Chang Jingwan's movement was stiff when she turned around to look at Ruan Zeer.

Chang Jingwan had to twist and lift her head like she was making a braided dough due to the height difference between her in a sitting position and the standing Ruan Zeer, which felt slightly painful.

Ruan Zeer smiled faintly and stared at Chang Jingwan with raised eyebrows. At that instant, the ladies in the lecture hall were infatuated with such a warm smile and even Xu Lele, who was sitting beside Chang Jingwan, failed to avert her gaze away.

A random voice emerged out of nowhere. "You're so handsome!"

Ruan Zeer was giving a lecture initially, but the fact that Chang Jingwan was caught using her phone in the middle of the class had attracted the attention of all students. There was a pin-drop silence and none of them uttered a word while waiting for the show to continue.

The whole room burst into laughter upon hearing the random and sudden voice.

The corner of Ruan Zeer's lips twitched uncontrollably in response. He glanced at Chang Jingwan, whose face had turned into the color of a ripe strawberry, before shifting his gaze to her phone's screen which showed Qi Youning's name. Then, with a smile, he placed the phone on his ear. "Youning."

"Uncle! Why're you there too? Are you with Aunt Jingwan? Are you guys dating?" Little Youning blurted out the questions in excitement.

The other kid's eyes shone brightly as they stared at Little Youning.

The thrilled Little Xicheng yelled all of a sudden, "Suspicious!"

Ruan Zeer's lips twitched before replying, "I'm giving a lecture and coincidentally, your Aunt Jingwan is in my classroom right now."

"Oh." Ruan Zeer's response dampened Little Youning's enthusiasm.

Ruan Zeer found Little Youning's response funny and asked, "Why did you disturb your aunt when she's in the class?"

"We're on our way to your school right now! Bring… bring some money and prepare to welcome us later!" answered Little Youning on the main topic.

"Okay. I'm in the class right now so I'll give you a call when we're done," said Ruan Zeer.

Ruan Zeer made no attempt in returning the phone to the owner after ending the call. Instead, his expression became stern as he put the phone into his pocket and said, "Student, please don't use your phone during the lecture. Is my handsomeness incomparable to your phone?"

This was Chang Jingwan's reaction at that instant: "w(ﾟДﾟ)w"

"..." The rest of the students were dumbfounded.

Xu Lele was aware of Chang Jingwan's relationship with Ruan Zeer. When Ruan Zeer was returning to the podium, she pulled Chang Jingwan's sleeve repeatedly and finally pulled her mind back into reality.

"Look at your phone," whispered Xu Lele after Chang Jingwan turned to look at her.

The lecturers would usually deliver their lectures using the microphone on the podium in a huge lecture hall. Thus, it was difficult for the students to communicate with each other, since the lecturers might hear them if their voice was too loud, and they would be unable to hear each other if the voice was too soft.

This was the reason why Chang Jingwan and Xu Lele would still use WeChat for communication purpose even though the duo were sitting very closely to each other.

"..." Chang Jingwan whispered, "My phone has been confiscated."

"Oh, I forgot. I'm used to chatting with you on WeChat during the lectures," replied Xu Lele. She put this matter aside and continued her gossip. "Whatever Ruan Zeer mentioned just now sounds like there's something fishy going on between you two."

Ruan Zeer's voice through the microphone was loud enough to conceal Xu Lele's whisper. Thus, no one heard her voice except Chang Jingwan who was leaning against her head-to-head.

Chang Jingwan's lips twitched uncontrollably. "You wanted me to look at my WeChat message because of this?"

"Yes," Xu Lele nodded innocently.

Chang Jingwan failed to muster a response out of embarrassment. Suddenly, a bad hunch gnawed at her, and she stared at the podium quickly and vigilantly while resting her head on both arms on the table.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Xu Lele softly, since Chang Jingwan's current position appeared especially unnatural and awkward.

"Stop messing around. What do you think will happen if he sees us?" replied Chang Jingwan furtively.

"..." Xu Lele could not refrain from criticizing Chang Jingwan's current brainpower silently. How could an intelligent girl act like an idiot?

"You're in a lecture, so it's only natural for you to sit up straight and look at the lecturer, alright?" said Xu Lele while feeling speechless. She had forgotten to lower her voice and thus, a male student beside her overheard this statement.

The male student snorted and covered his mouth quickly with his fist, pretending to listen to the lecture attentively when Xu Lele shifted her gaze on him.

Chang Jingwan's muscles stiffened instantly when she noticed Ruan Zeer reaching into his pocket to take her phone out, perhaps after feeling its vibration in the pocket.

Blush started to burn through her cheeks as she stared at her phone which was transferred from Ruan Zeer's pocket to his clean and elegant hand.

