Regardless of how upset he was, He Yu still went over to the medical school next door on the following Monday, messenger bag slung over his shoulder, and knocked on the door.
The teacher nearest to the door said, "Come in."
"Hello, I'm looking for Professor Xie," He Yu said in a refined and courteous manner.
"Xie Qingcheng, your student's here."
Xie Qingcheng stepped out of the inner room of the office. To He Yu's slight surprise, he was wearing a pair of glasses today. Xie Qingcheng hadn't been nearsighted before.
"You've come at just the right time," Xie Qingcheng said crisply.
"Come in."
He Yu couldn't help but sneak a few more glances at him. He was pretty handsome in those glasses—they made him look less stern and more scholarly, and He Yu felt less annoyed when he looked at him.
Unfortunately, when Xie Qingcheng opened his mouth and began to talk, his unbearable attitude returned in full force. "I want you to use these course materials to make some PowerPoint presentations for my class. Also, there are some documents here that need to be digitized. A lot of it is medical information, but I don't trust the accuracy of OCR since it's easy for mistakes to happen when images are being converted to text. Make sure to double-check your work after you type it in manually, got it?"
He Yu looked at the thick medical texts stacked on his desk. Most of them were large enough that they could have been used as blunt-force murder weapons. "Professor Xie, don't you know that technology can liberate mankind?" he asked.
Xie Qingcheng slammed one copy each of General Psychology and Social Psychology down in front of He Yu, making the table quake and the computer screen tremble. "I do. But I also know that humans shouldn't become overly reliant on technology. Now get to work, starting with the content in these books that I've marked in red."
Staring at the two brick-like books, both stuffed with so many sheets of annotations that they had practically doubled in thickness, He Yu tried his best to maintain his composure. After all, he was sitting in Xie Qingcheng's office, and there were still several other professors here who had yet to leave. He whispered to Xie Qingcheng, "Are you trying to kill me?"
Standing beside him, Xie Qingcheng took a sip of his coffee. "No. I'm trying to train your patience and willpower."
He Yu was speechless.
"I don't ask for much. Just do your work carefully." Xie Qingcheng tossed him a Red Bull, then turned back to take care of his own business.
He Yu narrowed his almond eyes slightly. He opened Xie Qingcheng's computer and hovered the cursor over the Word icon, his eyes dark behind the cage of his long lashes.
"Let's see…"
When dealing with the personal computer or mobile phone of a man in his thirties like Xie Qingcheng, it was only natural for it to contain content that wasn't suitable for polite company. Of course, to avoid death by social embarrassment, such a gentleman would carefully set a password for his device, create hidden folders, and refrain from lending it out.
But Xie Qingcheng didn't care.
He had given He Yu his own personal computer to use in his office. With the wicked intention of finding some leverage he could use against Xie Qingcheng, He Yu brought all his skills as a top hacker to bear searching the computer's contents. He'd originally thought that he'd at least be able to find a risqué video or two, but by the time He Yu had polished off an entire can of Red Bull, nothing had turned up.
He couldn't believe it. He changed the code and searched again—but the result was the same.
Xie Qingcheng's personal computer was spotless and pristine; there was nothing in there but academic files and salary reports. The entire device was so clean that it was almost unnerving.
He Yu frowned and leaned back in the office chair as he fiddled with the empty can with his slender fingers. After thinking for a moment, he changed the code and added another section, then hit enter to search.
This time, he found a folder that Xie Qingcheng often used when he was off work. Furthermore, the folder's name, "Happiness," was also suspicious.
With Xie Qingcheng's straightforward, male chauvinist personality, his folder naming system was simple: important files were edited to indicate "Course Materials #1" and "Course Materials #2" while unimportant files retained the default names that the computer had assigned them. He couldn't even be bothered to move his fingers to fix the titles. As such, the "New Folder" naming scheme had already reached #23.
