Fancy Me, Professor!

[This chapter is dedicated to Queenebunoluwa15 for being the top 2 fan of the story for the month of June. Thank you so much for the support! ]

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The moment Wang Lei dropped Pan An in front of his mother's home, it's as if Ru Shi and Cai Li knew that he's already here, opening the gate immediately for entrance. The moment he came inside, both of them were already waiting.

"Pan An, dearie!"

"Mother."

Cai Li pulled him in an embrace as a greeting. With Pan An returning the embrace, Ru Shi then looked at him with a smile on her face as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"My little brother," she greeted, already opening her arms for an embrace. "Come here and give me a hug."

With a chuckle coming from Pan An, he did give her an embrace, actually happy to see his older sister after how many years.

"What's up with you suddenly coming home? I think you don't have anything important to do here—only your husband?"

"Why?" Ru Shi broke away from the embrace and arched a brow at him. "You think I'm not allowed to go home here and visit? You're so rude."

Both of them chuckled. With Cai Li looking at her children, she had a wide smile on her face, asking Pan An a question.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes," he answered, nodding as well. "I had hotpot with Wang Lei."

"What?" Ru Shi couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head at the same time. "Since when did Wang Lei start to eat hotpot?"

"Recently," Pan An answered, a grin on his face. "Maybe it's because of the girl whom he can't keep out of his mind," he added, Ru Shi arching a brow at him as the three of them now went inside of the house.

"And here you are talking about that when you yourself are living with a woman! Why didn't you tell me this?"

Pan An's unstated question was already answered. With him rolling his eyes, he talked to their mother, the three of them already sitting in the living room's couch.

"I knew it... you told big sister about this," he said, making Cai Li shrug.

"How could I not? She said you're not talking to her recently to catch up and she has asked about you. Your sister is worried, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Pan An said, waving his hand as well. "And what is it that you heard from mother, big sis?"

"Well, I could see nothing wrong," Ru Shi commented, "She seems to be a good gal based from her story and despite her sad and mysterious background."

Pan An furrowed his brows, wondering why his sister is pouting at him.

"Then why are you feeling like this? If there seems to be no problem, why don't you seem to approve of it?"

"Because…" Ru Shi trailed off, narrowing her eyes at him. "You didn't tell me anything about it."

"Ha!" Pan An scoffed, playfully rolling his eyes at his older sister. "So childish—pouting like this because I don't tell you about it."

"You think I'm that shallow?" she asked, further narrowing her eyes at her little brother. "Remember Ruo Xi? Don't tell me that you're using the girl to forget her."

Hearing what his sister had said made Pan An quiet. With the atmosphere getting heavier around them, Cai Li talked to the two to push the topic aside.

"Now, now…" she started, looking at her children. "Both of you just saw each other today! Aren't you both going to catch up over on desserts?"

The siblings didn't say a word. It's as if their mother was not around when Pan An spoke, going back to the topic.

"I'm not using Shu Xian as a substitute—nor am I using her to forget about Ruo Xi. She just needed a place to stay temporarily. Furthermore, if you're worried about that, she will be moving out soon and will be taken care of by the Chief Librarian of the university, her boss."

"Oh?"

Cai Li blinked her eyes a few times, curious of what she's heard.

"Why didn't I know about this?"

"We just talked about it recently," Pan An answered, "And besides, the house is just in front of mine—that empty house," he added, making Cai Li nod as she sighed in relief.

"Oh, good. I see."

Seeing how her mother sighed in relief, Ru Shi arched a brow at her, asking her a question.

"Why the sigh of relief? Don't tell me that you have asked something to the girl when it comes to taking care of my brother?"

Hearing this, Pan An snapped his head to look at their mother. Knowing that Cai Li doesn't hide anything from Ru Shi, he knew that she will answer her, making Cai Li look at her daughter nervously.

"Ru Shi, we can talk about this some other time. You, your brother and I will have to catch up!"

"Sis," Pan An said, his eyes not leaving their mother. "Ma's hiding something."

"Indeed," Ru Shi agreed, a teasing smile appearing on her face. "You better tell me when we're alone, yes? When brother's home?"

Hearing this, Pan An widened his eyes as he looked at his sister with disbelief in his eyes.

"Y-you… hey! Why are you suddenly on mother's side!? Aren't you going to side with me?"

Ru Shi and Cai Li chuckled. With Pan An feeling singled out, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, finding it unfair.

"Why can't I know what you guys have talked about? I can't even get anything from Shu Xian," he mumbled, enough for them to hear.

"Anyway," Ru Shi started, their eyes on her. "Since we're talking about her, let's put the kidding aside. Tell me, brother… all about her in your perspective?"

Pan An didn't answer her for a while. With Cai Li already standing up to get a tub of ice cream for them to eat, he then sighed, answering his sister's question.

"Maybe some time when we're alone. I need to ask help from you and mother instead."