Chapter 286: Chapter 286

Her gaze met Zane Rhodes’, and she froze entirely.

Zane seemed to have noticed her long before; even after being caught, his eyes didn’t waver.

It was Erin Bishop who appeared somewhat uneasy.

Only then did the English professor speak to her in Chinese: "What’s wrong? Am I putting you in a difficult position?"

Erin immediately averted her gaze, took a sip of coffee, and smiled at the professor, saying, "No..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the professor interrupted, "I thought Miss Bishop was proficient in English. After all, there are very few people who can’t speak English nowadays."

Erin resisted the urge to roll her eyes and replied with a forced smile, "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Even the sentence you just said was quite substandard; an elementary school student’s pronunciation is better than yours."

"I can teach you when I have some spare time."

If it weren’t for the fact that his mother and her mother were friends, Erin might have just gotten up and left, wondering where his sense of superiority came from.

"A private tutor? If I have to waste money and time on a tutor for this, I’d rather just hire a translator directly." Read full story at n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

"Miss Bishop, that’s not right. Things you learn are yours. If you just hire a translator, it’s only because you paid for it. But if you really want a translator, I have students in this field; I can make some introductions."

Erin maintained her smile and said, "I don’t even know your name, but I’m not really interested to know now. I just want to tell you, everyone has things they’re skilled at, there’s no need to flaunt your specialties. To be honest, you don’t earn more than I do."

Men love names, and especially a man with such a sense of superiority. Being told off by Erin, he became somewhat flustered: "How can you speak like that? I’m trying to be nice to you, offering to teach you for your own good. All you do is insult others with that empty head of yours. No wonder you’re this old and still unmarried!"

Because the man was upset, he spoke loudly, drawing the attention of the coffee drinkers around them, including Zane.

If Zane hadn’t been there, Erin might have thought the man’s words weren’t enough to embarrass her, but coincidentally, these words fell into his ears.

Most people probably want to convey to their exes that they’re doing well, but at this moment, she couldn’t even bring herself to look in Zane’s direction.

The man pushed his glasses up his nose, stood up, and muttered while leaving, "What on earth did my mom introduce to me?!"

Erin curled her lips and said to the man’s back, "Remember to pay the bill."

The man turned to glance at her, then deliberately raised his voice as he approached the cashier, seemingly wanting Erin to hear: "How much was my drink? She’ll pay for her own!"

Erin casually took a bite of the pastry on her plate, thankful that his true nature was revealed so quickly.

Otherwise, even if things worked out today, they wouldn’t last long in the future.

She stirred her coffee with a spoon, planning to have a few more sips and leave when she unexpectedly noticed someone sitting opposite her. She looked up and saw that familiar face.

Her heart had started racing uncontrollably when she first saw him. Now that he sat across from her, she felt like she couldn’t breathe smoothly.

She pretended not to see him, continued stirring her coffee, and didn’t ask him anything, yet she silently hoped he would say something.

After several seconds, she couldn’t continue the act any longer. Just as she was about to ask if he had anything to say, he suddenly said, "Let’s get married."

Erin froze. In that instant, her mind was like it had been struck by lightning, losing all ability to think after a flash of white light.

He didn’t push further, simply gazing at her unblinkingly, patiently waiting for her response.

It took Erin a while to regain her senses, staring at the man sitting across from her with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

She couldn’t understand him, not at all.

She couldn’t figure out what to think about him either.

She spent a long time trying to forget him, let go of him, and slowly began to accept new people and even the idea of marriage.

Yet whenever she saw him, something inside her seemed to come rushing out, as if the vows she’d silently made to herself were instantly forgotten.

It’s so disappointing that she couldn’t be decisive about this matter.

Hearing him say that sentence gave her an instant urge to nod.

Struggling to recall how he had treated her before, she slowly rediscovered her emotions and, without rushing, said to Zane, "Why? Why should I marry you just because you say so? Do you really think you still have a place in my heart?"

Zane didn’t speak, simply maintaining an emotionless expression with steady eyes looking at her.

She used to like his emotionless, cold appearance, but now she hated it.

Because she used to know him well enough to understand what lay beneath that façade, but now she couldn’t understand it at all, having no clue what game he was playing.

Erin took a deep breath and said, "You disappeared without a word, and I kept looking for you and waiting for you; when you came back, I thought we could return to the past, and I tried, put down all my dignity and pride but received rejection time and again."

"People’s hearts can die, Zane, don’t you understand that feeling? Because I feel like you don’t have a heart at all."

Zane still didn’t speak, seemingly pondering what she had said, yet it was as if he hadn’t heard her at all.

His silence frustrated Erin. She picked up her bag, stood up, and said to him, "I don’t care if you were serious just now or just wanted to play me, if you wanted to see me make a fool of myself, well, congratulations, you got what you wanted. I have a blind date at noon, so excuse me."

She stood up, went straight to the cashier, settled the bill, and drove off.

No matter how calm she appeared in front of Zane, his words "let’s get married" had unsettled her inside. She even wondered if she said yes, would he truly marry her or just mock her and leave?

She felt the latter was more likely.

Disturbed by the incident with little mood left, she still kept her appointment for the midday date.

She couldn’t tell if it was her bad mood or the man’s doing, but she found him utterly irritating, constantly boasting and deliberately discussing economics, unaware that Erin followed such matters closely. At the time, she didn’t point out his mistakes but clearly stated they could work as colleagues, meaning the date ended unsuccessfully once again.