Chapter 331: With a total of over 14,000 characters, it didn't take long to finish reading

She was becoming increasingly charming and feminine; no matter where the young man went, he seemed to like taking her along.

For a moment, Yu Shuheng wondered if she were in his shoes, would she be able to refuse a woman with such an overflowing inner allure?

Perhaps, no man could refuse.

At this moment, she suddenly realized that the women around him were not simple.

Xiao Han was dark-bellied and quirky, her eyes seemingly able to speak.

Zhou Shihe was internally wise and multi-talented.

Mai Sui had that one unique skill that conquered all.

At the same time, the three women had one thing in common: they were all extremely beautiful.

Even Mai Sui, whose looks were slightly inferior, was a "growth-type," changing and looking different with each passing day. Just like comparing the Mai Sui of now to the Mai Sui who started studying last September, they were already worlds apart.

The young man had a picky palate; he only chose the best.

Subsequently, Yu Shuheng thought of Huang Zhaoyi. Although the other party had repeatedly suffered setbacks with Li Heng, she had invisibly paved her way with Li Heng's parents; she was a woman who could not be ignored.

Invisibly, Yu Laoshi had already analyzed all the various women around Li Heng, and finally, her gaze fell back onto Mai Sui.

"Teacher, what's wrong?" Sensing her teacher staring at her for a long time, Mai Sui looked up and asked softly.

Yu Shuheng gave a refined smile, "Nothing, Teacher was just lost in thought, remembering some things."

Mai Sui's thoughts were still immersed in the world of the book, so she didn't think much of it and lowered her head to continue reading.

Yu Shuheng thought for a moment, stood up, and walked toward the study. She gently turned the doorknob, softly pushed open the study door, quietly squeezed in sideways, closed the door, and silently arrived behind him. She first stared fixedly at his profile for a while, then focused her attention on the white paper.

This was the first time.

It was the first time watching him write from such a close distance, and the feeling was completely different. No wonder Runwen had followed him for two months straight last summer vacation.

The study was very quiet, with only the faint, rustling sound of the pen tip touching the paper. In the middle, seeing him reach out to grab his cup for water, Yu Shuheng quickly bent down and lifted the thermos on the floor to pour him half a cup.

Li Heng was stunned for a moment, nodded at her, took the teacup and drank a large gulp, then immediately ignored everything else and returned to his writing state.

Throughout the whole process, the two only had a fleeting exchange of glances, with no intention of speaking. Yu Shuheng put the wooden stopper back on, slowly straightened her body, and let her gaze fall back onto his profile, while a sentence her father had said to her at home yesterday involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

After Yu's father finished reading the printed draft of *Bai Luyuan* she had brought back, he was silent for a long time, then said: "Not bad, he possesses great talent."

The evaluation was extremely concise, just seven short characters.

Yet it was these seven characters that made Shen Xin smile for quite a while.

Only then did Yu Shuheng realize the gold content of those seven characters from her father, and realize the deep meaning behind that short sentence.

Two hours later, Mai Sui had finished reading the first six chapters word for word. For a moment, she was a bit dazed, not yet having sobered up from the world of the book.

She didn't even notice when Yu Laoshi had left the sofa.

It was written so well; how did his brain come up with it?

Mai Sui thought to herself.

A few minutes later, she checked her watch; it was already past 12:00. After hesitating for a moment, she walked on tiptoe to the door of the master bedroom and stealthily opened a crack in the door to peek inside.

With just one look, Mai Sui was stunned!

What had she seen?

She had actually seen Yu Laoshi staring blankly at Li Heng's profile!

At this moment, the scene in the study was: Li Heng was hunched over the desk, focused on writing, while Yu Laoshi stood behind him to the side, her gaze fixed on Li Heng's profile without blinking, completely lost in thought.

After taking another peek, Mai Sui quietly retreated and closed the door. Suddenly, she thought of a sentence her best friend Zhou Shihe had once said: "The delicious dishes on the table are often snatched up first; the opportunity closest to the bowl is the greatest."

At that time, she thought Shihe was talking about her, and her face had turned bright red.

As a result, Shihe had added another sentence: "Don't be in such a rush to blush; the second closest opportunity to the bowl is also not small."

The second closest?

Was she talking about Yu Laoshi?

Could it be that Shihe had long ago sensed that Yu Laoshi was acting strange?

After thinking it over carefully, Mai Sui shook her head and cleared the distracting thoughts from her mind. With her conservative mindset, she didn't dare to think deeply in that direction, nor would she easily think that way. Unless...

Unless there was concrete evidence!

After all, one was a teacher and the other was a student; how could that be?

Just thinking about it, the thought was scary enough!

And having just finished reading the first six chapters of *Bai Luyuan*, Mai Sui could indeed understand the inexplicable admiration Yu Laoshi, as a fellow reader, felt for Li Heng.

Could admiration transform into love?

Somehow, this sentence popped up abruptly in her just-cleared mind.

At the same time, Mai Sui thought of Senior Ye Zhanyan, who had fled to the United States.

