Chapter 48 Canary

"Are you planning to start a storytelling session or a storytelling event?"

The sun seemed to be brighter than yesterday, but it didn't feel warm at all when it shone on people. The breeze from the lake was so cold that it made people uncomfortable. After Jiang Siyue pulled up her coat, she still felt cold, so she took Zhao Yan's coat and put it on, and then she felt a little better.

Zhao Yan and his friends were playing badminton on the grass. Jiang Siyue was not in the mood and sat dejectedly on the side with her mind completely empty. After a while, Min Sui, who was running to catch the ball, lost her balance and fell hard.

The vacation ended early. As soon as Jiang Siyue got in the car, she leaned back in the chair and fell asleep in a short while.

The pungent smell of disinfectant penetrated her nostrils. Jiang Siyue opened her eyes drowsily. Her limbs were so limp that she couldn't lift them up at all. When she raised her eyes, she saw Zhao Yan's tense jaw.

"You have a fever. We are in the hospital now."

Jiang Siyue nodded with her unfocused eyes. Feeling warmer in his arms, she squeezed in a little closer.

Zhao Yan hugged her tightly with one hand and said with some amusement: "Why didn't you tell me that you had a fever for a whole day?" He drove the car to the door of her house and found that she didn't respond no matter how he called out. When he touched her forehead, he was frightened by her burning sensation and went back to the hospital.

"I don't know." Jiang Siyue clung to him weakly, feeling double vision. "I felt my forehead was cold before."

"I guess she's slowly starting to have a fever." The person in front of her had already left, and Zhao Yan helped her walk to the clinic. After the examination, it was clear that she had caught a cold and had a fever. After a lot of trouble getting her blood drawn and the prescription, Jiang Siyue sat in the injection room, her eyelids unable to open.

After the nurse hung up the water and left, Zhao Yan tucked her messy sideburns in place and asked, "Can I get you some porridge for dinner?"

Jiang Siyue leaned on his shoulder and shook her head. Her mouth felt so bitter that she didn't want to eat anything.

Zhao Yan protected her with one hand and ordered takeout with the other. Jiang Siyue was sleeping in a daze beside him. Zhao Yan turned sideways and adjusted her into a comfortable position.

The phone rang, Jiang Siyue frowned and moved closer to his arms. Zhao Yan sighed softly and took out the phone that was ringing happily from her bag. The caller number on it showed "Xu Xiaochu".

Zhao Yan's eyes turned cold instantly.

The annoying ringing sound never stopped. Jiang Siyue was annoyed. She patted him and muttered, "Zhao Yan...alarm clock..."

Zhao Yan hung up the phone and stared at the person sleeping soundly in his arms, silent.

The sleep caused by fever was very short. After the temperature dropped, Jiang Siyue opened her eyes, feeling clear-headed, and a few whiffs of rice fragrance wafted in her breath.

Zhao Yan noticed her gaze and reached out to feel the temperature. "It's a little hot. Do you want to eat it now?"

Jiang Siyue nodded, Zhao Yan stood up and put the table board in place for her. After opening the lid, a stronger aroma came out. The shredded chicken was white and tender, the rice grains were stewed soft, and rice oil oozed out, which made people's mouths water.

He scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and didn't put it in his mouth immediately. "What do you want to eat?"

"I just ate some bread." Before he could finish his words, Zhao Yan's phone rang. Jiang Siyue stopped disturbing him and drank her porridge in peace. From time to time, she could hear his brief responses.

Most of the time they just said "hmm" or "oh" and then hung up after a while.

"If you have something to do, go ahead and do it." Jiang Siyue glanced at the potion. It would take about an hour to finish. "I'll take a taxi home after I'm done."

Zhao Yan stared at her for a moment, then pinched the flesh of her cheek and said helplessly, "Today is Sunday, no work, no overtime. You are more powerful than the capitalists."

Her cheek felt numb from being pinched, and she turned her head to shake him off. "No one is as good as you. Capitalists and mentors, double exploitation."

Zhao Yan turned slightly to the side and looked at her leisurely, "How did I exploit you?"

"You're always so fierce in every team meeting, and we're all scared."

Zhao Yan thought for a moment, "For example?"

Speaking of this, Jiang Siyue became excited. "You have a cold face and expressionless expression, just like a judge. When we occasionally look into each other's eyes, I feel like time is running out and you are going to eat me in the next second."

Zhao Yan smiled helplessly, "Think about it, was that the expression I had when I ate you?"

"You--" Jiang Siyue reacted, her face flushed, and she whispered, "It's almost the same." After that, she lowered her head to drink porridge and no longer participated in this topic.

"Next time, whether it's a group meeting or something else, I'll try to be more gentle, okay?"

Jiang Siyue buried her head even lower. Now it was night, and there was no one else in the injection room except them. Otherwise, Zhao Yan's words would be like burying her own dirt.

*

On Tuesday, Jiang Siyue went to the office to be on duty as usual. In fact, she was almost recovered. She wanted to come yesterday, but was stopped by Zhao Yan.

Yue Huan and his classmates had an exam this morning, and Jiang Siyue was on duty alone in the office. After finishing and submitting the course paper in the morning, Jiang Siyue stretched comfortably.

The office door was pushed open, and Yue Huan and the others rushed in. They placed the milk tea and lunch they brought in front of Jiang Siyue. The spicy smell hit her face, and Jiang Siyue, who had been eating lightly all day, immediately felt her appetite whetted.

