Bonus Chapter 2

Before Wen Huo met Chen Cheng—

Qiu Mingyun’s motivation to study had been very strong lately. She was always watching open course videos on physics, listening to them day and night. However, she was rewatching the same few lessons over and over again, eight hundred times a day. She listened to them again today, but her iPad froze at a crucial moment. Wen Huo finished the rest of the content for the teacher in the video: “Assume that the emission and absorption of electromagnetic waves are not continuous. This is about the Planck constant. The next part is related to the steady-state theory. I’ve compiled a literature package for you, and you can find all the explanations for the related content there. The only thing that’s a bit new is the teacher’s unique and unconventional perspective, which is highly subversive. Many of our fixed theories and ideas will feel refreshed after listening to his class. Plus, he has a nice voice.”

Qiu Mingyun looked proud. “Right? You’re always with Planck, so you don’t even know about the big names in modern physics anymore.” Wen Huo knew, of course. She could name many contemporary physicists, including their discoveries and research, which people were in which country’s laboratory or university in which year. She could tell her everything. “For example?” Qiu Mingyun found Chen Cheng’s encyclopedia entry and showed it to her. “Look, the light of contemporary physics.” Wen Huo thought that title was too much. Without even looking at the person, she said, “He doesn’t deserve it.” “Just look at him first.” “I was going to, but with such a big title, I don’t want to anymore. Once something is subjectively given too much affection, it’s no longer objective. If I objectively discuss it with you, we’re just going to argue.”

Qiu Mingyun admitted that she had a filter for Chen Cheng, but she also thought it was because he had something she admired. “You know I have high standards. If he didn’t deserve it, why would I have such a great impression of him so quickly?” Wen Huo thought of the celebrities Qiu Mingyun used to like. “You were crazy about a lot of performers before you unfollowed them. After you took off your filter, they weren’t even worthy of being considered strangers in your eyes. You even forgot their names.” When Qiu Mingyun was called out for something she did in the past, she shook Wen Huo’s arm. “Oh, that’s different. Teacher Chen helps me with my studies. I’ll never unfollow someone who helps me learn and grow. And how can the past be the same as the present?” Wen Huo nodded in a perfunctory manner. “Mm.”

Qiu Mingyun explained her reasoning. “When I was young and ignorant, my level of thinking and my standards were at a certain point. The things I liked were the things that gave me a mental high during that period. But I’ve grown. After I grew up, my mindset became more advanced, so the things that give me a high changed, and the things I like changed. Why do people often go back on their word? It’s because things have happened, they’ve met people, and they’re no longer the same person they were before. The things they said and the promises they made back then can sometimes seem very awkward, ridiculous, and inexplicable now. They can’t be fulfilled, but they didn’t seem that way in the past. Everything is changing, so why can’t the things people say and the promises they make change?” Wen Huo didn’t think any of what she said proved that Chen Cheng was truly outstanding and not just a product of her filter. She hadn’t even gotten to the main point and had instead gone on a long tangent, trying to justify why she used to like popular young stars. But she was a prophet of her own misfortune. The very rational her at the time would later be abandoned by Gu Xuanyu, and she would also ask questions like, “He clearly said he would love me for a long time, that he would marry me, and that he would make me Mrs. Gu.” Nothing lasts forever. You can remember the past, but you can’t live in it. Luckily, she would later understand this.

Qiu Mingyun forced Wen Huo to look. “Just take a look. Just one look is all I’m asking for.” To stop her from continuing her mindless recommendation, Wen Huo took a look. The person in the picture was indeed stunning, but she didn’t think he was as handsome as Planck. She glanced at the name below. “Chen Cheng?” Qiu Mingyun wasn’t surprised that Wen Huo knew him. Although Chen Cheng was low-key, his resume was far from it. Almost everyone in his field or related fields had heard of his name, but not many had seen what he looked like. Academic fans were much more rational and didn’t have as much enthusiasm to dig up his information. Most of the time, they would just admire him silently or praise him verbally. “Yeah. Is this the first time you’ve seen what he looks like?” Wen Huo wasn’t very interested. “I have a class with Professor Yang this afternoon. I’m going to class first. I’ll talk to you when I get back tonight.”

When she got back that night, Qiu Mingyun had already lost interest in Chen Cheng and was in the midst of a sweet moment with her boyfriend, Gu Xuanyu. For the entire next year, she never mentioned Chen Cheng again, mainly because Chen Cheng had been even more low-key that year than he had been before. The next time she mentioned Chen Cheng was after the National Day parade the following year, when one of his open courses came out. At that time, she had already forgotten that she had talked to Wen Huo about Chen Cheng before and asked her again, “Do you know Chen Cheng?” Wen Huo didn’t tell her then that she knew him more than just in passing. Ever since Qiu Mingyun mentioned him the last time, it was as if someone had unknowingly tied a string between her and Chen Cheng. And of course, they would end up having sex for a year, non-stop.

