“Hello? Professor Li.” Ming Can answered the call, holding her phone as she walked a bit closer to the window.
“Ming Can, where are you right now?” The counselor’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a mixture of exasperation and urgency. “Tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock, at the school gymnasium, there is a specialized campus recruitment fair. Big tech giants like Sanwei, Dashuo, Zhongkong, Huaxing, and Qianyu are all coming, specifically picking people from our department.”
“They are coming to our school?” Ming Can was somewhat surprised.
Logically speaking, although Beidian was an undergraduate institution, compared to other electronic science and technology universities in the country, it still fell a bit short. With the job market currently so poor, she genuinely had not expected so many internet giants to specially travel to their school to recruit.
“That’s right!” The counselor’s voice immediately turned a few decibels louder, and that excited energy could be felt right through the earpiece. “Why else would I be calling you! Your technical skills are so great, and you usually take on a lot of small projects. Let me tell you, specialized campus recruitment fairs like this happen maybe once a year, and the ones coming are all top companies. You absolutely must seize this opportunity!”
“I.” Ming Can instinctively turned back to glance at Su Zhi on the hospital bed.
That person was still asleep, her brows and eyes quiet, as if immersed in an uneasy dream.
“I’m sorry, Professor Li, I’m currently.” She lowered her voice, taking two more steps toward the window. “I’m doing a part-time job right now, so I might not be able to pull myself away.”
“Part-time job?” The counselor’s voice spiked abruptly. “Ming Can, get your head straight! Can’t you tell which is more important between a part-time gig and a top-tier company? Do you know how hard it is to get into this specialized fair? The department fought so hard for these slots, and countless people are breaking their heads trying to squeeze in! And you have the nerve to tell me you can’t pull yourself away?!”
Ming Can’s fingers gripping the phone tightened slightly.
“Teacher, I know this opportunity is extremely rare, but on my end.”
“There are no buts!” The counselor interrupted her, her tone severe. “Ming Can, I’ve mentored you for four years, and I know your capabilities inside out. This recruitment fair is the best opportunity of the year. If you miss it, you’ll have to compete with tens of thousands of people for regular social recruitment if you want to get into a big company later on. Think it through carefully!”
Ming Can bit her lower lip and remained silent.
The other end of the line fell silent for two seconds. The counselor sighed, her tone softening slightly. “I know your family conditions aren’t great and you want to do more part-time work to help make ends meet. But Ming Can, you need to sort out your priorities. The most important thing for you right now is to secure your own future. You can do part-time work anytime, but big company campus recruitment only happens once a year.”
“Tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock, at the gymnasium. If you miss it, don’t ever expect the school to arrange employment for you again. I mean what I say!”
The call hung up.
Ming Can stared at the darkened screen, standing frozen in place for a good while.
“What’s wrong?” Gong Que glanced at her and asked.
Ming Can put away her phone, walked back to the bedside, and spoke in a very low voice. “It’s about school. The counselor called to say there’s a specialized campus recruitment fair tomorrow afternoon and told me to prepare a resume for interviews.”
“Well,” Gong Que responded indifferently. “You really should prepare your resume properly. You can’t just keep doing this forever.”
Ming Can didn’t pick up the thread, simply casting a quiet glance at the person on the hospital bed.
Gong Que followed her line of sight. “What? Don’t tell me you don’t want to go just because you have to take care of her?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go.” Ming Can instinctively denied it, but paused halfway through and let out a soft sigh.
“Ming Can,” Gong Que looked at her with an even tone. “I know you can’t let her go, but you still have to go to the campus recruitment. The job market is so bad right now. In your industry, if you miss campus recruitment, you’ll have to compete with people who have years of work experience, and you’ll have even less of a chance.”
Ming Can pressed her lips together. “But she’s like this right now, she needs someone by her side to take care of her.”
“There are nurses in the hospital, and I can drop by to check on her occasionally. If all else fails, we can hire another caregiver,” Gong Que paused, her tone softening a bit. “Loyalty and affection matter, but your future matters too. Before my mother passed away, she entrusted me to look after you. Although I didn’t explicitly promise, as a friend, I don’t want to sit by and watch you make a foolish mistake.”
After saying that, Gong Que turned her head to look out the window and said no more.
The hospital room fell silent. Ming Can lowered her gaze, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of her phone. She knew Gong Que was right, and the counselor was right too. Campus recruitment opportunities were rare, and once she missed this narrow door, the path outside would only become harder to walk.
Yet she simply couldn’t at this juncture.
She raised her head to look at the hospital bed. Su Zhi was sleeping deeply, her brows furrowed slightly, her lips showing traces of dryness. Ming Can remembered earlier when she fed her milk tea, how Su Zhi held that pearl of boba and used all her strength to swallow it. She remembered that afternoon when she was being pointed at and cursed at by the man surnamed Zhao, and how Su Zhi, despite being groggy from sleep, defended her.
“I’ll look into it for another two days anyway, since the resume isn’t finished yet,” Ming Can said softly, as if persuading Gong Que, or perhaps persuading herself. “I’ll revise it some more, and once her condition stabilizes a bit.”
Before she finished speaking, rustling movements came from the hospital bed.
Su Zhi woke up.
She opened her eyes, her gaze lingering blankly on the ceiling for two seconds before slowly turning to look at Ming Can beside the bed.
Ming Can.
Why did this person always manage to wake up secretly while other people were talking?
She couldn’t tell whether the other person had just woken up or had been groggily awake for a while.
“You’re awake?” Ming Can asked tentatively.
