South of Chutian

When he walked out of the office, Li Yuechi's cell phone was still vibrating.

He took out his mobile phone in a daze, and saw five missed calls from Tang Heng, and two text messages, the first one asked him if get out of class was over, the second one asked him where he was, and why there was no one in the classroom.

Li Yuechi replied briefly: I have something to do, wait a moment.

The late spring breeze blew in through the window, and it was warm, blowing over Li Yuechi's cold fingertips. It was only May, and Professor Tang's office was fully air-conditioned.

"Yuechi, I... I didn't count wrong," Tian Xiaoqin's voice trembled, his expression blank, "You saw those boxes, square and square, how could it be wrong... Could it be that we missed a row?"

Li Yuechi was silent for a moment, and asked her: "At that time, did you and Sister Wang count together, or did you count them separately?"

"We are together!" Tian Xiaoqin suddenly collapsed, "How could it be wrong? There are only those things in total, the two of us! Even if I counted wrong, she wouldn't count wrong, right? How could it be? 30 One hundred thousand things are missing—”

"If you miss a row," Li Yuechi added, "there won't be fewer things on the list, but more."

"Could it be that we counted twice? At that time, the two of us... No, no, we stood by the side and counted. After counting a row, people walked over. There will be no repetition."

"Xiao Qin," Li Yuechi looked at Professor Tang's office at the end of the corridor, and whispered, "Do you remember what Teacher Tang said just now?"

"……what?"

"He said, 'But don't be too nervous, Sanke is investigating Wang Lili's responsibility'."

"What does he mean... Maybe Wang Lili made a mistake?"

"Do you think it's possible?"

"But we counted together at the time, how could..."

"Let's wait and see," Li Yuechi always felt that this matter was too weird to explain, "Maybe the hospital and Shengke made a mistake, so don't worry."

But how could they not be in a hurry?Professor Tang said that 10 yuan worth of equipment was missing.Tian Xiaoqin's face was as white as paper, even her lips were bloodless, and Li Yuechi comforted her a few more words before she left in anxiety.

It was already past one in the afternoon when Li Yuechi arrived at the cafeteria. Most of the students had finished their meals, and the tables and chairs were in a mess.At a glance, he saw Tang Heng sitting on the leftmost chair in the cafeteria, and Auntie Cleaning was wiping the table beside him.Tang Heng turned his back to him and lowered his head. Li Yuechi knew that he might be angry.

"Tang Heng."

He turned his head and stood up, there was no anger on his face, only anxiety.

Li Yuechi thought, he knew.

"Let's go out to eat," Tang Heng walked towards him, a little cautiously, "There's nothing to eat now."

Li Yuechi said in a low voice, "Okay."

They walked out of the west gate all the way to the bustling food street.Wuhan is always building roads. The sidewalks have been dug up, leaving only a narrow path for people to walk. Tang Heng walked in front of Li Yuechi. Li Yuechi saw the spring breeze lifting his black hair. On the pure white T-shirt, this picture is like a dream.

For some reason, Li Yuechi suddenly wanted to hold his hand very much.But there are too many people on the road.

They walked into a Korean fast food restaurant and picked a corner seat.

Tang Heng said in a low voice: "I heard uncle talk about that matter...don't worry, we will definitely find out."

Li Yuechi nodded, and was silent for a moment: "I don't know why there is less equipment."

"Is it possible that the local hospital thought we were a bully, and the lion opened its mouth?"

"Maybe."

"Or there is a problem with the number of equipment provided by Shengke to the hospital..." Tang Heng thought thoughtfully, "It was a mistake at the beginning."

The waiter delivered the meal they ordered, which was indeed a simple meal—half of rice, half of fried chicken nuggets, and a handful of shredded lettuce on the plate. Perhaps it was because of the late arrival that the food was cold.Li Yuechi chewed absently, and kept replaying those scenes in his mind. He thought regretfully, if he didn't stand in a daze when counting the number, it would be fine.

I also remembered that Professor Tang said that this matter can be big or small.In fact, he doesn't understand how "big" is "big" and how "small" is "small".

"Are those things worth 10 yuan?" Tang Heng asked suddenly.

"Yes..." Li Yuechi came back to his senses, "One hundred thousand."

"It's a big deal to lose money to them, don't worry."

"I don't have that much money."

"I have it."

His tone was so natural that Li Yuechi was at a loss for words.Tang Heng continued: "I know you don't like this, so let's treat it as if you borrowed it from me and pay it back when you go to work later."

"...Teacher Tang may feel that this matter is the responsibility of me and Tian Xiaoqin."

"That's right, who hasn't made a mistake yet?" Tang Heng smiled, "It's okay, really."

Li Yuechi didn't know what to say, because Tang Heng's gaze was so innocent, like a vast expanse of white snow.It seems that in his opinion, this matter is not a complicated issue, and tens of thousands of dollars is nothing - to him, of course it is nothing.

After dinner, the two parted ways on campus.Tang Heng was going to see his thesis supervisor, and Li Yuechi went back to the dormitory.The two made an appointment to have dinner together in the evening and return to the rental house.Before leaving, Tang Heng quickly squeezed Li Yuechi's hand: "Don't think about it, it's all trivial."