Wen Huo saw a picture of Chen Cheng in the morning, and she saw him in person that afternoon. She was supposed to be in Professor Yang Yinlou’s class, but she went to the wrong one. You couldn’t audit classes at Peking University anymore unless you had a student ID, so Wen Huo had borrowed a friend’s gym card, but she hadn’t expected to have to provide a student ID number. She called her friend, who helped her bluff her way in. After she got in, her friend thought she was there for Chen Cheng’s class because a lot of people were there for him that day, so her friend pointed her to Chen Cheng’s classroom. Wen Huo was already late, so she didn’t bother to check if she was in the right place. Besides, the information she had received was that only Yang Yinlou had a class. When she got to the classroom, she was stunned. It was Chen Cheng’s class.

She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t move. Maybe it was because so many people were looking at her, or maybe it was because Chen Cheng’s unintentional glance was so captivating that she suddenly felt a pang somewhere, which made her unable to move. So she walked in, bracing herself. Chen Cheng’s class was, as Wen Huo had initially said, very enlightening. It was easy to teach new knowledge, but it was not easy to deconstruct and reshape old ideas. Qiu Mingyun had called him the light of physics, which was an exaggeration, but not that much of one. This time, Wen Huo had been prejudiced and had judged him prematurely. In the future, she shouldn’t think that someone who was famous was overrated and had nothing to back it up. There had to be a reason why they were famous, and there was always a reason why they were worthy of it. She might not understand it, but she was not the only one in the world.

After class, Wen Huo didn’t leave immediately. She watched as everyone flocked to Chen Cheng to ask him questions. She also had a question she wanted to ask, but it seemed she would never get a chance since he was so busy. So she packed her things and left. But that night, she, who usually had insomnia, suddenly fell asleep. She didn’t know if it was because she had seen Cheng Cuo the day before and his treatment was working. The next time she had contact with anything related to Chen Cheng was when Han Bailu came looking for her. Wen Huo received a private message on Weibo from someone asking if she wanted to do business. At first, she ignored it, but the person was persistent and lured her with various original English physics books, and she was tempted. She met the person in the bustling South City at a grilled meat restaurant.

Han Bailu was very beautiful, the kind of beautiful that was naturally good-looking but had a little bit of work done, so it was hard to find any flaws. She got straight to the point: “I want you to seduce my husband. Money is not an issue.” Wen Huo immediately refused. “I’ll just pretend that a stranger invited me to dinner. We can go Dutch later.” Han Bailu begged her for a long time, offering all kinds of extra conditions, but Wen Huo was unmoved. In the end, they parted on bad terms. After that, Wen Huo was still plagued by insomnia until she saw Cheng Cuo again. He told her, “You can try what I told you before about finding someone to sleep with you.” He was out of options. Wen Huo had taken so much medicine and tried everything she could, but her brain just wouldn’t rest.

That’s when Wen Huo remembered that she had fallen asleep after listening to Chen Cheng’s class. She had been thinking about the new ideas from his class all day. She hadn’t thought it was because of Chen Cheng at the time, but now that Cheng Cuo had said that, she was both surprised and excited. She later analyzed the situation. The day before she went to Chen Cheng’s class, Cheng Cuo had just told her to find someone who would make her feel at ease to sleep with her, and the next day, she thought of Chen Cheng and fell asleep. It was very likely a psychological suggestion, but whatever it was, it was a fact that Chen Cheng could make her sleep. To prove it, she went to another one of his classes and got the same result. At that time, her concept of morality was very shallow; she had almost no morals at all. So she contacted Han Bailu and agreed to work with her. This way, she could sleep and make money at the same time. Han Bailu’s reason for seeking her out was that she was one of the students who had taken Chen Cheng’s class and achieved a lot, and she was also the most beautiful, so her chances of success would be very high. She thought that although Chen Cheng was tolerant of physics, he would still be more attracted to a prettier girl.

After they agreed to work together, Wen Huo began her pursuit of Chen Cheng. The weather was beautiful that day. Wen Huo went to Chen Cheng’s class wearing a very short skirt, no underwear, and no bra. Chen Cheng was resting in his office when he heard a knock on the door. “Come in.” Wen Huo walked in shyly, her face flushed. “Teacher Chen, I don’t quite understand this part.” Chen Cheng didn’t look at her; he looked at her notebook. “Which part?” Wen Huo moved closer. “Look, right here.” Chen Cheng helped her with the formula and explained the theory. His voice was very pleasant, and he was very focused, as if he didn’t see the lightly dressed Wen Huo. Wen Huo pretended not to understand and moved even closer. Her braless chest touched Chen Cheng’s arm, and her nipple immediately became hard, showing through the thin fabric of her shirt.

