Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Quitting time arrived, but Liang Ke was still buried in her self-reflection essay. She wrote quickly, and her handwriting was beautiful, so Ye Tianze was quite interested in what she was actually writing. When he walked past her, he intended to read a few lines aloud, but to his surprise, he found he didn’t recognize Chinese anymore.

Senior Ye was humble; he grabbed Liang Ke’s collar and asked for guidance: “What are you writing? Oracle bone script?”

Liang Ke clicked her retractable pen incessantly, shaking her head. “No. Oracle bone script is too high-end. Apparently, there’s a reward for successfully deciphering it. I’m not at that level yet.”

Luo Han pointed at a character and asked, “What’s this?”

“Kuang.”

“And that one?”

“Kuang.”

“The one after it?”

“Kuang.”

“And this one at the end?”

“Kuang.”

Ye Tianze held Liang Ke’s manuscript up to the light, peering at the characters: 卝,丱,夼,匩.

“Senior, do you have a death wish?” Luo Han asked Liang Ke with concern.

The latter wore an arrogant grin. “What’s there to fear? Dr. Shu didn’t specify that I couldn’t use obscure characters. I was wronged, so I must seek justice for myself. If she can’t read it, she can check a dictionary.”

Luo Han and Ye Tianze didn’t even look at her; they both tucked their tails and scurried back to their seats, then slipped out of the office area without taking so much as a cloud with them.

Liang Ke felt the chill at her back. Steeling herself, she turned around.

Shu Qingchen had her coat draped over her arm, looking at her with a half-smile and eyes full of deep meaning.

Liang Ke said, “Dr. Shu, Director, Leader… let me explain.”

“No need. Your reflection essay failed. Rewrite it, and add a thousand words to the length.” Shu Qingchen turned away elegantly.

“Don’t! You haven’t even looked at it. Why be in such a hurry to reject my hard work?” Liang Ke clutched her manuscript and chased after her fawningly.

“But I’m not fond of researching obscure characters,” Shu Qingchen said, smiling with feigned helplessness without looking back.

The Calico lowered her head, rubbing her hands in embarrassment.

“Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless you annotate the pronunciation for every character, attach detailed ancient and modern definitions, and provide examples of phrases and sentences. I might consider it.”

“That’s a massive amount of work!” Liang Ke was stunned.

“Is it hard? It shouldn’t be a problem for you,” Shu Qingchen asked airily. “Besides, don’t you love causing trouble? Fine, I’ll satisfy you. I’m giving you an opportunity—make sure to grasp it well.”

Liang Ke shook her “big head” like a rattle. “No, let’s forget it. I was just teasing them. Who actually writes a reflection essay with obscure characters? Principles and bottom lines still matter, right?”

As she spoke, Liang Ke tore off the first few pages of the manuscript, revealing the actual text behind it—neat regular script, small characters, correct formatting, and rigorous language. She had used the template Wu Chuchu gave her. In the world of self-reflections, it was a flawless piece of jade, a rare flower from a celestial garden.

Shu Qingchen had said she wouldn’t look, but she couldn’t help browsing through it. After a few lines, she stopped walking, narrowed her moist eyes, and looked Liang Ke over with a smile.

Liang Ke felt anxious under her gaze and chose to confess her crime proactively: “It… it was written by Nao Nao.”

Shu Qingchen continued walking without a word.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Liang Ke’s smile grew even more fawning. “The research tasks have been very heavy lately. I have too much on my plate, I really couldn’t find the time.”

Shu Qingchen found her car and sat in the passenger seat before asking, “Tasks are heavy?”

While starting the car, Liang Ke performed a “chicken pecking rice” style of nodding.

Shu Qingchen propped her hand behind her ear, thought seriously, and finally chuckled. “Clearly, it’s just that your own work efficiency is low.”

Liang Ke was speechless. In over three years of work, this was the first time anyone had called her inefficient. This bolt from the blue came so suddenly she couldn’t adjust.

If it were anyone else, she’d have the interest to argue her case and snap back. But with the Big Shot—whatever she says goes. “The day doesn’t understand the night’s darkness”; the gap between people is just that large. If anyone is to blame, it’s the unfair Heavens for creating ordinary humans alongside monsters.

Some monsters don’t eat people, but they will repeatedly roll over your self-esteem. Rolling over it once isn’t enough; they do it every day—crushing it, grinding it, turning it into fine powder, and finally scattering it to the wind so you have nowhere to find it.

