novelraw Chapter 377: How Are You Here?
Chapter 377: How Are You Here?
"I definitely will, Boss, you can relax. Cheers everyone, cheers!" Huang Shi was very happy. Hearing Lin Feng speak like this, he knew he hadn’t taken offense. Since that was the case, they had to enjoy themselves tonight. He kept pouring drinks for Lin Feng and the other teachers, bringing life to the dinner table and stirring up the atmosphere.
"Cheers!"
"Huang Shi, thanks for treating us today."
"Take the chance to treat yourself sometime!"
"From now on we’re all colleagues, these things are no big deal. As long as we’re happy, that’s what matters."
...
Huang Shi chatted energetically with everyone at the office while at the table, steering the conversation towards topics everyone liked. Being among them, he didn’t show any of the bad habits of a rich young master. Seeing his approachable demeanor, teachers from the French department were even more delighted. They had not expected Huang Shi to be such an easygoing person. Having a congenial colleague like him was truly wonderful.
Gradually, the atmosphere around the table reached its peak. The teachers had eaten their fill and drunk plenty, their faces all aglow with happiness.
Huang Shi sat next to Lin Feng, only speaking to lighten the mood occasionally, or to have a few drinks with everyone, then sitting quietly by Lin Feng’s side, chatting softly with his Boss. He appeared very calm, and even when teachers came over to toast, he would merely stand, drink, and then immediately sit back down, never straying far from Lin Feng.
...
Before they knew it, the meal had progressed through several courses and a variety of flavors. Everyone had eaten their fill and drunk merrily, and the dinner party came to a close.
Since everyone had been drinking, and quite a bit at that, Huang Shi took the initiative to escort all the teachers into taxis and then returned to Lin Feng’s side.
"Boss, shall we head out?" Huang Shi took the initiative to ask Lin Feng, seeking his opinion on whether the Boss wanted to go home or elsewhere.
"Let’s head back to campus. You drive my car," Lin Feng decided after a moment, having forgotten to retrieve some items prepared for his senior sister. So he asked Huang Shi to drive him back to the university first.
However, seeing how Huang Shi had behaved that day, Lin Feng thought he had done quite well: generous, appropriate, and controlled. Even though Huang Shi had acted a bit extravagantly today, Lin Feng understood it was because he wanted to spend more time by his side. His intentions weren’t wrong, so Lin Feng couldn’t fault him. The only awkward part was having a student mingle among teachers as an assistant.
Overall, Lin Feng deemed Huang Shi to be a good person. Although some of his actions were a bit over the top, there were no fundamental errors in judgment, and overall, he handled matters quite well.
"Boss... Boss, did you say you want me to drive your car?" Upon hearing Lin Feng’s words, Huang Shi was incredibly surprised, barely containing his excitement, as nervous and flustered as a schoolboy attempting a task in front of his master for the first time. He couldn’t help but seek confirmation, worried he might have misheard, for the Boss’s words, though seemingly slight, carried significant meaning.
By allowing him to drive his car, the Boss showed that he truly accepted him. Otherwise, the Boss wouldn’t have made such a proposition, as most people consider their car as personal as their clothing and wouldn’t casually let others drive it. Thus, these words from the Boss meant he truly acknowledged Huang Shi.
Huang Shi was ecstatic, all his efforts over the past few days finally bearing fruit. Being accepted by the Boss was the best reward he could hope for. At this thought, Huang Shi looked into Lin Feng’s eyes, trying to ascertain whether Lin Feng was merely speaking out of inebriation. If not, then he...
"You don’t need to be this nervous, just relax," Lin Feng said, seeing how tense Huang Shi was, and urged him to be more at ease.
"Yes, Boss, I got a little too excited," Huang Shi replied, his voice trembling with emotion as he started the car. With a steady startup, he drove smoothly toward Yingbo University.
"From now on, don’t be so extravagant. Just be natural and take things as they come," Lin Feng advised, looking at Huang Shi’s restrained demeanor with a mix of feelings.
"Okay, Boss, I’ll try to keep it under control."
"Good, that’s better. So Huang Shi, who’s in your family?"
"I have a younger brother who’s nine years younger than me, then there are my parents and my grandparents."
"Oh, what do you plan to do by my side from now on?"
"I haven’t thought that much, I just want to be by Boss’s side."
...
On the way back to Yingbo University, Lin Feng actively chatted with Huang Shi about anything and everything, roughly understanding Huang Shi’s family situation and some basic stuff. Huang Shi also heard the hidden meaning in Lin Feng’s words and told him everything without reservations. As they talked, they didn’t realize the car had already arrived below the French department’s teaching building.
However, to Lin Feng and Huang Shi’s surprise, as soon as they got out of the car, they saw Ding Wan’er at the teaching building. It was already so late, what was Ding Wan’er doing here?
...
