Poisonous beauty

The language department's third floor looked more deserted with only a few students gallivanting about; a stark contrast with the first and even the second floors. But it didn't surprise Xu Jiao as this was the floor where the offices of some professors and most of the senior lecturers were located.

Her sneakers didn't make much sound on the tiled floor of the building corridor as she walked steadily towards an office in the middle and stopped in front of the glazed glass door with a nameplate attached to the front.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she then raised her hand and rapped the door twice. Hearing the deep and smooth male voice intoning 'Come in', Xu Jiao then opened the door and went inside the room.

"Good morning professor, I am the student who emailed you yesterday…"

Professor Ma surveyed her carefully for a few minutes, the look in his eyes sharp and piercing; did he suspect something?

[Impossible! I'm sure I kept things to a bare minimum– enough to not arouse his suspicion anyway.] And, it's not like she had any choice in the matter, right?

She pushed back the urge to swallow and directly looked at the middle-aged man seated at the table in his eyes before demurely lowering her head. Anyway, what's done is already done and it's not like this person can prove anything against her just because he's suspicious.

It's only that, given his eccentric personality, professor Ma might just decide not to give the project to her if he smell something fishy is going on. But, this is her best bet so she'll fight for it in whatever way she could as much as she could.

"Come take a sit…" Hearing the acquiescing tone of the other person, her head shot up in shock, even forgetting to mask the surprise on her face. Fortunately, the professor was rummaging through the files on his desk so didn't see the change in her expression.

"Thank you, professor…" Xu Jiao sat down obediently, her expression returning to the one with the respectful air from before, the surprise and triumph that flashed in her eyes perfectly covered beneath the current polite veneer.

"Tell me about this idea in detail…"

Much later that day she still couldn't get over the surprise and the victorious feeling she had gotten during her meeting with professor Ma. She knew that this topic would interest him, but didn't know it would be to this extent. She laughed derisively remembering her actions in the past.

[I was really a big idiot for giving up this kind of opportunity that fell right down onto my lap!]

And, no wonder Yang Jian refused to talk much about this with her even after he managed to get a spot in professor Ma's elective course in their third year. He was probably afraid that she'd regret losing this chance and would kick up a fuss ah!

It doesn't matter now though; things that already happened are termed as history for nothing– because they can't be changed anymore. But, it doesn't by any means signify that she can't change the present! Everything that originally belonged to her, she'll get them back, one by one!

***

Lin Xi or better known in the online novel market as 'Thousand peonies', sat inside the private room she booked in the tea house and kept pushing back her rimless glasses, which somehow betrayed her confident demeanor. The tea in her cup has long since cooled, and she was thinking of pouring herself a new one when the door of the room opened.

She sat up straight in her seat and prepared to greet the guest politely. There're artists with all sorts of peculiar personalities; she can be considered as one of the few normal ones, and that's also saying something. Besides, she still doesn't know why this person refused her offer, so better be careful.

Her face adorned with a polite and gentle smile, Lin Xi prepared to give her greetings when she finally caught sight of the young man who came through the door and fell silent after doing a double-take.

[Damn! What kind of male fairy is this? Are beauties like this supposed to be eccentric as well?]

Standing in front of her was a man with impeccably handsome features; he was tall, probably more than six feet in height, and possessed a lean build that wasn't buff, yet looked muscular. The sharp, strong jawline only enhanced his male beauty even more while the fair white skin that's not too pale somehow managed to add to the comeliness, instead of making him look feminine. But his most attractive feature was the pair of peach blossom eyes– those eyes were full of a promise of flirtation and seductions and a myriad of earthy delights, yet somehow within those tempting depths were a hint of enigma… A puzzle waiting to be solved.

[That sure is enough to tempt any woman.]

Lin Xi sighed inwardly while exchanging pleasantries with the second person who came in with this male god, and who turned out to be this person's editor. Mostly throughout this little chit-chat, Guo Shen remained slumped over the low table of the private room and occasionally hummed out an answer without paying much attention, but instead of appearing undignified, this posture and the lethargy only managed to add to his charm.

