“Teacher, I’ve finished reciting it.”

Ling Siyuan tilted his upper body to look at Zhu Wenshu. “Teacher?”

“Oh? Okay.”

Zhu Wenshu patted his shoulder. “Then head home early with your uncle.”

As she spoke, she handed the phone back, but didn’t look at its owner.

She was afraid that if she glanced at him even once more, she wouldn’t be able to hide the thoughts in her heart, and Ling Chen would see through her foolish infatuation.

Only after the weight left her hand did Zhu Wenshu turn to tidy the desk.

“Your hair’s gotten a bit long. Remember to trim it when you have time—covering your eyes will affect your vision.”

“Okay.”

Ling Chen answered for Ling Siyuan, picked up his backpack, took two steps, then suddenly turned back and asked, “Coming with us?”

Zhu Wenshu, who had just finished packing and was also preparing to head home, paused.

“Coming… out together?”

“Mm.”

Ling Chen raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t your home on Guanghua Road? I’ll give you a ride.”

Zhu Wenshu thought about it and said, “That… I haven’t had dinner yet.”

“Oh, alright.”

Just as Zhu Wenshu breathed a sigh of relief, she heard him say, “Then how about we get dinner together while we’re at it?”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

Zhu Wenshu pointed at the school gate downstairs. “I’m planning to eat out. I won’t be joining you two.”

“Okay.”

Ling Chen lowered his head and tugged at Ling Siyuan’s arm. “Let’s go home. Teacher doesn’t want to come with us.”

Huh?

Could it be interpreted that way too?

“That’s not it.”

Afraid the child would overthink it, Zhu Wenshu hurried to explain, “I just…”

Ling Chen raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze deep and heavy, his pupils reflecting amber in the light.

Every time she saw him like this, Zhu Wenshu always felt this tall man carried a sense of fragility about him. Just like when they’d unexpectedly reunited at their house months ago—he had stood in the dim light in just the same way.

“I’m worried about getting photographed like at the sports meet.”

Zhu Wenshu added quietly, “The photos turned out so ugly.”

“Ugly?”

Ling Chen blurted out, “Weren’t they all quite good-looking?”

He spoke too fast, and there was still unguarded astonishment in his eyes.

The reaction was so pure that Zhu Wenshu didn’t have time to think it over—she immediately believed he genuinely thought she looked good in those photos.

In that instant, the thought Zhu Wenshu had suppressed came surging back.

Was she… really just being foolishly infatuated?

The two of them stared at each other inexplicably, neither saying anything more.

Until the wind blew the door behind them, making it creak and sway.

Ling Chen’s gaze gradually withdrew amid the shifting light and shadow.

Zhu Wenshu saw his Adam’s apple move slightly, as if he was about to say something.

“Then, then let’s go.”

Zhu Wenshu abruptly picked up her bag and stood, darting a few steps to stand in front of Ling Chen—

The campus after school was very quiet, with only a few upperclassmen running across the plaza.

Zhu Wenshu walked faster than usual, putting some distance between herself and Ling Chen and Ling Siyuan behind her.

She occasionally turned back to glance at them.

The tall one held the small one’s hand, walking at an unhurried pace. When their eyes met hers, they said nothing.

The three of them dawdled their way to the school gate, and Zhu Wenshu saw that familiar black car again—it seemed to be the same one Ling Chen had driven to her building last time.

The car lights flashed, and behind her, Ling Chen unlocked it.

Zhu Wenshu looked around, saw nothing unusual, but hesitated when she opened the back door.

The child would obviously sit in the back, but if she also sat in the back, wouldn’t that be a bit impolite?

After a moment’s thought, she went to the front passenger seat instead.

As soon as she sat down, Ling Siyuan also obediently climbed into the back seat.

Ling Chen got in last.

Closing the car door, he took off his mask and lowered his head to fasten his seatbelt, asking at the same time, “What do you want to eat?”

Zhu Wenshu was about to say anything was fine when Ling Siyuan in the back excitedly said, “KFC!”

Ling Chen turned to look at him.

Did I ask you?