Her phone was merely a thin fabric away from direct skin contact when it was in Ruan Zeer's pocket, and she could even feel the warmth radiating directly from his body at this moment.

Not only did her face feel hot, but Chang Jingwan could also feel the heat spreading throughout her entire body. She tried to hide her rosy features behind her slim fingers and merely allowed her gaze to go through the gaps between her fingers and the heads of all students before her. Then, she noticed Ruan Zeer pressing his thumb on her phone's Home button for a while and seemingly unlocked it successfully with his fingerprint.

Wait, how could Ruan Zeer unlock her phone with his fingerprint?

This was Chang Jingwan's reaction at that point in time: (°ー°〃)

An attractive smile formed on Ruan Zeer's face as he poked on the screen multiple times after unlocking the phone.

Then, Chang Jingwan felt Ruan Zeer's gaze on her but unsure if it was merely her imagination. Despite the assumption that she was decently protected by the students before her, the guilty conscience persisted in her heart when Ruan Zeer shifted his gaze over as if she was locked-on on his radar.

After that, Ruan Zeer pretended as if nothing had happened and placed the phone back into his pocket before continuing the lecture. Perhaps the gaze Chang Jingwan felt just now was just an illusion after all.

Curiosity overwhelmed a female student as she raised her hand and interrupted the lecture. "Senior Ruan."

Ruan Zeer scanned through the crowd calmly and said, "Please address me as Teacher Ruan during lectures."

"Yes, Teacher Ruan." The female student was particularly compliant with instructions.

"Any question?" asked Ruan Zeer.

Ruan Zeer's kindness and elegance fuelled the female student's courage and she asked loudly, "Teacher Ruan, can you explain your relationship with Chang Jingwan? Both of you seem very closely associated."

Rumors about them were spreading in the university ever since Ruan Zeer called out to Chang Jingwan's name when taking attendance in every lecture. This habit persisted for quite a long time and thus, every student, no matter the courses, recognized her eventually.

Ruan Zeer's act basically made Chang Jingwan well-known in the university.

Chang Jingwan had no choice but to swallow her tears silently. She did not desire such a reputation, alright? ┭┮﹏┭┮

To be honest, the whole class was curious about Ruan Zeer's relationship with Chang Jingwan especially after the incident just now.

Ruan Zeer did not feel offended by the question and smiled in response. "Our relationship is complicated and it's a long story, so best if we don't waste time here. Back to the lecture—"

Xu Lele winked at Chang Jingwan. "I think he's actually trying to muddy the waters on purpose so that the crowds will continue the misunderstanding further."

"..." Chang Jingwan was at a loss for words.

"Perhaps it isn't a misunderstanding after all. Look at how he must check for your attendance in his every lecture, and he recognizes your voice too! You can't hide from him, because he'll definitely know when someone else takes your place and marks for your attendance. Besides, he always looks at you from afar during the lectures. Hey, I think he actually wants to make sure that you're present in his lectures so that he can take a good look at you. That's why he calls out to your name every time. Come to think of it, I think he's actually covering up the fact that he wants to see you whenever he scans through the crowd," continued Xu Lele.

"..." Chang Jingwan failed to muster a reply.

"Don't just keep quiet, I really think it's true. Hey, it's quite romantic if you guys keep it that way," said Xu Lele happily.

"Have you been reading romance novels recently?" complained Chang Jingwan.

"..." Chang Jingwan was so smart at times, but there was no way Xu Lele would admit the truth. "Don't change the topic!"

"I wasn't trying to, but your brain is so full of romance fantasy right now. It'll be a pity if you don't jot down your fantasy quickly," replied Chang Jingwan calmly.

"F*ck you!" said Xu Lele.

…

…

Ruan Zeer took an unprecedented act by sitting on the chair in a relaxed manner after the class was over instead of packing up his belongings and leaving the lecture hall immediately.

Ruan Zeer would usually dash out of the lecture hall as soon as the class was over out of worry that the female students may chase after him for playful teases or confessions.

However, none of the female students went to tease Ruan Zeer after the unusual romance that happened then. The only reason they took their time lingering in the lecture hall instead of leaving was to watch the follow-up progress of that particular romance.

Stress overwhelmed Chang Jingwan. She took her bag and dragged Xu Lele away quickly, trying to escape such intense pressure through the back door of the lecture hall.

When Chang Jingwan was walking toward the back door, a gentle tap on the microphone brought her into a halt. Then, an amplified voice from Ruan Zeer traveled to her ears. "Jingwan, don't you want to wait for me?"

"..." Chang Jingwan was at a loss for words.

"Your phone's still with me," said Ruan Zeer calmly.

"..." Chang Jingwan remained speechless.

"I told Youning that we'll be waiting for her at the main entrance together," Ruan Zeer continued.

"..." Chang Jingwan admitted defeat.