Lend Me Your Shoulder - Chapter 18
Chapter 18
With a slightly trembling yet reserved and restrained heart, Xu Yeyu lifted her leg and stepped into the home of Professor Lu, a place she had imagined many times before.
The home’s decoration was very simple, consistent with Lu Yanbai’s usual cool and gentle style. Although it was cool, it still made one feel comfortable.
She stood there, seemingly still able to smell the enticing scent of his loungewear coming from his room.
Lu Yanbai pushed open the bathroom door, pulled a hairdryer from the drawer, and plugged it in.
His long fingers pinched the handle and pressed two buttons, explaining to her, “This one is hot air, this one is cold air.”
“I know,” Xu Yeyu whispered in complaint, “Don’t treat me like a fool.”
Lu Yanbai nodded and handed the hairdryer to her, then turned to leave.
Xu Yeyu watched him leave the bathroom with a sense of ceremony. Lu Yanbai walked toward the door under her gaze, then paused and turned back to look at her, as if he had something to say.
Xu Yeyu raised her eyebrows, signaling with her eyes — any further instructions?
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he said, “…Use less cold air.”
Xu Yeyu was momentarily stunned, then nodded, “Okay.”
Until the man closed the door behind him, Xu Yeyu was lost in the delicate fantasy brought by that sentence—
He cared about her.
Because she got caught in the rain, using cold air to dry her hair might cause her to catch a cold, which was bad for her health.
Rounding it up, with her good math skills, Xu Yeyu thought to herself that Lu Yanbai must be madly in love with her.
She was very satisfied with this rounding and smiled like an auntie as she dried her clothes and hair.
Feeling like she had dried for a long time, Xu Yeyu tidied up and put the hairdryer back, then opened the bathroom door.
Lu Yanbai was sitting at the dining table in the living room, with a bowl of noodles in front of him.
Xu Yeyu glanced over and noticed another disposable bowl and chopsticks placed at a corner next to his seat.
Was that for her?
There probably weren’t any pets like dogs in his home, right?
She walked over naturally and sat down, softly asking him, “Is this… for me?”
He nodded.
The rain hadn’t stopped yet; if she didn’t eat now, she didn’t know when she would eat again. She had just gotten wet from the rain, so it was better to eat something hot quickly.
Since he was cooking noodles anyway, he made an extra portion for her; it was simple.
Thinking this, Lu Yanbai said, “I don’t know how much you’ll eat. If it’s not enough, I can add more.”
Xu Yeyu picked up some noodles with her chopsticks and quickly said, “Enough, enough. I’m easy to feed.”
After saying this, she felt like she was hinting at something, glanced at Lu Yanbai, then quickly lowered her head to eat.
Professor Lu was really homely. The noodles were soft yet elastic, paired with a sweet-and-sour tomato broth, it was like a spa for the taste buds.
She held the side of the bowl with her fingertips, feeling the heat spreading from the rim, her body slowly warming. She blankly thought that every time she felt cold, he would use his own way to give her warmth and strength.
After the rain stopped, Lu Yanbai sent her to the bottom of her apartment building.
He had a good memory and already remembered her apartment’s address after sending her off.
Closing the car door, Xu Yeyu waved at him through the window, “I’m off, Professor. See you tomorrow, thanks for today.”
He closed his eyes slightly in response. After watching her go upstairs, he turned and left the same way.
When Xu Yeyu returned, Xiang Wei was already home, sitting on the sofa snacking on sunflower seeds.
Seeing her back, Xiang Wei asked, “Are you okay? Did you get caught in the rain?”
“Yeah,” Xu Yeyu licked her lips and smiled faintly, “But I met Professor Lu. He took me in and brought me to his home.”
“That’s quite something!” Xiang Wei sat up. “You met him like that? And he brought you home? You got wet? Wet clothes and a private invite—didn’t anything happen between you two?”
Xu Yeyu blinked innocently, pretending not to understand, “What are you talking about? I don’t get it.”
Xiang Wei: “…”
Xu Yeyu went to the balcony to collect a towel and said to Xiang Wei, “Let’s not talk about that now. I’ll take a shower first and then tell you something important.”
After the shower, feeling refreshed and relaxed, Xu Yeyu dried her hair and asked Xiang Wei, “Do you know how to write public account posts?”
“Posts?” Xiang Wei tore open a cod fish stick, “I’ve never written any. Why are you asking me?”
“You’ve been looking for a job recently, I thought you’d know a bit about everything.”
“I’m looking for a job, not performing,” Xiang Wei raised her pinky, “Why this sudden question?”
