My girlfriend was reborn.

Teacher Zhang, Chapter 64, have you come out of this predicament?
"That's it. I discussed the script with her, and I feel like I learned a lot."

The next day, when they went to school, Zhou Heming told Cheng Shuangjiang about what happened the night before.

The girl simply smiled in response.

"That's great. It seems that although Ahe and Lu Bai don't get along, they actually get along very well, especially when it comes to filming."

"Well, it's alright. Maybe it's just that some of the ideas match up."

Zhou Heming secretly observed the girl's expression. Even if he had a clear conscience and felt that his relationship with Lu Bai was just a pure discussion about the script, it was hard to guarantee that Cheng Shuangjiang wouldn't overthink it.

“In my timeline, the two of you often discuss scripts all night long. Sometimes I can’t stay awake and fall asleep, but when I wake up the next morning, I find you two still arguing fiercely in the living room.”

But Cheng Shuangjiang simply pursed her lips slightly and said softly.

Winter had begun, and the warm early winter sun shone on her face, making even the fine downy hairs clearly visible. Zhou Heming thought this girl was incredibly cute.

"Do you get into heated arguments with people?"

Zhou Heming was already used to the topic of being thirty-five years old, but the way the girl described him back then was still somewhat hard for him to imagine.

"There are only a few people, and Lu Bai is one of them. The reverse is also true."

Will we argue?

The boy recalled the time the two of them had a falling out. He found it hard to imagine what a heated argument would look like. He felt that they might have a cold war for a day or two, and then one of them would give in and apologize.

"Yes, but they are all minor things that are not serious."

"for example?"

"Is the tofu pudding sweet or savory?"

"Can you eat savory tofu pudding?"

"look."

Cheng Shuangjiang smiled and continued.

"Actually, we are different in many ways, and we don't always understand each other perfectly. But on essential issues, we are surprisingly in agreement. It might really be like what Lu Bai searched before, like an aria. Although the melody is melodious and dramatic, the core is tightly intertwined. Just like the saying goes, 'The world should not have brought me joy, but you came.'"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Heming paused slightly, but quickly followed after him.

"Then I am the same. Like that saying goes, you are a very lovely person and you really deserve to meet the best person. I hope that I am that one."

The two looked at each other, then held hands. Their shadows, cast by the golden morning light, merged into one, so long, so very long.

*
evening.

Zhou Heming arrived at the Chinese language group's office.

He greeted Cheng Lingjun familiarly and sat down opposite him. He was already very used to facing this dignified head of the Chinese language group.

"Today we're practicing a mock interview. Do you remember the key points from before? Please repeat them."

Cheng Lingjun didn't mince words and went straight to the point.

Well, Zhou Heming was used to starting his interview that way, but he quickly remembered what Cheng Lingjun had said: you must avoid using interjections like "uh," "um," or "hmm" to prolong your thinking. So he changed his approach.

"The first point is to be organized and answer point by point according to your line of thought. The second point is to always connect with the material or question and avoid digressing too much. The third point is that when facing aspects that you do not understand or have little experience with, do not make up or pretend that you know. You can speak the truth and analyze it with your own line of thought."

Zhou Heming let out a sigh of relief.

"Because there are many types of interview questions, students cannot possibly know the source of every material. Therefore, what the interviewer is actually testing is your ability to analyze and judge unknown things."

Cheng Lingjun nodded.

"Ready? Let's give it a try."

He doesn't waste a single moment.

Zhou Heming nodded, and then saw Cheng Lingjun hand over several folded pieces of paper for him to choose from.

I picked up one and looked at it.

Design a one-minute public service advertisement to promote the Paralympic Games, and write related copy, describing the design concept.

"Let me introduce myself first."

Cheng Lingjun tapped the table lightly with two fingers.

Zhou Heming pursed his lips and then spoke.

The interview process usually involves filling out a form, which includes a list of your favorite movies and books. After entering the interview room, you first introduce yourself, and the teachers will ask you questions based on the list. Then, you draw lots to conduct an on-the-spot assessment. Cheng Lingjun is currently going through the on-the-spot assessment.

The questions are very diverse and are not limited to scripts, advertisements, news, documentaries, or variety shows.

In the past, Zhou Heming felt that the interview process would have been the death of him.

Being watched by so many eyes, and having to come up with and verbally answer within a fixed time, is a nightmare for anyone with social anxiety.

Fortunately, Cheng Shuangjiang trained herself to be brave.

The mock interview lasted for more than an hour and was conducted four times. Zhou Heming was so thirsty that he finally got to drink some water when the bell rang during the break in the evening self-study session.

How did your preparation for the monthly exam go?

Cheng Lingjun also picked up the thermos cup filled with goji berries and casually asked.

His tone was more like a parent than a teacher's.

"I hope to maintain the results from last time."

Zhou Heming continued to study diligently during this period, but preparing for the targeted exam took up some of his time, and he was unsure whether he could maintain his previous scores.

"If you can consistently score around 600, then getting into Ningjiang University shouldn't be a problem. Relax, it's just a monthly exam."

