Lin Shuang went from Zhou Zheng’s place to clock in at the milk tea shop. Nana kept giving her meaningful little glances.

“What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

“No.” Nana’s smile carried a knowing edge. “Boss lady, your outfit’s the same as yesterday’s.”

“Can’t I wear the same outfit two days in a row?”

“You’ve never worn the same outfit two days running before.” Nana covered her face with her hands. “Oh my, I feel like I’ve uncovered some huge secret.”

Lin Shuang couldn’t help laughing herself, biting down on her thumbnail, and went outside to smoke with a smile.

Although they were boyfriend and girlfriend, the two of them had really gone straight to sleeping together, rushing the relationship’s development — so things were, in a way, a little delicate between them.

For instance, Lin Shuang had no wish for their relationship to progress any further than it already had.

Miao Cai, having finally recovered from her own wedding, had plenty of photos from the photographer that day, including one of Lin Shuang and Zhou Zheng together. Miao Cai sent it to Lin Shuang and asked her, “What exactly is the story with this new boyfriend of yours? He doesn’t look like your type at all.”

Lin Shuang gave her a general rundown of Zhou Zheng’s situation, and Miao Cai clicked her tongue. “You’ve gone and found yourself a good, upstanding man this time?”

Thinking back on it, Lin Shuang realized that indeed, no one like this had ever appeared in her circle before — she’d never once gone looking for any “stabilizing factor.”

“It’s just a relationship, passing the time,” she said offhandedly. “We agreed on it — just for fun, nothing long-term.”

“So what are you even getting out of it?” Miao Cai asked her. “Tired of feasting on gourmet cuisine, fancy a bowl of plain porridge for once?”

Lin Shuang gave a hum of agreement, sliding her freshly polished nails under the drying lamp. “I’m after his clean-cut looks, his gentle consideration, and how good he is in bed.”

“Wow~ that last one, elaborate please.” Miao Cai winked.

She pressed her lips together, suddenly recalling something, hiding a smile: “Go find your husband for your honeymoon.”

Zhang Fan, unable to fully set his mind at ease, thought it over and over, and decided to go to the milk tea shop to pry some information out of Lin Shuang.

But it wouldn’t do to go alone — that would be far too obvious.

After all, for a grown man like him to fuss this much over his buddy’s love life would come across as more than a little strange.

Zhang Fan rounded up a few colleagues he was friendly with and suggested they all go hang out at the milk tea shop together, planning to chat and steer the conversation toward Lin Shuang, probing her with a few sidelong questions.

When they arrived, it happened to be right after lunch, and the school had just rung the class bell — there were no students in the milk tea shop at this hour, the quietest time of day.

Nana and Kevin happened to be out.

But Zhou Zheng had come by at noon with a lunchbox, and had just finished eating lunch with Lin Shuang.

Zhou Zheng had upgraded the kitchen at home, switching to an automatic rice cooker and stew pot, and had even downloaded recipes. Most of the ingredients were prepped a day ahead, set to start automatically before he left in the morning, so that when he got out of class at noon, it would be perfectly timed for Lin Shuang’s lunch.

The two of them were chatting by the counter, Lin Shuang sitting cross-legged on a high stool, gripping the hem of his shirt, running a finger along his jawline, rubbing lightly against his skin.

His chin was very clean, smooth to the touch, though at certain other times Lin Shuang had felt a different, rougher texture there.

The doorbell went “ding-dong.”

The group walking in caught, right at that moment, the sight of Zhou Zheng standing there properly, Lin Shuang smiling and half-leaning against him, her fingertip hooking up under his chin.

Zhou Zheng lowered his head gently, his gaze soft beyond words.

The group froze; the air went still for a moment.

Each of them silently shouted “damn” in their own heads.

The two people in the shop turned their heads in unison. Lin Shuang raised an eyebrow and slid her chair back a meter, putting some distance between herself and Zhou Zheng.

She rose with a smile and walked around him. “Welcome.”

Zhou Zheng’s expression shifted slightly; his hand twitched, then finally slid into his pocket. Seeing his colleagues, he greeted them naturally: “Good afternoon.”

