The Mad Beauty Professor Forced Me to Mark Her - Chapter 14

Qi Si was merely rigid. She believed in rules and regulations, held herself to fairly high moral standards, and could not bring herself to do underhanded things. Added to her severe difficulty recognizing people, she always made others think she was stupid, clumsy, and easy to bully. But her IQ was not low, and her logical thinking was very strong. Most of the time, she simply saw through things without saying them out loud.

Rules and regulations were shackles used to tame people at the bottom. Morality was the foundation for maintaining the stability of social order. And so-called stability meant the endurance of the lower classes, the tacit permission for the upper classes to act without restraint, and futile resistance.

Once Qi Si figured this out, it was as if something had clicked.

Anyway, her life was already rotten. If she refused to accept it, then fight.

She might have learned this from Lin Ye, but Lin Ye had the capital to be arrogant. She published at least two top-journal papers a year, and her team’s innovations emerged endlessly. As the face of University A’s medical school, Lin Ye stood shoulder to shoulder with the big names in the research circle through her own strength, dining at the same table as academicians and the like. Ordinary people could chase her for eight lifetimes and still never catch up.

Qi Si admired her from the bottom of her heart. From her meticulous attitude toward work and the way she devoted herself fully, one could tell that she lived purely—cleanly, decisively, freely.

Under the glow of such ability, Lin Ye’s tiny, insignificant flaws even started to seem cute. Qi Si had already gotten used to her saying “get out,” and even felt that the word had no killing power at all. It was strangely gentle.

At worst, she would get scolded bloody by her. Qi Si was already used to it anyway.

Knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Qi Si was about to knock for the fourth time when the outward-opening door popped open, nearly hitting her nose.

Lin Ye’s hair was loose around her shoulders. She looked at Qi Si in a daze, and only after quite a while did her gaze focus. She narrowed her eyes and said, “It’s you?”

After looking at her up close for a moment, Qi Si realized that her own heartbeat really was a bit noisy. She secretly drew in a breath and said, “Who did you think it was? Would you open the door for anyone else?”

Lin Ye laughed lightly, turned around, and walked toward the sofa. She was barefoot, walking unsteadily. Her pajamas dragged lazily across the floor, as if she might step on them and fall at any moment. But she did not fall. She plopped down on the carpet in front of the sofa, picked up a can of beer, and slowly drank. A clear flush spread across her cheeks.

Professor Lin Ye, living alone at home, really was completely different from the great demon king in the laboratory who could scold people until they cried. Qi Si stared at her with a fresh sense of adventure, as if she had discovered a small island covered in gold and was afraid that the island’s secret would be found by others.

Qi Si did not dare stand too close. She saw that the beer she had brought up earlier was still on the entryway cabinet. Lin Ye had only opened one bottle. The rest were exactly as they had been.

It was like… a person who had completely lost interest in life: too lazy to cook at home, too lazy to do housework, too lazy to open packages, too lazy to go to the supermarket. Aside from the necessary eating, drinking, excreting, and sleeping, all her care and attention were poured into work.

The great demon king was indeed the great demon king. She had earned money, fame, and status, but had no idea how to enjoy life.

Qi Si put the remaining beer into the refrigerator and casually organized the things stored inside. She found frozen lemons, ice cubes, oolong tea, jam, then found unopened honey in the kitchen and a dusty bottle of whiskey.

She tapped a spoon against a glass, making a crisp sound that drew Lin Ye’s attention over. In a professional tone, she said, “Professor Lin, drinking beer alone is too bitter. Why don’t I make you something better?”

Lin Ye said, “See what’s in the fridge.”

“There’s quite a lot. For example, sweet-and-sour jam, frozen lemons that’ll break your teeth if you bite them, thirty-year-aged ice cubes, flower nectar gathered by little bees along the thirtieth parallel north, whiskey of unknown origin, Hextech apple vinegar, two years of accumulated dust, and me, an outstanding bartender. So, dear, what flavor would you like? Stronger or lighter?” Qi Si almost bit her own tongue, especially when she said “dear.”

Her face started burning, and a voice in her heart said: What am I doing? Will I be arrested and sentenced?

The air seemed to freeze. Lin Ye sat not far away and watched her. Perhaps she saw her as a monkey making a fool of itself?

Amitabha, whatever. At worst, I’ll turn into a monkey later and climb onto the beams to scare her.

Qi Si emboldened herself while beginning to wash the glass, lowering her head so she would not care too much about Lin Ye’s reaction.

When she was not paying attention, Lin Ye’s gaze softened a great deal. She knocked over the empty beer bottle in her hand, stood unsteadily, and walked toward Qi Si.

The sound of bare feet on the floor was very soft. With the interference of the running water, Qi Si had not reacted by the time Lin Ye was already behind her, wrapping both arms around her and pressing part of her weight onto her body.

The frozen lemon in Qi Si’s hand fell into the sink with a thud, and her whole body stiffened.

The fluffy dinosaur pajamas were very soft, and Lin Ye’s hands were even softer. Resting on her waist, they were like water snakes, enough to suffocate her.

Qi Si did not move at all. She felt the other woman’s breath close to her, and her mind went completely blank.

Time seemed to stop. Qi Si lifted her eyes and saw the second hand of the wall clock turning round after round, but Lin Ye still maintained the same posture. Her breathing gradually became even, as if she had fallen asleep?

Qi Si very slowly turned her neck, wanting to glance at her, when Lin Ye suddenly spoke. “Don’t move.”

Qi Si: “…Then can I talk?”

Lin Ye said nothing. Did that mean permission?

