The classroom was unusually quiet. Xie Xi stiffly lifted his foot. The metal frame of the glasses was bent under his shoe, and the resin lenses had fallen to the floor, one of them cracked.
"I..." Xie Xi stammered, a rare occurrence for him. This incident was a bit beyond his expectations.
He had only meant to flip the tape over.
Ye Qiusuo pressed her fingers to her temples, then bent down to pick up the lenses and the frame. She forcefully bent the frame back into shape, slotted the lenses back in, wiped them clean, and put them on to test.
They were barely usable.
Xie Xi hadn't yet recovered from the shock of having stepped on and bent Ye Qiusuo's glasses. Seeing her perform this series of fluid actions, he couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "The lens is cracked."
In his view, the rightful place for those glasses was the trash can in the corner.
"There's just a crack at the bottom. It doesn't affect my vision," Ye Qiusuo said. Her prescription wasn't strong; she only wore glasses when her eyes were overworked.
Xie Xi stared at Ye Qiusuo for a moment, realizing she was exactly that type of person—someone who could wear the same coat for ten or twenty years, paying little attention to food, clothing, shelter, or transportation, with her mind wholly dedicated to academic research.
Like now, with her glasses broken. As long as they could be worn, she'd pick them up, wipe them clean, and continue using them.
Xie Xi sat down opposite Ye Qiusuo and said seriously, "Using broken glasses instead of getting new ones is bad for your eyes."
Ye Qiusuo paused. That was something she hadn't considered, and it was indeed a possibility.
Xie Xi picked up her glasses and tossed them into the trash can behind the door.
"Professor, since I broke them, let me buy you a new pair," Xie Xi declared righteously. "How about we go to the glasses market now to get you new glasses?"
Ye Qiusuo looked up at him. "By the time we finish, there'll be no time for class." His little scheme was quite transparent.
Xie Xi's eyes darted around evasively. "You could lecture on the way."
"I have nothing to lecture about on the way." Ye Qiusuo pointed at the desk in front of him. "If you don't want to follow along with the recording, you can continue copying the text."
Xie Xi: He didn't want to do either.
Soon, Ye Qiusuo heard long sighs and heavy breaths from across the table.
"What kind of behavior is that?" Professor Ye said, looking at Xie Xi with dissatisfaction. "Pull yourself together."
Xie Xi: "..."
This was the melancholy of a beauty! Ye Qiusuo showed not a hint of appreciation. If it were his fans, they'd be falling over themselves to comfort him!
Not only was she a young fuddy-duddy, but she was also utterly lacking in romance.
Xie Xi's chest was full of theatrical, affected emotions, all blocked by her icy sentence, leaving him feeling stuck and frustrated.
Professor Ye was impervious to both soft and hard tactics. In the end, Xie Xi chose to follow along with the video tape, chanting the text.
Not only did his emotions stabilize, they became as still as stagnant water.
...
While recording the show that evening, Ye Qiusuo seemed low on energy, barely speaking unless prompted, focusing solely on answering questions.
"I heard from the director they're changing the competition format next episode."
"With so many people at the start and only five left, they have to change the format."
The few guests who had successfully advanced were discussing backstage. Ye Qiusuo wasn't paying attention; she always left right after recording.
On her way back, she drove slowly. Passing by an optical shop, she hurriedly got a new pair of glasses.
She hadn't rested well for days, and getting glasses at night didn't help. When she woke up well-rested the next day, the new glasses felt uncomfortable no matter how she wore them.
She simply put them away, too lazy to wear them.
Glasses Market.
"Brother Xi, this place is packed with people," the assistant whispered, sneaking along beside Xie Xi. "If we don't head to the company soon, Sister Wei Qi is going to blow her top."
Today was the day Xie Xi was supposed to go to the company.
"Wait a bit. I need to get glasses made first." Xie Xi took out the glasses he had retrieved from the trash can.
"Brother Xi, since when are you nearsighted? Last month when your vision was tested, it was 20/20, wasn't it?"
