Sleeping through two classes to get Shen Zhengying to say she wouldn't mind sharing a pot with her made Hu Lai feel like the embarrassment was worth it.

Shen Zhengying was a textbook Virgo, not just the Virgo from astrology books, but a true neat freak, this piece of information also courtesy of her hater, Wang Baobao.

Indeed, only a Moon Virgo could understand a Sun Virgo.

Most people, upon hearing this answer, would relentlessly pursue and press forward, saying ambiguous things. But Hu Lai didn't.

She had a quick temper and a fiery personality, but this time she was extremely patient. It was her first time pursuing someone, even if her intentions weren't entirely pure, she was feeling her way across the river, so a steady and sure approach was better.

Two straight women talking ambiguously was like eating undercooked rice noodles—edible but difficult to swallow and digest.

Rice noodles taste best when they're soft, and so do straightforward women.

Rice noodles need time to soften, and so do straightforward women.

When they soften, they can bend.

"Professor Shen," Hu Lai gestured at her glasses, "Why did you suddenly take them off?"

"...The lenses aren't anti-fog, so they fog up when exposed to steam."

Ah, that was an irrefutable reason, Hu Lai chuckled.

"Being sloppy when you're alone is one thing, but it's impolite to eat with others looking disheveled." Especially when the dining companion looked so fresh and lovely.

"Hey, aren't your lenses a bit darker? Normally, lenses shouldn't obscure one's face."

The young girl had sharp eyes, and Shen Zhengying admitted it openly.

Hu Lai understood—it was a prop.

"I finally understand why I would fall asleep in class."

Shen Zhengying gave her a look. She was about to blame herself.

"Every time in class, I stared at your glasses, trying to see what you really looked like, and then I'd doze off. You must have a beauty-repelling charm on those lenses."

She had never seen such a beauty who would seize every opportunity to praise her own beauty.

Shen Zhengying replied with annoyance, "It's a charm to repel evil spirits."

Her previous feeling weren't wrong, the young girl had indeed been staring at her, with a probing gaze that filled Shen Zhengying with a mix of confusion and doubt.

There was even a moment when she thought her son had made a mistake and hadn't taken proper precautions, and the little girl was here to collect a debt. As the saying goes, the debtor is responsible, and if the monk can run away, the monk's mother can't. Having the mother and son in the same school, the same department, was truly tiresome.

"Evil spirit or beauty, it doesn't matter, as long as Professor Shen knows it wasn't on purpose that I kept falling asleep. Since you had a charm on, I seem to be under their spell. I just found it strange..."

Shen Zhengying shot her a glance, ready to comment on the girl's thick skin, but when the waiter brought over the broth, the girl's attention was immediately drawn to it, revealing a childlike eagerness.

She even slightly pouted.

"Hey, Professor Shen, hot pot is so simple, you can have it at home anytime."

"Cleaning the pot and dishes is a hassle. I rarely go home, and I can't eat much by myself, so the cafeteria is just fine."

"You can still go out for hot pot by yourself."

"It's troublesome. If I need to go to the restroom, there's no one to watch the table, and I worry the waiter will be too eager to clear things away. Plus, others will look at you strangely."

Some people are naturally fine eating alone, while others aren't. Like Hu Lai, she had been going to restaurants alone since middle school, ordering food, not just fast food.

Hot pot alone, barbecue alone, there was nothing she couldn't eat by herself.

"If you want to eat it in the future, just find me."

This time, Shen Zhengying didn't agree right away, "By the way, I shared a lot of your information earlier. Why weren't you worried?" Shen Zhengying couldn't understand this, if it were anyone else, they would be extremely nervous. The girl, however, seemed surprised for just a moment and quickly grasped the situation, her mind turning swiftly.

Hu Lai leaned back in her chair and chuckled, "Worried? Why would I be worried? You're interested in me and willing to spend time getting to know me, that makes me happy. Nowadays, aside from perverts, anyone willing to spend time on someone else is true love, okay? Unless Professor Shen, you're a pervert?"

