The next day, when Jiang Ling went to class, she wore the pink earrings. He Nan immediately noticed them when they went out and came closer to look, saying, “They’re really pretty.”

With He Nan, Jiang Ling didn’t experience the inexplicable shyness she had felt the night before. She confidently winked and boasted, “Xu Zhilin gave them to me.”

“Professor Xu has good taste. He’s experienced with women and has given many gifts.”

Jiang Ling made a motion to hit her, glaring, “Your mouth just can’t produce anything valuable!”

He Nan smiled, “No, no, I was wrong. But was it true what you said last time about your Professor Xu kissing a woman?”

Jiang Ling’s previous anger subsided. She pulled out a chair and sat down, tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Actually, from my angle, I’m not sure if Xu Zhilin kissed her, but that woman kissed him!”

Jiang Ling slapped the table with a “pah.”

He Nan asked, “Was it a kiss on the lips or the cheek?”

“On the cheek.”

“That’s nothing.” He Nan rolled her eyes. “We’re not in China. A kiss on the cheek is no big deal.”

Jiang Ling rested her face in her hands and looked at her without speaking. If it had been a blonde, blue-eyed foreign beauty, that would have been one thing, but this was a black-eyed, black-haired beauty.

She felt uncomfortable inside but was too embarrassed to directly ask Xu Zhilin about it.

The hand she had injured while playing archery had almost healed. She had a bandage on it, and it still hurt a bit when pressed, but otherwise it didn’t bother her anymore.

Jiang Ling tore off the bandage from her index finger, then went to the cabinet under the TV and rummaged through it to find the box of bandages she had bought earlier. She took out a fresh one and wrapped it around her finger.

She shook her head, trying to forget the conversation she’d just had with He Nan.

She had somewhere to go today.

There was a teacher-student basketball game at Xu Zhilin’s university today, and Xu Zhilin was participating. In high school, Jiang Ling had seen him playing basketball with some male students during physical education class.

She didn’t understand basketball, but judging by the cheers around her at the time, he must have been quite good.

She took a taxi to the basketball court at the neighboring university. People were packed in several layers, both inside and outside—male students watching the game and female students taking photos, creating a true university basketball game atmosphere.

Jiang Ling squeezed into the crowd with a bottle of water she had just bought outside.

Although the teachers’ team all looked quite young—probably around Xu Zhilin’s age—they could still be clearly distinguished from the student team.

Jiang Ling’s impression of Xu Zhilin was still largely from high school days—a man standing at the podium with chalk, meticulously explaining math problems, or his current casual, indifferent demeanor.

So seeing him like this now gave her a sense of novelty.

The man stood on the court wearing a red jersey. His movements were skillful and cool as he bent over to dribble, hair falling over his forehead, not at all outshone among the group.

He controlled the ball with a nearly 2-meter-tall student blocking him. According to the spectators’ discussions, the student was a member of the school team.

Jiang Ling tightly gripped her water bottle. In the next moment, Xu Zhilin quickly turned, stepped forward to break through the defense, and leaped into the air. His wrist pressed down, and the ball was thrown in a beautiful parabolic arc.

Three-pointer in!

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Xu Zhilin stepped back to just outside the half-court line: “Defend!”

Jiang Ling’s heart pounded. It was as if she had traveled through time to see Teacher Xu from the past. She scanned the other players on the court but inevitably returned her attention to Xu Zhilin’s movements.

Toward the end of the first quarter, Xu Zhilin was knocked down while jumping up for a block.

His shoes made a sharp scraping sound against the green basketball court, followed by a chorus of concerned gasps. Jiang Ling frowned as she looked over. The court was cordoned off, and spectators couldn’t enter.

Since the teacher-student game was just a friendly match, as soon as Xu Zhilin fell, everyone instinctively paused the game and gathered around him.

Xu Zhilin waved his hand, pushed himself up from the ground, and stood again, his left foot barely touching the floor without putting weight on it.

At the end of the first quarter, Xu Zhilin looked around, found Jiang Ling, and smiled at her. He grabbed a clean towel and walked over to her.

Jiang Ling noticed that his leg still seemed a bit off as he approached. She supported him and asked with a frown, “Is your leg okay?”

“It’s fine.” Xu Zhilin sat directly on the ground, pressing his hand against his ankle. “It won’t affect anything.”

Jiang Ling crouched in front of him, her hands resting on her knees. Because of this sudden accident, her attention was completely focused on his leg, not even noticing the gazes from people around them.

Xu Zhilin took the bottle of water from her hand. “Is this for me?”

“Yes.”

He tilted his head back and took several large gulps.

Not long after the second quarter began, Xu Zhilin earned a free throw opportunity.

Jiang Ling stood behind the basket, directly facing Xu Zhilin who was behind the free throw line. She looked at him and, together with everyone else, called out his name loudly.

Xu Zhilin’s hand, which had been bouncing the ball, stopped. He caught the ball, looked up at her.

Suddenly, he took another step back, raised an eyebrow at Jiang Ling, jumped, pressed his wrist down, and the ball went in.

Holy crap!

Jiang Ling was stunned.

Even by the end of the second quarter, Jiang Ling hadn’t recovered from that single raised eyebrow.

Xu Zhilin had indeed twisted his foot a bit in the first quarter. It wasn’t serious, but it was still difficult for a sport like basketball.

Since it was just a friendly game played for fun, Xu Zhilin didn’t want to push himself to the point of injury. After the second quarter ended, he walked to the side and called another teacher on his phone.

Jiang Ling stood on the other side watching them talk for a while. Then Xu Zhilin picked up his jacket from the side and walked over to her.

“Let’s go,” he said, stopping in front of Jiang Ling.

Jiang Ling looked up at him. “You’re not playing anymore?”

