Li Xiaopang, the Class 1 monitor, spoke with feigned pleasantness: “Classmate Wen Heng has regressed again in this exam. How delightful – everyone, let’s applaud.”

A wave of applause swept through.

“This kid is incredible. In just one year, they’ve managed to slide from first to seventieth in the grade. Not just anyone in our medical school could achieve that.”

“Tsk tsk, at this speed and efficiency, they’re almost catching up to the ‘Sacred Three.'”

“Hehe, with Ah Heng around, I feel like my twenty-rank drop is quite bearable.”

The crowd fanned themselves, shading their eyes like spectators watching a show.

Wen Heng was embarrassed.

Xiaopang stood at the podium, grinning menacingly but speaking pleasantly: “Child, remember how our department divides classes?”

Wen Heng answered: “By grades.”

Xiaopang asked again: “Which class are we?”

Answer: “Class One.”

Xiaopang bared his teeth, his small eyes narrowing into slits: “When grades came out today, those brats from Classes Two through Six in Director Zhao’s office were all praising me, saying I’d managed to nurture a top student into rank seventy. Such character, such achievement – not just anyone could pull this off.”

Wen Heng nodded: “It’s quite an accomplishment.”

Xiaopang covered his face: “Damn, you’ve become too degenerate, too shameless, too ugly, too cruel – I can’t bear to look.”

Wen Heng: “All thanks to our monitor’s excellent teaching.”

Xiaopang was in tears: “I’ve been teaching you all different ways to bully bacteria babies and get pleasure from cutting human tissue fibers. When did I ever teach you this?”

Everyone spat: “Li Xiaopang, you’re shameless.”

“Li Xiaopang, you’re shameless.”

“Li Xiaopang, you’re shameless.”

Li Xiaopang picked up his ears, pretending not to hear: “Alright, alright, this class meeting is over. Those who did poorly, cover your heads and sing the national anthem. Those who did well, we’ll deal with you when you do poorly next time. Focus on observing student Wen Heng – supervise and criticize when necessary. If anyone sees this person selling smiles at street markets, KFC, or McDonald’s, drag them back for a group beating.”

Ah Heng wept: “Xiaopang, you can’t be like this. You don’t understand the hardship of having no food to eat and no clothes to wear. Do you know how many Asian children are struggling on the brink of starvation? I work part-time just to support myself, Monitor!”

Xiaopang tugged her pigtail: “Why don’t you sell your husband? Senior Gu would fetch a good price.”

Ah Heng remained calm, shaking her head: “No way. McDull said never to sell your chicken, so I can’t sell my person either.”

Someone at the door applauded with laughter.

Ah Heng turned to see a group in white coats – the fifth-year peacocks.

These ‘old peacocks’ were men past marriageable age who remained single and exuded flirtatious airs when interacting with younger female students.

“Ah Heng, I must tell Feibai about what you just said, let him hear it,” said one of Gu Feibai’s friends.

This Gu Feibai was her fiancé, chosen by both her father and the Gu family patriarch.

During summer break in her senior year of high school, her father specially returned home to take her to H City for matchmaking. Though Gu Feibai seemed well-mannered despite his obvious impatience with her, and though he’d raise his eyebrows and pretend not to see her, their marriage was still arranged by her father and Gu Feibai’s uncle.

Thinking about it gave Ah Heng a headache. This Gu Feibai was the same youthful Comrade Xiao Bai as before. Who knew that after two years apart, he’d become like this: carrying Z University’s genius campus celebrity title, trophy in his left hand, scalpel in his right, reciting speeches while coldly trampling countless pink love letters under his feet.

It was too much for Ah Heng’s brain CPU to process at once.

Their relationship was ordinary – better than those who fought about breaking up every day, worse than those who made out in front of the dormitory. They were the honest, proper type. However, since Gu Feibai constantly maintained an expressionless face, their interactions appeared to outsiders as though the woman was being overly forward.

“The Antarctic doesn’t melt in a day, junior sister, my condolences,” someone smirked.

“The revolution isn’t complete yet, little sister-in-law, keep trying,” another chimed in.

Ah Heng twitched: “Thank you for the guidance, senior brother.”

The last person slapped his forehead: “Oh right, Ah Heng, Feibai is following Professor Zhang in the lab today, and probably won’t finish until 10 PM. He asked me to tell you he can’t have dinner with you tonight.”

Ah Heng smiled: “Okay, got it.”

She had worked at 7 PM anyway, so she didn’t have time to see Gu Feibai. It’s just that they were used to having dinner together, and would always let each other know if they couldn’t meet – a kind of tacit understanding between lovers.

Her evening job was at a bakery, an ordinary little shop with ordinary décor and ordinary taste. Occasionally the kitchen would give out failed cakes, so at least the food luck wasn’t bad.

Seven yuan fifty per hour.

