When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The sound of the campus radio in the early morning, mixed with the sound of bicycle bells and sporadic footsteps, stirred up the thoughts that could not be completely settled all night into even more chaos.Ye Qiulan stood at the back door of the lecture hall of the Humanities Garden Building, holding the strap of the canvas bag in his hand, his fingertips turning slightly white from exertion.The third and fourth classes in the morning were for the “Ancient Chinese Philology” class. Although she and Ling Xueqing had different majors, this cross-over elective course was one of the only overlapping courses for them this semester.

Most of the classroom was already filled with noisy conversations and the sound of turning books.Her eyes quickly swept across the front row – the window seat where Ling Xueqing usually sat was empty at the moment.My heart lifted slightly, then slowly fell.I couldn’t tell whether it was relief, or a feeling of uneasiness.

She chose an inconspicuous corner in the third row from the bottom and sat down, placing her canvas bag on the empty seat next to her, as if she had occupied a seat by accident.In the bag, the washed cardigan was stacked on top. The soft wool clung to the heavy textbooks, forming an inconspicuous bulge.

Students came in one after another, and the classroom gradually filled up.The professor walked up to the podium with his handout under his arm and began to adjust the microphone.Ye Qiulan lowered his head and pretended to read the open notes carefully, but his eyes drifted to the door involuntarily.

At the last moment when the school bell rang sharply, a familiar figure flashed in from the back door.Ling Xueqing was wearing a simple white shirt and dark trousers. Her dark hair was meticulously tied back, revealing her smooth forehead and clear eyebrows.Her steps were fast, but there was no rush. Her eyes quickly swept between the slightly crowded back seats.

Ye Qiulan could almost feel the weak air current as the sight passed over his head.She held her breath and curled her fingers unconsciously.

Ling Xueqing’s eyes paused on the empty seat next to her for less than half a second, and then she walked over.The canvas bag was gently picked up and placed on the back of the empty chair in front of Ye Qiulan.Then, Ling Xueqing sat down in the seat next to her.

The distance is very close.It was so close that Ye Qiulan could smell the scent of cedar on her body that had been washed by the morning breeze and was a bit cleaner than yesterday in the closed dormitory, mixed with a very faint smell that seemed to be laboratory cleaner.It was so close that she could clearly see the meticulous fastening of the collar of Ling Xueching’s shirt, and the almost invisible, tiny fluff on the side of her face.

Ling Xueqing didn’t look at her or speak.She put her notebook and pen on the table and looked at the podium with her usual focused and calm expression, as if she had just chosen an empty seat at random and it didn’t matter who was sitting next to her.

Ye Qiulan’s heart beat a few times unsatisfactorily.Her cheeks felt a little hot, and she hurriedly lowered her head, staring at the densely packed words in her notes, but none of the terminology about editions and bibliographies entered her mind.The map, those ink stains, Ling Xueqing’s lowered eyelashes and the words “No one has seen it except you” that repeatedly appeared when she was tossing and turning last night, all came up at this moment, mixed with the close and real cold fragrance of cedar, making her mind become confused.

The professor began to lecture, and his voice was amplified by the microphone and echoed in the lecture theater.It is a special topic about the compilation of books and lost documents in the Tang Dynasty, and the content is difficult.Ling Xueqing listened attentively and wrote down notes in her notebook from time to time. The pen tip scratched the paper, making a steady and slight rustling sound.

Ye Qiulan forced himself to concentrate and tried to keep up with the professor’s pace.But her attention always drifted to the side involuntarily.Ling Xueqing’s slightly frowned eyebrows when writing, the graceful wrist bones exposed when she occasionally raised her hand to tuck a strand of fallen hair behind her ears, the slender and fragile arc of her neck when she listened…

Every tiny movement was magnified infinitely at this moment, burned into her retinas with a scorching temperature.

The recess bell sounded like a pardon.The classroom instantly became noisy.Ye Qiulan suddenly came back to his senses and found that he only scrawled a few phrases in his notes.She rubbed her forehead in frustration.

“Here,” Ling Xueqing’s voice suddenly came from the side, calm and calm.She pointed at a certain line in the textbook that Ye Qiulan had spread out, “You marked the wrong volume of the “Art and Literature Collection” that the professor just quoted.”

