The campus culture of University A in Beijing was undergoing a curious evolution, all thanks to the existence of the “Wen Jin” CP (couple ship).
What started as mere gossip threads on the school forum had evolved into cross-disciplinary discussions, and now, it had blossomed into a fully realized fan creation ecosystem.
The Friday Night “Wen Jin” Fan Meetup
Location: Foreign Languages Department Activity Room
This was an unofficial, secret gathering. The number of participants had grown from an initial dozen to over fifty, now requiring advanced seat reservations.
The organizer was Li Ting, a creative writer from the Foreign Languages Department, who had earned a prestigious pen name: “Glimmer of Jin on Wen.”
“This week’s theme is ‘Academic AU’ (Alternate Universe)!” Li Ting announced excitedly, standing before a whiteboard. “The setting: JinJin is a young Mathematics professor, and WenWen is a visiting graduate student from the Arts Department. They meet in the library…”
The room immediately filled with the rustling of notebooks and hushed, eager discussions.
A girl wearing glasses raised her hand. “Can I write an ‘Office Romance’ branch? For example, Wen-Wen goes to JinJin to ask for help with a problem, and then…”
“Yes! The more branches, the better!” Li Ting noted it down on the board. “Anyone else?”
“Me!” a short haired girl stood up. “I want to write ‘Encounter at an Academic Conference’! They meet at an international summit. JinJin is giving a presentation, and WenWen is the accompanying translator…”
“Great! Recorded!”
The energy in the activity room was electric. Among the crowd were writers from Foreign Languages, illustrators from Fine Arts, “program girls” from Computer Science (who were developing a “Wen Jin” fan game), and even students from Economics and Management conducting market research for fan merchandise.
“Does this count as… a cross-disciplinary collaborative project powered by love?” someone whispered.
“Absolutely! And the output quality is top-tier!” a neighbor replied. “That postcard set released by the Arts Department last week already sold three hundred copies!”
The “Jin Wen Visual Studio”
Location: Arts Department Studio
Meanwhile, another creative session was in full swing. Five girls hovered around a large table cluttered with sketchpads, tablets, and paints. They were a self-organized fan art group from the Arts Department.
“The line art for Library Morning Light is finished!” A girl with a bun held up her tablet.
On the screen, bathed in the morning glow of the library, Xia Yaojin leaned against a bookshelf reading. Zhu Yawen stood behind her, hugging her gently with her chin resting on JinJin’s shoulder. The lighting was handled with extreme tenderness, capturing a serene and intimate atmosphere.
“So beautiful…” The others crowded around. “This composition is a masterpiece!”
“But in reality, would JinJin really allow someone to hug her from behind?” someone questioned.
The girl with the bun thought for a moment. “In a ‘Realistic’ tag story? No. But this is the ‘What If’ series, if they were actually together, I think JinJin would slowly learn to accept that kind of intimacy.”
“Makes sense. What’s next?”
“I have an idea,” said a girl who had been sketching quietly. She looked up. “Let’s draw a realistic version of The Function Love Letter. JinJin writing code to generate fractal patterns while WenWen sketches her by her side. The intersection of Logic and Art.”
“That’s perfect! It has depth!”
And so, a new creation began. Brushes rustled against paper, and styluses glided over screens, as colors and lines gradually outlined a beautiful vision. They knew these scenes might never happen in reality, but the act of creation was, in itself, a beautiful form of hope.
The Forum Index
The update speed of fan works on the forum had already surpassed that of most professional literature websites.
[STICKY] “Wen Jin” Fan Works Index (Updated Regularly) OP (Forum Admin Xiao Liu): Given the surge in fan works, I’ve created this index thread. It’s organized by category for your viewing pleasure. Note: All works are fan creations and have no relation to real persons. Please do not disturb the real parties involved.
【Literature Category】
From Friends to Soulmates by Glimmer of Jin on Wen (Long form, Realistic, updated to Ch. 45)
Function Love Letter: When the Top Student Learns Romance by Code Poet (Mid-length, Sci-fi AU)
HE (Happily Ever After) with the Scholar After Dumping the Scumbag by Artistic Rebirth (Long form, Rebirth Paro)
A Million Possibilities in the Library by Sea of Books Picking Jin (Short story collection)
The Asexual and Her Special Person by Psychology Observer (Psychological analysis)
【Visual Category】
“Jin Wen Visual Studio” Illustration Series (Weekly updates)
If They Were Together Comic Collection by Drawing Wen Jin
Fractal Art Derivative Collection by Algorithmic Beauty
Daily Life Chibi Emoji Pack by Jin Wen Cute Duo
【Others】
Fan Game Library Fate (Demo version, CS Department in dev)
Original Theme Song Intertwined Star Tracks by Music Department students
Fractal Geometry and the Philosophy of Love (Math x Philosophy Dept Collaboration)
1L (The CP Fans): Thank you for the index! The granary is full!
2L (Li Ting): New chapter tonight! It’s the scene where JinJin teaches WenWen how to ski!
3L (Art Dept Bun Girl): New illustration tomorrow morning! It’s the scene of them watching the snow together!
4L (CS Program-Girl): Chapter 2 of the game is in development! Added a mini-game: “Solving Math Problems Together!”
5L (Secretary Li from the President’s Office): President Su asks: Is there a hard copy? She wants to collect it.
6L (Everyone): THE PRESIDENT IS ASKING FOR UPDATES AGAIN!!!
The two protagonists in reality were not entirely oblivious to these creations.
Xia Yaojin had discovered them by accident. While searching for a discussion on a specific mathematical problem, she had stumbled into a fan fiction thread. At first, she thought it was an academic debate until she read the sentence: “JinJin gently kissed away the tears from the corner of Wen-Wen’s eyes.”
