After a One-Night Stand with a Seductive Bad Woman - Chapter 13

Graduate school life was much as Lu Jia had imagined.

 

Her first-year courses focused on foundational techniques, with university-wide electives taking up much of her time. She hadn’t chosen many specialized electives.

 

She had initially hesitated between watercolor and pastel classes.

 

But when she learned that Sheng Shubai would be teaching watercolor this semester, she decisively switched to pastel.

 

The pastel class was taught by a young and beautiful professor from the Oil Painting Department, and Lu Jia had barely managed to secure a spot.

 

Today was only their second class. Glancing out the window, Lu Jia noticed Sheng Shubai leaning against the corridor railing outside the door, as if waiting for someone.

 

Lu Jia’s heart skipped a beat, puzzled.

 

They rarely interacted openly at school, and Sheng Shubai never sought her out. What was this…?

 

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Professor Ji finished assigning the practice exercises and left the podium with leisurely grace.

 

Then, Lu Jia saw the woman outside wave at Ji Jinnian with a radiant smile, and the two walked side-by-side toward the elevators.

 

So, she wasn’t here for me after all, Lu Jia realized.

 

I knew it. We agreed to act less familiar at school. Why would Sheng Shubai come looking for me without even saying hello?

 

It was already noon, and remembering she had a black-and-white woodcut due in a few days, Lu Jia decided not to return to her rented apartment and instead headed back to her studio to finish it as quickly as possible.

 

Once she got busy, she forgot to check her phone.

 

When she finally went to open a food delivery app, she discovered her phone had died sometime earlier.

 

The newly sharpened carving knife felt awkward in her hand, and she accidentally sliced her fingertip, drawing a bead of crimson bl00d.

 

Lu Jia hadn’t cut herself with a carving knife in ages, and to make matters worse, she’d forgotten to bring her protective gloves today.

 

Rummaging through the first-aid kit, she found that the gauze and bandages had been used up by her classmates last time, but she still had iodine and cotton swabs. After treating the wound, Lu Jia ordered new medical supplies before finally checking her messages.

 

They were from Sheng Shubai, the earliest one sent around 1:00 PM:

 

“Lu Jia, are you free this afternoon? Want to go swimming? I’ll pick you up.”

 

Sheng Shubai owned a detached villa in a suburban residential area south of the city, complete with a spacious and clean private pool. She had mentioned several times taking Lu Jia swimming to avoid the crowded school pool.

 

But something had always come up, preventing them from going.

 

About ten minutes later, Sheng Shubai sent another message: “Busy? Still at the studio?”

 

The most recent message, sent half an hour ago, was a voice note. Sheng Shubai’s voice carried a mix of exasperation and amusement:

 

After ruffling the child’s hair, Sheng Shubai straightened up and saw another delivery driver enter. The driver placed the takeout order on the nearby shelf.

 

“Hello, I’ve left the delivery on the first-floor shelf,” the driver said into their phone.

 

Sheng Shubai glanced at the packaging, noticing the prominent “Meituan Pharmacy” logo, but paid it little attention. Just as she was about to head upstairs, she heard a voice coming from the driver’s phone speaker.

 

The familiar, soft voice landed in her ears: “Okay, thank you for your trouble.”

 

That voice… was it Lu Jia?

 

Sheng Shubai froze in her tracks, but the call had already ended, and the delivery driver hurried out.

 

She checked the information on the takeout packaging. The recipient was Ms. Lu, and the last four digits of the phone number matched Lu Jia’s contact information.

 

The order contents listed: bandages, gauze, and adhesive bandages.

 

Sheng Shubai’s brow furrowed slightly. She picked up the delivery and headed for the elevator.

 

The elevator happened to be descending and stopped on the first floor. Lu Jia was the only passenger inside.

 

Lu Jia was looking down at her phone when the screen was suddenly blocked. Startled, she looked up and met Sheng Shubai’s gaze.

 

“Are you… hurt?”

