Your Distance

40 - Even a Comedy Novel Has to Have Some Serious Times

In class that day, Ting Shuang was once again called upon to answer an extremely difficult question.

As they were leaving the classroom after class, Song Xin teasingly said, “Say, Ting Shuang, this professor can’t have fallen in love with you, right?”

Ting Shuang was drinking from a water bottle, and almost choked upon hearing his words, but on the exterior, he replied calmly, “… Is there a pit in your mind.”

Song Xin said, “It wasn’t me who said it. The two girls who were next to me the previous time also said that this professor must have fallen in love with you. Whenever there is a difficult question, he always calls on you. Whenever you answer a question, he stares at you the entire time, and the look in his eyes… If you’d answered the question very well, then that’s fine. Thing is, even when you can’t answer the question, he still looks at you like that, like he’s watching his son.”

Ting Shuang had been a little worried about whether the others had seen through them as he listened to the first half of it, but after hearing the later half, he straight-up spit out a mouthful of water, “… Fuck, you said that he looks at me like he’s looking at his son?”

Song Xin ducked to the side as he continued joking about Ting Shuang, “From his gaze as he looked at you, didn’t you just feel… Fatherly love that’s as steady as the mountains?”

Fatherly love?

And it was even as steady as the fucking mountains?

Ting Shuang said, “Did you guys do a paternity test just from observing the look in his eyes? You found a father for me? You guys are just so amazing.”

“Ting Shuang, let me reenact it for you,” Song Xin approached Ting Shuang. He looked into Ting Shuang’s eyes, Song Xin’s gaze exuding tenderness and love, or so he thought. “Look, the way Prof. Bai looks at you is the way I’m looking at you now. Do you see the fatherly love in it?”

What kind of puppy eyes was Song Xin giving him?

Since when did Bai Laoban ever look at people like that?

Ting Shuang jokingly cursed, “Screw off, don’t come so close to me, it’s disgusting.”

Just after he said that, Ting Shuang suddenly realized that a few steps away, Bai Laoban was looking at them after tidying up the lecture notes and exiting the classroom. His body immediately stiffened and quickly distanced himself from Song Xin.

When Song Xin, who was imitating Prof. Bai, saw Bai Changyi himself, a chill ran down his spine. His expression immediately changed into a serious one, and he greeted him very politely,  “… Professor.”

Bai Changyi nodded to the both of them and walked towards the outside of the teaching building.

Ting Shuang did not have a good feeling about that.

“… I suddenly remembered that there was something I didn’t understand in class just now. I’ll go ask, you should go first.” After talking to Song Xin, Ting Shuang rushed to catch up with Bai Changyi and said in German, “Professor, I have one question.”

Bai Changyi kept walking, “Go on.”

Ting Shuang did not speak, only walked beside Bai Changyi in a very proper manner. After walking for a while, he saw that there were no Asian faces around, so he put on a serious expression as if discussing a purely academic matter and said in Chinese, “Babe, let’s eat lunch together at noon?”

Bai Changyi looked ahead, his expression just as serious, “I have time before 1pm.”

Ting Shuang said in an agent’s voice(1), “Then we’ll stick to that time. See you in the same old place?”