This "Happiness" folder didn't quite fit Xie Qingcheng's personality; when it appeared, He Yu's eyes brightened at once. His energy shot up and his back straightened as he focused all his attention on the screen. He moved the cursor over the pale-yellow file folder and double-clicked.
The folder opened.
Skimming through it quickly, He Yu's expression immediately changed from excited to calm. Then, he frowned, thinking that Xie Qingcheng was completely incomprehensible.
Inside that folder labeled "Happiness," all he saw were a handful of photos of freshwater jellyfish and a couple of videos. He Yu clicked open the clips and found only more jellyfish. Videos of sea jellies from all over the world, from moon jellyfish to flame jellyfish, from every angle that you could possibly imagine. One of the videos was over an hour long—He Yu dragged the progress bar several times, but it really only featured footage of sea jellies floating about like wisps of smoke.
He Yu was baffled.
So, Xie Qingcheng's happiness was watching these jellyfish videos?
They were quite pretty—ancient lifeforms floating in the ocean like sinking mist or moonlight spilling into the water—but even so, He Yu couldn't understand this old man's taste, so he closed the video and exited the screen.
A bit dissatisfied with his discovery, He Yu propped his chin in one hand and changed his troubleshooting methods a few more times, but Xie Qingcheng's personal computer really was just like the world after a snowfall—pure white and perfectly pristine. He tossed the mouse aside and gave up.
He Yu toyed with his empty can, lost in deep thought. If Xie Qingcheng was a normal man, he should still have some semblance of desire…
He turned his gaze back toward the computer screen, coming to the conclusion that Xie Qingcheng was really much too frigid—he was definitely, without a doubt, hyposexual. If that was the case, He Yu needed to change his methods.
He abandoned his plan of looking for porn videos on Xie Qingcheng's computer. Running his tongue gently over his teeth, he regathered his focus as another idea came to him.
Xie Qingcheng had a lecture the next day, in the afternoon. Coincidentally, He Yu was free then, and since he was the one charged with digitizing the class files for Xie Qingcheng, he decided he might as well head over to the medical school and sit in the last row of the multimedia classroom to listen to a free lecture.
Xie Qingcheng hadn't wanted him to come at first. "Why is a screenwriting and directing student trying to sit in on a psychiatry class?"
He Yu politely responded, "Ge, I'm a psychiatric patient."
Xie Qingcheng gave him a look.
"Besides, I'm the one who made your presentation slides last night. If anything goes wrong, I can solve it right away, right?"
Xie Qingcheng thought it over. He supposed He Yu had a point, so he let him do as he pleased.
But the moment He Yu entered the classroom, Xie Qingcheng began to regret it—he had forgotten about their bet. He Yu had spoken closely with all the female students on that list of names he'd given him. Those eleven girls, who were taking psychiatry as an elective, widened their eyes when they saw He Yu walk in, rare smiles of infatuation immediately appearing on their faces.
One of them called out to He Yu. "Hey there, handsome. What are you doing here?"
He Yu waved at her, but then made a silencing gesture and pointed to where Xie Qingcheng was standing before the lectern.
"Oohhh!" The girl immediately lowered her voice and nodded. Then, she very cooperatively turned her head and looked attentively toward the lectern to prepare for class.
He Yu sat down in the last row of seats, next to the window. He tossed his messenger bag down beside him, leaned back with his arms crossed, and took out the earbuds he had been wearing the whole way here as he looked toward Xie Qingcheng.
His message couldn't be clearer: Look at me, aren't I very polite? Even though your lecture is gibberish to me, I'll listen attentively to everything you say out of respect.
Unfortunately, his facade only garnered an eye roll from Xie Qingcheng.
Xie Qingcheng placed his textbook on the table with an air of indifference. After his gaze circled back from He Yu, he asked with an overcast expression, "What are you all looking at him for? Have you never seen someone from the neighboring school sit in on a class before?"
All the students were cowed into silence under the pressure exerted by Professor Xie, but they surreptitiously exchanged glances with each other. They really hadn't seen this kind of thing before. Not unless you counted idol dramas about cross-campus romances.
Some of the female students, especially the ones who had already met He Yu, began to indulge in this fantasy. Those whose neurons fired the most quickly had already decided on a maternity hospital for their future children. One after another, they adjusted their posture to look as elegant as they could, hoping that this handsome young man would notice them from his seat in the last row.
It was impossible for Xie Qingcheng not to take note of this scene as he stood at the lectern. This prim and proper professor who was afflicted with sexual apathy found it all abhorrent, but because of his chauvinistic personality, he wasn't the type to blame such behavior on his female students. Instead, he held He Yu responsible. After glaring at He Yu for several more seconds, he finally said in a very cold voice, "Class is starting, so open your books. For today's lecture, you are all forbidden from looking backward. Those incapable of keeping their necks from turning will have six points deducted from their final grade. Consider the consequences on your own."
The students all fell silent.
Meanwhile, He Yu, the subject of all this, couldn't help but lower his head and smile. Previously, he had found Xie Xue's attempt at intimidating her students pretty silly. Now, he had finally discovered the source of this foolishness: of course, she had learned it from Xie Qingcheng.
Xie Qingcheng began the class by going through yesterday's post lecture exercise questions with the students.
"…According to the CCMD-3, mental disorders include manic episodes, depressive episodes, bipolar disorders, cyclothymia, ‐dysthymia…"
Although most university students spent four years of their youth in the dormitories sleeping on simple wooden beds, relaxing and taking it easy after their college entry exams, medical students definitely did not belong within this category of undergraduates who lived with the leisure of immortals. Instead, they might spend a minimum of five years reliving their miserable "senior year of high school" lifestyle.
Case in point, Xie Qingcheng spent half the class going over an ordinary homework assignment—a testament to its length.
As for He Yu, the student sitting in on the lecture, he at least had the self-awareness of someone who'd shown up uninvited and was actually pretty quiet. He sat in his corner in the back row with his arms crossed, watching Xie Qingcheng.
He discovered that although the way Xie Qingcheng and Xie Xue threatened their students was identical, their teaching methods were completely different. Xie Xue did her utmost to rouse the energy in the room, trying to make all the material she described come to life. In contrast, Xie Qingcheng practically ignored his entire classroom of students.
He stood ramrod straight behind the lectern, looking as though he didn't even belong to this world. Reality had nothing to do with him; it was as if half of him had sunken into some illusory space where knowledge and data acquired material forms that drifted through the air behind him.
It was clear that he belonged to the pure scholarship faction of professors. He didn't want to patiently and systematically guide his students while imparting knowledge, nor did he intend to waste his time and effort coaxing them to learn and study. Instead, Xie Qingcheng was like a lofty messiah who had strolled out of the hallowed temple of knowledge with his long, slender fingertips stained with ink, exhaling the scent of books from between his thin lips. With an expression that was focused and self-aware to the point of recognizing the impermanence of self, he exuded an air of extreme nobility.
It seemed like he didn't care whether you learned or even looked at him, but his bearing at the lectern was in and of itself the most perfect representation of his devotion to the ideal of knowledge.
He Yu genuinely suspected that, at any moment, he would say something along the lines of, "This Exalted One has descended to the world of mortals to bestow knowledge upon you students. All present should kneel in gratitude for this divine favor." As He Yu turned this over in his mind, he gazed at the man at the lectern with the indifferent expression. He was still fully immersed in the world of medicine.
"All right, that's all for yesterday's questions. Now, turn your attention to this presentation."
These words pulled He Yu out of his thoughts. He lifted his eyes as he relaxed the arms that he had kept crossed over his chest. Interlacing his fingers, he set his hands on the table and leaned forward slightly in his seat.