 

Sheng Shubai held out the takeout packaging, but just as Lu Jia reached for it, she pulled it back.

 

She frowned, her eyes fixed on Lu Jia’s right hand.

 

The wound had been simply treated, stained a dark iodine color.

 

The slender cut, though not deep enough to reach the bone, stretched several centimeters long, clearly the mark of a carving knife. It ran from the fingertip of her index finger to the side, with faint traces of bl00d still seeping through.

 

The skin on the fingertip was delicate, and the cut happened to cross a joint, making it prone to further injury with any exertion.

 

“Professor Sheng?”

 

Lu Jia was taken aback by her cold, focused expression, her voice softening slightly. “Um… my things.”

 

Sheng Shubai said nothing, striding into the elevator and pressing the button for the printmaking studio’s floor.

 

When the woman led her by the wrist to the studio door, Sheng Shubai tilted her chin. “Open it.”

 

“Oh,” Lu Jia replied, obediently reaching for the keypad.

 

Before she could lift her hand, Sheng Shubai tightened her grip on her wrist, her dark eyes pressing down. “Use your left hand.”

 

Lu Jia paused, then nodded. “Okay.”

 

She leaned in to enter the code, making no attempt to shield her movements from Sheng Shubai.

 

The studio was sparsely furnished, and the password was simple—nothing to hide.

 

Yet Sheng Shubai deliberately turned her head away, her gaze drifting to the end of the corridor. The tiled floor reflected the pale, approaching twilight.

 

C University Academy of Fine Arts was built with extraordinary grandeur, its ten-plus stories sprawling across a vast campus.

 

The printmaking and sculpture departments required significantly more workspace than the oil painting and watercolor departments. In addition to each mentor’s main studio, every graduate student was assigned their own small studio, eliminating the need to share space with others.

 

“The password… you should be careful not to let anyone see it.”

 

After entering, Sheng Shubai lowered her head to unpack the takeout, gesturing for Lu Jia to sit down. She spread her palm flat on the table.

 

The woman’s tone had been off since they met, her gaze lingering on Lu Jia’s wound for an unnervingly long time. Now, her words carried an even darker undertone.

 

Puzzled, Lu Jia nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

 

“How did you accidentally cut yourself?”

 

The wound was too long for a bandage; the gauze and medical tape Sheng Shubai had bought on a whim proved unexpectedly useful.

 

Not long ago, Lu Jia had earnestly told her how careful she always was, claiming she hadn’t cut herself in ages.

 

Sheng Shubai lowered her gaze, re-disinfecting Lu Jia’s wound.

 

She carefully wrapped the gauze around Lu Jia’s finger, mindful of both securing it properly and avoiding excessive pressure that might hurt the girl. She glanced up, studying Lu Jia’s expression.

 

She paused again, then withdrew her gaze.

 

How could I forget that this child is always like a piece of wood, never showing any expression?

 

Lu Jia watched the woman’s slender, nimble fingers, her tone nonchalant. “I just got a new carving knife and haven’t gotten used to it yet. I accidentally cut myself.”

 

Following Lu Jia’s gaze, Sheng Shubai noticed the carving knife lying beside her.

 

It lay quietly on the table, stained with a faint, almost invisible trace of bl00d.

 

The scene overlapped with similar memories from her past.

 

The hand that had just finished applying the bandage froze, Sheng Shubai’s fingers unconsciously tightening.

 

The pressure on the wound made Lu Jia hiss softly.

 

Sheng Shubai snapped back to reality. “…I’m sorry.”

 

She withdrew her hand, reluctantly tearing her gaze away from the knife.

 

Her fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly as she lowered her voice. “You should do it yourself. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

 

With only a few more wraps left, Lu Jia rotated her wrist and flexed her fingers a couple of times. Of all the places to get injured, it had to be her right index finger—how inconvenient.

 

They had originally planned to meet at Sheng Shubai’s place again tonight.

