After a shower, Chen Yuan felt completely refreshed. The cool wind blew, lifting the hair that had been lying lazily on his forehead. Behind him, his two love gurus were playing good cop, bad cop, giving Quan Yafeng a joint lecture.
"Just listen to me. From now on, turn over a new leaf and start fresh. Forget Li Bing. You'll meet plenty of other girls who'll make your heart flutter."
"But I really like her… Don't you get it? For real!"
"Don't listen to the second brother. He's hopelessly single. Just do as I say and give Li Bing a proper apology. Don't you realize what a great girl she is? She comes from a modest background, works part-time to support herself, is introverted and quiet, and not materialistic at all. A girl like that is a rare find."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Hearing Wei Zhen say this, Quan Yafeng nodded vigorously, feeling like he had spoken right to his heart.
"Well, you have to get her to meet you before you can apologize, right? Didn't she block you on Green Bubble?" Chen Yuan asked, turning his head.
"Don't worry about that. I've got a plan. Third Brother, give me your phone."
"Huh?"
Chen Yuan didn't know what was going on, but he did as he was told, taking out his phone and handing it over.
Then, with a flurry of taps, Wei Zhen left his other two brothers stunned.
With extreme proficiency, he found their class group chat, tapped on the Green Bubble profile of Li Bing's best friend, selected "Add to Contacts," and wrote in the request message: "This is Chen Yuan."
"What's the meaning of this?"
"This is what you don't get. There are at least seven or eight girls in our class who have a crush on Chen Yuan, and Li Bing's best friend, Wu Lanlan, is one of them. She's asked me about him before. It won't work to just go apologize out of the blue. First, we need to get someone close to her to help persuade her."
"Hey, aren't you making me use my looks—MMF—"
Before he could finish, Quan Yafeng came over and covered his mouth.
"Third Brother, I'm begging you! Just let us borrow that handsome face of yours. Besides, you're just adding her as a contact, not throwing yourself into her bed. You won't lose your innocence."
Chen Yuan looked at his oldest brother's pleading, sincere gaze.
He could only agree.
"Alright. What should I say?"
"You have to send a voice message, of course. I'll teach you…"
After Wei Zhen explained, Chen Yuan took a wary step back. "That's disgusting. Talking like that is so affected!"
"That's the point! You have to be affected! Really lay it on thick! Use your Charm-filled voice to mesmerize her and your earnest, sincere attitude to move her. Otherwise, how are we going to get Wu Lanlan on our side?" Wei Zhen said, making a fist and raising his eyebrows.
"Makes sense! Listening to Third Brother's voice, I sometimes get hard," Liu Nan said with an approving nod.
"Hey!" Chen Yuan jumped in alarm.
"Third Brother, you're a male Succubus! Go! Attract her!" A light of hope ignited in Quan Yafeng's eyes.
Wei Zhen really knew his stuff. After just a moment, under the expectant gazes of the other three, Chen Yuan raised his phone and pressed the voice message button.
"Wu Lanlan, this is Chen Yuan. I'm so sorry about what happened tonight. My roommate, he… It would be great if we could have a chance to clear things up. If you could help, I'd be really grateful."
It was a voice message that was a full minute long.
After sending it, Chen Yuan cringed so hard he felt like his toes could carve a three-bedroom apartment out of the floor.
And, surprisingly, the trick worked like a charm!
A few minutes later, Wu Lanlan replied, saying they could discuss it in person.
"That's great, Third Brother! I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow!"
"Then let's hurry over. She's still in the study hall."
"Okay."
With a goal in mind, the group hurriedly made their way to the study hall.
...
「Meanwhile.」
"Hello, Teacher Jiangg!"
"Teacher, are you moving things? Let me help you."
"This is the first time I've seen you here at night, Teacher."
The spotless corridor was still brightly lit. Jiangg Ning carried a bag in one hand and a stack of thick books in her arms. Every student who passed by recognized her and greeted her enthusiastically.
She was incredibly popular at Landa University; you could say there wasn't a single student who didn't know her. A beautiful and intellectual teacher like her captivated both men and women. Recently, quite a few students had even been posting her pictures on the school forums.
Jiangg Ning quickly responded.
"No, thank you. I can manage this myself. You should all hurry back to your dorms and rest. It's so cold out."
