Furensa was startled to see Qin Siyang, too.
The two had not been in touch since their last collaboration on the Doom Octopus experimental papers.
Running into him at an elementary school tutoring class at Nanrong University came as quite a surprise to Qin Siyang.
Furensa said to the students in the room, "Take another look at the problem I just explained. I'll be back in a moment to go over some new ones, all right?"
"All right!"
Furensa stepped out of the classroom and pulled the door shut behind him.
They had not seen each other for several months, and Furensa had changed considerably from the man Qin Siyang remembered.
His blond hair was still neatly styled, but his bloodshot eyes and the bags beneath them betrayed an exhaustion he could not hide.
Seeing Qin Siyang again, he no longer had that spirited expression or confident gaze. Instead, he seemed uneasy and evasive.
"Qin Siyang, I didn't expect to see you here. What a coincidence... I was just thinking of inviting you for tea in a couple of days."
Qin Siyang smiled. "Professor Furensa, you haven't quite mastered these polite pleasantries we use in Huaguo."
Furensa gave a couple of awkward chuckles. "You're just as you were before, Qin Siyang. Like the rising sun, full of life and energy."
"Of course. It's only been a few months since we last met. How much could I have changed? But you, Professor Furensa-why do you look like things haven't been going well?"
Furensa pushed up his glasses, a trace of sadness flashing through his eyes. "You noticed right away..."
"Looking like that, you'd make it hard for me not to notice. Besides, Professor Furensa, you're a university professor. Even if things aren't going well, surely you shouldn't have to tutor elementary