Hu Lai always thought she was the kind of person who would roll her eyes twice as much in return if someone rolled their eyes at her, so she never expected there would be a time when she would burst into laughter being rolled their eyes at, only for the other person to roll her eyes at her again.

"Professor Shen, your eye-roll was cute, could you do another one?"

Come again for your head. -*It could convey a sense of challenge or confrontation. It might suggest that the speaker is ready to face the other person again, possibly in a playful or competitive manner.

Professor Shen just wanted to take off her flat canvas shoes and throw them at the laughing girl's head.

Rolling her eyes was meant to express emotion, not to amuse her.

Had she really rolled her eyes???

It must have been a mistake.

The girl was wearing a classic motorcycle leather jacket over a black V-neck T-shirt, with a delicate rose gold necklace that showcased her beautiful neck and collarbone. She wore jeans and sneakers, just like before. This time, she wasn't carrying a tote bag but had a sleek black shoulder nylon bag, looking quite sharp and handsome.

Shen Zhengying's anger was somewhat extinguished.

Forget it, who asked her to be a dedicated and hardworking gardener, unwilling to see a flower splattered with cow dung?

"Professor Shen, do you have any other arrangements at the school? If not, it'll soon be rush hour, and the subway will be crowded. Let me give you a ride back." Once Shen Zhengying got in her car, Hu Lai would say she was hungry halfway through the drive and insist on taking her out to eat.

Once you feed someone, it's hard to refuse adding them on WeChat, right? Even if she didn't want to take advantage of her and insisted on splitting the bill, they still needed to connect on WeChat for easy transfers.

If she insisted on using Alipay, Hu Lai would just say she didn't have it.

Cash? She wouldn't accept cash.

Her plans were well thought out, but unfortunately, Shen Zhengying wasn't cooperating.

"The people who told you I teach at this campus, didn't they tell you the school has a shuttle bus?" Shen Zhengying's face still showed no expression, nor did she have the polite demeanor one should have when invited for a ride. "No need to trouble yourself, I'll take the shuttle."

These days, young people generally have thin skin. After a few attempts at being friendly and hitting a soft spot, if it were her son, he would likely get angry. Shen Zhengying was just waiting for her to back down.

Who knew Hu Lai would casually say, "It's no trouble. I'm heading back anyway, it's on the way."

She thought it through very clearly.

She wasn't really trying to pursue someone to be her girlfriend, her role was that of the villain.

When you like someone and seek their approval, it's easy to become insecure, overthink things, and hold back due to various concerns. You fear that one wrong move might upset the other person, causing their affection for you to plummet. Even an unintentional comment or a deliberate denial can shake a pursuer's fragile heart.

She was here to seek revenge on the person's son, so such concerns didn't apply to her.

With a clear objective and straightforward intentions, she could act without hesitation, cutting through obstacles to achieve her goal.

Ah, to put it bluntly, she intended to deceive the other person into her grasp.

Besides, rejection was normal. If she wasn't rejected, Hu Lai would have become suspicious.

In Hu Lai's biased view, women of Shen Zhengying's age, having raised a son and appearing conservative, tend to prefer men, especially young, slightly mischievous, good-looking, and considerate boys.

Even if she were to be captivated, it would be by men of that sort.

One good thing about Shen Zhengying was that she didn't see young women as potential rivals nor did she show any disdain towards Hu Lai.

Don't be surprised, many middle-aged women see younger generations as rivals, being critical and displaying subtle malice. They fear the younger women might steal their men and worry they might take their sons away too.

Hu Lai, being pretty since childhood, had experienced those malicious looks to some extent.

At first, she couldn't understand why they would dislike her for no reason and conjure up so many vicious imaginings about her.

They treated trash like treasure, who would want their sons or their husbands? 

It was simply absurd.

As she grew older and gained more experience, she came to understand. Those women had received fewer resources growing up, often having to prioritize their brothers over themselves. When their brothers had meat, they got scraps. Once in society, everything favored men. The benefits were predominantly taken by men, leaving them to compete with other women for mere scraps, creating deep-rooted competition and hostility.

Don't think that highly educated female university teachers wouldn't be like this.

Some people fight their way up from a crowd of men to achieve a higher position, and when they see women still struggling in the mud, they don't think about the lack of resources or the difficulties the other person faces. They don't consider the idea of "She for She." All they think is, "If I can do it despite my challenges, why can't you? You're incompetent and worthless, you deserve it." It's a classic mentality of the daughter-in-law who has finally become the mother-in-law. *It's a classic case of the abused becoming the abuser.

Hu LaI had encountered someone like that before.

One of her potential collaboration targets was the vice dean of the psychology department at N University in a neighboring city. After a few meetings, she clearly sensed the other person's jungle mentality and deep-seated disdain for women, which is now commonly referred to as misogyny.

Hu Lan, Zhou Huaiyi, and a few other female colleagues wrote emails outlining the drawbacks of collaborating with N University, ultimately choosing H University instead. Recently, social media had a small-scale outcry when it was revealed that another vice dean from N University's psychology department was supporting a male teacher who had committed domestic violence, which was a clear violation of Kunlun Technology's corporate culture.

Compared to those individuals, Shen Zhengying was much better.

Walking around the classroom, approaching her a few times before she fell asleep, though the meaning behind it was unclear, there was likely some goodwill behind it.

