Seeing the pitiful expression on Gu Jingran's cold and hard face, Ye Linchen finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
This man, who is the absolute boss in public, how come he's such a good actor in front of her?
She raised her hand and patted his strong shoulder twice, amused, as if she were patting a poor, big dog.
"Alright, alright." Her eyes and brows were full of smiles. "Since you're homeless, I'll take pity on you and reluctantly let you stay for an afternoon."
Upon hearing this, the deliberately feigned "pitifulness" on Gu Jingran's face vanished instantly, replaced by a triumphant smile.
"Thank you so much, Teacher Ye!" Having achieved his goal, Gu Jingran picked up his bowl and chopsticks and announced, "To express my sincere gratitude, I'll wash the dishes today!"
After he finished speaking, he walked quickly towards the kitchen, where the sound of running water soon came from.
Ye Linchen watched his retreating figure, smiled, shook her head, and returned to her desk to continue preparing her lessons.
Gu Jingran quickly tidied up the kitchen. He opened the bag he had brought, took out a box of bright red strawberries, and carefully washed them.
He then took a clean glass plate and arranged the strawberries neatly.
After doing all that, I expertly found the tea leaves and brewed two steaming cups of green tea.
When he came out of the kitchen with a fruit platter and hot tea, he immediately saw Ye Linchen hunched over his desk, preparing lessons diligently.
The warm winter sun streamed through the window, bathing her in a soft golden glow.
A stray lock of hair slipped from her ear and fell beside her cheek, swaying gently as she wrote.
She was completely oblivious to this, her hand holding the pen moving quickly across the paper, muttering some teaching points to herself, her expression so focused that the whole world seemed to consist only of her and the lesson plan in front of her.
Gu Jingran's hand holding the plate froze in mid-air, and he stopped walking.
He stood at the kitchen doorway, quietly watching this scene, his gaze softening unconsciously, somewhat lost in thought.
Ye Linchen noticed him only when she habitually looked up and stretched her neck after finishing a paragraph.
"Mr. Gu?" She looked at the man at the kitchen door with amusement. "What are you thinking about, standing there like a doorman?"
Gu Jingran then came to his senses, smiled and shook his head, and walked to Ye Linchen's side.
He gently placed the fruit plate and teacup on the desk and said to her, "These are strawberries air-freighted from Haicheng. Try them and see if they're sweet."
Ye Linchen's eyes were immediately drawn to the plate of beautiful strawberries. She picked up the biggest one, put it in her mouth, and took a bite.
The rich fruity aroma and perfectly balanced sweet and sour flavors instantly made her squint her eyes in satisfaction.
"Mmm, these strawberries are delicious, you should try some."
As she spoke, she naturally handed the remaining half of a strawberry to Gu Jingran.
Gu Jingran looked down at her, his gaze moving from her bright eyes to her fair fingers holding the strawberry, and then to the rosy flesh of the fruit at her fingertips.
He didn't take it, but instead leaned down slightly and took the remaining half of the strawberry from her hand and put it in his mouth.
His warm lips brushed against her fingertips unintentionally, and the fleeting softness and warmth of that touch instantly froze Ye Linchen.
When she belatedly realized what had happened, a rush of heat shot up her cheeks, and even her ears started to burn.
She pulled her hand back as if she'd been electrocuted, her eyes darting around, avoiding Gu Jingran's gaze. She lowered her head and muttered softly, "There's still so much left on the plate..."
Gu Jingran straightened up leisurely, slowly finished chewing, looked at her blushing profile with a smile, and nodded.
"It is indeed very sweet."
Ye Linchen felt uncomfortable under his gaze, so he had to put on a stern face and make a forced, calm announcement.
"I need to prepare my lessons, don't bother me here."
After saying that, he quickly lowered his head, buried his face in his lesson plan, and pretended that he was reading the book carefully.
Gu Jingran looked at her bright red ear tips, chuckled softly, stopped teasing her, took out his own documents, sat down at the dining table, and began to work.
The room quieted down, broken only by the occasional rustling of paper and the sound of pen writing.
Ye Linchen was only shy for a short while before her attention was fully focused on the lesson plan in front of her.
The two were busy with their own things, and before they knew it, it was dark, and the clock struck six.
Ye Linchen finally finished preparing lessons for all three students and breathed a long sigh of relief.
She tossed the pen aside, leaned back in her chair, raised her arms high, stretched out a big yawn, and loosened her stiff neck.
Just then, a cup of steaming tea was gently placed beside her.
Gu Jingran had put down his work at some point and was standing beside her, smiling at her: "All done?"
Ye Linchen picked up the water glass, the warm sensation spreading throughout her body from her palms, and she nodded contentedly.
"Finally finished preparing," she said, glancing at the wall clock with a surprised widening of her eyes. "Wow, it's already this late. Time flies when you're busy."
Gu Jingran naturally picked up the conversation and asked, "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat tonight?"
Ye Linchen tilted his head and began to think seriously.
What do you want to eat?
Her eyes lit up as she came up with a brilliant idea.
"A new barbecue restaurant just opened in the university town. My classmates say it's really good. How about we go eat there tonight?"
Gu Jingran naturally had no objections and readily agreed, "Okay, let's go then."
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