A Time-Limited Romance with Movie Queen Ex - Chapter 54.2

The would-be gossipmonger could only retreat in disappointment.

In the classroom, Luo Mijin chose a seat in the back row. Whenever a classmate tried to sit beside her, she would patiently say the seat was already taken.

Two minutes before class started, Rong Qingyao finally entered through the back door and sat beside Luo Mijin.

The two tacitly looked in opposite directions until the professor entered, when they finally glanced at each other.

“Students, this final exam will be very difficult. Pay close attention,” the professor smiled at everyone. “Attendance counts heavily toward your grade. No absences allowed today, those who aren’t here should consider the consequences.”

Visible tension spread through the classroom. Some students urgently texted close roommates to rush over and answer roll call before they lost attendance points.

Amidst this commotion of collective anxiety, Luo Mijin leaned slightly toward Rong Qingyao and whispered:

“Senior, why did you come to class with me today? Finished with your other business?”

Rong Qingyao propped her chin on her hand, turning with a coquettish pout. “What, am I unwelcome?”

“Of course not.”

“Or would you rather sit with your dear classmates?” The woman raised an eyebrow slightly, her dark eyes calm as ink.

“Absolutely not. I’m not close with any of them.”

“Why aren’t you wearing the little fox on your bag?” Rong Qingyao asked deliberately with feigned grievance, her beautiful narrow eyes misting over. “Have you changed your heart?”

Luo Mijin immediately grew flustered, appearing to Rong Qingyao like a little white lamb on the verge of bleating in distress.

“I haven’t! Senior, you always wrong me like this.”

“Then explain where the little fox went. We just bought it recently.”

Luo Mijin produced the clay fox from her bag. “It’s right here, I just put it inside.”

“Why not wear it? Banished to the cold palace so soon, how heartbreaking.”

“Senior, I think someone’s discovered you’re dating. Not sure who spread it. They’re trying to find out who it is, and the details are pretty accurate. I worried they’d notice our matching clay charms, so I hid it.”

Like a thief, after answering roll call and ensuring the professor wasn’t watching, Luo Mijin whispered in Rong Qingyao’s ear while scanning their classmates.

Rong Qingyao’s aloof profile seemed to melt into the light as she calmly continued taking notes, her fountain pen scratching softly across the pristine paper.

“The details they know are so specific. They even mentioned your partner has striking hair color,” Luo Mijin pouted slightly, muttering, “But mine’s natural. My little sister has it too.”

“It’s me.”

“It’s,  what?” Luo Mijin was just about to discuss with Rong Qingyao how to carry out their secret relationship more discreetly when she was startled by the woman’s words.

Rong Qingyao gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her exquisite features glowing with charm. “I was the one who said I’m in a relationship. The person I’m dating is younger than me, loves gaming, exceptionally smart, and also plays music.”

Luo Mijin nearly snapped the lead of her mechanical pencil, her mouth slightly agape as if she wanted to scream.

The woman spoke in a gentle, sisterly tone, “We’re still in class. Don’t get too excited. Would you like some water to calm down?” She unscrewed her thermos, which contained honey lemon water.

“Senior, weren’t we supposed to… keep our relationship a secret?” Luo Mijin ducked her head furtively, trying to conceal the excitement bubbling inside her.

“But after I spread the news of my relationship through my roommate, hardly anyone has confessed to me anymore,” the woman said, taking Luo Mijin’s hand under the desk. Her delicate fingers traced circles on Luo Mijin’s palm, sending a deliciously secret tingling sensation. “Luo Mijin, don’t you like it?”

Luo Mijin suddenly tightened her grip on the woman’s fingers, her joy nearly spilling from the corners of her eyes. “I do. I really do.”

“Look at you, acting all guilty like a thief. So silly,” Rong Qingyao withdrew her hand and picked up her fountain pen to continue taking notes.

Just as Luo Mijin was about to chuckle softly, the professor at the lectern deliberately cleared his throat loudly.

