"Good morning, Professor Gu." Wen Qian was a little surprised.
Gu Mian looked a little different than usual. The cuffs of his black shirt were rolled up, revealing forearms traced with blue veins. It was a departure from his usual scholarly image, and he looked incredibly alluring...
Wen Qian always felt a bit nervous around Gu Mian; he was just too handsome. When she first met him, she'd even gone out of her way to look up his resume on the school forum. She hadn't expected much, but after reading it, she was filled with a mix of envy and admiration.
It was a long list of awards. If he could take first place, he never settled for second.
He had completely upended Wen Qian's image of a professor. In her mind, such brilliant academics were supposed to be old-fashioned and stern. Preferably with a pair of thick-lensed glasses to show off their profound knowledge.
It wasn't that Wen Qian was prejudiced against professors; it was just that the ones she remembered had an average age of forty and up. A professor as young and good-looking as Gu Mian was someone she had only ever seen in TV dramas.
Besides, Gu Mian's looks weren't the understated, conventionally handsome type. His was the kind of beauty that would stand out in any crowd, the kind that made you want to take a second look after the first.
Refined, elegant... yet dangerous.
"What are you looking at?" The man's rich voice sounded again.
Wen Qian reacted quickly. Snapping back to her senses, she immediately pointed to the orange cat under the tree. "It's injured."
"Is that so." His gaze fell on Wen Qian's slender neck, his voice mild. She wore her hair in a ponytail as she had before, revealing a delicate, pale nape. Except this time, there were two distinct bite marks on it.
To be precise, four clearly visible puncture marks.
The bite of a feline Beastman.
The curve of the man's lips vanished. He tapped his fingers twice against his thigh, a nearly imperceptible gesture that betrayed his annoyance.
Even from a distance, Gu Mian had caught the scent of another Beastman on Wen Qian. Unlike before, this time the scent was aggressive and strong, a deliberate declaration of ownership.
Gu Mian: "Does Wen have a boyfriend?"
Wen Qian was taken aback by the question, completely baffled.
"Here." Seeing her confusion, Gu Mian raised a hand and tapped his own neck twice.
Wen Qian touched her neck and finally realized what Gu Mian was referring to. Her eyes darted away as she blushed and explained, "No... I was, I was bitten by a cat."
'How could I have forgotten?' Yin Zhi had bitten her on the neck yesterday.
"Oh?" Gu Mian smiled, his simple, gold-rimmed glasses perfectly concealing the coldness in his eyes. His tone was flat, betraying no emotion. "That sounds like a rather annoying cat."
Wen Qian couldn't tell if it was her imagination, but she felt there was a hidden meaning behind his words.
Feeling a little guilty, Wen Qian turned her back slightly and tried to change the subject. "This orange cat seems a little afraid of me. Could I trouble you to take a picture of it for me, Professor?"
Wen Qian was worried that the moment she raised her hand, she would scare the little guys away.
There was a long silence behind her. Just as Wen Qian thought Gu Mian was going to refuse, the man's voice, full of hidden meaning, came from behind her. "Alright."
Gu Mian moved to stand very close to Wen Qian, his body almost brushing against her back. Feeling an unprecedented sense of pressure, Wen Qian resisted the urge to step back and handed him her phone.
The man reached out his hand naturally, but the moment he took the phone, he gave Wen Qian's index finger a hard squeeze.
The cool touch made Wen Qian freeze. 'I was holding the very bottom of my phone, so how did my hand still touch Gu Mian's?'
Her previously relaxed mood suddenly became tense. But Wen Qian didn't have time to overthink it, because just as Gu Mian bent down to take a picture of the cats, both of them let out a harsh hiss and shot off in a panic.
"It seems they're afraid of me, too," Gu Mian said mildly as he straightened up, unconcerned. His voice was so calm, it was as if he had expected this outcome all along.
Just then, someone from campus security arrived. They greeted Gu Mian, then asked where the cats had gone.
Wen Qian opened her mouth, pointing guiltily in the direction they had fled. "They ran that way."
"Probably off to beg for food at Cafeteria 2 again." The security officer looked in the direction Wen Qian pointed and sighed helplessly. Then he muttered under his breath, "They're already so fat..."
These two fat orange cats were the unofficial mascots of University A. Although there were no explicit rules about caring for them, everyone did so tacitly. That was why when Wen Qian said a cat was injured, the security staff had immediately grabbed a first-aid kit and rushed over.
"Oh, class is about to start!" After the delay, Wen Qian suddenly remembered she was here for an early class. She turned to look at Gu Mian and saw that his handsome face still wore a mild expression.
"Professor, would you like to walk together?" She thought for a moment before asking politely.
Gu Mian stared at her for a moment, his thoughts unreadable. But Wen Qian could still detect a hint of pleasure in the slight smile playing on his lips.
Gu Mian: "Alright. Together."
Wen Qian was a little surprised. She had only asked out of courtesy, assuming he would refuse... But since it had come to this, she could only brace herself and walk on.
By now, the campus was getting crowded with students rushing to their early classes. People kept looking their way, their gazes filled mostly with curiosity.
Wen Qian deliberately slowed her pace, hoping Gu Mian would walk ahead of her. But he seemed not to take the hint, consistently maintaining a pace just slightly behind hers.
'Seriously? Does he really not know who all these people are looking at?'
A simple photo of Gu Mian's side profile could outshine the hottest young celebrities. While other schools' online confession walls were filled with love letters, University A's was filled with pictures of him!
Wen Qian quickened her pace, trying to put some distance between herself and Gu Mian.
In her experience, any random photo of Gu Mian giving a lecture could cause a stir on social media. If she were to become the subject of gossip involving him, she could just wait for the netizens to dig up her entire family history for her.
Gu Mian didn't know what Wen Qian was thinking. Being tall with long legs, his natural stride was larger. He had been deliberately slowing down before, but now that Wen Qian had picked up her speed, he no longer felt the need to hold back.
Wen Qian felt like her legs were about to break; any faster and she'd have to start running. Yet not only had she failed to create any distance from Gu Mian, but they were now even closer. On the verge of tears, she turned back and tentatively said, "Professor Gu, why don't you walk in front..."
"Doesn't Qianqian like me walking behind?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.
Wen Qian shook her head instinctively. 'Gu Mian is being way too direct,' she thought.
But it wasn't that she disliked it; she was afraid. She was afraid his legion of fangirls would come after her. He had no idea how they looked at her, like they wanted to eat her alive... even though she hadn't done a single thing!
"Qianqian." As if sensing something, the man's voice turned a few degrees colder. "Don't worry about other people."