That Girl Who Skipped Class — You're In Big Trouble! - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The weather grew colder as November approached. The vast plane trees at A University gradually drooped, and when the wind blew, the school grounds were covered with greyish-yellow leaves. An Qingyang stood by the window wearing a knitted sweater, holding a steaming cup of milk tea.

Eileen returned to Australia the day after her brief meeting with An Qingyang. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaoxiao and Song Yingming were still struggling in a vicious cycle of fighting, cold wars, and reconciliation. “She’s driving me crazy,” Zhang Xiaoxiao complained to An Qingyang over the phone. An Qingyang would always comfort her for a few moments but secretly felt a little envious.

Today was the most important class for her department. Last night, the class monitor repeatedly warned An Qingyang on the phone not to skip it. An Qingyang’s face grew warm with embarrassment, and she finally got up early, tidied up, and prepared to head to the classroom.

Inside the sophomore art studio, students’ sketches from a trip to Wuzhen were piled up in the corners of the room. The early students paced around, looking at the work with their hands behind their backs, much like old scholars in a history museum. An Qingyang arrived right as the class bell rang, seeing the sketching teacher standing in front of the blackboard with a marker pen.

“Students, please return to your seats. Today is our last class. Your sketching scores have been posted on the campus network, and you can check them after class,” the teacher held a pen in one hand and leaned on the lectern with the other. “I have some good news to announce: no one in our major failed this semester.”

A smattering of applause broke out below the stage.

“You should all know the participants for the product design competition on the 15th of this month, right? These three students—An Dong’s Wuzhen by Myself, Liu Jinghuan’s By the River, and An Qingyang’s Woman in a Qipao Eating Fried Chicken—have been selected. They will represent our school in the national product design competition. Come on, let’s give them a round of applause.” The teacher wrote their names and the titles of their works on the blackboard.

Amidst the students’ applause, the teacher placed the three students’ sketches on the lectern: An Dong’s painting was modest and proper, a textbook example; Liu Jinghuan’s brushwork was delicate, transporting people to the misty, rainy江南 (Jiangnan) of June; An Qingyang’s painting used striking colors, and in the bottom right corner of the painting was the slender, distant figure of a woman in a qipao, a few simple strokes outlining the whole painting’s charm.

After commenting on their works, the teacher cleared his throat: “This is the first national product design competition involving over 50 universities, so the department teachers take it very seriously. Besides the assistance of our department’s teachers, we will invite three teachers from the School of Computer Science to provide you with one-on-one guidance.”

An Dong raised his hand: “Teacher, are we supposed to do interface design?”

“The competition rules state that only one person can participate per team, so you must complete the entire process from product conception to overall design independently, though you may ask for help from teachers and classmates.”

When An Qingyang heard “one-on-one guidance from Computer Science teachers,” she finally got excited: Was Xiao Xuan on the list of guidance teachers?

“Alright, that’s enough about the competition. Students who aren’t participating shouldn’t be disappointed; there will be other opportunities. Give them plenty of support and encouragement this time,” the teacher finished, pointing to the office next door. “You three, hurry to the next office. The guidance teachers are waiting for you there.”

…

Xiao Xuan brewed tea and poured cups for the two colleagues opposite her. They were sitting by the coffee table in the office, with some student information sheets placed on the tea set.

Li Huai’an picked up his teacup and took a sip: “I heard that over a dozen teachers from the Computer Science department at Zhongding University are participating this time. Three teachers guiding one student.”

“The competition is fierce. The Dean spoke to me a couple of days ago, so it seems the school leadership views this competition very seriously,” Chang Tao picked up the documents and looked at them again. “It’s the students from the top majors participating. Our design students have good aesthetics, but they lack training in logic. Getting a good ranking will be a test for us.”

Li Huai’an looked at Xiao Xuan, a little shy: “What do you think, Teacher Xiao?”

Xiao Xuan picked up the student roster on the table, just about to speak, when the door knocked.

“Come in.”

An Dong held a notebook, with Liu Jinghuan and An Qingyang following behind. Xiao Xuan and An Qingyang’s eyes met for a second before parting.

Chang Tao placed his hands flat on the paper: “Are you all clear on the rules of this competition? Do you have any initial ideas for the participating works? The three of us will choose the project we are more skilled in or prefer to guide, based on your preliminary ideas.”

“Yes, let’s all work hard together,” Li Huai’an added.

An Dong squatted down, opened his laptop, and showed the images to the three teachers: “Teachers, I studied the competition rules the day before yesterday and sketched out my own idea. I want to create a national gaming university community, bringing together all the male students who play games across various colleges.”

Chang Tao took the notebook and glanced at it: “Interesting. Continue to think along this line of thought.” He looked up at Liu Jinghuan and An Qingyang: “What about you two?”

Liu Jinghuan scratched the back of his head: “I haven’t decided yet. I really like traditional Chinese crafts, like ceramics and lacquerware. Can I create something based on them?”

“Of course, you can.” Xiao Xuan’s gaze drifted to him. Liu Jinghuan looked even more self-conscious. Then, the three teachers’ gazes unanimously turned to An Qingyang. An Qingyang was wearing a light brown trench coat, faintly revealing the white knitted top underneath. Her slender, graceful neck, and her eyelashes fluttered like someone who had just stepped out of a shojo manga.

Under everyone’s scrutiny, she said one sentence: “I don’t know anything.”

Everyone present was petrified.

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent collectively, An Qingyang tucked her hands into the pockets of her trench coat, looked around, and then addressed the two male teachers, saying with wide, innocent eyes: “Could Teacher Xiao guide me? I don’t know anything, and I’m very afraid of embarrassing the teacher and the school.” Li Huai’an laughed: “Don’t worry, Student An. Teacher Xiao is the best teacher in our Computer Science department; you can fully trust her.” He turned to Xiao Xuan, his eyes asking for confirmation.

“Alright, but you need to be mentally prepared. I’m very strict, and you’re not allowed to withdraw halfway through the competition.” Xiao Xuan rested one hand on her chin, smiling as she looked at An Qingyang. An Qingyang’s hands, hidden in her pockets, involuntarily clenched into fists. She couldn’t read the emotion in that look but knew the person was smiling. Was it concern? Was it a teacher’s duty? Or was it flirtation?

Next, An Dong chose Chang Tao, and Liu Jinghuan chose Li Huai’an. After the six people were matched up, they agreed to meet here on the 15th of this month to depart together for the preliminary round at the five major universities in C City. The three students came out of the office, An Dong and Liu Jinghuan unable to hide their excitement as they discussed the progress of the competition. An Dong saw An Qingyang wasn’t speaking and couldn’t help but show concern: “An’an, don’t be nervous. Teacher Xiao is amazing. You can discuss any idea you have with her, and you’ll definitely create a wonderful design.” Liu Jinghuan also chimed in: “Yeah, Qianyang, I didn’t realize your foundation was so good. I haven’t seen you attend many classes these past two years; I don’t know enough about you. I’m happy we have a chance to learn and improve together this time.”

An Qingyang responded briefly, smiling charmingly. She wasn’t happy about the competition but about the long time she would get to spend with Teacher Xiao. Although their recent experiences hadn’t been entirely happy, perhaps, as Zhang Xiaoxiao said, warming up Xiao Xuan’s cold heart required patience.

Just as the three of them reached the entrance to the art studio, Xiao Xuan sent An Qingyang a WeChat message: “Can you come to my office now? 4th floor, School of Computer Science.”