Shen Zhengying smiled faintly, her chin slightly raised, looking towards Hu Lai.

Hu Lai gritted her teeth, wanting to take a bite. After a brief moment of shock, she already figured out how Shen Zhengying had obtained this information.

"I looked at your WeChat Moments using Wang Baobao's phone. You're quite bold, you don't even set your privacy to three days or six months. If someone is interested in you, they could scroll back year by year and see everything. You have no privacy at all." Shen Zhengying, accustomed to being a teacher, stated matter-of-factly. Even though she benefited from this, she still had to give Hu Lai a piece of her mind.

Sure enough, it was Wang Baobao.

Wang Baobao was quite interesting, telling her that Shen Zhengying would be teaching at another campus while also showing Shen Zhengying her Moments.

It was a good thing she wasn't charging, otherwise, she'd be a double agent.

Shen Zhengying's words weren't entirely truthful either. "Looked at"? The stir-fried lamb was at least two years ago. With her habit of posting about everything, the amount of information was considerable.

—Heh.

Hu Lai squinted slightly, not wanting to dwell on it any longer. Instead, she turned her gaze back to Shen Zhengying and advised, it will get crowded later.

Shen Zhengying had no objections regarding anything related to hot pot.

As they drove out of the school and onto the main road, Hu Lai continued the previous topic, saying, "I usually only grant access to acquaintances. Last time, I added Wang Baobao in a hurry and forgot to set the permissions. But Professor Shen, what the eyes see isn't necessarily the truth. I don't like staying in hotels or indulging in luxury travel... Oh, wait a minute, Professor Shen, when you mentioned scrolling through year by year, are you implying you're interested in me?"

Shen Zhengying ignored her underlying meaning and asked back, "If someone was lurking around your workplace and kept falling asleep each time, wouldn't you want to know who they are and what their intentions are?"

Hu Lai mumbled, "You don't need to add someone if they fall asleep every time. It's auditing class, not lurking around. There's a fundamental difference between the two. Also, you're a professor, so the clear intention of being there every class session is to attend the class."

"Auditing? What class have they audited?"

"Psychological health education for primary and secondary schools."

Shen Zhengying, being a civilized person, kept the word "bullsh.it" circling in her mouth without spitting it out.

"By the way, if your throat gets dry from talking so much in class, you can drink water. The water was just put out today, unopened, so you can be assured."

Amused by her "be assured," Shen Zhengying picked up a bottle of water from the side. It wasn't a common brand – Fiji Water.

Definitely a rich and beautiful woman, quite particular.

A few years ago, she mistakenly bought it at a city supermarket and only realized at checkout that a small bottle cost over ten yuan. Since then, she remembered the brand, not the name, but the feeling of regret.

So expensive.

Other brands of water might not taste noticeably different, but Fiji water definitely did.

Watching the car drive onto the elevated road, Shen Zhengying asked, "Where are we going?"

"To eat hot pot. The place is called Niu Boluo, near H University. It's closer for us to go back, we won't have to drive long after eating. If you don't get car sick, you can check the reviews to see if it suits your taste. If there are no reviews, I'll turn on my hotspot for you to download the app."

Shen Zhengying couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Hu Lai glanced at her.

She looked quite attractive when laughing, with a kind of indescribable innocence and naivety.

Clearly a good-looking person, why doesn't she tidy herself up a bit, at least not look so old-fashioned? If she did, she would definitely be a hypnotic internet sensation.

"Hu Lailai, have you worked in e-commerce promotion before, always asking people to download apps and offering data? Do you never run out of data?" Despite her laughter, Shen Zhengying noticed the young girl's attention to detail that wasn't evident on the surface. "Hu Lailai, Hu Lailai, are your parents raising you to be a female tyrant?"

Actually, very few people called Hu Lai by her full name, including her childhood name. Parents, relatives, and close friends would call her Lailai, while colleagues and more distant acquaintances would just call her Hu Lai.

Hu Lailai, Hu Lailai, the way she said it sounded like singing a song.

She had originally wanted to tell her that her full name was Hu Lai, but hearing her hum so melodiously, she decided to let her continue.

"There's a long and tearful story behind this name. If Professor Shen is interested, I'll tell you next time."

Thinking about next time before this one was even over left Shen Zhengying confused about what the young girl really wanted.

Her appearance was as mysterious as her absence. If it weren't for Wang Baobao having her WeChat, and the other classmates remembering this beauty, Shen Zhengying would really think she was seeing ghosts. She always mysteriously appeared at night and mysteriously disappeared, claiming to be auditing classes, but she probably didn't absorb a single word, like a fairy from "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio."

After arriving at the mall where the Niu Boluo hotpot restaurant was located, they parked the car and took the direct elevator up. The other passengers in the elevator kept glancing at Hu Lai and Shen Zhengying, especially a man in front who deliberately faced them, looking from one to the other with a lew.d expression.

Having been stared at too many times, Hu Lai didn't mind, but Shen Zhengying, also used to it, felt a bit uncomfortable.

She could imagine the messages conveyed in other people's gazes. Standing next to Hu Lai, one young and trendy, the other older and plain, the contrast was obvious and quite mismatched.

Noticing her discomfort, Hu Lai turned sideways to shield Shen Zhengying from some of the stares. The two were of similar height, one wearing flat canvas shoes and the other wearing sneakers, making the height difference due to shoe soles quite apparent.

Shen Zhengying was momentarily taken aback, then caught a whiff of a sweet, lively perfume with an elusive quality.

When the elevator reached the sixth floor, there were only a few scattered people inside. Hu Lai grabbed Shen Zhengying's arm and pushed past the man who had been deliberately blocking her way, stepping out of the elevator. She glanced back at the man with a disdainful look, silently cursing: "Idiot," almost raising her middle finger.

