Chapter 247: Chapter 247

Hearing Tang Yanqing’s voice, Shi Nian pressed his chest, bumped his forehead against the wall, and said, "God, you scared me to death!"

"What are you afraid of?"

He leaned lazily against the wall, arms folded, with one leg supporting his weight and the other relaxed and crossed over.

He looked like a typical idle playboy.

"Could it be that you have a guilty conscience? Hurry up and confess, what did you just say to Xiang Yuan? You’re so afraid to come back and face me, hmm?"

Shi Nian was actually thinking about the series of strange cases Dad encountered in the last three years before his death, so when he suddenly ran into someone in the darkness, he couldn’t help but get nervous, it’s not because there was anything unspeakable with Xiang Yuan.

But speaking about it: Whether it was the things Dad experienced before or the matter of signing the divorce papers with Xiang Yuan, she didn’t intend to tell Tang Yanqing any of it.

Even though she could imagine that Tang Yanqing would be very happy to hear the divorce news... but if a woman had just divorced, she couldn’t exactly cheerfully tell this news to her new partner—that’s something she really couldn’t do.

Not to mention the marriage she ended, she couldn’t even muster a smile.

She just shook her head, "Professor, you’re overthinking. I’m tired and want to go back to sleep."

Her attitude clearly showed she wanted to keep him at a distance, not allowing him to delve into her inner world.

He frowned, "Nana, I’ve already tried hard to respect your privacy tonight, so even when you went downstairs to meet your ex, I held back and didn’t follow. I gave you an hour of alone time, I think that’s quite generous. Even if I stayed in my room, scratching my head and losing thirteen games in a row in an originally dominant position, surrounded and laughed at by my students for an hour... if even after all this, I don’t get one honest word from you, Nana, don’t you think you’re being a bit unreasonable, huh?"

Shi Nian was also surprised, raising her eyes to look at him. Her eyes adapted to the darkness, finally seeing the embarrassment in his gaze.

She couldn’t help but laugh, cheekily asking, "Did the professor really lose 13 games in a row?"

"Hmm, you dare to secretly laugh?" Get full chapters from NoveI★Fire.net

He blocked the light in the corridor with his figure, reached out and pinched her wrist, "It’s all because of you, everyone’s allowed to laugh except you!"

But the more he said this, the less she could control it. Her gaze sparkled like stars in the dim lamplight, "...Did Jason and the others really laugh at you for an hour? Don’t they care about their grades in behavioral analysis class, daring to offend you, the professor?"

"Hmph, you remind me." His eyes darkened, hanging just an inch in front of her face, "I was going to be lenient with exams as a guest professor, but since Nana reminded me today, I’ll make sure to properly educate those students whose facial nerves twitched from laughing."

"I’ll also not forget to say this: You all owe your failing grades to Nana. Without her timely reminder, I, as a professor, would have completely forgotten."

That guy... he’s blatantly shameless, huh?

Especially in this university setting, flaunting the professor’s title before her, the student!

Shi Nian couldn’t help but laugh, looking up at him, "Alright, professor, let’s go with that. I’ll keep an eye on you during the finals. If you don’t follow through, you’re practically slapping yourself in the face!"

Strangely, despite feeling utterly down earlier, his playful banter somehow chased away all the shadows from her heart.

"Hmm," he bit his cigarette, annoyed as he gritted his teeth, "Now you’re even turning the tables on me. The student shows promise."

Shi Nian proudly raised her chin, "It’s the professor who said to play chess or something. Although I don’t know how to play international chess, I do understand a bit about Chinese chess as a student."

The night enveloped them, the corridor’s lights were subdued, and as they looked into each other’s eyes, they couldn’t help but smile.

At this hour, the entire school had quieted down, so it was inconvenient for them to chat further, and they returned one after the other to room 507.

Shi Nian lay back in bed but couldn’t fall asleep.

The phone buzzed; it was a message from him.

"Although you laughed at me later tonight, your mood was clearly off. Your corners of your eyes and lips drooped down, you ought to know it clearly signifies [sadness]. Good student, tell your professor what’s bothering you and ask for help. Otherwise, the professor won’t be able to sleep tonight."

Shi Nian thought for a moment, then took a deep breath and pressed send, "Tonight, A Yuan initiated a divorce request."

The phone remained quiet for a while, making Shi Nian almost wonder if the previous message had encountered a technical glitch and hadn’t been sent, so he hadn’t seen it.

