God, why did you let me be born into such a cruel world?
God must be asleep, unable to see me, suffering in the human world, in C Academy, and in front of the two deans.
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and turn off the lights and go back to your dorm to sleep!" My third uncle gently patted my head.
"Yes." I said, my face burning with shame, as I picked up my backpack from my desk and went to turn off the light.
*Snap*—The light went out.
"Su Yuanyuan!" Uncle San roared in the darkness.
"what?"
Do you want us to stumble out in the dark, bumping into walls along the way?
"You're the one who told me to turn it off..."
Are you deliberately going against me?
"Third Uncle! I'm innocent!" In my panic, I even forgot to call out to Dean Su.
The three of them stumbled out of the office in the dark, and I slammed the door shut behind me. Fortunately, the moonlight outside was bright, and everything in the corridor was clearly visible.
"Dean Su, Yuanyuan is actually very responsible." Qu Ling suddenly blurted out this as they were going down the stairs.
"Oh?" Uncle San was clearly waiting for what was to come.
“Almost every time I come to the office building for inspection at night, I see her alone in her office organizing documents.” I couldn’t see Qu Ling’s expression because of the moonlight, but his voice was very calm.
My third uncle didn't say anything, but silently turned to look at me. I lowered my head, not daring to look him in the eye.
After a long while, having already left the office building, Qu Ling walked far ahead alone. My third uncle sighed and patted my head, saying, "My Yuanyuan has grown up! She's a good child."
"Third Uncle..." For some reason, my eyes felt a little sore, as if a veil was covering my eyes. When I looked up at the moon, the moonlight shimmered gently through that watery veil.
*****
On Thursday afternoon, after finishing three art appreciation classes, I returned to the office exhausted, my saliva almost completely drained. As soon as I sat down, I noticed the strange atmosphere in the office. More than a dozen teachers were staring at me, their expressions as if I were a stranger who had inexplicably barged in.
"Yuanyuan!" Dingding walked up to me and whispered in my ear, "Go to Director Zhou's place quickly, he's looking for you!"
"Looking for me again?" My scalp tingled when I heard it was Director Zhou who was looking for me.
Dingding winked and said, "Don't be afraid, it's not a bad thing!"
Even with Ding Ding's words as a warning, I still felt a little uneasy when I walked into the director's office.
"Good morning, Director!"
"Hmm, sit down!" Director Zhou gestured with his chin to the small chair opposite him.
"Thanks!"
"Teacher Su, how have you been feeling about work lately?"
"Okay, very good!" I blinked and answered, looking at the ceiling. This was clearly a way of telling me to lie through my teeth!
"Hmm, I also think you seem to be handling it with ease." Director Zhou's lips curled into a smile that sent chills down one's spine.
"No, I... I still have a lot to learn from my seniors." A bad warning sounded in my mind.
"Alright, I'm not going to beat around the bush with you anymore," Director Zhou tapped the edge of the table with his pen, glancing at me sideways. "Just now, Dean Qu called me in and asked who wrote that report from last week. He hopes that the person who wrote the report can temporarily work as his assistant during the evaluation period. The dean's meaning is very clear: he wants someone from me!"
I looked down at the floor and pretended to be dead.
"Su Yuanyuan, pack your things right now and report to Dean Qu. You'll be under his supervision until the evaluation is over." Director Zhou impatiently lit a cigarette and waved at me.
"Yes!" I said, still keeping my head down, as I slowly stood up. "Director, I'll head out now!"
Director Zhou let out a cold snort behind me.
Oh yeah! I'm finally free from their clutches! I almost jumped for joy as I left the director's office! But feeling the sharp gazes of everyone in the large office, I suppressed my happiness, coughed twice, and calmly walked back to my desk.
Dingding jumped up to me again, her eyes smiling like two sunflowers, "So, it's not a bad thing, is it!"
I glanced at her and asked seriously, "How did you know?"
"Of course I know! Dean Qu came to the department in person to ask for him! In front of all the teachers!" Dingding pinched me mischievously and asked, "Yuanyuan, I didn't realize you like this! When did you gain such favor from Dean Qu?"
"Well, actually..." I looked around and deliberately pulled Ding Ding closer, saying, "Actually... I don't know either!"
"You naughty girl!" Dingding was originally excited to hear gossip, but I tricked her, and she angrily pinched my face.
*****
Standing in front of the dean's office, I took a deep breath.
No, I'm still too nervous.
Take another deep breath.
Still nervous.
So I kept taking deep breaths, but I still couldn't bring myself to knock on the door.
After taking deep breaths for about twenty minutes, I finally mustered the courage to reach out my left hand, close my eyes, and bend my index finger to knock on the door.
The moment I knocked on the door, I felt a cool breeze brush against my face, and before I could retract my hand, I slammed it down heavily in that breeze.
"Ugh!" someone groaned in pain.
I quickly opened my eyes, and oh my god! My index finger was firmly planted on Dean Qu's high, straight nose!
"Dean Qu! Are you alright?" I hurriedly withdrew my hand and frantically checked his nose.
Qu Ling gently pushed my hand away, covering her nose, and said, "It's nothing..."
As he was speaking, I saw two bright red lines of blood dripping down his philtrum.
"Dean Qu! You're bleeding!" I cried, pointing to his philtrum, which was stained red with blood.
