Chapter 6
Jian Wu had subconsciously skewered the pineapple and meat together, only now realizing something was amiss. He frantically tried to cover the skewers with something, but it was too late.
The round-faced man beside him wasn’t tall, but he had a loud voice. Perhaps Song Shuci overheard, because after the comment, Song Shuci suddenly glanced over.
His gaze briefly lingered on Jian Wu’s face before moving to the man beside him.
“Professor Zheng?”
“Yes,” the round-faced man replied, then greeted Song Shuci, “Professor Song!”
Jian Wu was a little surprised. He had assumed the man was a recent graduate working in administration. He hadn’t expected him to be a professor, looking so young.
As the two conversed, many of the people surrounding Song Shuci looked over, and soon someone noticed the pineapple and meat skewers in front of Jian Wu, and started discussing:
“Wow, what a coincidence!”
“Did you two plan this?”
One of Jian Wu’s friends said warmly: “You’ve already skewered so many? Our grill just freed up, Jian Wu, bring them over and we’ll grill them for you.”
The skewers on the iron plate were indeed piled high, almost overflowing.
However, Jian Wu didn’t want to give them to others to grill. Jian Wu just wanted to throw himself onto the grill.
Really, of all things to skewer, why did he have to choose this?
Habits were truly terrifying.
Having no choice, he finally braced himself and carried the tray full of skewers over.
The charcoal fire in the grill was burning hot. Even standing near it, one could feel the scorching temperature, reflecting a red glow on people’s faces.
Song Shuci looked at him, remaining silent. Jian Wu felt like small flames were also reflected in his eyes.
He put down the skewers, and someone suggested: “Jian Wu, why don’t you just skewer them here?”
“Yes, yes, it’ll be more lively together.”
Jian Wu was well-liked, and the enthusiastic invitations came repeatedly from different people.
Everyone looked at him expectantly, except for Song Shuci, who just stood there, not saying a word to invite him.
As a teacher, Jian Wu was used to being the center of attention, but at this moment, he didn’t want such attention.
After a moment, he put on a polite, slightly embarrassed smile: “It’s crowded here, easy to make mistakes. Professor Zheng and I will skewer them on the side and bring them over for you to grill.”
“Alright.” Since he had put it that way, the others didn’t press further, just sighing regretfully.
Jian Wu turned around and went back to skewering the meat. The sound of Song Shuci chatting with others resumed around the nearby grills.
He glanced over there. Song Shuci had lowered his head and started grilling the batch of skewers he had brought over.
Actually, he had seen it. When he turned around, Song Shuci had taken a step towards him.
But only one step.
The others were further away and had only been calling out, so they didn’t notice Jian Wu’s slight awkwardness. But the round-faced man surnamed Zheng had been beside Jian Wu the whole time and more or less sensed the subtle atmosphere.
“I was just making a casual remark, sorry,” he said apologetically. “Do you not like that kind of joke?”
“It’s fine,” Jian Wu looked away and smiled at him, appearing very approachable. He changed the subject and asked, “Are you also a teacher at the Basic Medical Sciences College?”
“Yes,” he said, “My name is Zheng Yu. I came to our school last year.”
“Do you and… Professor Song,” Jian Wu hesitated, “know each other?”
“Not really, we met for the first time on the bus today, but we contacted each other on WeChat yesterday.”
Zheng Yu explained: “Professor Song only decided to come to our school yesterday, so he originally didn’t have the chance to participate in this social gathering. Dean Ling probably mentioned it to him, and Professor Song seemed quite interested in our activity. It just so happens I’m the assistant team leader, helping the team leader with personnel and accommodation arrangements, so Professor Song added me to ask if he could join.”
“Actually, in principle, he shouldn’t be allowed to join after the registration deadline, and he hasn’t officially started working yet. But I checked his publications online,” Zheng Yu’s expression became meaningful, “He recently published a paper in Cell.”
Although Jian Wu had heard about master’s and doctoral blind dates with publication requirements, he was still shocked to hear that Zheng Yu had checked Song Shuci’s publications and used them to evaluate his eligibility to join the social gathering.
