Chapter 16 – Delivering Lunch

After several more days, Ye Zhou found a relatively free day, carrying a lunch bag in his hand, and set out before noon. He hadn’t been on campus for a long time and felt nostalgic, encountering many college students laughing and playing along the way, feeling as if he had also become several years younger.

He wore a simple T-shirt and jeans to avoid standing out too much among the students instead of his usual work attire. In his early thirties, he wasn’t showing his age, and his appearance wasn’t bad; dressed this way, he looked sunny and handsome, indistinguishable from these students. Many female students couldn’t help but turn around to look at him, probably guessing which senior he was in which department.

Ye Zhou was quite satisfied with this; after all these years, his charm remained undiminished.

After asking the department office where Guan Heng’s office was, he checked the time and waited right outside the door.

When the school bell rang, the previously quiet campus suddenly became lively. Students picked up their textbooks or backpacks and headed for the school cafeteria or out of school, leaving the teaching buildings relatively quiet.

Ten minutes later, Ye Zhou heard footsteps coming from the stairwell. Ye Zhou’s luck was good; the person who came was indeed Guan Heng.

Guan Heng was slightly taken aback when he saw Ye Zhou, his eyes filled with a hint of surprise and scrutiny, unable to tear his gaze away. Ye Zhou’s outfit was different from usual, his bangs hanging down, making him look much younger, his smile pleasant, his demeanor clean, making him very comfortable to look at.

“Teacher Guan,” but when Ye Zhou spoke, he was again the Ye Zhou that Guan Heng knew.

“Why did you come?” Guan Heng smiled naturally upon seeing him, “The school security didn’t stop you.”

Ye Zhou had indeed entered through the main gate of the school openly and aboveboard, not feeling guilty at all. Knowing that Guan Heng was joking, he joined in, “Probably because I look like a student.”

Guan Heng agreed, “Good thing no one’s here now, otherwise, if they heard you call me that, they’d think you were really my student.”

Ye Zhou enjoyed watching Guan Heng’s slightly surprised expression; perhaps because Guan Heng always gave off an aura of calmness and ease, so when he was caught off guard, it gave him an inexplicable sense of accomplishment. Just from looking at Guan Heng’s reaction at first sight, Ye Zhou knew he had succeeded. He laughed again, “Do I look that young?”

“Mm, different from usual,” Guan Heng said with a smile, subconsciously switching the books in his hand to his right hand, using his left hand to take out the key and open the office door, “Makes me seem older.”

“No,” Ye Zhou spoke frankly, after all, that’s what he really thought, “Teacher Guan is still very handsome.”

Indeed, men at work have the most charm, and Ye Zhou fully agreed with this statement at this moment. When Guan Heng was at school, he was completely different from when he was at home or at the community college. Perhaps because he needed to command respect from his students during class, he exuded an aura of a teacher, authoritative but not severe, warm yet distant, radiating the allure of a mature man.

Guan Heng walked into the office, turned on the lights first, then invited Ye Zhou inside.

Ye Zhou followed, Guan Heng’s office was full of bookshelves and research materials, all professional books and documents, but they were neatly arranged, not messy at all, very much in line with his personal style.

Guan Heng placed the books on the table, “Is the restaurant not busy today?”

“Mm…” Ye Zhou had already prepared an excuse, saying that their restaurant was planning to introduce new dishes and wanted him to try the taste, etc. But when he met Guan Heng’s eyes, he suddenly felt that nothing could be hidden from him. Since his purpose was already clear, he might as well be honest, “Didn’t you say you don’t have much time to eat, so I made some easy-to-eat rice balls…”

As Ye Zhou spoke, he opened the lunch bag, placing the lunch box on the table. The lunch box had two layers, like those in Japanese restaurants, and was very beautiful in design; one was for food, the other for fruit. But the lunch box Ye Zhou had wasn’t one used by the restaurant but one from his own collection at home, something that was obvious from the price. So even if he tried to make excuses, it wouldn’t do him any good; there were too many giveaways. Guan Heng’s intelligence would not fail to notice.

And when Ye Zhou opened the lid, although they were rice balls, the ingredients were rich, just the right size for a bite, easy to eat. One could see from the plating and color coordination that he had put in a lot of effort, let alone having to consider things like the invisible calories and nutrition required for an adult’s meal. All his thoughts were here, laid bare. The most thoughtful thing was that the fruits were cut into pieces, easy to eat.

Perhaps because he was used to working in the restaurant, Ye Zhou didn’t realize it while cooking, but now that he looked at it, it was a bit exaggerated, and he laughed himself. However, since he was pursuing someone, he was straightforward and generous, “I don’t know what you like to eat, so I made a little of everything. Give it a try.”

Ye Zhou’s eyes shone with unmasked anticipation, making it hard to refuse his kindness. And Guan Heng just smiled and accepted it calmly, “Thank you, you went to a lot of trouble.”

“You’re welcome.”

However, Guan Heng had barely taken a few bites, and Ye Zhou had not been sitting for ten minutes when, as Guan Heng had said earlier, a student soon arrived. A graduate student familiar with the place raised his hand to knock and enter the office, “Professor, there’s something about my thesis…”

When Guan Heng stayed in the office, the door was never deliberately closed. So when the student had just stepped into the door, he saw Ye Zhou standing to the side. He clearly hadn’t expected anyone else to be in the office and froze on the spot, neither able to enter nor retreat. In the end, he stepped back out of the door, politely greeting, “Hello, senior?”

Guan Heng didn’t react, but Ye Zhou couldn’t help but laugh, “Hah–“

The graduate student was puzzled, not knowing what Ye Zhou was laughing about.

“Sorry, it’s nothing…” Ye Zhou stopped laughing after a while, but his raised corners of his mouth showed his pleasant mood. Wherever he was, it seemed to become lively and vibrant. Ye Zhou could tell that the student had something to ask Guan Heng, so it wasn’t proper for him to stay and disturb them. Turning to Guan Heng, he said, “The restaurant still has work, so I’ll leave first.”

Guan Heng replied, “Okay.”

Before Ye Zhou left, he said, “If you can still eat it, shall I bring some tomorrow?”

Guan Heng looked at Ye Zhou for a moment and said, “I don’t have class in the morning tomorrow, so I may not be here.”

Ye Zhou hadn’t had time to feel disappointed before hearing Guan Heng say, “How about the day after tomorrow?”

Ye Zhou was slightly taken aback, smiling even more beautifully, “Okay.”

The graduate student standing at the door had heard their entire conversation and watched the scene in shock. Professor Guan was gentle yet stern, always giving people a sense of distance, and he had never seen him speak with such an expression and tone. This stranger seemed to be able to get along naturally with Professor Guan; the two looked very familiar, somewhat intimate, and there was an indescribable feeling about them.