Senior Ye was the classic example of someone who first admired the writer "December" as a reader, and then quickly sank into it in reality!

In less than a month, Senior Ye had fallen madly in love with him, to the point of being beyond saving.

According to Ye Ning's account: "My cousin, in order to save herself, gave up Cambridge University and also gave up a handful of opportunities in the country, choosing instead to flee to the United States alone, completely distancing herself from Li Heng."

With her thoughts reaching this point, Mai Sui felt somewhat complicated.

After lowering her head and pondering for a while, she went up to the attic. Having not come for a month, the attic in the early morning was as quiet as usual, and the night sky was still just as bright.

Not long after, she became immersed under the astronomical telescope, immersed in the twinkling stars.

She herself wasn't on the right path, so what right did she have to be sour?

Since the moment she met him, were there few women who secretly tied their hearts to him? Were there few who felt dejected and heartbroken?

In just half an hour, Mai Sui quickly adjusted her mood. These matters were better left for Song Yu, Xiao Han, and Chen Zijin to worry about.

Past 2:00 AM, Li Heng suddenly put down his pen and stretched his arms in a long, lazy stretch.

"Chapter 7 is finished?"

Seeing this, a voice came from behind, naturally somewhat cold, but mixed with a trace of anticipation.

Li Heng turned his head, yawned, and said, "Teacher, haven't you been watching the whole time?"

Yu Shuheng gave a faint smile, offered no explanation, walked forward two steps, and picked up the manuscript on the table to read.

Li Heng stood up and offered a polite remark: "Teacher, you've been standing for so long, sit in the chair and rest for a while."

"Okay." Yu Shuheng didn't stand on ceremony with him at all and truly sat down on the chair with elegance.

Li Heng: "..."

He was speechless.

I've been sitting in this chair for hours, and it's scorching hot from my own body heat. Teacher, why aren't you bothered? Didn't we agree you were a germaphobe...?

After tidying up his fountain pen and ink bottle, Li Heng left the study. Business was urgent; he had to go to the bathroom to relieve himself first. Damn it, having sat still for so long, he was about to turn into a reservoir.

A few minutes later, he appeared in the attic, walked over, squatted down beside Mai Sui, and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I slept on the plane, I'm not sleepy now."

As Mai Sui said this, she turned her head and gave him a tender smile, "You finished writing."

"Yeah."

Li Heng hummed, unconsciously wanting to reach out and stroke this incredibly moving face.

But he stopped halfway, his hand suspended in mid-air.

As their eyes met, a spontaneous atmosphere quickly filled the space between them. After a long while, Mai Sui moved; she leaned her head forward a few inches, took the initiative to press her left cheek against his palm, and slowly closed her eyes.

"Why are you so good to me?" Li Heng whispered in her ear.

*I don't know either, maybe it's love at first sight, * Mai Sui thought bitterly to herself, her long eyelashes trembling slightly as she enjoyed this rare moment of quiet.

A minute later, Mai Sui opened her eyes, moved her head away from his palm, and asked, "Is Yu Laoshi asleep?"

"No, she's in the study reading the manuscript," Li Heng replied.

Facing each other, before she could speak, he continued: "Did you not come in because you sensed Yu Laoshi was in my study, and came here instead?"

Mai Sui pouted and said, "No."

Staring at her for a while, Li Heng smiled and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "We've known each other for so long, this is the first time I've seen you pout."

"Since when?" Mai Sui said this while her red lips were still pouting, and then she laughed herself.

Quietly enjoying her smile, Li Heng said after a while, "She is my teacher."

His voice was very low, low enough that only the two of them could hear.

"Mm-hmm."

His one sentence made her heart feel inexplicably open, and in an instant, she returned to her graceful and charming self.

"Mai Sui, you are so beautiful." Watching her at close range, Li Heng couldn't help but mutter out loud.

Mai Sui gave a tender smile, and her right hand slowly reached out, horizontally blocking his eyes, "Then, you aren't allowed to look."

"Blocking my eyes is useless, I can still see," Li Heng said.

"Huh?" Mai Sui leaned in, carefully studying her own fingers, checking if the gaps between her fingers were completely sealed.

After a good while, she asked playfully, "Can your eyes see through things?"

"I can't see through things, but you are in my heart," Li Heng said.

In an instant, the two fell into absolute silence. A look of being both pleased and annoyed flashed across Mai Sui's face, then quickly disappeared, slowly returning to calm.

She released her hand and returned to the astronomical telescope, staring blankly at the vast, boundless universe and starry sky.

After letting his gaze linger on her for a while, Li Heng took off his coat, draped it over her, and returned to the living room.

He understood that one sentence had touched her, and also touched her bottom line. She was like a hedgehog out foraging; the moment she heard any rustle, she would curl into a ball to form a self-defense.

Not long after, Yu Shuheng came out of the study. Seeing Li Heng drinking tea alone on the sofa, she walked over and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"My mind is full of the book," Li Heng said, pouring her a cup of tea.

Yu Shuheng took the tea and drank a sip, "Is Mai Sui asleep?"

