The elevator had already reached her floor, the double doors opened, but Zhu Wenshu stood frozen, not moving, her eyes still fixed on the now-dark phone screen.

Was this Ling Chen asking her out on a date?

Zhu Wenshu was suddenly startled by the word “date” that had popped into her head.

But those two words were like a spark, gradually catching fire in the air, burning until Zhu Wenshu’s cheeks grew hot and her heart raced.

After a good while, Ling Chen, probably noticing she hadn’t replied for so long, sent another question mark.

Zhu Wenshu steadied her nerves and replied with one character.

[Zhu Wenshu]: Yes

Then, with hesitation and nervousness, she added another character.

[Zhu Wenshu]: I guess

The elevator doors closed again, already starting to descend.

But Zhu Wenshu didn’t notice at all, staring intently at her phone, watching “the other person is typing” at the top of the WeChat conversation box.

A few seconds later.

[c]: It’s Ling Siyuan’s birthday, want to invite Teacher to a meal.

The air that had been searing hot just a moment ago felt as if a basin of cold water had suddenly been poured over her head.

[c]: Are you free?

[c]: If not, never mind.

[Zhu Wenshu]: I’m free…

[c]: Saturday evening at seven, just at home, not many people.

[Zhu Wenshu]: Oh, okay.

If it weren’t for her devotion to the teaching profession, Zhu Wenshu thought, she should have gone into acting instead.

Not winning an Oscar for Best Actress would be an insult to all the drama she’d added to this for herself.

She let out a long breath, looked up, and saw the elevator had already descended to the first floor.

Pressing the button for her floor again, Zhu Wenshu hung her head, engaging in some deep self-reflection.

It must be because she’d been single too long—this habit of overthinking things needed to be corrected.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed again.

[c]: Should I come pick you up then?

Zhu Wenshu, like a startled bird by now, treated every word Ling Chen sent with great caution.

[Zhu Wenshu]: You want to come pick me up?

After a good while.

[c]: Not out of the question.

Zhu Wenshu: “…”

She frowned, took a deep breath before typing.

[Zhu Wenshu]: That’s not what I meant.

Ling Chen didn’t dwell on this small matter with her.

[c]: Sleep early.

Right.

Zhu Wenshu thought, she really should just go wash up and sleep early—

Perhaps out of some guilty conscience, by Saturday, Zhu Wenshu had deliberately dressed very plainly.

No makeup, simple clothes. She’d just picked up a few children’s books at the bookstore downstairs as a gift.

“Children’s books again?”

The bookstore cashier was fairly familiar with Zhu Wenshu by now, and seeing no other customers around, chatted with her. “A lot of new books came in, want to take a look?”

The new books were displayed on the showcase table by the entrance. Zhu Wenshu glanced at them briefly, found nothing of interest, and headed out with her bag.

She’d only walked a few steps when her phone suddenly buzzed with a new message.

[c]: Home?

Zhu Wenshu thought, she was at the bookstore by her building’s gate—did that count as home?

[Zhu Wenshu]: Yes, what’s up?

[c]: I’m about to head home, I’ll swing by to pick you up.

Zhu Wenshu, thinking of all the drama she’d added yesterday, felt a bit embarrassed and figured she’d better not trouble him.

But before she could get around to declining, Ling Chen’s next message had already arrived.

[c]: Already downstairs from your place.

Huh? So fast?

Zhu Wenshu immediately looked left and right, not seeing Ling Chen’s car.

[c]: Turn around.

She turned around, and sure enough, saw Ling Chen’s van parked by the roadside at the corner.

“…”

Well, there was no getting out of it now.

Though there weren’t many people on the road at this hour, Zhu Wenshu still cautiously looked around before climbing into the car.

The weather had already turned cold, some pedestrians already wearing down jackets, while Ling Chen, probably spending very little time outdoors, wore only a light gray hoodie.

His hair had grown a bit longer again. He was leaning against his seat now, head slightly bowed, his hair falling just over his brow, making his eye sockets look even deeper.

Zhu Wenshu had heard people say that people with deep-set eyes naturally give off a look brimming with tenderness.

