Soon after, Pi Gao runs toward us with his undergraduate diploma and suitcase.

He has thick eyes and his looks are not outstanding, but his skin is very white, his hair is light brown with natural curls, and he has a youthful appearance.

I roll down the window and smile at him.

He also purses his lips and smiles at me, and the moment he lowers his head, his face reddens.

I didn’t expect that he would be so outgoing on social media but so shy in person, so I’m a little surprised. 

After getting in the car, he eagerly hands me various certificates for his undergraduate degree. There is a dazzling array of these things, but I flip through them and find a lot of valuable awards in the painting world. This level would also be considered very good in the actual art department. It seems that he has indeed made a lot of effort in the past few years.

I organize these things neatly and return them to him. He is stunned for a moment, and seems to have misunderstood what I mean. His eyes dim for a moment, then he takes something out of his bag and hands it to me: “Teacher, here’s more. I have a positive personality, and I’m hardworking…..”

I take it and read through it, finding that it is actually a university diploma. There are even English 4 through 6 and Mandarin. I interrupt him with amusement: “Classmate Pi, I can see your efforts.”

Maybe because I particularly like people who blush, in order to make him less nervous, I ask him as gently as possible: “Come with me to the school logistics department in a moment to register. Are you familiar with the institute?”

“I’m familiar!” He replies instantly, and his grin reveals a pair of small tiger teeth, his eyes and glasses flashing with light. “I’ve been aiming for the University of Fine Arts for a long time, and I’ve studied it thoroughly.”

En, I find that he doesn’t seem to be very shy……

It is already noon after registration, and the three of us have lunch in the faculty canteen. Dr. Zhao helps to the end and delivers Pi Gao to the East Campus, where he is staying.

Pi Gao saves a day’s travel expenses, and is deeply moved by Dr. Zhao. When he gets out of the car, he bows to him and says: “Uncle Zhao, you are such a good person.”

‘Uncle Zhao’s’ face darkens.

I laugh out loud without shame.

Before leaving, I hold Pi Gao back and tell him that I have been busy with art exhibitions in the past six months and rarely came to the school. For some courses, he should bring his own tools and come find me at my home. “I will send you the address later.”

He asks me: “Will this be okay, Teacher?”

I consider it and agree.

I knew he would come to me, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.

At noon, I am taking a nap on the sofa. Not long after I wake up, I suddenly hear the doorbell. I get up to open the camera on the courtyard door, and see that it is Pi Gao.

I’m still wearing house clothes and my hair is messy from sleeping, so I only open the far courtyard door for him and leave him waiting outside. 

Ten minutes later, I am wearing clothes appropriate for seeing outsiders, and open the front door for him. 

He stands outside the door with his back to it, holding a large oil-painting bag in one hand, while the other hand holds a bag of dried fruits and the like. When he hears the door open, he turns around with a round face and round eyes, like a lively puppy.

Even though I’m not very happy about his sudden appearance, I can’t get angry.

After entering the door, he hands me the bag of dried fruits with some embarrassment. “Teacher, these are persimmons I dried myself.”

I actually don’t like to eat sweet things, but I am unable to refuse this student’s good intentions. So I accept the bag of dried persimmons after thanking him, “You are really good. What do you want to learn this afternoon?”

When Pi Gao is exposed, his face turned slightly red as he says: “Actually, it’s nothing…..I can’t understand the ‘Desolate Girl and Saka’ you lectured on last year.”

This 19th century painting tells the story of the devil Saka, who fell in love with a pure girl playing under a tree and tried to subdue her with the power of evil. I spend nearly two hours explaining the composition, human anatomy, light and shadow, and the background of the era. When I finish speaking, Pi Gao thanks me very gratefully and takes the initiative to go to the kitchen and pour me a glass of water, as if this is nothing out of the ordinary.

I take the warm water he poured and pick up a piece of dried persimmon, biting into it. It is soft and sweet, worth eating.

Pi Gao leans over the coffee table to write something in his notes, drawing a few strokes with the pen from time to time.

I watch him for a while and say: “You have really worked hard these years.”

Beihua doesn’t like interdisciplinary students, and I hadn’t planned to enroll any students this year, but he insisted on applying to Beihua University and wanted to be my student. It took a lot of hard work to get to this point.

