A bouquet of flowers and ten pounds of coffee beans
Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and Shoushu University officially started its semester. Yu Zou stepped onto the steps in front of the teaching building when a phone call came in, and the screen displayed "Teacher Ji Huisheng".
The call connected, and an arrogant voice came from the other end, his throat sounding like it had been smoking, even though the other person never smoked: "Yu Zou, I have a few students to process some paperwork with right now. Come back in an hour."
"Teacher, I don't know anyone here."
"An hour should be enough for you to finish burning it."
"Long time no see, teacher. How can you still be so heartless? I really don't know what your wife saw in you. Please give my regards to your wife."
The other person remained silent. Yu Zou immediately sensed something was wrong and subconsciously reviewed the conversation. During her time as a graduate student under her tutelage, such jokes were countless. Although Ji Huisheng was sharp-tongued and strict with her students, she was never unjust or secretive. She was strict with others, but even stricter with herself.
Just as Yu Zou was considering how to offer a considerate apology, a seemingly casual tone came through the receiver: "Of course it's because you love my invincible research abilities. What do you know, you little brat? If you're really bored, the school has an opening ceremony in the auditorium."
Yu Zou followed up, saying, "Is it really appropriate to talk to students like that?"
"Report me, hurry up and do it."
"How could I do something so ungrateful?"
The call continued, and Yu Zou pointed to the program list that had been sent to him. On the list of performers, there was a familiar name. He said, "Teacher, why isn't your program on it?"
"Ha, I'll give it a performance of blowing up the school, and it's done for."
In front of the school auditorium, Yu Zou, holding a bouquet of Carola roses, stood out among the students in his suit and tie, attracting many stares, which he took pride in and was used to. The front seats were all taken, and as Yu Zou was about to find a seat at the back, a student in a red vest mistook him for a school leader and led him to a seat at the front. Yu Zou sat down noncommittally, thanked him for the guidance, and, to avoid taking up space from others, placed the flowers in his lap.
The singing and dancing were original and ingenious, and the skits and crosstalk kept everyone laughing. Youthful energy is the most infectious dopamine.
The red curtain fell and rose again, and the stage was gradually revealed in a dynamic display. A pair of crisp white trousers stood in front of an upright microphone, the hem of a tuxedo like wings ready to take flight, and a bow hung motionless, so afraid of its owner that it dared not even breathe before the command was given.
Like a startled swallow, the moment the G string vibrates, the melody flows into the audience's ears and grips their pupils.
The omnipresent, inescapable sound of the piano surrounded them, kidnapping them, choking them, and controlling their heartbeats. The perpetrators were oblivious. Du Pianjian's hands were as precise as machines, and as emotionless as machines. Her overflowing skill and unparalleled talent were overflowing with emotion, giving them a false emotional feast.
As Du Pianjian glanced distractedly at the audience, the cameras in the dark room emitted a cold light, like fish eyes. In the only darkness, behind the red rose, a man watched absentmindedly, his long legs crossed, his hands clasped on his knees, the flowers lying quietly in his arms.
Du Pianjian momentarily lost focus, his grip loosening slightly, and the last overtone lingered for an extra second, unnoticed by anyone. It wasn't until he slightly bowed to take his bow that thunderous applause erupted from the audience. The red curtain slowly closed, and the host returned to the stage, his first task being to suppress the still-unending applause.
Du Pianjian returned backstage, placed the violin back in its case, and lingered on the lid, her hand resting on it. Why was Yu Zou at the school? Was he here to see her?
Ten minutes passed, and backstage there were only staff coming and going. Du Pianjian looked towards the door again, and two seconds later his gaze fell on the roof. In the midst of the chorus on stage, he heard intermittent piano music coming from the second floor.
The second floor houses the school history museum, with only an old-fashioned piano in the center. It has accompanied countless teachers and students since the early days of the music academy. Although it is no longer in use, it is placed in the school history as a carrier of memories.
