Chapter 39 Farewell
Xie Yanning gestured to Su Wanwan and went outside to answer the phone.
Su Wanwan watched his retreating figure and silently began to eat by herself.
Xie Yanning will most likely be leaving soon.
That call was from Zhang Yunqing.
As expected, Xie Yanning returned with an apologetic and somewhat serious expression: "I'm sorry, I... have something to do and need to leave first."
"It's alright. I should thank you for spending the whole morning with me, my old classmate." Su Wanwan raised her eyebrows and smiled brightly.
Xie Yanning picked up her clothes, hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "Then I'll go first, wait for me..."
“I still know how to take a taxi,” Su Wanwan said.
"Sorry." After saying that, Xie Yanning left.
The pace was hurried, as if something was really important.
Then she thought again, oh well, what does it have to do with her what happens between a couple?
Looking at the plate of roast duck on the table, Su Wanwan felt a little regretful; she couldn't finish it all by herself.
Su Wanwan ate the food half-heartedly, finding the taste unremarkable. Eventually, she couldn't eat anymore and called the waiter to pack it up.
Their family tradition is that waste is unacceptable.
By noon, the autumn heat was still quite intense.
As soon as Su Wanwan stepped outside, she almost felt dizzy from the sun. After thinking for a moment, she decided to go back inside.
Back home, Su Wanwan put her things in the refrigerator. Yuanxiao glanced at her from afar before going back to her nest.
"You're so heartless! I've been treating you to good food and drink, and this is the attitude you give me?"
Yuanxiao still ignored her.
Su Wanwan pouted and sat on the sofa, aimlessly browsing various apps.
Perhaps due to big data, Su Wanwan even read a few scattered tweets about herself.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few people speaking up for her.
One person in particular made Su Wanwan blush with embarrassment because of their words.
[She's an innocent girl who has worked hard for so many years, why should you spread rumors about her!]
Dr. Su is the purest and most innocent girl in the world.
[Dr. Su is a goddess!]
There's no need to exaggerate like that.
Su Wanwan clicked into this person's homepage, and the cover photo prominently featured a picture from one of Su Wanwan's school reports.
She was probably participating in a relay race, smiling and high-fiving her teammates.
Su Wanwan rarely posts photos of herself on public social media platforms.
Looking at this person's comments again, in layman's terms, he is a male chauvinist, criticizing dowries, criticizing women for not valuing themselves, and claiming that chastity is a woman's only and precious dowry.
Su Wanwan frowned and clicked the X.
What a waste of her earlier emotion.
Time flew by while scrolling through videos, and night fell quickly. Su Wanwan heated up the food she had brought back, and a sumptuous dinner was ready.
After washing up, she went back to her room to read.
A wind picked up at night, and Su Wan went to close the window. She looked down and saw that only a few streetlights were on; the room was pitch black, with not a single ray of light shining through.
Su Wanwan glanced at her phone; it was already 11 p.m.
They haven't come back yet.
The dog probably isn't there either; it's very quiet.
It used to be quiet, but never as quiet as it is now.
The next day, there was still no movement downstairs.
It wasn't until evening that Su Wanwan, who was walking her cat, noticed Xie Yanning looking somewhat haggard.
He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but now he had stubble on his chin.
When she looked up, the corners of her eyes seemed a little red.
"Wanwan." Xie Yanning's voice was terribly hoarse.
"What's wrong?" Su Wanwan asked.
Yuanxiao wanted to rub against Xie Yanning as soon as it saw him, but just as it moved, Xie Yanning suddenly hugged Su Wanwan. Su Wanwan's first reaction was to struggle, but before she could move, she heard Xie Yanning say in her ear, "My teacher is gone."
Su Wanwan paused.
Besides the one who left, Su Wanwan couldn't think of another way to use that tone.
Xie Yanning held on a bit too tightly, and Yuanxiao, unable to get a chance, started meowing anxiously from below.
"Please accept my condolences," Su Wanwan said.
Xie Yanning seemed to have drawn enough strength, released Su Wanwan, and his eyes softened: "I'm fine."
He glanced down at himself. "I have to rush over there later."
Su Wanwan didn't dare to ask what it was about, and could only reply, "Hmm."
At night, Su Wan checked her friends' updates on WeChat Moments late into the night and finally saw Xi Kangwen's post.
The message was very simple, consisting of only four words: "May you rest in peace."
The accompanying picture shows a corner of a hospital.
Su Wanwan opened Wen Ru's chat window.
What happened to Xi Kangwen?
Wen Ru replied after more than ten minutes: "His university professor passed away."
Su Wanwan opened the campus website and saw a newly posted obituary: Professor Li Jianhua of the School of Computer Science passed away due to illness at the age of 62.
Life is unpredictable, and even though Su Wanwan had long been accustomed to it, she couldn't help but feel a little sad.
She shut down her computer, and her cousin, who was studying abroad, called.
"Sister, could you please go and say goodbye to Professor Li for me when you have time?" Her voice was somewhat heavy.
“But you studied architecture, didn’t you?” Su Wanwan asked.
"Sister, how can you be so narrow-minded? I took Professor Li's class; he's a very nice old man."
Su Wanwan agreed.
To be loved and respected by so many students, one must be an extremely good person.
The farewell ceremony is scheduled for a Saturday a week later.
It rained the day before, and the weather felt even cooler the next day.
Su Wanwan changed into all black and went to the funeral home.
When I went in, I saw that Xie Yanning was in the family section. My cousin had said that Professor Li had no children and his wife had passed away two years ago. He was truly a lonely man.
There were also some I didn't recognize, who might be school leaders or something similar.
Su Wan bid farewell that evening.
Seeing Su Wanwan, Xie Yanning asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"
“He came on behalf of my cousin,” Su Wanwan said softly. “He used to take Professor Li’s classes.”
Then he added, "Please accept my condolences."
Xie Yanning forced a smile but didn't say anything.
After the farewell ceremony, the body will be sent for cremation.
A person's life is like this: five or six pounds at birth, and about the same at death, ultimately returning to dust and ashes.
Su Wanwan was only there on behalf of someone else to say goodbye, and she returned home afterward.
That night, Su Wanwan received a WeChat message from Xie Yanning.
Would you like to get off and walk around?
Su Wanwan walked to the balcony and, sure enough, saw Xie Yanning's figure.
After thinking for a few seconds, Su Wanwan put on her clothes and went downstairs.
Xie Yanning had already washed up, although she still looked a little tired.
Looking at him, Su Wanwan said, "I think you need to rest more right now." His eyes were dark and bluish, it was hard to tell how long it had been since he had rested.
According to her latest dining companion Wen Ru, several of his students are helping with their teacher's funeral arrangements and haven't had a break in a very long time.
Even Xi Kangwen took several days off.
"Then have a couple of drinks with me," Xie Yanning said.
Where should we drink?
“My home,” Xie Yanning looked up, “or your home.”
Although Su Wanwan couldn't understand why Xie Yanning had come to her seeking comfort, she couldn't just abandon him after all, as he had helped her quite a bit.
Su Wanwan glanced at the sky.
The wind had blown away the dark clouds, and a few scattered stars could be seen.
"Let's go to the rooftop terrace." It's spacious, has a good view, and if we get drunk, we can arrange things nearby.
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