Seeing Jian Wu’s speechless expression, Zheng Yu quickly added: “It’s not that I’m being snobbish, it’s just that we have very few big shots like him at our school. I also wanted everyone to meet Professor Song, maybe they could discuss collaborations and inspire each other’s ideas.”
“Isn’t he researching memory and learning?” Jian Wu asked. “Most of the teachers at our school are researching cancer, can they collaborate?”
“Professor Song used to research neuroscience,” Zheng Yu said, “but he switched to oncology during his postdoc.”
Jian Wu was surprised: “He changed fields?”
“Yes, although I don’t know why he gave up so many years of accumulated work from his PhD,” Zheng Yu clicked his tongue, “But Professor Song is indeed very capable, he can still publish in top journals even after changing fields.”
Jian Wu was silent for a moment, then murmured as if to himself: “Oncology is also good. Immunology has been hot these past few years, and targeted therapy, nano-delivery, and such are also very popular, there’s a lot that can be done.”
“Yes,” Zheng Yu said, “but the competition is also fiercer.”
Jian Wu hummed in agreement, his hands unconsciously stopping, seeming somewhat distracted.
“What about you?” Zheng Yu suddenly asked.
“Me… what?” Jian Wu didn’t react for a moment.
“Your publications.” Zheng Yu smiled. “Aren’t you going to introduce your research direction, Teacher Jian?”
Jian Wu understood Zheng Yu’s misunderstanding and shook his head with a smile: “I’m at the affiliated middle school, not a teacher at the medical university.”
“Oh… I was wondering why I haven’t seen you before,” Zheng Yu said. “I thought we were colleagues, seeing how well-versed you are.”
Jian Wu recalled the days when Song Shuci forced him to read research papers, thinking that even a monkey, after being Song Shuci’s boyfriend for so many years, would probably be able to comment on the biomedical research field.
However, in front of Zheng Yu, he still used another excuse: “I did some scientific research projects in university, and I also took the postgraduate entrance exam, so I know a little bit.”
“What are you two chatting about so happily?”
A familiar voice, accompanied by a delicious aroma, interrupted their conversation.
Jian Wu didn’t look up, but Zheng Yu exclaimed: “Wow, that smells amazing!”
“Your pineapple and meat skewers are ready.”
Song Shuci handed the tray full of skewers to Zheng Yu. The cumin-covered skewers looked especially appetizing under the light.
“I didn’t add chili, I wasn’t sure if Professor Zheng eats it.”
“I love spicy food, thank you for your trouble, Professor Song. It’s fine, I’ll add some chili myself,” Zheng Yu said, then asked Jian Wu, “Teacher Jian, do you want chili?”
“I don’t like pineapple and meat skewers.” Jian Wu said, “You… don’t need to consider me.”
“Ah?” Zheng Yu was surprised. “Then why did you skewer so many just now?”
“I just saw both ingredients and suddenly wanted to try it. Now that I smell it, I don’t think I like it.”
Zheng Yu sniffed the skewers and picked one up to taste.
The unique sweetness and freshness of pineapple blended with the meat juices, fragrant but not greasy.
“It’s quite delicious,” he offered a skewer to Jian Wu, as if to feed him. “Are you sure you don’t want to try?”
Jian Wu subconsciously dodged, then politely refused with a smile: “Sorry, I really don’t like it.”
“Alright,” Zheng Yu seemed a little disappointed. “Then I’ll go add some chili.”
“Mm, then I’ll skewer some more for you.”
They chatted back and forth, seemingly completely ignoring Song Shuci.
Watching Zheng Yu walk away, Jian Wu lowered his head and picked up the ingredients again. But the person who had delivered the skewers shifted, casting a shadow in front of him.
It was dark and he couldn’t see clearly without light. Jian Wu took the ingredients and moved to a different spot. Song Shuci followed him, continuing to block the light.
He didn’t speak, just interfering with Jian Wu’s movements, until Jian Wu finally snapped: “What are you doing?”
Song Shuci finally responded, his words seemingly unrelated: “Did you really change your taste?”