The conversation was starting to feel off, and Shen Zhengying looked at her smiling eyes and replied lightly, "Then you must be the pervert." 

Without waiting for Hu Lai to retort, she exclaimed cheerfully, "The meat is here, let's dig in."

The marbled snowflake beef was rich and tender, melting in their  mouth. After the first bite, the two barely spoke.

Hu Lai wasn't one to observe "silence while eating," but seeing Shen Zhengying so engrossed and focused, she looked incredibly cute, especially the moment she put the beef in her mouth, her face overflowing with happiness. It almost made her feel like she was about to ascend to immortality after eating this beef.

Shen Zhengying lived a simple life, primarily going between school and home. Aside from occasionally giving lectures at other schools or corporate training, she rarely visited her parents and seldom went out, avoiding gatherings and public places. She never participated in school-organized trips.

The closest relationship Shen Zhengying had was with Sun Shuxue. Sun Shuxue had a family and her own life, and occasionally invited Shen Zhengying out for a meal, which she would gladly accept.

Aside from holidays, the school cafeteria could meet all her dining needs.

Therefore, Shen Zhengying rarely ate out, and at most ordered takeout, which couldn't include hot pot, let alone sukiyaki.

She was surprised to see Hu Lai eating meat so efficiently. Nowadays, young girls often talk about losing weight, and even when they're as thin as reeds, they still insist on dieting, claiming they eat nothing but are most active about drinking milk tea. Hu Lai, on the other hand, ate meat, vegetables, and seafood without hesitation.

"Never seen a beauty eat hot pot?" Hu Lai winked at her.

"Never seen a beauty devour hot pot."

"Should I put a mirror in front of you? I can also take a video for you."

". . ."

She praised her while also teasing her—really. Compared to her, the girls at school were all angels.

Good thing she wasn't her teacher, or she'd probably choke on her words.

Shen Zhengying felt relieved.

After finishing their meal, both felt like they had gained a few pounds, their stomachs slightly protruding. Facing the nine boxes of beef and beef tongue they had devoured, they both burst into laughter.

"The meat was delicious, thank you for bringing me here. Now I'll know where to go in the future."

"Then I'll take you to other places next time."

Whenever "next time" was mentioned, Shen Zhengying remained silent, and even Hu Lai could sense that Professor Shen didn't seem interested in having a future with her.

But could this really be something Shen Zhengying could decide on her own?

As the service brought two servings of Häagen-Dazs matcha ice cream, Shen Zhengying took a scoop, "It's a bit sweet."

"I think so too. This place only offers this flavor. Do you want to try the coffee flavor?"

"No, thank you."

Shen Zhengying tilted her head, holding the spoon and sizing her up: bright eyebrows, a delicate nose, lips that were neither thick nor thin, soft hair, and full earlobes.

"Is Professor Shen's son also studying at H University?"

Hu Lai casually asked, not realizing that alarm bells were ringing in Shen Zhengying's mind.

—As expected, here it comes.

She still felt that Hu Lai was approaching her with a purpose. She had nothing special about herself, the only thing with any worth was her son, Jiang Yuming.

How could such a pretty young girl be interested in her son? It wasn't that Jiang Yuming wasn't good, but he already had a girlfriend. She couldn't just wave her hand and tell her son to break up with his current girlfriend to introduce him to someone better, could she?

Hu Lai waited but didn't get a response. "Your son is that old? I couldn't tell, looking at you, I thought he just started college."

The surprise felt a bit forced, but Hu Lai wasn't good at talking about other people's children—pets were fine, but kids were off-limits.

Thinking for a moment, she asked, "He..."

"He has a girlfriend," Shen Zhengying said quickly, "Actually, Ming Ming isn't that great. He's not very tall, not exceptionally smart, not very considerate, at best, he has a decent appearance. Your qualities are so much better than his. He's not good enough for you, really."

Hu Lai thought the same, but hearing it from Jiang Yuming's mother felt so strange.

