Ji Mian’s work ended a week earlier than expected.
Before flying back, for some vague, unexplainable reason, he didn’t tell Xie Heng that he was returning.
With a flight at eleven in the morning, Ji Mian arrived at three in the afternoon. Knowing Xie Heng wasn’t home, he chose not to go back and directly took a car to the university where Xie Heng worked.
During the long break between two classes, after the students from the first class left, he found a spot in one of the classrooms in the teaching building.
As the twenty-minute break went on, students trickled in.
The last class of the afternoon was a large lecture, with hundreds of students sitting together, and nobody knew each other.
Ji Mian casually took a seat in the back row. Dressed casually, he looked almost unchanged from ten years ago, blending in with the students without a hint of incongruity.
However, his outstanding appearance and charisma stood out, drawing frequent curious glances from the students around him.
He rested his head on the desk, reminiscing fondly about his own college life.
“Hey, you’re not from our department, are you?” A nearby boy initiated a conversation. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
The boy was the sociable type; most people in the department he might not recognize, but he usually had a vague recollection of them. However, he had no memory of someone as good-looking as Ji Mian, which struck him as odd.
Ji Mian smiled and said, “No, I’m just auditing the class.”
The boy nodded in understanding and said, “Professor Xie’s classes attract quite a few auditors.”
Ji Mian asked curiously, “Is he a good lecturer?”
“He’s pretty good, but mainly it’s because he’s handsome.”
Ji Mian stifled a laugh. “He really is quite handsome.”
“But you should be careful; pretend to take notes in class so you don’t get kicked out.”
“Get kicked out?” Ji Mian was a bit shocked. Was it really that serious?
“Well… Last semester, someone posted Professor Xie’s photo on the school wall, and the next day, a lot of students from other departments came to check it out, leaving the students in his class with no seats. I heard Professor Xie was really angry about it and kicked out all the non-department students. For a long time afterward, if he noticed the number of students in the classroom was off, he would check and kick people out.”
Ji Mian’s previously relaxed expression instantly changed.
He almost forgot… Xie Heng didn’t tolerate jokes when it came to work.
Most of the time, Xie Heng was serious and aloof. He was only easygoing with Ji Mian.
At that moment, a tall man wearing a long black coat walked in through the front door of the classroom. He walked straight to the podium, opened the teaching computer on the smart podium, and didn’t glance down at all. His demeanor wasn’t arrogant, but it certainly conveyed a sense of coldness.
Ji Mian stared at the emotionless man at the podium for a few seconds.
Xie Heng’s serious demeanor was such a stark contrast to how he was at home that it made Ji Mian feel a bit disconnected.
Ji Mian’s heart raced slightly.
Would his brother think he was being frivolous?
“Well, if you’re really here to audit for the sake of learning, it probably won’t be a problem,” the boy said hesitantly. “Are you?”
Ji Mian’s expression grew serious. “...No.”
He came with very frivolous intentions.
The boy found Ji Mian’s serious face amusing and reassuringly patted him. “Don’t worry; that was all last semester.”
But Ji Mian wasn’t comforted. He began to contemplate whether he should leave while there was still time before class started.
Just then, the class bell rang.
The projector at the front was ready, displaying a certain page of the PPT.
Xie Heng lifted his head, and his deep, calm voice was amplified by the speaker, reaching the back of the classroom: “Class is starting.”
Xie Heng had a good rhythm when teaching; his speech was neither too fast nor too slow, and his logic was very clear. The only downside was that he was too serious during lectures, lacking any entertainment value, making it a bit dull. However, one could gain quite a bit by listening attentively.
“You can relax now,” the boy who spoke to Ji Mian earlier said softly. “Professor Xie usually checks attendance before class starts.”
Ji Mian smiled at him and lowered his voice to thank him, “Thanks.”
The human eye instinctively picks up moving objects, so whispering during class is the easiest way for the teacher at the front to notice disruptions.
