"Li Na?" he called softly.
"Li Jun," a soft sob, "Just a moment."
Sighing, he hesitatingly pushed the door open and walked inside, surprised to find her sitting on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest and her phone thrown carelessly at her side. When she saw him she tried to avert her gaze as she wiped her tears away with the back of her arm.
"What's wrong?" he asked, walking carefully towards her bed as he knelt in front of it and pushed a wet strand of hair behind her ear.
"I've just had a very bad day and want to get some sleep now," she mumbled, sounding truly miserable.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, turning to grab a mug from the set of mugs and kettle that was placed at her desk at her bedside, he proceed and poured her a hot cup of tea. As she sat there, resting her chin on her knees.
She shrugged.
"I received a call from the nanny who took care of me when I was a child; she told me that my dad had an accident. Then, I called the hospital to confirm it, later when I was trying to serve the tea to you; I received a call from the hospital that he is in a very critical condition".
"Despite everything, I tried calling my mother but she didn't pick up the call and she went ahead blacklist me from her phone. Though this is not the first time she's doing it" she said, sniffling.
'Gosh! I feel frustrated. He's my father. She's my mother, why can't she put aside her grudge with me? How can she be so controlling?" she cried.
Li Jun didn't believe that a mother could hold resentment toward her daughter for that long, but he kept quiet.
So for a few minutes, he didn't say anything as he held up one of the extra-large fluffy towel that was thrown at her side haphazardly. She gave him a small trembling smile as she stood up and allowed him to hold her trembling hands.
"Why don't you sit right here?" he said softly, leading her over to the loveseat which was in the sitting room.
Worrying her bottom lip even as more tears streamed down her beautiful face she gave him a reluctant nod.
Li Na sat on the chair, looking so damn miserable that it made his chest ache. Shoving away useless feelings that wouldn't help either one of them out,
"When was the last time you've eaten?" He asked her as he walked toward the refrigerator which was literally empty except for two bottles of water.
"Here," he said, passing her one of the bottles.
"I'm not thirsty," she said with a small shake of her head.
He simply ignored her refusal and pressed it into her hand.
"Li Na you can't just sit down here and allow your father's condition or your mother's antagonism disturbs you. Professor, you need to cheer up. The professor I know is a strong woman who is passionate about what she does." He said gently
"Despite your father's negligence toward you, you still care about him and loved him. That's a strength that is hard to find because I would have disliked him and not care about his wellbeing at all. You don't have to be down nor have a negative thought about his health. Cheer up and calm down, you need to think about what is the next line of action"
After been consoled by Li Jun, Li Na calmed down and realized that she was a mess in front of her student. Working through her embarrassment, Li Na was grateful that he was here to console her.
"I'm sorry about the tea. I'd offer you lunch but I don't keep much food in this place "she admitted reluctantly as she stood up from the seat.
'Yeah, I noticed that. But it will be a good excuse to ask you out for lunch" he muttered undeniably.
She cleared her throat and looked at him, "When was the last time you had a steak? She asked softly.
Li Jun chuckled and shook his head. He couldn't remember, he had not eaten since yesterday because he was busy with work at the company.
"Well, how about we go out and have one tonight. I'm starving, and you're joining me for Lunch." She said halfheartedly.
Seeing how her complexion was getting rosy, He allowed himself the luxury of a small but wicked smile. "Are you sure, Professor? I thought I am your student and students aren't allowed to go on a date with their professor"
She reddened slightly. "Come on, this is not a date, I'm taking you out to thank you for bringing me back to my house. Never mind about that now. Let's just go" she waved her hand while trying to pack up the mug to the kitchenette.
Coughing, Li Jun's eyes wandered to her clothes, resting perhaps a little too long on the curves of her lovely bosom. Li Na lowered her gaze. "I could change."
"That would be best." He said hoarsely.
She looked up at him, In that instant, he grinned at her bashfully and she found herself smiling back despite herself.
She really was very pretty when she smiled. He would have to see to it that she smiled more often, Li Jun thought.
"I'll wait for you here." Not wishing to give her a chance to change her suggestion for Lunch.
Inside her closet, Li Na closed her eyes and groaned. She didn't know what had propelled her to behave in such a way, but she was about to be caught in a disaster of epic proportions.
Crying in her student's arms and then allowing him into her apartment. Now she was about to take Li Jun for Lunch, for steak, no less. If that didn't violate the non-fraternization policy set up by the university, she didn't know what would.
She took a long and cleansing breath and went ahead to change her dress.
Li Jun paced the room for a few minutes, then leaned up against a wall and scrubbed at his face with his hands. After some minutes he stopped pacing about the room as soon as he heard footsteps from inside her closet.
Professor Li Na opened her door and stood eyes little bit lively, she was in a simple but elegant turtle-necked black shirt and jeans.
Li Jun's eyes raked over her gentle curves and down to her surprisingly long and very shapely legs. And her shoes…she couldn't have known this, but Li Jun had a thing for women in exquisite high-heeled shoes. He swallowed noisily as he took in her breathtaking and obviously designer black stilettos. Li Jun wanted to touch them…
"Ahem." Li Na coughed slightly, and he hesitantly dragged his eyes up from her shoes to her face. She was staring at him with an amused expression.