Jiang Muping’s work schedule is not as flexible as Cheng Yan’s, even though it’s Saturday. There are still many things to take care of at school. The two agreed to meet at the art exhibition at 4:30 in the afternoon. Cheng Yan arrived early at North City University and parked the car at the south gate, sitting inside and waiting for Jiang Muping.
Cheng Yan didn’t have Jiang Muping’s WeChat, so he sent him a message saying that he was waiting for him at the south gate of North City University.
Jiang Muping is the youngest full professor in the department. Despite being young, he has a heavy workload. Cheng Yan received a text message from Jiang Muping with a response that was no different from their last meeting: Jiang Muping had an impromptu meeting and would arrive a bit late.
Jiang Muping: Sorry.
Cheng Yan: It’s alright, I’ll wait for you.
Jiang Muping: Come up.
Cheng Yan: ?
Jiang Muping: Don’t wait at the entrance, come to my office.
Cheng Yan wanted to reply with “No need,” but Jiang Muping had already sent the specific location of his office along with a message: “I don’t know how long it will take, so you come over first.”
It was hot, and keeping the air conditioning on in the car was indeed unbearable. Cheng Yan thought for a moment and decided to get out of the car.
North City University has a large campus, and the south gate is close to the Law School. Cheng Yan asked a few passing students for directions and quickly found the Law School building.
Jiang Muping’s office door was tightly closed. Cheng Yan knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside. So he stood outside the door for a while.
A teacher passed by carrying some documents, and Cheng Yan eagerly made eye contact with them. The teacher suddenly stopped and asked, “Hey, what do you do?”
Cheng Yan thought to himself that he might have appeared suspicious, which caught the attention of passersby. However, he also wondered if he looked that immature. He lowered his head and glanced at his outfit for the day, a light gray dress shirt with a black pair of trousers. He didn’t have the typical appearance of a student.
As Cheng Yan contemplated, the other person mistook him for a confused student who couldn’t find their teacher. Continuing the conversation, they asked, “Are you looking for a specific teacher?”
Cheng Yan instinctively replied, “Looking for Professor Jiang.”
The teacher chuckled and pointed behind him, saying, “Isn’t this the office right here?”
In the end, Cheng Yan pushed the door open and entered. He didn’t expect Jiang Muping’s office to be a single-person room with just one desk. In front of the desk, there was a black leather sofa. The room was air-conditioned and quite cool.
Cheng Yan initially wanted to find a place to sit, but the only available sofa was piled high with neatly organized stacks of documents, completely occupied. The other option was Jiang Muping’s office chair, but sitting in someone else’s workspace seemed impolite. Therefore, Cheng Yan decided to remain standing.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Cheng Yan only occupied a small portion of the chair, sitting with his back straight and holding his phone, playing with it. After a while, someone knocked on the door from outside, but Cheng Yan remained silent, creating the illusion that there was no one inside the room.
To Cheng Yan’s surprise, the person outside knocked a few times and then pushed the door open, saying, “Professor?”
Cheng Yan, holding his phone, looked up and made eye contact with the young student standing at the door.
The expression of the student froze for a moment, and then their eyebrows slightly furrowed, their gaze carrying a sense of questioning, as if asking, “What are you doing?”
Cheng Yan put away his phone and remained seated, saying, “I’m waiting for Professor Jiang.”
“Why did you casually sit in the professor’s seat like that?” The student walked into the room while holding a stack of documents, displaying a somewhat authoritative demeanor.
Cheng Yan didn’t appreciate the person’s pretentious attitude, but he still politely explained, “The sofa is filled with stuff, and there’s no place for me to sit.”
“You shouldn’t just casually sit in the professor’s seat either.” The student had a serious expression and wondered, “Why aren’t you getting up?”
The student’s aggressive tone caused Cheng Yan’s expression to turn cold.
“Where is Professor Jiang? Why are you staying here when there’s no one in the office?” the student questioned.
“I asked him to stay here.”
Jiang Muping’s voice came from behind as Cheng Yan’s gaze went beyond the student and towards the door.
The student turned their head and respectfully said, “Professor.”
“What’s the matter?” Jiang Muping walked over, holding some documents in his hand. He glanced at Cheng Yan and noticed that Cheng Yan was sitting in the chair with a slight stiffness.
“I have some areas that I don’t understand well regarding the two cases you mentioned to me earlier…”
Jiang Muping placed the documents on the desk and lowered his gaze, looking at Cheng Yan sitting in the chair.
“Let’s discuss it another day,” Jiang Muping said. He casually picked up the cup near Cheng Yan, accidentally brushing his middle finger against Cheng Yan’s hand, causing Cheng Yan’s hand to flinch to the side.
