The next afternoon, inside a stepped lecture hall at Imperial University.
Ji Xingjian flipped through his textbooks and lesson plans. Although he looked casual and his posture was relaxed, he was actually having second thoughts inside.
As a visiting professor, he was originally only supposed to follow arrangements to give public lectures and seminars, conduct academic exchanges with the outside world on behalf of the university, and do things that contributed to the school.
However, before the semester started, the vice president had called him about an elective course in Art Appreciation for juniors. Because the regular instructor needed to take a two-to-three-month medical leave due to personal reasons, the vice president asked him to help substitute for a period of time. Finding it hard to refuse, Ji Xingjian agreed.
Students arrived at the lecture hall one after another, sizing up Ji Xingjian while whispering among themselves.
“Look, look, look! A new teacher!”
“Hey, hey, hey, he raised his head. Holy shit, this appearance! His facial proportions are textbook-level, his lines are smooth, and he has a sense of bone structure without losing fleshiness. He is literally a textbook-level beauty! I am going to take a picture and use it as my phone wallpaper!”
“You are not even exaggerating. He is good-looking, really good-looking, and damn well good-looking. I have fallen for it, and this teacher is completely tailored to my aesthetic. I want so badly to date him. I wonder if he has a partner.”
Hearing their discussion, a fine arts major in the back row could not help but join in. “Stop daydreaming. Even if you worked hard for another ten years, you would not be worthy of him. He is a visiting professor at our Academy of Fine Arts, a god-tier figure, and a well-known young painter in the industry. I even saw his work at an art exhibition last month.”
“He has good looks and talent. I love him even more now.”
Faced with countless sizing-up gazes and whispers, Ji Xingjian took a few deep breaths inwardly, forcing himself to ignore the external factors that made him uncomfortable while trying his best to remain calm and composed.
As the class bell rang, the students finally quieted down, all looking in unison at Ji Xingjian on the podium.
Ji Xingjian pressed his lips together, slowly exhaled a breath, and curved his lips into a slightly stiff smile. “Hello, students. My name is Ji Xingjian, and I am the substitute teacher for this course.”
After a brief self-introduction came roll call.
When he reached the last name, no one answered. Ji Xingjian raised his volume slightly and called out again, “Lu Wei.”
“Here,” an indolent voice came from the back door.
Ji Xingjian raised his eyes, but did not see the owner of the voice, which caused him to frown. Could another student have answered here for him?
Just as he planned to read the name again, a tall, sturdy, and well-built figure appeared at the doorway.
After seeing the man’s face clearly, Ji Xingjian’s breathing stalled, his expression stiffening as if he were in extreme shock or thoroughly frightened.
The person at the doorway was none other than the top-tier Alpha he had spent the whole night entangled with in a desperate intimacy.
This kind of absurd plot that only ever appeared in television dramas was actually happening in reality. Ji Xingjian was immensely flustered, with only one thought in mind: to escape the classroom.
However, he was a teacher now and could not do that, so he could only pray that the other man had not seen his face clearly that day.
“Huo…” The student sitting closest to the back door recognized Huo Chengye standing at the door. As soon as the student started to speak, he caught Huo Chengye’s warning gaze and immediately clamped his mouth shut.
With a lazy posture, Huo Chengye sat down in the very last row. Raising his eyelids, he happened to lock eyes with Ji Xingjian.
Huo Chengye could not help narrowing his eyes, letting out a rather astonished “Tsk.”
Ji Xingjian averted his gaze in panic, his pen-wielding hand trembling uncontrollably to the point that the checkmark next to the name “Lu Wei” looked like a distorted wavy line.
After that, Professor Ji put on a calm facade to deliver his lecture. The students listened very intently, or to be exact, looked very intently, and some even took secret photos.
In the back row, a certain student asked Huo Chengye in a low voice, “Huo-ge, why are you here? Where is Lu Wei?”
Lu Wei was Huo Chengye’s good buddy and roommate, and at this moment, he was still on his way back to campus.
Resting his chin in his hand with his gaze fixed entirely on Ji Xingjian, Huo Chengye answered offhandedly, “He will not arrive until tonight, so I am sitting in for his class.”
“Is that so? Oh, by the way, I just heard them say that Professor Ji has a photographic memory for faces. You might have to keep sitting in for Lu Wei for the upcoming classes.”
Huo Chengye looked at the person on the podium, a trace of playfulness flashing in his eyes. “Photographic memory. What a coincidence, so do I.”