Cheng Lingjun smiled. "Teacher Cheng, if I don't do well on the test, will you blame me?"

Zhou Heming squeezed the bottom of the review materials and looked up to ask.

"Whether I blame you or not is not important, whether Shuangjiang blames you or not is not important. What is important is whether you will blame yourself."

Cheng Lingjun took a sip of goji berry water.

"You and I are a lot like each other when we were young. The hardest thing is overcoming our own limitations and getting stuck in our own self-imposed prisons. Sometimes, don't care too much about other people's opinions or get trapped in their expectations. Keep moving forward and keep going, and you'll eventually find the answer."

As Zhou Heming listened to his words, he truly felt for the first time that the phrase "earnest and earnest" had come to life.

"Teacher Cheng, have you come out yet?"

Asking the question instinctively, Zhou Heming immediately shut up.

If only reality allowed for withdrawals.

Although Cheng Shuangjiang hadn't explained it to him in detail, Zhou Heming had more or less noticed something amiss, and Cheng Lingjun must have felt some regret.

However, those regrets may have long since become an integral part of life, turning into irreversible tombstones that lie across the past.

"You might think I'm being presumptuous by saying this, but sometimes, I really hope that there are some poems and articles that you will never understand in your entire lives."

The teacher, who was in his forties, sighed. The bell rang to signal the start of evening self-study again. He suppressed all his emotions and returned to his teacher-like demeanor.

*
"So, you really do rely on micro-expressions and tone of voice to detect lies?"

Zhou Heming held the script handed to him by Lu Bai and asked as if he had remembered something.

Thursday.

Secret base.

Cheng Shuangjiang was called away by Cheng Lingjun. It seemed that some university had come to contact her to discuss matters, wanting to win over this academic star girl in advance.

The legend of scoring 739 points in the last monthly exam is legendary enough, even if it wasn't a standardized test. It spread like wildfire, and many universities that were previously unmoved are now eager to try it out.

Of course, it seems that Yannan and Huaqing, the two top universities, have not yet made a move. Perhaps they feel that it would be beneath them to offer an olive branch to a student, or perhaps they just want to observe Cheng Shuangjiang's qualities further before making a decision after the unified examination.

After all, if those two were to participate, other schools would have no room to maneuver, and the competition would simply become the Nth showdown between arch-rivals, just like the awards ceremony for the Olympiad finals in a while.

Thinking of another timeline, where Cheng Shuangjiang was swept up in public opinion and couldn't even attend university, it's truly heartbreaking and poignant to see how schools are vying for her now.

"Yes, you want to learn? I can't teach you."

Lu Bai sat on a chair in the next group, keeping her distance from Zhou Heming. She was playing a video on her phone and holding a box of bear-shaped cookies, occasionally popping one into her mouth.

"I'm curious about the principle behind it."

Zhou Heming didn't really want to learn.

Cheng Shuangjiang wouldn't harm him, so whether others lied or not was irrelevant to him.

"For example, if I want to write a character in the future who can see through other people's lies, I might design a plot where he communicates with the protagonist and explains why he can tell the lies. That's where our conversation today comes in handy."

"You guy."

Lu Bai paused the video with his other hand and glanced at Zhou Heming.

"It's actually very simple. Lying requires thinking, while stating the facts requires recalling memories. Therefore, there will be slight differences in tone, expression, and eye contact between the two. As long as you practice enough times, you can see through it."

"Do all actors have this kind of skill?"

"That's not true."

Lu Bai shrugged.

"Furthermore, some people have habitual little gestures when they lie, like fidgeting with the hem of their clothes. Once you get to know them, it's easy to spot them, for example..."

For example, do I have any habitual movements?

Zhou Heming scratched his head.

"You're just not good at lying, you should just be an honest person."

Lu Bai scoffed.

"Then can you lie?"

Zhou Heming asked again.

"Of course, why not? Whether out of good intentions or selfish motives, lies are necessary. I'm not that idealistic."

She ate the head of a bear-shaped biscuit with gusto.

"Idealism?"

Zhou Heming didn't delve into the topic. He wasn't the kind of person who would never lie, but he was indeed not good at making up lies unless he wrote them down and turned them into stories.

"By the way, regarding the script, I thought about it again and decided to add a little more. You study it first, and I'll go over it again and we'll talk about it next time."

The bell rang for evening self-study, and Lu Bai snatched the script from Zhou Heming's hand.

"Such a disjointed passage?"

Zhou Heming watched the girl's retreating figure as she returned to the piano, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Lu Bai didn't glance at Zhou Heming again, but instead began playing a gentle melody.

Recognizing the melody, Zhou Heming looked up, instinctively wanting to speak, but ultimately suppressed the urge to ruin the beautiful tune and listened quietly.

That's the piano music from the end credits of "5 Centimeters Per Second," called "Memories of Distant Years." It's like a first love that ended without a trace—beautiful, warm, worth remembering for a lifetime.

*
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(End of this chapter)