The whole group stood there dumbstruck, glancing at each other.

That scene just now…

What exactly had they just witnessed?

“What a coincidence.” Zhang Fan scratched his head, looking at Zhou Zheng, saying awkwardly, “We came by for something to drink — want to sit and chat with us…”

Zhou Zheng’s gaze was steady. “Sure.”

The atmosphere was distinctly odd. Someone stammered out, “Teacher Zhou, boss lady, is there… something going on between you two?”

Zhou Zheng said nothing, quietly waiting to see how Lin Shuang would respond.

She wore a bright smile, impossible to tell whether it was an acknowledgment or something else: “What a coincidence you’re all here today — tea’s on the house.”

After a bit of small talk, Lin Shuang retreated behind the counter, using the excuse of needing to brew ingredients in the back, leaving the explaining entirely to Zhou Zheng.

Admitting the relationship was one thing; stating a clear position on it was another matter entirely.

Yet Zhou Zheng, of all people, said very little, his expression far from smug, giving only a vague acknowledgment: “We got together over winter break.”

“Teacher Zhou, you really can’t judge a book by its cover — never showed the slightest sign of it before. How’d you manage to win over the boss lady?” someone said, half sour. “What move did you pull to land such a beauty?”

“Actually it’s been quite a while.” He shifted his gaze. “I met her last year at a blind date, and I’d been thinking about her ever since.”

Once caught by the school’s own teachers in such a suggestive moment, the romance spread through the teachers’ office in no time at all.

Zhou Zheng had always been upstanding and by-the-book at school, his teaching style consistently disciplined, and he came across as academically rigorous in every way — everyone had assumed that when he found a girlfriend, it would naturally be some quiet, gentle kindred spirit.

No one had expected him to end up tangled with the strikingly gorgeous boss lady who had suitors lining up after her.

The contrast really was quite something.

Xie Xiaomeng walked into the English department office and the first piece of gossip she heard was exactly this.

“So it turns out, no matter how refined and proper a man looks, no matter how upstanding he seems, deep down he’s still vulgar at heart — they all like the same type: pretty, alluring, the prettier and more alluring the better.”

“That’s exactly why they say men are all swayed by looks.”

“No wonder — the union set him up with so many potential matches before, and he was always so lukewarm about it. Turns out none of them ever hit the right spot for him.”

Xie Xiaomeng, only half convinced, went and tracked down Zhang Fan, got the full story out of him, and then, facing Zhang Fan, let out a mocking laugh: “There’s nothing much special about him, but he sure can hold back — and his taste turned out pretty good too.”

She ran into Zhou Zheng once at a meeting, brushing coldly past him. Zhou Zheng’s greeting caught halfway; Xie Xiaomeng turned back and said, in a cold, mocking tone:

“I used to think you at least had a bit of dignity as a man, not obsequious, not greedy. Turns out that’s not the case at all — swap in a different person and you can go groveling and lowering yourself just fine. Congratulations, Teacher Zhou — hard work really does pay off, successfully out of the singles’ pool.”

Zhou Zheng pressed his lips together, his expression dimming slightly.

Within just a few short days, Zhou Zheng’s former image among the female teachers had plummeted, while his standing among the male teachers had shot up — though opinions of him remained mixed.

In the teaching profession, this soul-shaping trade, people tended already to value the inner substance and character of a person above all else — but discovering that even one of its finer examples turned out to be “nothing special after all” brought with it a certain sense of disillusionment, even if there was nothing technically improper about his conduct.

Zhou Zheng had evening study four nights a week, with Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings free — on those three nights, Lin Shuang would naturally stay over at his place.

Compared to emotional resonance, she preferred physical resonance — the former could become addictive, the latter was replaceable.

Since she’d be staying over, Lin Shuang brought some changes of clothes over, and Zhou Zheng did some tidying up, clearing out half his closet for her.

“Is this really all the clothes you have?” Lin Shuang glanced at the closet. “Quite the minimalist.”

Lin Shuang spotted a familiar-looking blue shirt, picked it up, and asked him, “Where’d this shirt come from? Did you buy it?”

