The next morning.
At the entrance of Haishi University.
A low profile black Volkswagen Phaeton slowly stopped at a corner about two hundred meters from the school gate.
This was the cheapest car in Xie Jingran’s garage. Although it still cost more than two million yuan, it was at least slightly more restrained than the Maybach.
“Get out.”
Xie Jingran was reading an academic journal entirely in English, not even lifting his head.
Chu Anhe unfastened her seatbelt. After hesitating for a moment, she quietly asked, “Teacher Xie, um… do we still need adaptation training tonight?”
Hearing the word training, Xie Jingran’s fingers paused slightly on the page. The tips of his ears inexplicably grew a little warm, but his face remained icy calm.
“I have a class tonight. Go back to the villa yourself. And in school, you are not allowed to mention our relationship.”
“I know, a secret marriage,” Chu Anhe nodded obediently. “Goodbye, teacher.”
Xie Jingran closed the journal and rubbed his forehead.
During the drive earlier, in order to charge the damned System, he had used the excuse that the car’s heater was broken and it was cold. He held Chu Anhe’s hand to warm himself for half an hour.
Even now, the soft feeling still seemed to linger in his palm.
System: Current life value 59 days and 15 hours.
System: Today’s mission, unlock new charging methods such as hugging, head patting, corner pinning, or princess carry.
“Shut up.” Xie Jingran coldly scolded the air.
As soon as Chu Anhe walked into the classroom, she sensed that something was wrong.
The surrounding students seemed to be pointing at her, their eyes filled with contempt and ridicule.
“Isn’t that her? Chu Anhe?”
“She looks so innocent, who knows she plays so wildly.”
“I heard her father died and her family owes hundreds of thousands in loan shark debt. But yesterday someone saw her getting picked up by a luxury car.”
“Climbing the social ladder. College girls these days… unbelievable.”
Chu Anhe gripped the strap of her backpack tightly. Her face turned pale as she lowered her head and quickly walked to the back of the classroom.
She knew who had done this. Other than her roommate and department beauty Lin You, who had always treated her like a thorn in her side, no one else would be so bored.
“Well, well, if it isn’t our ‘rich family’s canary.’”
A girl with delicate makeup sitting in the center of the front row spoke in a mocking tone.
Her name was Lin You. She was also the class monitor for this lecture. Her family dominated Haishi’s real estate industry, and she had always been arrogant and domineering. Ever since the university forum voted Chu Anhe as the most beautiful department beauty instead of her, she had been constantly targeting Chu Anhe.
Lin You waved her newest smartphone and loudly said, “Chu Anhe, I heard you moved out of the dorm yesterday. And someone driving a Mercedes van helped move your luggage. Which sugar daddy’s bed did you work overtime in last night? How much does he pay you each month? Tell us so we can broaden our horizons.”
The entire class burst into laughter.
Chu Anhe took a deep breath, walked up to Lin You, and looked at her coldly.
“Lin You, if you keep talking nonsense, I will call the police.”
“The police?” Lin You laughed as if she had heard a joke. She stood up and pushed Chu Anhe. “You didn’t come back last night. Where were you? Other than selling yourself, what else could you be doing?”
Chu Anhe staggered backward and bumped into a desk behind her. Just as she was about to respond, the classroom door opened.
Xie Jingran walked in. He wore a dark gray suit vest over a crisp white shirt, his sleeves rolled up to reveal a section of his well defined forearm.
Lin You snorted. “Chu Anhe, you’re lucky. This is Professor Xie’s class. I heard the principal personally invited him here. If he sees someone like you causing trouble in class, he’ll deduct all your credits.”
She quickly returned to her seat.
Xie Jingran walked onto the podium. The phoenix eyes beneath his gold rimmed glasses swept coldly across the room, instantly freezing the noisy classroom into silence.
“Who was making noise just now?”
His deep magnetic voice echoed through the microphone across the entire room.
Lin You immediately stood up, putting on the obedient appearance of a model student. She pointed at Chu Anhe standing in the aisle and complained.
