An Impossible Escape

“Zhizhi—”

Ye Nanzhi sat bolt upright in bed. Outside, the sky was just beginning to turn gray. She checked her phone to confirm the time and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

It was only a dream.

But because of that dream, the heat in her cheeks wouldn’t dissipate. When Professor Song saw her later that morning, he thought she had a fever. He only relaxed after checking several times to ensure she was actually fine.

Professor Song was leaving on an evening flight to attend an academic seminar out of town. He mentioned he might not be able to look after the three of them for a few days and instructed them to communicate well and learn from their respective assigned advisors. After that, he dismissed them to go about their business.

The three students of the faculty decided to do something rare: eat breakfast together at the canteen. Since Guo Peng and Zheng Xiaorou were locals, they rarely ate at the school canteen, especially for breakfast.

The breakfast at Shen University’s canteen was famous in the area; even Ye Nanzhi had heard of it long ago.

She ordered a bowl of steaming fresh meat wontons. The skins were translucent, revealing the faint pink of the filling, all submerged in a snowy white broth. It was garnished with seaweed and dried shrimp, with a poached egg swirled in. The floating egg ribbons looked like a dancer’s skirt, adding a silky texture to the fragrant soup.

Across from her, Guo Peng and Zheng Xiaorou were eating happily. On this side, the wonton on Ye Nanzhi’s spoon had been held in the air for who knows how long. Its originally moist surface was starting to look a bit dry from the air.

Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, lost in thought, and she made no move to put the wonton in her mouth.

“Xiao Ye?” Seeing her motionless, Guo Peng called out to her. But Ye Nanzhi remained frozen like a wooden doll, offering no reaction.

“Xiao Ye, what’s wrong?” Seeing no response, Guo Peng waved his hand in front of her eyes.

This sudden movement startled her. Her grip on the spoon loosened, and the utensil, along with the wonton, splashed back into the bowl, sending broth flying everywhere.

This finally snapped Ye Nanzhi back to reality. Looking at the spilled soup on the table, she hurriedly apologized and pulled tissues from her bag to clean up the mess.

“It’s okay, Xiao Ye. It didn’t get on us. Did you get any on your clothes?” Zheng Xiaorou’s tone was, as always, gentle.

“I’m fine.” After a quick cleanup, Ye Nanzhi’s expression sank again. She stirred her wontons aimlessly with her spoon.

“Xiao Ye, what’s up with you?” Guo Peng asked with concern. “You’ve been out of it since this morning. Did you not sleep well?”

What else could it be? It was all because of that heart-pounding dream. From the moment she woke up, every time she closed her eyes, the scenes from the dream would reappear.

In the dream, the scent of Chu Ran and the temperature of her lips… felt so real, exactly like they were in her memories.

And of all times, the memories had to invade her dreams on the very morning she had proactively planned to go see Chu Ran.

“Hey, Xiao Ye, if something’s on your mind, don’t bottle it up. Tell us! If there’s a problem, we can find a way together. I’ll help you!” Guo Peng comforted her while swallowing a wonton.

Ye Nanzhi traced circles in her bowl with her spoon. After a long silence, she asked slowly, “If… if I did something wrong to you, something that hurt you… what would you do if you met me again?”

“Ha! Well, that depends on how you hurt me!” Guo Peng blurted out. He thought for a second and added, “But you’re so soft-hearted, I doubt you could cause much of a storm. At most, it would be a matter of one cup of milk tea!”

Guo Peng chuckled. “What, Xiao Ye? Are you trying to treat us to milk tea? The shop on the second floor has a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Want to check it out later?”

Zheng Xiaorou couldn’t take it anymore and exposed him. “Stop trying to take advantage of Xiao Ye!”

“Hey, I was just saying! I’m a man; there’s no way I’d let a girl pay. Fine, I’ll treat everyone later, okay?”

While Zheng Xiaorou and Guo Peng bantered, Ye Nanzhi’s expression grew even more dejected. She interrupted them. “I’m being serious. What if it was something really serious?”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Ye Nanzhi thought for a moment and asked earnestly, “What would you do if your ex came back?”

Guo Peng’s history with his ex was legendary. When he was a junior, his girlfriend suddenly broke up with him. At first, he thought she was just being moody, so he tried to coax her back with gifts, but nothing worked. She was determined to leave.

He later found out she had met a wealthy second-generation heir and was moving on to “greener pastures.”

After that incident, Guo Peng decided to study hard and live a better life through his own efforts. He went from being a guy who never put down a basketball and got headaches from reading to a graduate student at Shen University, surprising everyone.

If anyone had the right to speak on an ex who had hurt them, it was Guo Peng.

“Did… your ex come looking for you? You even have an ex?” Guo Peng was incredulous. He had never heard Ye Nanzhi mention a dating history and had assumed she had been single since birth.

“Oh, I’m just making an analogy. I mean someone who has hurt you.”

Hearing that, Guo Peng thought for a second and gave his answer: “Anyway, I would never go back. If she could hurt me once like that, she could do it a second time. I wouldn’t give her that chance.”

Zheng Xiaorou smiled. “Xiao Guo, you usually act so careless, but you’re actually quite level-headed when it matters!”

“Then what if you were the one to go find her?” Ye Nanzhi pressed. “What does it mean if the person who was hurt suddenly seeks out the other party?”

Guo Peng replied, “Me find her? For what? Revenge? When it comes to someone who hurt you, there’s nothing else to talk about besides that.”