The individual notes strung together formed Liszt's Liebestraum. Du Pianjian frowned slightly, considering his only connection with the piano recently, and still got up and went upstairs, even though he would never normally care about such things.
The door was open. In front of the piano, Yu Zou had his left hand in his pocket, a bouquet of blue and white flowers in his arm, and his right hand pressed a single finger on the piano key. Disjointed piano music leaked out. Suddenly, his hand with distinct knuckles clenched into a fist and stopped above the black and white keys. It slowly unfolded and danced on the piano, and the connected piano music was strange and discordant.
Correct and precise fingering produces completely wrong syllables. Even the sound of a piece of paper knocking on a door, its knuckles striking the wooden board, is more rhythmic than that of a piano.
The sound stopped, and Yu Zou paused for a moment before laughing, "You flatter me." He held the bouquet in his hands and presented it to Du Pianjian with both hands, "Congratulations on your successful performance."
Du Pianjian took the piano, looked at it, and thought to herself that it probably hadn't been tuned in a long time: "Thank you. Did you watch the ceremony?"
"Hmm, I didn't expect to see your performance."
"So, you've come here?"
"Project cooperation".
"And the school? Is that worth you coming here in person?" Du Pianjian looked at the bouquet in her hand. It was such a pure bouquet of flowers: white tulips, white roses, white lilies, and the white hyacinths hidden in the corner by the swallows, neat and not out of place.
Yu Zou smiled even more brightly, as if to say, "Of course it's not worth it."
The host's elegant voice came from the front of the stage, calling all the performers to come forward for a group photo.
"Then I won't bother you anymore." Yu Zou strode out.
"Wait." Du Pianjian called out to him, but didn't speak. Yu Zou waited until his phone rang in his pocket. He shook his phone, turned around, and left.
Du Pianjian placed the bouquet aside, walked to the piano, and copied Yu's keystrokes. The piano produced a smooth and melodious sound.
The pitch was actually accurate.
"Teacher, it's been a long time." Yu Zou placed the coffee machine on the desk.
The tall, slender woman in a white lab coat had her back to him. Her hair, tied in a low ponytail, was tied with a pink and green tulip-shaped hair tie. When she heard the voice, she turned around. She was wearing a gray shirt and trousers, and the hair tie was the only color. Behind her frameless glasses were a pair of stern, even fierce, eyes with faint dark circles under them.
"Look at you, what kind of gift did you bring?" Ji Huisheng laughed, took out scissors from the drawer, cut open the tape, and eagerly opened it to take a look.
"There was no recording, teacher."
Ji Huisheng nodded as if suddenly realizing something: "Then could you also send me ten or twenty pounds of premium coffee beans? To President Long?"
Yu Zou's smile vanished instantly, and he paused for a moment before saying, "Teacher, I still prefer how polite you were just now."
"Do whatever you want? Reverse the Heavenly Gang." Ji Huisheng unpacked the package, took two photos with his phone, picked up his cup and placed it under the coffee machine, then nodded to Yu Zou to make coffee.
Yu Zou obediently opened the coffee bean package, poured half of it, and then stopped. He immediately received a look from Ji Huisheng ordering him to fill the coffee bean container. He ignored it and quickly turned on the grinder: "I'm going to tell your teacher's wife that you drank too much coffee."
Ji Huisheng clicked his tongue in annoyance: "Why do you hurt others without benefiting yourself?"
"For your health, I will follow your wife's instructions."
Having his weakness exploited, Ji Huisheng glared at Yu Zou for a moment, then, watching the coffee machine operate, asked leisurely, "Why did you go back to Yulong? Didn't you swear you'd never come to this city?"
"Life is unpredictable, and it's hard to explain in a few words. The company is in trouble, and we're facing technical difficulties, so I've come to you for help, teacher."
"There's no such thing as free coffee in this world." Ji Huisheng straightened up, his eyes behind his glasses narrowing.