Li Heng replied, "She's outside in the attic watching the stars."

Yu Shuheng didn't think much of this. Because last semester, Mai Sui was basically in this state; she wouldn't go to the study to accompany him while he wrote, but often stayed alone in the attic until very late before sleeping.

Basically, whenever he wrote, Mai Sui would accompany him in this form, unless she really couldn't hold on anymore, then she would rest early.

It was precisely because she noticed this scene that Yu Shuheng dared to be 100% certain that Mai Sui's heart was tied to him.

Yu Shuheng finished the cup of tea in small sips, placed the empty cup in front of him, and said, "I have already arranged for people to go to Bai Luyuan to find a suitable place to live; there will be news in two days."

Li Heng helped her refill the empty cup, "Thank you, Teacher."

Yu Shuheng nodded slightly, finished the tea in the cup in one breath, stood up, and reminded him, "There are less than four hours until dawn, get some rest early."

"Okay."

Watching Yu Laoshi enter the guest bedroom, Li Heng pondered for a moment, then came to the attic again, "Comrade Mai Sui, time to sleep."

"Mm."

Mai Sui stood up as told, followed him back to the living room, and closed the door on her way.

"Comrade Shihe is coming over tomorrow morning. Let's go buy some groceries together and make a delicious meal to welcome her; the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal wasted too much of her time." This was something he had promised on the second day of the Lunar New Year; having agreed to make a big meal for her return to school, Li Heng naturally wouldn't break his word.

Mai Sui asked, "About what time will she arrive?"

"Not sure, she said it might be 11:00 at the earliest," Li Heng said.

"Then you hurry and go to sleep, I'll call you to wake up tomorrow morning," Mai Sui said softly.

"Okay, goodnight!"

"Goodnight."

Seeing Li Heng enter the master bedroom, Mai Sui didn't linger any longer. After a simple wash, she also went to the other guest bedroom.

The night passed.

When Li Heng, who had been sleeping like a log, opened his eyes again, it was already broad daylight outside, and the bright sunshine on the window was somewhat dazzling.

He had thought it would be Mai Sui waking him up, but standing at the head of the bed was Yu Laoshi.

Yu Shuheng said, "Editor Zou Ping is here, he's on the first floor."

Li Heng was confused, then went to lift the quilt to get out of bed, but remembering something, he stopped his movements.

Seeing his cautious appearance, a clear image instantly surfaced in Yu Shuheng's mind, along with those two words that Jiao Jiao often exclaimed about: "Long Bian."

Jiao Jiao had even said something behind his back: *Long Bian with blood, it should be very nourishing, right? *

With blood? She associated it with Chen Zijin.

Thinking of this, Yu Laoshi gave him a cold glance and turned to leave the master bedroom.

*Damn it, do women have to change their faces so fast? One second they're harmonious, the next they're cold as ice? *

However, thinking that her normal state was a lump of iceberg, Li Heng felt relieved again.

Going down to the first floor, he greeted Editor Zou, who was drinking tea and waiting: "Old Zou, Happy New Year!"

"Old Li, Happy New Year, did I disturb your sleep?" Zou Ping stood up.

Li Heng shook his head with a smile: "It's this late, there's no such thing as disturbing or not, I should have been up anyway. Did you just return to Shanghai from your hometown?"

"Yes, I brought you some local specialties by the way." Zou Ping pointed to the burlap sack at the door: "They're all just some inexpensive cured goods."

Li Heng opened it to take a look, *Whoa! * It was truly all cured goods, including cured meat, sausages, cured fish, cured rabbit, and so on.

Surrounding these cured goods and the New Year, the two chatted for nearly half an hour. Li Heng had wanted to keep him for a meal, but Old Zou declined, saying he still had some things to handle and had to report to the *Harvest* magazine office in the afternoon.

Personally seeing Zou Ping to the entrance of the alley, Li Heng understood that Old Zou had come today for the new book *Bai Luyuan*. Although it seemed like he hadn't mentioned this point at all throughout, how could he not understand?

The other party was terrified that he would leave him behind and connect directly with Chief Editor Liao.

However, neither Li Heng nor Chief Editor Liao had any intention of "killing the donkey after the millstone is finished"; the two nostalgic people couldn't do such a wicked thing.

When he returned to the 26th small building, Mai Sui had just gotten up.

Upon meeting, she smiled embarrassedly, "I overslept and didn't call you to wake up."

Li Heng instructed: "Hurry and wash up, we'll go outside the school to eat breakfast and buy groceries on the way back."

"Mm, okay." Mai Sui responded and entered the washroom.

Yu Shuheng returned to her own home, then came over and said to him: "Don't cook lunch for me, Teacher has some things to handle."

"What about dinner?" Li Heng asked.

Yu Shuheng said: "Dinner depends on the situation."

Li Heng was speechless: "What do you mean 'depends on the situation'?"

Yu Shuheng gave him a meaningful look, didn't reply, and walked away directly.

PS: I'm not feeling very well today, I'm not in the right state, writing is a bit of a struggle, sorry, the update is late.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 332 =====