Chen Cheng felt her pressing against him, but he had a good impression of this student. She was talented and her ideas were as advanced as his. He didn’t think she was like the other girls who came to his class just to seduce him, so he didn’t think too much of it. After he finished talking, he turned his head and saw Wen Huo’s nipple poking through her shirt. He naturally turned his head away. “Look at it yourself.” Wen Huo looked at it and didn’t understand. “No, Teacher Chen, I think there’s a problem.” As she spoke, she took the pen from Chen Cheng’s hand and deliberately touched his hand. It was smooth, firm, not very meaty, and a little cold. Chen Cheng still didn’t think she was trying to seduce him. After all, there were very few talented people like Wen Huo who he thought he could mentor. He was unwilling to use dirty thoughts to speculate about someone who was born to be a physicist. It wasn’t until she was about to leave that Wen Huo took his pen and then accidentally dropped it. She let out a cry like she was faking an orgasm. “Oh... I’m so sorry, Teacher Chen, I almost took your pen.”

Chen Cheng turned around and saw Wen Huo bending over to pick up the pen. Her butt was facing him, and the short skirt had lifted up, revealing her full, plump vulva. He frowned instantly. Wen Huo picked up the pen and rubbed it on her chest, as if the pen was dirty. After rubbing it, she gave it back to Chen Cheng and then, in another “accident,” she tripped and sat down on Chen Cheng’s lap. Her face immediately turned red, and she pretended to be shy and at a loss for what to do. She even wiggled her butt a couple of times, rubbing against his manhood. Chen Cheng finally realized her intention. He was a little disappointed. He thought a girl who was truly passionate about physics and only admired him had finally appeared, but it turned out she was no different from the others. She was just like them, and she only wanted him.

He grabbed her wrist to pull her up, but Wen Huo had already gotten up. She quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Teacher Chen, I’m so sorry.” Chen Cheng couldn’t say anything, so he just stayed silent. Wen Huo left just like that. After class that day, Wen Huo waited in front of Chen Cheng’s car, wanting his WeChat. After what happened in the office, Chen Cheng no longer had any positive feelings for her. He refused. “Focus on your studies.” Wen Huo didn’t want to. She shook her head, her eyes red. “I’m going to focus on you.” Chen Cheng felt that she was acting even stranger than she was that afternoon, like she was drunk, but he couldn’t smell any alcohol on her. He thought she was showing her true colors and wasn’t even pretending to be a good student anymore, so he had even less reason to pay attention to her. “Get out of the way.”

Wen Huo slowly walked closer to him. “Do you hate me, Teacher Chen?” She walked up to him and suddenly fell into his arms. He held her by the arms and found that she was burning hot. He touched her forehead and realized she had a fever. No wonder she was acting so strange. He called out to her twice. “Student.” Wen Huo moved her feet closer and pressed her whole body against him. She felt the large lump between his legs. She rubbed against him in his arms. “Teacher Chen, my name is Wen Huo.” Chen Cheng smelled the scent of a young girl and held her burning body. He wasn’t so lustful that he was out of his mind, but he wasn’t completely unmoved either. He tried to hold her and keep her at a distance, but she wouldn’t let him. She wanted to hold him and rub against his chest. Her hand even went under his tucked-in shirt and into his pants, blindly touching him. “Teacher Chen, I’m so hot. I’m so dizzy.” Chen Cheng took her hand away. “Stand up straight. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Wen Huo didn’t want to. She wanted to use his body to cool down. “You’re so cold, Teacher Chen. It feels so good.” Chen Cheng could endure it, but he was a normal man. After her repeated actions and words, he finally responded to her by getting hard. Wen Huo was still confused. What was that hard thing against her lower abdomen? She reached out to touch it. “Teacher Chen, what’s wrong with you here?” Chen Cheng was losing his patience. “You don’t know?” In normal circumstances, Wen Huo would have known, but she had stayed in the cold shower all night to give herself a fever, so it wasn’t a waste of effort. She was delirious now. How could she know anything? “What did you stuff in there? It’s so hard.” As she spoke, she tried to put her hand inside to touch his thing. Chen Cheng held her hand down. Doing these kinds of things in a parking lot was too weird, and she was his student. He wouldn’t let her touch him. Wen Huo was wronged. “You hurt me. What’s wrong with me touching it? What’s wrong with me wanting to see what’s poking me? You’re so stingy, Teacher Chen.” Chen Cheng was ready to take her to the hospital. “You have a fever.”

Wen Huo didn’t want to leave him. After getting into the car, she moved from the passenger seat onto his lap and straddled him, their private parts touching. She held onto his shoulders, and her hot breath brushed against his ear. “Teacher Chen, mmm, it feels so good. You’re so cool and it feels so good.” Chen Cheng’s veins were starting to pop on his forehead from holding back. He had seen people being forward, but he had never seen anyone this forward. The fact that she didn’t wear underwear to his class was already a step too far. Wen Huo suddenly bit his ear. Her little teeth gnawed on it a couple of times, and then she sucked and licked it with her tongue. “Yummy.” Chen Cheng’s heart was in turmoil. He pulled her off of him, strapped her into the passenger seat with the seatbelt, and took her to the hospital.

In the emergency room, after the doctor prescribed the medication, Chen Cheng went to complete the admission procedures. She only had a fever, so it wasn’t necessary to take up a hospital bed, but Chen Cheng didn’t know where she lived and couldn’t take her home, so he had to admit her. Wen Huo fell asleep after getting her IV drip, and Chen Cheng went home. The first thing he did when he got home was take a cold shower, but Wen Huo’s private parts and all her actions from today wouldn’t leave his mind. The place her little hands had touched was still burning hot. He finished his shower, and the urge to do something had dissipated a little, but his thing was still very hard. He closed his eyes to calm down, but all he could see was Wen Huo kneeling by his legs, giving him oral sex. He was actually starting to imagine things. He imagined Wen Huo taking him in her mouth, sucking, licking, and nibbling, and making a low moaning sound. His urges only got worse. In the middle of the night, he called Tang Jun’en to the shooting range and shot guns for half the night. Real guns. Tang Jun’en was a night owl, but he hadn’t slept for over twenty hours and was constantly dozing off. “What are you so worked up about again?” Chen Cheng ignored Tang Jun’en and just kept venting. He was a great shot. None of the people who knew him would invite him to a shooting competition because if he showed up, the competition would be boring.

The next day, Wen Huo woke up and remembered everything that had happened last night. She had never seduced anyone before, so it wasn’t very natural for her. Luckily, she was smart enough to deliberately take a cold shower to give herself a fever. With the delirium from the fever, she was able to do whatever she wanted. She took out her IV drip and used her phone to search for what a seventeen-centimeter penis would feel like. A doctor online said that the average size for Asian men was between thirteen and sixteen centimeters, which meant that Chen Cheng was not average. Wen Huo realized that she had just made a rough estimate and might have even underestimated it. She couldn’t help but sigh. He was that good? She added his WeChat, which she had insisted on getting last night in the hospital, and waited for him to accept. As expected, Chen Cheng didn’t accept. Wen Huo kept adding him for about a week, but he never accepted. Before she tried to add him again, she wrote a message in the notes: “Teacher Chen, you’re so big, thick, and long. You’re truly mesmerizing when you’re hard.”

When Chen Cheng saw the message, he was in a meeting, and his face instantly became very unpleasant. How could she be so shameless? Wen Huo’s message wasn’t over yet: “You think that if you don’t add me, the fact that you got hard will just disappear? Teacher Chen, you actually got hard for your student, and she was even sick at the time. Is that really okay?” Chen Cheng put his phone aside after seeing the first part of her message. As long as he didn’t look, he wouldn’t feel anything. But he couldn’t help it. He wanted to know what other dirty things she could say. While an employee was giving an impassioned report, he picked up his phone again and saw the rest of her message. He suddenly wanted to argue, so he accepted her friend request and sent a message: “Is being sick an excuse for touching a stranger?”

When Wen Huo saw the message, she put down the documents she was reading, walked to her bed, lay down, and messaged him back: “But my mind wasn’t clear.” “What you show when your mind isn’t clear is the truth.” “Okay, fine, I’m shameless. I’m into you. Teacher Chen is handsome, has a great body, a nice voice, and his lectures are so memorable. Few people don’t like you. So what’s wrong with me subconsciously wanting you when my mind wasn’t clear? Can’t I have you?” She changed her strategy from a gentle approach to a direct one. She had no choice. Her actions while she had a fever had already put an end to her gentle approach. She couldn’t pretend to be a little lamb anymore, so she just went straight for it.

Chen Cheng deleted her. He didn’t have time to waste on her. Wen Huo couldn’t send him any more messages, so she added him again: “Teacher Chen, I love the way your pants bulge. Can you make them bulge again? What do you want me to do? Should I show you there?” Chen Cheng ignored her. Wen Huo continued: “Do you know what ‘there’ is?” Chen Cheng ignored her. Wen Huo begged him: “Teacher Chen, please talk to me. This is the first time I’ve ever liked someone like this. I know I’m not outstanding, I’m not pretty, and I’m just an average student, but I can work hard for you. Please talk to me. I really like you. I fell for you the first time I took your class. You’re all I think about, and I have no motivation to study anymore. I haven’t been to the lab in days.” Chen Cheng finished reading and rubbed his forehead. Wen Huo continued: “Okay, I get it. Teacher Chen hates me. Yeah, everyone probably hates people like me. I’m sorry, I won’t add you again.” After that, Wen Huo stopped sending him messages.

