Fancy Me, Professor!

Shu Xian came out of the student lounge. The moment she arrived inside the work station, she drank her water, a smile coming to her face later when she sat down on her swivel chair.

Zhang Ren arched a brow at her. He stopped typing the feasibility study that he was holding for a while and propped a hand under his chin, now looking at Shu Xian with curiosity on his face.

"You seem happy! What's up? Did you eat a lot of snacks?"

"Well, yes," Shu Xian answered with a nod. "I only bought one baozi, but when I helped Zhong Li in his homework, afterwards, he gave me his dumplings."

"Woah, woah, woah…"

Hearing that Zhong Li had given her dumplings was something that he didn't expect. Zhang Ren and Yan Yan knew that it's his favorite snack and even they couldn't get a bite of a piece when they wanted to!

Zhang Ren narrowed his eyes at Shu Xian.

"Are you sure that Zhong Li gave you his dumplings?"

"Uuuh… yeah!"

Shu Xian then brought out the plastic wrapper where the food was a while ago and then threw it in the trashcan.

"The one I just threw was the packaging where the dumplings were a moment ago."

"Woah…"

Zhang Ren widened his eyes, really surprised.

"And what did you exactly do that made him give you his dumplings?"

Shu Xian noticed that Zhang Ren is unreasonably investigative about this. With her furrowing her brows in wonder, she still answered his question, still finding him weird.

"I told you, didn't I? I helped him with his homework."

"Wow! You're lucky, Shu Xian," Zhang Ren commented, grinning ear to ear. "People who know him actually know that his favorite snacks are dumplings and he doesn't want to give it to other people—let alone, share it!"

"Oh, really?"

Shu Xian blinked her eyes in amusement.

"I didn't know that Zhong Li liked dumplings this much—and he even gave it to me. It makes me feel sorta bad."

Zhang Ren chuckled. With him already standing up from his seat, he did a stretch, replying to what Shu Xian had said.

"There's nothing to feel bad about. If I were you, I'd feel happy because both of you are not that close, right? And then he gave you his favorite snack."

Shu Xian playfully rolled her eyes at him and reminded him of the time.

"It's 4:03 already. Go have your break."

"Right-o!"

With Zhang Ren getting his wallet from the side of his computer, he already went out of the work station, on the way to the small store that is near the library to buy some snacks.

Zhang Ren pushed his way through the crowd. With it being kind of a rush hour since the bell just rang, a lot of people came out of the classrooms and is now either going to their next class, or buying some snacks in the mini stores found inside the university.

As he already reached one of the stores that is near the library, he saw that there were some tuna sandwiches left, making him want to buy two.

"Two tuna sandwiches, please," he requested with a smile, the vendor giving it to him as soon as he paid.

When he got his snacks, he suddenly heard a familiar voice beside him, making him turn his head to look at her.

"I'd like to have a baozi, please. Oh! And an orange juice."

Zhang Ren smiled at the woman. When she noticed that someone was looking at her, she widened her eyes, surprised to see him, already greeting him at the same time.

"Oh! Zhang Ren? Didn't expect to see you here. Is it your break?"

Zhang Ren didn't answer for a while. With his smile still not leaving his face, he just nodded, actually happy that he saw her at this time.

He didn't know why, but seeing Shi Lian after doing three hours of work made him feel energetic all of a sudden.

"You're right," Zhang Ren said, getting Shi Lian's attention. "It's my break. Wanna hang out for 20 minutes?"

A small blush came to Shi Lian's face. With a nod replying to what he said, both of them then walked to the fifth floor's veranda. There was no one around but them, making it a perfect place for them to hangout even if it's just for 20 minutes.

"Is it your break? Or do you have an upcoming class?" Zhang Ren asked, Shi Lian, taking a bite of her baozi.

"My break. I'd have my next class later at five until six," she answered, Zhang Ren, taking a bite of his tuna sandwich, too.

Both of them were silent as they looked at the trees that were before them. They were actually comfortable in each other's silence, making Shi Lian look at Zhang Ren from the corner of her eye.

Shi Lian felt her heart slightly racing in her chest. She then remembered the moments that they had with each other—from the kiss that happened in her house, to the talk that they had over the phone.

She also remembered here and then what Zhang Ren had told her earlier, making her face slightly red.

She actually couldn't believe what she heard since no one had ever said that to her. Boys usually feared her even when she was young because of how straightforward she is.

However, Zhang Ren is the only person who is capable of making her feel this way—the only person who's capable of speaking out to her.

It was then at this moment that she realized that she's developing feelings for him faster than she expected, making her think that it's the first time she ever felt this way towards a guy.

Zhang Ren noticed that Shi Lian is looking at him. With a grin coming to his face, he extended his sandwich to her, shaking Shi Lian out of her thoughts as she took a small bite of it.

"If you want to have a taste, then you could've said so," he commented, making Shi Lian look straight into his eyes.

The moment they locked eyes, what Shi Lian said next made Zhang Ren feel surprised, not expecting the question she asked.

"Zhang Ren… do you really mean it—what you said a while ago?"