“No, I called another teacher to replace me.” He quite naturally put his arm around her shoulders and led her out of the circle of people. “Are you hungry?”

Jiang Ling almost instantly heard the rising murmurs around them.

She sighed helplessly and said with a fake smile, “Professor Xu, if you keep treating me like this, the students at your school will think we have some unspeakable relationship.”

“Really?” Xu Zhilin replied nonchalantly. “That’s my intention.”

Jiang Ling was stunned for a moment, then decided not to be awkward anymore. She smiled, leaning back slightly, and then wrapped an arm around Xu Zhilin’s waist from behind. Leaning closer, she said in a lowered voice, “Then I won’t hold back either.”

The man had just finished exercising. His shirt had the scent of shower gel emanating from it, and his body was very warm.

After encircling his waist, Jiang Ling’s hand touched his firm muscles, which triggered sudden flashes in her mind of that night—images she thought she had forgotten.

Her palm felt as if it had been scalded, and she quickly let go.

Xu Zhilin noticed her action and looked down at her. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, but he said nothing.

They drove back to Xu Zhilin’s home.

Jiang Ling vaguely felt that this development process was a bit strange. What kind of courtship involved frequently going to the man’s house for meals? Even if they were to have meals together, they should be at restaurants.

“Wait,” Jiang Ling thought it seemed more and more odd. “Why are we going to your place again? Why do you always bring me to your home?!”

Xu Zhilin glanced at her calmly and said, “Didn’t you say my cooking is better than the Chinese restaurant’s?”

Jiang Ling: “…”

Xu Zhilin added, “At my place, I’ll cook for you.”

Jiang Ling compromised with a nod, saying seriously, “Alright.”

After a moment, she leaned over to look at Xu Zhilin’s leg and asked, “Are you okay to drive?”

“I’m fine,” Xu Zhilin said as he drove out. “I just can’t continue playing basketball. Besides, it’s good to leave early with so many people around.”

Jiang Ling smiled, “You, the famous star professor, aren’t used to having that many people around?”

“I’m used to it,” Xu Zhilin glanced at her, saying calmly, “After all, people were taking photos of me with cameras back at No. 1 Middle School.”

“…” Jiang Ling pursed her lips. “Teacher Xu, if you keep talking like that, it won’t be fun anymore.”

Xu Zhilin laughed quite happily.

Once home, Xu Zhilin went into the kitchen. By now, Jiang Ling was familiar with his place—first time a stranger, second time an acquaintance, third time like her own home. She followed him into the kitchen, and though she couldn’t cook, she helped wash the vegetables. After finishing, she stood beside him, watching.

Xu Zhilin had tied an apron around his waist, accentuating his narrow waistline. He kept his head down as the kitchen light shone from above, making his bangs look translucent, turning them tawny, creating a warm and romantic atmosphere.

A serious man is the most handsome; a man seriously cooking is even more handsome; a man seriously cooking Chinese food is the most handsome in the universe.

Jiang Ling watched as he skillfully made several cuts on the fish, then sprinkled green onions and ginger slices to marinate it, his movements experienced.

“Would you like fish soup or fried fish?” Xu Zhilin asked.

“Fish soup,” Jiang Ling replied, adding rather fastidiously, “Can you make it that milky white fish soup? My mom used to make it that way. I loved it—it’s super delicious.”

Xu Zhilin smiled. “Sure.”

Jiang Ling stood aside, watching as he poured oil into the wok, which made a slight sizzling sound. Feeling a bit afraid, she stepped back and leaned against the nearby cabinet to watch him work.

“Will searing it like this make milky white fish soup?”

“Yes,” Xu Zhilin said. “You’re quite good. While teaching Chinese as a foreign language, you could also learn to spread Chinese cuisine.”

“I don’t want to learn,” Jiang Ling frowned, looking at the oily wok. “It’s too scary. If that oil splashes on my face, I’ll be disfigured.”

Xu Zhilin replied naturally, “That’s fine. I can make most Chinese dishes anyway.”

Jiang Ling thought Xu Zhilin was simply too smooth. Just this casual remark made her heart suddenly race.

She began to believe what He Nan had said—he was an old fox.

An old, cunning, almost-thirty fox at that.

When the dishes were ready, Xu Zhilin carried them to the dining table, and Jiang Ling followed with chopsticks and bowls.

Though Jiang Ling wasn’t good at cooking, she was extremely skilled at complimenting people. After just a few bites, she was praising him effusively, completely won over.

Xu Zhilin had noticed early on that this girl was best at avoiding work. Fortunately, her sweet words made people like her. Her stream of praise eliminated any irritation the busy cook might have felt, and instead made them happy to have worked hard.

Of course, Jiang Ling’s appreciation wasn’t just verbal—she showed through her actions just how delicious Xu Zhilin’s meal was.

Before long, the dishes were nearly empty.

Jiang Ling put down her chopsticks, feeling so full she could barely stand up.

“You’re amazing. Do all you geniuses find everything so easy?”

Xu Zhilin: “It’s not that hard. Cooking isn’t very difficult.”

Jiang Ling looked up and glared at him. “That statement alone is a merciless lashing to the intelligence of ordinary people like us.”

Just as she finished speaking, the doorbell rang.

Xu Zhilin put down his chopsticks, frowned slightly at the door, seemingly wondering who would be looking for him at this hour. After a moment, he got up to answer.

As soon as the door opened, a woman’s lively voice floated in.

“Oh my, I’m seeking refuge,” the woman said in standard Mandarin.

Xu Zhilin blocked most of her from view, but Jiang Ling could see black long hair with beautifully curled ends draped over her chest, and a red dress that accentuated her fair skin.

Jiang Ling:?

The woman lifted her suitcase and immediately added, “Let me stay here for one night, will you?”

Jiang Ling: ????