"Hehe, finally you're going to tell me?" Dingding hugged me and laughed, "I wondered what was going on! Turns out you're in love!"
"You're so annoying! Don't laugh at me!" My face was burning hot, and I think even my neck was red.
"I'm not making fun of you! I thought you were just a glutton who would never get any sense of right and wrong! I never expected you to understand love and affection!" Dingding said she wasn't making fun of me, but her face was beaming with a wide grin.
"I'm annoyed right now!" I shoved her and snapped, "Are you still my best friend?"
"Okay, okay!" Dingding suppressed a laugh, grabbed my hand, and said, "Tell me, what kind of love problem are you facing?"
"I'm just asking you, how do you know that Dayong genuinely likes you, and not because of some other reason?"
"Hmm, this is actually a very difficult question to answer!" Dingding stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Tell me, if Dayong doesn't genuinely like me, then what is he after?"
"For example, your family background, and the benefits you might bring to him."
Dingding's expression suddenly turned serious upon hearing this. She stared at me and slowly said, "If he were that kind of person, I would have dumped him long ago. Dayong isn't. We didn't know anything about each other's family backgrounds when we were dating. Yuanyuan, what kind of person did you meet? What did he do to you?"
"I..." Just as he was about to speak and tell everything, there was a knock at the door.
Knock knock—
Who is it?
"Teacher Ding, Teacher Su! It's me!"
"It's Uncle Zhang!" Dingding jumped off the bed, walked to the door, and asked, "What's the matter so late?"
"Someone is looking for Teacher Su! Please ask Teacher Su to come out for a moment!"
Huh? Someone's looking for me? Dingding turned around and looked at me in confusion, while I shook my head repeatedly, looking completely bewildered.
"Uncle Zhang, please ask that person to wait in the main room for a while. We'll be right out!"
"Okay." As Old Zhang's footsteps faded into the distance, Dingding and I put our cotton-padded coats back on, full of doubt.
"Yuanyuan, could she be a student?"
"I don't know! Maybe! Let's go out and take a look!"
The two quickly tidied themselves up and walked together to the front hall.
The lights were on in the main room, and from a distance, a faint, damp warmth could be seen rising through the glass windows.
Before I left, Dingding followed behind me. When we reached the front of the house, we gently pushed open the door. A familiar figure sat by the brazier, holding Old Zhang's hot tea in his hands. The faint, warm, and damp air emanated from the cup.
"Dean Qu... Dean Qu!" Dingding and I exclaimed in surprise at the same time.
Qu Ling turned her head slightly, her smile reflecting the orange firelight, warm and gentle.
"I didn't expect southern Anhui to be so damp and cold after the rain." Qu Ling took a sip of tea, pointed to the brazier next to her and said, "Come in and sit down, it's chilly outside."
I was surprised. I was surprised that Qu Ling would suddenly appear here, but I at least vaguely knew in my heart that he was probably here for me.
Dingding was even more surprised, utterly bewildered and clueless. The fact that the busiest dean of the academy had suddenly appeared in this remote mountain village was, to her, almost like seeing a hippo walking upright on two legs.
"What are you still standing for? Come and sit down."
Dingding and I exchanged a glance, and then sat down side by side opposite Qu Ling.
I stared silently at the flickering embers in the brazier. After a long pause, Dingding finally asked, "Dean Qu, why did you suddenly come to southern Anhui?"
"Hehe, I care about the students and teachers from my college who are out sketching. Can't I go and visit them in person?"
"Of course! Of course!" Dingding answered awkwardly, clearly not believing it was true.
I didn't know what Qu Ling was planning to do, and I was afraid he would say something strange in front of Ding Ding. Just as I was worrying, Qu Ling suddenly said, "Yuanyuan, I went to your house last night, and your mother said that you left in a hurry and forgot to take something important with you."
"Huh? -- I --" I was so shocked by his words that I was speechless. Dean, do you even know that Dingding is still here? How could you say such a thing in front of her?
"Dean, are you very familiar with Yuanyuan's family?" Dingding's eyes widened. She had only recently learned that Dean Su was my third uncle, but she didn't know that Dean Qu was also so close to my family.
Qu Ling smiled but didn't answer. Instead, she took out a large package and handed it to me over the brazier, saying, "I heard that Yuanyuan can't sleep without this pillow."
"Wow—" Dingding was so surprised she almost jumped up from the stool. "Dean...Dean! You came here specifically to bring Yuanyuan a pillow?"
I stared at the pale pink package through the firelight, and felt a surge of heat rise from my forehead, gradually spreading to my face, neck, and down, until even my heels felt burning.
Dingding sensed the unusual atmosphere and stared at me intently. When I didn't move for a while, she gently nudged me and said, "Yuanyuan, hurry up and take the things! The dean's hands are about to break."
Snapping out of my daze, I took the pillow, my face flushed, and whispered, "Thank you."
The three of them remained silent, the atmosphere subtle and somewhat awkward.
Dingding suddenly stood up from the stool and said somewhat hurriedly, "I just remembered that one of my students had a fever this afternoon, and I have to go see him. Yuanyuan, you chat with the dean for a while. The dean will stay at Uncle Zhang's house tonight, right? I'll ask Uncle Zhang to arrange a room for him later."
"Okay." Qu Ling smiled and nodded to Ding Ding. After she left the room, she got up and walked to my side, where I was frozen in place.
"Yuanyuan, you don't look well. Did you catch a cold?" Qu Ling gently placed his hand on my shoulder. I trembled and stiffened for a moment, but I didn't brush his hand away.
"I...I'm fine." Looking down at the fire, her heart was filled with mixed feelings, a complete mess.
"Dean, you...you don't actually need to worry about a pillow..." I was interrupted before I could finish speaking.
“Your mother said you’ve been sleeping on this pillow since you were little, and you take it with you everywhere you go. It’s the rose pillow that Grandma Su made for you when you were born. Without this pillow, you’ll have insomnia all night and nightmares.” Qu Ling sat down next to me, but her hand remained on my shoulder.
“But it’s so far…” I finally looked up at him, and firelight flickered in Qu Ling’s dark eyes.
"Without this pillow, you probably wouldn't sleep well for the next seven days. If you can't sleep well, how can I?"
"I..." I slightly turned down the corner of my mouth, my nose tingled, and my eyes reddened.