"Why did you leave such important documents in the taxi?"
"Jiang Shuyi." The woman's voice fell coldly on Jiang Shuyi's head.
"Can't you even handle something like this?"
Professor Wen looked out the window, her delicate and beautiful face appearing frosty against the backdrop of the night scenery.
Earlier in the afternoon, Jiang Shuyi had been busy answering a call from the conference organizer and left a document in the taxi.
"...I'm sorry, Professor Wen."
"Really, I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry..."
Jiang Shuyi lowered her head, her gaze fixed on the floor as she repeatedly apologized to Professor Wen.
She understood.
This wasn't something that could be resolved with just an apology. Professor Wen never used e-books, and that document with Professor Wen's annotations was the only copy in existence.
If it was lost, it was truly lost.
"Before you and I set off, I asked you if you would do your utmost to handle this matter. Jiang Shuyi, how did you answer me back then?"
Professor Wen's voice was not loud, but it was firm and resonant.
Jiang Shuyi remained silent, knowing she hadn't done a single thing right.
"I really didn't expect you to make a mistake like this."
"Lack of talent, insufficient foundation, and no experience at all—I'm willing to overlook the problems you caused at the meeting. I can understand, it was your first time."
"But you should at least have tried your best, shouldn't you?"
"An attitude like yours is not suitable for studying medicine, Jiang Shuyi." Professor Wen coldly tapped the desk.
"If you don't want to study, then don't."
Professor Wen slammed the booklet down on the table.
"You can go home for today."
Jiang Shuyi: "..."
Jiang Shuyi walked out of Professor Wen's office.
The moment the door closed, the tears Jiang Shuyi had been holding back fell.
She desperately tried to remember the taxi's license plate number, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall it.
She had no idea what to do.
How could she be so foolish as to not even think of a solution?
Jiang Shuyi squatted weakly in front of her room door, holding her phone, realizing she truly felt useless.
Her phone vibrated.
Jiang Shuyi glanced at the screen and immediately wiped her nose.
She adjusted her breathing, trying to make her voice sound calm as she answered the call, "Mom."
"Shuyi, are you asleep?"
"Not yet. Why are you calling me at this time? Aren't you at work?"
"I miss you."
Hearing this, the tears Jiang Shuyi had just managed to hold back fell again, and she choked out, "...Oh."
She wiped her tears with her sleeve, trying to keep her voice steady so it wouldn't sound like she was crying.
"Are you getting used to life in the UK? Are you eating on time? Are you eating fruit every day?"
"Mm, I'm fine, getting used to it, and I'm eating, I'm eating." She lied.
Since coming here, she had been lying a lot.
Jiang Shuyi really wanted to complain that the sandwiches here tasted terrible, the afternoon tea was too sweet, and the Chinese food wasn't authentic. The hotel food seemed like a bland pile of seasonings.
As for fruit... there were apples in her room, but she wasn't used to eating them directly, so she hadn't touched them at all.
But she also knew she was being too spoiled.
So, she didn't want to say anything.
"Are you sleeping well?"
"Pretty well."
She lied again.
In reality, since being here, she could only sleep three or four hours at most each day.
Because her hearing couldn't keep up with the pace here, there were too many technical terms and the knowledge was too deep.
If she admitted that she didn't understand during the meetings, others would mock Professor Wen in English, saying she wasn't qualified enough.
Jiang Shuyi didn't want to embarrass Professor Wen, so every time she returned, she had to review and study the materials.
If she couldn't memorize everything, at least she had to grasp the main context of the meeting.
Otherwise, she wouldn't understand the core of the conversations.
"Eating well and sleeping well is the most important thing. My biggest concern is your health, I don't care about anything else."
The voice on the other end made Jiang Shuyi feel increasingly aggrieved.
She really wanted to say that she regretted following the professor to the conference.
There really wasn't a single good thing about being here.
Everyone here was exceptional.
Only she felt out of place.
She had lost the professor's document and was dragging her down, like a nuisance that only created trouble.
— Am I really unworthy of being her student, just as those people said?
---
"Make sure to do well." Li Roujia patted her shoulder, pulling her thoughts back from the past.
Even though it was something from long ago, thinking about it now still made Jiang Shuyi feel a sense of defeat, evoking her regrets, guilt, and insecurity.
She admitted that after arriving here and meeting Wen Yao, she had become somewhat complacent.
She thought she was older than Wen Yao and had grown a lot since then.
Her English had improved significantly, allowing her to communicate fluently with foreigners.
This time, if she lost that document again, she had the confidence to retrieve it.
So.
She thought the past struggles and failures could be wiped clean.
But after hearing Li Roujia's words, Jiang Shuyi realized she seemed to be wrong.
She was still the same as before, a troublesome burden, utterly useless.
This made Jiang Shuyi feel very frustrated.
---
The next day.
Watching Zhou Jingtang sit back beside her, Wen Yao paused her hand that was flipping through the book.
As if casually mentioning it, she asked, "What about her?"
Zhou Jingtang was taken aback for a moment before realizing that Wen Yao was referring to Jiang Shuyi.
"You mean Miss Yi? She switched back with me." Zhou Jingtang said while organizing his books. "She said she couldn't affect your studies."
Wen Yao casually turned a page in her book and paused for a moment before nodding, "I see."
She didn't quite understand the feelings stirring inside her at that moment.
Zhou Jingtang was a very quiet person. Unlike Jiang Shuyi, he wouldn't sneak glances during class.
After class, he wouldn't take the opportunity to ask Wen Yao questions while occasionally interrupting to pry into others' privacy.
He also didn't unexpectedly do silly things.
So, Wen Yao felt that this seat had suddenly become much quieter.
Much more peaceful.
Wen Yao knew that this seat had always been quiet, it was just Jiang Shuyi who made it noisy.
That loud Alpha had a talent for making everything chaotic and foolish.
In this regard, she really was a genius, Wen Yao thought.
--
At noon.
In the cafeteria.
Wen Yao ordered a bowl of clear soup noodles as usual.
She took small bites of the noodles.
Jiang Shuyi approached her with a tray.
Wen Yao didn't look up.
Recently, Jiang Shuyi hadn't missed a single day coming over to eat with her.
So, she thought Jiang Shuyi would do the same today.
However, Jiang Shuyi merely glanced at Wen Yao, hesitated for a moment, and then sat down behind another classmate.
Wen Yao: "......"
Wen Yao paused, her chopsticks hanging in the air.
It seemed that this Alpha wasn't planning to bother her today.
Wen Yao lowered her gaze, finding the noodles in her throat somewhat difficult to swallow.
If it had been the first day Jiang Shuyi sat across from her, she might have genuinely felt it was a good thing.
After all, this person was noisy, lacked manners, and ate like a machine gun that couldn't stop firing.
She would even scoop food into her own bowl...
—"Can these noodles even taste good?"
For some reason, Wen Yao recalled what Jiang Shuyi had said the first time she sat down.
Indeed, there wasn't much flavor, but that didn't matter.
It didn't matter. Wen Yao sent the flavorless noodles to her mouth.
Looking at Jiang Shuyi in the distance, who had her head down and a gloomy expression while eating, Wen Yao suddenly realized that she seemed to have been eating with this person every day at noon recently.
So, eating alone felt like something that had happened a long time ago...
---
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