Xie Shu initially had his back to the car, so it wasn't until Ruan Nianxi stood beside him that he noticed she had gotten out.
When asked about her, he introduced her generously: "Her name is Ruan Nianxi, she's my… friend, and she's the one who gave me a ride."
Everyone was dumbstruck by the peach-blossom beauty before them.
Holy cow!
Is this some kind of otherworldly beauty?
Do handsome guys have such gorgeous female friends too?
Then, their gazes shifted to the luxury car behind them.
They had seen the car before but hadn't associated it with Xie Shu.
Friend?
Luxury car?
What about Xie Shu!?
"Hello everyone," Ruan Nianxi said, interrupting their thoughts.
She faced the crowd with a gentle and polite demeanor, but beneath her bright eyes lay a subtle aloofness that went unnoticed.
Xie Shu and Ruan Nianxi, standing to one side, didn't notice as he briefly introduced her to a few of the teachers, followed by a round of polite conversation.
Due to Ruan Nianxi's appearance, everyone lingered at the door for an extra minute or two.
As class time approached, the teachers had to hurry the students inside.
Xie Shu was at the back, not keeping pace with the group.
Ruan Nianxi was about to drive to the office, and he reminded her softly, "Drive safely."
Though it was a common expression of concern, it sweetened her heart.
She hummed softly in response, then got back into the car and turned it around.
Xie Shu watched the whole time, stepping forward to talk to her at the driver's side with a bent head and a smile.
Finally, seeing time was tight, he reluctantly ruffled her cute head and bid her goodbye.
Ruan Nianxi drove off with a flushed, nervous face.
Afterward, they each went about their busy days.
***
Xie Shu headed towards the art district, and luckily, the studio wasn't far from the entrance. With his height and long legs, it only took him a few minutes to arrive.
He had just entered the studio when class time arrived, timing it just right as Teacher Li and the students had only arrived a few minutes before him.
Everyone was still organizing their art materials, sharpening pencils, sticking paper, setting up easels…
No one had started drawing yet, so they were looking for topics to chat about.
Since they had met Xie Shu the day before, they weren't strangers, so a student curiously asked him, "Teacher Xie Shu, was that beautiful lady just now your girlfriend?"
Another student chimed in, "We saw you smiling so tenderly at her when we left! You stood outside the car talking to her for a long time, you must have been reluctant to part, haha."
The relationship between teachers and students in the studio was more relaxed than in school, and it was common for students to joke with teachers.
Xie Shu, an old hand at this, wasn't annoyed and was happy to join in the fun.
He nodded and said casually, "Yeah, she's my girlfriend."
Teacher Li, who was flipping through a sketchbook to decide which painting to have the students copy that morning, looked up curiously, "Girlfriend? But you didn't introduce her like that just now."
"Yeah, I remember you said 'friend' when you introduced her," another student added, puzzled.
"She's my girlfriend."
Xie Shu stuck to his statement.
Seeing his serious face and earnest tone, everyone thought they might have misheard earlier.
Hmm… considering how close they seemed, maybe they did hear wrong.
After all, it's just one word; if spoken quickly, it could have been missed… right?
The details didn't matter to them anymore; they were just curious about this handsome man and beautiful woman's romance!
So the students started gossiping and asking him:
"Teacher Xie Shu, when did you two get together?"
"Who confessed to whom?"
"Was there anything special about the place where you confessed? I want to learn for the future."
Facing everyone's curiosity, Xie Shu didn't hide anything and answered solemnly, "It could be a few weeks or a few months before I confess to her, and the place hasn't been decided yet."
Everyone: "…"
Does he even know what he's saying?
Isn't that not a girlfriend yet?
They had just been fooled into thinking it was true.
After a few seconds of silence, Teacher Li broke it with a question she was particularly curious about, "Xie Shu, that… 'girlfriend' of yours was driving a luxury car, must be quite expensive, right?"
Xie Shu usually didn't talk about Ruan Nianxi's family background at school, but since this wasn't school, he figured it wouldn't hurt to share.
Thinking this, he nodded, "It's quite a bit of money, but it's nothing to her, considering her family owns mines."
Teacher Li became even more curious.
Being a part of society herself, she knew that people from different social strata often didn't mix well, at least for the most part. Since the girl came from a well-off family, Xie Shu's family must be well-off too, right?
"Given that, your families must be quite similar, so why are you working as a part-time teaching assistant? It's not close either; if I were you, I wouldn't want to commute."
Was he out to experience life?
Xie Shu, who was idly arranging a plaster skull on a shelf out of boredom, thought for a moment before nodding and said seriously, "I guess it's similar, my family has mineral water bottles."
Teacher Li: "…"
Students: "…"
Does he misunderstand the meaning of 'similar'?
Teacher Li felt she was losing track of the young people's thought processes.
But from what Xie Shu said, there seemed to be some difference in their family backgrounds, right?
Isn't it said that wealthy families prefer matches of equal social status?
However, Teacher Li didn't say it outright but phrased it differently, "Love is free nowadays, but a girl like her must be hard to pursue. Aren't you worried she won't be interested in you?"
Xie Shu confidently replied, "With my looks and talent, how could she possibly not be interested?"
Teacher Li: "…"
Students: "…"
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