Li Yuechi nodded and said, "Don't worry about me."

Back in the dormitory, all three roommates were there.They are also freshmen in the School of Social Sciences, but in other majors.

"Yuechi, are you okay..." a roommate said.

Li Yuechi was stunned for a moment: "You all know?"

"I heard from my senior sister... Hey, actually, I think so," the roommate got up and closed the door tightly, and analyzed seriously, "This matter can't be entirely attributed to you and Tian Xiaoqin. How should I put it, the two of you are representing you The team went there, and it’s just a first-year research, if it’s really your problem, then it can’t be all blamed on you…”

"It's your entire team's problem," another roommate answered, "Teacher Tang is the big leader. In fact, he is the most responsible. Don't be afraid."

"Besides, you didn't steal or rob, at most it's a disadvantage, so you won't be involved with this project in the future," said the third roommate, "otherwise what else can you do."

In the face of them, on the contrary, you can say those things that cannot be said.Li Yuechi sat on the chair and sighed silently: "What if we lose money? The missing equipment is worth 10 yuan."

"That's impossible! My senior sister said today that the college won't let students lose money, don't worry."

"Besides, Teacher Tang won't let you pay. You know, Teacher Tang is rich. I heard that he has shares in several big companies!"

"And Tian Xiaoqin...Tian Xiaoqin won't lose money, right?"

Li Yuechi looked up at them: "Why?"

"Why, why, pretending to be with us?" The roommate pushed Li Yuechi, and said meaningfully, "Teacher Tang is taking care of Tian Xiaoqin."

Li Yuechi felt a punch in the chest: "What do you mean by that?"

The three roommates looked at each other, and one of them continued: "You really don't know? It's just... I didn't make up this story. People in your teacher's school admitted it. Teacher Tang and Tian Xiaoqin, maybe... Anyway, it was that time Do you understand? You see, Tian Xiaoqin was qualified as a teaching assistant as soon as she started her research, and she followed the project last semester, and joined the awesome project team of Dawu Poverty Alleviation. Why, think about it."

Li Yuechi said in disbelief: "I also joined the project team of Dawu Poverty Alleviation, and I also worked as a teaching assistant... Later, I quit by myself."

"Brother, you are used as a cover!" The roommate sighed, "Think about it, besides the two of you, which student under Mr. Tang's school is so favored? An Yun is the daughter of Mr. An. The teacher's relationship is so strong, why don't you find An Yun if there is something really good?"

"Because An Yun is working on a project with Teacher An..."

"Where did Mr. An come from for the project? He has been busy evaluating Changjiang Scholars! Let me tell you, it's because of this kind of cover-up. He couldn't find An Yun to do it, so he asked you."

"..."

Li Yuechi stood up suddenly: "Who said these words?"

"Damn, don't ask me that, then I won't be able to make a small report," the roommate shrank his shoulders, "Your teachers all know it, Mr. Tang and Tian Xiaoqin, you love me..."

"I do not know."

"You're so fucking busy with dating," said another roommate, "you really don't have time to listen to these gossips."

"That's right, so you really don't have to worry about money, and you two won't lose money—at most, you can write a report on the situation."

The roommate said as he turned on the computer and murmured, "I'll find you a template. Last time I lost the data and wrote a report..." The other two roommates also returned to their seats, One continued to read, and the other leisurely crossed his legs and played with his mobile phone.

Only Li Yuechi was left standing in the dormitory, like an abrupt and silent stake.

He suddenly remembered watching a movie called "The Truman Show" in the school's open-air cinema when he was an undergraduate.The plot probably says that the hero originally lived an ordinary life in a small city, until one day, he suddenly discovered that the life he thought was real was actually a large-scale reality show.

At this moment, Li Yuechi felt a heartfelt confusion that made him chill.He couldn't help but wonder if the world he lived in was the same as the world his roommates lived in?Is the world he sees the same as the world seen by his classmates?Is he also living in a big reality show?No, a movie is a movie and reality is reality.But why, they were all saying things he couldn't understand? !

How could it be possible for Tian Xiaoqin to "love me with you" with Teacher Tang?It's too late for her to hide from Teacher Tang!Could it be that Tian Xiaoqin lied to him?Did Tian Xiaoqin pretend to be afraid?But what is the point of her doing this?And how did he become a "cover"?Didn't Teacher Tang let him into the project team because he admired him?Obviously, Mr. Tang praised him many times-the first place in the mathematics department, which is rare.

These thoughts made him feel physically uncomfortable.He walked out of the dormitory stiffly like a puppet.After only a short while, the sky turned cloudy, and it was going to rain soon.

Li Yuechi took out his mobile phone and wanted to make a call to Tang Heng.He wanted to hear his voice, to see him, now, right now.For the first time, he felt that he needed Tang Heng so urgently, not just liking him, not just missing him, but needing him.The world is crumbling, and Tang Heng is like his anchor, like the only certain point in the bewildered three-dimensional coordinate system.

Li Yuechi took out his phone, only to see the text message from Tang Heng a few minutes ago.

"Fuck, my mom came back suddenly, we can't see each other at night:("