Seeing Jian Wu remain silent, he continued to press: “You were chatting with Professor Zheng just fine, why don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Jian Wu held small pieces of pineapple and pork belly, skewering the meat he had promised Zheng Yu: “You should reflect on yourself.”
Song Shuci glanced at the ingredients in Jian Wu’s hand: “I don’t know whether to say Teacher Jian is sentimental or fickle. Your taste in food has changed, but your taste in people hasn’t. After all these years, you still like round faces.”
“What nonsense are you talking about–”
Jian Wu realized Song Shuci was referring to Zheng Yu and subconsciously wanted to explain. But then he stopped himself: They weren’t in a relationship, Song Shuci wasn’t his current boyfriend, what did he have to explain?
Moreover, the “round face” preference was ancient history. It was surprising Song Shuci still remembered it.
He and Song Shuci were neighbors, growing up together. It all started when he was in elementary school and praised a girl in his class for being pretty in front of Song Shuci, saying she had a round face and a beautiful smile.
Later, for a period, Song Shuci suddenly grew taller. Then, he suddenly started ignoring him.
At the time, Jian Wu didn’t understand elementary school Song Shuci’s petty jealousy—”My younger brother can only praise me for being good-looking, not others”—until they became a couple, and Jian Wu learned from Song Shuci’s mother:
During that time, Song Shuci, in an attempt to make his face rounder, forced himself to eat fatty meat every day, only to end up growing taller but not gaining weight.
Perhaps because of this bittersweet memory of “the harder you try, the worse it gets,” after they started dating, whenever Song Shuci saw a round-faced creature near Jian Wu, regardless of gender, he would get jealous. Even when Jian Wu used a picture of a round-faced panda as his phone wallpaper, he would be asked, “Aren’t pandas with other face shapes good-looking?”
It really made one want to call him a lunatic.
Jian Wu had been coaxing and explaining for many years, but even after they broke up, Song Shuci still brought this up.
In what capacity was he saying these things? What did these words even mean? Even if he was interested in Zheng Yu because of his round face, even if he wanted to pursue Zheng Yu, what did it have to do with Song Shuci?
An inexplicable feeling of annoyance welled up in Jian Wu’s heart, making him change his words: “Yes, you’re not talking nonsense, you’re right, I do like round faces. I liked them when I was young, and I still like them now. Satisfied?”
“Not satisfied.” Song Shuci said.
Jian Wu was exasperated: “What are you not satisfied with? Don’t you think I want to pursue Professor Zheng? Shouldn’t you give us some space? Or is Professor Song planning to stay here and compete with me?”
“Compete?”
Song Shuci chuckled, his gaze deepening as he looked at Jian Wu: “Jian Wu, I’m actually quite curious, why are you so certain I’m single?”
Hearing Song Shuci’s words, Jian Wu instinctively froze for a moment before quickly forcing a carefree smile.
“Oh, you have a partner?”
“Then congratulations,” he asked, “Male or female?”
He clearly didn’t give Song Shuci a chance to speak before answering his own question: “It should be a man, you definitely wouldn’t find a girlfriend. Is he from China or abroad? Domestic would be easier to communicate with, but your English isn’t bad either, so foreign is fine too.” “Oh right, did you carefully observe foreigners’ eyes when you were studying abroad? Are they really that beautiful? Are their eyes beautiful, or are they like the Persian cat’s eyes that the family upstairs used to have when we were young? Is that person also a researcher? What field are they in? Oh, I don’t mean anything by it, just casually asking.”
He kept looking at Song Shuci while speaking, wanting to see his reaction, but Song Shuci just silently watched him, saying nothing.
His chatter abruptly stopped.
Jian Wu was all too familiar with this look.
He remembered their last argument, when he broke up with him, Song Shuci looked at him like this.
Jian Wu suddenly felt that sometimes, having a good memory wasn’t a good thing.
The cool night breeze gently ruffled the hair on his forehead. Logically, such a breeze should be refreshing, but Jian Wu only felt his mind and heart in a mess.
He turned his head to look away, trying to find a moment of respite from this staring contest.
Then he heard Song Shuci say: “Teacher Jian, have you ever heard that people talk more when they’re nervous?”