Hu LaI was sensitive to gender issues and also to the lecherous men with shifty eyes. One such man had been inching closer to her, occasionally sneaking peeks at his phone, which had raised her alarm. It seemed that Professor Shen was looking out for her.

Thinking about this, a smile naturally spread across her face.

Little did Shen Zhengying know that the girl's thoughts were swirling, getting very close to the truth behind her foot pain. She could only say, "You've been following me these last two times just to find out where I live?"

Paranoia, but as a woman, it's only natural to be cautious.

Hu LaI shrugged and generously said, "How about this, I'll give you a ride to my place. It's not far, and it's much more convenient than taking the shuttle bus from here."

Shen Zhengying was speechless. Not only was her poker face about to crack, but her oversized glasses seemed on the verge of breaking too.

Fair enough, fair enough.

If it were a middle-aged man, Shen Zhengying might have thought the person was interested in her.

But this fashionable young woman in front of her... could she be out of her mind?

It's not that she hadn't received love letters from students before, from both boys and girls, but back then she was only in her twenties or early thirties and knew how to dress herself.

But now...

Dressing herself up like an old woman from the medieval era every day was meant to ward off confusion from students, their parents, and other teachers. If she could still attract unwanted attention like this—

Shen Zhengying didn't want to overestimate her charm. From both an emotional and logical standpoint, the likelihood of someone being interested in her son was higher than in her.

Using a roundabout strategy? Isn't this a bit far-fetched?

Just as Hu Lai was about to say something, she clearly felt Shen Zhengying's attitude shift.

Earlier, her expressionless demeanor still had some emotional flow, but when students approached to greet her, she reverted completely to her classroom persona.

Even the electronic devices seemed to have more warmth.

"Professor Shen, you're treating me differently." Hu Lai sensed her different treatment and felt a bit smug.

"You're not my student. Stop following me. I need to buy groceries, and if I'm late, there won't be any left."

"You can easily place an order on Dingdong, HeMa, or Taoxianda on your phone. By the time you get home, the groceries will be delivered right to your door. Why go to the market or supermarket? It doesn't matter if you haven't used it before, I can teach you. Don't worry, the prices aren't much higher, and the veggies are clean—no need to wash them. If you're out of data, you can use mine, I'll set up a hotspot for you."

Her enthusiasm and attentiveness were more effective than any e-commerce promotional app.

Shen Zhengying felt an overwhelming urge to respond, but she paused and shot her a glare, feeling deeply scorned and ridiculed.

But, she let it go.

Noticing that Shen Laoshi was unhappy, Hu Lai was puzzled. She hadn't meant to insult her with her earlier remarks, so why was she angry?

Following Shen Zhengying all the way to the university cafeteria, Hu Lai suddenly realized.

Oh, so all this fuss about buying groceries was just to go to the cafeteria.

She couldn't cook and didn't know how to handle raw ingredients, no wonder... got it.

Surprisingly, Hu Lai didn't laugh and blocked Shen Zhengying, who was about to enter the cafeteria with a mind full of thoughts.

"What are you having for dinner? Let's go, let's go! meeting by chance is better than a formal invitation. My treat."

Who would have thought the girl would have such thick skin, actually daring to call it a chance encounter.

Shen Zhengying ignored her, but the young girl stood in front of her, blocking her way, counting on her fingers and saying, "Japanese food, Western cuisine, Thai food—choose whatever you want."

Being young and attractive certainly had its advantages, if someone else said this, they would definitely get eye rolls.

Shen Zhengying raised an eyebrow but remained unmoved.

"Korean food? How about Japanese barbecue instead? Or do you want Chinese food?" Hu Lai racked her brain. "How about hot pot?"

"Okay."

"If that doesn't work, there's Xinjiang cuisine or Sichuan food... huh?" Did she just agree to that???

Hu Lai thought her ears must be malfunctioning.

Shen Zhengying pushed her oversized glasses up and asked, "Which place? Dai Mei? Hai Di Lao?"

"Come on, Professor Shen, have some standards! Hai Di Lao's food is average and lacks character, and the service is too enthusiastic for my taste. As for Dai Mei... I can't handle it.Let me find a better, tastier place, okay?"

"Isn't Dai Mei good?" Shen Zhengying, who usually ate in the cafeteria and rarely dined out with others, truly didn't know where the best hot pot was.

Hu Lai pulled out her phone and searched the website, surprised to find that Dai Mei had actually increased its prices.

"I thought Dai Mei had already closed down for good, but it's still alive! What a surprise. Professor Shen, how about we have Japanese hot pot instead? With wagyu beef!"

"Okay."

This time, Hu Lai heard it very clearly. Professor Shen seemed delighted, and the way she said "okay" sounded like she was about to leap for joy.

—Oh my God, Jiang Yuming, you're so annoying, but your mom is so adorable.

As they got into Hu Lai's car, Shen Zhengying fastened her seatbelt and saw the young woman grinning mischievously at her, saying, "You don't even know my last name or who I am, yet you dare to get in my car and have dinner with me. Professor Shen, you're really brave!"

Was she trying to trick her into asking for her name?

Shen Zhengying wasn't falling for it. She blurted out, "Hu Lai, works at Kunlun Technology, recently busy with a new project, a game called 'True Illusion,' which has a collaboration with our school. She comes to school every Friday to teach. A beautiful and wealthy woman, enjoys luxury travel, stays in high-end hotels all day long. Likes to drink but hates the smell of smoke, picky eater, picks out all the onions from stir-fried lamb before eating..."

Hu Lai: !!!

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