“If I keep standing like this, my waist is going to ache. And you’re pressing on my hair. It hurts,” Qi Si said, her voice growing smaller and smaller. “Also, I haven’t showered today. I probably don’t smell very good.”

Lin Ye let go of her and sat on a metal bar stool. Out of nowhere, she asked, “Why did you come back?”

Qi Si lowered her head, picked up the lemon, and washed it again. She turned off the faucet and said, “I still feel pretty sorry to you. I dragged you into this and made you lose a car for no reason.”

Lin Ye said, “Mm?”

“And then, Sister Zhou’s side was my problem too. I ruined your mood.”

Lin Ye let out a breath that sounded like a laugh yet not quite a laugh.

Qi Si asked, “Are you still going on your date tomorrow?”

Lin Ye thought for a while and threw the question back to Qi Si. “What do you think?”

This was practically a fatal question.

Qi Si remembered the man’s voice on the phone. One night at the bar, Zhou Danqing had once asked her to deliver wine. It had been the most expensive bottle of Ace of Spades, and there had been a teasing lipstick mark on the glass.

Had there been new progress between them?

Did Lin Ye know that man?

…What was the worst possibility?

Qi Si knew it very well. On one side was the bar owner who had been kind to her and generous with money. On the other side was Lin Ye. If something happened between them and Qi Si had to choose a side, how should Qi Si choose?

A small person should try to please both sides and maneuver smoothly between them, but Qi Si was not that kind of slick person.

“Don’t go. No one is worthy of you.” Qi Si’s voice was very soft, but every word was pronounced clearly.

A cold smile appeared in Lin Ye’s eyes. Qi Si pretended not to see it. She nimbly boiled water and brewed tea, scraped some lemon peel with a scraper, then cut the lemon into beautiful wedges and sank them into the chilled tea base. She added alcohol and shook it, paired it with blueberry jam and passionfruit honey, then garnished it with a lemon slice. At last, a cocktail branded “74” appeared before Lin Ye.

“Please enjoy.”

Qi Si pushed the cocktail in front of Lin Ye, her face bearing a standard professional smile.

Lin Ye rested her elbow on the bar counter, supported the side of her face, and looked at her. Her long hair on the other side drooped down, veiling her brows and eyes. Bored, she said, “Name your price. I’ll keep you.”

Qi Si: “???”

Lin Ye turned the glass, her tone frivolous. “What do you say? I won’t mistreat you. It won’t affect your studies. If something happens, I’ll bear it myself.”

Qi Si thought about it seriously. “Better not.”

Lin Ye: “?”

“You’re drunk and talking nonsense, so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. Also, you just fell out of love. It’s easiest to act impulsively at times like this. No matter the reason, you shouldn’t joke about this sort of thing. It’s just like this drink I made. You haven’t even tasted it yet, so how do you know whether it’s good? What if it’s so sour your teeth fall out, and then you regret it?” Qi Si turned her face away, washed the tools clean, and put them away. At an angle Lin Ye could not see, her hands were trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Ye held the glass. Her slightly drunk face was reflected in it. Her expression, however, remained composed, and she half-smiled as she answered, “Some things can be judged good or bad at a glance. There’s no need to wait until after tasting them to make a conclusion. Do you not trust my eye, or do you not trust me?”

Qi Si did not look at her. This matter was already so bizarre that she could hardly tell reality from fantasy. She could only rely on the last bit of reason she had to pull the brakes and remind herself that this matter was no joke.

Who knew what Lin Ye was truly thinking?

A special hobby of the rich? Or did she just want to keep a university student around for fun?

Objectively speaking, Qi Si would not lose out no matter how she looked at it. This was like pie falling from the sky, or like winning the lottery.

Lin Ye was rich, beautiful, currently single, and lived alone. There would be no family suddenly appearing to demand justice from Qi Si, and she did not have any messy fetishes or problems. Forget Lin Ye spending money to keep Qi Si—even if she did not spend money, Qi Si would still be tempted.

But that one line—“If something happens, I’ll bear it myself”—completely extinguished Qi Si’s thoughts.

With her current state of being wrapped in trouble, if she really dragged Lin Ye down, her life would not be enough to repay it.

“I can only say… thank you for your appreciation.” Qi Si forced out these stiff words as if her teeth hurt and looked at Lin Ye in panic. “Professor Lin, to be honest, I really am sexually dysfunctional. I’ve never experienced a rut, and I don’t know how to operate. You really misjudged me this time. Also, I feel that I’m not worthy at all.”

Lin Ye said, “Is that so?”

“It’s true. Absolutely true,” Qi Si said, swallowing. “If you’re joking with me, then forget it. Anyway, I know you like teasing people. When you sober up tomorrow, you’ll forget about this. Also, you asked me why I came back just now. Actually, it was because I felt like you’d fallen out of love and seemed very pitiful.”

Lin Ye splashed the drink on Qi Si.

Qi Si smiled. She had expected this reaction, so she had deliberately not dodged.

“I’ll head back first. You have my number. Call me tomorrow if you need me. I really am very doglike and have wronged you. Goodbye.”

Qi Si conveniently took the trash downstairs with her. All the way down, her heart beat so quickly it was like she had just finished running eight hundred meters.

What the fuck was that?

…I actually rejected Lin Ye? I actually rejected her?!

Qi Si could no longer force herself to stay calm. She pedaled her bicycle to its maximum speed. The cold night wind stung her eyes, and she threw herself onto the grass by the roadside, panting as she listened to her heart thump, thump, thump.

Her phone popped up with a message. It was from Shen Yixuan:

I’m at Su Moxiao’s house. This time, I’ll definitely get justice for you.