Xin Zhai

Tong Yan ate from the cafeteria and came out at seven o'clock.Yang Ziyue asked him whether to go back to the department hall or the dormitory, he thought for a while and said, "Let's go back to the department hall".

When Ye Li first arrived in Australia, he had to make video calls with him two or three times a week, all after dinner.In the first few times, Ye Li sent a text message first, asking if he could make a video.He hurried back and made a phone call at about 07:30 each time.So after that, he simply returned to Xinzhai after dinner.

During that time, he wrote some materials at night, prepared lessons, or read literature.It doesn't matter where these things are done.So I got used to the routine of going back to Xinzhai after dinner.

Xiao Meng and Yang Ziyue were surprised by this for quite a while.

Sometimes he felt like he was raising a child, and seeing Ye Li excitedly telling him how the school was, what fun things there were, and what delicious food was there, it was as if he had seen and tasted it.For the first time, he had this feeling of wanting someone to be happy wholeheartedly. It was amazing, as if he was another existence of him.

But Ye Li soon immersed himself in his own life, and had new friends, whom he didn't know.There is a new teacher who seems to be better than him.With routines, habits and hobbies that he doesn't understand.

After a long time, Ye Li had nothing to say after reporting all the new things, and the phone calls became once a week.Later, Ye Li found out that the robotic arm could be used as a reference, and after telling him, the two of them got busy on their own, contacting each other through emails.

It's a weird thing to chat about.When Tong Yan was in college, a buddy in the dormitory would call his girlfriend every day, talking about what he ate today, what homework he left and so on.There is also a person in the dormitory next door who calls his mother every day.I chat every day, but some chat, because there will be no big or small details.

Of course, most of the two people who need to use the phone to maintain contact, since they separated, the frequency of calling is a process of decline, but the speed of decline may be fast or slow.This applies to couples, parents, children and friends.

Tong Yan first went to college, and at first he also called his mother, once every two or three days, and then the frequency dropped rapidly.Almost stopped playing after that.

It's okay to get used to it, but the hard part is that one of the parties is looking forward to it, but seeing the process of less contact.At that time, he was selfish and didn't consider his parents' feelings, but now he has to repay this debt doubled.

Every night when he was in Xinzhai, he arranged work for himself to make the time more fulfilling.

The mobile phone society has developed to the point where 99% of people watch things countless times every day, and he once threw it away in a lonely way.Both his mother and Cheng Mingming asked him angrily why he didn't answer the phone.

That maverick and chic may never be found again.

God knows how afraid he is now to miss any kind of sound from his phone.

He had thought of calling Ye Li, but he quickly denied it.He is a parent and a teacher. Unless there is something very important, why would parents gossip with their children on the phone?Where is the teacher?Teachers can only talk about learning and projects.Therefore, the two roles he identified did not allow him to take the initiative.

Later, when Ye Li called him half a month ago, he began to regret it. What if he hadn't communicated with him in this way in the first place?What if he wasn't his parent and teacher in the first place?

He watched the development of the matter, as if the moon around the earth slowly moved into a far away orbit, and he could even calculate the radius of the circle at the next moment, clearly and helplessly.

The only way he can resist this longing is to work.After Ye Li's reminder, Tong Yan opened the door to a new world.The performance of the modified structure has been greatly improved, and the results of his tests in the past few days have stabilized.Ye Li found a lot of information for him last month, and every time he sent it to him, he carefully read it and sorted it out, and he was still looking for it during this time.He wanted to tell him no need, it was too time-consuming, and all the useful things had already been used.But he was afraid that without these things, there would be one less reason for Ye Li to contact him, the most important one.

So later he gave him some tasks, documents for other projects, foreign materials for teaching subjects, anyway, Tong Yan also has to do these things, leave it to Ye Li, he will do a good job.

Later, when Tong Yan heard someone call him "Xiaoli", he felt inexplicably irritable.He comforted himself that it was just a nickname.He saw his friends would come to touch his head, give him beer, sometimes hug his neck intimately, and lean over to look at the phone.He saw that his friend was the same age as him, just as youthful and energetic.They speak freely and can make jokes.What Ye Li did to him, he could do to other teachers.And he and his peers can do more interesting things together.

He began to think about what would happen if Ye Li told others what Ye Li had said to him.The thought flashed by, and he dared not continue.He has other intentions, not only parents to children, teachers to students, but in his complex feelings towards him, what he is embarrassed to admit is his unconcealed desire for monopoly.

But now he is in his life, probably not even one-tenth of it.

