Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Weekend, Shen Xiubai is cooking in the kitchen.

He’s a great cook; a dish of braised fish in aromatic sauce, a dish of candied banana, all the flavors I love.

Although he handles all the housework, occasionally I do simple things too.

Like folding his laundered clothes and putting them in the closet.

When Professor Guan called, I was quietly looking at a white shirt in my hands.

Two conspicuous lipstick marks on the chest.

Neatly folded, hidden deep in the closet.

“An Zhen, tomorrow is your shimu’s birthday, I’ve invited a few former students, come and join the fun!”

I put the shirt back exactly as it was, and replied with a smile:

“Alright, Professor, I’ll definitely be there tomorrow.”

Professor Guan and his wife are both big shots in philosophy, and they’re extremely good to me.

A small gathering, and the students invited were all successful, rich or powerful, only I was an ordinary university teacher.

Shimu held my hand, sighing:

“I originally thought you had great ambitions, I never imagined you’d be the first to marry and have children. Well, it’s the path a woman must take. Speaking of which, I was the one who introduced you to Shen Xiubai back then!”

Senior Brother Song Wen came over, handed me a cup of Pu’er tea, and when I took it, he turned and joked:

“So Shimu does matchmaking too. Had I known, I’d have begged Shimu to introduce me sooner.”

Shimu shook her head.

“It wasn’t really matchmaking. Back then, Xiao An asked me how to achieve a leap in philosophical research in a short time. I said find someone from the history department to collaborate with. She then asked if there was anyone I could recommend, and I mentioned Shen Xiubai.”

Song Wen glanced at me, and suddenly became somewhat silent.

When leaving, Shimu asked Song Wen to drive me home.

He’s three years my senior; philosophy background but carved out a domain in business, now a tech tycoon with tens of billions.

“Xiao Zhen, I’ve privately invested in a social research project, unlimited budget, interested in joining?”

He cocked his head looking at me, eyes flickering.

I pressed my lips, “We’ll see if the opportunity arises.”

“Heh, these past few years, you always say that.”

He put his hands in his pockets, chuckled lowly, kicked a small stone on the ground, looking like he used to.

“Xiao Zhen, if I had studied history back then, it would have been right, wouldn’t it?”

I furrowed my brows slightly, quietly watching him, saying nothing.

Song Wen’s eyes were deep; he reached out to pat my head, like back in school, but halfway his hand retracted, self-mockingly saying:

“Forget it, I can never figure out what’s on your mind.”

He let out a long sigh, then curved his eyes and smiled at me:

“Anyway, I still want to wait a few more years, just in case!”

Arriving downstairs, he got out and opened the car door for me.

I politely bid him farewell.

“Xiao Zhen.” He called out to me.

I turned.

He looked at me steadily, sighed, “As for the research project, if you don’t want to come, you can recommend someone else. I’ll hold a spot for you. The competition for this project is fierce.”

I neither agreed nor disagreed, smiled and waved.

“Goodbye.”

As Song Wen’s car left, Shen Xiubai called out to me.

He was walking over carrying groceries, a surprised look on his face, “Is that Song Wen from Ruifang Technology?”

I “mm”ed, “He’s a student of Shimu.”

Shen Xiubai immediately got excited, “He recently invested a large sum specifically for social science projects. I just submitted my application. You know him?”

I smiled, shook my head.

“Not well, Shimu just asked him to give me a ride.”