There was something about the way Mu Shengchen eats that made Ning Qianyu feel like she's staring at a sculpture. The way he twisted the noodles around his chopsticks. The way he placed them on his tongue. The way he was savoring the flavor of the soup. It didn't even look like he was eating. If there was a camera behind her, she would've assumed that he was posing for a picture.
"Shengchen," she slowly said. "I missed class yesterday, so I'll be heading to Professor Mo Yan's place later to finish it, okay?"
He placed his chopsticks beside his bowl and glanced up at the woman beside him. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows.
He knew that she had already promised Professor Mo Yan that she'd go and finish her lessons, but that didn't mean he couldn't tease her. "Hmm," he hummed to himself. "And why should I let you go?"
Pouting, she wrapped her arms around him and leaned against his shoulders. "But I already promised," she whined cutely. "Please?"
While Mu Shengchen knew how to play around, Ning Qianyu had already learned her lesson. She found that acting more flirty could be very useful, especially if she needed to convince the man beside her.
Seeing this, the corners of his lips curved upwards.
As soon as she noticed that his features were softening, she immediately added, "How about I come back at noon to make you some lunch? Would that be okay?"
"Fine."
"You're really agreeing?" Her eyes glittered enthusiastically, as she kissed him right on the lips. However, as she was about to pull away, he still held her back.
They stared at each other for what seemed to be a long time before he finally whispered, "You kissed me in the wrong place." There was a teasing glint in his eyes. "Do you want to re-do that?"
"Wrong place?" Startled, she was about to jump off his lap when he steadied his grip on her.
"The wrong place," he said again, before lowering his head and biting the side of her neck. She groaned, leaning closer to his head as his breath fanned against her shoulders. There was something about the way he held her that brought her some sort of comfort that she had never felt before.
Moving to the side, a crisp tearing sound echoed across the room. Ning Qianyu's eyes widened in surprise, and she drew away from his hold.
Even Mu Shengchen had stopped moving. He gazed at her, before letting his eyes slide across her torn sleeve. Of course–he hadn't hurt her. It was just her clothes.
"I–I should go out now, else I wouldn't be able to make it back to cook you lunch," she stuttered out, not really knowing what else to say. Her cheeks were flushed deep red from the incident.
He was also trying to calm down from the latest incident. The cool breeze was the only comfort he had as he stared at her milky skin, trying to resist the temptation of overtaking her completely. "Your clothes are torn," he uttered.
"Right...I should go change." Blushing, she got up from his lap and skittered back into the bedroom.
How many times had he torn her clothes? Was the quality of the fabric really that bad? Should she buy something better? Just the thought was enough for her to duck her head. "Stop thinking about him," she whispered to herself as she changed into a new shirt.
"I'll be going now," she called out as soon as she was done, before heading out the door.
According to their agreement, she was supposed to meet Professor Mo Yan's dorm at the research institute. As soon as she had already reached the place, she tentatively knocked on the door. It didn't take a few seconds for it to swing open. "Classmate Ning, you're here," he said.
"Professor Mo Yan, I'm sorry to trouble you at this hour." She bowed her head apologetically.
"It's no problem." He smiled. "You're incredibly diligent. I like that about my students."
As he didn't have any classes to attend, he was dressed pretty casually today.
Wearing a casual shirt and a pair of jeans, he looked more like a student than a professor. His slender figure was far more emphasized under the tight clothing, but he didn't look too bothered by them.
"Why don't you have a seat?" He motioned her inside. "I apologize for size of my apartment. It's pretty small–"
"It's fine." She sat down on the sofa a little cautiously as she looked around the dormitory. It was around fifty square meters, so it really was small, but the place was incredibly clean. In fact, if it weren't for his presence, she wouldn't have realized it was a boy's dorm room.
"Hey." His voice sounded from the kitchen. "What do you like to drink?"