Just then Ling Chen turned his head to look over, half his face hidden in the dim daylight, only those eyes carrying an especially soft, lingering quality.

So Zhu Wenshu felt her foolish infatuation couldn’t entirely be blamed on her.

Sometimes Ling Chen didn’t even need to do anything—just one look was enough to make people read too much into things.

“Sigh.”

Zhu Wenshu let out a soft sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

She hadn’t expected Ling Chen’s hearing to be this good, and hurriedly lowered her head to fasten her seatbelt, saying quietly, “Nothing, just feeling a bit cold.”

Ling Chen glanced at the cashmere coat wrapped around her, then turned to instruct the driver to turn on the heat.

Feeling she seemed a bit off today, Ling Chen glanced at her several times out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t notice anything unusual about her.

After a while, a phone rang in the quiet car.

Zhu Wenshu glanced at it—it was Shi Xue’er calling.

“Hello?”

Zhu Wenshu picked up. “What’s up?”

“Teacher Zhu, do you have plans tonight?”

There was some noise in the background on Shi Xue’er’s end, as if she were out on the street. “Want to come out for hotpot?”

“Not tonight.”

Zhu Wenshu meant to say she had something on today, while thinking to herself, why does this Shi Xue’er look for her every week, doesn’t she have a date with Zhu Qisen?

Her mouth slipped, and it came out as—

“I have a date today.”

The moment those words left her mouth, the air in the car seemed to suddenly freeze.

Zhu Wenshu sucked in a sharp breath of cold air straight to the crown of her head, not daring to turn her head to see the reaction of the man beside her.

“Huh? A date, haha, okay, okay.”

Shi Xue’er laughed heartily. “Have fun then, Teacher Zhu~ We’ll make plans another time.”

Until the dial tone sounded in her ear, Zhu Wenshu never once tilted her head, maintaining her forward gaze the entire time, slowly lowering her phone.

Several seconds passed, and the man beside her still hadn’t moved. Zhu Wenshu herself couldn’t sit still anymore and stealthily turned her head to look at him.

The moment she did, their eyes met unexpectedly.

His gaze shifted several times along with the flowing dim daylight.

Zhu Wenshu couldn’t quite understand what his eyes were trying to express, only felt uncomfortable all over being stared at like this, and then heard him say.

“If you want to treat today as a date,”

He paused. “I have no objection.”

“…”

Zhu Wenshu stiffly turned her head away, forcing the corners of her mouth into a dry smile. “I actually… have a second event tonight too.”

“Oh.”

Ling Chen sat back, leaning loosely against the seat, saying heavily, “You’re quite busy then.”

“It’s alright.”

Not hearing Ling Chen say anything more, Zhu Wenshu cleared her throat and brought up a topic to shift the mood in the car.

“Who’s going to be there today?”

“A few of my brother’s friends.”

Ling Chen said, “And two kids around the same age coming to play.”

Sounds fine, just an ordinary birthday party.

Zhu Wenshu nodded. “Just having a meal at home, right?”

“That’s right.”

Ling Chen turned his head, saying word by word, “Don’t worry, it won’t delay Teacher Zhu’s date.”

Zhu Wenshu: “…”—

Over the years, many parents had worked hard to build good relationships with teachers, inviting them over for holidays or their children’s birthdays.

This was nothing new—Zhu Wenshu often heard other teachers in the office talk about such things, so she treated this as just an ordinary birthday dinner, especially since it was just at home.

But as soon as she walked in the door—

The place looked no different from usual, except the table was covered in cakes and snacks, and the TV wall was plastered with a bunch of colorful balloons.

As for those guests sitting in the living room watching TV…

Why did they all look like people she could only usually see on TV?

Zhu Wenshu stood frozen at the door, looking them over one by one.

Besides a few household-name actors and children’s channel hosts sitting on the sofa, there were also two or three newly popular idol-show singers playing with Ling Siyuan and two other children in the living room.

“Teacher!”

Ling Siyuan was the first in the room to spot Zhu Wenshu. Wearing a birthday-boy hat on his head and dressed as Captain America, he excitedly waved at her.

Everyone in the living room turned to look over.