“Who’s been talking nonstop today? Buzzing away, not paying attention.” The professor, who had been writing on the blackboard with his back turned, suddenly turned around and glared at Luo Mijin. “Luo Mijin, I’m talking about you. Why have you been chatting with the student next to you?”

The classroom fell silent instantly. All the students who had been talking held their breath, lowering their heads in fear of being implicated. What if Teacher Ding suddenly decided to call on them to answer questions in his fit of anger?

“Uh, Teacher Ding, I… I…” Luo Mijin stood up dumbly, at a loss for words.

“What’s the deal with the student next to you? Are they from another class? Sitting in the back row, not called during roll call earlier, what’s going on?”

Hearing this, Rong Qingyao stood up gracefully and greeted the professor. “Teacher Ding, I came to audit the class quietly.”

“Oh, it’s Qingyao! What brings you to a freshman class?”

“While working on a financial model recently, I encountered many problems. I remembered how thoroughly and clearly you explained the fundamentals in our previous classes, making complex concepts easy to understand. So I decided to come back to your class for inspiration.”

Teacher Ding beamed at Rong Qingyao’s seemingly sincere and straightforward praise. “Absolutely right. You must build a solid foundation, or you’ll run into all sorts of problems later.”

“Qingyao, sitting next to Luo Mijin, are you two close?”

Rong Qingyao remained standing, answering the professor’s question with composure, her tone even and unhurried, showing no trace of guilt at being caught.

“Teacher Ding, I also came to remind Luo Mijin to submit her summer internship assignment. Everyone else has turned theirs in only hers is missing.”

“Huh?” Luo Mijin looked at Rong Qingyao in disbelief. “Senior? I didn’t forget to submit.”

Before she could finish, Rong Qingyao pinched her pinky, prompting Luo Mijin to quickly change her tune.

“Um, senior, I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I forgot about it when I went home for the holiday. I’ll submit the assignment soon.”

“Oh, I see,” Teacher Ding’s face was beaming with joy when dealing with good students, not bothering to scrutinize Rong Qingyao’s logic at all. She turned to Luo Mijin and instructed, “Luo Mijin, look how kind your senior is to you, chasing after your homework all the way to class. You must study even harder.”

“Yes, I… I understand. Thank you, Senior, for not giving up on me,” Luo Mijin dared not refuse to play along with Rong Qingyao’s lie.

“In that case, Luo Mijin,  show me your homework before submitting it.”

“Teacher Ding, is that really necessary? I can just hand it directly to Professor Wang.”

“Of course it is. You’re my student, and if you’re submitting work to Professor Wang, I naturally need to check it. I must ensure your homework completion rate and accuracy, can’t let your senior’s efforts go to waste.”

“Understood, Teacher. I’ll remember. I’ll bring it to you in a couple of days,” Luo Mijin replied, lowering her head.

“Luo Mijin, don’t be resentful. Look at how studious your senior is already excelling in exams, yet still attending freshman major courses in her free time. She’s been diligently taking notes the whole time. Meanwhile, you don’t pay attention in class and end up distracting others. Learn more from your senior, got it?”

Luo Mijin pressed her lips together and accidentally caught a glimpse of the “notes” Rong Qingyao was taking, a page with a crookedly drawn little lamb lowering its head to nibble on grass.

This was Rong Qingyao’s major course notes? This was diligent studying?

Luo Mijin: “…”

She was speechless. This teacher was far too easily blinded by “good students.”

Luo Mijin, whose fingers were still hooked by Rong Qingyao under the desk, snapped back to reality and replied, “I heard you. I’ll learn more from my senior.”

Teacher Ding nodded in satisfaction and waved her hand. “To recognize a mistake and correct it is the greatest virtue. Sit down and listen to the lecture, Luo Mijin. Hand in your homework more promptly next time, don’t make your senior chase you to class.”

“I understand.”

After a full day of classes, Luo Mijin deliberately slumped over her desk, waiting for Rong Qingyao to leave before packing up her bag to quietly meet the woman at the school gate.

