Professor Xie, isn't this a case of forcing customers to buy products that don't match the

When Shang Song woke up, the eldest brother was washing up on the balcony, while the second and third brothers were still asleep.

His eyes were still blurry, and his hand instinctively reached under the pillow to pull out his phone.

8:43

Below the time display, there was a stack of folded WeChat message notifications.

He unlocked his phone and entered WeChat.

The chat box at the very top is a congratulatory message from Shang's mother in the family group chat, and a transfer from Shang's father that is yet to be claimed.

There were no notes, but Mr. Shang included a classic yellow-faced smile.

Shang Song accepted the transfer with a silly grin, then sent a bowing kitten emoji, feeling warm inside.

He exited the family group chat and swiped down to process other unread messages.

He scanned the notifications in the class group chat and saw that the game's official WeChat account he followed had pushed out an update preview... He either gave a brief reply or ignored them completely.

Then, his fingertips paused.

The chat box labeled "Professor Xie" no longer sits quietly at the bottom, no longer pinned to the top.

There is a small red dot.

He clicked on it.

The message was sent after 11 p.m. last night.

"Received. But why?"

Shang Song stared at those words, and the spot on his chest that had just been warmed by his family seemed to slowly cool down again.

It's cool, sour, and astringent.

reason?

Everything is a reason.

As someone who works on special effects, he really struggles with ancient books that are as difficult to understand as celestial script.

It was the disappointment he had accumulated from sharing countless interesting things in his life but receiving little positive response;

It's like a heavy umbrella on a rainy day;

Yesterday afternoon, he only wanted to touch his hand, but instead he was thrown over the shoulder, almost breaking his nose.

It seems like it's nothing at all.

Xie Jing never taught classes and had no students. The fact that someone was willing to guide him academically was already a unique privilege.

On that rainy day, Xie Jing at least gave him an umbrella. Could he throw away that umbrella and then blame the other party for not opening the car door for him?

After the over-the-shoulder throw, Xie Jing apologized, though his excuse was rather flimsy.

My lack of response last night was probably because I was busy with important matters.

He couldn't point to any specific incident to accuse, because that would make him seem immature and childish.

He opened the chat window, tapping and typing in the input field.

Explanation? It's unnecessary.

Complaining? That's even more pointless.

Finally, he managed to utter three words:

"Inappropriate."

send.

Just as he was leaving the chat window, the eldest brother finished washing up and came over. Seeing that Shang Song was awake, he lowered his voice and asked, "Fourth brother, what time are we leaving?"

S University is in the old city, while Qingguo University is in the new city. It takes nearly 3 hours to get there by subway.

Shang Song snapped out of his daze, estimated the time, "9 o'clock? I can have lunch there when I get there, then wander around the area and get familiar with the surroundings. I'll come back after signing the rental contract in the afternoon."

The eldest brother nodded, walked to his desk, sat down, and opened a small bag of bread. "I'll go with you. The second and third brothers have things to do this afternoon."

"Thank you, Boss." Shang Song threw off the covers and slowly sat up. He hadn't drunk much last night, but he was still feeling down and didn't sleep well. He was still a little tired when he woke up.

The eldest brother waved his hand and started eating his bread.

Shang Song climbed out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and went to wash up.

The cold water splashed on his face made him more alert.

The eldest brother finished his bread in a few bites and started stuffing a power bank and tissues into his bag.

After washing up, Shang Song pressed his tuft of hair that had sticked up while sleeping in front of the mirror.

The tuft of hair wouldn't cooperate, and no matter how hard Shang Song tried to press it down, he couldn't get it to go away, so he started to work on himself in the mirror.

In the Xishan Garden, Xie Jing sat behind a sandalwood desk made of fine wood from the Ming Dynasty, looking at the three words on his phone screen. His pale, beautifully shaped thin lips were almost pressed into a line.

Not suitable.

This is an extremely general statement.

Or rather, it's more of a pretext.

Xie Jing replied:

"Inappropriate? In what specific aspects?"

three minutes.

five minutes.

He turned his phone screen off and then back on, but the chat window still only showed the message he had sent.

Shang Song still hasn't replied.

Xie Jing shifted his gaze from the screen to the window.

In the courtyard, birds chirped, awakening this garden nestled in the Western Hills.

The gardener tended to the plum branches in the distance with slow, deliberate movements; the servants responsible for sweeping moved silently along the stone path; further out, the daytime security team had silently taken over the nighttime security duties.

Everything was as he knew it.

Aside from Shang Song, who unilaterally and suddenly announced the breakup on the other end of the phone screen.

Xie Jing stopped waiting.

He exited WeChat, found Shang Song's number in his contacts, and dialed it directly.