It was a posture that denoted anticipation—and there was certainly no reason He Yu should have been feeling any keen anticipation in Xie Qingcheng's class. But unfortunately, Professor Xie had grown used to being dismissive of others and felt even more disinterested in dumbfucks like He Yu who sat in on classes in their leisure time, so he didn't notice the sudden flicker of tension on his guest's face.
He opened his laptop, connected to the internet, and adjusted the projector. Under the watchful eyes of the students, the cursor moved over to the presentation that He Yu had named "Class Material #1."
With a double-click, the presentation opened.
Xie Qingcheng didn't even look at the screen before lifting his head. "Today we will be discussing hallucinations. Proprioceptive hallucinations, true hallucinations, pseudo hallucinations…"
He talked for a long while, completely absorbed in his own lecture. It was only when a male student sitting in the front row finally couldn't help but lower his head with a sputter of laughter that Xie Qingcheng finally realized that something was off. However, he didn't look back at his presentation. He only furrowed his brow and asked that fearless student, "What is it?"
This time, the male student was no longer the only one who couldn't resist laughing.
"Professor Xie, your PowerPoint…"
Only then did Xie Qingcheng look back at his screen.
Out of concern for students' learning, the president of the university had made great efforts to upgrade the school's hardware facilities. The newly replaced multimedia classroom projector was very bright and clear, and it projected the PowerPoint slide in fine detail.
On the screen was a group of cute, digitally rendered baby sea jellies, their shapes somewhat reminiscent of chibified moon jellyfish. The image was even a fucking animated gif, with the baby sea jellies adorably going through a series of repeated motions with the captions "baby is so mad," "baby has fainted," and "baby is done playing with you, goodbye."
The impact of this sickeningly childish animation was so strong it caused Xie Qingcheng's breath to stutter to a stop. Without thinking, he tried to draw a cigarette to suppress his shock.
He Yu couldn't help but turn his face away, his shoulders trembling as he ducked his head in laughter. Xie Qingcheng whipped around angrily and spotted the culprit leaning comfortably back against his chair with his lashes lowered. Sensing his gaze, He Yu raised his head to reveal the thin, completely undisguised hint of a smile curving the corners of his lips.
This little devil…
Xie Qingcheng's stare was about to pierce through He Yu and nail him to his seat.
He Yu was certain Xie Qingcheng wouldn't admit that he'd conscripted an able-bodied man into making his presentation slides for him in front of a crowd. So, He Yu unfolded his fingers, lifted a hand with a smile and a slightly raised brow, and tapped lightly on his cell phone where it lay on the desk.
His gesture was self-explanatory—he was hinting that Xie Qingcheng should check his notifications.
Xie Qingcheng returned to his lectern and closed the presentation with an extremely dark expression. "There's something wrong with the class materials. Please wait a moment."
It was exceedingly rare for the students to see Professor Xie make a mistake, much less such a silly one. If not for Xie Qingcheng's prestigious reputation, they would have long since burst into hysterical laughter.
Everyone did their utmost to suppress it, but it wasn't easy. Who could possibly have the mind to notice the tumultuous tension between their professor and the student from the neighboring university who had come to listen in on their class?
Xie Qingcheng seized the opportunity to swipe open his cell phone, his face overcast. As expected, there was a message from He Yu sent two minutes prior:
"Would you like the real PowerPoint?"
"What do you want?"
He Yu is typing…
A beat passed.
The chat window still said, "He Yu is typing…"
Unable to bear it any longer, Xie Qingcheng looked up once more, his eyes skimming past the students choking on their laughter to glare at that gently refined youth reclining casually in his chair and typing ever so unhurriedly.
It was as if He Yu was set on grating over Xie Qingcheng's sore spot, dragging out this awkward scene that could cause Professor Xie to die of embarrassment. He Yu didn't even look at Xie Qingcheng as he extended a single slender finger and slid it across the screen, entering several words, then deleting them, and then repeating the motions, as though he was earnestly pondering the conditions for their exchange.
