"…"
"Su Qianyi, you should have thought about this kind of issue early on. Now you're asking me at the last minute, and honestly, I can't offer much advice. Besides, there's no standard answer in design. If you think it's reasonable, then it's fine." Xie Shu said.
Xie Shu was telling the truth, which is why he hadn't looked closely just now.
Because looking wouldn't help.
Was he expected to give feedback for her to redo the CAD?
With the deadline for submission looming, going back to make changes was out of the question, so he didn't pay much attention.
If she had asked about how to use the software, he could have provided the correct answers.
Su Qianyi remained stiff.
Xie Shu was right, and she couldn't argue. Her question had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, and whether he had suggestions or not didn't really matter to her. Even if there were issues, she couldn't afford to go back and make changes—there simply wasn't time.
What she cared about was Xie Shu's attitude…
He was earnest when it came to studies, but clearly disinterested in anything else.
Seeing that she had nothing more to say, Xie Shu left, this time sitting a bit farther away.
The other classmates, having nothing to do, were discussing starting a gaming session. They invited Xie Shu, but he declined.
Someone curiously peered over to see him drawing and asked what it was for. Xie Shu simply replied that it was something important, without elaborating.
After a while, the others couldn't figure out what he was up to and dispersed, each going back to their own activities.
Xie Shu continued to draw while checking his phone, as he was chatting with Ruan Nianxi.
Meanwhile, there were new messages in his dorm group chat.
His three "unruly sons" were tagging him.
They had caught up with their work and were now rendering, but rendering always brought up various problems they couldn't solve, so they turned to him in the group chat.
After scolding them for their incompetence, Xie Shu asked them to send screenshots so he could diagnose the issues.
Xie Shu: [The teacher went over this in class. How do you guys listen? Don't go around saying I'm your dad if you can't learn properly. I don't want to be embarrassed!]
With his "sons," Xie Shu's attitude softened considerably.
They took turns thanking him in the group chat, promising to study harder and not to let him down.
Xie Shu chuckled as he banged on the desk, then sent another message: [I told you guys not to stay up late. It's bad for your health. For instance, 1. You start hallucinating, 2. Your memory worsens, 4. You can't count, 6. Your body weakens. Remember these 9 points!]
At such times, no one dared to defy their "father," and they all swore in the group chat they wouldn't stay up late anymore—if they did, they'd swear again.
Xie Shu chatted nonsense with them for a few minutes before picking up his pen to continue drawing.
Later, he told Ruan Nianxi to take a nap and didn't distract himself further.
Xie Shu had lost track of how many times he checked his computer, but finally, during the third afternoon class, his first image finished rendering.
After saving the image, he shut down his computer, packed it up, and left the classroom.
He wasn't the first to leave, nor the last, as other students were still waiting for their renderings.
***
He rushed back to his dorm at top speed, reopened his computer, and started rendering the second image.
At the same time, he cut out all the materials he had drawn in advance with a craft knife to continue making the pop-up book.
He managed to multitask without delay.
Through the afternoon and into the evening, he didn't leave his dorm, and he was too busy to even eat the dinner his roommate brought back.
He was so rushed he didn't have time to chat with Ruan Nianxi, leaving only a message saying, "Busy, will contact you tonight," before not checking the chat app again.
His plan was to finish everything that night.
He was almost there; the last page of the book was nearly complete, but just a little bit remained…
Xie Shu glanced at the time on his phone and felt a bit anxious.
It was already dark outside, and there was a little over an hour left before the dormitory closed…
But he couldn't afford to make mistakes in his haste.
He forced himself to calm down and focus on the task at hand, ignoring the time.
After an indeterminate amount of time, he felt he still had enough time because the alarm he set for the "final stage" hadn't gone off yet.
The last page of the book was finished!
But there was one more step.
He took out the transparent PVC sheet he had bought in advance, cut it to the right size, and attached it to the book cover. Only then was it completely done.
Just then, his alarm went off.
He made it!!
There was still time!
Xie Shu breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves finally relaxing.
Without time to unwind, he immediately picked up his phone, found Ruan Nianxi's name, and sent her a message.
After receiving her reply, he smiled, put away his phone, picked up the book from the desk, and prepared to leave.
"Guys, keep an eye on my computer. If it crashes, let me know. I'm heading out!"
"Eh? You're done…"
Bang—!
The loud sound of the door closing was their answer.
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan