“There is a road separating the School of Foreign Languages and the School of Management. Specifically, one can exit the main entrance of the School of Management and walk diagonally for one hundred meters to reach the back entrance of the School of Foreign Languages.

　　Food vendors are set up there all year round, offering a diverse selection of breakfast options from all over the country. Since moving out, Gu Pan has not returned to eat chicken wontons here.”

　　“That is a delicate Wu-Nong-style small wonton. Not to mention the exquisite filling material, what’s truly rare is the addition of finely shredded egg skin, dried shrimp, and seaweed slices in the chicken soup.

　　After returning from C County, Gu Pan once again went to search for the long-lost famous snack. Under three blue and white striped oversized umbrellas, there were three small tables for each. As he arrived early, he had the right to choose, and he picked the one that was closer to the back gate of the outer courtyard.”

　　Without lifting his head, Gu Pan heard a highly provocative statement from behind, “Girls, dig in! Brother’s buying today!”

　　“Alright!” The crowd of beautiful women cheered, taking their respective seats.

　　“This guy’s got some pull! One call and everyone responds!” Gu Pan muttered to himself, lowering his head and concealing himself behind a towering pile of chopsticks, sneakily observing.

　　Through the cracks between the bamboo chopsticks, he caught a glimpse of Huanghua Guan’s centipede spirit waving his orchid fingers, using his magic to control his mesmerized followers. Then, accompanied by the spider demonesses, they set off to find food outside of Pansi Cave.

　　Once again, Gu Pan lowered himself, fearful of disrupting the scene of fluttering and buzzing.

　　“However, Lin Sicheng is ultimately Lin Sicheng, and no matter how well Gu Pan tries to hide, he was still caught by Lin Sicheng’s sharp gaze.

　　“It’s been a while, old buddy Gu!” Lin Sicheng caught Gu Pan off guard with a quick turn and took a vacant seat beside him.

　　“Oh?” Gu Pan slowly raised his head and feigned surprise. “Oh, it’s you, Sicheng!”

　　“It seems our breakfast spot has quite the allure, Old buddy Gu didn’t even hesitate to cross mountains and valleys to get here…” Lin Sicheng chatted away, taking care of the various dishes while ensuring no lady was left unattended. “Just order whatever you want, no need to be polite with me!”

　　Observing Brother Sicheng’s polished and skilled demeanor in social connections, Gu Pan suddenly came up with an idea.

　　“Are you majoring in English?” Gu Pan asked.

　　“Huh? Yeah!” Lin Sicheng was caught off guard by the question, paused for a moment, and then added, “In Language and Literature.”

　　“There are many female students in your foreign language department, what about the professors? Are there more male professors or female professors?”

　　“It’s about half and half! I haven’t really looked into it. I like male professors, hehe, especially those who are tall, handsome, wearing clothes that make them look skinny, and take them off to reveal muscles…”

　　Giving him a glance, Gu Pan noticed that compared to his high school days, Lin Sicheng’s skin had improved a lot. The acne that used to cover his forehead was nowhere to be seen, perhaps due to having the opportunity to interact with many women who were well-versed in skincare techniques.

　　Another noticeable change was the gradual thinning of masculine features on his body… even the edges of his fingernails were carefully groomed.

　　However, this did not deter Gu Pan from continuing the topic at hand.

　　“So, do you know any female teachers that interest you?” he asked Lin Sicheng.

　　“I’m thinking…oh, there is one. Actually, we don’t really know each other, and we’ve never had any direct contact. But, I’m going to meet her soon. She’s teaching two classes tonight on the Overview of English-speaking countries. It’s a sophomore course, so I’m going to sneak a peek beforehand…”

　　“Wow, you’re so diligent,” remarked Gu Pan.

　　“It’s not about being diligent! I’m just curious.”

　　“Curious about what?”

　　“Well, there are some not-so-good rumors about her family and such around the college.”

　　“I see…”

　　“As for her looks…I’ve seen her from far away, and can’t say she’s beautiful, but she looks pure and elegant. I’ll go listen to her tonight and satisfy my curiosity.”

　　“Is her name Ling Hanlu?” Gu Pan probed.

　　“…” Lin Sicheng fell silent.

　　Regarding what Lin Sicheng said as “rumor,” Gu Pan had heard of it vaguely.

　　It is inevitable that once becoming a topic among people with diverse backgrounds in the foreign Language School, one will be stained with various colors of rumors while being talked about. “To the delight of the public”

　　When Yu Yan told Gu Pan about the so-called “story of the demon widow” she had heard, she was quite calm and showed no clear bias. However, when a woman recounts the past events of another woman, especially when it is about a woman of academic excellence who happens to also be beautiful, turning unfortunate, even if spoken objectively, it is still difficult to avoid leaking subtle regrets. These regrets stem from the fact that the once-impressive halo has now dimmed. In these regrets, there is mixed sympathy that may only arise after releasing heavy burdens.

　　“Is her name Ling Hanlu?” Seeing Lin Sicheng speechless, Gu Pan asked again.

　　“Amazing, you know this too?”

　　“I’ve heard of her. Can I sit in and listen?”

　　“You came all the way here to listen to an irrelevant lecture? Giving up your good time for playing games and sleeping? What’s the point?”

　　“It’s just a few walls away, not far. Can you tell me if it’s possible?”

　　“Evening classes… should not be a problem, the tiered classroom cannot be empty. If you want to come, I’ll send you the time and location!”

　　"At first, Gu Pan hesitated. He felt that he had acted impulsively and wanted to chicken out. But as the time for the class drew nearer, he felt a strong desire surging up in his chest.

　　Was it the same kind of “curiosity” as Lin Sicheng’s? It seems so. But what was he curious about? There was no answer.

　　Having searched his brain for reasons and trying to find a stronger motivation, Gu Pan finally decided that it was better to seize the opportunity than to let it pass."

　　2

　　"Gu Pan walked up a long, straight slope at night. During the day, he had been to the School of Foreign Languages once before, just after he started his freshman year. He followed his dormitory buddies to the neighboring college to see the beautiful girls.

　　Four boys had just evolved from high school students to university students. They were squatting foolishly by the side of Wutong Avenue, watching the skirts fluttering in the coming and going. One of the boys squatted too low, didn’t have sunglasses on, and was shown the middle finger by a fierce passing girl.

　　“That night, during their conversation about their admiration for the opposite sex, the boys started to share their sexual experiences with each other. The guy from the capital city, the oldest and the only one with enough experience, talked about his experience during the summer of his sophomore year in high school. He had tried to have sex with a female classmate, but strictly speaking, it could only be counted as half because he later found out that he had poked the wrong place and it didn’t really count as successful intercourse. Even if he wanted to do it again, his body had already given up. Everyone burst out laughing at this anecdote.”

　　After that, the guys from the southwest and northeast also shared their experiences of peeking at porn and watching the waves of girls on the playground."

　　During their conversation, when it was Gu Pan’s turn to speak, he asked the others if they preferred to date someone older or younger than them and if they cared about age differences. However, he really didn’t have much to say, so he recited the “family rules” that Li Danxia had set for him. Unexpectedly, this made him the topic terminator for the night.

　　Shortly after, the sound of snoring filled the dormitory.

　　At this moment, Gu Pan was climbing the long and steep slope on Wutong Avenue for the second time. Walking alone along the path he often took, he headed towards a lively place in the starry night where the lights were still on and people were gathering…

　　There, Lin Sicheng saved a seat for Gu Pan, allowing him to stay in the corner more discretely.

　　As the people around him turned the pages of books and took notes, Gu Pan idly turned his pen, with two blank pages were torn from Lin Sicheng’s notebook in front of him.

　　He didn’t know what to fill the blank pages with, feeling only that Ling Hanlu’s lecturing had a gentle and flowing quality, like a spring breeze and refreshing rainfall. It was almost hypnotic, and in this 7:50 pm class in early summer, he was swept away by a wave of springtime freshness. He allowed his mind to be filled with images of freehand brushwork, painting a series of melancholy yet expressive sketches on the blank pages.

　　In his eyes, Ling Hanlu stood under the four large blackboards, looking thin and desolate. Of course, thin was just an impression, but “desolate” was a subjective feeling resulting from his mixed observations and experiences from their previous “chance encounters.”

　　Outside the shopping mall window, she was slapped by an aggressive woman, yet surprisingly did not respond physically or verbally. Even more remarkably, she showed more concern for the welfare of the abuser’s daughter than for herself. This was something Gu Pan had never imagined before. He couldn’t believe that such drastically imbalanced scenes of violence existed in the world.

　　He wanted to protect her, and he did so in reality.

