If A Lily Loves The Moon

Fourth.

16.

Third year in college; another semester has started. Xiu was apprehensive, to be honest.

She got spoilers from her seniors that the third year was the most brutal and gruesome in their four-year program.

One month into the semester, Xiu agreed to her seniors; it was indeed the most gruesome.

Sleep? What's that? Can it be eaten?

Hobbies? Oh, my hobbies are to conduct research, proofread my part in our thesis, and study study study.

Regular meal schedule? Oh, you mean breakfast at five in the morning that consists of bread and coffee, lunch at whenever whichever Professor would be kind enough to let them eat whatever snacks they have on that period. Dinner is at 11PM while reviewing lessons and studying in advance for another. Late-night snacks at 2 AM consist of only coffee to keep you up because there are activities you need to finish or do in advance.

Halfway through the semester, there are exams, and one week before exams, there's a bloody revision every night. Of course, after midterms, semestral projects are waving. Here comes the hectic schedule of conducting research, finishing the thesis, defending the thesis, doing semestral projects, reviewing for quizzes, long tests, and final exams.

After that was Christmas break. And then, it's time for Xiu to face the reality: her back-subjects.

17.

As was said before, during breaks, Xiu would have a mental breakdown. Maybe because at those times, Xiu would be free of worries about what deadline she has to meet and what quizzes they will be having, and her brain has time to remind her of all of her existing problems and fill her with pessimistic thoughts.

The second semester was coming, and the online enrollment was opened once more. Xiu felt like she was having PTSD every time she opened their University's portal. She would always feel shortness of breath, and her heart would beat faster as if it wanted to come out of her chest.

She tried to find a solution, and her only wish was to not repeat a year just because of one subject. She prayed to whoever God could hear that she could find a course subject that could be given up and taken on her fourth-year first semester– because there's a subject Xiu had to take and they are only allowed 26 units in this semester; she had to give up a course subject and take it later.

In their program, or more specifically, their department, they were only allowed to overload course subjects during the first semester of their fourth year. Because in the second semester of their fourth year, they are required to take a comprehensive exam that involves all of the course subjects they have taken so far. Therefore, until the second semester, all of their course subjects have to be passed.

Although overloading the course subjects meant she would not be able to graduate together with her batchmates, as she would be delayed by more than two months, it was better than being delayed by a year.

Thankfully, perhaps God had heard her prayers, and Xiu managed to maneuver her situation in her favor.

18.

One time, when they were busy conducting research and perfecting their thesis paper, Xiu caught a glimpse of Shen. What surprised Xiu was that Shen actually remembered her. Even though they rarely communicated through WeChat, Xiu would sometimes brush up on some existence by leaving a comment on Shen's moments. Perhaps that's why Shen still remembered her.

"Hey! You're Xiu, right? It's been a while. How have you been?" Xiu can remember the dazzling smile displayed on Shen's face.

"It's me, yes. You remembered." Xiu responded with a flattered smile, "well, it's been quite a hectic semester for me, but I'm doing alright. How about you, Shen?"