Chapter 3 Avoiding Him

Liang Zhouyue had initially been responsible for three classes, one each from the first, second, and third years of their respective programs, all specialized courses.

But this semester, she had taken on an additional class for third-year finance students, as the teacher who usually taught that course was on maternity leave, and the school leaders had asked her to step in temporarily.

At the beginning of the new term, today was her first day teaching the finance students. After a year on the job, she had long since been able to blend in with the college students, without the awkwardness and nervousness of her initial employment. The students were also very cooperative with her, and there had never been issues with skipping classes or truancy.

The specialized class had only eighty students, formed by combining finance class one and two, making it extremely easy to catch anyone skipping.

Liang Zhouyue always had the habit of calling roll before class, and today was no exception. After introducing herself, she took out the student roster and began calling names according to their student numbers, one by one.

"Qi Yue."

"Here!"

"Cheng Yixiu."

"Here..."

...

"Chen Dan."

Her clear voice echoed throughout the classroom, but there was no reply for a long time.

"Chen Dan!"

Liang Zhouyue's voice grew stronger and she slowly lifted her beautiful eyelashes.

The room was quite silent; no one answered, nor did anyone dare to joke around.

After waiting two seconds, Liang Zhouyue marked a cross next to the name indifferently and continued with the roll call.

"Jiang Li."

Just like before, again there was no response.

Liang Zhouyue furrowed her delicate brows, her expression rather impatient, "Jiang Li!"

The silence was profound, so quiet that it left her feeling suffocated. At her core, she was quite traditional and truly disliked those students who skipped classes without reasons, even though they were university students and adults.

Skipping the first English class of the new semester, Liang Zhouyue had already put these two individuals on her mental blacklist.

Just as she was about to mark the second cross on the roster, a man's teasing voice, brimming with roguishness, sounded from the entrance of the classroom, "Early in the morning, instead of causing trouble in the comfort of our homes, we actually have to come and listen to the old woman teach English; what a bummer."

Following that, another low voice, laced with a feigned chuckle, sounded gently.

It was unclear whether it was in agreement or not.

In the classroom, Liang Zhouyue's originally petite and bright face had now turned pale, displaying an awkward embarrassment.

The voice in the hallway was particularly jarring, she found it difficult to ignore. All she could do at that moment was silently pray that they were not the students she was supposed to teach.

"Reporting!"

A spirited shout startled Liang Zhouyue, causing her to close her eyes in resignation. After calming herself for two seconds, she gathered her spirits and looked towards the entrance.

But with that glance, her originally indifferent gaze suddenly became hesitant. Despite her defensive blinking, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the taller figure of the boy.

The boy was tall, but didn't look weak; on the contrary, the muscle lines on his arms indicated he was a disciplined fitness enthusiast.

His face was stunningly handsome, with youthful innocence despite his prominent features, and when he smiled, he exuded an adolescent charm. His pitch-black pupils were moist and gleaming, disabling one's defenses.

Yes, he was smiling at Liang Zhouyue, like a tame and well-behaved puppy, with no trace of aggression.

Liang Zhouyue felt her eyes searing from his radiant smile, and she suddenly averted her gaze, as if guilty, her movements unnaturally dropping her eyes.

With stiff hands, she picked up a pen from the desk and chose to look at another boy whose features bore a hint of mixed heritage, finally steadying her voice, "Don't be late again, what's your name?"

There were two latecomers in total, both good-looking guys who strolled in unconcernedly.

The boy with the mixed-race looks peeked towards the podium, and after seeing the title on the list and the signature in the top right corner, he smiled, "A new teacher."

Hearing this, Liang Zhouyue sent out her gentle professional smile, each word clear, "Correct, I am your English teacher for this semester, Liang Zhouyue. I hope we can get along well in the future."

The boy nodded understandingly, nudged the guy next to him with his elbow, and whispered, "The old lady wasn't referring to her, but the one before her."

The latter obviously wasn't interested in discussing this and, leaning past him, took the pen from Liang Zhouyue's hand to mark a check on the attendance sheet, then looked up at her with a smile, "Jiang Li."

Liang Zhouyue's breath hitched, the smile that had just started to spread across her face had already frozen, giving her a forced, awkward look, but only she knew it.

She nodded, took back the pen and also checked off Chen Dan's name.

"Go back to class, and don't be late next time."

Liang Zhouyue turned to adjust the course presentation, deliberately avoiding Jiang Li's gaze.

Some fateful meetings are unexpected; she thought she would never meet the man who had helped her zip up her dress again, yet there he was, two days later. To make things worse, he was her student.

Throughout the class, Liang Zhouyue's glances were sluggish, as she tried her best not to look at Jiang Li's seat.

On the other hand, Jiang Li listened attentively throughout the class; he couldn't take his eyes off the graceful figure on the podium, the sight of her deeply etched into his heart.

She was so beautiful it inspired greedy thoughts.

"You're not thinking of hitting on the teacher, are you?" yawned Chen Dan, who had slept through most of the class. On waking up, he saw Jiang Li listening intently, his eyes, which normally seemed unaffected by worldly concerns, brimming with focus and fervor.

Jiang Li's lips curved up slightly, "No."

That's good, Chen Dan thought, relieved internally.

But then something seemed to occur to him, and he complained with an impatient expression, "I heard that a freshman girl started dating a male teacher and got expelled. Although you don't care about attending school or not, remember, 'Lust is a risky blade to dance on top of'; don't take that risk for love, leaving me to toil alone in this hard slog of university life."

For someone like Chen Dan, born in Rome, attending university at Hua University, one of the top in the country, had become a grueling chore.

Hearing this, Jiang Li responded with little enthusiasm, "Mind your own business."

Chen Dan clicked his tongue in boredom, increasingly feeling that Jiang Li had something on his mind, and it wasn't something to be proud of.

Eventually, he seemed to accept the possibility and stopped trying to dissuade him, instead egging him on, "Why don't you go after her? It's rare for you to show interest; don't miss out."

Jiang Li's expression grew darker and more impatient, his piercing black eyes warning Chen Dan with undeniable authority, his words measured, "Stop making me your topic of conversation; just mind your own secretary sister."

That hit a nerve, and Chen Dan wisely shut up, turning his head to go back to sleep.

Sunlight sprinkled on Liang Zhouyue's soft black hair, the specks of light catching in Jiang Li's gaze. He fell silent for two seconds, then raised his hand to pat Chen Dan's back, which faced him, his voice relaxed, "Go ask her which department she's from."

Chen Dan, "..."

How delicious irony is!

...

At the end of class.

Only after all the students had left did Liang Zhouyue start to pack up her teaching materials and head out.

As she reached the classroom door, a tall figure stepped beside her and a voice, unexpectedly familiar and tinged with rascality, said, "Mr. Liang, why do you always avoid me?"

Liang Zhouyue's heartbeat skipped, and as she looked up, she met Jiang Li's eyes brimming with smiles.

Those same expressive eyes, like those of an innocent, pure puppy! Even the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, highlighting the sweetness of his smile.