HSSAC

57 (END)

Translator: Rin    Editor: dedaign    Proofreader: Amber.es

Jiang Chenming was too clingy. Mo Lingqiu finally applied the watermelon frost on himself with his lips open, red and swollen.

“Let’s go later?” Jiang Chenming’s heart itched badly as he crossed his arms and looked at Mo Lingqiu’s appearance.

Mo Lingqiu squinted at him, rubbed his still red lips, and pulled his acceptance speech from his briefcase.

Mo Lingqiu had first typed it on the computer and printed it out before editing later. Because he edited as he read, the few sheets of A4 paper looked very old.

“Don’t read it out loud, just recite it silently in your head.” Jiang Chenming was afraid that Mo Lingqiu’s ulcer wouldn’t heal if he read it aloud.

Mo Lingqiu hummed. He sat on the sofa reading word by word. He could already recite it perfectly, but he knew he would still be a little nervous on stage, especially because he would be in front of teachers and students from the whole school. It was better to be meticulous.

Near noon, Mo Lingqiu drove back to University A with Jiang Chenming. Jiang Chenming returned to the dormitory to catch up with his roommates and Mo Lingqiu went back to his office to hang up his blazer.

The commendation ceremony would be held in the school’s auditorium so that it could accommodate all the teachers and students. It would be a very big spectacle. As all the teachers to be commended were assembled in the backstage lounge in fixed seats, the afternoon tea was prepared for them.

Although it was summer, the teachers to be commended still wore formal uniforms. Mo Lingqiu wore an ironed black suit.

After hanging up his blazer, Mo Lingqiu went to have a meal in the cafeteria before going to the auditorium.

The student council in charge of the ceremony were already hard at work in the auditorium. When he saw the boxes full of black rice bread that had been opened, lying half empty on the ground, Mo Lingqiu assumed that not everyone might’ve gone to eat.

“Teacher Mo, you’re here.” Some students noticed Mo Lingqiu and rushed over to show him the way. “Come with me.”

“Has everyone else arrived?” Mo Lingqiu was worried he was the last one to show up.

“You’re the first one here.” The student smiled. “Teacher, sit and rest awhile in the lounge. After we make some adjustments later, you can go over your part and walk through the rehearsal.”

Mo Lingqiu nodded. “Okay.”

He went to sit in the empty lounge and continued reading his manuscript. One after the other, the other teachers came in, and the lounge slowly filled up.

When Jiang Chenming arrived at the auditorium, Mo Lingqiu was standing in the wings on the side of the stage. His cold face was expressionless, but Jiang Chenming could still see that he was still a little nervous.

In order to not affect Mo Lingqiu’s mental state, Jiang Chenming sat down in the furthest corner. He waited for the rehearsal to be over before going back to the lounge to find him.

“Teacher Mo, does the ulcer hurt?” Jiang Chenming noticed that when Mo Lingqiu had been on stage earlier, he’d paused at several points he wasn’t supposed to.

“…En.” Mo Lingqiu hadn’t said anything in the morning because he didn’t feel that it would affect him much. After speaking, the ulcer on the inside of his cheek happened to bump into his teeth and it hurt badly.

Jiang Chenming walked side by side with him to the currently unused room next to the lounge. He helped him apply some more watermelon frost and then peeled the kiwifruit he’d brought.