He smiles proudly after I speak, a little happy and pleased with himself: “Actually, I didn’t have much hope. This year was my World War II, and I planned to take the exam for the last time. I thought I had no chance, and if I failed this time, I would go home and be a music teacher. But I didn’t expect that the person who took first place was rejected by Beihua, so I filled the slot.”

When he finishes speaking, he narrows his eyes and asks me mysteriously: “Teacher, do you know who came in first place?”

I see the light of gossip in his eyes, and find it interesting. Although I don’t know who first place was, Beihua Academy of Fine Arts rarely rejects students. Being rejected must be confirmation that something was wrong.

Pi Gao puts down his pen, saying, “He was first place in undergraduate art school!”

His words surprise me. Although I don’t remember Pi Gao very well, I was really impressed by this first place student. He was a tall, silent kid who was extremely talented in oil painting. I was not surprised that he was able to enter the Academy of Fine Arts graduate school and make great achievements in the future, but I didn’t foresee that he would be rejected.

The withering of talent makes me extremely regretful: “Why?”

And what Pi Gao says absolutely shocks me.

“It is said that the things he created were possessed by evil spirits.”

I am astonished, and then I frown. “What are these words? Can superstitious rumors be taken seriously?”

I really couldn’t accept it if the school rejected a student for this reason.

Pi Gao puts down the notebook and sits up straight, his gaze very direct: “It’s not a rumor, many students have seen it. He rented a house outside with a few classmates. His talents were very average at first, and later, it was said that he requested something from abroad, and that thing turned out to belong to a deceased painter…..”

After getting this kind of thing, the student’s ingenuity really improved by leaps and bounds. He won several awards and was even famous on social media. His ranking in the university skyrocketed.

But a few years later, he suddenly became taciturn, and it was as if he had become a different person. He was no longer on social media and often talked to himself in corners, speaking in a foreign language that nobody could understand.

This incident caused a big fuss at school, and Pi Gao bumped into him several times because he often ran to the Academy of Fine Arts.

“Later, he disappeared for a long time. Neither his teachers nor his parents could find him, and the police were helpless. One night, a roommate renting with him suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. The roommate opened the door, looked, and – holy shit! That person was back, and he asked the roommate very strangely if he could come in.”

When I hear this, my heart suddenly tightens. I put the water in my hand back on the table. “What happened next?”

“Do you still need to ask this, Teacher?” Pi Gao pats his notebook and makes a door-closing motion. “Of course the roommate closed the door and locked it several times. He was so scared that he didn’t sleep until dawn.”

I open my mouth and look at the door of my house. My throat is a little tight. “…..He finally came back, so why not let him in?”

He is a little surprised to see that I really don’t know. “Teacher, do you rarely read things that aren’t academic? It was because there is a folk legend that apart from gods, whether they are big monsters or small ghosts, they need the owner’s permission to enter a person’s house. With the owner’s consent, they can come in and out and make contact with the people in the house as they please.”

I think of something, and my heart skips a beat.

“Teacher…..you don’t seem to look well…..”

I pick up the cool water on the table to hide my reaction, then put it down again. My heart is pounding. When I hear this, I look at the boy and say to him: “Xiao Pi, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable. Can you go back first?”

The boy notices my abnormality and stops talking. He stands up holding his things and asks me worriedly: “Teacher, are you okay? I’m sorry, did I scare you?”

“I’m fine…..it’s not your problem…..” I comfort him briefly.

He walks to the door in three steps and turns back to me: “Teacher, next time…..”

“Can you come back next time when I call you?”

“En, en, en, okay!” He nods again and again and says to me apologetically: “I’m sorry, Teacher, I talk a lot and can’t keep my mouth shut. If I say something that makes you uncomfortable, please disregard it. What I mentioned is just a rumor. Strictly speaking, he should have been rejected from Beihua because of his long-term truancy. Also, you can just wear house clothes when I come next time, whatever makes you comfortable. You don’t have to change clothes for me.”

I nod, trying to force a smile for him, but as soon as I raise the corners of my mouth, I freeze: “How did you know I changed my clothes?”

Only then does he scratch his head as if recalling something. “Because the peephole on your door is backwards. I accidentally saw you going into the bedroom to change clothes from the outside. I didn’t peek at anything else. When I realized it was backwards, I turned my back and stopped looking…..”

He is still explaining nonchalantly, but my brain is already fried as I remain on the sofa.

“Teacher, what’s wrong? Didn’t you know?”

“Didn’t you know the peephole is reversed?”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here.

Chapter 6 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 8