Lu Shufeng stared at her departing figure; the smile on his lips gradually faded.
His expression turned pensive.
He had promised himself he would never forget that face, and he never did.
It was her, he was sure, but she clearly did not remember him. It was reasonable, since it happened years ago, but it still stung.
He meant nothing to a person who had literally saved his life.
He looked at the books on the ground and, with a sigh, picked them up and sent them to the librarian's desk. He came out with the book he originally came for and went to look for Professor Chi.
*#*#*
Lu Shufeng knocked on the door, and he heard a serene hum, then the old man's voice asking him to enter.
Professor Chi was seated on a sofa in his office with an entire tea set out. He was sipping from a cup of tea and reading from a document.
"How did it go?" Professor Chi asked without raising his head.
"It was alright, not terrible at all. Now, Professor, do you forgive me?" Lu Shufeng asked, sitting opposite the older man.
Professor Chi took another sip of his tea with a relaxed expression on his face. "Ahh, son, this tea tastes great. Do you want some?"
Lu Shufeng's expression turned placating. "Professor, I did not mean to ignore you; you were, in fact, in my thoughts all the time that I was away. Can you please not ignore me?"
Professor Chi placed the document down and looked at him. "Since taking over my class was not as bad as you feared, why don't you do it again?"
Lu Shufeng turned to glare at the man, who seemed even more serene after noticing his gaze. With a resigned sigh, he took one of the cups from the set and poured himself a cup as well.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, and occasionally, Professor Chi would sneak a glance at him. He finally broke the silence.
"I will forgive you, but you have to even out that hair."
"Most definitely not. If I did not do it then, why should I do it now?"
Professor Chi crinkled his face at the man opposite him.
"What an insolent brat."
"Either way, you missed me a lot, didn't you?"
Professor Chi scoffed at him, then continued sipping his tea. "You definitely came here for something. Out with it."
Lu Shufeng's expression became solemn. He took out a small blue box from his coat and placed it on the tea table.
Professor Chi glanced at it for a moment, then set his teacup down. "So it's just the usual."
Lu Shufeng nodded calmly. "There is also another thing. I wanted to ask about one of your students."
A scowl formed on the older man's face. "What do you want from those louts?"
Lu Shufeng winced. "They are not that bad, are they? You are overreacting. I wanted to ask if you know a female student surnamed Xia."
Professor Chi looked at him strangely. "I know of a dozen. Don't you have any more precise information?"
Lu Shufeng looked sheepish. "That's all I remember. I saw her in your class today and recognized her face. I tried talking to her, but she ran away."
"I had no idea I had such a smart individual in my class. Now I am interested in meeting her as well."
"Don't give her a hard time, I know you."
"Don't be ridiculous, it will all be fine. I am sure there must be a picture of her in the system somewhere. If you are desperate enough, you could look through the hundreds of profiles."
Lu Shufeng looked at him with aversion. "I am not that desperate. Also, I am pretty sure I am going to see her again."
Professor Chi grunted. "Good luck with that."
Lu Shufeng gave a short hum in response and finished his cup of tea. He would definitely see her again; that was something he was certain of.
*#*#*
Xia Manxi got out of a taxi and stared at the building in front of her, considering whether what she was doing was even a good idea. She had randomly applied because it sounded interesting at a glance, but was now worried about whether it would make her too busy and affect her studies. She was just about to be called to the bar after all.
It was an internship opportunity offered by a former beloved professor, Shen Xiaofei. She had retired years ago and opened a foundation that helped fund the education of girls, especially from smaller towns. Her main motivation for even applying was her instant admiration for the woman. She had begun watching some of her presentations, then had ended up doing some research on the woman. She had married the patriarch of the Long family, and from the pictures on the internet, she had one son.
Her thoughts were a little complicated when she thought about the Long family. They were much more powerful than the Chen family, which was already very complicated as it was, meaning that the Long family was probably worse. It fascinated her a little, although it was very unlikely she would ever want to be involved in them.
She had already had her share of large family drama.
She finally entered the building, directly asking for the human resources department. She was led there, and after processing everything, she was told to go into the office of her direct superior, whose name was Liang Meirong.
She took the elevator and followed the directions she was given. When she got to the door, she knocked, and she heard a gentle voice telling her to enter.
When she entered, there were three women in the room, one whom she remembered distinctly.
Shen Xiaofei sat comfortably with two younger women who both turned to look towards her. She bowed politely, but when her eyes met Shen Xiaofei's, a smile unconsciously bloomed on her lips. The older woman smiled back gently and nodded. Xia Manxi instantly maintained her neutral expression and stood up straight.
Just as she was about to speak, the young woman sitting opposite Shen Xiaofei spoke with a smile on her lips.
"It seems the new intern is greeting her select favourite today."
'What did she mean by that?' Xia Manxi wondered.
No matter how confusing the remark was, Xia Manxi smiled again. She did not want to leave a first bad impression. She was going to ignore the remark.
The woman next to the other woman looked uncomfortable and looked like she was going to say something, but Xia Manxi beat her to it.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Xia Manxi, and I hope to do my best during my short time here."
The other girl stood up at that moment and approached her. When she smiled, Xia Manxi suppressed the urge to smile back. She had this quality about her that made people lower their guard.
"It's nice to meet you, Xia Manxi. My name is Liang Meirong, and you will be helping me out during your internship. I hope we get along well."
"I hope we get along too, thank you so much, Miss Liang."
"You should have a tour of the Foundation before you start. What do you think?"
The other woman stood up and walked toward them. "I will do it. I am free until one anyway."
"But.."
"Don't worry, Meirong. I don't bite. It's just a tour. What could go wrong?"
Liang Meirong nodded after a moment. "Alright, then I will finish up my work here."
"Okay." She said with a wide smile, then turned to Xia Manxi.
"My name is Sun Lanshan, it's nice to meet you." She said as she stretched out her hand for a handshake.
Xia Manxi took her hand and nodded with a polite smile. "I will be troubling you."
"No worries, let's go."
Xia Manxi walked behind her as she began showing her where she would be working. It was all normal until Sun Lanshan paused in the break room to get a cup of coffee. The random break in the middle of the tour irritated her. It felt very deliberate. She was, however, still an intern, and it would have been in bad taste to say anything just on the first day.
Sun Lanshan, however, did not seem to want to waste her time. After taking two sips of her coffee, she spoke to Xia Manxi again.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself during this free time?"