Su Zhi didn’t reply, just quietly looking at her. Those eyes still lacked spirit, and could even be described as dim, like they were covered by a layer of unwashable dust. Yet precisely with a pair of eyes like that, she stared fixedly at Ming Can, making her heart feel empty and guilty.
A moment later, she spoke in a hoarse voice. “Resume, write it and send it to me.”
Her voice was very light, but Ming Can could basically confirm that the other person had heard everything.
“Oh, I was just wondering how I should ask you for leave when you woke up, so since you’ve heard it all.” Ming Can paused, then curved her eyes, continuing in a brisk tone. “Then I’m officially asking you for leave right now!”
Su Zhi looked at her, and something seemed to slowly stir within those dim eyes, resembling a distant lighthouse in the middle of the night, flickering on and off.
Ming Can felt somewhat awkward being looked at like that, instinctively twitching the corners of her mouth and smiling even more brightly. “Is that okay, Boss Su?”
Gong Que glanced at her from the side and said nothing.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ming Can caught the look and rolled her eyes.
Amidst their silent eye communication, Su Zhi had already closed her eyes again. Ming Can let out a sigh of relief and was about to turn around to fetch a cup of water when the person on the bed spoke up suddenly once more.
“What time?”
“Huh?” Ming Can didn’t process it in time.
“Campus recruitment,” Su Zhi kept her eyes closed. “What time does it start?”
“Two in the afternoon,” Ming Can answered instinctively, then quickly added. “Though I don’t necessarily have to go that early. I’ll get things settled here for you first.”
“No need.”
Su Zhi opened her eyes, looked at her, and spoke in a calm tone. “You go to yours, I don’t need you to settle me.”
Ming Can.
Gong Que looked at the two of them from the side.
“That works out perfectly,” she said leisurely, her gaze lingering on Su Zhi’s face for a moment. “Let Director Su help you review it. The personnel files she has reviewed are more than the lines of code you’ve typed in your four years of university.”
“What?” Ming Can didn’t quite catch it, looking instinctively at Gong Que.
“The resume,” Gong Que explained. “Write it and send it to Director Su.”
After explaining, she shot her a meaningful look, and Ming Can understood instantly.
Gong Que glanced at the data on the medical equipment and stood up. “I have things to do, I’m heading out first. Call me if there are any issues.”
She picked up her white lab coat hanging on the rack. Before leaving, her gaze fell on Ming Can, and the two exchanged a look.
Gong Que left, and the ward quieted down. Ming Can secretly swept a glance at the person on the hospital bed.
Su Zhi had closed her eyes again, as if utterly exhausted, yet her brows remained slightly furrowed, unsure whether it was from discomfort or deep thought.
Ming Can tiptoed back to the bedside. Just as she sat down, she heard Su Zhi speak. “Write the resume now.”
“Ah?” Ming Can was stunned. “Right now?”
“Right now.” Su Zhi didn’t open her eyes, her voice faint. “Use my computer, the password is six zeros.”
Ming Can parted her lips, wanting to say something, only to meet Su Zhi’s suddenly wide-open eyes.
What she wanted to say ultimately turned into a single “Oh.” The computer was on the coffee table. She shuffled slowly over toward it, and halfway there she turned back. “So what are we having for lunch?”
Su Zhi didn’t speak. Ming Can probed further. “If you don’t eat something, you won’t have the strength to help me revise my resume.”
Several seconds passed after she spoke, and the person on the hospital bed gave no response. Ming Can wasn’t in a hurry either, just standing beside the coffee table and waiting, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the laptop bag.
After another few seconds, Su Zhi’s gaze drifted toward the bedside table, a very light, very quick glance, like some kind of silent cue.
Ming Can followed her look to the portion of millet porridge ordered earlier.
“Just this?” she asked.
Su Zhi didn’t answer, but that look already counted as an answer.
“Fine,” Ming Can said. “Then you eat the millet porridge, and I’ll order myself a bowl of dough-drop soup.”
With that said, Ming Can took out her phone to operate it, selecting two portions of dough-drop soup. After placing the order, she moved a small stool over to the coffee table. Following Su Zhi’s instructions of six zeros, she opened the laptop. The computer was still sitting on the command line interface, with several windows open simultaneously, containing backup core data of Qianyu Technology belonging to Su Zhi. Ming Can didn’t dare look at it for long, cautiously opening WPS.
She wasn’t very good at writing resumes. After downloading a resume template, she just stared blankly at the screen, occasionally stealing glances toward Su Zhi’s bedside.
The other person maintained the same posture, lying flat on her back, her gaze fixed on the ceiling with a calm expression.
Ming Can withdrew her gaze and went back to typing on the keyboard.
After typing a few lines, she couldn’t help glancing over again.
This time, she noticed Su Zhi’s Adam’s apple move slightly.
Very lightly, very slowly, like a swallowing motion.
Ming Can froze, thinking she wanted water, and was about to stand up when she saw Su Zhi’s Adam’s apple move again.
Still the same, gently, slowly, as if practicing something, while her hand gripping the bedsheet tightened forcefully.
Ming Can’s movements halted.
She suddenly remembered earlier when she fed Su Zhi milk tea, how that person held that pearl of boba and used all her strength to swallow it. She recalled what Gong Que had said afterwards: swallowing disorder, accompanied by separation anxiety, a form of stress response.
So right now, she was.
Practicing?
Ming Can sat on the sofa with her fingers still resting on the keyboard, yet her gaze could no longer look away.