"沈老师背景不错,别说闲话.虽然葛教授并不是最正直的,但你可以看到沈老师的言谈举止正直.她不是那种掉以轻心的人;她知识渊博.
"无论如何,这真的不关我们的事.但我想知道沈老师来了之后会怎么分配.这个项目本来应该是江老师负责的.
"江老师得罪了葛教授,所以她现在不太可能回到学院."
"说起来,沈老师真是太漂亮了.我不知道她用什么样的化妆品,但她的皮肤完美无瑕.
浴室的门吱吱作响,沈明走了出来.
两位老师愣住了.
她走到水槽前洗手.当她抬起头时,她的笑容平静而中立.
"你知道,在浴室里,八卦往往会被偷听.对不起,我听到了你刚才说的一切.这不是故意的.
老师们的脸色僵硬了.当他们交换眼神时,一片尴尬的沉默.
"沈老师,请不要介意.我们..."
沈明摇摇头,用纸巾擦了擦手,笑了笑.
"没事,"她一边说,一边耐心地擦干双手.当她抬起头时,她看到镜子里倒映着老师们尴尬的脸."对了,你说的江老师——就是江天老师吗?"
聚会结束了.葛教授没想到沈明竟然是个酗酒的人.
离开西塔兰亚餐厅后,一行人在外面等车,葛教授随口把手搭在了她的肩膀上.
"不知道你这么专业,沈老师.你今晚怎么回家?我订购的车在这里.我可以送你一程.
葛教授外表优雅,手搭在她的肩膀上.周围的人看到了,但没有一个人插手.
沈明从他的手臂上走开,说道:"有人来接我了.我现在要走了.明天学校见.
这群人挥手让她离开,她向路走去.走了大约十步后,她转过身来,站着不动,看着这群人离开.
喝了一整晚酒,她的头有点疼,但她已经完全清醒了.
她的包里的电话嗡嗡作响——很可能是卓航打来的电话.
她查看了她的手机.
是荣兆南打来的电话.
"转过身来."
沈明右转,发现自己面对着一条空荡荡的街道,远处只有一个酒吧招牌闪闪发光.
"转错了."
她迅速转身,就在她这样做的时候,她看到街对面有一辆车停在一排梧桐树下.路灯闪烁着五颜六色的色彩.
她发现一个穿着白衬衫的男人靠在车上,和她通电话.
她心中突然涌起一股喜悦.
世界似乎变得明亮起来.
距离他们上次见面已经过去一周了.他匆匆忙忙地回来了,是来接她的.
她迅速将手机装进口袋,走过马路时,她的脚步加快了,穿过交通间隙.她急切地想接近他.
这几乎感觉很不真实.
他是来接她的.
他身边甚至没有一个助手.
She glanced at her purse, peeking into the car to see if anyone was inside.
No one.
He noticed her small gesture.
"What are you looking at?" His voice was like it had been soaked in water, soft and deep, following her gaze.
She replied honestly, "I was checking to see if there were any girls hiding in the car."
His charming eyes darkened noticeably.
He got out of the car.
"I got out because of you," she added sarcastically, though her words were playful.
"You're always full of surprises," he commented.
She felt a flicker of bitterness in her heart.
She wasn't sure if she was frustrated with his words or with her own feelings. Her eyes flashed in response, but she managed a playful smile. "That's Professor Ge from our faculty. He's a lot younger than you think."
The last few days, she had made quite an impression, creating a huge stir with the Su family, especially when she had an altercation with Su Yuyan and torn her relationship with them apart. Word was spreading everywhere. Even their small family matriarch was sitting at home discussing her.
Yet here she was, living her life, applying for a job at the university. Technically, she was even going to be addressed as "Teacher" from now on.
"You must have paid a fortune for this job, huh?" He scoffed, clearly displeased. "Not teaching or nurturing students, just running around at night for drinks?"
His words hit her like a slap. What had started as an eager rush to meet him quickly soured at the mention of her past.
The excitement she had felt earlier was fake. The urgency to cross the street had been meaningless.
She shot him an exaggerated look, annoyed with his tone.
"Forget it. Thanks for picking me up, but I'll just call a taxi."
As she turned to leave, he yanked her back, pulling her by the strap of her purse.
She stood there, glaring at him with wide, unamused eyes. Her expression, paired with her striking face and the faint scent of alcohol, made him chuckle.
He held onto her purse with one hand while taking her other hand in the other.
"Stop being so difficult. Get in the car. I'm taking you somewhere nice."
She finally stopped fighting him, her resentment slowly turning into something else as she felt the warmth of his hand.
"You know I don't trust you. Where are we going? I'm not going to Tongluo Harbor."
Tongluo Harbor was where Su Yuyan and he had a shared residence.
As they drove off, the bustling scene at the restaurant continued behind them, with people coming and going.
At the West Tulanya restaurant, Su Yuyan's assistant thought he had seen something wrong.
Their boss was still chatting with someone nearby.
Once the conversation ended, the assistant quietly approached and whispered to Su Yuyan, "Su, I just saw Rong Zhaonan's car."
Rong Zhaonan.
Su Yuyan's expression darkened.
The assistant continued, "I also saw... the young lady. I'm not sure if I was seeing things, but from a distance, it looked like her. Rong Zhaonan was holding her hand and opening the car door for her."
"Shen Ming?"
Su Yuyan's mind instantly processed the words, his face darkened, his mood shifting rapidly.
On the way back, Shen Ming was in Rong Zhaonan's car, searching for a good song to play.
She couldn't help but admire the performance of his car. It was much better than hers, but still low-key. She complimented him, but her phone rang.
It was a call from Su Yuyan.
For a moment, she wasn't sure whether she should pick up.
She glanced at Rong Zhaonan, who was focused on the road, and after a brief pause, she answered the call.
"What is it? You call me so many times. We just spoke this afternoon."
Su Yuyan was persistent—always calling to talk about family business or events, but today he had a different tone.
He didn't bring up any trivial matters.
Instead, he asked, "Xiao Mo just saw you getting into Rong Zhaonan's car. I couldn't see clearly from afar. Was it him or did he mistake someone else?"
Shen Ming's heart skipped a beat.
Xiao Mo was his assistant.
Su Yuyan's words were like a ladder for her to step down from the situation.
She couldn't be sure if the assistant had really seen her. Her heart raced a little.
Her relationship with Rong Zhaonan was clear in her mind—there was nothing to hide, nothing to fear. But when Su Yuyan asked, it made her uneasy.
"Xiao Mo must have seen wrong. Rong Zhaonan's new girlfriend—yeah, I've seen her too. She looks just like me, especially her figure. I heard she used to be a ballerina."