Chen Cheng thought it was just a small episode. After all, there were many people like her who had intentions for him. Although they weren’t as bold as her, they had still used some tactics. He had treated them all with indifference, and they had lost interest in no time. Just when he thought Wen Huo had come to her senses and wouldn’t bother him anymore, she came to his class again. That day, she wore a black dress with thin straps, which drew his attention to her perfect shoulders and collarbone. But he was able to control himself because he had seen it all before. In the middle of the round table discussion, there was a time for sharing ideas and discussing. During the group discussion, Wen Huo reached out and touched Chen Cheng. She did it under the table, reaching for the area between his legs. She was very fast and quickly pulled down his zipper so he couldn’t leave right away. He would have to reach under the table to pull up his zipper first. But that would mean his hand would touch Wen Huo’s hand. Wen Huo immediately grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let go. She just held on to it. Chen Cheng glared at her, but she couldn’t see him.

A student asked Chen Cheng a question, but Chen Cheng couldn’t move. His hand was being held by Wen Huo, and she was also holding onto his manhood. To make things worse, she started stroking it openly. Her hands were very small. He couldn’t resist her stroking him, and he got hard in no time. Wen Huo moved closer to him, to the side of his seat, and whispered, “Teacher Chen, it’s so big and hot. I kind of want to eat it.” At that moment, Chen Cheng’s anger was beyond words. The level was too low. Wen Huo held Chen Cheng’s thing like that for half a class.

When class was over, Chen Cheng didn’t give the other students a chance to ask questions. He shooed them away, grabbed Wen Huo’s wrist, pulled her away, and used his other hand to pull up his zipper. Wen Huo looked at him with big eyes. Chen Cheng was very direct. “I’m married. Do you have no morals at all?” Wen Huo thought, “Why do you think I’m seducing you? Isn’t it because your wife wants to divorce you? Do you think she loves you?” “Can morals feed you? I’ve made everyone else comfortable, but who has made me comfortable? So I might as well not care about others.” Her way of thinking was exactly like Chen Cheng’s in some situations. He wasn’t going to beat around the bush with her. “Don’t bother. I won’t mess around with my students. Unless you want everyone to know, then go ahead.” Wen Huo felt a little wronged. “Is it this hard for people who like you?” Chen Cheng watched her eyes turn red and her tears fall, but he didn’t react at all. Aside from the uncontrollable physical reactions he had when she touched his body, he was completely unmoved by her confession. Wen Huo slowly walked towards him, her voice getting softer. “Teacher Chen, will you please like me a little? I’ll be very good. We can be discreet. I don’t need you to support me. I don’t want anything from you. I just want you to like me a little, just a little bit, and I’ll be happy. Please?” Chen Cheng’s face was expressionless. Wen Huo slowly tugged on the corner of his shirt. “Teacher Chen, I’ve tried to give up on you, but it’s so hard. During this time, when I think that I’m not even allowed to see the person I like so much, I get so sad.” Chen Cheng couldn’t listen anymore and turned to leave. He wasn’t a young man anymore. He understood these tricks, and he wasn’t someone who could easily fall in love. He had his own judgment. After he left, Wen Huo wiped away her tears, and her wronged face changed.

A man like Chen Cheng was difficult to conquer. His self-control was too strong, and he had seen it all. He probably thought of her as a brainless clown who only knew how to throw a tantrum, no matter what she did. But she wasn’t in a hurry. It had been almost two months. What did another two, three, or more months matter? She liked to play the long game.

Two weeks later, Wen Huo waited for Chen Cheng outside a dinner party he was at, in front of his car. This time, because of her long-term insomnia and intentional lack of food, she had lost a lot of weight. She also put on a sickly-looking makeup and had her hair down, looking a little messy, as if she had been having a very hard time recently. Wen Huo drank some foreign liquor and then squatted in front of Chen Cheng’s car. When he finally came out, he was with his colleagues, business partners, and so on. She went up and hugged him, smelling of alcohol, silently sobbing as if she had been through a great deal of injustice. Chen Cheng’s colleagues were watching, and they asked who she was. Chen Cheng remembered Wen Huo’s girlish scent. Even without seeing her clearly, he knew who she was from her smell. He explained that she was his student and had been under a lot of stress lately. A business partner joked, “Teacher Chen has a lot of pretty students.” Chen Cheng didn’t respond and helped her into the car.

Who knew that Wen Huo would get angry? Using the alcohol as an excuse, she was wronged and angry, crying and refusing to face Chen Cheng, only showing him her back. Chen Cheng poured her some water. She snatched the cup from him and drank from the rim, implying an indirect kiss. After drinking, she said sarcastically, “Teacher Chen has a lot of pretty students, which means that person has seen your other students. Why would he have seen them?” She didn’t wait for Chen Cheng to answer and continued, “That’s because you must have taken her to one of your events. Why would you take her to an event? It must be because you two slept together the night before. You can sleep with them, so why can’t you sleep with me?” “Do you know what you’re saying?” She hugged him, looking so wronged. “Teacher Chen, will you sleep with me? I haven’t slept in so long. I’m so tired.” Chen Cheng took her arms off of him. “I’m giving you a chance to keep your dignity. If you don’t take it, get out of my car right now.” Wen Huo looked at him, her lips pursed, not moving. Tears just rolled down her face. Her increasingly pathetic appearance was filled with sorrow. Chen Cheng didn’t react. Wen Huo finally wiped her tears, said nothing, and got out of the car.