From 7 PM to 10 PM, she could earn twenty-two yuan fifty – enough to avoid starvation for about three days.

Dad had said, “Ah Heng, be a good doctor.”

Then, without financial resources, barely surviving on scholarships the first year, and now definitely without a scholarship while still wanting to be a doctor – well, it wasn’t an optimistic situation.

To get a scholarship, you need to study well; to study well, you need ample time; but fearing starvation means selling your time; without time you can’t study well; and hoping for a scholarship at Z University where talent is as common as flies while not studying well is a daydream.

Thus, this vicious cycle led to today’s criticism session.

Ah Heng watched the sparse customers in the store, so bored she wanted to swat mosquitoes with the fly swatter.

The store owner was a middle-aged auntie whose child had gotten into university. With nothing to do at home, she opened this bakery. Since Ah Heng was around her child’s age, she took extra care of her.

Ah Heng said: “Auntie, let’s reform the shop! Double the store size, add eight or ten warming cabinets, hire a first-class baker, make lots of delicious bread, and earn lots of money. Then Auntie can pay me two yuan more per hour.”

Auntie envied: “Young child, it’s good to be able to dream.”

Ah Heng was embarrassed.

Near closing time, a couple complained that the mousse cake wasn’t fresh, saying the color looked wrong.

This situation was impossible. The bakery only had one lonely warming cabinet, and it had broken down recently, so they only made about twenty pieces of mousse cake each day. They’d sell until they ran out, and whatever didn’t sell went into Ah Heng’s stomach. She knew better than anyone how fresh they were.

Ah Heng went to investigate as ordered, staring at the cake for a while. The color was a bit off – there was a cup-lid-sized crimson spot on the pale yellow cake.

She glanced at the couple and smiled: “Miss, could this be the color of your lipstick?”

The young woman wasn’t happy and slapped the table: “I use L’Oreal lip gloss, it’s a brand name, and absolutely won’t smear!”

The man sneered: “Forget it, what’s the point of explaining L’Oreal to her? Looking at how she’s dressed, does she even know what L’Oreal is?”

Ah Heng looked down at her white T-shirt bought on sale, jeans, and the work apron specially made by the bakery auntie. She turned back and smiled: “Auntie, he says the clothes you made don’t look good.”

Originally the auntie was dignified and elegant, not bothering with ordinary people, but she hated people criticizing her needlework and cooking skills the most. These two had managed both, how could she not be enraged? A burst of crude cursing sent the couple scurrying away with their heads covered.

Then the other customers were scared away too.

Auntie tossed her curls, magnificent: “Little Wen, your old lady had a satisfying scolding session today. Let’s close up and go home.”

Ah Heng checked the time – 9:30, half an hour early. She was overjoyed.

She bought a basket of beef shumai and a basket of sweet oil shumai at the shop by the school gate. Every time Gu Feibai saw this shumai shop, he would stare from front to back, then coldly and disdainfully say: “Unsanitary.”

Actually, Ah Heng wanted to say, if he didn’t want to eat it, he didn’t need to go through all that trouble.

Then, when she delivered it to the lab, Gu Feibai had finished his work. Seeing the steaming shumai, he again said “unsanitary,” persistently staring at the bag with haughty, cold eyes for a long while.

Ah Heng smiled.

“Eat it. I asked the owner, the filling was just made this afternoon, should be fine.” Ah Heng handed him the bag, then glanced at her watch and smiled, “The dorm lights are about to go out. I’ll head back first, you should go home early too.”

As she turned to leave, Gu Feibai caught the edge of her clothes.

“Wait.” Gu Feibai was rarely proactive. He took out a handful of candy from his white coat pocket. “Hold out your hand.”

Ah Heng obediently extended her hand.

“Professor Zhang’s family got a granddaughter today. These are celebration candies. I’m allergic to alcohol, so you take them.” Gu Feibai explained calmly, putting the candy in her palm, a rare smile at the corner of his lips.

Ah Heng looked closely – they were liquor-filled chocolates. Her face reddened slightly as she spoke softly: “I’ll finish them all.”

Solemn and gentle.

Yan Xi wore headphones and a light pink T-shirt. His fingers lightly pointed to his ears, and the monitoring room outside the glass door understood, slightly raising the volume.

“DJ Yan, are you still listening?” A timid, sorrowful female voice came through the headphones.

“Ms. Li, I’m listening.” Yan Xi spoke calmly. “You said you failed the college entrance exam three times, your parents are completely disappointed in you, and you don’t dare to live on, wanting to jump from a building, is that right?”

“Yes. You probably don’t know, I mean, DJ Yan seems to have everything going smoothly. I’ve seen your interviews on TV – young, handsome, quick-witted. You probably won’t understand my pain. The exam is just the trigger. What makes me more uneasy is that I find myself becoming increasingly transparent. Looking around, I always have this illusion that the whole world can’t see me. I can’t find any value in my existence.”