Just as she was about to resend, the phone finally vibrated again.

"Did you agree to the divorce?"

Shi Nian sighed lightly, "I agreed. It’s just, I can’t feel happy about it."

He paused for another moment, "Can’t let go of him?"

Shi Nian stared at the screen, unable to resist mimicking the motions onscreen. This guy, he just knew he would have improper thoughts.

She didn’t answer directly, instead she shot back a question: "Why do you think I’m longing for him?"

On the other end of the phone, Tang Yanqing looked at the inquiry she sent and couldn’t help but let out a gentle sigh.

Why? Because, in her mind, the one who shared hardships with her four years ago was always Xiang Yuan.

He lowered his head and repeatedly pressed a few keys on the keyboard before finally sending this message: "I guessed."

Shi Nian, upon seeing this, could only roll her eyes and replied: "As a behavior analysis expert, you give students such nonsensical answers. Aren’t you embarrassed?"

He stared at the screen, as if he could imagine her little playful expression, biting his finger and smiling, then typed: "Unfortunately, in front of you, my IQ is zero."

Upon seeing this reply, Shi Nian held her phone and giggled foolishly in the darkness for a long time.

Then she slowly typed: "Great, does that mean I can get a perfect score at the end of the term?"

In such night scenes, it is when nightlife is the most vibrant.

In an ordinary bar located in the suburbs, pink neon lights led the bar’s atmosphere to a realm of enchantment. Many working-class men come here to drown their sorrows and pick up girls. Amidst such a chaotic atmosphere, a man in a traditional Chinese silk shirt sat in the farthest corner of the bar.

He quietly sipped a glass of red wine, calmly gazing at the people within this realm of worldly desires. His cool and aloof demeanor was clearly out of place with the surroundings, yet he happened to be a regular here.

Xia Zuo surveyed the surrounding area, quietly approached the corner, and sat in a booth with his back to the crowd, his figure perfectly hidden by the tall chair back.

Xia Zuo signaled with a glance to the left rear at the eight o’clock position: "Sir, she’s here again."

The man in the Chinese silk shirt was none other than Huangfu Huazhang.

Huangfu Huazhang, upon hearing Xia Zuo’s report, merely smiled lightly. The deliberately changed hairstyle and attire of Tang Yan Yi... he had already seen her.

However, her arrival had no effect on him whatsoever, so he let her be. He continued to casually sip his red wine, admiring the ephemeral world under those mesmerizing lights.

His reason for becoming a regular at this low-class bar is that it is a place for working-class leisure, and no one of a similar level to him would appear here, so his identity would not be uncovered by anyone. In such a noisy and chaotic environment, he felt even freer.

As for the quality of the red wine in hand, it was of no importance. Anyway, every time he came, he would only drink from the bottle he had left at the counter.

Seeing Xia Zuo walk toward the corner again, Tang Yan Yi kept a careful and quiet watch.

A burly man was already seated across from her, looking like a truck driver. In front of this burly man, the tall and competent Tang Yan Yi also appeared petite and delicate. It was precisely Tang Yan Yi’s petite and delicate Oriental beauty that attracted the burly man, prompting him to actively approach her, buy her a glass of cheap red wine, grinning with big yellow teeth, trying to reel Tang Yan Yi in.

Tang Yan Yi didn’t need to observe closely to know that he was now filled with thoughts of how he could pin this petite Oriental black-haired beauty beneath him tonight.

Under the table, Tang Yan Yi gently flicked her high heels.

Tonight, she would definitely use the tips of her high heels to teach the burly man’s little buddy a lesson, to see if that little buddy was as robust as he was.

Chatting intermittently with the burly man, she used her ethnic advantage, pretending not to understand his teasing, and then diverted her gaze to observe Huangfu Huazhang from afar.

She had already secretly followed him for a period of time and had learned of his habit of coming here every few days, always changing hairstyles and outfits.

She wanted to clearly see what kind of person he was and what type of people he usually interacted with.

This bar belonging to the working-class, he could humble himself to come. Does that mean he can make acquaintances with many people who have criminal records, or even those involved with gangs?

If so, as long as she caught a piece of evidence, she could trace it upwards and find out his background.

Huangfu Huazhang glanced lightly at Xia Zuo: "The police flower from the Tang family has been following us for so many days, truly lonely. Something should happen. If nothing ever happens, why would the world need police anyway?"

[Trying to update more tomorrow~]

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