Chapter 6: Face-to-Face
The classroom once again fell utterly silent—a silence thick with gossip.
At that moment, every student’s attention was focused on the two beautiful women: their wildly popular Professor Ji and her mysterious lover?
Their ambiguous exchange of gazes was practically a romance scene brought to life. Some students had already begun fervently shipping them in private. They were so excited yet dared not make a sound, leaving them no choice but to pinch their own thighs fiercely.
Ahhh, this ship was driving them crazy!
Ji Lan was calmer than Yan Jingyao had expected. She had assumed that remark would be enough to expose a crack in the popular professor’s composure. At the very least, shouldn’t she have blushed?
But she didn’t.
“Is this how you always pursue people, Miss Yan?”
In front of so many students and under countless watchful eyes, Professor Ji neither blushed nor showed the slightest nervousness. She even smiled with exceptional grace. “Do you approach every random person you see on the street and flirt with them like this?”
There was an implication behind her words. Yan Jingyao decided to wait and see what else she had to say, so she temporarily ignored her. Ji Lan politely said, “Please put away your laptop.”
She raised her head and faced the pairs of gossip-hungry eyes with perfect composure. “Everyone, please remember the incorrect flirting technique Miss Yan just demonstrated. This is extremely important—it could determine whether you’re doomed to remain single for life.”
Soft laughter broke out. Ji Lan turned and walked back to the lectern, leaning lightly against it. “Before we analyze the mistakes in Miss Yan’s approach, I’ll first explain my requirements.”
“The professor who originally taught this Fundamentals of College Student Psychology course has gone on maternity leave. The Office of Academic Affairs assigned me to substitute for her. I don’t yet know how long I’ll be teaching you, but during that time, I expect you to follow my rules.”
No one continued snickering or whispering. Without anyone realizing it, Ji Lan had skillfully drawn every student’s attention back to the class, handling the situation with effortless ease.
“First,” she said, looking at Yan Jingyao with a deep smile, “because seating in this classroom is limited, priority must be given to students enrolled in this course. Anyone else—such as Miss Yan, whose name does not appear on the class roster—is welcome to attend, but if there are no spare seats, I’m afraid you’ll have to stand.”
“Second, laptops, tablets, phones, and other electronic devices are not permitted during my classes. There won’t be many notes, and I’ve marked everything you need to record. You are required to write them by hand.”
“Third…”
Her gaze once again settled on Yan Jingyao. She stepped down from the lectern and approached her, bracing both hands against the edge of the desk. Her lips curved as her eyes sharpened. “No matter how beautiful a student may be, flirting with the professor is forbidden both inside and outside the classroom. Otherwise, I’ll flirt with your final grades.”
Another ripple of subdued laughter spread through the room. Ji Lan returned to the lectern, her gaze sharp and her natural authority instantly bringing the atmosphere under control.
“Does everyone understand?”
“Yes.”
The students immediately became perfectly obedient. Ji Lan opened her PowerPoint presentation, then crooked a finger at Yan Jingyao and said with a smile, “Miss Yan, would you please come up here and help me advance the slides?”
“…”
She had effortlessly cornered her. Yan Jingyao raised an eyebrow. This woman truly was interesting. She actually gathered her belongings and walked up to the lectern, leaning her laptop against its base before properly assuming the role of an assistant.
Ji Lan instructed one of the enrolled students who had been standing to take the now-vacant seat, then began the lecture.
“Returning to the incorrect flirting technique we just witnessed, Miss Yan’s problem was that she was excessively direct and approached the interaction entirely with a provocative mindset.”
“The instant she spoke, I noticed a very slight twitch of her eyebrows. That is one expression of smugness. The upward curve of her lips was also extremely subtle…”
She had actually used the incident to transition into the topic of microexpressions. When Yan Jingyao met Ji Lan’s gaze, she belatedly realized that she seemed to have fallen into a trap.
She wasn’t an assistant responsible for advancing the slides. She was a teaching prop.
The two extended class periods lasted a total of one hundred and twenty minutes, and Ji Lan spent a third of that time singling her out. She must have used Yan Jingyao in a hundred different examples.
Yan Jingyao silently rolled her eyes.
Professors truly possessed remarkable stamina for standing. Ji Lan didn’t allow a break midway through the class and completed the entire first chapter in one stretch.
Amazingly, none of the students became impatient and slipped away. Very few even went to the restroom. Yan Jingyao was surprised, but she was also suffering on behalf of her legs. She was still wearing ten-centimeter heels, and her feet were aching.
By the end, her calves were trembling. Fortunately, class finally ended. The students noisily packed away their textbooks and hurried to their next classes. The classroom rapidly emptied until only the two women remained.
Yan Jingyao truly couldn’t endure it any longer. She limped down from the lectern and sat on a desk in the front row, removing her high heels and rubbing her aching heels.
Ji Lan closed the PowerPoint presentation and shut down the computer. Glancing at her, she said flatly, “The next time you attend my class, don’t wear heels that high.”
“Is this my fault?” Yan Jingyao desperately wanted to kick this woman in the ass. “You’re clearly the one who fucked with me.”
“You could have sat on the floor.”
Professor Ji possessed no compassion for a beautiful woman whatsoever. She was far too heartless. Yan Jingyao nearly threw a high heel at her. Only an idiot would sit on the floor—did she want everyone looking up her skirt?
She cursed inwardly, but because she needed to ask Ji Lan for a favor, she had to restrain herself. She could only glare at her before lowering her head and continuing to massage her poor feet.
Neither of them spoke for a while. Ji Lan slipped the USB drive into her pocket and secretly glanced at Yan Jingyao from the corner of her eye, pondering the situation.
The circumstances were completely unexpected. Yan Rui’s daughter—the person she wanted to find—was right in front of her. She had never imagined that she would be the hooligan who had flirted with her a year ago.
Her behavior was frivolous and her words wanton. If Ji Lan weren’t investigating those clues, she wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with her.
Both of her parents were high-ranking officials. Plenty of these privileged “officials’ children” were beautifully gilded on the outside but rotten within. Ji Lan disliked Yan Jingyao’s words and behavior, but to accomplish her objective, she would still need to interact with her.
Ji Lan had no particular strategy for dealing with her. She bit her lip, approached her first, and tentatively showed a little concern.
“Can you still walk?”
“No.”
“…”
The answer was mercilessly direct, leaving Ji Lan speechless. Just as she was considering what to say next, Yan Jingyao suddenly raised her legs and clamped them around Ji Lan’s waist.
Sitting on the desk placed her slightly higher, allowing her to hook Ji Lan toward her with ease. Taking advantage of the momentum, she opened her arms and embraced her.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Professor Ji had never been accustomed to such intimate contact. She hurriedly tried to escape, turning to run, but Yan Jingyao locked her arms tightly around her waist.
“Professor Ji.” Yan Jingyao pressed herself openly against Ji Lan’s back. Her voice was soft, and her warm, moist breath brushed Ji Lan’s ear. “There’s something I need your help with.”
“…Is this how you ask someone for a favor?”
They were far too close. Ji Lan wasn’t accustomed to this kind of intimacy, especially with such a wanton and dangerous woman. She tried to pry Yan Jingyao’s fingers apart. “Let go!”
“Promise me first.” Yan Jingyao tightened her legs around her, behaving like a shameless rogue. “Don’t be so nervous, Professor Ji.”
Her body was indeed rigid, but who could possibly relax under these circumstances? Ji Lan frowned, abruptly stopped trying to pry her hands away, and reached back to pinch Yan Jingyao’s waist.
Relying entirely on touch, she caught a soft mound squarely between her fingers. Yan Jingyao cried out and released her. Ji Lan immediately broke free and fled several steps away, putting distance between herself and the woman.
After stopping a safe distance away, she regretted showing concern. She hurriedly straightened her clothes and smoothed the loose strands of hair hanging beside her ear, inexplicably feeling an uncomfortable heat spreading there.
A ripple of irritation arose in her heart. She suddenly no longer wanted to pursue her objective. Grabbing her textbook from the lectern, she turned to leave.
“Wait, Professor Ji!”
Yan Jingyao hurriedly slid down from the desk. Her heel still hurt, and she didn’t even have time to put on her shoes. She ran after Ji Lan across the cold floor with bare feet and grabbed her wrist.
“We can talk this out.” Those who accomplished great things knew when to bend and when to stand firm. She smiled brilliantly. “Professor Ji, what I did just now was wrong. Please don’t be angry. We can discuss this properly.”
“…”
Yan Jingyao held her wrist in an extremely tight grip. Ji Lan stared at her. This woman had no intention of discussing anything—she was clearly refusing to allow Ji Lan to reject her.
“What exactly do you want?”
“I’d like to invite you to conduct psychological assessments for the employees at my law firm. It’ll be very simple.”
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