Chapter 3

By the time dinner ended, my stomach was round as a ball.

Holding my belly, I walked out of the restaurant and planned to stroll back to campus.

After a while, a black Maybach pulled up slowly in front of me.

The rear window slid down, revealing a handsome face.

Mr. Shi.

“Your brother didn’t take you home?”

I smiled awkwardly. “He has things to do. I can get back myself.”

“You go to University A?”

“Yes.”

“Get in. It’s on my way.”

“Thank you, Mr. Shi, but I don’t want to trouble you…”

Before he could speak, the driver had got out and opened the rear door.

“Miss, please.”

I had nothing to say.

With a reception like that, could I really refuse?

I steeled myself and climbed in.

Immediately, I caught a wonderfully crisp, expensive fragrance.

It came from Mr. Shi.

The seat was incredibly comfortable too.

Even a commoner like me was getting a taste of the good life.

I huddled cautiously by the door.

Mr. Shi tipped his head back, eyes shut, pressing his fingers to his forehead.

He seemed to have had a little too much to drink and wasn’t feeling well.

His hands were beautiful: defined knuckles, long fingers, neatly trimmed nails. Ridiculously beautiful.

As someone with a weakness for nice hands, I couldn’t resist several glances.

“What are you looking at?”

He spoke suddenly, eyes still closed.

I jumped and hurriedly looked away. “N-nothing!”

He chuckled and said no more.

The car was quiet.

A full stomach made me sleepy. Mostly, though, the car was far too comfortable.

My eyelids grew heavier…

I didn’t know how long I’d slept when someone gently patted my shoulder.

“Wake up. We’re here.”

I opened my eyes groggily.

A handsome face filled my vision.

Long lashes. That crisp fragrance.

Still half asleep, I blurted, “Pretty man. I like you so much. (✪▽✪)”

“Ahem. We’re at your university.”

Mr. Shi sat back in his seat, amusement coloring his voice.

I came to my senses and flushed scarlet.

“S-sorry! I was half asleep!”

I fumbled with my seat belt. “Thank you for driving me back! I’ll go now. Goodbye, Mr. Shi!”

Then I pushed open the door and practically fled.

I watched the car drive slowly away.

Finally relaxing, I rubbed my still-burning face.

“Phew… What a nerve-racking, exciting day!”

The next day, my roommate and I were enthusiastically slurping snail rice noodles in the cafeteria when—

My phone vibrated.

A message from my supervisor.

My appetite vanished.

“What is this proposal you’ve written? The logic is a mess, and the topic has nothing new to offer. Rewrite it.”

My roommate leaned over to look.

“Babe, did your proposal get sent back again-again-again-again-again?”

I wanted to cry, but no tears came.

My supervisor was young and handsome, but incredibly strict and sharp-tongued.

Unlucky me. I’d been assigned to him for my graduation project.

Bad news: my paper still hadn’t passed.

Worse news: he wanted me in his office right now.

I collapsed in my chair, with no will to go on.

“Life, do you really have to make things this hard for one little girl? At least when someone insults you online, there’s a screen between you. I’m about to face the abyss in person. Babe, save me.”

My roommate took a solemn sip of snail broth.

“There’s only one thing for it. Psychological warfare.”

“How?”

“If he starts yelling, remember this: when people yell, their arseholes clench. It’ll distract you so you won’t be so scared.”

“…You’re a genius.”

With a roommate like this, I’d found my soulmate among low hills and stinking waters.

I carried my laptop to my supervisor’s office.

“Come in.”

“Professor Chen.”

Chen Yu, my supervisor, had become an associate professor before thirty.

His academic abilities were beyond question. His tongue was just lethal.

He looked up at me. “Have you read the comments on your proposal? Do you know what’s wrong with it? Tell me.”

If I could explain that, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it.

So I could only grit my teeth and babble.

After a few sentences, Chen Yu cut me off impatiently.

“What do you spend all day thinking about? You can’t even understand a simple problem like this? In all the students I’ve supervised, I’ve never met anyone this stupid.”

Here we go. The verbal assault had begun.

I lowered my head and meekly took the lecture.

Then I suddenly remembered my roommate’s advice.

My brain helpfully supplied an image of Chen Yu yelling at me while clenching his backside.

“Pfft!”

I couldn’t stop it. I laughed aloud.

Chen Yu stared.

His expression darkened at once.

“What are you laughing at? I’m talking about your thesis. Is this funny to you? With an attitude like that, do you even want to pass your graduation project?”

I was dead.

Just as I was about to apologize, someone knocked.

I turned.

Oh, look. Another familiar face.

Heaven wanted me dead.

Why was the boss whose dinner I’d crashed turning up at my university?

He even recognized me, pausing in surprise.

“Sun Hao’s sister?”

I lowered my head with an awkward smile. “Mr. Shi. Long time no see.”

Chen Yu looked from him to me.

“Shi Xiao, you know my student?”

Shi Xiao nodded.

“She’s my employee’s sister. We met recently.”

Chen Yu looked baffled. We stared at each other.

“An employee’s sister? Lan Zhizhi, aren’t you an only child? Where did this brother come from?”

Two men with towering presences were staring at me.

I trembled.

The truth was coming out!

I squeezed my eyes shut and confessed.

“I lost my mind and pretended to be his employee’s sister so I could crash their company buffet! I’ve let down Mr. Shi, the Party, and the country that educated me!”

Silence lasted several seconds.

I secretly opened one eye.

Chen Yu’s temple twitched. His eyes held the frustration of someone watching wasted potential.

“Lan Zhizhi! If only you put this kind of ingenuity into your thesis!”

I bowed my head, agreed repeatedly, swallowed, and stole a guilty glance at Shi Xiao.

He was perfectly calm. There was even a hint of a smile on his lips.

Today he wore a black shirt, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. His rolled sleeves exposed the veins in his forearms.

Leaning against the doorframe, he glanced over with a slight curve of his lips. Sex appeal practically radiated from him.

“That’s enough, Chen Yu.”

“I’ve come to ask you a favor.”

Chen Yu frowned. “What is it?”

Shi Xiao spoke unhurriedly. “My company’s working on a project in your area of expertise. Interested, Professor Chen?”

They began talking shop: contract terms, data models.

I understood next to nothing. I stood beside them like an unnecessary ornament, unsure whether to stay or go.

Chen Yu changed the subject, sounding casual. “By the way, do you need anyone for odd jobs? It’s nearly the end of term, and there aren’t many classes left. Let my student intern with you for two weeks and see a real project. Maybe she’ll stop trying to work in a vacuum.”

My head shot up. I pointed at myself. “Me?”

Chen Yu scowled. “Who else?”

Shi Xiao chuckled.

“Sure. Report for work next Monday.”

I was speechless.

So that was settled, just like that?

Chen Yu waved a hand. “Go back for now. We’ll discuss your thesis tomorrow.”

Feeling as though I’d been pardoned, I grabbed my laptop and bolted.