Xie Heng’s gaze unconsciously swept toward the two people chatting in the right back corner. Initially, it was just a casual glance, but when he spotted that familiar smile on the face of someone who looked almost radiant, his words suddenly stumbled.
In the back of the classroom, Ji Mian caught a rare glimpse of Xie Heng tripping over his words and couldn’t help but lift his eyes toward the podium, inadvertently locking eyes with Xie Heng.
Ji Mian: “……”
Xie Heng stammered again, and then, relying solely on instinct, finished the remaining two sentences, which coincidentally marked the end of a knowledge point.
Then, silence fell.
Xie Heng rested one hand on the podium, seemingly pausing between segments.
He lowered his head for about ten seconds, the cold expression on his face shattered. It wasn’t until his ears turned so red they could no longer blush that he continued to speak about the next topic.
Xie Heng returned to his previous state.
However, for the rest of the half class, he didn’t dare glance in Ji Mian’s direction again.
After class ended, the students began to leave. A few lined up at the podium to ask Xie Heng questions.
While answering them, Xie Heng struggled to control his gaze from wandering.
But even though he didn’t turn to look, the presence of a certain figure in the now-empty back row was still too strong to ignore.
In his peripheral vision, that figure stood up and walked toward him.
Ji Mian was last in line behind the student who had just finished.
Xie Heng lowered his head, speaking faster than usual.
After a few minutes, the boy in front of Ji Mian said, “I understand now,” thanked Xie Heng, and left with his paper and pen.
Now, only the two of them remained facing each other.
Xie Heng looked at Ji Mian, silent, his dark pupils shining brightly, contrasting sharply with his serious demeanor during class. This was the Xie Heng Ji Mian was familiar with, and he didn’t seem to mind Ji Mian’s frivolous behavior.
Ji Mian’s eyes curved into a smile, jokingly calling out, “Professor Xie?”
“……” The skin on Xie Heng’s neck turned pink within seconds.
Ji Mian watched as Xie Heng’s entire face flushed bright red, a bit surprised.
His brother actually liked being called that?
He hooked his fingers around Xie Heng’s sleeve and continued, “I have a question for Professor Xie.”
Xie Heng’s neck gradually deepened from pink to red. “...Mm.”
“Do you miss me?”
“……”
Xie Heng was left speechless for a while, almost steaming with embarrassment.
He grabbed Ji Mian’s wrist and pulled him outside.
Just as they were about to exit the classroom, Ji Mian halted. “Ge, this isn’t appropriate.”
After all, only a few knew that Xie Heng had a male partner. The academic world was not a pristine place, and Ji Mian didn’t want to bring unnecessary trouble to Xie Heng.
Xie Heng turned to look at him, released his hand, pushed open the classroom door, and quickly walked ahead.
Ji Mian followed behind, maintaining a careful distance.
Along the way, there were always people recognizing Xie Heng and greeting him.
Xie Heng found a parking spot and got into the car. After a while, Ji Mian caught up and settled into the passenger seat.
Knowing he had little self-control in front of Ji Mian, Xie Heng didn’t dare kiss him even in the car.
The drive from the school to home only took twenty minutes, but he had never felt this road stretch on so long.
Once inside the house, Xie Heng didn’t want to appear overly eager, so he deliberately slowed down for three or four seconds before leaning in to kiss Ji Mian. Unfortunately, those brief moments didn’t serve much purpose.
Xie Heng kissed him fiercely and urgently, not uttering a word, not giving Ji Mian a chance to speak, while he undid Ji Mian’s belt and slipped his hand inside, leaving Ji Mian breathless.
“Ge…”
“Professor Xie…”
Xie Heng nearly lost his mind at the way Ji Mian called him.
Ji Mian’s legs weakened from Xie Heng’s chaotic hands, and he struggled to stand against the wall. Xie Heng simply lifted him by the waist with one hand, securing Ji Mian’s back with the other, and carried him into the bedroom.
He laid Ji Mian on the bed and, just as he freed one hand to undo his belt, suddenly remembered something. His hand froze, and he looked up to ask, “Are you hungry?”