“Fried chicken! Sundae cups!” Ling Siyuan said happily, waving his arms about. “I haven’t eaten it in so long. Auntie Xiao won’t let me eat fried food.”

Ling Chen looked at Zhu Wenshu.

“What about you?”

“Whatever’s fine.”

Zhu Wenshu said, “I’ll go along with whatever the host decides.”

Ling Chen said “oh,” then took out his phone and started fiddling with it.

From the looks of it, he’d agreed.

Zhu Wenshu turned her head to look out the window, sighing softly.

They’d said they were having dinner together—who would actually go eat KFC?

A few minutes later, he tossed his phone into the center console and started the car.

The scenery along the road rushed past, and Zhu Wenshu was silent for a good while before realizing Ling Chen was driving a bit fast.

“Slow down.” Zhu Wenshu reminded him, “There’s a child in the back, and it’s not like we’re in a rush to eat KFC.”

Ling Chen didn’t respond, only pressing his lips together with his head tilted.

But the car’s speed did slow down eventually.

Zhu Wenshu continued looking out the window, her gaze sweeping past the rows of tall buildings.

The more she looked, the more this road seemed familiar somehow.

Just as she was puzzling over it, the car stopped.

Zhu Wenshu looked at the residential complex gate beside them, turning her head in confusion.

Before she could speak, she heard Ling Chen say to the person in the back, “You can go home now.”

“Huh?”

Ling Siyuan blinked. “Weren’t you taking me to eat KFC?”

“Go home and do your homework.”

Ling Chen jutted his chin at him. “I’ve ordered takeout for you, go eat it yourself.”

The seven-year-old’s face was full of confusion, but seeing his uncle’s brook-no-argument look, he didn’t dare say anything more, and could only shoulder his backpack and get out of the car.

Ling Siyuan walked toward the complex gate, looking back every few steps, and Zhu Wenshu also watched him worriedly.

Not until he passed through the electronic gate did Zhu Wenshu look away.

When she looked back at the other person in the car, she saw that he hadn’t watched the child in with the same concern she had—instead he was bent over his phone again, tinkering with it.

After waiting several minutes and still not seeing him start driving, Zhu Wenshu couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”

Ling Chen didn’t look up.

“Picking a restaurant.”

“Oh…”

Zhu Wenshu responded softly, slowly turning her face away, her gaze landing on the window edge, staring blankly at that black line.

She was long past being an innocent young girl unfamiliar with the world—she’d encountered all sorts of men in both her studies and work.

Where would a man just casually drop off a child and leave a solitary man and woman alone together for no reason? Her relationship with the man in front of her wasn’t close enough to have become dining companions either.

But because he was Ling Chen, that Ling Chen who commanded the attention of millions, Zhu Wenshu’s suspicions could only remain suspicions—she even felt these thoughts belonged only in fantasy scenarios.

After a while, he’d apparently finished choosing. Ling Chen put down his phone and restarted the car.

Dusk slowly descended amid the traffic, and neither of them spoke. The warm air from the heater circulated silently, making the temperature inside the car rise higher and higher.

Zhu Wenshu looked at her phone for a bit, then fiddled with the ends of her hair, her whole being wrapped in a chaotic, uneasy atmosphere, unable to sit calmly and composedly in the passenger seat.

When the car stopped at a red light, Ling Chen, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke.

“Teacher Zhu.”

His voice was as low as usual, but because of the small enclosed space of the car, the magnetic quality in his tone was amplified many times over, like an electric current grating pleasantly on the ear.

Zhu Wenshu raised her eyes to look straight ahead.

“Mm?”

Ling Chen: “Doesn’t your school not allow parents to privately treat teachers to meals?”

Zhu Wenshu had only said that at the time to fob off Lu Zixi’s older brother.

Ling Chen wasn’t really a proper parent either—properly speaking, they should really be called high school classmates.

“That’s true, actually…”

Ling Chen: “Then you’re treating later.”

Zhu Wenshu: “Huh??”

His arm rested on the steering wheel, and he turned his head to look over, a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

“What does Teacher Zhu think?”

Zhu Wenshu was silent for a moment.

