Gong Xuechang studied abroad for three years. After completing his Master and Doctorate studies, he returned to China to become an English professor at a college. In addition to English, he was also proficient in Japanese and Korean and knew a little German and French. He enjoyed doing translation work, so he had wide exposure to languages and other related works.
He became a teacher in his home country so he could practice his skills more even in his spare time. Translation was not limited to words, but it also required a certain understanding of the local culture, environment, its society , as well as a certain level of language aesthetics. Language was beautiful. Gong Xuechang firmly believed in this, and often told his undergraduates that their readings after class should not be limited to textbooks and rote memorization.
Because of his slightly good looks, his older senior professors set him up on many blind dates, despite having spent less than a year home. Gong Xuechang was far from anxious about his relationship status, but it was also difficult to refuse the kindness of the professors.
“Xiao Fang is a talented girl from our school. She is also very cute, and she is just three years younger than you. She’s the perfect match! Her mother’s also my friend. We do dancing together with a community every day. A mother-in-law’s personality is more important than anything else. I can guarantee this!”
“I have met her daughter Xiao Fang a few times! She is quiet and polite. I think she’s working as a clerk for a company… Well, the important thing is that she has a stable job, and it wouldn’t matter how much money she makes, right?”
Gong Xuechang felt overwhelmed by the professors. He had no choice but to nod.
The senior professor was even more elated. She was very enthusiastic about her new identity as a matchmaker. “Then I’ll send you Miss Fang’s WeChat contacts,” she said. She did not forget to pat Gong Xuechang on the shoulder. “Don’t forget to contact her, boys should always take the initiative!” she reminded again.
Gong Xuechang could only nod. As a man, he was a gentleman. Although he was not keen on blind dates, he still understood that he should invite the girl out for a meal and pay the bill, since he had agreed.
After getting the other party’s WeChat, he sent an invitation to be friends. Just looking at the other person’s profile picture, she was indeed cute. She was wearing a hello kitty headband. It looked like the picture was taken in Disneytown.
Gong Xuechang glanced at it a little more before putting his mobile phone in his pocket. Then, he took his lecture notes and headed to the lecture hall.
After two classes, he glanced at his phone again. The other party had not accepted his invitation. After two more classes, he glanced at his phone again. It was still not accepted… He checked it several times that night, but it still wasn’t accepted…
It was not until he got up the next day that he saw the WeChat notification.
[I’ve accepted your friend request, we can start chatting now.]
When he saw the time of this notification, he narrowed his eyes.
02:33 am.
Did this girl sleep so late? Or did she stay up late?
He had no position to interfere in another person’s life. After glancing at it, he went to the school cafeteria to eat as usual. Then, he prepared for his lecture. At 3:30 in the afternoon, he finished his work and returned to the office. He was questioned by the senior professor again. After being urged, he had no choice but to send a message.
[Hello, I was introduced by Professor Zheng. Are you free to have a meal together?]
After Gong Xuechang finished sending the message, he politely added another sticker of an awkward smile to avoid embarrassment. But this embarrassment did not subside at all, and it continued until the early morning of the next day! The other party didn’t reply until one o’clock in the morning the next day.
[Fang Xiaogong*: T-T…Sorry, I’m not available. My schedule for this week is full. Maybe next week, but please let me know three days in advance, if possible T-T…]
*This is Fang Qiuye’s WeChat name. Will be explained in the next chapter.
This subtle rejection did not make Gong Xuechang feel angry or annoyed. On the contrary, the two emojis made him take a second look.
[Gong Xuechang: It doesn’t matter. I can tell that you’re busy.]
They were both grown ups, and one naturally understood if another person was declining an invitation. Gong Xuechang kept his mobile phone and continued to prepare and lecture classes.
This lasted until Aunty… Professor Zheng came to him again. She was very concerned.
“Xiao Gong, have you guys met?” she began, then seeing his face, she added, “Huh? Not yet? What’s wrong? You didn’t invite her out?”
Gong Xuechang thought for a while and decided to take the blame on himself. “We were both busy.”
“What are you busy with? Both of you have time after you get off work!” Aunty exclaimed. “Gosh, I don’t know what to tell her mother. No matter how busy you are, you have to fall in love. You can be friends even if you don’t get married in the end. Isn’t that good?”
The professor of the English Department was indeed enlightened and had a modern mindset.
“You’re always alone, and that’s so boring!” she added. “This month, the party is organizing some activities, and there are two extra concert tickets. You can take them and invite her to listen to the concert, and have a meal on the way.”
Gong Xuechang had no choice but to accept it. He sent another message to the other party.
[Miss Fang, are you free this Saturday?]
Today was Tuesday, but it met her request to invite her out three days in advance. This time, he didn’t have to wait until early morning. A reply from the other party came after lunch break at noon.
[Fang Xiaogong: Bro, I’m sorry. I’ve been too busy recently…QAQ. I’ll apologize and buy you meal when I’m free next time~]
Gong Xuechang paid attention to the emoticons again, and there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.
[Sure.]
He didn’t look at his friends’ status often and he also rarely updated his status. But today, he couldn’t help but look at it.
Her WeChat name, Fang Xiaogong, seemed to encapsulate her real life story; there was no time when she was not busy. In her status update, there were many photos of her staying up late, which showed the busy, daily life of the other party.
Gong Xuechang smiled and closed WeChat. He stopped disturbing the other party, and he devoted himself to his translation work and lesson preparations. Soon, the two were friends on Wechat for nearly half a year. While he invited her every other month, the other party would always be busy.
