The Toll of the Bell

The inevitable will still arrive.

When he was called into the office alone by Li Aimin for the third time, neither Song Shuyi nor Xu Zhenqing was there. It was a deliberately chosen time. Cen Zeng was well aware.

He walked in and calmly looked at the supervisor opposite him.

"Not bad." Li Aimin glanced over the forms, documents, and experiment logs he had sent. "You're getting the hang of it faster than I imagined."

"Senior Brother Song gave a lot of guidance," Cen Zeng replied.

"He doesn't seem to be that attentive to his own project, though."

Cen Zeng explained on his behalf, but no matter how he explained, the middle-aged man opposite him was clearly not satisfied.

He just watched Cen Zeng's lips open and close with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"Quite the smooth talker." Li Aimin nodded in satisfaction. "When it comes to official business, you're not so quiet. A good seedling."

Cen Zeng didn't say thank you again. He just raised his head and finished his final summary. He pointed out that the senior brother's research direction had some overlap with the lab next door.

He felt that if Director Li was willing, he could let Song Shuyi work on a small project with the PhD student from the lab next door.

"Undergraduates don't need to worry about so much." Li Aimin wasn't angry, still smiling. "Song Shuyi still has a long way to go. At his level, collaborating with others would just be an embarrassment to me."

"But you, have you thought it over?" The topic circled back again.

"What?"

"Do you want to learn a little more, a little faster, and get some private instruction?"

The way Li Aimin looked at him still made him uncomfortable. The man opposite him greedily scanned his face, his body, his hands. He had the illusion that the man's gaze had turned into a tongue, damp like a wall during the humid season, licking him again and again.

It wasn't sexual desire, but full of an indescribable sense of superiority, excitement, and contempt. And even, if he were being honest enough, a hint of appreciation.

Appreciation for what? For the lamb's desperate struggle to survive? Or for the lamb, having walked into the tiger's den, still ridiculously pretending to be calm?

"I don't understand what you mean," Cen Zeng said, standing his ground.

He looked up at Li Aimin, his expression unchanged, though his palms were trembling slightly. Fortunately, he at least kept his back straight.

"Do you not understand, not dare, or are you just unwilling?"

Of course, he didn't understand, couldn't comprehend, and was unwilling.

But he was good at silence, so he said nothing, just watching the person in front of him without moving.

The man watched him with great interest, even taking the time to sip his tea before smilingly finding a glass cup and pouring some for him too. "Don't be nervous. The teacher isn't going to eat you."

He didn't move, asking instead, "Is that so?"

"Of course," Li Aimin smiled. "And I've always been very patient with smart students."

Cen Zeng replied, "Director Li, but I've always been very stubborn. Things I don't understand, I will probably never understand."

"That's not a good habit." Li Aimin's expression didn't change. "Being a doctor is a profession of lifelong learning. If you don't understand, you have to ask, you have to learn. Otherwise, sooner or later, you'll be cruelly eliminated by the competition."

"I stand corrected," Cen Zeng nodded. "Since this is a question you've raised, and I don't understand it, who do you want me to ask? If I ask the senior sisters and brothers, they might not understand either. So, should I ask the department head? The section chief, or the dean?"

He asked with sincerity and earnestness, looking every bit the model student.

Li Aimin's expression shifted several times before he finally shook his head with a smile. He said, "Cen Zeng, don't try to threaten the supervisor who can control your future. It's too naive, not smart at all."

Cen Zeng replied, "I don't understand what you mean."

"I cherish talent..." Li Aimin said, "...and I never force anyone. If you still don't understand, then let's just forget it. After all, the world is mostly full of fools. I just thought you weren't one of them."

At this point, his expression was extremely pleasant, and his tone could almost be described as patiently guiding. "Think it over carefully."

After speaking, Li Aimin leisurely tapped the table and said, as if bestowing a great favor, "You may go, I won't keep you. Tell me when you've thought it through."

Cen Zeng walked out and ran right into Zhang Yuhao.

The latter said nothing, only sneering at him.

Cen Zeng stood further away and looked back. When Zhang Yuhao went in, he deliberately pulled the door wide open, as if to highlight his own innocence.

He didn't have any particular thoughts. In their small group chat of three, he sent a message saying that Li Aimin had given him an ultimatum.

The other two were busy, one doing rounds, the other working in the Emergency Department. No one had time to send a new message.

He wasn't in a hurry either. He finished his work, sent it out, had dinner, and then checked how many miscellaneous tasks were left to do.

Before leaving, he subconsciously touched the wax seal on the envelope at the edge of his bag's compartment, then shouldered his bag and left.

Cheng Shuo and he had originally planned to meet at the library near the Public Policy Building in an hour.

But with Li Aimin having said what he said, Cen Zeng knew his good days were numbered. Since he was leaving early for once, he simply opened Cheng Shuo's class schedule and went to wait for him to get out of class.

Just as he arrived, the bell from the Bell Tower to the north began to ring, its sound distant and lingering, drifting through the evening glow and the wind, tolling through the twilight.

Cen Zeng sat at the corner of the hallway, waiting for the door to open.

It was a large major course. Several waves of people surged out. He stared for a while before finally spotting Cheng Shuo.

He was walking at the very back, stuffing an iPad into his backpack with one hand while holding his phone with the other, messaging someone.

Just as Cen Zeng was considering whether to call out, someone pulled him to a stop.

The person's expression was anxious.

So Cen Zeng sat where he was, planning to send a message after they were done.

The two of them stopped not far away. Coincidentally, they were just around a corner from him.

He shouldn't have listened, but he happened to hear his own name. So, as if possessed, he moved a little further away.

"Cen Zeng... what's going on?"

"I already told you to find me tomorrow. I've arranged to meet him at the library here. You can give me Xing Ji's gift tomorrow. Or don't give it to me, that's fine too."

"Don't change the subject. Zhang Yijie already told me."

"How could he have taken the initiative to tell you?" Cheng Shuo's tone was exasperated. "Forget it, it makes sense. You'll have to meet Cen Zeng anyway, because I obviously can't not invite you to my birthday. Telling you now is better than telling you on the day itself. Otherwise, you might as well not come, since you don't want to anyway."

"My point is, what the hell are you doing? Does Cen Zeng know that he looks like Xing Ji? Are you planning to hide it for a lifetime? Does he know you're playing with his feelings?"

"I have my own ideas, can you please not get involved? Mr. Righteous?"

"If I wasn't helping Xing Ji deliver a birthday present, do you think I'd be willing to talk to you?"

"Fine, fine, fine, okay, okay, okay. You're morally superior, you can't stand to watch, you have your own bottom line. Xing Ji is your friend, and you obviously don't want someone hurting others in his name.

We're both very clear on this, and I admit it, you're a pretty decent person, more reliable than me in many ways.

But I'm not as rotten as you think. I don't want to argue with you, and I especially don't want to argue here. I have a meeting, and I don't want to keep him waiting. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

He was about to turn the corner of the hallway.

Then he stopped.

Chen Ziheng, holding the gift box that Xing Ji had sent via international express, came face to face with Cen Zeng.

Cen Zeng only felt as if the toll of the bell was still hammering in his ears, shaking him to the core, rendering him numb.

He considered for a moment, then finally raised his eyes to look at the person behind Cheng Shuo. "Nice to meet you, I'm Cen Zeng."

[Author's Note]

Let's sprinkle some major drama.