[If he wasn't so much younger than me, I'd have definitely made a pass for him!]

She wasn't in the habit of going after men who were younger than her by nearly a decade. Lin Xi sighed and shook her head inwardly; sometimes, it's really hard to be a person with principles, ok?

"Miss Lin… can you tell me why you asked for an appointment? What more do you need to discuss with me?"

Guo Shen ignored the vicious jab he received on his calf from his editor and lazily took a sip from the cup in his hands. 'Good tea' he praised inwardly; maybe he should come here again some other time?

The woman seated at the table in the position directly opposite to him looked to be in her early thirties, yet she still looked very beautiful. The intellectual, scholarly type of beauty, if you please–

[The glasses are a good supplement]

"Ah… I just want to ask you clearly why you're not willing to make a comic for my book" Seeing him remain silent, she continued speaking further. "I mean… It's one of the most famous books among female readers and can be considered the most popular book in the female reader market now. So, I don't understand why you're refusing to make a comic version of my book! Actually, when I asked for an appointment today, I was thinking of persuading you personally to make one instead of contacting you through my editor."

[And looks confident too…]

Guo Shen tapped his foot on the wooden floor of the room; that would be an extra point in her favor. Earlier when she had first seen him, the appreciation in her eyes had been unmistakable. Not that it was any form of a surprise though– he had yet to meet any female human creature who didn't admire his beauty, be they young or old.

And, the older woman had later masked her interest beneath a mask of politeness– maybe she thought that he was too young? He would have liked to tell her that it was not a problem and that a difference of a few years would not pose any difficulty for him. In the past, he would have actually said that outright and if the other wasn't too resistant, would have taken some time to carefully woe her straight into his bed. But not this time though– he didn't feel like it…

"It's boring…"

"What?"

"Your story." Guo Shen paused for good measure and enjoyed the way the calm facade on the woman's face cracked to display something akin to disbelief and then anger. "It's boring and cliche. I admit that your writing style is good. But the romance is immature and commonplace and this type of story can be found anywhere in the market– just not as well written as yours of course."

"Y-You!"

"Teacher Guo!"

Guo Shen was feeling cranky– he was pissed! All because of a tiny slip of a female with weird colored eyes! He was usually a petty person and when he was unhappy, his pettiness only increased. And more than that, he hated people who refused to take 'no' for an answer from him; like this person in front of him for an example.

"The female lead of your book comes off as strong and independent at first, but only grows whiny and dependent the more the story progresses. Her man is an illogical idiot without an ounce of intellect in his head despite being the CEO of a big company. I hate lack of logic in a story the most."

"Teacher… I beg of you, please stop speaking! Teacher Lin, he's just cranky and taking it out on you… Don't take his words to your heart and be as small-minded as him."

Ignoring the attempts at peace-making by his editor, Guo Shen continued callously.

"A story I don't like– why should I make a comic of it just because it might earn me more bucks? It's not like I lack money."

Ignoring the way the popular female author had stormed out in anger, Guo Shen blithely continued sampling the tea while Yuan Xiu looked to be close to tears. Feeling the stuffiness in his chest had finally reduced to a bearable level, he looked at his editor who was seated slouched in his chair, with a small smile playing across his lips.

"What are you looking so worried for? Afraid the management would blame you, hmm?"

"Aaiya teacher… why did you act like that? Anyway, why did you even agree to meet her in the first place if you were gonna be like this?" Yuan Xiu felt like crying– what sin did he commit to be the editor of this disaster star?

"What are you so scared of? It's not like she can do anything to me, right? She only has some money and reputation from her books and nothing more."

"... I heard her uncle is a director of Xuan Yu platform!"

"And I'm the king of hell! Do you think a little director from some little platform can be compared to me?"

Yuan Xiu swallowed the next few words he was going to say; is Xuan Yu some sort of little platform? Can their Xuri even compare with it?

[Boss, I did my best! Later, please don't blame me when this little devil brings trouble to our doorstep!]