Free Web NovelHaruki Murakami once wrote in "Norwegian Wood", "University is boring, and going to university is to train your ability to endure boredom."
Although Lu Yibei felt that the major classes in school were very important, the statement from this Waseda University graduate contained some misleading elements.
However, the feeling of skipping class for the first time, which made her blush and her heart pound, a feeling of excitement, fear, and longing, was truly awesome!
When the class bell rang and she walked out of the main entrance of the teaching building like a wild dog let loose, she felt like her whole body was about to fly.
Then, she was stopped by Professor Ma who was passing «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» by.
"You're Lu Yibei, right?"
"..." Lu Yibei hesitated for a moment whether to tell the stern Old man in front of her that he had mistaken her for someone else, and then weakly said, "Yes, it's me."
"Skipping class?"
"Yes, yes..."
Professor Ma smiled, his gaze kindly fixed on Lu Yibei, making her feel uneasy.
"Professor, listen to me explain, I actually wanted to..."
Before Lu Yibei finished speaking, Professor Ma patted her on the shoulder and interrupted, "I understand, I understand. University students have diverse personalities. Only by breaking free from the constraints of the classroom can they have diverse choices!"
"Isn't science constantly developing through different choices? This is not a bad thing."
Lu Yibei breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this, nodding her head like a chick pecking rice. "Mhm, mhm, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. As expected of an academic authority and a giant of the literary world, your words are profound and insightful. I, your student, am deeply impressed!"
However, I'm not going to promote scientific development. You might not believe it, but I'm rushing back to research superstition right now. Lu Yibei thought to herself.
"So eager to leave? Haha! Don't worry, this isn't my class, I won't do anything to you, but..." As if seeing through Lu Yibei's little thoughts, Professor Ma laughed.
As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted, and his expression became serious. "You cannot skip my class. Three early departures will result in a zero grade."
Lu Yibei, "..."
Damn double standard dog!
Muttering a curse in her heart, Lu Yibei quickly said, "Absolutely not, absolutely not. I wish I could attend your class every day. How could I possibly skip your class? Then I..."
"Go on, go on!" Professor Ma waved his hand at Lu Yibei with a smile. "I also have my own things to attend to."
"Yes, yes, you go ahead and be busy, don't mind me." Lu Yibei, as if granted amnesty, bid farewell to Professor Ma and dashed out of the teaching building.
Just as she stepped out of the teaching building, before she could get far, a young man who looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight appeared.
Lu Yibei brushed past the man. A strong scent of camphor wood drifted from the pure wooden case in the man's hand, attracting her attention.
It was an antique-looking case, its surface slightly patinated and gleaming, the copper handle showing a bit of verdigris, and engraved with auspicious cloud patterns. It was clearly an old object with some history.
As Lu Yibei stared at the box, a strange feeling subtly arose within her.
That feeling was like diligently reviewing before an exam, remembering "Ma Dongmei", but opening the test paper in the examination room to see "Sun Honglei" written clearly in black and white.
Her mind went blank for a brief moment.
Lu Yibei came back to her senses and the man had already walked away. After steadying herself, she suddenly realized that the man was actually gathered with Professor Ma in front of the teaching building.
The two embraced each other, exchanged a few pleasantries with smiles and laughter, and then the man patted the box in his hand, leaned forward, and whispered something into Professor Ma's ear. Professor Ma's eyes narrowed slightly, and he made a welcoming gesture, leading the man deeper into the teaching building.
It was all very mysterious, like an underground party meeting. Lu Yibei thought.
What was in that box?
The box itself already looked quite valuable; the contents inside were probably not simple either.
However...
What does this have to do with me? Lu Yibei shrugged. Even if it's a treasure, it's not like I can kill someone for it, right?
After all, I'm just a salted fish trying hard to survive in this world full of urban legend.
...
Professor Ma's full name is Ma Zhen. Besides teaching ancient literary theory courses, he has long been engaged in the study of ancient special script content in the Southwest, with remarkable research achievements.
The young man who met with Professor Ma today is a descendant of a rather prestigious scholarly family in Hua City. He came specifically to fulfill the wish of his deceased Old man – to return the contents of the wooden box to Ma Zhen.
The contents of the wooden box were an anonymous bamboo slip. A single, sparse scroll, yet it was covered with thousands of special characters from ancient ethnic minorities.
Two years ago, Professor Ma discovered the existence of the bamboo slip in a remote ancient village. He had originally planned to buy it with his own money and take it back to the laboratory for research, but he didn't expect that the bamboo slip had already been bought by an Old man, although it had not yet been taken away.
After several twists and turns, Professor Ma found the Old man who had bought the bamboo slip. After multiple negotiations, the Old man finally reluctantly agreed to lend the bamboo slip to Professor Ma for research, but with one condition: he wanted three years to read and study it himself.
But who knew, before the three-year agreement was up, the Old man passed away after a severe illness. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Learning that the Old man had a prior agreement with Professor Ma, the Old man's son took the initiative to bring the bamboo slip and find Professor Ma, gifting him the slip. This was also considered fulfilling a wish of the Old man.
...
Huacheng Institute of Technology, Liberal Arts and Science Building, in an ordinary office. Through the clean glass window, one could see Sakura Avenue in the afternoon sunlight outside.
At this moment, in the office, the slightly plump and upright, serious-looking Professor Ma sat in the chair behind the desk, frowning as he looked at the wooden box on the table. There was unconcealable excitement flickering in his eyes.
The young man sitting on the other side of the desk noticed Professor Ma's unusual state, pointed to the box on the table, and smiled, "Uncle Ma, would you like to open it and check now?"
"No, no, now is not the time," Professor Ma said, waving his hand. "There are no protective measures in this office of mine. Opening and inspecting it like this might cause damage. As you should know, sweat on the hands can damage these ancient texts..."
Realizing he had lost some composure, Professor Ma gave a dry laugh and said, "Sorry, I was a bit too excited. After all, the script on it is too rare."
"Haha, Uncle Ma, you exaggerate. When my Old man first got this roll of bamboo slips back then, he was much more excited than you. He spent all day in the study researching, forgetting to eat and sleep, as if he were possessed."
After the young man finished speaking, seeing Professor Ma staring at the wooden box in a daze for a long time, he stood up and bowed slightly towards him.
"Uncle, since I have delivered the item, I will take my leave now."
"Uh, you rarely come here, why not stay a bit longer and just leave like this?" Professor Ma said.
"No," the man said with a smile, self-deprecatingly, "Although I was born into such a family, I have no interest in literature at all. Staying here would only disturb your research. It's better to be sensible and go back early, so you don't get annoyed looking at me. Haha!"
"This..." Professor Ma hesitated to speak, then shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Alright then. After getting this item, I want to start the research immediately, so I won't see you off."
"It's alright, you don't need to mind me," the man said, and with that, he bid farewell to Professor Ma and left the office.
After the man left, Professor Ma stared at the wooden box on his desk in a daze for a long time. The first thing he did after coming back to his senses was to send an email to his graduate students, telling them to pause their current research projects and hurry to the lab for a quick meeting as soon as possible.
Now...
A new research project is about to begin preparation.
