Where the Moon Sets, My Heart Finds Peace - Chapter 4

The next morning, He Zi’an slept in until ten o’clock. When she finally opened her eyes, Li Xin was still the only roommate left in the dorm.

It didn’t take a genius to guess where the others were…Liu Dongwang had obviously headed to the library, and Bai Zhenzhen was out with her boyfriend, Wang Lei.

Li Xin was still busy knitting her scarf. By now, everyone knew the truth: it wasn’t for her older sister at all, but for her boyfriend. The young couple was clearly head over heels.

Leaning over the edge of her top bunk, He Zi’an watched Li Xin work. “How are you so incredibly domestic? You knit him a scarf every single year. Man, what do I have to do to get a partner who knits scarves for me?”

Li Xin looked up, a sweet, radiant smile spreading across her face. “Then go find a girlfriend!”

The words left He Zi’an completely tongue-tied.

It was a question she had never seriously considered. Growing up, she had never harbored crushes on boys, nor had she ever been drawn to girls. Just thinking about the guys in her major made her reflexively furrow her brows.

But her thoughts, entirely unbidden, began to drift what if a girlfriend were like Teacher Jiang? Stunning, effortlessly elegant, and always carrying that subtle, intoxicating scent.

When we were hiking yesterday, I held her hand. It was so soft. I wonder… can those hands knit scarves?

Stop right there. He Zi’an snapped out of her daydream, mentally shaking herself before scrambling out of bed to wash up. If she kept letting her mind wander like this, she was going to lose her sanity.

When she came back from the bathroom, Li Xin spoke up. “Did you check the class group chat? The monitor said we need to go to the northern lecture hall to pick up our textbooks.”

Classes officially started tomorrow, and just thinking about it gave He Zi’an a headache. According to the upperclassmen in the Cost Estimation major, the budgeting course was notoriously brutal filled with tedious quota allocations, unit pricing, and endless, mind-numbing spreadsheets.

Jiang Jingyue had also accidentally overslept that morning. Despite going to bed quite early the night before, she hadn’t woken up until nearly nine.

The moment her feet hit the floor, a sharp ache flared in her calves a glaring reminder of just how intense yesterday’s hike had been. She had originally planned to explore the area around the campus today, but walking any significant distance was clearly out of the question now.

She wondered what He Zi’an was up to. With classes officially starting tomorrow, the girl was probably busy gathering her textbooks and materials.

Jiang Jingyue flipped open the schedule for the Architecture major. Her classes were slated for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays…one massive lecture block each day. Tuesdays and Thursdays were entirely free, making for a relatively relaxed workload.

Tomorrow was Monday, and her first lecture was bright and early at eight in the morning.

After a quick breakfast, Jiang Jingyue began reviewing the course materials and the estimation guidelines.

Her phone buzzed with a message from her brother, Jiang Jingyu: “Dad got back from his business trip and asked where you went. We all played dumb and said we didn’t know. He didn’t press the issue, and he’s leaving for another trip in a few days.”

Jiang Jingyue replied with just two words: “Got it.”

As long as he stayed out of her life, nothing else mattered. Since arriving at the university, a profound weight had lifted from her shoulders. This peaceful, stable life was exactly what she had always craved.

The rest of the day slipped away quietly.

The next morning, Jiang Jingyue woke up early, cooked herself a small bowl of noodle soup, and got ready before heading out with her books.

Today, she wore deep blue, high-waisted flare jeans paired with a loose white button-down shirt and black stilettos. Her features were naturally striking and aloof, and this sharp, professional look exuded pure authority.

Meanwhile, He Zi’an had overslept yet again. It had taken an aggressive, coordinated effort from her roommates to finally drag her out of bed.

Li Xin and Liu Dongwang had already headed out to save her a seat, while Bai Zhenzhen had long since vanished with her boyfriend. Now that classes were starting, Wang Lei made a habit of waiting at the base of the girls’ dorm every single morning.

He Zi’an washed up at lightning speed. With no time to tie back her hair, she left it tumbling over her shoulders, threw on a pair of black quick-dry pants and a brown T-shirt, and bolted out the door.

Seeing that it was nearly eight, she sprinted toward the building with everything she had. She knew her very first class was Jiang Jingyue’s Engineering Budgeting course, and she absolutely refused to be late on day one.

As she sprinted down the hallway just outside the classroom, she spotted a figure up ahead…long hair cascaded down a crisp white shirt tucked into sleek jeans.