 

Lu Jia touched the thick bandage wrapped around her finger, her voice troubled. “Miss Sheng, tonight—”

 

Sheng Shubai cut her off. “You don’t need to come.”

 

After a pause, she added, “Until the wound heals, you don’t need to… come over.”

 

Lu Jia grew anxious. “I can use my left hand! Or my tongue—”

 

Before she could finish, Sheng Shubai swiftly covered her mouth.

 

Her beautiful peach blossom eyes glared at the “Woody” before she moved toward the door. Sheng Shubai lifted the window curtain, glanced left and right, and only exhaled in relief when she saw the corridor was empty.

 

“Don’t say such things at school,” she warned, tapping Lu Jia’s head with unusual force, pushing her back against the chair.

 

Lu Jia obediently replied, “I understand.”

 

Seeing Sheng Shubai begin to tidy up the medicine on the table, Lu Jia offered to help, but was immediately met with a glare. “You’re injured. Just sit still.”

 

Lu Jia rubbed her nose and obediently remained seated. “Miss Sheng, what should we have for dinner tonight?”

 

The table was covered with reference images and numerous printed drafts.

 

Lu Jia noticed Sheng Shubai’s gaze lingering on the materials for a long moment without moving. She leaned over to peek and said, “These are the documents you sent me last week. I haven’t shown them to anyone else.”

 

Sheng Shubai hummed in acknowledgment.

 

Ever since giving Lu Jia that first USB drive, Sheng Shubai had been regularly compiling reference materials for the young artist. Most of these were works by her aunt that had never been publicly released.

 

Sheng Shubai thought that if her aunt could see from beyond the grave that such a talented and stylistically compatible student was using her art for reference, she wouldn’t mind. At least… it was better than letting that plagiarizing thief profit from her work.

 

After packing everything into storage boxes, Sheng Shubai closed her eyes briefly to suppress her emotions before turning around. “Let’s go home and have some porridge.”

 

Lu Jia: ?

 

She paused. “Didn’t we say we were going downtown?”

 

Sheng Shubai glanced at her. “With your injured hand, you still want to use a knife and fork?”

 

Lu Jia pondered for a moment. It seemed possible to use cutlery without relying on her index finger. But Sheng Shubai’s aura today was particularly imposing, so she fell silent, not daring to argue. “Okay.”

 

After gathering her belongings, Lu Jia slung her bag over her shoulder and let Sheng Shubai lead her out of the studio by the hand.

 

She glanced down at the woman’s hand gripping her wrist tightly, as if afraid she might get lost.

 

I just have a small cut on my hand, not a broken leg or a head injury that’s made me lose my way. Is this level of care really necessary? Lu Jia thought to herself.

 

Before she could voice her thoughts, Shi Mengxi rounded the corner and walked toward them.

 

The moment she saw their intimate gesture, she visibly froze, her gaze darting back and forth between Lu Jia and Sheng Shubai.

 

“Senior Sister,” Lu Jia greeted politely.

 

Shi Mengxi paused. “Xiao Lu, what a coincidence.” She nodded stiffly at Sheng Shubai, forcing a strained smile. “Professor Sheng.”

 

Ever since Lu Jia had claimed she wasn’t close to Sheng Shubai, Shi Mengxi had run into them walking side-by-side the very next day, with her junior sister even getting into Professor Sheng’s car.

 

After secretly inquiring, she learned that Lu Jia was renting one of Sheng Shubai’s apartments, making them neighbors.

 

At the time, Shi Mengxi had kindly warned her to keep it a secret from Director Rong.

 

But how long had it been since then? Now they were holding hands, right here in the academy building.

 

Couldn’t they at least try to hide it?

 

Hesitantly, she glanced at Lu Jia and pointed to another studio nearby. “Um… Director Rong is in my studio.”

 

Hearing this, Sheng Shubai immediately tugged Lu Jia forward. “Then we’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

 

“Professor Sheng, why are you in such a hurry? Where are you taking my student?”

 

A cold, authoritative female voice rang out from behind them.