Leaving Liu Chengzhi’s office, Zhou Yuanjue had no plans to linger. He was going to complete the rest of his resignation procedures and then leave. Although he had made a few friends among his colleagues during his two years of teaching, he had no intention of getting too involved with them, wanting to prevent any unnecessary trouble.
As he walked down the stairs, a voice full of surprise suddenly rang out from a landing. "Teacher Zhou, what a coincidence!"
Zhou Yuanjue turned to look. The voice belonged to a tall girl with a black backpack slung over her shoulders. She wore a loose white T-shirt and light blue denim hot pants, revealing long, fair, and perfectly straight legs that attracted the attention of many passing students.
Perhaps because she had just woken up and hadn’t had breakfast yet, the girl’s one cheek was puffed out. In her hand, she held a half-eaten fried dough stick and a cup of soy milk she was halfway through. Her large eyes crinkled in a smile the moment she saw Zhou Yuanjue, showing her pleasant surprise.
"Yu Yajie?"
Looking at the girl, Zhou Yuanjue took a moment to think, and finally put a name to the face before him.
"I remember you’re in the finance department, right? What are you doing here in the history department?"
Zhou Yuanjue asked, finding it a bit strange.
"Ah, I’m here to see an older family friend... Teacher, do you have some time in a little while? I have some questions I’d like to ask you."
Yu Yajie said hurriedly. ’She wasn’t about to pass up such a perfect opportunity. It was a good thing she knew she was coming to the history department and had prepared by stuffing a history book in her bag. Otherwise, she would have completely missed her chance.’
"I’m sorry, Yu. I’m afraid there won’t be many more opportunities to answer your questions. For some personal reasons, I’ve just submitted my resignation to Dean Liu. I expect to finish the handover process by tomorrow. The department will arrange for another teacher to take my place for your history class. I still have a lot of paperwork to handle today, so I’m afraid I won’t have the time. My schedule will probably be quite full in the future as well. If you have any questions, you can ask the new teacher. I’m sure you’ll get a comprehensive answer."
Zhou Yuanjue said to Yu Yajie with a small smile.
"Resigning..."
Hearing Zhou Yuanjue’s words, it took Yu Yajie a moment to come back to her senses.
"I’ve still got some things to take care of, Yu. I’ll see you around."
Zhou Yuanjue nodded at Yu Yajie and slowly walked down the stairs, her dazed eyes following him.
Yu Yajie only snapped out of it after Zhou Yuanjue’s figure had completely disappeared around the turn in the staircase.
’Teacher Zhou... is resigning? How could it be so sudden?!’
When Yu Yajie thought about how she would never get to attend Zhou Yuanjue’s lectures again, her heart suddenly felt hollow. It was a feeling of, ’And just like that, my youth is over.’
She looked down dejectedly at her favorite breakfast of soy milk and fried dough sticks, which suddenly lost all its appeal.
She tossed the half-full cup of soy milk and the half-eaten dough stick into the trash. Completely crestfallen, she made her way to Dean Liu Chengzhi’s office and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
Liu Chengzhi’s powerful voice rang out from the room again. Yu Yajie pushed open the office door and stepped inside.
"Yajie, you’re here. Have a seat."
Liu Chengzhi said with a kindly expression, waving her over.
"Hm? What’s the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"
Liu Chengzhi asked, looking with some puzzlement at Yu Yajie’s absent-minded and unfocused gaze.
"No, no, Uncle Liu. Is Teacher Zhou... really resigning? I just bumped into him."
Yu Yajie asked Liu Chengzhi.
"He is. For personal reasons. He’s a good teacher, but everyone has their own path. Why? Do you know Teacher Zhou too?"
Liu Chengzhi asked curiously, seeming to have sensed something was up.
"I took his class... Ahem. Anyway, Uncle Liu, let’s not talk about that. What was it my dad said I was supposed to pick up from you?"
Yu Yajie seemed to realize her behavior was a bit strange. She cleared her throat and put on a serious expression.
Liu Chengzhi smiled, seemingly seeing right through Yu Yajie’s thoughts, but he knew better than to point it out. He bent over, opened a drawer on the side of his desk, and pulled out a round, palm-sized package wrapped in oil paper, which he handed to her.
"What is this?"
Yu Yajie asked curiously as she took the oil-paper package.
"Why don’t you open it and see for yourself?"
Liu Chengzhi said with a smile.
"Oh..."
Yu Yajie replied, carefully unwrapping the oil-paper package. Inside was a round, black jade disc. An abundance of gold threads was inlaid across its surface, entwined to form complex patterns. They looked a bit like ancient characters from Donghua Country, like a Ghost Talisman. It was probably some kind of antique.
Curious, she reached out to take the Black Jade disc from the wrapping. But just as her finger touched it, she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt as if the gold threads inlaid on the disc flickered faintly. A moment later, a burning, stinging sensation shot up from the finger touching the Black Jade disc. She couldn’t help but let out a small cry and pull her hand back. The disc fell onto the desk with a THUD.
Perhaps because it hadn’t fallen far, or perhaps because the Black Jade disc itself was quite Solid, the fall didn’t damage it in the slightest.
"Be careful! That’s an antique, it’s very valuable!"
Liu Chengzhi said, looking at Yu Yajie reproachfully. He picked up the Black Jade disc from the desk, stroking it inch by inch and inspecting it carefully. Only after finding no damage did he seem to breathe a sigh of relief.
"This... Why is this thing burning hot?!"
Yu Yajie asked, astonished.
"Burning hot? How could it be? Here, try again."
Liu Chengzhi said with a look of confusion, holding the Black Jade disc out in front of Yu Yajie again.
"Really?"
Yu Yajie frowned. After a moment’s hesitation, she reached her finger out again and gingerly touched the Black Jade disc once more.
This time, not only was there no burning, stinging sensation, but the crystalline jade actually felt cool to the touch.
’Was I just imagining it?’
Yu Yajie was utterly bewildered; she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
"Honestly, a grown girl like you, still so clumsy."
Liu Chengzhi shook his head, rewrapped the Black Jade disc in the oil paper, and handed it to Yu Yajie. "Hold it carefully," he said. "Make sure you deliver it to your father in one piece."
"So what exactly is this thing?"
Yu Yajie asked curiously.
"You’ll find out if you ask your dad when you get home, won’t you?"
Liu Chengzhi said with a smile.
"Oh, alright then. Well, Uncle Liu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now, okay?"
Yu Yajie carefully tucked the oil-paper package into an inner compartment of her black backpack, then spoke to Liu Chengzhi.
"Go on, go on. I’m busy today, so I won’t keep you to nag at you."
Liu Chengzhi waved his hand with a hint of resignation.
"Goodbye then, Uncle Liu!"
Yu Yajie made a face at Liu Chengzhi, then turned and walked out of the office.
Watching the office door close again, Liu Chengzhi leaned back in his office chair, his brow slightly furrowed. ’It reacts to a mere touch, and yet after so many years, she’s still an ordinary person... Yu Guanhai, what exactly are you thinking?’