After finishing dinner, Xu Xuanming showed Qiu Xi all the finished works he had collected.
"Okay, big brother, just leave them here. I'll look at them myself," Qiu Xi said.
"Alright, if you have any questions, just ask me. I'll be handling some things nearby," Xu Xuanming replied.
"Mhm, no problem," Qiu Xi said, lowering her head to examine the works. They hadn't planned to recruit many people, but in such a short time, the submissions were numerous. It was convenient that they had printed out scoring sheets. This made it much easier for Qiu Xi to review the artwork; she didn't have to mark reasons herself. However, the sheer volume was a bit overwhelming. No wonder her brother had asked her for help. Looking at so many for too long was truly tiring and could lead to aesthetic fatigue.
An entire noon passed. By the time everyone was supposed to be back at work, Qiu Xi had finished reviewing everything.
"Big brother, I've finished looking, and I've filled out the forms. You can handle the rest," Qiu Xi said.
Xu Xuanming put down the documents in his hand and took the forms Qiu Xi handed over. "Okay, thank you for your hard work."
"It's nothing. I've already turned off the computer. If there's nothing else, I'll head back?" She had taken a day off and wanted to relax for the remaining half-day, being a little lazy.
"There are no problems. If you see Nan Hua when you get back to school, remember to remind him for me," Xu Xuanming said. They had notified him before, but he hadn't responded. They had asked someone to follow up.
"Alright, I'll remind him tonight when I get back." Speaking of which, she hadn't seen him herself in a few days.
"Good, you can go back then. Thank you for coming today."
"I already said it's nothing. Bye~" Qiu Xi, already turning to leave, casually waved goodbye.
***
**Qiu Family Home**
As soon as Qiu Xi entered the house, she turned and met her master.
"Master, I took time off today to help out. Do we still have time?" she asked, uncharacteristically wanting to slack off.
Du Bin sat opposite her, in a clearly good mood, his movements of drinking tea betraying his smiles. "Of course! Since you're back today, after your classes this afternoon, I'll give you half a day off this weekend, won't that be enough?"
Qiu Xi: "..." As the master, he made the rules.
"Alright, I'll do as you say," Qiu Xi finally nodded. This way, she could comfort herself by thinking that she hadn't been lazy today and had still had a productive day of learning.
***
**Three Hours Later**
"Alright, let's stop here," Du Bin said, standing up and stretching his neck, then kicking his legs. "As expected, age catches up with you. I'm tired after just this much time." If it were before, he could have taught all day. Now, he had to take it slow.
"Master, you're not old!" Children disliked hearing that the most.
Qiu Xi put down her textbook and pulled Du Bin. "It will be time for dinner soon. How about I take you out for some activity?"
"That sounds good," Du Bin replied. With that, Qiu Xi pulled him outside. She didn't forget to call her grandparents and other elders inside.
"Oh, Xiao Xi, you should come back every day. It would make this courtyard much livelier," one of them said.
"That's right~" If the weather were good usually, everyone would be willing to go for a walk. But now that it was cold, fewer people went out.
"Hahaha~" Qiu Xi could only laugh along. It was enough as long as the elders were happy.
***
**Evening**
After leaving home, Qiu Xi headed straight to school.
"Ah Hua~" It was rare for her to have time and for them to have something to do, so they arranged to meet up for a walk.
"Xi Xi," Nan Hua said, reaching out and gently hugging her. "How's the busy work going?" Although they hadn't seen each other today, they contacted each other daily.
Qiu Xi played with Nan Hua's hand and casually explained, "I just went to my brother's place to take a look. It was only for a lunchtime matter." She added, "I went back to school this afternoon and had a class with Master, so that's why it's so late."
"If it's Grandpa Du, that's understandable," Qiu Xi nodded. "Mhm."
"Oh, and my brother asked me to tell you something. He said to remember to get back to him about what he contacted you about."
"I know. I told him this afternoon." He had been very busy lately. As soon as the postgraduate recommendation result came out, his mentor had approached him. He had been studying with his mentor, and in his mentor's words, with another month or two of effort, he could directly present his thesis for advancement next year. Thinking of this, Nan Hua chuckled. The old man was quite interesting.
"Alright, let's not talk about this. Want to go for a walk?" Nan Hua cast aside his thoughts and asked Qiu Xi softly.
"Sure~" Qiu Xi tightened her grip on his hand. Then, the two drove away from the school and went to the pedestrian street outside. It was truly a spontaneous outing.
***
The biting cold wind blew, caressing their smiling faces, making them feel slightly less cold.
"Ah Hua, I'm tired~" Qiu Xi tugged slightly on the hand she was holding, her voice soft. Qiu Xi, who usually walked for miles with her girlfriends and was always cheerful, had only walked a few steps with Nan Hua before feeling tired.
"Oh? Shall I carry you then?" Nan Hua turned slightly, lowered his head, a slight smile on his lips, and looked directly at the girl with eyes full of amusement.
Qiu Xi blinked. "You..."
"You're breaking the rules!" Her gaze was a little fierce, but utterly harmless. In public, how could he be so captivating? This was too much! Saying this, she quickly walked a few steps forward and decisively reached out her other hand, which had been tucked away, to pat her slightly flushed cheeks.
"Hoo~"
"I can still walk!" It was a shame. She had only walked a few steps before being forced to stop. Her mind had gotten heated, and she had forgotten that her other hand was still in his. She tried to pull it away forcefully, but it wouldn't budge.
Qiu Xi turned. "Let's go!"
"Heh~" Nan Hua smiled in place, waiting for the girl to look back.
"Ah!" As soon as Qiu Xi turned around, her steps forward instantly froze, and she fell into the person behind her.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Let's go," Nan Hua said, releasing her hand. He took a long stride forward and bent slightly. "Get on."
Qiu Xi stood there blankly for a moment. The moment she came to her senses, she immediately reached out and placed her hands forward, then jumped lightly, landing on Nan Hua's back.
"Okay~" Her smiling face couldn't be hidden even when she was perched on his back. He gently adjusted his hold. Nan Hua walked forward steadily with her on his back. Under the winter lampposts, they were a picture-perfect couple.