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Qin Juran’s voice was filled with determination. As the soft glow of the fairy lights flickered upon her face, the image of her previous getup, with the wire-rimmed glasses and white suit jacket, flashed in Ruan Nan’s mind, causing the temperature in her face to increase exponentially: “Stop joking around, Qin Juran…”
Qin Juran pulled her even closer. “Why would I be joking? I taught you so many problems, don’t I deserved to be called ‘Professor Qin?’”
Ruan Nan’s strength could never top Qin Juran’s. In the position she was currently in, she could only push weakly against Qin Juan, pleading: “This isn’t the right place for that.”
Qin Juran burst into laughter. Hooking a finger around Ruan Nan’s chin, she replied, “Oh, really? But according to Professor Qin’s observations, you seem to really like these uniforms?”
She brought her lips right to Ruan Nan’s ears and continued, “Didn’t you notice that every time I wear a suit and glasses, you always end up staring at me?”
Having hit the nail on the head, Ruan Nan’s face immediately flamed, burning so hot that she could scald Qin Juran. She felt that her secret shames had been exposed and wanted nothing more than to hide under the covers and ignore her. In a stuffy voice, she asked, “So you purposely dressed up like that today?”
Qin Juran laughed softly. “Of course. I calculated the time: one class would take two hours, so by the time I finished, it would be just past 12.”
“Ah-Ruan, do you know how everyone else is describing our relationship?”
Ruan Nan understood that she was referring to the aftermath of the forum post they made, as well as the reason behind Lin Wei’s recent attitude towards her. She straightened her neck and answered, “Love rivals turned lovers?”
“It’s a little more promiscuous than that.”
“Love rivals by day, lovers by night.”
“It’s already night. And what do lovers usually do at this time?”
Ruan Nan had no idea that there was such a rumor going around. Now, in this situation, with Qin Juran’s warm breath against her ears, a tingling sensation rippling through her body, she spoke softly: “Qin Juran, I know you’re joking.”
Qin Juran froze, then let out a small laugh and rubbed her head: “That’s right, that last part was a joke. But I meant what I said before.”
“Say the words.”
“I refuse.”
“You won’t say it?”
Ruan Nan sensed that Qin Juran was planning something naughty, as she knew Qin Juran’s concepts of touching and playing around often overlapped. She quickly followed up as a beg for mercy: “Weren’t you planning on becoming President Qin? If I call you ‘Professor,’ then how could I call you ‘President Qin’?”
Surprised that she remembered such a matter, Qin Juran let out a laugh, then leaned closer to Ruan Nan’s mouth: “They’re not mutually exclusive.”
“‘President Qin’ under the covers, ‘Professor Qin’ above.”
Ruan Nan was so embarrassed that she felt lightheaded. But in the end, she couldn’t think of a comeback, and finally called out in a small voice, “Professor Qin.”
Knowing that her scheme played out perfectly, Qin Juran pulled Ruan Nan back over to the living room to continue teaching, satisfied. After this episode, Ruan Nan had a hard time collecting her thoughts, and assumed that Qin Juran would be the same. However, Qin Juran’s mental willpower was truly amazing; it seemed that as soon as she picked up her pencil, she was back in her tutor mindset.
The silver pen looked especially shiny held in Qin Juran’s slender fingers, and every word of guidance that came out of her mouth made her all the more attractive…
Ruan Nan tried to clear her head, coughing softly. She strenuously worked through a few more problems and finally came to an understanding of the topic. When she opened her phone to check the time, it was already 1 a.m.
Ruan Nan felt that she had never studied this hard ever in her three years of university. Truthfully, she had a good grasp of her own aptitude and knew that at her level, she could just pass the exams. But for some reason, this time around, she didn’t want Qin Juran to see her below-par scores.
Feeling a little dizzy, Ruan Nan stretched out her body, then slumped over the table, like a little cat.  Peeking at Qin Juran from the corner of her eye, Ruan Nan pursed her lips. Pretty face, nice body, and good studies.
What a vixen.
After annotating the last problem, Qin Juran raised her head, preparing to continue speaking. When she saw Ruan Nan’s position, she reached a hand to rub her head. “Tired?”
“Mm.” Ruan Nan didn’t move.
Qin Juran laughed softly: “Are you hungry?”
Upon hearing her question, Ruan Nan realized that she was indeed a bit hungry, and grunted in response.
Qin Juran stood up and loosened her body. “Professor Qin will make you a midnight snack.”
Professor Qin, Professor Qin…
Looking at Qin Juran’s crescent eyes, Ruan Nan perked up, murmuring wittingly, “Professor ‘Qin.’” 1
Upon hearing those two words from Ruan Nan’s mouth, Qin Juran immediately leaned closer: “What did you just say?”
Ruan Nan tried to hold back her smile, but seeing Qin Juran’s excited expression, she found it more and more difficult. She quickly straightened up and shook her head: “Nothing.”
“No, wait, did you just secretly call me by ‘Professor Qin?’”
Finally, Ruan Nan couldn’t take it anymore and burst out in laughter. She covered a hand over her mouth and nodded, “Yep, Professor ‘Qin.’”
Qin Juran was incredulous: “Just earlier, you refused to call me that no matter what, so why are you so gleeful now?” After this, she gave Ruan Nan’s head another rub, then proceeded towards the kitchen to cook.
Ruan Nan buried her head on her knees, snickering for another while before finally shaking off the words ‘Professor Qin’ from her mind.
While Qin Juran cooked, Ruan Nan went to take a shower. She sloppily dried her hair, changed into a slip nightgown, then walked into the kitchen, where a scrumptious aroma was beginning to flow from.
Ruan Nan herself didn’t know how to cook, but based on the aroma, she could tell that Qin Juran’s skills were pretty top-notch.
