Chapter 11 — 50 Years of Wrongfulness

Since Tong Can Nien moved in, the two of them each lived in the same area. They used the kitchen in the morning and at night at different times. When they ran into each other, they just nodded and said hello. That day she woke up especially early, went to the kitchen to pour water, and saw a figure curled up on the living room sofa. Tong Can Nien lay sideways on the chair, one arm hanging down, a pencil loosely clamped between his fingers, the pen tip floating in mid-air. The tea table was covered with drawings, many of which were only half-drawn or had been circled and edited many times with a red pen, the edges of the paper curled up, clearly having been reviewed countless times. She stood quietly beside him, not making a sound to wake him up. She bent down to pick up the drawing that fell on the counter, put it back on the table and then returned to the kitchen. She fried two eggs, toasted bread, and poured a glass of milk next to the stove. She took a note and a pen to write two lines of comments. After finishing writing, she stuck it next to the glass of milk, took her bag and went out. Returning in the evening, as soon as she opened the door, she smelled the rich aroma of tomato-stewed beef mixed with the smell of minced garlic sauteed in hot oil. Tong Can Nien tied a dark blue apron and stood in front of the kitchen, his sleeves rolled up to the middle of his forearm, using a wooden spoon to scoop spaghetti onto a plate. On the dining table were four dishes, clean white porcelain plates, and the food was neatly presented. Hearing the sound of the door, he tilted his head: "Are you back? Wash your hands and eat." Tham Thanh Tu put his bag on the cupboard and walked over to look at the food on the table. "Do you cook?" "Yes." Tong Can Nien brought the spaghetti to the table, took off his apron and hung it on the back of the chair, his voice a little softer than usual: "The comments you wrote on the note that day were very good. I thought about the structure of group B for two days, and you explained it clearly in one sentence. Recently, when I encountered a knot, my mind was really a bit unsettled." Tham Thanh Tu pulled out a chair and sat down, accepting the fork he gave him: "You're too complimentary, I'll just casually say two sentences." Tong Can Nien sat opposite her, the corners of his lips curled slightly, picking up a piece of beef and putting it in her bowl: "Eat." That meal was very quiet. Two weeks later, the school announced the nomination list to participate in the Milan - Giang Thanh Design Exchange Exhibition. There is only one place in each class, the list is posted on the notice board on the first floor of the teaching building. Tham Thanh Tu walked by, took a look, his name was in the first position. There were a few people surrounding me. Someone leaned closer and then backed away, not lowering their voice: "Who is she? Shouldn't this class nominate Lorenzo? Who doesn't know what kind of relationship his family has with the organizers." "I don't know, after all, the announced list is her." "She has no background, and she just joined the school not long ago, could it be that she used a trick that can't be known to others?" In front of the notice board, there were still people surrounding her. As soon as Tham Thanh Tu rounded the corner of the stairs, he heard Tong Can Nien's voice coming from that direction. "The seats are ranked according to the results at the end of the previous semester, not related to family background. If you have an opinion, you can check the score." Half of the people surrounding immediately dispersed. The remaining female student named Lorenzo stood in front, her lips moved twice, in the end she said nothing, turned around and left. Tham Thanh Tu leaned on the stair railing, watched Tong Can Nien finish that sentence, then turned and walked towards the office. He is talking to help her. The person who nominated her was also him. "Thank you, teacher." She went to thank Tong Can Nien. Tong Can Nien raised his eyes to look at her: "Thank you for what?" "Your achievements are already at the top of the class. I nominated you because you are qualified, no need to thank me." He took two steps, stopped, pulled out a kraft paper envelope from the folder and gave it to her: "This is the contest topic for this time's Song City exchange exhibition. You have two weeks." Tham Thanh Tu took it, the edge of the envelope was still warm from the printer. She opened the envelope and pulled out the paper to look at it. The topic is written extremely concisely, only

one sentence: Boundary and beyond. Fourteen days later, she spent almost all her time on design drawings. During the day, she draws sketches in class. Any copies that are damaged are crumpled into lumps and thrown in the trash. Coming home at night, she sat dumbfounded in front of a table full of drawings, the more she looked, the more unsatisfactory she became. In the evening, when she completely turned over the fourth copy, Tong Can Nien came out of the office carrying a cup of coffee, stood next to her desk and looked at it for ten seconds, then put the coffee in her hand, pulled a chair to sit down. "The frame of the third copy is correct." He pulled out the old copy that was pressed underneath, and used a pencil to draw two more lines. "The problem is that this connection point is too safe. My point is to overcome it, don't be afraid of a little loose structure. Liquidity has tension." Tham Thanh Tu stared at the two lines he drew, picked up the pen, and spread out a new sheet of paper. The final version was completed at two thirty in the morning. Tham Thanh Tu threw the pen on the table, leaned back against the back of the chair, his neck was so tired that he couldn't move. Tong Can Nien pulled out the manuscript from her hand, looked at it, the corners of his lips curled up slightly. "Okay." Before the competition results came out, Tham Thanh Tu invited Tong Can Nien to a meal. It was a small Italian restaurant next to the school, with red and white checkered tablecloths and candles in empty wine bottles. Tham Thanh Tu flipped through two pages of the menu. Tong Can Nien sat opposite, took off his glasses, wiped his lenses, and said: "The results haven't come out yet and you're already in a hurry to invite me to dinner?"