Bai Sichan had just finished two rounds of a card game with Zhu Xinghao and Tang Jiang when she received a call from Professor Wang.
Professor Wang first asked how she was feeling and whether she could manage to come over.
Bai Sichan was a little confused by the question, but she honestly nodded.
“I’m fine.”
Professor Wang let out a long sigh of relief.
“Mr. He insists on seeing you and Mingxi… He’s already sent someone to pick you up. Just wait at the school gate with Mingxi.”
Then Professor Wang added another sentence for emphasis.
“Sichan, Hengke is planning to sign a talent development agreement with our department this time…”
“I understand, Professor.”
Bai Sichan didn’t want to make things difficult for him.
“I’ll go over now.”
The three girls had spread two yoga mats on the floor of the dormitory, with a small folding table in the middle.
Zhu Xinghao was sitting beside Bai Sichan, holding two cards in her hand.
“You’re going out?”
She had been sitting right beside Bai Sichan and had heard the entire conversation.
Bai Sichan nodded and opened her wardrobe to take out a light jacket.
The weather had recently turned colder, with a large difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures.
Who knew how late dinner would last? Wearing only a T-shirt would be too cold.
Tang Jiang put her cards on the little table and looked worried.
“What if Mr. He tries to force you into something?”
Zhu Xinghao nodded seriously.
“Little Bai, whatever you do, don’t drink anything he gives you. And don’t eat anything that’s already been opened.”
Bai Sichan stared at her.
“…If we’re going to dinner, won’t almost everything already be opened?”
She put on her jacket and pulled the zipper all the way up to her chin.
“Then don’t be alone with him,” Zhu Xinghao said firmly. “If necessary, kick him where it hurts or go for his eyes. That counts as self-defense.”
She paused.
Then she remembered that Bai Sichan and He Shenglian were legally married.
“…At worst, I guess it would count as domestic violence.”
“Okay.”
Seeing Bai Sichan obediently agree, Zhu Xinghao sighed.
“Why does it feel like I’m personally sending a little white rabbit into a wolf’s den?”
Tang Jiang shuffled the cards and said casually,
“If you’re really worried, tell Li Shiqing. He’s going too, so he can keep an eye on Sichan. Besides, Professor Wang and so many other students will be there. Mr. He probably won’t go too far.”
Zhu Xinghao thought about it and felt that made sense.
Bai Sichan had already put on her sneakers.
She bent down to tie her shoelaces, then stood up and put her wallet and phone into her jacket pockets.
“I’m leaving.”
Zhu Xinghao said, “I’ll wait for you to come back.”
Bai Sichan smiled, revealing a small dimple beside her cheek.
By then, the sky had already grown dark.
Bai Sichan had barely walked a few steps out of the dormitory building when she saw Shi Mingxi.
He ran over with a wide smile.
“I heard from Professor Wang that you’re going too.”
Then he complained,
“Why does Mr. He insist on seeing the two of us? Didn’t someone say before, ‘When you’re eating an egg, why bother caring what the hen that laid it looks like?’”
The evening wind was a little cold, so Bai Sichan pulled her jacket tighter.
“Maybe Mr. He doesn’t want the egg. Maybe he wants the hen.”
Shi Mingxi froze for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh.
“Sichan, you’re really good at making cold jokes.”
The two of them met the person who had come to pick them up at the school gate.
The man politely introduced himself as Lu Qing, He Shenglian’s assistant.
Bai Sichan found his back strangely familiar.
She thought about it for a long time before suddenly remembering.
Wasn’t he the man who had held the umbrella for He Shenglian on that rainy day?
Back then, Bai Sichan had never imagined that the “work” He Shenglian talked about was actually a legitimate job.
When Lu Qing opened the door to the private dining room, Bai Sichan was surprised to see that none of the teachers or students had started eating yet.
Only a few appetizers and desserts had been served.
The wine, however, had already gone around once.
Just as Lu Qing had told them in the car, everyone had been waiting for the two of them.
Bai Sichan immediately felt guilty.
He Shenglian sat at the head of the table.
His dark eyes were deep and calm as he raised his glass toward her from a distance and smiled slightly.
“Now our team is finally complete.”
Shi Mingxi smiled.
He stepped forward and picked up a wine glass from the table.
“Thank you for treating us, Mr. He, and sorry for keeping you waiting. I’ll have three drinks as an apology.”
With that, he picked up the bottle of red wine and filled three glasses to the top.
He drank all three in succession.
The wine glasses were large and deep, so after three full glasses, almost an entire bottle was gone.
He Shenglian praised him.
“Young man, you have quite a tolerance for alcohol.”
The stiff atmosphere finally relaxed somewhat.
Two seats had been left open beside Li Shiqing, directly across from He Shenglian.
As soon as Bai Sichan sat beside Li Shiqing, he quietly asked her,
“Is that your husband?”
Li Shiqing had been the one who received the certificate photo, so he had seen her marriage certificate.
Bai Sichan lowered her voice.
“Not for much longer.”
Li Shiqing fell silent.
“…”
Not long before, Li Shiqing had received a message from Zhu Xinghao asking him to keep a close eye on Bai Sichan.
She specifically told him not to let Bai Sichan drink any alcohol.
Even foods containing alcohol, such as sweet rice dumplings, were forbidden.
She had also specifically warned him to watch out for Mr. He.
Li Shiqing didn’t understand why Zhu Xinghao was treating He Shenglian like a dangerous predator.
She hadn’t explained the reason, and he hadn’t asked.
Now that everyone had arrived, He Shenglian’s expression was clearly better.
Xu Ting was the type of person who loved watching other people get into trouble.
When he saw Bai Sichan unzip her jacket and then noticed Shi Mingxi sitting beside her, he smiled and asked,
“Were you two on a date just now? Why are you wearing matching outfits?”