In the end, when even Professor Zheng, who wished to be a matchmaker, wanted to give up, news came suddenly from ‘Fang Xiaogong’.
[Teacher, let’s go out on a date!]
When Gong Xuechang received the text, he thought he had read it wrong.
[Teacher, I’m not playing. I just… want to learn English well!]
He looked at the message with a stunned expression. He never thought that his blind date who stayed up late every night and went missing in action every month would ask him out with such an opening statement.
Gong Xuechang’s mouth twitched, and he replied, “Okay.”
After asking the other party’s food preferences and address, he chose a Sichuan restaurant nearby. But on the day of the meeting, he couldn’t help but be shocked. Unlike the fresh and delicate young woman in the avatar, the person who came had an unsightly, sloppy appearance.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been too busy recently,” she began. “I was also in a hurry to come out so… I didn’t wash my hair.”
Fang Qiuye blushed a little, and she immediately straightened her cap, pressing down every strand of her hair in an effort to hide it. Pushing on some black-framed glasses, she quickly rolled the cuff of the sportswear up. There was takeout sauce on the clothing…
Gong Xuechang was amazed.
He had been in college for a long time, and he knew that girls dressed well when they went out. However, it was a different story when they were in their dorm. But he didn’t expect that there were some girls who would be so uncaring of their appearance even when they went out.
“It’s okay, I understand,” he said. He thought about their messages in the past, and he fully believed that she was really busy. “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?” He handed over the menu after asking.
Fang Qiuye was living a crazy, hectic life three months in a row, managing two of the new and old books. She did not have the luxury to take a break in between. The effect of staying up late made her have dark circles under her eyes. Not only typing, but she also needed to think about the plot. To come up with a wonderful plot that would be appreciated by the readers, her brain cells would be consumed for an hour just to come up with a thousand words!
But even so, she still had to find time to fulfill her idol’s wish – to learn English! It was impossible to be free for a date for personal reasons; if not for her idol’s special needs, she would quickly end her lunch by nibbling on some bread.
Fang Qiuye took the menu handed by Teacher Gong and quickly glanced at it. For each dish’s name, countless thoughts flashed through her mind, forming multiple useful or useless plots. But in the end, she looked at the handsome man in front of her and bit her lip.
“Teacher, I have a request. Can we… order in English?” she tentatively asked, blushing a little.
She felt that she might be classified as a pervert or something by her blind date! Gong Xuechang was stunned for a moment, and he looked at the girl’s face carefully. The girl didn’t wear makeup, but her eyes that looked lethargic seemed to brighten at the moment.
Did she know he liked translating? Or did she like English?
“I heard that you have a clerical job, in-” he began.
“I work in Jinjiang Network,” Fang Qiuye finished for him. She drank the fresh passion fruit juice in front of her, and her face wrinkled with its sourness. “Teacher, how do you say passion fruit in English?”
Gong Xuechang: “…Is this what you need for your work?”
She was even more obsessed than him when he first received a translation job.
Fang Qiuye was stunned for a moment. “No, I use Chinese mainly. It’s… a hobby.” Satisfying the needs of her idol was indeed a hobby!
Gong Xuechang nodded.
Their first blind date ended with them translating the names of the dishes and answering questions about grammar. It was a very strange first meeting.
He thought that the girl would ask him about his family situation or salary, whether he would live with his parents after marriage, how big his house was, and whether he had a car… But in the end, she only asked the difference between the translation of dry pot bullfrog and a boiled bullfrog. In particular, she asked about the grammar structure for ‘…bullfrog legs are very elastic and delicious…’
Gong Xuechang felt like he was blinded by this strange ordeal, but it only took him ten minutes to completely remember this girl.
“Xiao Gong, I heard from Xiao Fang’s mother that you and Xiao Fang finally met?” As soon as Professor Zheng got the news, she came to interview him excitedly. “How is it? Do you have feelings for her? Do you find her suitable? Do you want to continue dating?”
Gong Xuechang recalled the whole bullfrog English course and the hard work the girl put in when she wrote notes on her small notebook. Then, he nodded without hesitation.
“Pretty good,” he agreed. “She’s very serious.”
“Huh?”
Professor Zheng didn’t understand and was at a loss. What kind of first impression was that?
“She has high pursuits and passion for English,” Gong Xuechang clarified.
“What…?”
Professor Zheng frowned. She glanced at Teacher Gong, who was preparing the lecture notes in front of the computer, and shook her head. Xiao Gong had only been teaching for a while, but his brain was already broken!
“You have to ask more about what she likes and take her out to play. Understand?” she patted him enthusiastically. “Have some fun in life! Watch a movie, eat and hit the road at night!”
A trace of confusion flashed in Gong Xuechang’s eyes. “…Oh.”
The next day, he was invited out by Fang Qiuye for lunch again.
“Want to stroll down the street? There’s a nice coffee and dessert shop,” he offered, thinking of Professor Zheng’s words.
However, Fang Qiuye, who was holding an English textbook, hurriedly shook her head. After asking grammar questions, she had to rush back to update her chapters. But she stopped abruptly after shaking her head halfway.
“Huh? Dessert?” she said, her eyes brightening, “Yeah, desserts are okay! Teacher, maybe you can teach me the name of the desserts in English!?”
Gong Xuechang: “…”
This blind date seemed to really like English. Surprisingly… she was in tune with him!
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