“Is living already so sad that it’s beyond words, that even courage has completely disappeared?” Yan Xi gently asked her.

“Yes.” The woman trembled as she spoke.

“Then jump.” The youth lowered his head and spoke plainly.

The producer beside him became anxious, jumping up and down, making constant hand signals to Yan Xi.

Yan Xi looked up, putting his finger to his lips with a slight smile, gesturing for him to be quiet.

On the other end of the phone, the woman spoke mournfully: “So even DJ Yan thinks someone like me is a coward, scum, a burden on society?”

“Whether to go or stay, to live or die, is just a choice you make. I have no right to interfere.”

The youth’s tone was steady but carried coldness: “Perhaps jumping from a height will let you feel your hatred for the world being vindicated, let your soul find redemption. Your father and mother should be the most condemnable people in the world, right? They gave birth to you but couldn’t continue loving you unconditionally after you failed the college entrance exam, only thinking about how to drive you to death, then feeling satisfied in their old age with no children at their knees, isn’t that right?”

The other person’s voice suddenly became sharp: “What right do you have to say they love me?! What right do you have to say they’ll be lonely in their old age if I die?! The way they look at me makes me feel like I shouldn’t exist in this world! I’d rather fall from a building, neither living nor dying properly, make them regret for the rest of their lives!”

Yan Xi smiled: “Right, and then they’ll continue taking care of you for the rest of their lives.”

The woman was stunned, then after a while, choked up: “What right do you have to say that, what right exactly?”

Yan Xi spoke calmly: “Because you feel the whole world can’t see you.”

“Why?”

“If you hadn’t received enormous love from them before if you hadn’t once felt like you were the center of the world, how could you be so heartbroken after facing setbacks?”

“But it’s useless, they won’t believe in me anymore, won’t love me anymore.” The woman covered her face with her hands, crying softly.

“Ms. Lin, do you think it’s so difficult to keep loving you?” Yan Xi gently rubbed his brow, chuckling softly. “Why can’t you believe in them? Or, if you feel this love is too arduous and truly unbearable, why not choose an impeccable opportunity to go somewhere where no one knows you and start over? Then examine whether this love is truly precious or superfluous?”

The woman finally broke down sobbing, and after the rain came sunshine. She said: “DJ Yan, I want to continue loving my mom and dad properly, I want to continue.”

Yan Xi was stunned, then smiled, his sharp gaze turning gentle.

He said: “You’re very brave, very remarkable.”

The program finally ended. Yan Xi hugged his cup and drank water frantically. Looking up, he saw someone gently tapping on the glass in front of him.

It was Lu Liu.

He smiled: “Yan Xi, you’re good at fooling people. Love this, love that – how much do you understand?”

Yan Xi spread his hands: “I’d rather have convinced her to experience the taste of jumping, make her never dare mention those two words again in her next life, but the radio station won’t allow it. They’d dock my pay, and that would be troublesome.”

Lu Liu wore light blue casual clothes, losing his usual worldly precociousness, his face showing a youthful freshness and cleanliness.

He said: “Come on, Yan Xi, I’ll treat you to dinner. Yesterday I was discussing business with a client at a French restaurant. Their ribs were quite good.”

Yan Xi said: “Wait for me.”

Then he dashed to the neighboring office, praising the backstage staff, spittle flying: “Hey, sister, sister you look so beautiful today, your complexion is great. Little Hui hasn’t been bothering you, right? It can be quite naughty – if it bullies you, I’ll help you smack it.”

The group of office ladies was beaming with smiles: “No, no, Little Hui is very well-behaved, hasn’t bothered us at all.” They handed him the dog basket, along with several packets of dried meat sauce.

Lu Liu smiled: “Yan Xi, you’re something else, treating the office like your home, even finding beautiful nannies for your dog. Why not keep it at home? I remember you’re allergic to dog hair – since when did you start loving dogs?”

Yan Xi said: “I’m cultivating the image of a new-age dog-loving gentleman. The dog is just a prop, can’t you tell?”

Little Hui whimpered pitifully.

Yan Xi glared at it with his big eyes, and the little towel-like creature shrank back into the basket.

During dinner, Yan Xi wolfed down his food, getting sauce all over his mouth, making Lu Liu laugh repeatedly: “Yan Xi, you’re still the same as when you were little. I’ve been gone for four years and you haven’t changed at all.”

Yan Xi spat out a bone and threw it to Little Hui, smiling without humor: “Lu Liu, these ribs aren’t that great. Your taste has declined.”

Lu Liu lowered his head and took a small bite, the meat’s aroma melting on his tongue, then smiled: “Yan Xi, there’s nothing wrong with them.”

Yan Xi raised an eyebrow: “The sauce is too heavy, the meat’s too raw, the mint leaves contaminate the taste, and the plate’s too small.”

Lu Liu gave him a faint glance: “It’s just that the ribs you usually eat are too cheap.”