But why did this aroma smell so familiar for some reason?
Ruan Nan put down her towel and walked towards the dining table, looking to see that placed upon the table was a steaming, fragrant bowl of…
Instant noodles.
Moreover, floating on top were two stalks of bok choy.
? ? ?
Qin Juran was currently bringing over another bowl from the kitchen. Since the bowl was rather hot, she nearly dropped it in her clumsy state.
Ruan Nan seemed a bit taken aback: “You can’t cook, either?”
Oh please, how could President Qin know how to cook?
But Qin Juran was unsure of whether the original owner could cook or not. Afraid of getting the details wrong, she only coughed lightly and spoke: “Using other ingredients is too much work, and instant noodles are the best midnight snack, after all.”
Ruan Nan rarely ate instant noodles, but eating it once in a while like this was quite delicious. With the shimmering red noodle soup and the glistening green vegetables, as well as the strong and flavorful aroma grazing against her nose, the meal was very appetizing. Qin Juran only made one packet of noodles, which was just the right amount for the two to share amongst themselves.
After eating the noodles, Qin Juran moved to wash the dishes, but Ruan Nan grabbed the bowl in her hand: “I got it, you go shower. I already washed up earlier.”
Qin Juran peered at her: “What, did calling me ‘Professor Qin’ dirty you or something?”
“……”
Ruan Nan: *hands in fists*
Qin Juran chuckled: “Looks like Miss Ruan is voluntarily inviting me to stay over?”
This time, Ruan Nan didn’t refute, instead raising a brow: “Campus Flower Qin even brought her new underwear with her; wouldn’t it be rude not to invite you and be so inconsiderate of your meticulous planning?”
Qin Juran froze, remembering that some of her clothes had fallen out of the bag when she was fishing out the items. Unfazed, she only replied with a quick word of, “Naughty,” then collected her underwear and sleepwear and walked into the bathroom. Of course, Ruan Nan’s bathroom was just as luxurious as the rest of the apartment and was even furnished with a beautiful white bathtub.
Upon laying eyes on the tub, Qin Juran suddenly felt paralyzed. She had a beautiful, comfortable bathtub just like that in her past life.
Just then, Ruan Nan’s voice echoed from the doorway: “If you want to use the tub, then I’ll clean it for you.”
Qin Juran sucked in a breath. “No need.”
The sounds of water rushing echoed from the bathroom. Since Ruan Nan lived alone, the bathroom door wasn’t completely solid wood and had a small pane of opaque glass embedded in the middle. Although it wasn’t transparent, the shadows could still be seen through. Seeing the silhouette within the bathroom moving, Ruan Nan quickly turned to walk away.
After a short while, Qin Juran came out, wearing a long nightgown whose length hit right around her knees. After rubbing her slippers against the bathmat, she leaned against the doorway as she dried off her hair and asked, “Which room am I sleeping in?”
Ruan Nan paused for a moment, then led her to a guest room. Perhaps it was because the room looked as if it rarely saw guests, in addition to the gray bedding and dim light, but Qin Juran couldn’t help shivering at the sight: “It’s really something, Miss Ruan.”
Moreover, this room was facing a direction such that the wind outside made an eerie sound as it blew past. Even Ruan Nan felt a bit apologetic, letting out a small cough: “If you get scared during the night…”
“I can come sleep with you?”
“You can give me a call.”
“…..”
Qin Juran didn’t argue any more and went to sit on the bed. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, crossing her legs and leaning back: “Ah-Ruan, can I borrow a pair of nail clippers?”
Ruan Nan startled: “They’re in the living room.”
“Can you bring them over? And the bag on the sofa while you’re at it.” Qin Juran shook her two feet in the air as she spoke: “My feet haven’t fully dried yet.”
Ruan Nan hummed in affirmation, then walked to the living room to grab the nail clippers. After finding them, she proceeded to grab the bag. Qin Juran hadn’t properly closed her bag after taking her clothes out, so when Ruan Nan tried to pick it up, all of the belongings inside spilled out.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Ruan Nan rushed to stuff everything back inside: a pressed powder, lipstick, glasses case, a few pencils, and a bottle of some unnamed liquid all tumbled onto the corner of the couch. Ruan Nan leaned down to pick it up and read the label: Hand sanitizer.
Nail clippers, hand sanitizer…
Suddenly, Ruan Nan remembered a bawdy post that she saw on Baidu the other day, and her face flamed.
After Qin Juran waited a long while, Ruan Nan finally came back. Seeing the figure standing cautiously in the doorway, Qin Juran asked, “What took you so long? Did you get everything?” She beckoned for Ruan Nan to come over.
Ruan Nan’s cheeks were still a bit red, and she remained still in the doorway, her lips twitching. She swept a strange look over Qin Juran, then finally dropped the nail clipper and bag on the carpet by the doorway in a defeated manner and dashed away without looking back.
…..
Qin Juran didn’t know what the matter was with her all of a sudden. She smiled, feeling rather confused, then walked over to pick up the nail clipper.
She had just purchased this nightgown and there was a small cloth tag on the neckline that kept rubbing against her skin. Qin Juran closed the door and took off her nightgown, and under the dim light, she proceeded to use the nail clipper to carefully cut off the tag. Since the stitching was quite intricate, it was hard to cut it off cleanly.
After she finished, Qin Juran slipped the dress back on. She was indeed pretty sleepy after a night of teaching. She pulled out the glasses case from her bag, then took out the small bottle of eye drops from within it. She applied some drops, sent a “Good night” voice message to Ruan Nan, then finally shut off her phone and fell into a contented sleep.
Footnotes
RN is using a homophone for ‘Qin,’ and the word ‘Qin’ she is using refers to birds and beasts.