Qu Ling subconsciously reached up and wiped his nose, only to find his hands covered in blood. But he remained calm, extending his other hand to pull me inside. "Yuanyuan, don't shout, come in!"
"What do we do? Your nose is bleeding!" I followed behind him, as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof. "Where are the tissues? Where's the tissue box in your office?"
Qu Ling sat down on the sofa with her head tilted back and pointed to the desk.
I grabbed several tissues, ran to his side, and first used one to wipe the blood from his nose and mouth. Then I tore off a small strip from another tissue, rolled it into two small rolls, and prepared to put them into his nose to stop the bleeding.
Qu Ling frowned as she looked at the white, chalk-like roll of paper in my hand, then turned her head and said softly, "No need!"
"No way!" I said fiercely, holding up the roll of paper. "Your nose is like a faucet, blood keeps gushing out, it won't stop unless it's plugged up, I don't want you to bleed to death!"
"It's okay, I used to get nosebleeds a lot when I was little, it'll be fine in a bit." Qu Ling was like a disobedient child, stubbornly refusing to turn her head.
"Oh, okay? Then I'll call Dr. Wang from the clinic and have him come to my house!" I pretended to grab the phone on the table.
"No need!" Qu Ling grabbed my hand, and in the struggle, the blood from my nose flowed even more profusely.
"Then stuff these in!" While he turned his head away, I quickly stuffed two small white rolls into his nose.
Qu Ling groaned, covered her nose, tilted her head back and remained still for a while, but did not take out the two small paper rolls.
I sat to the side watching him, praying in my heart that my dear Dean Qu wouldn't bleed to death; I didn't want to return to Director Zhou's tyrannical rule.
"Yuanyuan," Qu Ling's nose was blocked, and her voice sounded strange as she breathed through her mouth. "You're the first person in my entire life who has dared to mess with me!"
"Huh?" I opened my mouth, completely bewildered.
“It’s been like this since we were little,” Qu Ling said, panting slightly and with her eyes closed. “Back then at Huangshan Station, you and Su Zhenzhen got lost, and I found you in the crowd. You were such a tiny little thing, yet you grabbed my neck and said that if you rode on my neck, you could find your sister! You were bewitched, and I actually obediently squatted down and let you ride on my neck, and I almost broke my neck.”
"Is...is it true?" It was that Huangshan incident again. I tried hard to recall it, but those damned fragments just wouldn't come to mind.
"Hehe," Qu Ling suddenly laughed, muttering in a low voice, "Could it really be that one thing can subdue another?"
"What? What do you need, Dean? I'll find it for you!"
Qu Ling opened her eyes and looked at me. Her face was covered in blood, and she looked miserable, but she was smiling brightly.
"Dean Qu," I tilted my head and looked at him intently for a long time before asking, "Are you sand-nosed?"
"Hmm?" This time it was Qu Ling's turn to look confused.
"I didn't use much force! How come you got so much blood from that one tap?!" I looked at my round, innocent index finger, pouting, and said, "I really didn't use any force!"
Qu Ling finally couldn't help but slap my head and said, "You call this not using enough force? If you used any more force, I wouldn't be able to save my nose!"
Su Yuanyuan Flying Car
Only after becoming the dean's assistant did I realize how much work the dean had.
Morning meetings, evening meetings, overtime meetings, departmental meetings, Ministry of Education meetings, district-level meetings, city-level meetings... countless meetings of all sizes can drive a normal person crazy.
Qu Ling isn't crazy, so he's not a normal person.
My third uncle isn't crazy, but he's certainly not a normal person either. Those leaders who can hold every meeting are all definitely not normal. Perhaps a bit of madness is necessary to be a leader?
Wiping sweat~~~ I, Su Yuanyuan, never want to be an unlucky leader in my life!
"Yuanyuan, I'm going to a meeting at the Education Bureau right away. Could you help me organize these documents?"
"Oh! Okay!" I took the documents, flipped through them, and saw that they were again about bidding and procurement plans, and they were old stuff from several years ago. Isn't the school busy with evaluations right now? Why is Qu Ling not taking care of the important matters, but instead getting involved in these inexplicable things?
"Dean, after we've finished organizing it, should we send it directly to the cost estimation firm, or wait until you come back and review it before sending it?"
"Just send it directly." Qu Ling thought for a moment and then said, "Zhang, the engineer at the firm, might bring you some materials back. After you get them, make a copy and send it to Dean Su."
"Okay." I leaned on the small square table by the door of the dean's office, nodding repeatedly like an obedient puppy.
"Yuanyuan, thank you for your hard work!" Qu Ling opened the door, then suddenly turned around and said to me.
"It's no trouble at all! I will definitely complete the task assigned by the dean!" I vowed. For Dean Qu's graceful turn, I, Su Yuanyuan, am willing to risk my life!
Qu Shuai nodded in satisfaction, reached out and patted my head, saying, "Yuanyuan is such a good girl! I'm leaving now!"
Goodbye, Dean!
I'm so frustrated. I feel like a little puppy in front of Qu Ling. A pathetic dog wagging its tail all day trying to please its owner!
Forget it, let's get those documents sorted out first.
After organizing the materials, I successfully delivered them to the cost estimation firm and retrieved the documents Qu Ling had mentioned. Remembering that he had instructed me to give a copy to my third uncle, I made a copy and took it to the vice president's office downstairs.
When I gave my third uncle the documents, I noticed that he looked unwell and preoccupied.