With no classes on the morning, Xu Han carried various breakfast items to the faculty apartment building.
Not knowing what Tang Shiying liked to eat, he had simply brought a little bit of everything.
When he stood before her door, however, he suddenly lost the courage to knock.
After hesitating for a long time and taking a deep breath, he finally knocked on the door.
He gave three polite knocks and then waited quietly.
Tang Shiying had an injury on her foot, so she certainly wouldn't open the door right away, which gave him enough time to mentally prepare himself.
Though he had no idea what he was preparing for, an inexplicable tension gripped him—perhaps due to a lifelong fear of teachers.
After waiting for about a minute, the door slowly opened from the inside.
Tang Shiying appeared dressed in blue silk pajamas, her long black hair cascading naturally over her shoulders.
To Xu Han, her bare face was stunning enough; completely unadorned, yet mouth-watering.
"Good morning, Teacher Tang!"
Xu Han greeted her with a smile, trying his best to look at ease.
"I brought you some breakfast. Would you like to try some?"
As he spoke, he gave the bag in his hand a light shake.
Tang Shiying's gaze fell on the bags in his hands—four large bags.
Did he seriously think he was coming here to fatten up a pig?
Anyone who didn't know better would think she had the appetite of a bottomless pit!
Looking at the goofy fellow before her, Tang Shiying was torn between laughter and tears.
"Are you planning to stand in the doorway forever? My foot is killing me, you know!"
Xu Han paused, gathered all the bags into his right hand, and stepped into the room.
He supported her arm with his left hand, used his foot to pull the door shut, and helped her over to the sofa.
"What would you like to eat? Milk, bread, steamed buns..."
Xu Han rattled off the breakfast items he had brought like a waiter reciting a menu.
Tang Shiying chuckled softly. Seeing his earnest expression, she suddenly felt like teasing him.
"Are you planning to open a breakfast stand?"
Xu Han rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I brought a bit of variety."
His silly, earnest look made Tang Shiying abandon any further thought of teasing him.
"I'm not a picky eater. Anything is fine! But thank you for bringing me breakfast. I'll transfer the money to you in a bit."
Xu Han wanted to refuse, but in the end, the words wouldn't come out.
Tang Shiying had her principles. As a teacher, how could she casually take advantage of a student?
Besides, if he refused her money, it would probably just upset her.
"How is your foot? Is it feeling any better?"
"It's not a major issue. Go ahead and eat with me."
Tang Shiying pushed the steamed buns and eggs toward Xu Han, gesturing for him to sit down.
In truth, he had already eaten, but sharing a meal with Teacher Tang wasn't a bad prospect at all.
Xu Han sat opposite Tang Shiying, stealing glances at her every now and then.
He had no idea how the breakfast tasted, but his stomach was certainly packed to the brim.
Xu Han put the remaining food into the refrigerator, boiled some hot water, and set the cup before Tang Shiying.
He left the apartment just before Jiang Yanan arrived.
Tang Shiying picked up the cup on the table, cradling it in her palms as her gaze drifted off.
That little fellow seemed so nervous around her, yet at times he was surprisingly bold.
Why was that?
Was she too harsh with him, or...
Without even realizing it, she found that Xu Han occupied her thoughts more and more often.
While she was lost in thought, Jiang Yanan opened the door and walked in.
"I brought some fruit. Let me wash some for you to eat."
Jiang Yanan walked straight into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator, only to find the entire top shelf crammed with various breakfast items.
"Tangtang, did you raid a breakfast stand, or is there a clearance sale going on?"
Puzzled, Jiang Yanan washed the fruit and sat down beside Tang Shiying.
She picked up a fresh grape and fed it directly to her.
"Did the little junior come by?"
"Which junior?"
"Hmph! If you won't tell me, I'll just ask him myself!"
Fuming, Jiang Yanan pulled out her phone and sent a message to Xu Han.
Meanwhile, as Xu Han walked downstairs to the dormitory building, he saw Wang Ziheng approaching with a girl, chatting and laughing.
He recognized the girl as Lv Shangqing, a student from Screenwriting Class 2.
The two of them caught sight of Xu Han and greeted him warmly.
"Xiao Han, heading back to the dorm? Let's walk together!"
Wang Ziheng hurried over a couple of steps, threw an arm around Xu Han's shoulders, and walked with him toward the dormitory building.
"Monitor, are things heating up for you?"
Xu Han looked at Wang Ziheng with a smile full of gratification—the exact look of a proud father gazing at his eldest son.
Wang Ziheng fought hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling up, forcing a look of utter calm.
"Nothing's going on. We just happened to run into each other on the way and exchanged a few words!"
He certainly wasn't about to tell Xu Han that he had deliberately gone to wait by the teaching building just to manufacture a chance encounter.
Thinking it over, Wang Ziheng figured that since Xu Han was his bro, hiding things from him wasn't right, and spilling the beans might even earn him some advice. He lowered his voice and asked, "Do you think I have a shot?"
He claimed they had just bumped into each other a second ago, and now he was asking for advice—classic him!
Xu Han looked at his earnest expression and thought for a moment.
"If you want happiness, you have to seize it yourself!"
"Makes sense!"
Whether Wang Ziheng actually understood or not, his reaction was lightning fast.
Back in the dormitory, Xu Han found Lin Jinghao staring at him with a bizarre expression without saying a word, making his skin crawl.
"Boss, what kind of look is that? I have zero desires where you're concerned!"
Lin Jinghao wore an evil grin.
"Where the hell did you sneak off to early this morning?"
"Getting breakfast, obviously!"
"Bullshit. I saw you leaving the school gates carrying four big bags." Lin Jinghao shook his head in disappointment. "My throat was practically hoarse from yelling, and you didn't even look back once!"
"Really? The wind must have been too loud and carried away your heavenly voice."
Truth be told, Xu Han had heard him when he was by the door, but he had deliberately quickened his pace out of fear that he wouldn't be able to explain himself.
"Did you little rascal go out to fool around behind our backs..."
"Fooling around? Is it really that exciting?"
Zhao Lefan, who had been fast asleep, suddenly bolted upright, the fires of gossip burning fiercely in his eyes.
"Was it a senior, a junior, a widow, or a sister-in-law?"
The other three looked at this resident clown as if he were an idiot.
Seizing the opportunity, Xu Han turned on his computer, put on his headphones, and blocked out Lin Jinghao's relentless questioning.
His phone screen flashed. He tapped it open to find a message from Jiang Yanan: Little junior, did you go to Tangtang's place this morning?
Xu Han stared at the screen for a long time and decisively chose to play dead.
He certainly couldn't admit he had been there, yet he was terrible at lying.
Back in the apartment, Jiang Yanan waited in vain for a reply from Xu Han, tossed her phone aside, and turned her attention to a TV drama out of sheer boredom.
Just as she was getting engrossed in the plot, the notification chime for an incoming message sounded.
When she opened it, the message wasn't from the little junior, but from Qiao Song!
Jiang Yanan shoved her phone right in front of Tang Shiying.
"Qiao Song says he wants to apologize to you in person and drop by to check on you. Should I give him the address?"
Too lazy to even look at it, Tang Shiying gave a flat refusal.
It wasn't that she was holding a grudge; it was simply that Qiao Song was far too hypocritical. To the world, he put on the persona of a cultured gentleman, but behind closed doors, he excelled at plotting and scheming. That was precisely how he had secured his recommendation for graduate school!