Seeing only the silhouette from behind and having no time to identify the person, He Zi’an barked out a breathless, “Excuse me!” before flying past them and bursting through the classroom doors.

Just as Jiang Jingyue reached the threshold, she felt a sudden gust of wind brush past her as a figure dashed inside. Judging by the hair, it was a girl. There were only four female students in the Architecture class, and she had only met two of them so far.

Inside, the room was a chaotic wall of noise. Rumors had already spread that their budgeting professor was a total knockout, and a room full of engineering guys were practically vibrating with excitement, grinning in eager anticipation.

He Zi’an collapsed into the seat saved by Li Xin and Liu Dongwang, panting heavily. Suddenly, an explosive, collective gasp rippled through the male contingent of the room.

“Whoa—!!”

He Zi’an instinctively looked toward the source of the commotion.

Jiang Jingyue was stepping through the doorway. It was the exact silhouette she had just blown past in the hall.

The high-waisted jeans accentuated her long, impossibly straight legs, and the stilettos gave her an commanding presence. She looked entirely different from the gentle, sundress-wearing woman from the weekend. Today, Jiang Jingyue was sharp, cool, and so utterly radiant that it was impossible to look away.

Ignoring the rowdy reactions from the students, Jiang Jingyue remained completely unfazed.

She walked gracefully up to the podium, switched on the microphone, and ran a quick diagnostic on the media equipment. Once satisfied, she stood quietly behind the desk, her cool gaze sweeping across the lecture hall.

Naturally, her eyes found He Zi’an sitting in the fifth row…hair beautifully chaotic, cheeks flushed bright red, still visibly catching her breath. So that little hurricane that just blasted past me in the hall was her.

The class monitor, Wang Lei, took the cue and shouted, “Quiet down!”

The raucous noise instantly died down, fading into scattered whispers.

Jiang Jingyue spoke into the microphone, her voice cool yet undeniably warm. “Good morning, everyone. I am Jiang Jingyue, and I will be teaching your Engineering Budgeting course. I intend to be thoroughly responsible in my instruction, and I expect the same level of focus, dedication, and punctuality from all of you.”

Her voice was stunningly pleasant…measured, unhurried, and precise. She wasn’t loud or aggressive, but she carried an innate authority that demanded respect, perfectly matching her naturally aloof and elegant demeanor. Standing before them in her sharp, commanding attire, she silenced the room entirely. Even the most notoriously disruptive guys in the back suddenly sat up straight and behaved.

The lecture flew by. Liu Dongwang was practically hyper-focused, his notebook rapidly filling with dense, meticulous notes.

He Zi’an had to admit that Jiang Jingyue was a phenomenal lecturer…her delivery was structured, clear, and easy to grasp. The problem was, He Zi’an couldn’t focus to save her life.

Half of her mind was trying to process the material, while the other half was entirely captivated by the woman at the podium. She couldn’t look away. How can someone be that effortlessly beautiful?

Midway through the lecture, Jiang Jingyue became acutely aware of a specific gaze tracking her every move.

It wasn’t intense or intrusive, but it was incredibly warm…carrying a faint, inexplicable trace of infatuation that seemed to linger in the air around her. Assuming it was just her imagination, she consciously avoided looking toward that section of the room for the rest of the period.

The overall classroom dynamic was excellent.

When the bell finally rang, Liu Dongwang, acting in his capacity as the academic rep, stepped up to the podium to clarify a few points with Jiang Jingyue. He Zi’an and the rest of the class had to pack up quickly to move downstairs for an Engineering Mechanics lecture, while Jiang Jingyue gathered her things to head back to the faculty lounge.

An unexpected wave of disappointment washed over He Zi’an.

They had only spent one day apart, yet during the entire lecture, Jiang Jingyue had acted as if they were complete strangers, refusing to offer her even a single glance.

The moment Jiang Jingyue stepped out of the building, her phone rang. It was her close friend, Du Qiaoxi, calling to check in, her tone buzzing with genuine concern over how the first day of teaching had gone.

Despite her loud, boisterous exterior, Du Qiaoxi was incredibly perceptive and deeply cared for her.

Jiang Jingyue patiently answered her questions, a gentle warmth blooming in her chest.

