CTJM - 1

Chapter 1: Rainy Day

When the car entered the gates of University A, it was raining outside.

It was early March, the true beginning of spring. Spring rain is as precious as oil and rarely disliked. Fine threads of rain gently streaked across the car windows, reflecting the lush greenery of the old campus of University A, creating an especially serene and tranquil atmosphere.

The woman sitting in the right rear seat of the car was even quieter. She was looking down, flipping through the documents in her hands, scanning them quickly at a rate of ten lines per glance. Her fair hand turned each page steadily and methodically.

Sitting beside her was a young girl who had probably graduated from university not long ago, about twenty-two or twenty-three years old. With a round, apple-like face, she was nervously staring at the beautiful woman next to her.

“Teacher Yin...”

Her hand kept fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.

“...Do you have any other questions?”

Yin Mengxi lifted her eyes and gave her a faint glance, then casually closed the folder, despite not having read the last dozen pages.

“No issues,” her voice was even more indifferent, like the rain outside the window at that moment, “It’s quite good.”

The girl responded with an “Oh,” nodding obediently, seemingly relieved. However, seeing Teacher Yin so indifferently set the folder aside made her feel somewhat uneasy, and an inexplicable sense of loss arose.

She quietly put the documents back into her bag. By then, Teacher Yin had already turned her head to look out the window again. Her beautiful phoenix eyes reflected the campus in the drizzle, making her seem both present and absent.

It took about five minutes to drive from the gate to the main building.

Someone was already waiting for them in the entrance hall — another young girl, warmly opening the door and holding an umbrella for them.

“Hello, teachers,” she said very politely, “Thank you for coming to our school amidst your busy schedules — Minister Chen is already in the conference room. Please follow me upstairs.”

Yin Mengxi nodded and thanked her politely. Just as they were about to enter, a boy got out of the front seat of the car, carrying a large bag on one shoulder and wearing a black earring in his left ear — the kind of handsome that most young girls would adore.

“Sister Mengxi,” he smiled at Yin Mengxi, asking, “Should I go listen to the meeting too?”

Though he asked this way, he didn’t wait for an answer before closing the car door and walking over to the group. He took the umbrella from the young female teacher of the school and held it for Yin Mengxi, his eyes fixed on her the whole time.

“Then let’s all listen together.”

Yin Mengxi remained as indifferent as ever.

“Perhaps the school will have special requirements regarding videography.”

The administrative staff from the Publicity Department of University A were responsible for liaising with Yin Mengxi’s team.

Chen Feng, the head of the Publicity Department, was a man in his forties, neither fat nor thin, with a very serious demeanor. Sitting beside him were several female teachers, possibly deputy ministers or other positions. Before Yin Mengxi’s group arrived, they had been looking at documents, occasionally shaking their heads or frowning.

Hearing the commotion at the door, they all looked over. Yin Mengxi remained calm and composed, unaffected by others’ gazes. However, the girl behind her, Yao Anqi, wasn’t as natural; she awkwardly walked almost like a robot. On the other hand, Wei Chi, the boy with the single earring, seemed quite relaxed. When Yao Anqi nearly tripped herself, he managed to give her a teasing glance.

“Minister Chen, Teacher Li,” Yao Anqi tried to greet the school leaders calmly while turning to introduce, “This is our station’s top producer, Teacher Yin Mengxi, who will be in charge of overseeing this project from start to finish.”

The girl’s tone was very sincere, especially when she emphasized the words “top producer,” as if trying to prove her statement. However, she didn’t notice the fleeting stiffness on Teacher Yin’s face at that moment. The leaders of University A’s Publicity Department didn’t seem convinced either; Minister Chen’s eyebrows slightly furrowed as he asked, “What about Teacher Luo? Will he no longer be involved?”

“Ah, well...” Yao Anqi’s forehead began to sweat, “Teacher Luo has been quite busy recently...”

A rather unintelligent response.

Sure enough, Minister Chen’s expression darkened further, but since it wasn’t appropriate to say too much in such a setting, he simply gestured towards the chairs on the other side of the conference table and said, “Please take a seat.”

Both sides exchanged a few pleasantries.

“This project is for the centennial celebration of our university’s School of Liberal Arts. Both the Party Secretary and the President place great importance on it...”

Minister Chen spoke very seriously.

“...We need your station to produce an excellent documentary, about an hour long—history, present day, figures, stories—all must be included. It should have a humanistic touch, reflecting care—but of course, we can’t neglect the propaganda aspect either. We need to highlight the red heritage of our university...”

He reiterated the requirements, then shifted his tone to become even more serious: “The anniversary is in June, and time is already tight. However, we still have many comments on this proposal. If this continues, when will the filming be completed?”

As he spoke, he lightly tapped the table, which made Yao Anqi shrink her neck in fright.

“I hope everyone can fully recognize the importance of this project. University A is a top university directly under the Ministry of Education, and the publicity for the centennial celebration of the School of Liberal Arts will be promoted nationwide.”

“I don’t know what other more important matters Teacher Luo is busy with, but our documentary has been delayed for so long. Shouldn’t its priority be raised now?”