Bai Sichan hadn’t even reacted yet when He Shenglian spoke coldly.
“They’re uniforms ordered by their department.”
Xu Ting picked up a sunflower seed but didn’t put it into his mouth.
He simply looked at He Shenglian with a smile.
“You seem to know quite a lot.”
Shi Mingxi secretly wondered why, whenever Xu Ting teased him, Mr. He looked at him with such a cold gaze.
Professor Wang had no idea what was going on.
He raised his glass and stood.
“Students, come. Let’s take this opportunity to thank Mr. He for encouraging and supporting our studies.”
Everyone stood with their glasses.
Bai Sichan, however, was in a difficult position.
She couldn’t drink alcohol at all, but there was no juice, tea, or anything else on the table.
She didn’t know what to do.
He Shenglian was sitting directly across from her, quietly watching her.
There was a table between them.
Bai Sichan’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
Shi Mingxi spoke up.
“Mr. He, Sichan has a cold and can’t drink alcohol. Could she have some juice instead?”
Xu Ting clicked his tongue.
Professor Wang froze for a moment.
Only then did he realize that Bai Sichan couldn’t drink.
He Shenglian’s voice remained calm.
“Of course. That was my oversight.”
The waiter immediately brought back a glass of juice and placed it in front of Bai Sichan.
It was mango juice.
He Shenglian raised his glass again and said warmly,
“I wish all of you a bright future and great success in the IT field.”
Seeing He Shenglian finish his wine in one go, Professor Wang finally relaxed a little.
He had really been worried that Mr. He might become angry because of Bai Sichan and Shi Mingxi.
Beside him, Xu Ting, who had remained quiet until now, smiled.
“Hengke is in need of fresh talent these days. We also look forward to having all of you join us.”
The moment he said this, everyone at the table became excited.
Hengke.
It was currently one of the most popular companies in the workplace social networking field.
Its professional networking app, Mailuo, had been developed by Hengke.
Bai Sichan and the others were now entering their third year of university, so they had already started paying attention to internships and job opportunities.
Almost everyone had the Mailuo app on their phones.
At present, Mailuo was one of the few domestic platforms that successfully combined social networking with job hunting and recruitment.
Professor Wang was even more delighted.
In previous years, Hengke’s recruitment requirements had been extremely strict.
Even at A University, only a handful of students could enter through campus recruitment.
This time, He Shenglian had sponsored the competition and invited the winning team to dinner.
People in the department had already been discussing whether Hengke was finally planning to offer them an opportunity.
It turned out they were right.
Xu Ting continued,
“Hengke is currently recruiting a group of interns. You’ll work three days a week, with a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan. We can also provide full-time internships during winter and summer vacations, with a monthly salary of 7,000 yuan. After you graduate, you can directly become full-time employees. How does that sound?”
These were already very good conditions.
Bai Sichan instinctively looked at He Shenglian.
He was leaning casually against his chair with his eyes lowered, examining the glass in his hand.
It contained half a glass of red wine, dark red beneath the lights.
Bai Sichan thought to herself:
Maybe I’m overthinking this.
Professor Wang turned to ask the students what they thought.
“What do you think?”
He looked at Bai Sichan.
She was the team captain, and she and Li Shiqing were the two strongest members of the team.
Perhaps Hengke had offered such generous conditions because they had noticed the potential of those two.
But Bai Sichan escaped.
“Professor, can I go to the restroom?”
Professor Wang gave her an affectionate smile.
“Of course. Go ahead.”
Bai Sichan stood up and left the private room.
The corridor was open to the outside.
The sky had become completely dark, and only the lanterns hanging beneath the corridor provided light.
She walked around for a while before finally finding the restroom.
Bai Sichan went to the sink, turned on the faucet, scooped up some water, and splashed it onto her face.
Then she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Sichan.”
Bai Sichan turned around.
She saw He Shenglian.
He was standing at the entrance to the restroom.
Two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his elegant collarbone.
His dark eyes were quietly watching her.
Bai Sichan was startled.
“Mr. He, what are you doing?!”
“Using the restroom.”
“But this is the women’s—”
He Shenglian expressionlessly pointed behind her and interrupted.
“Turn around and look.”
Bai Sichan turned around.
There was a row of urinals.
“…”
Thankfully, no one else was there.
Bai Sichan didn’t even bother drying her hands.
She quickly said, “Sorry,” and lowered her head as she tried to leave.
But when she passed beside He Shenglian, he stepped forward and blocked her path.
He was tall, and his presence felt overwhelmingly imposing.
“Why have you been avoiding me?”
Bai Sichan lowered her head and stared at her toes.
“Mr. He, weren’t you going to use the restroom?”
“That isn’t important.”
He Shenglian paused.
“I can hold it.”
“Holding it for too long isn’t good for your bladder,” Bai Sichan kindly advised. “I’ve heard that some people develop serious bladder problems from holding it in, and some even lose control of their bladder and bowels and have to rely on adult diapers. It’s really sad.”
“…”
He Shenglian was almost defeated by her.
“Go use the restroom first,” Bai Sichan said innocently. “I’ll wait outside. Whatever you want to talk about, we can discuss it after you’re done.”
Judging by the situation, he really couldn’t avoid using the restroom anymore.
He Shenglian figured she wouldn’t run away.
He let go and emphasized,
“Then wait here for me.”
Bai Sichan nodded obediently.
As soon as He Shenglian entered the restroom, he turned around and looked toward the entrance.
The delicate-looking young woman who had been standing there had already disappeared like a rabbit being chased by a wolf.
She had run away without a trace.
“…”
At that moment, He Shenglian finally understood the true meaning of the saying:
Still as a lady, swift as a frightened rabbit.