While Shang Song was still struggling with that stubborn tuft of hair in front of the mirror, his phone was buzzing on the desk.

"Your phone," the eldest brother whispered to Shang Song on the balcony.

Shang Song ignored his ahoge and walked back to his desk, picking up his phone with one hand and seeing that familiar number.

He frowned, didn't take it, turned around and grabbed a small loaf of bread from the boss's desk, pointed to the door, and muttered, "Come on, boss, let's talk outside."

After humming, he quickly picked up his backpack hanging on the back of the chair, put it on, and quietly left the dormitory with his boss.

There weren't many people in the hallway. He finally swiped to answer the phone, "Feed?"

"It's me, Xie Jing." The voice on the other end of the phone continued, "Regarding yesterday's incident, it was my overreaction, not directed at you. Also, the reason I didn't reply to your messages promptly was because a batch of ancient books was being restored at a critical stage that couldn't be interrupted, which was also my oversight."

As Shang Song listened, he walked side by side with his boss toward the stairwell, biting a corner of a bread bag in his mouth and struggling to tear it open with one hand.

He took a big bite of bread and mumbled a response, which could be considered a reply.

Xie Jing seemed to pause for a moment, probably waiting for his further reaction.

But Shang Song just kept eating his bread and kept walking.

"I hope you can accept my apology," Xie Jing continued. "Regarding our relationship, if you're willing, we can..."

"Professor Xie," Shang Song interrupted him, swallowing the bread in her mouth, "You don't need to apologize anymore. I really didn't take yesterday's matter to heart; it's over. As for us, I think it's best to leave it at that. Really. You go about your business, and I need to start a new job soon. Let's both be well, okay?"

He spoke quickly, with a dismissive air of not wanting to talk much, and had already walked with the leader to the dormitory entrance.

"I'm in a rush to leave, so I have to hang up now. Thank you for your previous guidance. Goodbye, and best wishes."

Before Xie Jing could say anything more, Shang Song hung up the phone decisively and put it in his pocket.

"Professor Xie?" the eldest asked from the side.

Shang Song chewed on his bread, his voice muffled: "Um, I apologized."

The eldest brother was silent for a few seconds before speaking again: "Do you remember a year ago, when you first met Professor Xie, what did I say back then?"

Shang Song slowed down his chewing of bread.

Of course he remembers.

A year ago, he was just looking for the boss when he saw a figure walking out from the direction of the restoration room at the corner of the ancient books department.

The afternoon sun shone obliquely, and the person, wearing a dark shirt, had skin that appeared so white it seemed to glow, looking almost unreal.

He immediately grabbed the leader and asked who that was.

The eldest brother said, "Your obsession with looks is acting up again? Forget it, she's the most unattainable of all, just look and that's enough."

He didn't listen, and instead bought a set of "Shuowen Jiezi" online. He even put the plastic cover on before he finished using it.

His roommates were waiting to see him hit a brick wall, but he didn't.

The mysterious Professor Xie, who never teaches classes, has also started a stable relationship with him.

The regular 3-hour meeting every week.

Looking back now, the wall he didn't hit at the beginning was just in a different form, silently standing in the bits and pieces of the year he and Xie Jing spent together.

"Fourth brother? What are you spacing out for?" the eldest brother called out to him.

Shang Song swallowed the bread in his mouth and nodded: "I remember, you said I was obsessed with good looks, and that Professor Xie was the most unattainable of all."

"Yes." The eldest brother nodded, but his expression became much more serious. "But now I think I might have been too lenient back then."

"Professor Xie never teaches classes, and he's always elusive in the rare book section. But we used to think he was just a loner or had a powerful background, and that he was just a professor in name only."

"But I've been working on a project with Mr. Fu recently, and I've heard some even more outlandish things."

The eldest brother lowered his voice, "It's said that Professor Xie's involvement is evident in the expansion of the old campus and even the land for the new campus... even the license plate on his car isn't for civilian use."

At this point, he looked at Shang Song and stated his conclusion: "Before, I only thought he was an unattainable beauty, but now that I think about it, he might not even be from our world."

After listening, Shang Song showed no surprise. "Oh, I see. That's how amazing you are."

"No wonder the car is bulletproof," he said, finishing his bread in a few bites. He felt a bit more energetic now that he had something in his stomach. "But boss, what's done is done. Who he is has nothing to do with me anymore."

Seeing that his expression didn't seem fake, the boss laughed and punched him on the shoulder: "Alright! You've got guts! Who cares who they are? If they're not a good fit, just dump them! Come on, let's sign the contract. We'll make sure to rip you off tonight!"

"No problem! My dad just gave me a subsidy!" Shang Song smiled.

The two of them walked towards the subway station, arguing loudly.