there was a somewhat aggrieved remark: "Teacher Chen, I have done it again according to your requirements, is this acceptable?"

A sense of melancholy lingers in my heart, difficult to dispel

Raindrops patter on the eaves, tick-tock, tick-tock

In the rain, fog has risen, and the outlines of the distant city are reduced to mere silhouettes, with the lights appearing hazy and diffused. The wind is slightly cool, carrying a hint of the scent of rain.

Su Nan touched his nose, picked up his backpack, and moved to a seat beside him

Chen Zhiyu walked up to her, reached into his pocket, lit a cigarette, and asked, "What brings you here?"

Well... however, no one goes down here anymore, and the bridge is about to be abandoned.