In an instant, Zhu Wenshu’s legs went numb.

What does it feel like to be stared at by a group of celebrities?

Zhu Wenshu couldn’t put it into words—she just felt like she was dreaming.

She turned her head blankly to look at Ling Chen, her eyes clearly asking a question.

—Why didn’t you tell me these were the guests?

Ling Chen shrugged, the meaning in his eyes equally clear.

—I said they were my brother’s friends, is there a problem?

No problem.

Zhu Wenshu just felt that, if she’d known, she really should have dressed up properly today!

So, under the gaze of a room full of celebrities, she walked step by step toward the living room, handing the gift in her hands to Ling Siyuan.

“Yuanyuan, happy birthday.”

“Thank you, Teacher!”

Seeing that what she’d given him was books, Ling Siyuan’s smile faded by half. “Teacher, please sit.”

“Okay…”

Sit where? Zhu Wenshu looked back—sit between those two hosts, or next to the actors?

Just as she stood there frozen, someone suddenly caught hold of her wrist hanging by her leg.

Very lightly, not even gripping tight, just loosely hooked around it—Ling Chen led her to the sofa, then let go.

“Sit here first, I’ll go pour some water.”

His voice wasn’t loud, and the few guests on the sofa didn’t pay much attention to Zhu Wenshu either, just nodding politely at her.

Instead, a woman in her thirties sitting nearby, noticing Zhu Wenshu’s discomfort, patted the seat beside her invitingly. “Teacher, come sit here.”

Zhu Wenshu had just been watching this actress’s drama a few days ago, and hearing her speak to her now, felt her whole body floating, completely failing to notice the small gesture Ling Chen made with his hand.

She just stared at the female star, eyes shining, nodding. “Okay, thank you.”

Just as she sat down, Ling Xingyan, who’d been busy in the kitchen, poked his head out.

“You’re here? Sit, rest for a bit.”

Just then, a young man came out from the hallway, staring at Zhu Wenshu for a few moments.

Zhu Wenshu felt this gaze and turned around, finding the person somewhat familiar.

Looking closely, she suddenly remembered.

Wasn’t this Ye Shaoxing, whom her colleagues had been discussing in their group chat just a few days ago?

After a brief exchange of glances, Ye Shaoxing turned and saw Ling Chen pour a cup of hot water, and before handing it to Zhu Wenshu, tap the side of the cup with his index finger, seemingly checking the temperature.

Actually, he’d just seen Ling Chen holding Zhu Wenshu’s hand as he walked over when he came out of the bathroom, and seeing him doing all this now, asked, “Chen-ge, is this your girlfriend?”

Zhu Wenshu almost failed to catch the water Ling Chen handed her, the awkward feeling of foolish infatuation from last night instantly spreading through her whole body.

“No, no,” she hurriedly denied. “I’m Ling Siyuan’s homeroom teacher.”

“Just came by for a meal, is all.”

Ling Chen glanced at Ye Shaoxing, then set the water on the table, “And she’s got a date to go on tonight.”

Zhu Wenshu: “…”

Just as neither Zhu Wenshu nor Ye Shaoxing knew how to respond, Ling Siyuan raised both hands. “This is our exceptionally elegant, naturally-beautiful, number one beauty of Jiangcheng Experimental Elementary School, Teacher Zhu!”

Zhu Wenshu: “…”

Please, stop talking!

Then Ling Siyuan’s arm swung, pointing straight at Ling Chen.

“My uncle isn’t even good enough for her!”

The child’s words instantly drew all the guests’ attention. Everyone turned to look at Zhu Wenshu and Ling Chen together, teasing amusement in their eyes.

No one took it seriously, just thinking it was a child’s innocent remark.

But Zhu Wenshu couldn’t just let it pass, and thinking again of her foolish infatuation from last night, she flushed red all the way to her ears.

“Yuan—”

Just as she was about to tell Ling Siyuan not to say such things, Ling Chen suddenly spoke.

“That’s right.”

He agreed with what Ling Siyuan had said.

While Zhu Wenshu stood frozen, he turned to look at her too, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

“So who’s the one not good enough for who tonight?”