Predictably, Du Qiaoxi’s tone shifted into full gossip mode within seconds. “So? Tell me everything! Are there any cuties? Colleagues, students, whatever…you’re barely older than them anyway. With looks like yours, I bet there’s already a line of suitors stretching from the faculty building straight to the campus gates!”

Jiang Jingyue sighed softly. “There’s no one.”

“Well, if there are no guys, girls work too!” Du Qiaoxi fired back, her voice raising an octave over the receiver. “They’re soft, they smell amazing…what’s not to love? Listen to me, Jiang Jingyue: a university campus is a premium fishing ground. You need to cast a wide net and see what bites! Don’t let that gorgeous face go to waste. Man or woman, I don’t care, just go out there and give away that first kiss already. Heaven knows the boyfriends I’ve had could form a literal soccer team by now…”

Listening to her friend’s colorful lecture on romance, Jiang Jingyue felt a headache coming on and quickly fabricated an excuse to hang up.

Returning to the shared faculty office, she had just finished organizing her desk when the door swung open. It was Cao Deli, a seasoned budgeting professor in his fifties who handled the main Cost Estimation classes.

“Ah, Professor Jiang, wrapped up your lecture? Those male-dominated classes can get pretty rowdy, can’t they?”

Jiang Jingyue offered a polite, reserved nod. “It wasn’t bad at all.”

Sensing her quiet mood, Cao Deli tactfully dropped the conversation and went back to preparing his own lessons. Jiang Jingyue reopened her textbook, intending to prep for her next block, but her mind refused to cooperate. Instead, He Zi’an’s intense, lingering gaze from the classroom flashed vividly in her mind.

Was I just misinterpreting things, or…

Du Qiaoxi’s casual remark—”Man or woman, I don’t care”—suddenly echoed in her thoughts.

Over the years, Jiang Jingyue’s family had relentlessly forced her into arranged dates with various men. Over time, this had bred a deep, instinctual aversion to the romantic advances of men; the moment she sensed a guy forming feelings or preparing to confess, her immediate reaction was to draw a sharp line and retreat as far as possible.

But a girl… She had genuinely never considered it.

The moment the thought materialized, He Zi’an’s face…bright, radiant, and carrying that wonderfully endearing touch of earnestness…crashed into her mind completely unannounced.

Jiang Jingyue instantly forced the thought away. Absolutely not. She’s twenty-one. She’s a student. She has her whole life ahead of her…she’ll date, graduate, and eventually get married.

She couldn’t allow herself to harbor such inappropriate thoughts. At the end of the day, she merely found He Zi’an to be an attractive, attentive, and reliable person. That was it. There wasn’t a single line being crossed.

Around noon, Jiang Jingyue walked back to her faculty apartment.

Having lived abroad during her studies, she was entirely accustomed to cooking for herself. While she wouldn’t call her culinary skills world-class, her meals were always clean, wholesome, and comforting. Compared to dining out, she vastly preferred the process of making her own food.

For lunch, she whipped up a simple spread: a side of stir-fried bok choy, a plate of sweet and sour pork ribs, and a comforting bowl of tomato and egg soup.

She took a quick, casual photo of the spread and texted it to her mother, Xiang Zhiruan. It was her quiet, established way of sending a status update…a reassuring signal that she was eating well and that there was no need to worry.

As her thumb hovered over the screen to exit the app, her eyes caught on a specific contact name: The Culinary Connoisseur.

On a sudden, inexplicable whim, she selected the photo of her lunch and hit send. She couldn’t entirely rationalize why she did it; she only knew that the playful nickname felt uniquely suited to a snapshot of a home-cooked meal.

Meanwhile, He Zi’an was thoroughly exhausted after a grueling morning of back-to-back lectures.

Having skipped breakfast due to oversleeping, she was currently running on absolute fumes, waiting in a massive, agonizingly slow line at the cafeteria window. Suddenly, her phone vibrated against her palm.

She pulled it out and tapped the notification. It was an image from a contact whose profile name was simply YUE.

It was a beautiful, steaming spread of home-cooked dishes. The plate of sweet and sour pork ribs looked particularly incredible…perfectly glazed, richly colored, and practically radiating flavor right through the screen.

He Zi’an froze, her hunger momentarily forgotten. Wait… Why on earth would the notoriously aloof Jiang Jingyue randomly text me a picture of her lunch? She wouldn’t even look at me during class this morning, so what is this supposed to mean?

The background definitely didn’t look like a campus cafeteria, nor did it look like a restaurant. It looked like… the inside of a home.

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