"Aww~ Teacher, you're so sweet. I love you even more now."
The group of girls was practically swooning as they looked at Jiangg Ning, who was dressed in a black trench coat and high heels.
At her words, the huddled group of girls all started laughing, linking arms and acting bashful.
Jiangg Ning also smiled, pursing her lips. She thought her female students were very cute.
"Alright, Teacher, we're off then. You should get home soon, too."
"Okay."
Having been appointed as the deputy secretary of the university's Youth League Committee, Jiangg Ning naturally had to move some things from her old office to the new one. She planned to leave right after she was done.
She walked to the elevator alone. The TAP-TAP of her heels echoed pleasantly in the hallway.
Almost all the students had left, with only a few remaining in the study halls.
You could say that after that group of girls left, the hallway fell silent in an instant.
'Which… means there's no one to help me press the elevator button.'
She had to turn to the side and use the corner of her books to jab the elevator button.
WHIRR—
The elevator doors opened. She stepped inside and waited for them to close, then used her books again to jab the button for the seventh floor.
But just as the doors were about to close, a few male students suddenly ran over. Their footsteps were a chaotic scramble as they held the elevator open and piled in all at once.
There were four of them in total, making five people with Jiangg Ning.
The spacious elevator suddenly felt a bit crowded.
As the doors had opened, she had looked at the male students. In that moment of eye contact, it was obvious they were all taken aback for a second before hastily lowering their heads to greet her.
"Hello, Teacher Jiangg!" three of them said in unison.
Only one person didn't speak, and his stunned silence lasted particularly long.
The moment their eyes met, Jiangg Ning also froze, her body stiffening slightly.
"Hello, Teacher Jiangg."
"Hello."
Chen Yuan never expected to run into Jiangg Ning. She hadn't mentioned she was coming to the university tonight when they'd chatted... But for now, he could only pretend they weren't familiar with each other.
This was something he had agreed on with the "other" Jiangg Ning.
The atmosphere was undeniably awkward. Even Quan Yafeng and the others, squeezed together, had no idea why it was so awkward.
Perhaps this was just the natural state of things when students ran into their teacher.
In the crowded space, only inches separated Chen Yuan and Jiangg Ning. If he stepped back even slightly, he would bump into her, so he could only stand there, a bit constrained. It was like a strange magnetic field, sometimes repelling, sometimes attracting, so strong that it seemed to freeze the very air around them.
Jiangg Ning wrinkled her nose slightly. She caught a whiff of a pleasant scent.
Lifting her head, she noticed Chen Yuan's hair was still a little damp, not fully dry. 'He must have just taken a shower,' she thought.
She sniffed a couple more times. It smelled nice.
'Chen Yuan is quite tall,' Jiangg Ning thought. 'Standing in front of me, he's big enough to block my entire view. It feels… very secure.'
'And if you compare my height to his, we're actually a pretty good match… Ugh, what am I thinking?!'
Jiangg Ning lowered her gaze, her grip on the books tightening as she hurriedly pushed the strange thought from her mind.
'He's my ex-boyfriend. We have nothing to do with each other anymore.'
'I can't have any more fantasies.'
She told herself.
In those few seconds, a myriad of different thoughts ran through both their minds.
WHIRR—
The elevator doors opened. They had arrived at the fourth floor.
Liu Nan, Quan Yafeng, and the others were in a rush to find Wu Lanlan. They were the first to step out, quickly running toward the study hall.
But just as Chen Yuan, the last one out, was about to exit the elevator…
He suddenly turned back and met the eyes of a slightly bewildered Jiangg Ning.
"Aren't you cold? You're not wearing much."
Chen Yuan reached out with practiced ease, looking down to pull her trench coat tighter around her. Then, carefully and gently, he fastened a few of the buttons.
Jiangg Ning was completely dumbfounded. She just stood there, stunned, without any reaction. Her hands were full, one carrying a bag, the other holding books.
It was as if she were paralyzed by the things in her hands. Or maybe it was Chen Yuan's actions that had stunned her—a hard stun, at that.
"There, that's not as cold. Good girl."
...
The elevator doors closed.
By the time they opened again, the elevator had already reached the seventh floor.
But Jiangg Ning remained standing right where she was, completely motionless.
She could hear her own heartbeat.
THUMP-THUMP... THUMP-THUMP.