Greek boy
Originally, Pan Qiu thought that this meeting would discuss the fieldwork for the following Saturday—where to go, who would be responsible for the interviews, and how to divide the work.
She even silently rehearsed several discussion scenarios in her mind, hoping to hear him say in a relaxed tone, "Then let's go together."
But when she pushed open the office door, she was stunned for a moment.
Besides Ethan, there was another student in the room whom she didn't recognize. He was sitting at the table, looking down at his notebook.
When Ethan saw her come in, he smiled at her and said, "Oh, you're here. Come, let's meet James."
The man named James stood up, turned around, and gave a standard, warm smile.
He had light golden curly hair that looked like it had been soaked in sunlight under the lamplight; his skin was fair, and his eyes were a clear blue.
He wasn't tall, but his proportions were well-balanced, giving him a harmonious feel reminiscent of Greek sculpture—gentle, neat, and with a youthful vigor.
Ethan then introduced her to him: "James, this is Qiu, she is the person in charge of guiding you in the fieldwork."
Pan Qiu paused for half a second before reacting and extending her hand: "Hello."
Unexpectedly, James spoke first in fluent Chinese: "Have you eaten?"
His tone was very serious, and he even had a northern accent.
Pan Qiu burst out laughing: "That's too Beijing-style. We wouldn't ask that in Shanghai."
James asked curiously, "Then how should I say it?"
The first thing a Shanghainese person will say is, "How are you?"
She demonstrated it once, and he imitated it perfectly, his tone incredibly cute.
The atmosphere in the office immediately became more relaxed.
Ethan smiled and shook his head: "James went to China and stayed for a year."
James nodded proudly: "During my exchange program in Beijing, I ate my way through the entire food street near the east gate of the school."
After a few jokes, Pan Qiu slowly realized that this Saturday, she didn't seem to need to ask "Shall we go together?" anymore.
From that day on, James became a member of their field team.
To be precise, she and James formed a new, stable partnership.
James is enthusiastic, attentive, and full of curiosity about cultural differences.
The most interesting thing is that he almost never speaks English when he's with Panqiu.
So, this strange scene can often be seen on campus and in supermarkets:
An American boy who speaks fluent, slightly accented Chinese.
And a Chinese girl who was taking notes diligently.
The two studied the bilingual switching mechanism while engaging in a lively discussion in Chinese.
It became a "strange sight in the fields" in everyone's eyes.
James speaks Mandarin with a slight northern accent, and his delivery is so vivid it's like something out of a TV drama.
Pan Qiu often teased him, saying, "Your Mandarin sounds like you learned it in Beijing."
He was quite proud of himself: "Of course, I've eaten at all of the more than 100 snack shops on Dongmen Snack Street."
Their tacit understanding became more and more natural.
Just as Pan Qiu was about to write down the customer feedback, James handed her a spare pen;
She wanted to take a picture, and he had already raised his phone, the angle so precise it was as if he had calculated the light.
Sometimes they can complete an entire observation without saying a word.
That tacit understanding was like two people dancing with swords—clean moves, synchronized rhythm, and even the moment of finishing a move was understood without words.
Pan Qiu jokingly called them the "Field Duo," to which James replied seriously, "Then you're the leader, and I'm just the deputy."
James takes every appearance on set as seriously as if it were a battle.
He carries a small form with him, which is filled with notes such as: "Time, Number of times language was switched, Customer's gender, and tone of voice."
Pan Qiu shook her head: "Is this qualitative fieldwork or quantitative monitoring?"
James retorted earnestly, "You can never have too much data."
She laughed and said, "With your enthusiasm, why don't you contribute a data point too?"
Their relationship, in this tranquility, slowly developed a rare tacit understanding.
James is like a peculiar entity that blends two cultures—
You can discuss academic topics in a coffee shop, or find the most authentic Lao Gan Ma chili sauce in an Asian supermarket.
He would write "Go for it!" on the whiteboard in the lab.
They would also explain, "That statement sounds very true."
Pan Qiu sometimes thinks that this guy is simply a Chinese man in American skin.
During winter break, after finishing their field trip at the Chinese supermarket, James shamelessly suggested going to her house for hot pot.
“I miss that taste so much,” he said seriously.
"I've tried it many times, but it's never quite right. The main reason is that hot pot is meant to be eaten with 'iron magnets' (a term of endearment for a close friend or family). But I can't find anyone in America who understands this term or this flavor."