“There was a provincial meeting a couple years back — they handed these out as a group uniform.”

“Throw it out.” Lin Shuang tossed the shirt onto the sofa, her face full of disdain. “This kind of disposable outfit, only good for a photo — no need to keep it in the closet.”

Zhou Zheng went along without objection.

Lin Shuang suddenly remembered something and asked him: “That day of the blind date was a Saturday — why did you wear a dress shirt to meet me?”

Zhou Zheng sat on the sofa, rubbing his chin. “There was an open class that day, and the school wanted photos for the promotional board. I came straight over after class, no time to go home and change.”

Lin Shuang wrinkled her nose. “No wonder.”

“Was it… really that ugly? You actually found me distasteful that day, didn’t you?” he said flatly. “That day when we met, you looked me over first, frowned, and never looked me straight in the eye again afterward.”

“Not ugly, just not suited to you.” She still gave him a bit of face.

“Actually, no matter what I wear, you wouldn’t care either way.” He lowered his eyes, folding the shirt neatly.

“What you wear doesn’t matter at all.” She kissed his chin, cupping his face, her long hair falling over his shoulder, her words provocative. “It’s when you’re wearing nothing at all that I care the most.”

His expression stayed mild, even carrying a hint of weariness, sitting motionless on the sofa — until at last, unable to withstand her teasing, his throat bobbed, and he finally turned to peck her cheek.

Since she’d be staying over regularly, Lin Shuang decided not to hold back, planning to stock up on a batch of little odds and ends at Zhou Zheng’s place.

Zhou Zheng watched her go wild adding things to her cart, and held out his hand: “Give me your phone.”

“Hm?”

He took her phone and made some adjustments in her payment app: “From now on, purchases get charged to this account.”

After thinking it over, he pulled a card out of the drawer and gave it to her. “I changed the password to your birthday a couple days ago.”

Lin Shuang looked at it. “What’s this?”

“My bank card.”

She broke into a brilliant smile, holding the card in her hand: “How much is in there — enough for me to splurge?”

He thought about it seriously. “There’s some savings from the past couple of years — might not be a huge amount, but it should last you a good while.”

“So Teacher Zhou’s planning to keep me now?” she said lightly. “I’m expensive to keep — I don’t hold back when it comes to spending. Have you really thought this through? Don’t want to end up with nothing to show for it, right?”

Zhou Zheng stroked her hair. “I still have a salary card too. Keep this card — use it for shopping and errands… and if it’s not enough, just let me know.”

“Listening to the way Director Zhou talks, sounds like you’re planning to spare no expense for me, give me everything you’ve got.”

He gave a helpless laugh. “Sorry — those two things, given my current circumstances, I can’t quite manage yet. Just take it as satisfying a man’s vanity, will you?” He lowered his head. “I like spending my own money on the person I like.”

Lin Shuang, sitting on his lap, enthusiastically kissed the tip of his nose: “So what does my sugar daddy like? I’ll buy it and show you.”

“Anything’s fine.”

She was overjoyed, snuggling clingily against him, and the two of them moved from the sofa to the bed.

His movements suddenly stalled; he pressed his forehead to hers, grinding against her slowly and heavily. Unable to bear it, she scratched his shoulder.

The man’s voice turned hoarse, his lips pressed to her forehead: “Shuangshuang… in a couple of days I’ve got a badminton match with Zhang Fan and the others — do you want to come watch?”

Lin Shuang was in no mood to deal with it, and didn’t want to get distracted at this particular in-between moment, panting as she bit his lip: “After we’re done.”

He went along easily, stroking her flushed cheek in the dim candlelight, gathering up her scattered long hair, revealing her flawless, elegant neck and ear, kissing a trail of little bites from the back of her neck down to her earlobe. She trembled hard, her eyes brimming with a watery sheen, twisting her slender waist, glancing up at him, looking utterly pitiful.

“Are you coming or not?” His voice carried a note of coaxing temptation.

When the sugar daddy speaks, how could she refuse? Lin Shuang wrapped tightly around him: “Going, going, going, I’ll go.”