Another unexpected move.

"You..."

Hu Lai didn't tightly hold onto Shen Zhengying's arm, releasing it as soon as they stepped out of the elevator. Hearing Shen Zhengying's hesitant words, she asked, "What?"

"You cursed."

She hadn't even made a sound! Could she really read lips that well? Professor Shen was truly a remarkable person.

But Hu Lai didn't bother pretending to be a lady, she replied cheekily, "Dirty people deserve dirty words. Did you expect me to talk to him about the five stresses, four beauties, and building a harmonious society? Wouldn't that be too difficult for his IQ?"

"What if that guy gets furious and tries to hit you?"

Hu Lai shrugged, "Look, I already checked. There are mall security guards around."

These young girls nowadays... They hadn't walked far when Shen Zhengying saw the restroom sign and said, "You go inside the restaurant first, I'll use the restroom."

"No." The refusal was blunt.

". . ."

"What if you run off? If I wait and you don't come back, I won't have your phone number, WeChat, or any other way to contact you. If you run off, that's one thing, but what if someone kidnaps you? Should I call the police or not? Let's just go together, after all, we're both women."

Shen Zhengying swore to the heavens that she was just being kind and hadn't expected Hu Lai to come up with a whole chain of thoughts centered around asking for her WeChat, being extremely persistent.

"Don't worry, there will be seats available before five-thirty. Half an hour should be enough, right?"

". . ." Shen Zhengying decided to simply close her mouth.

Hu Lai also took the opportunity to address her physiological needs.

While waiting for Shen Zhengying in the hallway, she thought about how going to the restroom together on a first date was filled with femininity. The idea of Shen Zhengying being unable to argue back and having no way to refuse her brought a subtle feeling of victory.

After mentally giving herself thirty-two thumbs up, a pair of black flat canvas shoes appeared in front of her.

Hu Lai looked up and jumped back a step. "Who are you?"

The woman in front finally revealed her true appearance. Her large, bright eyes were clear and sparkling like a deep spring, making it easy to overlook the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She had a delicate nose and fair skin. In the short time it took to go to the restroom, Shen Zhengying had taken off her signature large black-frame glasses and tidied up her messy hair. Even though she wore the same old-fashioned clothes, her aura was completely renewed.

Even though Hu Lai had long expected that Shen Zhengying would look about the same as her son without her glasses, she was still taken aback. Especially since Shen Zhengying seemed a bit unaccustomed without her glasses, her once abruptly regained brightness and intellect appeared even more charming.

To mask her heart skipping a beat, Hu Lai exclaimed, "Holy cra.p, who are you? Quickly give me back my Professor Shen!"

"...Too exaggerated. Also, watch your language. 'Holy cra.p' is vulgar." 

"Oh, 'my Professor Shen' is a good thing."

The question that had been lingering in Shen Zhengying's mind, one she was both unable and unwilling to believe, was finally asked. "Uh, are you, are you perhaps interested in my son, Ming Ming?"

The question was abrupt, catching her off guard.

Hu Lai's heart skipped a beat, she almost thought she was about to be exposed.

But Shen Zhengying's way of asking stirred up both her recent and past grievances. The recent grievance stemmed from the woman's numerous refusals and unwillingness, while the past grievance was naturally the little bit of "green light" her son had given her.

So she replied, "Your son? The one who called you 'Mom' that day? He should be younger than me, right?"

Shen Zhengying nodded, "He's three years younger than you."

"You even remember how old I am?"

With each passing birthday, posting on social media every year, with cakes, delicious food, and eye-catching gifts, how could anyone forget after seeing it several times?

"Why is it that I'm interested in him, not the other way around? Or do you think your son is so charming that every girl must like him?" Hu Lai frowned, deliberately showing a look of surprise as if to say she hadn't expected this side of Professor Shen.

Shen Zhengying shook her head, unable to clarify.

"There have been girls who attended my class just to get close to him, maybe I misunderstood. Sorry. I just feel there's no reason..."

"Exactly, I have absolutely no reason to be interested in him." Hu Lai pointed outside. "Come on, boy's mom, let's go eat some beef."

Niu Boluo primarily served Japanese sukiyaki, featuring various grades of beef complemented by seafood, vegetables, tofu, and other dishes. During dinner hours, the buffet included Häagen-Dazs ice cream. 

When they realized they would each have a small pot for hot pot, Shen Zhengying felt much more relaxed.

Hu Lai mentally gave herself another thirty-two thumbs up.

"Is this place to your liking, Professor Shen?"

"I'm very satisfied, you have good taste." Shen Zhengying had to admit that the restaurant's dishes and individual pot style suited her perfectly.

Hu Lai smiled and shared a hot pot joke with Shen Zhengying while waiting for the food.

Usually, when listening to female colleagues complain about their blind date experiences, one common complaint is that the date is set at a hot pot restaurant. The women often have cleanliness issues and are very averse to sharing a pot with strangers, so they request to order two separate broths. However, hot pot restaurants typically use induction cookers with fixed positions for each table, which means they end up ordering a yin-yang pot—one half for each person, clearly divided. The female colleague would then get a good talking-to from the matchmaker when she got home.

Just like when Hu Lai first heard it, Shen Zhengying covered her mouth and laughed, "That female colleague couldn't possibly be you, right?"

"Hey, Professor Shen, do you think I would be the type to go on blind dates?"

"True."

"I just thought, if I shared a hot pot with you, I wouldn't mind, but I know you would."

The little girl in front of her was well-dressed, vibrant, and fragrant. Shen Zhengying also thought about it, and after a moment, her expression became a bit subtle. "I don't think... I would mind that much either."

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