It was a pity that He Yu's happy mood hidden beneath his mask of civility was exposed when he raised his brows in self-satisfaction at the success of his evil plan.
Just as Xie Qingcheng was about to lose it and walk over to where He Yu was seated to slam a hand onto his table, the message finally arrived.
Xie Qingcheng immediately unlocked his vibrating cell phone.
"Do you remember that shirt of mine that you sold?"
Xie Qingcheng stared.
"Send me 5000 yuan and I'll come help you fix your PowerPoint."
Then, after another long silence.
"While I'm here, a word of warning: if you carry on ignoring me, in ten minutes, your laptop will automatically download and play some rather vulgar videos. Even if you try to force it to shut down, it will be useless. So, Professor, please make the call yourself. I might up my price in a few minutes, who knows?"
Once he finished typing, the hacker set down this tool that he had used to privately communicate with Xie Qingcheng in full view of everyone. Then he slung one of his arms behind him, propped his elbow over the back of his chair, and tipped his chin upward toward the projector at an angle that couldn't be seen by bystanders. He raised his other hand to casually tug at his collar, revealing an innocent-yet-dark smile to Xie Qingcheng.
Xie Qingcheng glared at He Yu with a malevolent expression as he slowly picked up his cell phone. Opening the funds transfer page in the Alipay app, he gritted his teeth and inputted the amount that He Yu had demanded.
A second later, He Yu's phone buzzed on the desk.
He looked down, his lashes obscuring his almond eyes, and saw that five thousand yuan had been deposited into his Alipay account. Then, he got to his feet. As expected of an actor who had been featured in a shitty little drama, He Yu's skills were no longer those of a beginner. He ably feigned concern for Xie Qingcheng as he walked up to the lectern. "Sorry about that, Professor Xie. Seems like I clicked on your course materials by accident when I was backing up your sister's files to your computer yesterday. I'm really very sorry."
As the profiteer of his misfortune, Student He Yu very courteously collected the scraps of Professor Xie's dignity from the ground, then bent down to begin setting things up on Xie Qingcheng's laptop.
Soon after, He Yu dug the real PowerPoint that he had prepared out of his files.
He raised a hand and retreated respectfully and genteelly to the side, offering his spot back to Xie Qingcheng. "Here you go, Professor."
And just like that, the disruption was smoothed over, with He Yu emerging victorious once again.
Still, Xie Qingcheng's expression was gloomier than the dark clouds on Doomsday for the rest of the class, like the calm before a storm. His eyes were colder than ever, as though they were embedded with shards of ice. He Yu didn't doubt for a second that, if "glaring daggers" was a physical phenomenon, he would have long since been perforated so thoroughly he could be used as a sieve.
But this theoretical supposition was clearly not tenable, so he smiled and accepted every single dagger with a roguishness that went undetected by onlookers.
"…That's it for today's lecture." Finally, Xie Qingcheng ended the damned presentation portion of the class with five minutes to spare, extremely relieved to have brought this matter to a close.
"I'll be posting the homework for this week on the school's Intranet, so make sure to download all of it." The relaxed Professor Xie exited the PowerPoint and opened the internet browser. After entering the school's web address, he pressed enter with a decisive click.
A few seconds later…
"UNLIMITED ADULT VIDEOS FREE TO DOWNLOAD, HOT BUSTY BABES IN YOUR AREA, 1,000,000+ SEXY PORN VIDEOS, CLICK HERE:
dontbothertypingthisintoyourbrowseryoudummy.com/nothingtoseehere"
A pop-up advertisement window blew up on the projector screen. A scantily clad woman posed coquettishly as she gazed out at the flabbergasted class.
All the students fell deathly silent.
Xie Qingcheng's eyes shot to He Yu immediately.
He Yu gaped.
It was just his damned luck.
He really had nothing to do with it this time…