Chen Cheng had actually noticed that she had lost weight. She was young and vibrant, but in just a few days, she was no longer the same person he had first met. She looked like she really liked him. Just because he had rejected her, she couldn’t take good care of herself. Chen Cheng sat in his car, his mind blank. He suddenly felt a little soft-hearted and thought about taking her home first. But when he turned his head, she was already in a taxi. She was still drunk. Where was she going? Out of humanitarianism, Chen Cheng followed the taxi. The taxi drove to Sanlitun. Chen Cheng watched as Wen Huo stumbled into a bar. He frowned and followed her inside. In the deafening noise, he pushed through the crowd and found her sitting alone at a small table. There were two other guys next to her, who looked to be about her age. The two guys had their arms around her waist, whispering in her ear and kissing her cheek. She was unmoved, still looking so sad, as if it didn’t matter who loved her as long as Chen Cheng didn’t. Chen Cheng frowned, walked over, grabbed her wrist, and said, “Let’s go.” Wen Huo turned her head and saw Chen Cheng. She shook his hand off. “Go where?” Chen Cheng was holding back his anger. “I’ll take you home.”

Wen Huo laughed, a heartbreaking laugh. “What are you to me? What right do you have to take me home? Is it because you don’t like me? Or is it because you’ve never said a single nice thing to me? I think about you day and night, but all you’ve ever said to me is ‘get out.’ What else have you ever said to me?” Her words were incoherent and disjointed, but they were painful to hear. “If you don’t like me, then leave me alone. I’m going to drink with other people. I’m going to sleep with other people. Do you think you’re the only one who gets hard? They get hard too. And they’re honest. They’ll tell me that I made them hard. Because of me, they’re hard. Can you do that?” Chen Cheng watched her act crazy, almost shouting his words. The people nearby all heard her. He had no choice but to pick her up and carry her out. Chen Cheng threw the struggling Wen Huo, who was yelling, “Let me go,” into the car. He ignored her grievances, found someone to ask for her home address, and took her home. He carried her upstairs, and then he squatted down and said, “If I were ten years younger, I’d play your game. But now, forget it. Just focus on your studies.” On the way back, Chen Cheng’s mind was a mess. He didn’t know what to think or what not to think. But one thing was for sure: he was very annoyed.

Wen Huo remembered everything when she woke up, except for what Chen Cheng had said to her at her front door. But it didn’t matter. He was already starting to worry about her, and that was enough. She sent him a final friend request with the note: “I’m sorry, Teacher Chen. My unrequited love has bothered you. I’ll change.” After that, for a whole month, Wen Huo never messaged Chen Cheng again and didn’t even go to his classes. Chen Cheng started to feel unaccustomed to it. Wen Huo had shown him such a raw and memorable confession that when others confessed to him, he couldn’t help but compare them to Wen Huo. No matter how unique the person confessing was, they would always lose to Wen Huo in the end. Chen Cheng was becoming more and more irritable, and his words to Tang Jun’en were also laced with sarcasm. Tang Jun’en was suffering for no reason and felt a little wronged. “Did I offend you? What’s wrong with you these days?” Chen Cheng didn’t tell him the truth and said in a roundabout way, “I just feel like the new generation is not as good as the old one. The young people today don’t have any persistence.” Tang Jun’en found his statement odd. “No, why do you care about the young people today? Don’t you have enough to worry about? Are you now concerned about the future of our country?” Chen Cheng asked him, “How many people today can be persistent?” Tang Jun’en didn’t know what he was talking about, but he said, “You should worry about yourself first. What do these young people have to do with you?” Chen Cheng stopped talking. He was annoyed.

That night, after he showered, he sat on the couch and looked at Wen Huo’s friend request note. The “I’ll change” suddenly made him feel a little sick to his stomach. She was going to quit him. On a whim, he tapped accept, but the friend request had already expired.

Wen Huo had been going between the lab and her dorm for a while. She was writing a thesis, so she was busier than usual. She hadn’t forgotten about her deal with Han Bailu and wouldn’t give up on Chen Cheng as a sleeping aid. She just hadn’t contacted him because she was busy. Her thesis was almost ready, so it was time to continue. This time, she went to Chen Cheng’s class again, but before she went in, she made a detour and went to another class in the building next door. Chen Cheng didn’t know she had come. When he saw her leave with another professor after class and even smile at him, he felt a surge of anger. Had she moved on so quickly? Wasn’t she the one who had screamed her confession at him in the bar that night? He drove to the entrance to block her. Wen Huo saw Chen Cheng’s car and deliberately walked around it. The period of playing the victim was over. Chen Cheng wasn’t falling for it, so she stopped. She would just get better, or at least look better. He couldn’t be completely unmoved.