"Do you still think I like him?"

Shen Zhengying forced a smile.

—Wasn't that the case?

"I've told you I don't like him, why do I have to like him?"

—Because there's no reason! When you eliminate all the impossibilities, what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

Shen Zhengying silently screamed inside but maintained a calm facade. "I must have misunderstood, I'm sorry."

"Professor Shen, being in your class and having a meal with you clearly means I'm more likely to like you, okay?"

—Haha, tell that to the ghosts. 

During the meal, Shen Zhengying insisted on splitting the bill evenly, even making Hu Lai show her payment code to scan.

But she refused to exchange WeChat contacts.

Helplessly, Hu Lai said, "How about you treat me next time?"

"Is there even going to be a next time?"

???!!!

"I thought we had a great time, I didn't realize I was the only one who felt that way..."

No need to pretend, Hu Lai felt wronged, puffing up her cheeks in anger.

"It's not just you who feels that way. It's just that... there's no real reason, is there?" 

"Do you need a reason to eat together?" 

"But, why though?"

Hu Lai lowered her head, knowing she had to give her a reason for showing up.

She was thinking, and Shen Zhengying was waiting.

Maybe she was expecting a tragic story.

For example, her parents didn't understand her, she got dumped by her boyfriend or girlfriend, she had no friends, she looked a lot like someone she knew, she resembled her mother, she had a bad relationship with her mother, and being with her reminded her of her mother...

The young girl seemed to be seriously considering the question, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

No wonder a butterfly flapping its wings can trigger storms thousands of kilometers away.

After a while, the girl raised her head, her expression confused, a bit hurt and a bit aggrieved.

"I don't know," she said, "I can't find a reason."

"But if there's no reason, does that mean we can't have hot pot together?"

"Professor Shen, you've seen almost half of my life."

That's an exaggeration, she hadn't even had the chance to see much yet!

Knowing the young girl was playing the sympathy card, Shen Zhengying still felt she was falling for it.

With such a sweet smile, soft hair, a reliable back, and such hearty eating...

"I don't want to eat hotpot again for a while." Shen Zhengying had to say.

"Then we should at least exchange contact information for the next time. I can't just show up in your class every week to ask if you want to have hot pot, right? That wouldn't be good for you." Hu Lai was quite reasonable.

"Don't say to email you. I've observed you. From afternoon classes till now, you haven't checked your emails. If we relied on emails, believe it or not, the first meal of the new year could turn into the next year's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner."

"Nonsense."

Shen Zhengying was still struggling, and the conflict was evident.

To her, she was an uninvited guest, up to no good.

Hu Lai felt like the big bad wolf coaxing a little girl, shameless and untrustworthy.

"I don't post on WeChat Moments." In the end, Teacher Shen still added her on WeChat.

Hu Lai assured her, "Don't worry, I won't bother you."

If it's something important, then it doesn't count as bothering, right?

"Is it that few people reject you, so you can't stand rejection?"

As soon as she spoke, Hu Lai showed a look of disagreement, but she still listened to her finish before saying, "I've been rejected more times than you can imagine. Even the RMB gets rejected, let alone me, who can compare to the allure of money? I don't usually make demands on others. If someone refuses, it's fine, I don't have any rebellious thoughts about it. There's no 'you don't like me, so I have to make you like me.' That doesn't exist."

Apart from insisting on exchanging contact information, Hu Lai knew how to keep boundaries.

She dropped Shen Zhengying off at the entrance of the residential area, not insisting on going all the way to her building. Once home, she sent a message to check in and casually asked if she had gotten home.

Just saying "I'm home" wasn't enough, they had a secret code to confirm identities, just in case of impersonators.

Although she noticed Shen Zhengying intentionally wearing glasses frames, she thought about asking but didn't, feeling like she had figured something out.

 —This young girl was really hard to see through.

Shen Zhengying shook her head.

These things were irrelevant to her, and so was the person.

---

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