Unexpectedly, several classmates eagerly gathered around her, seemingly to stand up for her but actually to gossip first.

“Mijin, you poor thing. Old Ding loves nitpicking homework, who knows how many times yours will get sent back for revisions.”

“Senior Rong actually chased you down for homework? You might’ve been targeted by the top student.”

Everyone looked at her with pity, chattering away with guesses:

“Did Senior Rong have a fight with her partner and is taking it out on you? Top students are terrifying attending classes they don’t even need and taking notes.”

It seemed this conversation would drag on forever. Luo Mijin forced a smile and squeezed out a few words. “I need to go work on my homework. Goodbye.”

“Go on, go on, poor child.”

They watched Luo Mijin leave with her backpack, already deciding to dig deeper into who Rong Qingyao’s romantic partner might be on the school forum tonight.

Outside the school gates, the streets were bustling with pedestrians, and the lights streaked into dazzling hues under the speed of passing cars. Luo Mijin glanced around to ensure no one was watching before hurrying over to Rong Qingyao, who stood under the eaves of a comic book store.

“Senior, have you been waiting long? Are you tired?”

To avoid being seen by prying eyes, she had taken a detour through the school library, visited the lab, and then taken the campus bus to get here.

“Not tired. Shall we go to the secret base tonight?”

“Tonight?” Happiness came too suddenly, leaving Luo Mijin stunned.

“I framed you in class earlier, I’m sorry,” Rong Qingyao said with a gentle laugh, taking Luo Mijin’s hand. “Be good, I’ll help you with that made-up assignment, okay? Let’s spend tonight together.”

Luo Mijin, who never held grudges, was reminded of the incident and deliberately turned her face away. “You’re so mean, senior.”

The woman lowered her lashes, gazing at Luo Mijin, feeling the warmth of her palm seeping into a corner of her heart. “It was my fault. Shall we go to the secret base to study tonight?”

Luo Mijin pretended to be difficult but had already obediently followed Rong Qingyao, avoiding her grandfather’s watchful eyes as they quietly boarded the bus.

She had texted her grandfather, saying she would be pulling an all-nighter at the library to study. Because of her recent good behavior, her grandfather didn’t question it and simply agreed, reminding her to rest and asking the housekeeper to prepare some nourishing soup for her.

An hour later, the bus rattled its way to the outskirts. The moonlight tonight was bleak and desolate, yet carried a rare, eerie silence.

The cats and dogs in the bar scurried away at the sound of the door opening. Rong Qingyao prepared the canned food and chicken breast she had brought, placing them in their usual bowls before heading upstairs to the small room with Luo Mijin.

For the first two hours, they each focused on their homework, pens scratching against paper as they reviewed their notes.

Rong Qingyao finished first and began staring unblinkingly at Luo Mijin, making her blush and her heart race.

“I’m almost done too. S-stop staring at me.”

“If I can’t look at you, then let’s play a game?”

“What kind of game?”

“Question and answer,” Rong Qingyao said, her eyes shimmering with warmth. “I’ll quiz you on your coursework. It’ll help with exams and be fun, two birds with one stone.”

“If it’s a game, there should be rewards,” Luo Mijin bargained.

“For every correct answer, the reward is…” Rong Qingyao pondered what to offer.

Luo Mijin’s eyes sparkled as she made a gesture. “One extra hour with me for every correct answer.”

The woman’s eyes glistened, impossibly delicate under the light. “Isn’t an hour too much?”

“When you framed me today, I was really hurt,” Luo Mijin said, clutching her stomach before quickly correcting herself and placing a hand over her heart. “My heart aches.”

Rong Qingyao stifled a laugh, not calling her out, and instead coaxed her in a soft voice. “I was wrong. Let me apologize, okay?”

Luo Mijin turned away, refusing verbal apologies.

Then, she felt a warm, graceful body press against her back, and Rong Qingyao’s breath brushed her ear, light and tantalizingly close.

“Luo Mijin, how about this, for every question you answer correctly, I’ll take off one piece of clothing. Does that work?”

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