Xu Yeyu honestly admitted, “I took on a post writing task for L University.”
Xiang Wei paused, “Nice! Now you not only dare to attend Professor Lu’s class but also dare to write posts. Your courage is growing. Aren’t you scared of being found out? Next step, moving into L University dorms?”
Xu Yeyu curled her lips.
“I didn’t want to… Another teacher asked Professor Lu to handle it, and brought two students along to ‘learn from Lu Yanbai.’ One of the students is a girl who doesn’t look like she’s just here to write posts; more like she’s here to get cozy.”
Xu Yeyu licked her lips and added, “She looked at Lu Yanbai like she was batting her eyelashes.”
“I took the chance and said I’d write the posts.”
Xiang Wei ate and said, “I told you, this kind of professor is popular. You didn’t believe me back then. Now, are you nervous?”
“Nervous, not really. More like a little bit of pressure,” Xu Yeyu smiled, “After all, I’m the girl Professor Lu gave a nickname to…”
The next second, she saw Xiang Wei holding out a piece of cod fish to her mouth.
Xiang Wei noticed her gaze and paused, mumbling with fish in her mouth, “What kind of death stare is that?”
Xu Yeyu pointed at the cod fish, “Don’t eat fried cod fish anymore.”
Xiang Wei: “How about grilled?”
“…”
“None at all. Cod fish is my kind.”
Xiang Wei didn’t get it, “Why is it your kind?”
“Remember that word guessing game? He gave me the nickname ‘Little Cod Fish,’” Xu Yeyu blinked, “That’s his mark on me.”
Xiang Wei: “…”
“Why did you really change your name? You’re so into this.”
“It’s not a game; it’s real,” Xu Yeyu drew a shape on her chest, “Real love.”
Xiang Wei: ???
“You’ve gotten addicted to dreaming, haven’t you?”
Xu Yeyu lightly hummed, “You don’t understand. I’m gradually conquering him. The conquest plan has started; how can success be far away?”
Xiang Wei looked confused, “Of course it will be. Why wouldn’t it?”
“…”
Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., Xu Yeyu arrived at L University with her laptop.
This was the first step of the conquest plan — frequently showing her presence around him.
Considering he had evening self-study tonight and would probably arrive early, she also just happened to have a post writing task, giving her a perfectly legitimate reason to see him.
She knocked on the door three times. Sure enough, his deep and hoarse voice came from inside: “Come in.”
Xu Yeyu pushed open the door; Lu Yanbai was busy at his computer.
She took the initiative to explain, “Um… about the posts, I have some unclear points, so I came to ask you.”
“Mm,” he nodded, showing no surprise at her arrival, “Give it to me.”
Xu Yeyu pulled a stool and sat beside him, able to faintly smell his subtle cold and almost imperceptible scent of cedarwood mixed with a hint of orange leaf.
After all this time, being this close to him in the office and smelling the faint fragrance on his fingertips seemed like a first.
The temperature of her cheeks quietly rose.
Lu Yanbai glanced at the post she wrote — fluent language, beautiful writing, clear theme, and engaging.
It was not overly ornate to the point of losing readability; her writing skills had indeed reached a masterful level.
“What don’t you understand?”
Xu Yeyu refocused and pointed to the parts she had highlighted in red: “I don’t know if these theories are correct or rigorous enough. Could you check and see if they need to be revised?”
After circling a few points for her, while she was revising, Lu Yanbai said, “This time you don’t have to write three posts, just two. Another one I assigned to a different teacher.”
“Ah? Why?”
Her serious question made him smile, “I’m easing your workload; aren’t you happy?”
“Oh,” she nodded, “You and another teacher are sharing it? So there will be data comparisons when the posts come out? Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you.”
He propped his chin with his hand, “Your goal is just not to embarrass me?”
She pressed her lips, thought for a moment, then said clearly, “I will bring you glory and write a stunning post that makes you proud wherever you go.”
“…”
After Xu Yeyu left, Lu Yanbai sent the post to Zhang Chenliang.
Soon, Zhang Chenliang personally came to his office, put his phone on the desk, and said, “Your student wrote well. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone write such an engaging post. Hah, worth her pay.”
“Must be heaven’s blessing, making something so dull so interesting.”
Seeing Lu Yanbai unmoved and recalling his recent words, Zhang Chenliang nudged him and gossiped, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t you find her a bit surprisingly good? Any changed opinions?”
After all, she was his student, and Zhang Chenliang was proud.
Lu Yanbai paused his work, raised his brow slightly, and appreciated, “She’s really not bad.”