Chapter 539: What Should This Be Called?

Around 12: 0 a. ., Mai Sui returned.

At this time, Li Heng was still in the study, reading the county annals and documents he brought back from Aba.

After washing up, Mai Sui quietly opened the study door and peered through the narrow crack.

Seeing him diligently reading and taking notes, she silently closed the door and sat on the sofa, beginning to read the newspapers she had bought that day but hadn't yet opened.

Now she had grown fond of reading newspapers, specifically seeking out news related to him. If the day's paper had many articles, she could read all day.

If the coverage was sparse, she would reread a single article four or five times—especially those praising him, which she cherished endlessly.

Focusing intently on one thing made time vanish effortlessly. Before she knew it, the hour hand had crept past two a. .

The moment the midnight chime sounded, Mai Sui snapped awake, set down the newspaper, and walked toward the study.

She silently pushed the door open, slipped inside sideways, and leaned over behind him to observe. Seeing he had only a dozen or so pages left to read, she held her breath and waited patiently in place.

After several more minutes, Li Heng finally finished the book, tilted his head back, and looked at her: "What time did you get back tonight?"

Mai Sui asked, "You knew I came into the study?"

Li Heng reached both hands backward without speaking, his posture slightly pleading.

Mai Sui smiled softly, stepped forward two paces, and willingly pressed herself into his arms.

Li Heng pulled her close tightly: "I didn't notice you come in at first—only later caught a glimpse of your shadow out of the corner of my eye."

He pointed to the dark silhouette beneath the lamp.

Mai Sui glanced at the shadow on the wall, then placed her hands on his shoulders and slowly massaged them before saying, "It's late. Time to rest."

Li Heng repeated his request: "Stay with me tonight."

Mai Sui refused again: "No."

Li Heng lifted his eyelids, glaring with wide eyes: "Try refusing again. I'm sleeping in the study tonight."

Mai Sui's bright eyes flickered weakly several times, then she finally bent down and kissed his forehead. "Go wash up, okay? I'm sleepy."

This time Li Heng obeyed, rising and following her into the bathroom.

Taking the toothpaste, toothbrush, and mouthwash she handed him, he brushed his teeth while asking, "What time did you and Professor Yu get home?"

"We got home at 12: 4."

"So late?"

"Mm."

"What did you do today?"

"Bought clothes, had coffee with her, then watched a movie."

"Just the two of you?"

"There was one other person—Professor Yu said you know her. Her name is Xu Suyun."

Li Heng was stunned, pausing mid-brush: "It's been forty days—still in Shanghai? Hasn't she returned to Beijing yet?"

Mai Sui didn't understand his reaction: "What's wrong with that?"

"Wrong? Let me tell you—it's terribly wrong!"

Li Heng instantly transformed into a village gossip, recounting every detail of Liao's relationship with Xu Suyun.

After listening, Mai Sui was equally shocked. She recalled: "When we met up, it was Liao who drove her over. He didn't get out, but I recognized that minivan."

"Disaster!" Li Heng spat out foam, muttering this comment.

Mai Sui tilted her head, uncertain: "You mean they're dating?"

"Even if not a hundred percent, it's close enough," Li Heng said.

Mai Sui asked, confused: "Does Liao have a wife?"

Although Liao had visited Lushan Village many times, she wasn't Xiao Han—his publicly acknowledged girlfriend—and naturally hadn't inquired into his private family matters.

"He does. But she passed away years ago," Li Heng said.

Mai Sui asked: "No children?"

Li Heng replied: "Little Lin told me Liao has a daughter—now in Singapore."

Mai Sui still found it hard to believe: "They're nearly twenty years apart, right?"

Li Heng said: "Nineteen."

Mai Sui set down the facial water for him: "Twelve years is a generation—this is like a whole age gap. Hard to imagine."

Li Heng fell silent. After all, Huang Zhaoyi was fourteen years older than him too.

But truth be told, the lead actress still looked young—her skin was as soft and smooth as a girl's, even more alluring in bed.

That night, Mai Sui still didn't sleep with him, leaving Li Heng brooding for hours.

Only the next morning, when he met Sun Man, did he understand why she had refused him twice the night before.

Sun Man jumped and slapped his shoulder, bluntly asking: "Hey! Li Heng, you fickle radish—I've got to ask you something. Did Mai Sui seem off last night?"

The question came out of nowhere. Li Heng was baffled: "Off how? Why ask that?"

"Oh come on! You're so clueless, always buried in books and writing. I'll tell you—last night I delivered a letter to Mai Sui—from Song Yu."