“Teacher Xie, it was Chu Anhe. She was shouting loudly in class and even tried to hit someone. A student with such poor character seriously disrupts classroom discipline. I think she should be kicked out.”
All eyes turned to Chu Anhe.
Professor Xie was famous for being strict. Any student he kicked out of class would almost certainly fail the course.
Chu Anhe bit her lip and looked toward the man on the podium.
Their eyes met.
Xie Jingran’s gaze swept over her slightly disordered collar and pale face. His expression darkened slightly.
“Oh? Poor character?”
His slender fingers lightly tapped the podium, creating a rhythmic knocking sound.
“This student,” Xie Jingran said, looking at Lin You calmly, “are you the class monitor?”
Lin You felt delighted, thinking he had remembered her. She quickly nodded. “Yes, teacher. My name is Lin You.”
“Very good.” Xie Jingran adjusted his glasses. “According to Article 246 of our country’s Criminal Law, publicly insulting another person or fabricating facts to defame someone, if the circumstances are serious, can result in imprisonment of up to three years. Lin You, I think you should retake the criminal law course.”
Lin You’s smile froze. “T teacher?”
“I heard everything clearly outside the door,” Xie Jingran said quietly, his words sharp. “Without any evidence, you publicly slander a female student and even launch personal attacks. Is this the quality of student leaders at Haishi University?”
The entire room fell silent.
No one expected the cold Professor Xie to publicly scold the wealthy heiress Lin You for the sake of a poor student.
“But… everyone is saying it…” Lin You’s face turned red as she tried to defend herself.
“Everyone?” Xie Jingran sneered and swept a sharp gaze across the room. “As university students, you have no independent thinking ability and simply repeat what others say. Do you only keep your brains to make yourselves look taller?”
“Lin You, fifty percent will be deducted from your participation score. For this class, stand by the door and listen.”
The decision was final.
Tears welled in Lin You’s eyes, but she did not dare to argue. She walked to the classroom door and stood there in humiliation, glaring at Chu Anhe with resentment.
“As for Chu Anhe…”
Xie Jingran’s gaze shifted back to the girl standing stiffly in place.
Chu Anhe’s heart leaped into her throat, afraid he might say something shocking.
Looking at her, a hint of amusement flashed deep in Xie Jingran’s eyes before he spoke seriously.
“Although you are the victim, as the course representative, being late for class is still wrong. Come here and sit in the front row seat that just became available.”
The entire class erupted in shock.
Course representative?
Since when has Chu Anhe become Professor Xie’s course representative? That was a position countless girls in the university competed desperately for.
Chu Anhe herself was stunned. “Ah? When did I…”
“What? You don’t want the position?” Xie Jingran raised an eyebrow. “Then I’ll give it to someone else.”
“I do. I’ll do it.” Chu Anhe quickly agreed. The man standing before her was not only her professor but also her contract partner. Whatever he said had to be correct.
She hurriedly carried her backpack and sat in the seat closest to the podium under countless jealous gazes. It was the throne closest to the campus heartthrob, the seat Lin You always occupied.
Xie Jingran withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and began teaching.
For two entire class periods, Chu Anhe felt extremely uneasy. Not because of anything else, but because…
While lecturing, Xie Jingran would occasionally walk to her desk, standing extremely close.
Once, when handing her a document, his fingers accidentally brushed across the back of her hand.
At that moment, Chu Anhe clearly heard the man on the podium release a faint sigh of satisfaction. In the cold professor’s eyes there seemed to be a strange gleam, like a hungry wolf spotting meat.
At thirty six years old and still unmarried, could he really have some unusual habits?
The dismissal bell rang.
Xie Jingran packed his things but did not leave immediately.
Under everyone’s gaze, he walked to Chu Anhe’s desk and tapped on it.
“Course representative, come to my office. I have an important research topic to discuss with you privately.”
Chu Anhe nodded innocently. “Okay, teacher.”
Xie Jingran tried hard to control the hand trembling slightly at his side. What research topic? In truth, the battery was running low, and he simply needed to find a private place to recharge his life.