It was early August, and there were not many people in the school.Ye Li and the others are on winter vacation. He told him some time ago that he would help out in Peter's laboratory during the winter vacation.He was very excited when he said it, it was an expression of announcing the good news to him.

He followed Yang Ziyue to the department hall.Yang Ziyue wanted to graduate half a year early next year's winter vacation, so he didn't go home this summer vacation, and was busy with him in the laboratory.These few of his students are very smart and hard-working students.But compared with Ye Li, he is a little bit less "persistence", or "resilience".

He has been a teacher for several years and knows one thing.A bowl of water is level, which is the goal that teachers will never achieve.As long as we are human, we have likes and preferences.Teachers with high level and good quality will hide this point deeper.

He was very grateful that Yang Ziyue didn't go home, otherwise he didn't know how to spend this summer vacation.

He can no longer remember how he spent the dozen or so winter and summer vacations when he was alone.

Yang Ziyue was sorting out the test results during the day, and Tong Yan was beside him planning to write the teaching plan for the next year.He had just written dozens of words when Ye Li's call came.

He walked out the door with his mobile phone. In fact, there is nothing that other people can't listen to the content of his chat with Ye Li, but he doesn't like to answer his calls in the department hall, and he doesn't know why he called directly at this moment today.

He answered the phone at the end of the corridor, and the two talked about the progress of their respective projects as usual.Tong Yan asked, "In the lab all day?"

"Just played football for more than an hour this afternoon." Ye Li giggled, ""Now I play football very well. "

"Oh? What position to play?"

"I'm good at playing winger!"

Tong Yan laughed loudly: "Is it because you run fast?"

"Well, hey, it's just that his skills are rough, he often gets through people, and he always passes the ball crookedly."

When Tong Yan heard him talk about his playing football, his mood suddenly improved a lot.People should really participate in this kind of collective sports and experience the fun, otherwise it would be meaningless to stay in the laboratory all day like myself.

Ye Li talked for a while, but didn't continue.No wonder, I couldn't give him too much feedback, I just agreed with "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

There was no sound on the other end of the phone. He just thought about a topic when he heard Ye Li say, "Today, Peter told me that I can apply for his Ph.D. when I am in my senior year."

Tong Yan subconsciously said "Oh". It's not that he hadn't thought of this possibility, but it was just a passing thought.At this time, after Ye Li put this point on the agenda in advance, he made a calculation in his heart.

Next year, Yeli will be in his junior year, and exchange students are required to stay for at least one year, and then they can choose to return to China to complete their graduation project or complete it in Australia according to their wishes.If he chooses to be in Australia, and then chooses to be Peter's doctoral student, then Ye Li will have to spend at least seven years abroad.

Seven years.

Tong Yan was intimidated by this number.

Seven years later, he is 40 years old!

"Hello? Are you listening?" Ye Li talked about the projects that Peter plans to do in the next year and the topics that may be undertaken by doctoral students in the past few years. Halfway through the conversation, he found that the phone was silent.

"exist."

Ye Li said cautiously: "What do you think...how?"

Tong Yan didn't know in what capacity to answer this question.If it is a parent, they will say yes.As a teacher, you can also give him an affirmative answer.But the word "good" was on his lips, and he couldn't say it no matter what.He was afraid that if he said it, he would not be able to take it back, and everything would be irreversible.

He felt that Ye Li might have already made a plan and just informed him.But he still couldn't tell.If you want him to say, it's too strong.

"It's up to you to decide." Tong Yan finally said.

The phone call between the two started with a happy topic, but in the end the atmosphere became a little depressing.

Tong Yan sent Ye Li out of the country, and until today, he completely felt that his students had grown up and no longer needed him.One day, the place where he can teach him and help him will no longer exist.

He shuffled back and entered the laboratory. Yang Ziyue was already shutting down the computer.

"Ms. Tong, I've sorted everything out and it's on the desktop. Tomorrow I'm going out to play with my friends. I'll come back before school starts and play for nine days."

"Oh, good." Tong Yan sat down and asked casually, "Where are you going?"

Yang Ziyue said excitedly: "Go to Los Angeles! There is an undergraduate classmate there, go and play with him."

"Oh."

"Well, in fact, I can play in a few days, and the plane takes more than ten hours, and there is jet lag." Yang Ziyue said, "But if you play well, you can go there often in the future, but the air ticket is more expensive."

Tong Yan was taken aback. The distance between China and the United States is probably the two farthest places on earth, and it is only a dozen hours.

He made a decision right away, he wanted to see Ye Li, he hadn't figured out what to say, but he wanted to see him.

It's just a few hours and a plane ticket!Tong Yan couldn't figure out why he had waited until now to figure out what he had been in the past six months!