"Hehe. Only you can solve this project. After all, your research ability is unmatched." Yu Zou handed the project proposal to Ji Huisheng with both hands. Ji Huisheng took it with disdain and skimmed through it. "It has some research value. Seniors, don't even think about it. They all have their own solutions. Let's see if the freshmen can handle it."
"I trust all the soldiers you lead, whether they are new or old."
"Haha! I don't even trust myself." Ji Huisheng chuckled twice, then quickly changed his expression, looking extremely disgusted. "I thought you were already on the floor, but I didn't expect there were eighteen more levels of hell below."
The coffee machine finished grinding, and a thin layer of coffee liquid fell into the cup. Yu Zou respectfully presented it to Ji Huisheng, took a chair, sat back, and leaned on the back of the chair, asking mysteriously, "Teacher, I heard there are teacher-student relationships here."
Ji Huisheng glanced at him through the mist: "Why haven't you gotten rid of your gossipy habit after all this time?"
"I'm not worried that some students will fall in love with your unparalleled research abilities."
A stack of documents as thick as a dictionary came crashing down on him. Yu Zou didn't dare to dodge, he just shrank back. The documents hit his shoulder and fell into his arms. The pain made his words even more resolute: "Please, teacher, keep your integrity, or don't blame me for disregarding our teacher-student relationship."
"roll!"
She casually removed her glasses, which had fogged up from the coffee, and placed them on the table. While she didn't have to keep her secrets to herself, she also wouldn't gossip about other people's lives.
But this coffee is truly extraordinary.
"You mean Du Pianjian from the music academy, right? He's just unlucky to have a student take a liking to him. The student is also a complete idiot; he prefers to date secretly, but he had to make it public. The school is even more incompetent; they suspended him for investigation. After investigating for a long time, they couldn't find anything, and this semester they reinstated him. The first thing they did was ask him to perform. What a bastard! He just wants to use his fame to attract students."
This familiar formula reminded Yu Zou of the days when he was treated like a slave by Ji Huisheng, yet treated with equality and humiliation. Without Ji Huisheng, it would have been much more difficult for Yu Zou to get to where he is today.
"Where are the students? Were they expelled?"
“No, you can’t be expelled.” Ji Huisheng pointed to the sky and then to the ground, nodding with his chin to indicate that he should look at the documents.
Yu Zou then snapped out of his daze; what had just been thrown at him was the freshman information. The person in the photo on the homepage looked quite honest and simple. Ji Huisheng took a sip of coffee: "This Fang Bu is a social candidate, but he always gets first place in the professional tests. He has a steady and honest personality, but he's not very good at leadership. Let him practice as a group leader, and you can mentor him."
"Haha, it's not easy to find an all-around student like me who has excellent professional skills and leadership abilities, is it?" Yu Zou nodded, agreeing with Ji Huisheng's words, and then flipped through the other students' grades.
Ji Huisheng couldn't refute this statement, so he simply skipped it: "Does the project require consultant guidance, or is it a collaborative project with other organizations?"
Yu told the truth about some of the details, including the final supply of technology, but omitted everything related to Shao Yuan: "Let's start a project first, and if it goes smoothly, we can discuss the cooperation framework."
Ji Huisheng hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Why don't we use the joint laboratory with Longhe School?"
Yu Zou knew his teacher wasn't easily fooled, so he pulled out his prepared excuse: "I have a half-brother who's vying for the inheritance with me, and the elders are biased towards him, so I can't use that."
Ji Huisheng understood and didn't need to ask any more questions. He patted Yu Zou on the shoulder and said, "I'll get the school to agree. You just need to prepare the money."
Yu Zou chuckled twice and said, "We can't let our junior brothers and sisters work for free, so at least we'll provide plenty of coffee."
Ji Huisheng adjusted his glasses, his eyes crinkling as he rubbed his coffee cup: "Fang Bu is an omega, so don't let that get out of the news. After all, you do have some research skills."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