“I don’t have time right now,” Jiang Muping said after taking a sip of water, addressing the student.
The student glanced at Cheng Yan, then shifted their gaze back to Jiang Muping, saying, “Then I’ll come back another time. Sorry for the interruption.”
Cheng Yan had stayed seated in Jiang Muping’s chair throughout the entire exchange. The student appeared more and more confused when leaving but didn’t say anything further.
Cheng Yan stood up and quickly explained, “The sofa was occupied with documents, and there was no available seat, so I sat here.”
Jiang Muping nodded and asked, “Why are you so reserved? He’s just my student.”
“I know,” Cheng Yan thought to himself, “I’m only reserved because you’re here.”
“Your student seems quite assertive,” Jiang Muping remarked.
Jiang Muping understood the implied meaning behind Cheng Yan’s words and smiled, saying, “You have a youthful appearance, so he sees you as a student.”
“It feels like he’s quite protective of you,” Cheng Yan observed, looking at Jiang Muping. “I suppose this child admires you a lot.”
Jiang Muping’s face remained expressionless, and his tone was almost indifferent. “Perhaps,” he replied.
Jiang Muping glanced at his wristwatch and said, “Wait for me a moment, I’ll go change into something else.”
“But isn’t what you’re wearing fine?” Cheng Yan quickly took a glance at Jiang Muping from head to toe and casually commented.
“Li Sizhi doesn’t like it when I wear shirts. She will surely say that I dampen her enthusiasm,” Jiang Muping said.
Cheng Yan appeared confused and said, “Why? You look handsome…”
Jiang Muping responded to Cheng Yan’s unintentional compliment with a faint smile and said, “She’s a peculiar person.”
Jiang Muping changed into a casual T-shirt style, and he looked noticeably younger. Cheng Yan’s car remained parked at the south gate of North City University, so they both took Jiang Muping’s car and headed to the art exhibition.
the late evening, there were few people left visiting the art exhibition, and Li Sizhi’s figure was nowhere to be seen. Cheng Yan’s habit of being focused, developed through his tattoos, led him to enjoy the artworks for a while. When he came back to reality, Jiang Muping was already gone.
Jiang Muping was not an expert in this field, and neither was Cheng Yan. Cheng Yan had only studied painting for a couple of years and considered himself a mediocre artist. Therefore, the two of them didn’t engage in much conversation throughout the exhibition. They silently appreciated the artworks, each focusing on what they personally liked. And that’s how they ended up getting separated.
When Cheng Yan found Jiang Muping, Li Sizhi was right next to him. They were whispering to each other while calmly looking at a specific painting on the wall.
Cheng Yan could vaguely hear snippets of their conversation.
“I thought you wouldn’t come. But here you are.”
“No need to waste an invitation card.”
“But you don’t like my paintings,” Li Sizhi turned her head to look at Jiang Muping, a slight smile appearing on her lips.
“You gave me two invitation cards, so you wanted me to come with him, right?”
Cheng Yan stood in place, momentarily dazed, and quietly turned around to leave.
Jiang Muping encountered Cheng Yan in the restroom, where Cheng Yan was washing his hands at the sink.
“Li Sizhi came over,” Jiang Muping said as he approached Cheng Yan. “I’ve been looking for you, didn’t see you.”
Cheng Yan nodded and turned off the faucet. He turned around, wearing a look that indicated he had something to say.
Jiang Muping noticed his unusual mood and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Jiang Muping.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I know the teacher wants to match us together,” Cheng Yan looked at him. “If you don’t like it, don’t force yourself.”
Cheng Yan’s low, hoarse voice always gave him an almost melancholic aura. His expression was plain, but the underlying melancholy in his words couldn’t be hidden.
“I don’t like to force things.”
Thanks for the chapter!!
Thanks for the chapter 😁😁
Aww poor cheng yan >< but I’m sure jiang muping wouldn’t have come with him if he truly doesn’t want to! Waiting for that little spark between them to set things off =w=
Somehow I feel depressed for both of them. I’m not only waiting for tiny sparks I need a firework-kind-of-sparks
Thanks for the chapter. 💕
Oh no! OAO Quickly clear this missunderstanding!
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(˃͈ દ ˂͈ ༶ )
I like this energy
Thank you for your translation 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
Thanks for the translation ❤️
“Your student seems quite assertive,” Jiang Muping remarked. -This should be Cheng Yan remarked. So far, chapters need a lot of editing. This mix up of who said what is in previous chapters as well. Also, one of the paragraphs in this chapter seems cut off. Otherwise, the story is good:) thank you for translation.