"It's to repay Professor Ye." Xie Xi handed the glasses to the shop owner. "Please make lenses with this prescription."
"Professor Ye?!" Zhang Dong immediately imagined a scenario where Xie Xi, dissatisfied with Professor Ye's tutoring, got into a physical fight with her, ending with the sacrifice of Professor Ye's glasses.
Never mind that Professor Ye was a woman—his Brother Xi bullied people regardless of gender.
"Sir, would you like to pick a new frame? This frame has been stepped on. It definitely won't be comfortable to wear," the shop owner said, examining the glasses carefully.
"Which ones are better?" Xie Xi had never gotten prescription glasses before and was completely clueless.
"Generally speaking, the lighter the frame, the less pressure on the bridge of the nose, making it more comfortable to wear." The owner led Xie Xi to the most luxurious glass cabinet, which held only a few frames. "These are made of alloy, exceptionally light, and also quite expensive."
"We can adjust this frame on-site here to fit the face shape, using that machine." The owner reached up to pull down Xie Xi's mask to measure the distance between his eyes and eyebrows.
"It's not for me to wear," Xie Xi said, leaning back slightly to avoid the owner's hand.
"Oh... then it's really best for the person themselves to come, to ensure the most comfortable fit."
Xie Xi thought of Ye Qiusuo. She would absolutely not waste time coming here with him.
The great professor was busier than the big star.
"It's a gift. She can't come."
"Do you have a photo? Let me see," the owner asked.
Where would Xie Xi have a photo of Ye Qiusuo? He pulled Zhang Dong over and asked quietly, "Is there a photo of her on her Baidu page?"
"Professor Ye? Last time I looked, it seemed to be a photo from her teens. It hasn't been updated." Zhang Dong was about to suggest looking for screenshots on Weibo.
But Xie Xi had already taken out his phone, opened the "Knowledge Q&A" program, and showed it to the owner, pointing at Ye Qiusuo on screen. "Just base it on her."
"Isn't that Professor Ye?" The owner recognized her immediately. "I often watch this show with my daughter. It's great! Young man, are you also a fan of Professor Ye?"
Having run his shop here for over twenty years, the owner had seen all sorts of people and naturally assumed Xie Xi was a fan of Ye Qiusuo.
"You can think of me as one," Xie Xi said, placing his phone on the glass counter. "Can you make them?"
"Let me get a better look at her face. I think I can manage."
Xie Xi had opened the latest episode, which he hadn't had time to watch yet. The owner clearly hadn't seen it either. In the end, the two of them stood in front of the counter and started watching the show right then and there.
"Brother Xi, let's go!" The assistant anxiously squeezed over. At this rate, Sister Wei Qi was probably already at the company.
"What's the rush? Let us finish watching." Xie Xi stood with the owner, nervously watching Ye Qiusuo buzz in to answer questions on the show.
"Another correct answer!" The owner exclaimed excitedly. "If my daughter could be even a fraction as smart as Professor Ye in the future, that would be enough."
"What was the last question? I didn't see it clearly," Xie Xi said, his eyes glued to the screen, afraid of missing anything, though he couldn't make out the words, only hearing the sounds.
"Something about a gymnast doing a several-hundred-degree flip, or something like that. I didn't see it clearly either."
The assistant, squeezed to the outside: "..." Did these two even remember what they originally came here to do?
Only after the episode finished did Xie Xi suddenly remember to ask the owner, "Can you adjust it now?"
"Roughly, yes."
Xie Xi picked a silver frame of the same style, but made of a new alloy material. It felt almost weightless in his hand.
The owner took the frame for minor adjustments, then showed it to Xie Xi. "This should do."
Xie Xi took it, pulled down his mask, and tried it on. "It fits me perfectly, so it should be a bit small for her."
The shopkeeper looked Xie Xi up and down: "This is the smallest adjustment I can make. Any smaller and it won't be comfortable to wear. How about this..." The shopkeeper pulled a chain from a drawer and attached it to the temple of the glasses: "Use this, it prevents slipping."
