“Haha,” Huan’er laughed, “So you know how to get to the university too?”
“To the university…” Jing Qichi pulled out his phone and showed her Google Maps, “In the information age, you don’t need to remember everything.”
The map displayed the locations he had marked in advance: home, school, supermarket, restaurant.
Huan’er curiously pointed at the restaurant, “What’s this?”
“The highest-rated restaurant within two kilometers of you. We should try it sometime.”
“Sure.” Huan’er then pointed at the school, “You don’t need to mark this one, I could take you there with my eyes closed.”
“I wanted to be able to pick you up,” Jing Qichi put away his phone and, seeing they were about to arrive, stood up with one hand on his luggage and the other around Huan’er’s shoulders. “If I’m going to pick you up, I need to know how to get there myself.”
Just as they reached street level, Huan’er received a call from Mark, “Chen, why didn’t you say you were taking leave today?”
“I emailed David, and you were CC’d.”
Mark countered, “Why wasn’t I in the main recipient line? You know I don’t usually check CC’d emails.”
Huan’er calmly rejected this, “Mark, I didn’t know about your habits.”
Seeing her expression darken, Jing Qichi mouthed “What’s wrong?”
Huan’er shook her head.
“Well, now you know,” Mark’s tone still implied Huan’er was at fault. “Today is very busy, everyone has tasks to do, and this means I have to reassign work, which is very inconvenient.”
Huan’er remained silent.
Mark continued, “David told me about your application. Let’s talk about it when you come to school tomorrow.”
“I won’t be coming in tomorrow, I’m on leave until Monday,” Huan’er said somewhat defiantly. “We can talk any time that’s convenient for you next week.”
There was a brief silence on the other end, then Mark said, “Fine. Your part of the thesis needs to be submitted on Monday—in fact, you’re the only one who hasn’t submitted it.”
“OK,” Huan’er asked, “Anything else?”
“That’s all, see you Monday.” Mark hung up.
After she put away her phone, Jing Qichi finally asked, “Colleague?”
“My co-supervisor.”
“You and he…”
“Mm, we don’t get along well,” Huan’er wanted to vent her frustrations but thought he must be tired from the flight, so she sighed, “Let’s talk about it when we get back.”
Jing Qichi heard the undertone in her words and asked with furrowed brows, “Is he bullying you?”
At those words, Huan’er suddenly felt overwhelmed with grievance, tears welling up in her eyes.
She forced them back and changed the subject, “Look, that’s my building.”
She hadn’t cried, but her voice was trembling.
“It’s okay,” Jing Qichi, keenly aware of her emotions, swung their clasped hands, “When we get back, I’ll tell you some good news.”