Zheng Xiaorou sighed. “I wonder what one person would have to do to another to make them unable to let go, to the point of coming back for revenge even after several years?”

At this, Ye Nanzhi’s face paled further. Seeing this, Guo Peng quickly comforted her. “Hey, why are you so upset? It’s not really your ex coming back, is it?” He patted his chest. “If you have trouble, just speak up. Big brother has your back! No matter who they are, I’ll chase them all away. No one is bullying our Xiao Ye on my watch!”

Hearing this, Ye Nanzhi let out a breath and looked up, her large eyes blinking at him. “Would you really help me? With anything?”

“Of course! We’re classmates under the same master! As long as it doesn’t violate my principles, I won’t refuse!” Guo Peng stuffed the last wonton into his mouth, the fragrance of the filling and broth filling his mouth, only to hear Ye Nanzhi say with total seriousness:

“Then swap thesis groups with me!”

The savory broth caused Guo Peng to choke violently.

And right behind them, Chu Ran’s hand holding a paper cup froze for a split second before she adjusted herself and found a quiet seat to sit down.

“Cough, cough, cough…” Guo Peng was choking badly, his face turning red. Ye Nanzhi hurried to hand him the tissues she hadn’t put away yet.

After catching his breath, the first thing he blurted out was, “Xiao Ye, are you joking!”

Ye Nanzhi sighed. “I know it’s impossible. I was just saying it. Don’t take it seriously.”

The list had been submitted, they had met their advisors, and they had even shared a meal. Swapping groups now would be a nightmare for both social appearances and official procedures.

“Xiao Ye, you seem to really dislike that teacher. What did she ever do to you?” Zheng Xiaorou’s reaction wasn’t as explosive as Guo Peng’s. She was a typical Southern girl; everything she said was soft. Her first instinct was to ask about Ye Nanzhi’s thoughts.

The easy-going Ye Nanzhi repeatedly showing such rejection toward that teacher was very unusual. It was completely unlike the Xiao Ye she knew.

Ye Nanzhi stirred her soup. She obviously couldn’t tell the truth, so she came up with a dignified excuse: “It’s nothing, really. It’s just that Teacher Chu graduated from a prestigious university abroad, and I heard their architecture program is world-renowned. I’m just under a lot of pressure and worried I’ll hold her back.”

Before the soup got cold, Ye Nanzhi scooped up some egg and ate it.

Recalling the last dinner where Teacher Chu had kept a cold face the whole time, Guo Peng and Zheng Xiaorou instantly understood.

A teacher who looked difficult to get along with, and a high-achiever to boot—it was natural for someone with a soft personality like Xiao Ye to feel pressured.

“Ha! I thought it was something major!” Guo Peng finally relaxed. “Xiao Ye, don’t sell yourself short. She’s a graduate of a top school, but you’re not bad either! Our advisor always praises you for being hardworking while calling me a slacker. If even you would hold her back, then I’m definitely doomed, right?”

Zheng Xiaorou chimed in, “Yeah, Xiao Ye, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I heard from friends in the Architecture Department that Teacher Chu’s family owns a company—she’s a total heiress.”

Before Zheng Xiaorou could finish, Guo Peng jumped. “Huh? A rich beauty came to be a lecturer? A lecturer’s monthly salary is peanuts! Oh, Xiao Ye, I heard she went to the same undergraduate school as you. Did you hear about her back then?”

At the sudden question, Ye Nanzhi’s heart skipped a beat, but she maintained a calm facade. With a wonton in her mouth, she mumbled, “She was in Architecture, and I was in the School of Education. Our grades were so far apart; how would I know her?”

“I didn’t say you knew her personally; I just asked if you’d heard of her!” Guo Peng didn’t notice Ye Nanzhi’s clumsy self-defense. Instead, he pondered something else. “Someone who got recommended for a PhD at a top school abroad should have been very famous at your school. How could you not have heard of her? Then again, for a good student like you, your mind was probably always on your books.”

“Oh, stop interrupting,” Zheng Xiaorou pulled the topic back to Chu Ran. “Students in the Architecture Department are guessing that Teacher Chu is just here to experience life. Apparently, her ‘Interaction Space’ project was something she was already researching before going abroad. Maybe she wants to use this chance to fully master the subject.”

“Tsk, tsk,” Guo Peng clicked his tongue. “Why do rich people hate inheriting the family business? If it were me, I’d happily be a parasite at home. Who wants to come out and suffer like this?”

“You don’t understand; that’s called academic pursuit.” Zheng Xiaorou turned back to comfort Ye Nanzhi. “So Xiao Ye, this is a rare opportunity. You can learn a lot from her, and she can help you immensely with your thesis. Don’t feel so pressured. You’re so smart and pretty; Teacher Chu definitely won’t dislike you. Look, didn’t she personally drive you back the other day?”

At those words, the wonton in Ye Nanzhi’s mouth instantly lost its flavor.

“Now that you mention it, I remember. Xiaorou, you have no idea—yesterday when Teacher Chu saw Xiao Ye was hurt at the dorm entrance, she was so anxious! Her face totally changed. She was so worried, asking questions for ages,” Guo Peng added quickly.

“See, I told you!” Zheng Xiaorou smiled, looking as if she had seen through to the heart of the matter. “So you don’t need to be nervous at all. Anyone can see that Teacher Chu must really like you!”