…

Liang Ke didn’t have time to mourn her self-esteem because the Monster Big Shot opened the navigation and gave an order: “We’re not going home. Go to this place first.”

“XXX Clubhouse?” Liang Ke asked, puzzled as she turned the steering wheel.

There was a caption at the bottom of the screen: XXX Clubhouse, established in 1995, is a landmark venue in the city. It has currently developed into a multi-themed experience mall integrating gourmet food, social gatherings, cultural creativity, sports, and leisure.

“What are we doing at XXX?” Liang Ke asked, pretending to be casual.

Shu Qingchen straightened her collar and smiled. “A friend invited me. It was hard to refuse.”

Liang Ke looked at her warily and asked quite overbearingly, “What friend?”

As expected, the Big Shot was displeased. After a pause, she raised an eyebrow and said, “Professor M.”

The Calico was furious. She slammed on the brakes subconsciously, glaring with wide eyes to make Shu Qingchen feel her anger.

Shu Qingchen hadn’t intended to bully the “small animal,” and she certainly hadn’t expected her to be this angry. She reached out and patted her perfunctorily. “It’s not him. Don’t get excited.”

The Calico relaxed, restarting the car with suspicion. “Really?”

“He doesn’t count as a friend.”

“But you had dinner with him before and even accused me of making trouble.” The Calico was petty and remembered grudges meticulously.

“You were adding to the mess. We were having dinner to talk about work.” Although Shu Qingchen had no resistance against “small animals,” she could still maintain basic principles of right and wrong. “Of course, there were also some private reasons.”

“What reasons?” The Calico sat up straight again.

Shu Qingchen signaled for her to drive properly and watch the following distance before saying, “He gave me a lot of inspiration.”

“What inspiration?”

“Work-wise. I watched his every word and action; he represents every wrong example a medium-sized lab manager or academic leader could possibly make,” Shu Qingchen said. “The private part is: he vividly, clearly, and three-dimensionally demonstrated to me how to wrongly pursue a girl.”

“Pursue… a girl?” Liang Ke repeated instinctively.

The Big Shot was very humble, not minding exposing her own shortcomings at all. “Yes. I’ve spent too much time on academics, so I have no experience in pursuing others. It’s like crossing a river by feeling the stones; I have to find some correct or incorrect examples to study.”

“…”

Liang Ke’s CPU began to emit wisps of blue smoke. The car stopped in the middle of the road again.

For safety reasons, Shu Qingchen was left with no choice but to take the wheel herself.

…

When they reached their destination, she invited the Calico to get out of the car, leading her by the hand through the mall’s lobby and corridors into a private room.

Liang Ke was stiff at first. She had never met Shu Qingchen’s friends before, so she didn’t know what status to claim or what expression to wear. She even straightened her appearance before following Shu Qingchen inside.

Upon entering, she was met with a warm bear hug.

In her daze, Liang Ke adjusted her glasses. It took her a long time to recognize it was Sister A.

Then there was Sister B, Zhao Pu, Xiao Xiaoxiao, and even the piano teacher from Sister A’s academy.

The teacher liked to be direct. The first time she saw Shu Qingchen, she praised her for being beautiful and looking just like a female celebrity she liked. She pointed at Liang Ke and said, “We’re both fans of Yuri Nakano.”

Shu Qingchen said she wanted to see a photo. The piano teacher immediately tapped her photo album, pointing at the bright smile in the picture and comparing it to Shu Qingchen. She asked everyone, “Look, this is Yuri-chan. Doesn’t she look like her? Doesn’t she?”

The question was met with enthusiastic agreement from the crowd.

The teacher was excited and immediately wanted to add Shu Qingchen on WeChat to get to know her better.

“Stop, stop, stop.” Liang Ke struggled to reach out and separate them, standing in the middle herself. She questioned Shu Qingchen with righteous indignation: “This… is your friends’ gathering?” She emphasized the word “your.”

Shu Qingchen was drinking water and couldn’t speak, so she just nodded nonchalantly.

The piano teacher sat over relentlessly. “Chen-chan, I’m so grateful to Liang Ke. Without her, how would we have met you?”

“That’s right,” Sister A said with a face full of sorrow. “A pity I’m getting married soon. The theme of today’s gathering is wedding planning. B, do we have to get married? My resolve seems to be wavering in the face of such beauty.”

Liang Ke gave Sister B a look. The latter immediately dragged her fiancée away and pressed her into the sofa to forcefully hydrate her with fruit juice.