CoP 13

After reading the chapter of saturated concentration, he found his colleague seemed to have given up on life. Look at this hardworking Sui Meili, what obstacle in your life can’t you overcome?

Ji Ling had a very absurd dream.

First, he dreamed of himself teaching the Larmor precession to his students. The principle of MRI imaging is very common in the fourth volume of the twelfth grade curriculum, and this is actually a chapter Ji Ling personally enjoys very much. However, the Larmor precession was removed from the syllabus three years ago.

So no one was listening in class.

Then Ji Ling dreamed that the class was over. He opened his drawer, preparing to hand out the printed homework to the students, but found that the drawer was not filled with homework, but with a pile of bean sprout hair clips.

Then Ji Ling woke up.

His head was throbbing, and his throat was dry. Ji Ling struggled to open his eyes.

The dim morning light filtered through the window, and Ji Ling felt a sense of disorientation, unable to distinguish between dream and reality. He then remembered that he must have had too much to drink.

Ji Ling was not a good drinker, but unfortunately, he was also not very good at saying no.

The memories of last night were very hazy. He only remembered Thomas talking to him about the difficulty of applying to the Natural Sciences program at Cambridge, and then Sui Cannong sitting down next to him…

His mind was a mess. Ji Ling vaguely remembered the two phalaenopsis orchids in the small vase at the bar, and the scene of him and Sui Cannong sitting in the back of a taxi.

What they said and talked about, he had no recollection at all.

Ji Ling felt a bit dejected because it was hard to control one’s words and actions when drunk. He was worried that he might have said something embarrassing to Sui Cannong in his daze.

A long time ago, Ji Ling realized that he was a very clumsy person.

By “clumsy,” he meant he wasn’t very good at reading people’s expressions and moods. What others found simple in social interactions always required a lot of time and effort for Ji Ling to understand and integrate.

Especially when it came to the art of conversation, Ji Ling always found it perplexing and exhausting.

For example, sometimes you shouldn’t point out others’ mistakes, and other times, when someone says “next time,” it means it will never happen.

Changes in tone and control of facial expressions were all challenges for Ji Ling.

Especially when it came to Sui Cannong, the difficulty was even higher because Ji Ling always wanted to present his best and most natural side to him.

That’s why Ji Ling really liked teaching.

In teaching, when others asked him questions, Ji Ling could always confidently provide a clear answer without having to carefully consider his tone or worry about others’ opinions.

Ji Ling sat up, rubbed his eyes, and then focused his gaze on a potted plant on the windowsill.

It was a small, slender lemon plant with symmetrical, oval leaves. Ji Ling had bought a bright yellow ceramic pot for it because he thought it looked very cute.

This plant was actually a gift from Sui Cannong two years ago, though Ji Ling knew that Sui Cannong had probably forgotten about it.

Ji Ling remembered very clearly. It was his first week on the job, and he was standing at the door of his classroom, coloring the border of a poster wall.

The poster wall was used to display student-made science posters or high-scoring test papers. Ji Ling thought it was a very important area.

However, the poster wall at the door of Ji Ling’s classroom was quite old, with very irregular patches and peeling white paint. The moment Ji Ling saw it, he felt very uncomfortable.

Ji Ling was certain he didn’t want to spend the next few years of his teaching career with such an ugly wall. He felt that the students’ carefully crafted work should not be displayed in such a place.

So he borrowed a box of white acrylic paint and a brush from Lin in the art classroom, deciding to cover the peeling areas.

Ji Ling slowly painted for a while, then turned around and saw a tall man.

The man had sharp, handsome features, and he was holding two large potted plants. He was standing there, staring thoughtfully at the paint in Ji Ling’s hand.

This was the first time Ji Ling and Sui Cannong met.

“I know you,” the man said with a smile. “Thomas told me about you. I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

Ji Ling realized that the man must also be a teacher at the school.

Ji Ling was not good at handling such situations. He stood there with the brush, trying to think of a way to respond politely while also ending the conversation quickly.

So Ji Ling chose the most universal response: “Thank you.”

Sui Cannong smiled at him warmly, then seemed to remember something. He exclaimed and placed one of the potted plants on Ji Ling’s desk.

