Professor Shen’s Needy Little Lover - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A group of people sat down on the stools in front of Long Xin, their faces carrying the apology of those bothering others, their tone cautious after much deliberation, and, of course, an irrepressible urgency: “Classmate, are you free this afternoon? Can we ask you for a favor?”

The newcomers were three female students. They mistook Long Xin for a student at Jianghua University, which is why they addressed her that way.

The seats in the Jianghua University classrooms were arranged in rows of three. These three female students sat in a row directly in front of Long Xin, then turned around to speak to her, their eyes filled with earnestness.

The internal anxiety and unease Long Xin felt were relieved the moment they spoke.

She had originally thought that visiting the Professor’s workplace for the first time would cause trouble, but as it turned out, these three students weren’t there to pick a fight—they wanted to ask for her help.

Though she was very puzzled how could someone as ignorant as herself provide any help? And why were they looking at her as if she were a savior?

Long Xin also spoke with caution, nodding slightly, her red lips parting as she spoke steadily: “What kind of help do you need?”

“We are participating in a human body floral art competition this afternoon in the classroom right across from here, but the model we booked stood us up. Could we trouble you to be our model? It won’t take long, at most an hour and a half of your time.”

“If you have the time, could you please help us with this? Please…”

“We can treat you to milk tea!” The girl sitting in the middle saw that Long Xin seemed easy to talk to and felt there was a chance, so she threw out the fastest way to build a friendship on a university campus.

“Let’s order it now, how about it? It’ll arrive just in time and won’t delay the competition.” She exchanged glances with her companions, and after receiving their approval, she pulled out her phone, excitedly preparing to place the order.

Seeing that they were going to order a portion for her, Long Xin quickly stopped them: “I don’t like drinking milk tea. You don’t need to order one for me, thank you.”

She rejected them.

She only liked the watermelon juice Shen Zaiqing bought for her, and cola; if Shen Zaiqing bought her other things, she would like those too.

But she didn’t like things bought by others.

The expressions of the three students changed, and their spirits withered.

They spoke even more carefully: “Regarding the modeling, could you please consider it again? If you need payment, we can pay you as well. This competition is really important to us…”

Being a model?

Long Xin frowned, beginning to seriously consider their request.

To be honest, based on the context, she could guess the meaning of the word “model,” but she had no idea what a “model” actually had to do.

It was a field she was completely unfamiliar with.

Thus, she refused decisively: “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

Her expression was serious and earnest, and her refusal was thorough, leaving no room for negotiation.

The hearts of the three female students sank to the bottom. They had prepared for this competition for so long, only to have it fall apart right before the start. The expressions that had looked upon a savior suddenly slumped.

When Shen Zaiqing finished her meeting at the faculty office and came out, she noticed the coffee corner nearby was open and thought about getting a drink for Long Xin.

She looked up and scanned the drink menu, but she didn’t see anything with the word “watermelon,” let alone fresh-pressed watermelon juice.

She considered switching to a different flavor for Long Xin.

The milk tea shop in Building No. 3 completely catered to the “Dragon’s” tastes, focusing primarily on watermelon juice; their bestseller year-round was watermelon juice. Those who went there for milk tea were rare guests, so gradually, milk tea was phased out.

It was the same at this coffee corner in the school; very few people ordered watermelon juice, so the owner decisively abandoned it, and it was no longer within their business scope.

Shen Zaiqing ordered a cup of pearl milk tea. While waiting for the tea, she worried about the situation on Long Xin’s end.

The meeting had taken longer than she had estimated, and adding the time spent waiting for the milk tea, she had already exceeded the time she promised Long Xin.

She wondered if Long Xin was behaving and waiting for her in the classroom?

“Zihe, Teacher is in a hurry, I need to expedite this.”

Commercial coffee corners often hired students from the school for part-time work. The person on duty today happened to be a student Shen Zaiqing had taught, so she nudged him.

“It’s almost ready, Teacher Shen.” Zhu Zihe placed the large-sized milk tea cup into the sealing machine, pressed it, nimbly took it out, packed it up, and handed it to Shen Zaiqing.

“It’s done,” Zhu Zihe said with a smile.

“Mhm, work hard on your shift, Teacher is leaving now.” Shen Zaiqing nodded with a smile and headed toward Long Xin’s classroom carrying the milk tea.

“Goodbye, Teacher Shen,” Zhu Zihe’s voice trailed behind her.

