The woman was stunning in profile.
The moment Chen Yuan saw her, he was certain she had to be a junior or senior. She had a distinctly mature air about her, so the thought that she might be a teacher never crossed his mind.
Most of the female faculty at Landa University were on the older side. After all, knowledge takes time to accumulate, and accumulation comes with age.
Typically, one had to be over thirty to be qualified to teach university students.
Jiangg Ning was the only lecturer at Landa University under thirty.
As Chen Yuan watched, the "upperclassman" was gently and affectionately stroking a cat. The pendant on her ear sparkled, and the hem of her trench coat was pressed against her legs. With every movement, a flash of her pale ankle would appear and disappear.
What guy doesn't like looking at a beautiful woman? Aside from Jiangg Ning, this was the first girl he'd seen at Landa with such an incredible aura. 'A glance is instinct,' he thought. 'Staring is respect... no, wait. Looking away is respect.'
"Here, kitty."
He crouched down, calling out to a few of the campus's "senior" cats.
Hearing the sound, the woman abruptly turned her head, and their eyes met.
A single glance.
Staring at the familiar face, Chen Yuan froze.
'I can't believe the coincidence!'
'This isn't some girl with an aura as good as Jiangg Ning's—this *is* Jiangg Ning!'
The expressions on both their faces froze, as if time itself had stopped.
A moment later, the stunned Chen Yuan stood up and turned to leave.
"Ahem—"
The sound of a cough followed him. Watching Chen Yuan's retreating back, Jiangg Yao hastily concealed her inner delight. She stood up straight and adopted the tone a teacher would use with a student. "Chen, is that any way to greet your teacher? Just turning your back and walking away?"
Hearing this, he inwardly fumed. 'You have got to be kidding me!'
Chen Yuan had gone to great lengths to stop thinking about Jiangg Ning. He wanted absolutely nothing more to do with this woman.
But of course, he had to run into her.
"Hello, Jiangg! And goodbye, Jiangg!"
"Wait..."
Jiangg Yao grew anxious. She'd expected Chen Yuan to be unhappy to see her, but she hadn't anticipated this level of coldness. 'Can't he even spare a single word for me?'
In a moment of panic.
She stepped forward and grabbed Chen Yuan's sleeve. Her slender fingers slid down until they were wrapped around his wrist.
Feeling the soft touch on his wrist, Chen Yuan recoiled as if he'd been shocked, his face a mask of disgust.
Seeing the look on his face.
Jiangg Yao felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if she'd been stabbed. A wave of sadness washed over her, and her nose began to sting. If she weren't trying so hard to control herself, her eyes would have already misted over.
She recalled how, back when they were dating, he would thoughtfully reply to even her most mind-numbingly boring complaints... She hadn't cherished what they'd had, and now his attitude toward her was atrocious.
'This is my own fault... I can't blame anyone else.'
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry, Professor Jiangg Ning. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm going back to my dorm."
"I... I came here just for you. There's something I want to say. Can you please let me finish?"
Chen Yuan sneered inwardly. 'Probably just more of her phony, sentimental crap. Seriously, who is this damsel-in-distress act for?'
He genuinely thought Jiangg Ning was just playing games.
'You're educated, you're beautiful, you've got it all. Why do you have to play these manipulative games and mess with people?'
"Fine, fine. Go ahead."
"Can we crouch down to talk...?" Jiangg Yao asked timidly, gesturing toward the nearby academic building. There was a pleading note in her voice. "It wouldn't be good if someone saw us."
Chen Yuan silently pulled a ham sausage from his pocket and crouched down. He started tearing open the package while stroking the "senior" cat at his feet.
Jiangg Yao's high heels made it difficult to crouch, so she could only shuffle over to Chen Yuan's side, getting very, very close. Blinking her sparkling eyes, she whispered, "Are you mad at me?"
'No f*cking kidding.'
"I'm not mad," Chen Yuan said, giving her a cold look. "Why would I get mad at a stranger?"
"I was wrong..." she whined pitifully, giving his arm a gentle nudge. Her voice was incredibly soft and sweet. It was all too familiar. Chen Yuan was suddenly reminded of their online relationship; her voice sounded exactly like it did during their late-night calls. 'So this is what she's really like in private.'
But Chen Yuan's heart didn't soften in the slightest.
"We made ourselves perfectly clear. Do I need to repeat what you said to me that day?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Who asked for your apology?"
Jiangg Yao bit down hard on her lip and lowered her head, hiding her expression. She couldn't put a name to the feeling in her heart.
The pain was like a knife twisting in her gut—no exaggeration.
But to Jiangg Yao, even this pain was far better than the misery of tossing and turning in her bedroom all night.
'At least I get to see Chen Yuan, right?'
For the past few days, Jiangg Yao had been obsessed. She couldn't stop thinking about running into Chen Yuan on campus. The thought tormented her to the point where she couldn't focus on anything else.
As long as she could see him, she would willingly do anything.
Two minutes earlier, when she'd heard the noise and looked up, her face was full of the hope she'd been nursing for days. The instant she saw Chen Yuan, an incomparable joy had swelled in her heart, and she'd even stopped breathing.
Forcing herself to interact with the outside world she loathed, mustering the courage to go out alone, lying to her sister that she was going shopping—in that instant, all her efforts had paid off.
Jiangg Yao was genuinely happy. She had thought everything through; she had even prepared herself for Chen Yuan's inevitable reaction.
'No matter what, I won't back down!'
"Chen Yuan, I've done a lot of thinking since then. I know my actions were incredibly irresponsible and a complete betrayal of the promises I made... I wrongly treated our relationship like a game. I didn't understand how to bear the responsibilities of being a girlfriend; I was just selfishly afraid of it affecting my real life. I truly want to apologize, and I hope you can forgive me!"
Jiangg Yao had never spoken at such length with so much sincerity. Her fingers were tangled together as she fought back the urge to cry.
"At home, I can't sleep. I'm absentminded when I try to do anything else. My head is just filled with memories of our time together. After thinking it all over, I finally realized how terribly wrong I was."
"As long as you forgive me, you can punish me however you want!"
When she finished, she fell silent, watching Chen Yuan's face for his reaction.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
The evening breeze continued to blow, carrying the biting chill of early winter.
Unexpectedly, after a moment of thought, Chen Yuan's reply was, "I forgive you."
"Really?" Jiangg Yao's eyes filled with delighted surprise.
"Yes, really. And now that you have my forgiveness, I hope you, Jiangg, will leave my life for good."
With that, Chen Yuan stood up and left the small garden without a moment's hesitation.
A chill washed over Jiangg Yao's heart. She stood frozen to the spot, watching his back disappear around the corner.
He had left her no opening at all.
No amount of pretty words could undo the harm caused by one's actions.
Jiangg Yao froze for only a moment. Realizing she couldn't let Chen Yuan just walk away, she quickly stood and ran after him. The soft pile of dead twigs and fallen leaves, a perfect napping spot for a cat, was more like a hunter's trap for someone in high heels.
"Agh—!"
A cry of pain rang out.