Chen Cheng saw her trying to go around him. He got out of the car and pulled her to a secluded area. Wen Huo greeted him politely. “Teacher Chen.” Chen Cheng had so much to say, but he didn’t know how to say it. “Did you find a new target?” Wen Huo didn’t say anything. Chen Cheng continued, “I guess so. It’s normal for someone as fickle as you to find a new target.” He was more concerned about whether she had touched someone else the way she had touched him. Men always cared about that—whether she had touched another man’s manhood, whether she had made another man hard, and whether another man had seen her body. Chen Cheng’s words got even nastier, and Wen Huo finally exploded. “Just because I like you, I have to chase you like a dog for the rest of my life? Do you think I’m really that shameless? Do I have no dignity at all? Yes, I was slutty when I was chasing you. I kissed you, touched you, and let you see my body. But does that mean you can think I’m like that with other men too? Am I that cheap? Am I that desperate for a man? Chen Cheng, you don’t have to like me, but please respect me. I’ve only ever done that to one person, and it didn’t end well. I don’t want to like anyone ever again in my life.” Chen Cheng was stunned. He watched the girl in front of him with a tear-stained face, and he suddenly couldn’t say anything.

Wen Huo then became more wronged, and her emotions were even lower. “I know I’m not worthy. Please don’t keep reminding me. I’ll deal with my feelings for you myself. I’m sure I’ll forget about you. It’s only a matter of time.” Wen Huo’s voice cracked on the last few words. It was those last few words that made Chen Cheng change his mind. Even if he couldn’t be ten years younger, he decided to be with Wen Huo. He didn’t know why, but he was no longer able to be unmoved when she cried. He didn’t want to see her cry. He couldn’t stand it. Call it pity, call it a change of heart, whatever it was, he couldn’t be indifferent to her anymore. He reached out his hand to her. “Give me your hand.” Wen Huo looked at him, on the verge of tears, and didn’t move. Chen Cheng walked over and took her hand, pulling her back to his car.

Chen Cheng wiped Wen Huo’s tears away. She still looked disbelieving, staring blankly at him. Chen Cheng was a little helpless and a little relieved. He said with a sigh, “You win.” Wen Huo’s tears came gushing down, fast and big. For a long time after that, she didn’t know if her tears were fake or not, if she was crying because it was the right thing to do in that situation, or if she was truly moved. Chen Cheng kissed her tears away and said, “I’m married.” Wen Huo nodded. “That’s okay.” Chen Cheng wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t fall in love with her, but he thought she wouldn’t want to hear that, so he just hugged her. Wen Huo felt like she had guessed what he didn’t say out loud. She didn’t care anyway. She wasn’t going to fall in love with him either. “As long as I can be with you, I’ll do anything. I can do anything.” Chen Cheng let her go and kissed her tears away all the way to her lips. He slowly leaned in and gave her a light kiss. Wen Huo’s heart was pounding. It was the first time she had ever been kissed, and it felt a little strange. Chen Cheng told her, “Don’t say those things or send those messages to anyone else. And don’t go out without underwear or a bra, got it?” Wen Huo nodded, buried her face in his neck, and whispered, “I’m only like this with you.” From that day on, Wen Huo became Chen Cheng’s mistress.

Chen Cheng, as he had promised, gave Wen Huo a lot of special treatment, but he was never very gentle. After the initial period of their affair, things became very mundane. Aside from sex and playing games, they barely talked. This kind of relationship lasted for a year until they grew distant due to some misunderstandings. This was normal. Without love, a relationship based solely on physical needs wouldn’t last. In addition, Han Bailu wanted to end their cooperation, so Wen Huo took the opportunity to have a big fight with him. Later, by a twist of fate, they made up, and their relationship seemed to go back to how it was when Wen Huo was first seducing him, a little sweet. At that time, Chen Cheng would kiss her before he went on a business trip because she was always worried that he would leave and never come back. She was very insecure, or at least she acted that way. Chen Cheng said there couldn’t be any love between them, so he would never sleep in the same bed with her after they had sex. Her insecurity couldn’t be helped. Wen Huo didn’t mind and said she could endure it. But a few times, she would sneak into his room and lie down next to him in his bed. He knew she was there, but he never kicked her out and even let her lie on his arm.