Walking to the classroom door, Shen Zaiqing heard a commotion coming from the classroom that was supposed to be quiet. Her bad premonition grew stronger, so she quickened her pace and walked in.

As soon as she entered the classroom, she met Long Xin’s panicked and helpless eyes.

It seemed Long Xin had been waiting for her the whole time, her gaze glued to the classroom entrance. When she saw her arrive, her dull eyes lit up, and there was a sense of having found a savior.

Shen Zaiqing’s first instinct was that her little dragon was being bullied. She walked over aggressively in her high heels. Long Xin’s gaze followed her until she was close, only then calling out softly: “Professor.”

“What are you doing?” The three people sitting in front of Long Xin were clearly Jianghua University students; they even looked familiar from behind. Shen Zaiqing guessed they were very likely students from her own class.

Shen Zaiqing didn’t lose her temper; she simply asked calmly what was going on.

It wasn’t until she walked behind Long Xin that Shen Zaiqing saw a student slumped over the desk in front of Long Xin, sobbing uncontrollably. The noises she had heard were the two students nearby trying to comfort her.

Shen Zaiqing was momentarily stunned.

Looking at this scene, it didn’t seem like others were bullying her little dragon, but rather that her little dragon had somehow done something to break this female student’s heart.

Hearing Shen Zaiqing’s voice, all three looked up. Confirming it was their dearest Teacher Shen, they wailed in unison: “Teacher Shen!!!”

Originally, only the female student in the middle was crying, but now the two beside her felt the urge to shed tears as well.

They had thought Long Xin was a little savior, but now the person who had arrived was their greatest savior.

Shen Zaiqing and Long Xin exchanged glances, Shen asking with her eyes what had happened, while Long Xin looked back with innocent eyes she didn’t know either.

She had simply refused the student’s request, and three seconds later, the student had let out a “wah” and started crying face-down on the desk, which had made her very flustered as well.

Since she couldn’t find the answer from Long Xin, Shen Zaiqing asked her students: “Alright, don’t worry, and don’t cry. Tell Teacher what happened?”

“Zhou Jiayin, you speak.”

Shen Zaiqing picked the student who seemed the most coherent. Through her narration, she came to understand the whole situation.

Actually, it wasn’t anything serious. These three students had likely placed too much importance on the competition and had stayed up for several days for it. The pressure was too high, and now, suddenly being stood up, their emotions had spontaneously collapsed.

“Teacher will help you think of a way.”

While comforting the students, Shen Zaiqing pulled the milk tea out of the packaging bag, poked in the straw, and placed it on the desk in front of Long Xin.

Her movements were calm and leisurely.

Long Xin had known for a long time that the drink Shen Zaiqing was carrying was bought for her.

So she had prepared herself early on.

The second the bottom of the cup touched the table, she leaned forward, hugged the milk tea cup with both hands, took the straw into her mouth, and began drinking with a “gudu gudu” sound.

As she drank the milk tea, she absentmindedly listened to Shen Zaiqing speak, her bright eyes darting here and there.

She was in a very relaxed state, completely different from before.

The three female students sitting in front of her were dumbfounded.

??????

What was going on? Why did this classmate seem like a different person once Teacher Shen arrived?

Didn’t she say she didn’t like drinking milk tea? Yet here she was, holding a deluxe-sized pearl milk tea and drinking it so happily!!!

Shen Zaiqing’s three students sat frozen in their seats, listening intently to Shen Zaiqing’s suggestions, but their small eyes would occasionally glance toward Long Xin.

They suddenly realized that this “classmate,” who could arguably compete for the title of campus belle, seemed to have… an unspeakable secret with Teacher Shen…

Shen Zaiqing had spoken for a long stretch. When she paused to rest, she noticed Long Xin taking gulp after gulp of milk tea. The toppings slid into her mouth along the straw, and it seemed she was swallowing them without even chewing.

There was a bit of a problem with this way of eating.

Thus, Shen Zaiqing spoke to Long Xin again: “Long Xin, those black things are called pearls, and the others are toppings. When you suck them up, you should chew them a few times before swallowing.”

Long Xin’s mouth didn’t stop; with the straw still in her mouth, she nodded toward Shen Zaiqing, indicating she understood.

Her gaze was very sincere, but Shen Zaiqing was still uneasy and said: “Chew twice for me to see.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Long Xin’s lips left the straw. She chewed the toppings she had sucked up a few times in her mouth before swallowing.

She was extremely obedient.

Shen Zaiqing nodded, satisfied. When her gaze returned to the three students, she saw that their jaws were about to hit the floor.

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