With her birthday drawing near, Ding Wan’er’s mood had become more and more irritable because she was constantly thinking about how to invite Lin Feng in the most appropriate way. It was normal for Grandpa to ask her to invite him to her birthday party. After all, on her birthday, she would definitely invite some people from the school, along with some close friends, so inviting Lin Feng to her birthday party was quite the normal thing to do. But why was she becoming more and more restless inside?
After much thought, Ding Wan’er finally understood the source of her restlessness. It was because of Grandpa. She always had a nervous fear, scared that if Grandpa really told Lin Feng about that matter and Lin Feng didn’t acknowledge it, didn’t like her, what would she do then? In that case, Ding Wan’er really wouldn’t know what to do. Now, she was truly afraid, afraid that after Grandpa spoke to Lin Feng, it might result in a bad outcome.
On one hand, Ding Wan’er was afraid that if she didn’t come clean about her relationship with Lin Feng, she might truly lose him. After all, two girls had already confessed to Lin Feng before, and she couldn’t drag things out anymore. If she continued to drag it out, she might even lose her status as his fiancée.
On the other hand, Ding Wan’er was equally afraid that if she revealed their relationship and Lin Feng didn’t accept her, what would she do then? So many young and beautiful girls were always around him, and she didn’t feel she had any outstanding qualities compared to them. The possibility was indeed quite high.
These two complex emotions were entangled in her mind, making Ding Wan’er feel extremely uncomfortable, very depressed, and incredibly irritable.
As evening arrived, Ding Wan’er couldn’t stand the torment any longer. With nothing particular to do, she went out for a walk, hoping to calm her mood and thoroughly figure out how she should handle her relationship with Lin Feng.
However, she didn’t expect to find herself at the language school, and what were the odds of running into Lin Feng and Huang Shi there, especially so late in the evening... what were they doing back here...
"It’s so late, why are you here?" Lin Feng saw Ding Wan’er wandering alone from a distance and felt particularly puzzled. He had already told Ding Wan’er that he was going out for dinner and wouldn’t be able to pick her up after work. How did she end up at the language college’s office building? Besides, it was way past working hours, and even if she came to find Leng Mei, that was impossible too since Leng Mei would’ve already left. So what was Ding Wan’er doing here so late?
"I...I don’t have anything specific to do, just taking a stroll. I don’t know how I ended up here. By the way, didn’t you say you were going out to eat? Why did you come back?" Seeing Lin Feng questioning her, Ding Wan’er panicked for a moment. She steadied her emotions before counter questioning Lin Feng. They had said that they were going out to eat tonight. Why had they returned to the school so late, and how coincidental it was to bump into each other.
Ding Wan’er had just come here for a walk and had never expected to meet them. All that was on her mind until now was about Lin Feng. How could this be such a coincidence!
"We’ve just finished eating. We’ve come back to the school to pick up some things, then we’re heading home. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading upstairs." Lin Feng had always felt that Ding Wan’er was acting odd lately, sometimes speaking in a roundabout manner as if holding back something, but he couldn’t ask more without her saying anything.
With that in mind, Lin Feng simply told Ding Wan’er his intentions and prepared to head upstairs to fetch those things, for standing there and simply gazing wasn’t solving anything.
"There’s nothing, go on with your work," Ding Wan’er heard Lin Feng say this and blurted out the words, gesturing for Lin Feng to leave.
But as soon as she finished speaking, Ding Wan’er regretted it. Her birthday was in two days, and she had to invite him to her birthday party. She had to be upfront with Lin Feng about their situation sooner or later, and considering the current circumstances, she couldn’t delay any further. Ding Wan’er felt that if she didn’t use this opportunity to come clean with Lin Feng, she wouldn’t have the courage to tell him face-to-face. And since she had to invite Lin Feng to the party eventually, she might as well invite him now to stop all the pointless overthinking.
"Lin...Lin Feng." Ding Wan’er saw Lin Feng already stepping up the stairs and hurriedly called out to stop him. But she was overwhelmed by a sudden nervousness and worry, a mix of complex emotions that made Ding Wan’er feel very strange. Why couldn’t she speak fluently even the simplest things now?
"Hmm? What is it?" Lin Feng, hearing Ding Wan’er call him, quickly halted his step that had just reached the stairs, his eyes focused on Ding Wan’er, wanting to know why she had stopped him.
"Lin...Lin Feng, I invite you to my birthday party. No, my Grandpa invites you to my birthday party. Can you come?" Ding Wan’er was a bit nervous at this moment, nothing like her usual authoritative principal self, her heart racing uncontrollably, not knowing whether Lin Feng would attend her birthday party.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, Ding Wan’er realized something was off. It was obviously Grandpa who was inviting Lin Feng. Why had she suddenly said that it was she inviting him? She also didn’t know what he would think or if he could attend her birthday party. If he couldn’t attend, she would never be able to explain it to Grandpa. What then?
Now, Ding Wan’er’s mind was incessantly guessing; if Lin Feng did come, how would Grandpa talk to Lin Feng about that matter? If Lin Feng found out she was his fiancée, how would he treat their relationship...