After a One-Night Stand with a Seductive Bad Woman - Chapter 14

Rong Yi glanced at Shi Mengxi, who was smiling awkwardly across from her, then turned her gaze directly to Lu Jia.

Her eyes remained as calm as ever, yet they held an unfathomable darkness beneath their surface.

The two students before her—the former having betrayed Lu Jia’s confidence and now cowering like a quail, the latter shrinking back, also resembling a quail.

Rong Yi subtly glanced at Sheng Shubai, who was holding Lu Jia’s wrist.

Hmm, he’s holding her wrist.

Noticing Rong Yi’s gaze, the woman deliberately flexed her fingers, lightly grasping Lu Jia’s hand—interlocking their fingers.

Rong Yi didn’t believe her student was at fault.

It was clear this woman had forced the gesture. Hadn’t Lu Jia tried to pull away and failed?

“Professor Sheng, when do you plan to release my student?” Rong Yi asked calmly.

It had been years since she’d last spoken to this ordinary colleague. Behind her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes remained as still as a deep well, as if stating a simple fact.

My student.

Hearing the emphasis on those two words, Sheng Shubai’s beautiful peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly.

Sheng Shubai smiled, his lips curving into a mocking grin. “Professor Rong, you’re such a devoted mentor. Do you even care where your students go in their private time?”

Rong Yi nodded. “It’s simply my duty as a teacher.”

Sheng Shubai’s eyebrows arched, her tone sharp and confrontational. “And what about at home, Professor Rong? Do you intend to supervise there as well?”

Lu Jia winced at the painful grip on her arm. Her delicate skin bruised easily; it was likely already red and tender. She surreptitiously stroked the back of Sheng Shubai’s hand, using the angle to hide her conciliatory gesture. She gently smoothed the woman’s ruffled feathers, hoping to calm the simmering tension.

Sheng Shubai’s words were deliberately ambiguous and suggestive.

Rong Yi frowned, her voice uncertain as she turned to Lu Jia. “…At home?”

“Yes, I’m currently staying in one of Professor Sheng’s apartments.”

Finally given a chance to speak, Lu Jia’s voice trembled in the still-tense atmosphere. She quickly added, “It’s in the same complex I mentioned earlier, Professor Rong—we’re right across the hall from each other.”

Empty apartment, across the hall, not living together.

Rong Yi’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, though a hint of displeasure remained.

“Lu Jia, you—”

“What? Is my place some kind of den for monsters? Unfit for habitation?”

Sheng Shubai spoke first, her tone laced with provocation.

Still inside the academy building, Rong Yi didn’t want to argue with this woman. She frowned. “Xiao Lu, why haven’t you ever mentioned renting a house from a teacher at the academy?”

How could I possibly mention it? Lu Jia thought to herself.

“If Student Shi can live under the same roof as you, why can’t Lu Jia and I live across the hall from each other?”

Sheng Shubai released Lu Jia’s wrist and affectionately draped an arm around her shoulder. “Lu Jia and I get along very well. We’re quite satisfied with being—neighbors.”

The deliberate emphasis on “being” thickened the suggestive undertones of her words.

Lu Jia, feeling guilty, listened with a pounding heart.

Just moments ago, Miss Sheng warned me to watch what I said in the academy building. What’s changed now…?

Rong Yi didn’t suspect anything untoward. However, the thought of her model student living right across the hall from Sheng Shubai darkened her expression.

“Xiao Lu, I happen to have something to discuss with you,” Rong Yi said, quickly inventing a reason to keep her there. “Regarding the intaglio technique we talked about last time, Meng Xi finished a suitable semi-finished piece a few days ago. I’ll explain it to both of you later.”

Lu Jia hesitated for a few seconds, but Sheng Shubai readily released her shoulder. “Since Professor Rong wants to guide her students, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

She hooked her fingers around Lu Jia’s palm, tapped her fingertips against it a few times, and winked at the girl in front of Rong Yi. “I’ll be waiting in the car.”