It was then she realized this was definitely not a formal research paper.
She spent an hour browsing some of the works listed in the index.
The “Xia Yaojin” depicted in those words, someone who smiled tenderly, took the initiative to hug, and spoke romantic, sweet nothings was a far cry from her actual self.
Yet, strangely, she didn’t feel offended. On the contrary, she saw in them a kind of… beautiful imagination. It was an expectation people held for “what if Xia Yaojin possessed the emotional expression of an ordinary person.”
She even found some of the descriptions quite interesting. For instance, in the story Function Love Letter, the author had actually researched fractal geometry, the descriptions were quite professional.
“What are you looking at?” Zhu Yawen’s voice drifted in from behind her.
Xia Yaojin calmly closed the page. “Fan creations. About us.”
Zhu Yawen felt a bit awkward. “Ah… you don’t need to mind those. They’re just…”
“I know,” Xia Yaojin said. “Imagination is a human freedom. Besides, the quality of some of these works is quite high.”
She paused. “That piece, The Asexual and Her Special Person, the author cited a lot of psychological literature. The analysis is very rigorous.”
Zhu Yawen looked at her in surprise. “You… don’t mind?”
“Why would I?” Xia Yaojin countered. “They aren’t disturbing my life, they are simply creating. It’s a form of expression, and I respect it.”
She spoke with such matter of factness that Zhu Yawen realized once again: in Xia Yaojin’s worldview, there really weren’t many secular constraints or hang-ups.
“Then…” Zhu Yawen asked cautiously, “if one day they wanted to interview you to understand the real you as creative material, would you agree?”
Xia Yaojin thought for a moment. “If the questions are reasonably designed and the timing is appropriate, yes. But I would answer truthfully, which might shatter their fantasies.”
“Maybe they’d like the real you even more,” Zhu Yawen said softly.
Xia Yaojin glanced at her, said nothing, and reopened her math paper. But the corners of her mouth curled up into a faint, subtle arc.
That Friday, the “Wen Jin” fan meetup welcomed an unexpected guest.
When Xia Yaojin pushed open the door, the activity room fell instantly silent. Over fifty pairs of eyes snapped toward her in unison, the air froze for a full ten seconds.
“I heard there are creative discussions about me here,” Xia Yaojin’s tone was as calm as ever. “I’d like to understand them.”
Li Ting was the first to snap out of it, hurriedly standing up. “JinJin! Why are you here? We’re just playing around, we mean no harm…”
“I know.” Xia Yaojin walked to the whiteboard and looked at the creative plans written there. “Academic AU, Office Romance, Encounter at an Academic Conference… have these settings considered realistic feasibility?”
The crowd: “…”
Xia Yaojin picked up a marker and wrote next to “Academic AU”: Young professors usually face heavy teaching and research pressure. Developing an intimate relationship with a graduate student faces professional ethics issues. Suggest changing to “scholars from different universities” to avoid power imbalances.
Next to “Office Romance,” she wrote: Universities usually have regulations prohibiting teacher-student relationships. Suggest changing to “lab collaborators” or “members of a cross-disciplinary project team.”
She wrote seriously, as if she were grading homework.
The people in the room recovered from their shock and began whispering. “She’s right…” “We didn’t think of those details…”
Finishing her notes, Xia Yaojin put down the marker and looked at the group. “I am not here to ban your creations. I simply want to provide some realistic references to make the works more rigorous.”
She paused. “Additionally, if you are interested in the real me, you can design a questionnaire. I will choose to answer a portion of the questions, provided they are logical and do not involve excessive privacy.”
With that, she nodded and turned to leave.
The moment the door closed, the room erupted in muffled cheers.
“JinJin approved of our work!” “She’s even willing to be interviewed!” “Gosh, I have to rewrite my setting! It needs to be more rigorous!”
Li Ting looked at the handwriting Xia Yaojin left on the board and suddenly smiled. “That’s JinJin… always so serious, always so direct.”
She took out her phone and posted on the forum:
[SHOCKING NEWS!] JinJin herself visited the meetup! She even gave us creative advice!
The post blew up instantly.
Meanwhile, Xia Yaojin had returned to the library. Zhu Yawen was waiting for her there.
“You went to the meetup?” Zhu Yawen asked.
“Mhm. Gave some suggestions.” Xia Yaojin sat down. “Their enthusiasm is high, the quantity and quality of the works exceed expectations. It’s an interesting cultural phenomenon.”
“Don’t you feel… over-scrutinized?”
“Attention itself is neutral,” Xia Yaojin said. “The key lies in how one responds. I choose to respond by providing truthful information this way, I respect their creative freedom while maintaining my own authenticity.”
She flipped open her book and added one more thing: “Besides, they’ve given you many beautiful endings in their imagination. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Zhu Yawen’s heart skipped a beat. “You… read those endings?”
“Read some of them.” Xia Yaojin didn’t look up. “Some endings are designed quite reasonably, like us doing research together or co-publishing papers. Others are less realistic, like me giving up academia to travel the world. That doesn’t fit my life plan.”
She paused. “But overall, those imaginings are well-intentioned. And goodwill deserves respect.”
Looking at Xia Yaojin’s focused profile as she read, Zhu Yawen suddenly felt that the real Xia Yaojin was more beautiful than any fan creation.
Because she was real. Because she was complex. Because she used her own way to treat the world with tenderness, including those who wove dreams for her.
Outside the window, the sun was setting. In the library, one was reading a paper, the other was sketching. On the forum, the fan creations continued. In reality, their story continued as well.
Two worlds had formed a wondrous connection because of the passion of a group of people.
And it all began with the gentle yet firm encounter between a “straight” top student and an art department belle who changed for her.
What would the future hold? No one knew. But at least for now, reality and imagination were both beautiful under the same moon.