After catching a glimpse of Zhao Yan walking into the office, she paused chewing, lowered her head guiltily and slurped the rice noodles, not daring to look at the look he was giving her.

"If Teacher Xu hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known you can eat so much spicy food!" Yue Huan said with surprise, then went about his own business. Jiang Siyue looked at the noodles in front of her, and suddenly felt something stuck in her throat.

"Did you have lunch with Teacher Xu?" Li Rongbo interrupted.

"No." Yue Huan waved his hand. "We met at the window. He mentioned it after he knew I brought Siyue some food."

Jiang Siyue glanced at Zhao Yan's position quietly. He lowered his head to look at his phone, frowning slightly, as if he hadn't heard Yue Huan's words. But then again, the table was so big, and Yue Huan's voice wasn't that loud, so it was normal that he didn't hear it.

Relax and continue to eat noodles.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the group set off for the classroom they had requested in advance for a group meeting. Today was a large group meeting, and the first-year graduate students were also present. The group meeting was still the beginning of the second year of graduate school. Zhao Yan wore glasses, a rare sight. The metal frames shone coldly, and he looked aloof and distant.

With the belief that a good death is worse than a miserable life, Yue Huan resolutely refused to be the first to go up. Li Rongbo looked around and had no choice but to go up on stage with tears in his eyes, and then -

"Your research poses no threat to academia, but it will discredit me in the education community."

"Your article has a good idea. Are you planning to publish it in Yilin or Story Club?"

"There's a collection of jokes on the middle page of the reader's book that seems suitable for you."

“…”

After a series of pearls, Li Rongbo was stunned, and Yue Huan and Jiang Siyue felt that the knife hanging over their heads had moved to their heads.

Li Rongbo took a deep breath and quickly realized that he had been slacking off during this period because he had successfully published a paper. He originally thought that the gentler Zhao Yan would not be so fierce, but he didn't expect... it was still the familiar formula, even more fierce.

After apologizing obediently, Li Rongbo returned to his seat, followed by Yue Huan. He continued to criticize him harshly, and when Yue Huan came down, he was still pale and looked exhausted.

It was Jiang Siyue's turn after Lichuan's. She felt uneasy and her stomach started to ache slightly. She had been feeling unwell since she had eaten the fried rice noodles at noon. Now that she was under so much pressure, she completely exploded.

He clenched his fist and stroked through the skin one by one. When it was Jiang Siyue's turn, the pain in her stomach was even worse than before, accompanied by uncontrollable nausea.

He opened his own PPT and read through the process verbatim without any elaboration. He was mentally prepared for a scolding. Sure enough, Zhao Yan said without even looking up, "Don't hand over unqualified semi-finished products. Make a new one and give it to me when you're done."

Jiang Siyue nodded with difficulty, went downstairs, asked Yue Huan to hand her a glass of water, and quietly left through the back door.

After applying hot water on her stomach, the pain that felt like cold sweat disappeared. Jiang Siyue leaned on the handrail, staring at the passers-by downstairs in a daze, and planned to go back after she was completely well.

Suddenly, someone stood beside her. Jiang Siyue tilted her head and found it was Xu Chu. He had a serious face. Jiang Siyue stepped back silently, distanced herself, and said softly, "Hello, Teacher Xu."

"Yeah." Xu Chu replied calmly, looking her up and down. "I heard that your marriage partner comes from a wealthy family."

I didn't know why he brought this up. A flash of doubt passed through my mind and I nodded.

Xu Chu stared at her, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Confused by his expression, Jiang Siyue turned around and prepared to go back to the classroom.

"But his money has nothing to do with you."

Jiang Siyue stopped and turned around. The shock and confusion in her eyes was no less than seeing a monkey speaking human language. "What do you mean?"

"You used to be such an idealist, but now you're content to become a rich man's canary?" Xu Chu had been holding back these words for a long time. Seeing her produce such a poor PPT today, Zhao Yan didn't even want to comment on it. He couldn't stand it anymore. "Look at your academic performance. Yue Huan and Li Rongbo have already finished their papers, and you? You're not in a hurry at all. That presentation just now was also a headache. The PPT didn't show anything, and the talk didn't make sense. I was worried for you."

She originally didn't want to say more to him, but the last sentence really ignited Jiang Siyue's anger.

He went abroad without saying a word and broke up with her coldly. Now, several years have passed, and he is judging himself from a moral high ground with just one sentence: "I am worried about myself."

"It's none of your business." Jiang Siyue held her belly. "What happens to me is my business. You don't need to worry about me."

Xu Chu thought she was stubborn and said sadly, "Do you think that marrying a rich man will solve all problems? Your family background is so different from his. The marriage you are trying to get by so lowly won't be a stable one."

When he said these words, his body language was extremely rich, as if he was thinking particularly of himself, but he knew nothing and stuffed himself into the body of a canary based solely on guesswork.

After a moment, Jiang Siyue said calmly: "After so many years, you still love to imagine."

Xu Chu stayed where he was.

"My studies are my own business, I will take care of it myself. Thank you for your concern. Goodbye." Jiang Siyue decided to be willful for once. She did not go back to the classroom, but went straight back to the office and asked Yue Huan to get her things that were left in the classroom.