Panqiu was amused: "Okay, then I'll make your hot pot dream come true today."
“I’ll provide the ingredients,” James vowed, raising his hand. “We’ll use what we have, and adapt to what we have!”
That night, they carried the groceries back together.
The plastic bag contained cabbage, tofu, sliced mutton, and hot pot base.
Under the streetlights, they walked and talked about their research, the fog in Beijing in winter, and the rain in Shanghai. Pan Qiu suddenly felt that this friendship, which transcended language and culture, was like the steam rising from a hot pot in winter—not noisy, but enough to warm one's heart.
"I'll chop the vegetables, you take care of the seasonings."
Are you sure you can cut it faster than me?
"I don't even cry when I cut onions."
"That's because you're cutting too slowly."
They bickered as they went inside.
"Sit wherever you like," Panqiu said, turning to go wash the vegetables, when she suddenly heard a noise coming from the stairs.
Yueyue came down from the second floor, her hair half-wet, wearing a beige sweater.
As she dried her hair, she asked, "You're back? So early today? And who is this?"
Her voice was gentle and low, with a hint of languor from having just taken a shower.
James, still holding the hot pot base, froze on the spot. His reaction was almost instinctive—his blue eyes stared straight at her. The amazement wasn't just a simple "heart-fluttering" feeling; it was more like a scene suddenly having a filter applied—the light softened, and the air seemed to slow down.
Pan Qiu saw this and almost burst out laughing. She remembered that when she first met Yueyue, she wasn't surprised at all.
“This is my roommate, Yueyue,” Panqiu introduced, adding, “a visiting scholar in the Biology Department.”
“Yueyue, this is James, he’s doing field research with me.”
James smiled a little awkwardly: "Ah... hello."
Yueyue smiled and said, "Hello." She had heard about Panqiu's Chinese partner before.
Her smile was gentle yet resolute, like a spring breeze.
When Yueyue came upstairs again, Panqiu couldn't help but tease him: "What kind of expression is that?"
James, his ears red, argued, "She...she just has that kind of aura."
"Aura?"
"It's like having your own spotlight."
Panqiu couldn't help but laugh: "You're quite good at using metaphors; it sounds like you're writing a field notebook."
James thought about it seriously for a moment, then became even more earnest: "You could categorize this as an 'instant emotional response'."
From then on, James would always inquire about Yueyue's whereabouts from time to time, and he would always look for opportunities to reunite with Qiu's family. But as soon as Yueyue was home, he would immediately greet her with a bright smile, as if he had been spotted by radar.
Pan Qiu was initially worried that Yueyue would be overwhelmed by his enthusiasm. After all, James himself was indeed strikingly handsome. His light blonde curly hair, clear blue eyes, and youthful good looks when he smiled seemed unreal even in everyday shots, like a little god from Greek mythology who had wandered onto the wrong set.
Fortunately, Yueyue was worldly-wise. Faced with this fervent offensive from a foreign land, she simply smiled, like a calm breeze on the sea. Her smile caused James to freeze on the spot. At that moment, it was as if Cupid had been inadvertently captivated by the gaze of a sea goddess.
Pan Qiu watched from the sidelines, thoroughly amused, silently marveling to herself – truly worthy of being the legendary "King of the Sea," he could even easily subdue waves from Greek mythology.
Although Yueyue remained unmoved, James and her field notes gradually grew thicker, and the report framework became clearer. Everything went smoothly, almost peacefully.
But amidst this tranquility, Panqiu gradually sensed that she and Ethan were drifting further and further apart. Since James appeared, it seemed she hadn't had any time alone with Ethan.
James was present at every weekly meeting. Fieldwork was primarily handled by her and James. Ethan was only an occasional "supervisor"—he'd visit the site once or twice, bring a few cups of coffee, ask, "Is it going well?" offer some advice, and then leave in a hurry.
She had thought she would have many opportunities to do fieldwork with Ethan. But in reality, they never again walked side by side in the twilight, talking about their research and other trivial topics, like they did on that day at the Korean supermarket.
Looking back, the intimacy and tacit understanding we shared that day was like two planets accidentally approaching each other in the universe. It was a perfect encounter—brief and stunning, yet impossible to linger, each destined to drift away along its own orbit.
Sometimes she would ask herself: If the trajectory really has an end, how many light-years would it take for them to meet again?
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