Ye Qiulan looked along her fingers, and sure enough, he wrote a string of lines absentmindedly.His face suddenly burned even more.”…Thank you.” She whispered and quickly picked up the pen to correct it.

Ling Xueqing said “hmm”, retracted her hand, picked up her thermos cup, opened it and took a sip of water.Her eyes swept across Ye Qiulan’s red ears, staying for a very brief moment, and then moved away as if nothing had happened, looking out the window at the overly bright sky.

The short intermission ended and the professor continued the second half of the class.The content enters into a more specific case analysis, mentioning the problems of assembling and authenticating the existing fragments of a Tang Dynasty anthology that has been seriously lost.This happens to be vaguely related to the ancient book they restored two days ago on a technical level.

Ye Qiulan noticed that the frequency of Ling Xueqing’s records had obviously accelerated.Her pen tip moved quickly across the paper, sometimes pausing to write down a few keywords, and sometimes drawing a simple schematic sketch in the blank space next to it – not a map, but more like a logical diagram of the relationship between document fragments.Her expression was more focused than before, even with an almost sharp scrutiny. It was the expression that Ye Qiulan was most familiar with when he was repairing ancient books.

On the podium, the professor mentioned a key difficulty: how to determine whether two fragments of scrolls with different sources and overlapping contents belong to adjacent parts of the same original text, or are different texts in different transmission and copying systems?This requires not only text comparison, but also a comprehensive examination of material evidence such as paper material, ink marks, and binding marks.

Ling Xueqing’s pen tip stopped.She frowned slightly and stared at the sketch in her notebook, seeming to be thinking about something.

Ye Qiulan looked at her side face and suddenly remembered the scene yesterday morning when Ling Xueqing discovered the ink stains under the cinnabar covering.The kind of keenness and calmness to peel off cocoons and find clues from the smallest details.And… even earlier, there were countless moments when they discussed homework together, and Ling Xueqing could always see through the core of the problem at a glance.

Out of nowhere, she lowered her voice and asked almost angrily: “If the traces of physical adhesion are not obvious, but the content logic and sentence structure are highly consistent, can it also be used as strong supporting evidence?”

Ling Xueqing turned her head quickly and looked at her.A clear look of surprise flashed in his eyes, which was soon replaced by deeper thoughts.She did not answer immediately, and her eyes stayed on Ye Qiulan’s face for two seconds, as if assessing the seriousness of her question and… the possible hidden associations behind it about yesterday’s repairs.

Then, she nodded, her voice also low but clear and powerful: “Yes. Especially when it comes to specific literary styles or personal letters, writing habits and logical context are sometimes more exclusive than simple material traces.” She paused and added, “But the possibility of intentional forgery and splicing by later generations needs to be ruled out. Motives and conditions must be considered.”

Her answers were professional and rigorous, completely immersed in the context of academic discussion.But Ye Qiulan heard a hint of unusual… positivity from her quick response and supplementary explanation?In other words, it is some kind of focused feedback when a point of interest is accidentally touched.This is not like Ling Xueqing’s usual attitude towards ordinary classroom questions.

Is it because this question just hit the point she was thinking about?Or is it because… she was the one who asked the question?

Ye Qiulan wasn’t sure.But Ling Xueqing’s brief gaze and clear answer were like a small spark, falling on the lake of her heart, creating a circle of warm ripples.She mustered up the courage to continue following this line of thought, and in a very low voice she spoke a few rough thoughts on the logic of putting together the fragments of the anthology. Some of them were even naive.

Ling Xueqing listened carefully and did not interrupt.After Ye Qiulan finished speaking, she was silent for a few seconds, and then used the tip of her pen to quickly draw a few lines and mark a few arrows in the blank space of Ye Qiulan’s notebook.”Your thinking here,” she pointed to one of the arrow connections, “ignores the possibility that copyists from similar times but different regions may share some common formulas. The overlap here will weaken the strength of the evidence.” Her pen tip moved to another place, “But here, it involves the use of personal allusions and emotional expression. If there is a high degree of consistency, the value will be very high.”

Her analysis hit the nail on the head, instantly clearing up the ambiguities in Ye Qiulan’s thinking.Ye Qiulan suddenly understood, and at the same time, a strange warm current, mixed with admiration and being taken seriously, quietly flowed through his heart.She looked at Ling Xueqing’s close and focused pointing fingers, and at her lowered eyelashes that trembled slightly as she explained. The sense of isolation caused by those heavy and private maps last night seemed to have been briefly dissolved by this specific academic issue about the splicing of fragments.

They exchanged a few more words in low voices until the professor raised his voice and emphasized a certain point. Then they both fell silent at the same time and turned their attention to the podium again.

But something is different.The crisp scent of cedar in the air no longer seems to represent distance and restraint, but is also entwined with a subtle resonance that arises when thinking together.

The second half of the class passed quickly with a new, secret sense of synergy.When the class bell rang, the professor announced a group research task: form a team around a certain lost document that was covered in the class, and submit a preliminary analysis report on the possible path to its compilation within a week.

The classroom suddenly erupted with discussions and invitations to form teams.Ye Qiulan looked at the crowd that quickly gathered and dispersed around him with some confusion.She is introverted, and apart from Ling Xueqing, she has almost no familiar classmates in the class.

At this moment, there was a slight sound of a chair being pushed next to him.Ling Xueqing had already packed her things and stood up.She picked up the canvas bag hanging on the back of the chair in front of her, paused for a moment, then turned her head, and her eyes fell on Ye Qiulan’s face.

“Let’s form a team?” she asked, her voice was steady and there was no emotion at all, as if she was just proposing the most ordinary option, “About the remaining volumes of “Hedong Collection”.”

“Hedong Collection” is exactly the Tang Dynasty collection they were discussing in a low voice just now.Ling Xueqing didn’t even ask “Who do you want to team up with” or “Let’s team up”, but directly gave the goal and invitation.

Ye Qiulan’s heart skipped a beat.She raised her head and met Ling Xueqing’s calm gaze.There was no urging or expectation in his eyes, just a kind of calmness waiting for confirmation.

There was noisy team formation all around, and students gathered together in twos and threes to discuss.The sun shines through the tall windows, coating Ling Xueqing’s body with a furry golden edge.She stood there, holding the canvas bag, tilting her head slightly, waiting.

Time seemed to slow down.

“…Okay.” Ye Qiulan heard his own voice, a little dry, but extremely clear.

Ling Xueqing nodded almost imperceptibly, and the corners of her mouth seemed to bend upward in an extremely small, almost impossible to catch arc, so fast that it seemed like an illusion.”At three o’clock in the afternoon, we will discuss the division of labor and ideas in the usual place of the library.” After she finished speaking, without waiting for Ye Qiulan’s response, she turned around, walked steadily towards the back door of the classroom, and quickly disappeared into the flow of people.

Ye Qiulan was still sitting on his seat, holding the pen in his hand, and his fingertips still had the cool feeling that he had accidentally touched when Ling Xueqing pointed with the pen.”The old place in the library” and “three o’clock in the afternoon” echoed in my ears.The noise around him gradually faded away, leaving only the beating sound in his chest that was gradually accelerating and becoming clearer.

The sun shines brighter into the classroom, and the dust particles flying in the air are clearly visible.She slowly packed her things and put her notebooks and textbooks into a canvas bag.Her fingertips touched the soft light gray cardigan again.

She took out the cardigan, unfolded it, and put it on her shoulders.On an early summer morning, there was a fan in the classroom, so it wasn’t cold.But she just put it on.The soft wool-blend fabric clings to the skin of her shoulders and neck, carrying her body temperature, and seems to have quietly wrapped up the brief but clear academic resonance just now, the calm “Shall we form a team?”, and the words “Old place in the library”.

Carrying her bag and wearing a cardigan, she walked out of the Humanities Garden Building.The midday sun was a bit dazzling, and the campus was full of students who had just finished class and flocked to the cafeteria.Noisy, lively and full of youthful vitality.

Ye Qiulan walked among the crowd, his steps lighter than when he came.The cardigan on her shoulders swayed gently with her steps, and the corners of the clothes occasionally brushed her arms.She raised her head and looked in the direction of the library.The red brick wall looks particularly calm in the bright sunlight.

3pm.library.The old place.

There are still several hours.But she had begun to expect inexplicably that the crisp scent of cedar would appear across the long oak table again, in the common pursuit of lost texts and ancient clues.But this time, what is separated between them may no longer be just the silent ancient books and the unspoken past, but also a brand-new agreement that has just been formed, with the fragrance of ink and the warmth of thinking.