After the Fake Young Master Betrayed the Australian Farmer - Chapter 26

Adams was utterly bewildered. He spent the entire class lost in thought, unable to understand what could possibly be wrong with the way he looked at others.

Finally, the bell rang. For the next period, both Han Yan and Adams had to move to a different building. There was only a five-minute gap between classes, but the distance between the two buildings required a fifteen-minute walk at a normal pace.

Han Yan started packing his things a few minutes before class ended. The moment the professor dismissed them, he stood up and grabbed the still-distracted Adams.

“Fang Jianan, the three of us are in a group for the project. Remember to report it to the professor!”

Without stopping to catch his breath, Han Yan finished his instructions and pulled Adams along as they sprinted out.

“Why are we running?” Adams asked, clutching his bag with a look of confusion.

“Have you… not checked… the schedule?” Han Yan panted, explaining between breaths. “The next… old man… is incredibly strict. Even one minute late… and he marks you down.”

He did not want his attendance rate to drop, and he certainly did not want to be targeted by that cursed old man! Who knew if the professor would hold a grudge and make things difficult during grading just because they were late? If that happened, Han Yan figured he would have to go to the school’s counseling office to have a good cry.

Fortunately, they managed to step into the classroom with ten seconds to spare.

The room was already packed with students. At the podium, the old man was using a computer to check the roster. He looked at the two who had entered last, pushed up his reading glasses, and squinted at his watch.

“Congratulations. You are not late today, but you might not be so lucky next time.”

Han Yan felt the white professor’s tone was somewhat sarcastic. The man’s signature fake smile gave him a gut feeling that this course would be a struggle. He dragged his jelly-like legs toward the back, searching for empty seats with Adams. Although there were clearly seats in the front row, he chose to ignore them. Seriously, what was the difference between sitting in the front row and being in prison?

“Han Yan, over here!”

The voice of a fellow countryman sounded like heavenly music. He looked toward the source and saw Han Jue, whom he had met at the restaurant the night before, waving at them.

The professor cleared his throat. “English, please. I do not care what your native language is, but in my classroom, please speak English.”

Han Yan maintained a polite smile and said “OK,” while internally rolling his eyes and cursing.

There happened to be two empty seats next to Han Jue. Han Yan took the seat beside him, and Adams sat down right next to Han Yan.

“What a coincidence. You are a student at this school too?” Han Yan lowered his voice, afraid the annoying old man would find another reason to pick on them.

Han Jue followed his lead and whispered, “Yes, but I just transferred this semester. I studied back home before this.”

“Han Jue, I have a very serious question for you.” Seeing Han Yan solemnly hold up a finger, Han Jue thought it was something major.

“What is it?”

“How are your grades?”

“Oh? They are… very average. And my spoken English is not very good either.” Han Jue scratched his head awkwardly. His grades had always been mediocre, and the teaching quality at the orphanage in his small, remote town was not great to begin with. Consequently, his spoken English was a disaster.

Even though the “friends” who had accepted him for his status never said it to his face, he once overheard them through a private room door after returning from the restroom. They were mocking his ridiculous accent, their words dripping with disdain and contempt.

Han Jue observed Han Yan’s expression. Seeing the disappointment on the other man’s face, he lowered his eyes.

“That is a shame. I thought you were a top student.”

As expected, top students were not that easy to come by. The plan to ride someone else’s coattails had failed.

“But it is fine. I am a slacker anyway. Let’s work hard together and try to pass this evil old man’s class.” Han Yan felt he would lose his mind if he had to retake this course.

Han Jue looked up at him again and then at the professor calling names at the podium. He could not help but smile and was about to say more when a muscular arm suddenly moved across his chest. The person pulled Han Yan into an embrace and stared at Han Jue gloomily, his eyes flickering with displeasure.

Han Jue gave a harmless smile. To Adams, the two dimples on Han Jue’s face looked irritating no matter how he viewed them.

“Han Yan, you have been staring at him for two minutes and twenty-three seconds.”

The tone was exactly like a neglected, resentful husband, leaving Han Jue in awe.

Han Yan froze, turning to meet a pair of aggrieved eyes. “You are even timing how long I look at others down to the second? Besides, how long I look at someone else is none of your business.”

Adams pursed his lips. “But you have hardly looked at me today.”

“How can you say I haven’t looked at you? Am I not looking at you right now?”

“It is not the same!”

Han Jue pulled a sandwich out of his bag and took a slow bite, his dark eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.

“Where is Jue Han? Jue Han!”

Han Jue was so busy enjoying the drama that he did not hear the professor calling his name. It was only after Han Yan kicked him that he reacted, swallowed his food, and raised his hand.

“Here!”

“I hope you can react faster next time and not waste everyone’s valuable time.”