After they tried them on again, the newly fitted lenses were finally installed into the frames.
"Brother Xi, we're half an hour late."
Xie Xi raised a hand to cover his ear: "Can't hear you."
Zhang Dong thought: His fans really should see how childish their idol can be.
By the time they arrived at Huayun Culture, Wei Qi, as expected, asked why they were late.
"I accidentally stepped on Professor Ye's glasses last week. I just went to get a new pair made to give her during class this weekend," Xie Xi explained, holding up the bag from the glasses store.
Hearing it was about Professor Ye, the deep furrow in Wei Qi's brow relaxed considerably. A formidable person like Professor Ye commanded everyone's respect.
She pointed at the bag in Xie Xi's hand: "Since they're already ready, give them to Professor Ye today. Saves her the inconvenience."
"It's Monday. Students are mostly in class, and the campus is crowded. I'll help you deliver the glasses." Wei Qi didn't let Xie Xi go personally.
"In that case, if there's nothing else, I'll head back." Xie Xi put down the bag and turned to leave.
"Hold on." Wei Qi pulled him back. "The company has called over the potential MV leads. Let me take you to see who might be suitable."
Xie Xi went to make the selection. For his upcoming album, he needed to shoot a story-based music video, which required an MV male lead and female lead.
The company had done an initial screening, his agent had shortlisted two pairs, and now it was up to Xie Xi to make the final decision.
"This is Xia Zhoubing, a rising-generation actor," the presenter introduced from the side.
"He looks familiar," Xie Xi said, glancing at Xia Zhoubing before whispering to his assistant.
Zhang Dong leaned close to Xie Xi's ear: "He was a celebrity guest on 'Knowledge Q&A'."
Xie Xi suddenly remembered: "Is he the one who kept interrupting and getting put in his place?"
Zhang Dong coughed, reminding Xie Xi that the person in question was right there.
"Choose the other actor." Xie Xi didn't even wait to see the performance, tossing out the sentence directly.
This kind of willfulness was commonplace for him at the company. The others, used to it, simply showed Xia Zhoubing out.
Xia Zhoubing didn't even get a chance to introduce himself. As he left, his young, handsome face was clouded with gloom.
...
When the knock came on Ye Qiusuo's office door, she was on a call with a classmate abroad, discussing recent trends in their industry.
"Someone's at your door? Let's stop here. I'm returning to China in a few days, shall we meet up then?"
"Sure, give me a call when you arrive." Ye Qiusuo ended the video call and got up to answer the door.
"Professor Ye, sorry to disturb you," Wei Qi said apologetically from the doorway.
"Come in and have a seat." Ye Qiusuo stepped aside to let her in. Her first thought was, "Did something happen to Xie Xi?"
Wei Qi was taken aback, then smiled: "He's perfectly fine, just finished selecting the MV leads. It's about your glasses that he damaged. Xie Xi specially went to get a new pair for you. I thought the campus would be crowded, so I didn't let him deliver them himself."
Ye Qiusuo looked at the bag being pressed into her hand: "I've already had new glasses made."
"Our Xie Xi is always a bit impulsive, doesn't plan things out. Professor Ye, please try these on first. If you don't like them, just set them aside. It'll at least give him some closure."
With things put that way, Ye Qiusuo could only take out the glasses to try.
They were indeed much more comfortable than the pair she'd bought hastily that night, and the chain prevented slipping.
Wei Qi watched as Ye Qiusuo put on the glasses. A flash of admiration crossed her eyes, though her expression remained perfectly composed: "These glasses suit you very well, Professor Ye. If Xie Xi saw you wearing the glasses he bought, it would probably ease his guilt quite a bit."
Ye Qiusuo didn't respond to that remark. Instead, she asked: "He's selecting MV leads? May I ask who he chose?"
Wei Qi didn't know why Professor Ye was interested in this, but it wasn't a secret, so she told her the names of the selected male and female leads.
A thoughtful look flashed in Ye Qiusuo's eyes. In the original book, the male lead for this MV was Xia Zhoubing. Now, it differed from the plot.