It was nearly seven o'clock, and he remembered that Ji Mian hadn’t had dinner yet.
Ji Mian buried his face in the pillow, laughing for a moment before saying, “I’m fine.”
Xie Heng grasped Ji Mian’s slender ankle and leaned down.
“Then let’s keep it until nine o’clock.”
So, at nine in the evening, Xie Heng, dressed and ready, came out of the bedroom to prepare dinner for Ji Mian.
After two months of Ji Mian being home, this dinner should have been more lavish, but Xie Heng was a bit anxious, and the final dish ended up being less refined than he had hoped.
Once it was ready, he stood by the dining table, watching Ji Mian finish his last sip of wine before leading him back to the bedroom.
By midnight, Xie Heng had cleaned up the mess and carried Ji Mian to the bathroom for a quick rinse, before slowly starting to kiss him.
Ji Mian was so exhausted that he didn’t even have the strength to move his tongue. After a while, he pushed Xie Heng's head away.
“Brother… I’m sleepy.”
Xie Heng gently kissed Ji Mian’s forehead twice. “In the future… will there be many business trips?”
Ji Mian yawned. “It should be alright.”
“That's good.” Xie Heng sighed lightly, burying his face in Ji Mian's neck and murmuring, “It’s been so hard…”
Ji Mian stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment.
“...Mm.”
---
Once they reached old age, Xie Heng still couldn’t take it easy, living the enjoyable retired life of chatting and walking with Ji Mian.
There were always matters at the school that needed his attention, and his former students would occasionally drop by to visit...
What made him both fortunate and helpless was that Ji Mian remained spry even at seventy. He often went out with his silver-haired friends for fun.
Xie Heng discovered that the entertainment options for the elderly were annoyingly abundant.
During the Spring Festival, their neighbors across the hall, who were going to celebrate the holiday with their children, entrusted their parrot to Ji Mian and Xie Heng for a few days.
This was the fourth year they had taken care of the parrot, and they had gained quite a bit of experience.
Xie Heng even taught it a new trick.
Whenever Ji Mian had to go out, the brightly colored parrot would bounce over, its beak flapping, saying, “Come home early!”
Ji Mian: …
He recognized immediately who had taught it that.
Every time he left to meet friends, Xie Heng would say that to him.
“Come home early!”
Ji Mian lifted the cloth bag in his hand and said to the parrot, “I’m just going out to buy some oranges.”
“Come home early!!”
“……”
Ji Mian squinted his eyes toward the living room, where Xie Heng was sitting upright on the sofa, pretending not to hear his “student.”
“Brother?”
Xie Heng couldn’t ignore Ji Mian’s voice. Hearing him call out, he got up and walked over, defending himself, “It learned that on its own.”
Ji Mian chuckled. “When are your students coming to pay their New Year’s visit?”
“I don’t know, probably around noon,” Xie Heng glanced at Ji Mian's cloth bag. “I’ll go with you.”
“It’s only a ten-minute walk.”
“……” Xie Heng silently stared at him.
Ji Mian took his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
The two of them left together, leaving the parrot alone to pass the short ten minutes.
Hearing the door close, it opened its beak:
“Come home early!!”
| Announcement |
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Hey everyone! I’m really excited to share that we’re relaunching the translation for "Novel NPC Deployment Widow"! As you may know, we had to pause our work recently because of some issues with other translators misusing our content. To make things better for everyone, we’re switching to a new payment system starting next week. Instead of a one-time fee of $7 for lifetime access, you’ll now pay just $1 for every 7 chapters. This way, we can ensure fair access to the content for all of you! We only have 20 seats available each month, so if you want to join, please fill out this Google Form to secure your spot. Please don’t pay just yet! We’ll reach out next week with all the payment details and instructions. For more information, check out the Widower NPC page. Thank you so much for your support—I can’t wait to share more chapters with you all. Let’s enjoy this journey together! |