“Teacher Zhu thinks you can pull over at the intersection ahead.”—

When the car slowly came to a stop, the valet stood on the steps, stunned for two seconds before stepping forward to greet them.

He’d worked at this restaurant for almost half a year, and the guests who came and went every day were nothing short of wealthy or powerful. Though some kept a low profile, he’d never seen a guest so low-profile as to drive a shabby car worth just over a hundred thousand yuan to a place like this to eat.

Still, he had professional standards. He walked over to the driver’s side with a proper smile, reaching out to open the door.

He tugged twice without success, then bent down to look at the person inside.

But with the tinted window glass in the way, he could only make out two indistinct silhouettes.

“Teacher Zhu?”

Ling Chen had already undone his seatbelt, but saw that Zhu Wenshu was clutching her bag tightly, showing no sign of wanting to get out.

She looked around, taking in nothing but fountains, sculptures, and passing luxury cars.

This restaurant’s entrance hall decor looked dark and dim at first glance, but was actually done in a modern minimalist style, exuding understated luxury at every turn.

And Zhu Wenshu had also heard of this restaurant before—not long ago, the news had reported that a princess from a certain Middle Eastern country had dined here during her visit.

She truly regretted not just getting out of the car earlier.

Instead she’d agreed to come out of pride, just to save face.

This Ling Chen really wasn’t decent—had he gotten so used to a life of luxury and excess that he’d forgotten the living standards of working people like them?

To actually bring her to a place like this.

After dawdling for a good while, Zhu Wenshu chose to give up struggling.

“It’s fine, my leg just went numb.”

Ling Chen said nothing more, put on his mask, opened the door and got out, tossing the keys to the valet.

In the restaurant lobby, only two or three formally dressed guests were conversing in low voices. The waitstaff stood lined up to the side, and seeing someone arrive, hurried forward to greet them.

Zhu Wenshu walked alongside Ling Chen; she didn’t even need to speak—after the waiter confirmed the phone number, they were led directly toward a private room.

In the corridor, Zhu Wenshu deliberately fell one step behind Ling Chen, taking out her phone to look up this restaurant.

Below today’s recommended set menu, glaringly displayed, was an amount equal to her monthly salary.

Zhu Wenshu: “…”

An illusion. Her thoughts back in the car just now must have all been an illusion.

If Ling Chen had even the slightest interest in her, he wouldn’t let her treat him at a place like this.

Just as she was thinking this, the person ahead suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Before Zhu Wenshu could react, her wrist was suddenly grabbed tightly.

The next moment, she was pulled into his embrace, his scent flooding all her senses without warning.

Her mind went blank, a wash of white.

Zhu Wenshu kept her eyes open, until her nose, cheek, and entire upper body were enveloped by Ling Chen’s body heat—only then did she register what had happened.

She instinctively tried to push away, just barely raising her hand to brace against his chest, but he held her even tighter, his arm curling around her head, blocking out all outside light.

Zhu Wenshu didn’t understand why Ling Chen had suddenly embraced her, only feeling her heart beating very fast, as if it might leap out of her chest.

The waiter leading them had glanced back at the commotion, but quickly looked away again, turning to continue walking ahead silently.

One second, two seconds…

Neither of them made a sound.

Until a man holding up his phone passed by them from the far end of the corridor, not stopping, not sparing them a single glance.

“Baby, the decor at this restaurant is really beautiful.” He spoke to the person on his phone screen while moving the camera, so the person on the video call could see the scenery clearly. “No wonder it’s where the princess dined—when you’re back in the country I’ll bring you here.”

So it wasn’t a paparazzi shot—he was video-calling his girlfriend.

The man walked off, and the wariness in Ling Chen’s eyes gradually faded.

Lowering his gaze again, looking at the person in his arms, he suddenly froze.

His arm still cradled her head; he didn’t let go immediately, but made no other move either, just held her stiffly, motionless.

With no other sound around them, Zhu Wenshu slowly raised her head, meeting Ling Chen’s gaze.

It felt as though most of her strength had suddenly been drained away; her hands were still braced against his chest.

Her ears buzzed, yet she could clearly feel that his heartbeat was even faster than hers.