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墨書 Inktalez
My name is Xiao Yan, and I am a teacher, specializing in University Physics.
It was midsummer, and the heat enveloped everything like a surging tide, as if the entire world were wrapped in a giant steamer.
Not only were the students below me drained of energy and drowsy, but even I, standing on the platform, felt as if I were being hypnotized by the ceiling fan spinning endlessly above the lecture hall.
The fan whirred as it turned, seemingly weakly lamenting the long and unbearable summer days. With each rotation of its blades, it traced a hypnotic arc across my heart.
At that moment, I had turned my back to write something on the blackboard. The chalk squeaked against the surface like a small insect struggling to crawl.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a student below on the platform stretching lazily. He rose slowly as if his spine had been removed, letting out a loud yawn that echoed in the silent classroom like a clap of thunder.
Muttering "I'm so sleepy," he trudged toward the exit.
I wondered how my more experienced colleagues dealt with such situations; for me, as a newly minted university teacher, this moment felt utterly embarrassing.
My face felt as if it were being scorched by fire, hot and prickly, while my body stiffened slightly, unsure of what to do.
Should I shout "Come back!" or should I force myself to appear unfazed?
I wrestled with these thoughts in my mind, nearly breaking the chalk in my hand.
For the first time, I wished that physics formulas could be longer so that I could keep writing and avoid facing this awkward situation.
Or perhaps I could enter another parallel world; I raised my head slightly as if pleading for salvation from that unknown realm.
Parallel worlds are a topic often discussed in physics. Although they cannot yet be proven, many believe in their existence; they correspond to our current world and could resolve paradoxes like traveling back in time to kill one's grandfather.
In truth, the world of physics is far more beautiful and complex than those inexperienced students below could ever understand, and I couldn't explain it to them.
For instance, regarding time travel, Hawking explicitly stated in his works that such a possibility exists, albeit with an extremely low probability.
In the dazzling world of Quantum Physics, I felt an almost infinitesimal possibility of transforming into a microscopic particle, slipping through the blackboard to reach another realm.
If only that were possible, I wouldn't have to face the impending embarrassment, I sighed silently to myself.
Finally, I turned to look at each student in the classroom. They all wore expressions of indifference, their youthful faces seemingly masked, concealing their true feelings from view.
Behind those youthful masks, they were carefully observing my reactions and deriving amusement from it. I could almost see the glimmer of mockery hidden in their eyes.
There was only one exception among them.
"Class... classmates, this... this formula is usually used in..." My nerves twisted my tongue into knots, making my speech stutter.
Seeing me turn into a stammerer out of nervousness, a few mischievous girls finally couldn't hold back their laughter. They covered their mouths with their hands, their shoulders shaking slightly as laughter echoed through the classroom.
One boy even rudely woke up a sleeping classmate just to show him my embarrassment, his actions appearing rather crude.
At least I had managed to dispel some of the drowsiness that had settled over the classroom, but I found myself sinking deeper into awkwardness.
Even though I was making a fool of myself in public, what else could I do in this situation?
I could only force myself to remain calm and continue teaching as if nothing were amiss. After all, this was reality; I kept reminding myself internally.
Reality demanded that I leave a good first impression on others, especially at such a critical moment when the body had yet to be discovered. I needed to appear somewhat timid and not reveal my inner turmoil.
I plotted silently in my mind that when the police questioned my students, they would laugh and say things like, "How could someone like him possibly commit murder?"
Even though winning the Nobel Prize in Physics was beyond my reach in this lifetime, I at least believed I deserved a nomination for an Oscar for Best Actor. It was just unfortunate that no one would ever know this, nor would anyone realize that while I explained this tedious formula, a body lay at the Platform—sitting quietly and perhaps not fully transformed into a corpse. Much like Schrödinger's cat, my own heart oscillated between anxiety and composure.
Like the physical world, crime is also a profound discipline. If one were to compare the two, at least in my eyes, their commonality lies in pursuing practicality without flamboyance; the simplest formula is often the most beautiful.
The difference lies in one seeking to uncover the truth while the other is dedicated to concealment. As these thoughts swirled in my mind, I unconsciously began drawing lines on the blackboard.
Soon, his body would undoubtedly be discovered by the coroner, as he had died not long ago, allowing for an accurate calculation of the time of death during my lecture.
My plan was as simple as the most wonderful formula, yet no one would suspect that it was I standing on the Platform who had done it.
As I turned back to face the blackboard and began writing out formulas again, I noticed that some students in the audience had started yawning.
The yawns quickly spread like a wave, rising and falling in unison.
I almost wrote the word "yawn" on the board, my chalk hovering above it for a moment before I snapped back to reality.
If it weren't for the upcoming exams, they wouldn't even be in the classroom.
Because of this, I could easily explain why he was here, I thought to myself.
His name was Xiao Fang, and he was my friend.
He had applied to this graduate program because of me.
Every time he came to attend my class, I felt nervous, and this time was no exception; my palms were slightly sweaty, and my heart raced involuntarily.
Thanks to him, today I had endured what felt like the longest class of my life, and I silently complained in my mind.
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