Her tone was light and airy, with a hint of seductive playfulness in her voice.

Having already promised to go home together, Lu Jia didn’t consider refusing. She nodded in agreement. “Okay.”

Rong Yi’s face darkened further.

Lu Jia and Shi Mengxi followed closely behind her.

Upon reaching the studio door, Shi Mengxi, sensing her mentor’s gaze, instinctively waited outside.

The studio door closed softly, and the evening light filtering through the window cast the room into a dimness, creating an inexplicably heavy atmosphere.

“…Xiao Lu, you should really try to keep your distance from Professor Sheng.”

Rong Yi spoke with forced objectivity. “Her personality is just like that—she enjoys teasing young girls. She acts this way with many people. If she says anything to you—it’s all just a joke. Don’t take it seriously.”

Having spent over a decade at C University, from student to professor, the two women had remained at the Academy of Fine Arts, their paths diverging only after graduate studies.

Rong Yi knew Sheng Shubai’s unreliable personality all too well.

Moreover, she had personally witnessed how Sheng Shubai had spoken flippantly to her own younger sister years ago.

She had indeed been furious earlier.

They had never seen eye to eye over the years, and their occasional arguments were nothing to dwell on.

But Lu Jia was still young, only a first-year graduate student.

Even though she had heard rumors about Lu Jia’s appearance matching Sheng Shubai’s preferences, Rong Yi couldn’t believe that this woman’s deliberate advances could be anything other than insincere, given her own strained relationship with Sheng Shubai.

If Lu Jia couldn’t resist those teasing words and, living right across the hall, fell headfirst into this illusory whirlpool, what then?

Professor and student—how could that ever be right?

Lu Jia nodded. “I understand.”

“…As long as you know your limits.”

Rong Yi never spoke ill of others behind their backs, offering only a few pointed remarks.

Having interacted with Lu Jia recently, she had gained a clear understanding of her character.

Completely absorbed in printmaking, Lu Jia had little interest in romance or even casual social interactions. If she hadn’t organized a few gatherings, she might not have even known her Senior Sisters or classmates.

Since she couldn’t control Sheng Shubai’s behavior, Lu Jia could only hope that this rough gem would awaken later rather than sooner.

At least not be easily swayed by a few sweet words from a manipulative woman.

Rong Yi held her thermos, sipping chrysanthemum tea to clear heat and dispel fire. “Go open the door and let Meng Xi in too.”

Lu Jia turned to leave, then paused, remembering something.

She turned back, her tone earnest. “Professor, Professor Sheng is actually a very good person. She’s been very kind to me. She’s not as… improper as you make her out to be.”

Lu Jia hesitated for two seconds, searching for an appropriate word.

Though she didn’t know the details of their past, she had firsthand experience of Sheng Shubai’s character.

She often went to bars to pick Sheng Shubai up, witnessing her chatting animatedly with various women in booths, yet never observing any inappropriate physical contact.

Just as the women had shared stories of their pasts, they had only ever been with each other.

Their first kiss had been tentative but eager, and though Sheng Shubai was naturally gifted, it took several nights before she moved with obvious ease and confidence.

Lu Jia didn’t believe Sheng Shubai was someone who took things lightly.

Nor did she think that the intimate gestures they shared—beyond the usual teasing banter—were merely “jokes,” as Rong Yi claimed.

Their relationship was a serious contractual agreement, and these moments were genuine.

Knowing her mentor’s rigid personality, Lu Jia suspected she had many misunderstandings about Sheng Shubai and tried to explain things from her perspective.

Rong Yi fell silent.

She wished Lu Jia were joking.

Realizing her words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, Rong Yi sighed, paused to compose herself, and then tried a different approach, speaking earnestly:

“But she’s still a professor, and you’re still a student. Maintaining some distance is more appropriate.”

The door had already opened.

Shi Mengxi, who had been waiting just outside, overheard this last remark.

She lowered her head, clutching her phone. The fingers gripping its edge curled slightly, concealing the shadow of disappointment in her eyes.