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“Because this is the first time someone has invited me to dinner of their own accord—and because it’s Ning Rou—I’m quite moved.”

“Is saying that strange? I only said it because Classmate Ning Rou is very important.”

Standing before me, the Professor was delivering these sappy, ambiguous lines with a perfectly deadpan expression.

My heart seemed to protest these words with an embarrassed frenzy, nearly thudding its way out of my chest.

Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

Listen to that—what a hurried, angry heartbeat.

Oh, my dear heart, are you angry because of the Professor’s shameful, weird remarks?

The heart has no mouth; it cannot speak, so it could not answer me. But the rush of surprise and joy surging through my veins displayed its presence without the slightest reservation. From my neck to my face, then to my earlobes—my blood was flooring the accelerator, turning up the heat and making my shame impossible to hide.

What should I do? How do I mask this embarrassment?

I’ve got it! I’ll use an angry tone to cover it up! (I’m a genius!)

“You… you… are you harassing me?! That’s too much! Heh-heh…”

I did my absolute best to control the corners of my mouth, fighting to keep them from twitching. Yet, a stray giggle escaped from who-knows-where, rendering all my efforts moot.

It’s over. How humiliating.

I covered my face in despair; the heat from the rising blood made my palms feel scorched. Just how red must my face be right now? This is great—I’ll never be able to show my face to the Professor again.

The extreme shame caused my brain to stall, my thoughts instantly turning into a ball of yarn ravaged by a cat. Just as I felt I had reached the point of social death—

“So, Classmate Ning Rou is paying for lunch today, correct?”

The Professor was already scrolling through his phone with a natural air. “Then how about we eat at this restaurant?”

Through the gaps in my fingers, I saw the screen he held out. The golden, magnificent decor in the pictures and the long string of zeros in the prices sent a shiver of terror through me.

“Is the Professor trying to make me go bankrupt?”

“Well, since Classmate Ning Rou is treating me, I won’t have to spend a dime.”

“When the Professor says things like that, he sounds exactly like a stingy boss from a TV drama.”

“Does Classmate Ning Rou mean to say my acting skills have improved?”

“That’s not what I meant at all!” I retorted crossly.

It was truly miraculous. In just a few sentences, the shame in my heart and the awkwardness in the air had been completely dispelled. I knew this was the Professor’s doing.

As the son of a legendary actor and a professor at Tianhua Academy, his personal wealth was immeasurable; money was just a number to him. He couldn’t possibly care about the cost of a single meal. He was simply trying to bail me out.

The Professor was always like this—a delicate heart hidden beneath a cold exterior. He could always detect my embarrassment immediately and dispel it with a few casual words.

How strange. How could a Professor like this be unable to learn “Emotional Acting”? Heaven is truly unfair.

“Hmm… then which restaurant does Classmate Ning Rou think would be better?” The Professor pondered for a moment, adopting a look of troubled contemplation as he looked at me.

To be honest, seeing his usually icy face forced into such an expression was actually a bit hilarious. But I understood his intent.

“What ‘Classmate Ning Rou’? The Professor should call me Teacher Ning Rou! I’ve decided—we’re going here!”

I flashed a smile and pulled up a restaurant I had scouted long ago.

“Shouldn’t the guest be the one to choose?”

“A student should follow their teacher’s suggestion! Hehe.”

I pushed open the door of the acting studio with a light step, letting the brilliant sunlight flood the room. I looked back at the Professor. He was standing up, walking toward me with a gentle gaze.

Honestly, purely in terms of looks… the Professor is unexpectedly handsome.

In this world, the season had entered late autumn, and the temperature was dropping day by day. A clear, sunny day like today was rare. Consequently, there were quite a few pedestrians on the road.

Walking with Ning Rou as they left the academy, Jiang Li could clearly sense that the little girl was in a good mood. This allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Because of his status as a professor, he held a high level of fame within the academy. Perhaps because he rarely made public appearances, every passing student now looked at him as if he were a rare animal. Correspondingly, Ning Rou, by his side, received a fair share of these peculiar gazes.

University, after all, was a miniature society. Every move could be distorted or attacked by those with ulterior motives. A student walking openly down the street with a professor would inevitably attract attention, potentially sparking rumors about “currying favor” or “backdoor deals.”

Most people would be troubled by this. Jiang Li had originally thought Ning Rou would be the same—that she would feel uncomfortable under these stares for fear of gossip. But the girl was acting as if nothing was wrong, walking proudly by his side.

Was she just thick-skinned, or did she truly not care? Jiang Li couldn’t quite figure it out.

Clack, clack, clack…

Beside him, Ning Rou was walking like a child, her steps stiff and deliberate, each one hitting the ground with a crisp sound. She followed the white lines on the road with tiny, innocent steps.

They hadn’t walked far when—

Ring-ring!

The sharp ring of a bicycle bell sounded from behind.

Jiang Li instinctively stepped forward, turning his body to shield Ning Rou toward the side of the road. By the time the cycling student had passed and he regained his senses, he realized he was gripping Ning Rou’s wrist through her sleeve.

The girl stared at him blankly, seemingly confused by the situation.

“It’s dangerous like that,” Jiang Li explained with a hint of awkwardness.

He really didn’t mean to initiate physical contact or take liberties. If Ning Rou misunderstood him, the drop in “favorability” would be a net loss.

However, his explanation didn’t seem to do much.

“Oh.”

After turning her head back, the girl became noticeably quiet, and her pace steadied. They walked all the way to the school gate like that.

Ning Rou stole a glance at Jiang Li’s left hand.

“Actually… it’s also okay to %@&…”

Her voice was tiny, and coinciding with a car horn nearby, Jiang Li didn’t hear her clearly. He furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Classmate Ning Rou, what did you just say?”

“No, it’s nothing!”

Ning Rou snapped her head away, leaving Jiang Li with nothing but the view of her reddening profile.

???

Jiang Li had a vague feeling he had just missed something important. Just as he was wondering—

Ding.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He instinctively unlocked the screen.

[Yue Hua: (Image of the empty acting studio)]

His expression froze instantly.

Before he could respond, the phone began to beep in a rapid-fire succession of notifications.

[Yue Hua: Where is the Professor right now?] [Yue Hua: You’re with Ning Rou again, aren’t you?] [Yue Hua: Didn’t the Professor promise me just yesterday?] [Yue Hua: The Professor belongs to me!] [Yue Hua: Why won’t the Professor answer me?] [Yue Hua: I’m coming to find you.]