"There's really no need–"He simply smiled in reply. "But there's no 'no need' drinks here in the closet. I only have black tea and milk–is there something you'd prefer?"
"I...Just milk then." She flushed.
Professor Mo Yan grabbed the drink from the kitchen and a notebook from the coffee table. When he returned, he handed them both to Ning Qianyu with a grin. "Here you go," he started.
"Read the notebook first, and if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me directly, okay?" There was a pause before he regarded her even more cautiously. "We had an autopsy class yesterday too, but we could reserve that for another time."
Sure enough, as soon as he said the word 'autopsy', her right hand immediately started trembling. Her fingers shook as they slid across the pages, and his eyebrows raised up into the air.
So it really was related to that class.
Realization flashed in his eyes, and he changed the topic. "Hey, what university did you graduate from in the past?"
"City A Medical University," she answered truthfully."
"Oh! The Medical University–hey, it's a wonder that you've chosen to major in neurosurgery. Many women would've strayed away from the course," he admitted, leaning in closer.
"Well, perhaps they think that neurosurgery is boring." She smiled bitterly.
"Perhaps." 'What about you? Why are you studying neurosurgery? Why are you afraid of autopsies? Why do you even want to become a doctor?' He had initially wanted to ask, before dropping them totally. It still wasn't the right time to ask such personal questions.
Even then, he still had plans in digging them out. After all, Ning Qianyu was like a puzzle–one that had too many secrets, and he intended to figure them all out. For now, however, he stayed silent.
For the rest of the morning, she stared at the notes very seriously. If ever she had come across something that was vague or unclear, she'd immediately ask Mo Yan without any hesitation, which he appreciated.
The day passed quite quickly, and before they knew it, her class had already ended.
"Professor Mo Yan." She stood up, bowing her head. "Thank you so much for taking the time to teach me these lessons. I really appreciate it."
"I'm a professor. It's only my obligation to teach you." He glanced at his watch. "It's noon now. Want to get some lunch with me? I'm starving."
"I..." She paused.
Was she going to reject him? However, he had been kind enough to give her these supplementary lessons. It wouldn't be good if she rejected him. However, Mu Shengchen was still waiting for her to come back home...
What was she going to do then?
Seeing through her dilemma, he waved his hand. "If you need to do anything else, you can leave fir–"
"No," she interrupted. "I'll be fine. How about I'll treat you to a meal instead?"
"Oh." Mo Yan gazed up at her in surprise. He had assumed that she was going to refuse his request just now. He glanced at the way she was shuffling on the floor in discomfort, with one hand rubbing her other arm.
"Are you sure?" He cocked up an eyebrow.
"Of course." She nodded rapidly. "Just–let me make a phone call first."
"Sure. I'll pack first."
Ning Qianyu went outside the dormitory and took her phone out of her bag to call Mu Shengchen. It didn't even take a few seconds for him to answer. "Shengchen?" she asked slowly.
"Is your class over?" he asked lowly.
"I..." She swallowed carefully. How the heck was she going to tell him that she was going to have lunch with Professor Mo Yan? Her wrists twisted nervously as she gazed at the wall in front of her. "I..."
"Is something wrong?" He frowned.
"I...I'm going to have lunch with Professor Mo Yan." Mustering up the courage, she finally continued, "How about I'll bring you some lunch from there instead? What do you want to eat?"
There was silence from the other end before he finally responded, "No need."
"But–" The beep sounded, and she was immediately cut off. An uneasy feeling brewed in her stomach. Was he angry at her?
Suddenly, the door closed behind her, and she jumped–checking to see who it was. There, she saw Mo Yan glancing at her.
"Is something wrong?"
She shoved her phone into her bag. "Nothing's wrong..."
"Sure..." He stared at her carefully before asking, "So, where do you want to eat?"
Ning Qianyu smiled. "Anywhere, really."
"How about we go to Cloud Road? It's a Western restaurant," he explained. "The food there is amazing."
"Sure."