　　At this moment, Gu Pan found himself in a large classroom, observing Ling Hanlu from a bird’s eye view angle. This is an angle that is usually avoided by women when taking photos because it can make them look shorter. However, Ling Hanlu, with her distinctive Hobbit-like features, occasionally moved around the blue light area of the projector. Despite sometimes having a grim expression, she continued to lecture in a steady tone.

　　As time went on, Gu Pan increasingly felt that this woman had an unprecedented purity that was out of step with her age. She was not only purer than her peers of the same age, but even purer than Gu Pan’s good friend Yan.

　　After class, all the students left one after another. Gu Pan followed the crowds and slowly made his way toward the exit, gradually getting farther and farther away from Ling Hanlu, who was about to walk out of the front door, which made Gu Pan feel anxious.

　　He struggled to break through the crowd and caught up with Ling Hanlu, stepping onto Wutong Avenue once again.

　　This time, they were going downhill. At a stone sculpture, Ling Hanlu turned and entered a dimly lit path. The further they went, the more lush the plants on either side of the road became, narrow and long, enveloping the path. Although Gu Pan didn’t know where they were heading, his legs uncontrollably followed Ling Hanlu’s.

　　He followed the woman who was leading the way, the one who had been restored to her original form by the Hobbits. Her slender and graceful figure was outlined against the backdrop, with the hem of her dress brushing against her ankles and creating the impression of rippling waves.

　　Gu Pan knew that she was not a blonde with pointed ears, yet he couldn’t help but feel as if she were a queen of the elves, casting her spell over him with her charm as they briskly walked along. However, after a mere two seconds, his subservient pose became somewhat comical.

　　The raised paving slab on the road caused Gu Pan to suddenly fall four or five meters away. As each part of Ling Hanlu’s back, buttocks, and legs were brushed past, her face turned pale with fear. She immediately turned around and swung her tightly-clenched laptop bag in an arc, but she missed hitting the perpetrator. Before Ling Hanlu could launch her graceful counterattack, the “pervert” had already knelt down on the ground.

　　“Who?! Look up!” she shouted.

　　“It’s me!” Gu Pan knew he couldn’t hide, so he raised his hand to identify himself.

　　As the lighting was poor, Ling Hanlu had to bend down to take a closer look at him. She held her laptop bag tightly against her chest.

　　“Gu Pan? Is that you?” Ling Hanlu asked.

　　“Yes,” Gu Pan stood up and twisted his ankle to make sure it was fine.

　　Ling Hanlu sighed in relief, but then a look of confusion crossed her face. “Why did you come running over here?” she asked.

　　“I came over here to see an old classmate, from the Department of Language and Literature in your Foreign Language College.”

　　“Oh, you finished watching? And then, what a coincidence, running into me like this! So, what scene were you just acting in? Is your knee hurting?”

　　Ling Hanlu reached out her hand to brush off the dust from Gu Pan’s knee as if she wanted to help.

　　“Stop!” Gu Pan hurriedly stepped back, positioning herself outside the range of the aura emanating from the Elf Queen.

　　“Oh, it’s getting late, go back! Are you taking a shortcut with me or going through the main gate by yourself? Either way, it’s about the same distance to your place…”

　　“I…walk by myself. Wait, um, does the brown sugar water really work? The one with added ginger.”

　　“Huh?” Ling Hanlu was taken aback by this sudden question.

　　“Well, actually, I went to your class today. An old classmate brought me. He wanted to see you.”

　　“Oh~” Ling Hanlu responded indifferently, showing no curiosity about the curiosity from others in the school. “But… what does that have to do with the brown sugar water?” she continued.

　　“Well, I saw you massaging your waist twice and pressing your stomach four times…”

　　“You… hehe, you really are a little nice guy. How do you know these things? Do you have sisters?”

　　“It’s my sister. We live together. Being bossed around by her so much, naturally, I learned a few things. When she has a stomachache at midnight, she asks me to make brown sugar water, and the ginger has to be finely cut… The nice guy you mentioned is trained.”

　　“Oh…”

　　The calmness of this child at the moment, reflected in both the tone of voice and the face faintly visible under the moonlight, surprised Ling Hanlu. It was also unfamiliar.

　　The calmness wasn’t peculiar. However, when he spoke concisely, that calmness felt transparent. But just now, he was clearly reminiscing and willingly offering detailed memories. It was related to family bonds and sacrifices. Although still calm, there was a murky undertone.

　　“Let me walk with you through the small path! It’s not safe for you to walk alone.” Gu Pan raised his hand, gesturing for Ling Hanlu to continue leading the way.