Reflections

“Sigh… I’m so tired…” (Peek)

“……”

“Ahem… Studying for so long is just too stressful…” (Peek)

“……”

Inside the acting studio, Ning Rou spoke to herself with convincingly dramatic flair, yet she failed to elicit a response for a long time. Finally, feeling a bit shamed and annoyed, she huffed and looked up, glaring directly at the man opposite her.

“Professor!”

“What’s wrong? Student Ning Rou?”

Jiang Li, who had been spacing out, focused his gaze and forced himself to look at her with some semblance of spirit.

“It’s just… well…”

However, the moment she caught the professor’s attention, she couldn’t help but start fidgeting again. Her fingers twisted together unconsciously as she lowered her gaze.

“Does… does the Professor have any plans for lunch?”

“I don’t have anything at noon. Why?”

“Then would you like to… go together…”

Ning Rou’s voice grew smaller and smaller, and her head dropped lower and lower. In the end, she spoke in what was practically a mumble:

“Would you like to go grab lunch together? My treat…”

“Today at noon? It might be a bit…”

It took Jiang Li a moment to process what Ning Rou was trying to say, and his expression immediately turned slightly hesitant.

“What’s that supposed to mean…”

Seeing his reluctant expression, Ning Rou immediately felt a wave of grievance.

“Didn’t the Professor just say he had no other plans for noon? Is it because you think being seen with me is embarrassing?”

“It has nothing to do with that…”

“Liar!”

Ning Rou glared at him, puffing out her cheeks. “Is the Professor trying to make up another clumsy excuse to brush me off?”

“Of course not…”

Jiang Li rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Am I really this bad at dealing with girls? Why has even facing Ning Rou become this taxing?

The shock and psychological pressure from Xiao Yuehua’s eerie transformation yesterday had been so immense that he still hadn’t quite recovered. He had to make early plans for a future he hadn’t previously considered. Amidst these complex emotions, he was suffering from a bit of mental exhaustion.

He had intended to use the lunch break to think quietly by himself, but he hadn’t expected Ning Rou’s invitation to arrive first.

Then again… on second thought, it wasn’t a bad idea. An invitation from a beautiful girl usually lifted one’s spirits. Perhaps spending time with the ever-vibrant Ning Rou would help him calm down better than being alone?

In a flash of thought, Jiang Li made his decision. Meanwhile, the girl before him was acting like a little pufferfish, needles prickling, hissing in intimidation.

“Then why did the Professor look so hesitant?”

“Because I was feeling sentimental.” Jiang Li found his words and straightened his posture.

“Sentimental?”

“Yes.” Facing Ning Rou’s suspicious eyes, Jiang Li explained expressionlessly, “Because this is the first time someone has proactively asked me out for a meal, and since it’s Student Ning Rou, I’m feeling quite sentimental.”

“Pro-pro-pro… Professor, what are you saying?!”

Ning Rou jumped up like a cat that had its tail stepped on, her face filled with panic. “What do you mean ‘since it’s Student Ning Rou’? You make it sound like… sound like…”

Jiang Li watched as Ning Rou’s face transformed from white to crimson in the span of a finger snap. Amidst his amazement, he couldn’t help but marvel at how easily this girl was coaxed.

“Is that a strange way to put it? I said it because Student Ning Rou is very important.”

“Professor!”

Steam was practically rising from Ning Rou’s head, and her pupils shook uncontrollably in a blur of confusion.

“You, you, you… is this harassment?! This is too much! Hehe…”

The young girl argued almost at a scream, yet for some reason, the corners of her mouth wouldn’t stop curling upward. It wasn’t until a strange giggle escaped from her tightly guarded lips that she realized what was happening, covering her mouth with a look of horror.

Shameful, hateful, so shameful.

【Why did I laugh? How terrifying. Does the Professor have some kind of black magic?】

My blood rushed to my brain all at once; my mind was so cluttered right now I couldn’t even untangle it myself. All I knew was that the day I walked with the Professor before had been incredibly fun and joyful.

Clearly, there are countless happy days in a person’s life. Yet, for some reason, the sunlight of that day, the breeze, the shadows under the setting sun, and the Professor’s broad, cold, slender hand… they all stood firmly in my mind like giant windmills on a plain, asserting their presence without a moment’s pause.

It’s totally cheating. When something is that interesting, it’s impossible to forget, right?

That night, for the first time in my life, I suffered from insomnia. How strange. Mom always said I was a “happy-go-lucky fool” who fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. So why couldn’t I sleep today even with my eyes closed?

Tossing and turning, adjusting my posture… no matter what, my brain was like a train on a track, roaring and operating without stop. Every carriage was loaded with the sights and sounds of being alone with the Professor, looping over and over, unable to cease.

These memories were like the “Fairy Candies” from fairy tales. They remain forever vivid and never fade; even without putting them in your mouth, you can sense that endless stream of sweetness.

However, the difference was that the Fairy Candies in the stories were “bad things” that made children addicted. The Professor isn’t a bad thing.

Will I become addicted to the Professor too? No, surely not, right?

The Professor is just my good friend. We have a secret relationship of mutual help, a master and apprentice. Yes, that must be it. The only reason I proactively invited him to lunch today was to repay him. It was just because he spent so much on me yesterday and I felt bad, so I’m just returning the favor. It’s definitely not because I want to be alone with the Professor.

Isn’t it normal for friends to treat each other to meals?

It’s just… when I saw the Professor’s hesitant look, I couldn’t stop my heart from feeling a sense of loss.

【Is the Professor going to reject me? But didn’t he say he had no plans?】 【Is it that he simply wants to keep his distance from me? Does he… dislike me?】

Thinking this, my chest felt tight, as if blocked by cotton.

【Does the Professor not think I’m important at all? Am I just being sentimental on my own?】

A strange sense of grievance and bitterness welled up in my heart. This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar; I had felt it before during my arguments with Yuehua, but the bitterness back then was more intense. Of course, it didn’t carry this current, eerie “dryness.”

【No, if this keeps up, I might actually cry! Crying for no reason like this is way too embarrassing!】

Sensing trouble, I stood up. Though I felt sorry for the Professor…

【Didn’t the Professor just say he had no other plans for noon? Is it because you think being seen with me is embarrassing?】

I lost my temper with the Professor quite rudely. Truly, this was an unmerited disaster for him, but in my shame, I couldn’t explain myself.

【Let’s just leave it at that. I’ll act like this never happened and apologize to the Professor when I get the chance!】

However, just as I wanted to use the opportunity to gloss over this failed invitation…

【Because this is the first time someone has proactively asked me out for a meal, and since it’s Student Ning Rou, I’m feeling quite sentimental.】

The Professor’s words instantly drowned out all my inner thoughts. The bitterness in my heart was swept away. Something in my blood seemed to want to surge with joy.

“Eh? Sen… sentimental?”