For the past year, their relationship had always been one where there was no open love, at most a little liking, but there were many subtle actions that only lovers would do. They refused to admit it and refused to think back on whether they had developed feelings for each other along the way. Just as they were unknowingly falling in love with each other, the truth about everything started to surface. Han Bailu was responsible for someone’s death, and Chen Cheng had only married her to torture her, which was why she wanted to escape. What was even more shocking was that Chen Cheng’s marriage to Han Bailu was also fake. There was only his name on the household registration book. Chen Cheng had even known about Wen Huo’s deal with Han Bailu for a long time, and he had used the opportunity to sleep with Wen Huo for a year... Their ugly sides were completely exposed. They each held onto their own logic and were unforgiving, wanting to kill each other. But they never expected that their bond would become even stronger through this life-and-death struggle until they couldn’t live without each other. So many things happened after that, some important, some not. All the reader needs to know is that Chen Cheng and Wen Huo will be together until death.

A few years later. Wen Huo had a very long dream about the past. She woke up with a start. Chen Cheng, who was next to her, also woke up, hugged her, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?” Wen Huo was still shaken. Her eyes were puffy, and she wanted to cry, but she had no reason to. She had a husband and a child. What was there to cry about? Chen Cheng patted her back. “What did you dream about?” Wen Huo hugged Chen Cheng and rubbed her face against his neck. “Teacher Chen, it’s a good thing I’m a bitch. Otherwise, how would I have ever gotten you?” Chen Cheng frowned, and then he smiled as if he was relieved. “Then what should I say? It’s a good thing I’m a scum. Otherwise, how would I have ever married you?” Wen Huo hugged him tighter. She knew she was wrong. She had no morals and no ethics, but to be able to hug this man for longer, she was willing to atone for her sins, as long as he wasn’t taken away from her again. She was grateful for everything, but she only asked for one thing: eternity. Chen Cheng kissed her behind her ear. “You don’t know how hard it was for me to come back to you. I know. It was too hard. Once is enough for this lifetime. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you again, you little puppy.” Wen Huo sobbed. “Teacher Chen, why the hell do I love you so much? How can I love someone this much? It just doesn’t make any sense.” Chen Cheng’s topic shift was a little abrupt and out of the blue. “If you love me that much, do you want to have sex?” Wen Huo suddenly pulled away from him. “Um, I’m sleepy. What I just said was just sleepy talk. Good night.” Chen Cheng watched Wen Huo quickly lie down and smiled. He had tormented her enough in the first half of the night, so she was no longer in the mood in the second half. He covered her with the blanket and gave her a light kiss on her forehead. “Good night, my wife.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and a little head poked in. He looked at Chen Cheng and, although he couldn’t speak very clearly, he knew not to disturb people, so his voice was very quiet, and he even covered his mouth. “Teacher Chen, my tummy hurts.” Chen Cheng got out of bed, picked him up, and walked downstairs. “You don’t want to call me Dad again?” Chen Tingwen shook his head like a rattle-drum. “Your wife said I should follow her lead.” Chen Cheng laughed. “Did my wife also tell you not to eat ice cream at night because it will give you a tummy ache? Someone seems to never listen.” Chen Tingwen pursed his lips for a moment and then apologized, “I’m sorry, Dad. Baby will listen to Mom from now on.” Chen Cheng rubbed his soft, yellowish hair. “Good boy.” Chen Cheng carried Chen Tingwen downstairs, plugged in the electric hand warmer, and warmed his tummy. He also made him some milk. Chen Tingwen drank it and had a white mustache on his lips. His big eyes were staring at Chen Cheng. “Dad, Mom said that if I grow up to look like you, I won’t have let her down. Don’t I look good the way I am?” Chen Cheng reached out and wiped the white mustache off his lips. “You look good. Baby looks better than Dad.” Chen Tingwen thought about it and shook his head. “I don’t want to look better than Dad. Mom likes Dad so much. If I look better than Dad, Mom will be sad. I don’t want to make Mom sad.” Chen Cheng glanced at the stairs. He knew Wen Huo had come downstairs and was standing there. He asked him, “Baby, do you like Mom?” Chen Tingwen nodded again like a little robot. “I do!” “Then if Mom wants to eat your ice cream, can you give it to her?” Chen Tingwen hesitated for a moment and then asked softly, “Does Mom want to eat... one stick or two sticks?” “Mom wants to eat all of them.” The little guy was in a dilemma. He loved ice cream the most. Chen Cheng saw how conflicted he was and didn’t push him anymore. He picked him up. “Time for bed.” Chen Tingwen suddenly said, “Then give them to Mom! Mom has never had ice cream before. Baby has had so many. All of them... um... okay. Because it’s Mom, it’s okay.”

Chen Cheng stopped in his tracks, not knowing what he was thinking. Wen Huo was behind the wall, covering her mouth. It was so good. Sometimes, she really wondered if she deserved all this. A husband like this, a son like this. In her past life, she must have been a person who sacrificed her life for a great cause, so all the happiness she didn’t get in her past life was saved for this life. It was so good. It was so good to have them.