Delight

Different. Entirely different. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced in this academy, or anywhere else in my past. Being by the Professor’s side, my mindset and emotions had undergone a tectonic shift. It was a profound sense of pleasure, a lightness I had never known.

People—Yuehua, my parents—always called me “heartless” or “carefree.” But it wasn’t that I didn’t have negative emotions. It was more that I had grown so used to being the “cheerful one” in front of them that even when I felt down or pressured, I would instinctively hide it. I kept it inside and let time slowly dilute the bitterness. On the rare occasions I couldn’t suppress it and let it show, my parents and friends would just think I was acting.

“Ning Rou must be pretending to be unhappy. She’s pretending to be stressed.” “What a realistic performance!”

Then everyone would burst out laughing. Eventually, I would laugh along with them, as if I really were just pretending. That was how I grew up. The only person who knew the truth was my best friend, Yuehua. She was the only one who would talk to me, help me vent my frustrations—the person I treasured most.

But now, besides Yuehua, I seemed to have found another “hollow tree” to whisper my secrets into. The Professor.

To be honest, I don’t even know why I suddenly started pouring my heart out to him. At the time, the pressure of the tests was suffocating me, and I just… spoke. The words came out so naturally I surprised myself; it felt like chatting with a friend of many years.

And the Professor’s reaction surprised me even more. He wasn’t shocked by my failure in the theory tests, nor did he knit his brows and pressure me like the other faculty members. He just gave his usual cold response:

[“So, how many subjects did Student Ning Rou fail?”] [“So, a total annihilation…”] [“It truly is a matter of gains and losses; there are no absolute geniuses in this world.”]

Honestly, no one had ever spoken such “sarcastic” words to me before. But instead of an insult, it felt more like playful banter between friends. I played along, pretending to be huffy.

The amazing thing was that the pressure that had been haunting me vanished just like that, dissolved by a few casual remarks. Not only that, but the Professor offered to tutor me personally.

He was nothing like those teachers who constantly grumbled about having no time while using “duck-stuffing” methods to kill time in class. Professor Nangong could take a joke, and he didn’t care about the time it took to turn dry concepts into something I could actually understand through examples.

I felt a bit ashamed, actually. Did my theory grades really deserve a professor’s dedicated attention? Even if he wanted to learn emotional performance from me, he didn’t need to be this good to me, did he?

I started thinking: if I don’t get amazing results after he’s put in all this effort, wouldn’t I be letting him down? And just like that, the pressure started creeping back…

However…

“Professor… even if you help me understand these theories, I still can’t memorize these cold concepts. My understanding and what’s written in the books always have a gap…”

When I confessed this, I stole a glance at his face. Most people would be furious if they spent so much effort tutoring a student only for them to show no progress, right?

The Professor remained expressionless, but his eyes held a hidden flicker of reassurance.

“Did Student Ning Rou remember nothing at all?”

“Well, not nothing.”

“Then that’s fine. Doesn’t Student Ning Rou only need to pass?”

“But… doesn’t the Professor feel… like it’s a pity? Like you’ve wasted your time on me…”

“…”

The Professor stood up. I don’t know if I saw it wrong, but I thought a very faint smile touched his lips.

“Student Ning Rou, how do you think my progress in acting has been these past few days?”

“It’s… okay?”

“Really? Be honest.”

“Fine, there’s been zero effect…”

“…You could afford to be a bit more tactful, Student Ning Rou.”

Seeing the Professor’s rare look of defeat, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. The lingering pressure vanished instantly. He didn’t get angry; he just shook his head.

“So, are you dissatisfied with me because of that?”

“B-but you’re the Professor.”

“And aren’t you my teacher?”

That’s right. Our relationship was special. He was my tutor, and I was his acting teacher. This bond was incredibly tight—different from anyone else. Thinking about this made me feel a strange sense of joy. Like a video game character reviving with full health, I stood up energetically, my anxiety gone.

“Right! I’m the Professor’s teacher too!”

“In that case, today’s tutoring ends here, Student Nangong! It’s time for Emotional Acting 101!”

“Student Ning Rou, the tutoring isn’t over yet.”

“Wrong! I’m the teacher now!”

“…”

Time flew by when I was with the Professor. Before I knew it, the sky had turned dark. Counting it up, aside from one theory class in the morning, I had spent almost the entire day by his side. Before this, if someone had told me I’d be stuck in a small room studying all day, I wouldn’t have been able to stand it. But surprisingly, the time with him was unexpectedly pleasant.

“Let’s stop here for today.” The Professor packed up his laptop and books. “You should head back to the dorm.”

“Aren’t you going to treat me to dinner to reward my hard work, Professor?” I joked with a grin.

To my surprise, he looked at me quite seriously. “If that is what you wish.”

For some reason, I suddenly felt flustered. My heart started thumping wildly.

“No… no thanks! Yuehua is waiting for me… next time! Let’s do it next time!”

I rushed out of the rehearsal room. The cool night breeze helped me slowly regain my cool.

“It was just dinner… why was I so embarrassed…” I muttered, pinching my burning earlobe. But for some reason, I couldn’t even convince myself.

“What dinner?”

“KYAAAH!!!”

A ghostly female voice spoke abruptly behind me, scaring the soul out of me. I spun around only to find Yuehua standing there.

“Yue-Yuehua! Why are you… here?”

“Oh, I didn’t see you in the dorm all day, so I got worried and came out to look. Where were you today?” Yuehua spoke with a smile.

But for some reason, under the moonlight, her expression made my heart turn cold.

“Um… well…”

“Also, you just mentioned dinner… was someone going to treat you to dinner?”

“No… no one! I just said I was hungry and wanted to eat, haha…”

“Is that so?” Yuehua suddenly grabbed my wrist and smiled. “Coincidentally, I haven’t eaten yet either. Let’s go together.”

With that, she led me away at a brisk pace. I followed her hurriedly, but for some reason, the grip on my wrist was so tight it actually hurt.