“This one is for you. Put it there, and it will make you feel better,” he said. “You’ll have a pleasant surprise in a while.”

Ji Ling paused, then said thank you again. He felt that this was a rather familiar person.

As he left, Sui Cannong glanced at the wall behind Ji Ling and said, “The paint on your wall is peeling badly, but it’s best not to use acrylic paint. It will create a color difference.”

“I’ll think of a way to help you,” he added.

This time, Ji Ling didn’t say anything. He just nodded lightly.

Ji Ling realized that when Sui Cannong said “later,” he was probably just being polite. So at that moment, it was better not to say thank you, as it might seem presumptuous.

However, Sui Cannong was right about one thing: the dried acrylic paint did look different.

After Ji Ling finished painting, he found that the dried paint on the border looked even more awkward, a color similar to moldy dairy products. At the time, Ji Ling didn’t know that Sui Cannong was someone who would always follow through on his words.

The next day, when Ji Ling arrived at his classroom, he found that the border of the poster wall had been covered with fresh white paint.

Ji Ling didn’t know if Sui Cannong had painted it himself or had talked to the maintenance staff. But that didn’t matter.

What Ji Ling knew was that he had never met anyone like Sui Cannong, someone who would take responsibility for every promise he made and care about even those he had just met.

Later, Ji Ling learned from Lin that Sui Cannong’s classroom was filled with many flowers. Recently, he had so many that he had given a potted plant to almost every teacher in the school.

The potted plant Sui Cannong gave him might have been one of the “extra” ones.

But Ji Ling still brought the plant home.

With proper lighting, regular watering, and fertilizing, the plant grew well. Three months later, it bore its first fruit, a small, green, oval-shaped lemon.

Ji Ling then realized that this was the “pleasant surprise” Sui Cannong had mentioned. He had given him a lemon plant.

The green fruit grew larger and turned a beautiful yellow-green. Ji Ling wanted it to grow a bit more, but he was afraid that the thin branches of the lemon plant might break under the weight.

So he finally had to pick the lemon.

Ji Ling took the small fruit to the kitchen, cut it open, and secretly took a bite. It was very sour and a bit astringent, making it impossible to take a second bite or even to steep it in water.

Ji Ling had taken very good care of the lemon plant for two years, but after that, it never bore fruit again.

Ji Ling sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the lemon plant for a while.

The intermittent chirping of birds outside the window made him feel a bit drowsy, but he eventually got up, folded the quilt, and picked up his phone from the bedside table.

Ji Ling opened WeChat and saw that Sui Cannong had sent him a five-minute video an hour ago.

He hesitated for a moment, not opening the video, but instead typed: “Teacher Sui, I might have had a bit too much to drink last night. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

After sending the message, Ji Ling scrolled down and opened the video Sui Cannong had sent.

The video was titled Look at This Bear, What Obstacle in Your Life Can’t You Overcome? The cover and font looked like typical motivational content.

Ji Ling was taken aback.

He had always thought that this type of short video was a kind of spiritual opium, but he didn’t expect that Sui Cannong would also watch such things.

The content of the video was a bit childish, a story about a clumsy, fat bear trying to find honey for his family.

The bear’s journey to find honey was a bit bumpy. He fell into a ditch, tumbled down a cliff, and faced many difficulties but remained optimistic. In the end, he found delicious honey.

Ji Ling watched the video twice carefully but didn’t find any particularly funny moments. He felt a bit confused.

But at that moment, facing the first video Sui Cannong had sent him, Ji Ling felt he needed to be cautious and respond thoughtfully.

To make his response seem sincere, he thought for a moment and first commented on the video’s style: “Very smooth and interesting animation.”

Then Ji Ling commented on the content: “The bear is very cute and brave.”

Ji Ling sat on the edge of the bed, holding his phone and waiting for a while, but Sui Cannong didn’t reply.

He thought Sui Cannong might be busy and was about to put down his phone when he saw the message box showing “the other party is typing…”

Ji Ling was taken aback. He stared at the message box for a long time, noticing that the “the other party is typing…” message appeared intermittently about five or six times, as if the other party was hesitating.

Ji Ling thought Sui Cannong might send a long message, but after five minutes, he received a short question:

“Teacher Ji, can we go see a movie tomorrow?”