The professor looked toward their table and noticed the intimate posture between Han Yan and Adams. He cleared his throat as a reminder. “You two students, this is a classroom. I hope you can show some restraint. If it were after class, I would be very happy to see you like this.”

The entire class’s attention shifted to them. Han Yan even heard a foreigner behind him sigh, “So sweet.”

Adams turned back and said, “Thanks.”

Speechless, Han Yan broke free from Adams’ embrace and reached under the table to pinch his solid thigh. Tsk, it is quite firm. Good texture.

“Shut up and pay attention to the lesson.”

Aside from a separate online exam, the rest of the course consisted of group projects. Han Jue, Han Yan, and Adams were naturally placed in a group. The workload was not actually that heavy: submit the topic and materials in the fourth week, upload a three-thousand-word essay and a PowerPoint in the second to last week, and give a fifteen-minute presentation in the final week.

However, the failure rate for this course was exceptionally high. According to Fang Jianan, the professor might fail more than half the students on the fourth-week submission and send them back to redo it.

Han Yan looked at Han Jue on his right and then at Adams on his left, feeling the future was bleak. He had been secretly hoping that Adams might be some kind of hidden genius, but the man did not even listen to the lecture; he just stared at Han Yan. If that made him a top student, it would be a miracle!

“I will start a WeChat group so we can communicate there.”

Han Yan opened WeChat, and Adams immediately spotted the conspicuous pinned chat. The contact name was a dog emoji. This was clearly something Han Yan had changed himself; previously, when Adams had used Han Yan’s phone to unblock himself, the contact name had been his own name.

Detecting someone trying to lean in clingily out of the corner of his eye, Han Yan pressed a finger against Adams’ forehead.

“Do not misunderstand. It does not mean anything. I just forgot to unpin it.”

Han Jue unscrewed his water bottle, took a sip, and let out a burp. He was a bit full.

After class, Adams took the lead by grabbing Han Yan’s bag. Han Yan was happy to be relieved of the weight and shrugged, letting him have his way.

“Han Jue, we have another class this afternoon and are planning to eat at the cafeteria. What about you?”

Han Jue checked his schedule. His next class was not until six in the evening, giving him plenty of time to go home and rest. However, he spoke up, “I have never eaten at the cafeteria before, and I happen to want to try it.”

Adams’ brow furrowed instantly, his lips tightening into a straight line. Han Jue remained completely oblivious to the murderous gaze, a shy smile appearing on his face.

“Sure, let’s go together then.”

On the way to the cafeteria, Han Jue’s phone would not stop chiming with message notifications. He looked down at his phone, a hint of impatience appearing in his eyes.

“Han Jue, if you have something to do, go ahead. The cafeteria isn’t going anywhere. We can eat together next time.” Han Yan saw that Han Jue’s expression was not great and assumed he had run into an emergency.

Upon hearing this, Adams’ face brightened instantly, and his eyes lit up.

“Then I am leaving. See you next time!” Han Jue waved to them and turned to stride away.

Adams immediately leaned in, resting his chin on Han Yan’s shoulder. He complained, “He is finally gone.”

Han Yan glanced at him and chuckled. “What? How was he in your way this time?”

“You looked at him longer than you looked at me.”

Wow, still keeping track of the time? Han Yan was truly at a loss with Adams. He nudged his shoulder. “Fine, get off. I am hungry and need to eat.”

Adhering to his principle of saving money, Han Yan spent five dollars on a meal box. It even had meat in it. Although the taste was truly nothing special, what more could he expect for that price?

Adams took a bite, and early the next morning, he got up to start cooking a bento for Han Yan.

Han Yan walked out of Adams’ room wearing his pajamas. By the way, he was now sleeping in the same room as Adams. There was no other reason than the fact that the bed was large and the mattress was incredibly soft; lying on it felt like sinking into a cloud. Regardless, they were just sleeping under the covers and not doing anything else. Well, provided a certain someone did not go crazy or try to seduce him.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, he smelled the aroma of food filling the air. His stomach growled traitorously.

“What are you making so early in the morning?”

He walked over and glanced at the stove. Two large pots were filled with different dishes, and the bento boxes on the counter were packed with meat. While they were not as delicate as the ones seen online, they were definitely large enough to be filling.

“You are in a good mood, aren’t you? Already making bentos?”

Adams reached out and smoothed down Han Yan’s messy hair.

“I made them for you. On days when you have to have lunch at school, I will make bentos for you.”

Han Yan lifted his gaze to meet Adams’ serious expression. His fingers, hanging at his side, curled slightly. He casually looked away and said offhandedly, “Sure. You cook for me, and I will pay you a reward. How much for today’s meal?”

Adams leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

“I have received today’s reward.”