Li Heng frowned: "Song Yu? When did you give her the letter?"

Sun Man thought: "Around eight? Probably eight—before we had dinner. Oh, right—it came with the letter from Chen Lijun."

Li Heng suddenly understood.

No wonder—no wonder she'd agreed to sleep with him earlier, then changed her mind. Song Yu's letter must have been the reason.

But what exactly had Song Yu written?

In the past, when thunderstorms came, Mai Sui sometimes slept with him—but last night she refused outright.

Oh heavens! Please, just let it thunder tonight—let it thunder all night long, Li Heng gazed up at the dark sky, thinking.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Speak of the devil! Two lightning bolts split the sky, followed by thunder rolling closer—startling him badly!

Damn it! Are you messing with me, heaven? I died from a lightning strike in my past life—don't tell me it's happening again!

Remembering how he'd died in his past life, Li Heng shuddered—he'd nearly broken down.

"Oh! You scaredy-cat, scared of thunder? Pathetic, haha!" Sun Man had watched his reaction and burst into laughter, mocking him relentlessly.

Li Heng took a deep breath, held back, and suppressed the urge to crush her with one finger.

Mai Sui, Zhou Shihe, and Ye Ning stepped out of the house.

Mai Sui handed him an umbrella: "The forecast says it'll rain today."

Li Heng took the umbrella and followed them toward the Administration Building.

On the way, they met Professor Yu, who was chatting with several other teachers beneath the statue of the Great Leader.

Ye Ning, unaware of their connection, glanced at Professor Yu from afar and asked Li Heng: "Li the Great Writer, I've always wanted to ask—why is Professor Yu so nice to you? So nice I'm jealous."

Li Heng said: "Professor Yu is a close friend of my high school English teacher. My teacher asked her to look after me here."

"Oh! So that's it! I guess I was being petty—I actually suspected you two were having an affair. But of course, teacher and student? Impossible!" Ye Ning blushed, self-reproaching.

"Hahaha…" Sun Man threw her head back, laughing so hard she nearly choked, hands on her hips.

Li Heng: "..."

Damn it! That Sun Man girl really deserves a good beating!

Zhou Shihe and Mai Sui exchanged a silent glance. Neither laughed—they walked forward quietly.

After forty days away, Li Heng first reported to his advisor and party secretary, checked in, and handed out local specialties—all brought back from Aba.

Advisor Liu Jia said: "By the way, your next class is Financial Mathematics. Professor Sun, who taught it before, passed away. A new teacher has taken over—just returned from the UK, a Ph. ."

Professor Sun was an old man. Li Heng had taken eight classes from him in September: "He looked perfectly healthy—how did he just… die?"

Liu Jia said: "Diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhage. He was teaching in the morning, ate lunch, and collapsed right at his doorstep."

After some small talk, Li Heng returned to the classroom, filled with a sense of life's impermanence, and became a model student.

As soon as he entered, dozens of eyes snapped to him—all staring in perfect unison, strangely eerie.

Chen Guifen rose from her seat in the middle of the room, walked over with several letters: "Li Heng, your mail."

After Liu Yue and Zhou Min left, responsibility for the class mailbox fell to Chen Guifen. Now she was the class's Youth League secretary and also head of the Discipline Inspection Department in the School of Administration's Student Union.

Speaking of the Student Union, Zhao Menglong, a senior this year, stepped down voluntarily—the chairmanship went to a senior from the Law School.

Thanks to her connections with the vice president and her own abilities, Sun Man had successfully become Director of the Secretariat.

But the most surprising was Dai Qing—she became Vice Chair of the Student Union in her second semester. When Li Heng heard, he was stunned: this girl had no family connections, no background—yet climbed up purely on merit.

Li Heng took the letters and thanked her.

He noticed Chen Guifen had changed—she'd developed, fuller than in her first year, her gaze now carrying a hint of womanly allure.

Just as Li Yiyi had joked in the dorm: this was all Old Hu's doing!

As always, Li Heng sat beside Zhang Bing at the window seat.

Seeing Chen Guifen leave without greeting Hu Ping, he whispered: "Are Hu Ping and Chen Guifen still together?"

Afraid the girls in front would hear, Zhang Bing lowered his voice to a whisper: "They broke up."

Zhang Bing shifted his buttocks and moved closer. "It was Old Hu's idea. According to Bai Wanying, Chen Guifen secretly cried in her bed for over half a month. Now Old Hu is pursuing He Qian, the historian."