“What does it mean to change the person in charge at this point? Can we guarantee the progress and quality of our documentary? Who will take responsibility if there are issues with the project in the end?”

Alright, the client was upset.

If this had happened seven or eight years ago, Yin Mengxi would have been as nervous as Yao Anqi is now. But after many years in the industry, the 29-year-old Teacher Yin had become unflappable. Even when dealing with difficult clients from private enterprises, she could remain calm, let alone these gentle university administrative staff.

Moreover, she simply... didn’t care about these things anymore.

“Minister Chen, I fully understand your concerns.”

Her professional smile was impeccable; Teacher Yin never lost in formal situations.

“Teacher Luo has deep roots in the documentary channel, while I’ve only recently transferred to this department and took over the project rather suddenly, which understandably causes unease.”

“But I am very interested in this documentary and sincerely want to do it well. You might not know, but I graduated from University A and have deep feelings for my alma mater.”

This statement made Minister Chen raise his eyebrows slightly, and his expression softened somewhat.

“Teacher Yin is also from our university? Which year? Which school?”

“I wouldn’t dare call myself a teacher; I am forever a student at my alma mater,” Yin Mengxi’s tone sounded very sincere. “Class of 2015, School of Journalism.”

Most teachers in the Publicity Department were also graduates of the journalism school, so mentioning this immediately created a sense of camaraderie, significantly narrowing the distance between them.

“We can finalize the issues with the proposal today. The station places great importance on this project and will do its utmost to ensure its success. Our cameraman brought equipment today, and if the school agrees, we can start by capturing some establishing shots and schedule interviews with a few professors for next time.”

She was methodical and unhurried, showing no eagerness to prove herself or any desperate need to smooth things over, which ironically made her more trustworthy. The expressions of the teachers in the Publicity Department visibly relaxed.

“Then let’s leave it at that for now.”

Minister Chen sighed.

It was already two hours later when they left the main building, just before eleven o’clock in the morning.

The Publicity Department staff saw them off, and then the teachers from the School of Liberal Arts came to pick them up, saying: “Minister Chen has already informed us that you need to capture some establishing shots today, right? Come on, come on, you can start by filming some classroom scenes. There are several teachers on the interview list who are currently teaching.”

Yin Mengxi nodded and confirmed the shooting locations with them. Yao Anqi kept staring at her back with admiration, thinking that Teacher Yin truly lived up to her reputation as someone transferred from a popular variety show—her abilities were extraordinary. After pondering for a while, she stole a glance at Wei Chi, who was taking equipment out of the trunk, blushing at his handsome appearance. She thought such a good-looking guy wouldn’t usually join their quiet documentary channel, guessing he might be here because of Teacher Yin.

As lunchtime approached, they needed to hurry with the classroom filming. They thus boarded a sightseeing vehicle provided by the campus security office and traveled from the east side to the west side of the old campus, where the main teaching buildings were located. University A’s old campus had a long history, and the area housing the School of Liberal Arts was particularly ancient and elegant. Verdant ivy covered the walls of the three-story buildings, and the deep greenery appeared especially serene and tranquil amidst the sound of rain.

It was like a beautiful dream.

“It’s here,” the contact person from the School of Liberal Arts guided them into the building. “Please keep the noise down while setting up the equipment so as not to disturb the students’ classes.”

In fact, this didn’t need to be said. The solemn atmosphere of a top-tier institution naturally had a strong influence, making those who entered instinctively cautious. Humans always hold knowledge and reason in awe, perhaps this is one of the greatest virtues and hopes of the species.

Sure enough, a class was in session inside the classrooms.

The quiet corridors weren’t particularly bright, and the continuous rainy days gave them a somewhat dim tone, but precisely because of this, they seemed closer to memories, like a silent, low-resolution old movie.

Passing by a classroom, a man’s calm and steady voice drifted out, seemingly discussing something about the Three Sus. Though the content was hard to understand, his voice was easy to linger on. For a moment, she couldn’t help herself and let her gaze drift through the window into the classroom before her colleagues’ lenses, catching sight of the man standing on the podium.

Wearing a light gray shirt without a tie, he held a piece of chalk in his right hand, writing on the blackboard. After a few strokes, he turned back to look at the students seated below, checking if they understood—this unconscious meticulousness and thoughtfulness.

She was somewhat entranced, fleeting images of the past flashing through her mind. No one knew that the handsome man had almost existed in every corner of her college life. She had quietly followed him through many places and finally bid him a silent farewell in a classroom much like this one.

“Wrong, wrong, it’s not this one...”

The teacher in charge of coordination came over to correct her.

“...Teacher Xiao doesn’t do interviews. It’s the next classroom.”

She heard this statement, and so did the man standing at the podium inside the classroom. Perhaps he didn’t like being disturbed during class, as his brows slightly furrowed, and he glanced toward the window where the noise originated.

Tak.

It was the sound of her heartstrings trembling faintly as their eyes met.

...And also the sound of the chalk in his hand breaking unexpectedly.