Zhang Bing shifted his seat closer: "Hu Ping did. According to Wan Ying, Chen Guifen cried in bed for over a month. Now Hu Ping is pursuing He Qian from History."

Li Heng asked: "The freshman?"

Li Heng asked: "Didn't Old Hu say earlier in the dorm that he wanted to court Huang Ziyue? I remember he even asked Old Li for advice on courting women."

Li Heng asked: "Didn't Hu Ping say he wanted to pursue Huang Ziyue? I remember him asking Li Yiyi for dating advice."

Zhang Bing said: "He didn't get her. She dumped a bowl of seaweed egg drop soup on him in the cafeteria."

【101】 Li Heng pictured Huang Ziyue's face—this girl really wasn't easy to get along with. Not someone to mess with.

Li Heng asked, "How is He Xuemei from the History Department progressing?"

Zhang Bing said, "I'm not sure."

Just then, the Financial Mathematics professor entered the classroom as the bell rang—she was a woman, early thirties, wearing a long khaki cotton trench coat; no surprise, she was a female Ph. . fresh back from Britain, exceptionally stylish.

The female professor stood at the podium, smiled at the students, and asked, "Rumor has it that the famous writer has returned to campus—did he come to class today?"

Li Guang shouted excitedly, "Professor, Old Li's here!"

Hearing this, the professor asked, "Which one? Point him out—I'm curious too."

Instantly, every pair of eyes in the class turned again toward Li Heng.

The professor's gaze followed, landing on Li Heng; after a brief appraisal, she half-joked, "All the brilliance of Fudan University is concentrated in this one person—you all must work twice as hard."

Li Heng: "..."

After the opening remarks, the professor began her lecture. Unlike her earlier jest, she was now serious, professional, and highly competent.

Li Heng had never systematically studied statistics; he listened intently, didn't open his letters, didn't drift off, and like the other students, he paid attention and took notes as needed.

His meticulous study demeanor greatly pleased the professor, leaving her with an excellent impression of him.

After the fourth class ended, Li Xian hurried over, beaming: "Master, care to join me for lunch?"

Li Heng smiled, "The Princess's invitation must be honored."

They didn't go anywhere—just the campus cafeteria.

After nearly a year and a half of diligent practice, Li Xian's Mandarin still carried a trace of accent, but her progress was significant—she now spoke more standard Mandarin than Tang Daling from Southwest Guangxi.

Li Xian complained, "Since Liu Yue and Zhou Shihe left, this school has become boring."

Li Heng asked, "Haven't you made any other friends?"

"I have, sure—but none are as pretty as me. I'm now the queen of Statistics Class Two," Li Xian boasted.

Li Heng was speechless—this girl was clearly showing off. He immediately doused her with cold water: "Have you forgotten Bai Wanying?"

"Aaaah! Wan Ying is special!" Li Xian pulled a bottle of soda from her pocket and offered it to him. "Tomorrow's weekend—Master, shall we go camping?"

Li Heng asked casually, "Just the two of us?"

Li Xian nodded vigorously like a chick, her face glowing with adoration: "If Master needs it, I'll throw myself into it without hesitation—even just the two of us is fine! We can go to the mountaintop, the canyon, the cave…"

"Cough! Cough!"

Before Li Xian finished, students at the neighboring table choked on their food, stifling laughter with great effort.

Li Xian blushed furiously, instantly shrinking like an ostrich, head down, no longer bold or boastful.

At that moment, a bowl of rice suddenly appeared on the table, followed by Huang Ziyue, her hair cut short and shoulder-length, sitting down beside them.

Huang Ziyue asked Li Heng, "Senior, may I sit here?"

You've already sat down—what's the point of asking? Li Heng thought to himself, "No one's here."

Huang Ziyue then turned to Li Xian: "Senior, are you pursuing Senior Li?"

Li Xian found the question deeply offensive, as if the girl was mocking her—implying she wasn't good enough for Master.

Li Xian mimicked her tone and shot back: "Junior, are you trying to pursue my Master?"

To her surprise, Huang Ziyue didn't flinch: "My grandfather told me to pursue him."

Li Heng: "..."

Damn it—another one lying with eyes wide open.

Just as the two girls were locked in heated banter, they suddenly noticed Li Heng was gone; when they looked up, they saw him and Zhou Shihe each carrying their bowls toward the cafeteria exit.

Huang Ziyue was furious, grabbed her bowl, and left.

PS: Posted first, will revise later.

Already posted 10, 00 characters.

(End of Chapter)