Chapter 33: Heat Cycle p1
The first meeting lasted three hours.
As it concluded, Ming Fei, who had been extremely focused throughout, took off her silver-framed glasses.
As Ming Fei rubbed her eyes with her right hand, Teacher Wen asked her in a low voice,
“Xiao Fei, are you leaving first?”
“Mm?”
Teacher Wen explained, “We usually have lunch together after the meeting, but we all know you’re not used to these kinds of dinners, so it’s fine if you want to go back.”
Ming Fei lowered her right hand, her clear almond eyes slightly clouded.
Should she leave or stay?
If she chose to leave, she could try the food she’d been wanting to eat, and after that, stroll along the street to the shores of Lake New Gela. The shops there were full of folk crafts, and she could pick out some gifts for Ming Zaozao.
If she chose to stay, not only would the atmosphere be awkward and the food tasteless, but she might also have to face those who kept giving her unfriendly looks.
After some thought, Ming Fei put her glasses back in their case.
“Then I’ll go back first,” she said. “Thank you, Teacher Wen.”
“What’s there to thank me for?” Teacher Wen patted her shoulder. “I’ll just tell Professor Qin. Be careful on your way back.”
“Mm.” Ming Fei smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
Leaving the conference room, Ming Fei went down to the first floor alone. As she walked along the corridor towards Crescent Moon Lake, her phone vibrated in her coat pocket.
She stopped, took out her phone, her chin buried in her scarf.
[Chief Judge Zhu: Are you finished?]
[Chief Judge Zhu: I’m at the north gate of the Ivy League school.]
Seeing the message from Zhu Yiqiao, Ming Fei didn’t think too much about it. The Military Police Department and the Ivy League school were separated by most of the main urban area, and she guessed that Zhu Yiqiao must have official business here.
Perhaps it was official business that required her cooperation.
Therefore, she naturally replied,
[It’s over.]
[Jiejie, is there some work here?]
[[Kitten confused.jpg]]
Time seemed to accelerate, and snowflakes suddenly filled the campus.
The cold wind blew, and Ming Fei took a few steps forward, entering a pavilion by Crescent Moon Lake. She first took out her hat and gloves from her bag and put them on, then looked down at Zhu Yiqiao’s message.
[Chief Judge Zhu: I’m here to pick you up.]
[Chief Judge Zhu: Which school gate are you closest to?]
The clear and straightforward words appeared on the screen, and Ming Fei was a little surprised.
Because these words had rarely appeared in her life. She had never had family to pick her up from school, and even after being adopted three times, for various reasons, she always had to go back by herself.
Most of the time, she was like a ball being kicked around by her adoptive parents. No one came to pick her up, and no one cared about her thoughts. In the end, she would just be returned to the orphanage again and again. However, she didn’t wallow in self-pity because of these hardships, otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have made it this far.
Due to her surprise and novelty, Ming Fei blinked, and the falling snowflakes moistened her eyelashes.
But soon, the four words “just an act” surfaced in her mind, and she suddenly attributed this to those four words.
[I’m closest to the north gate.]
[I’ll be right there.]
[[Kitten running fast.jpg]]
Unlike Q University in the Independent State of Yi Meng, Taiya’s Ivy League school prohibited hovercars from entering the campus.
Inside the hovercar, Lan Lubai accidentally glanced at the emojis in her friend’s chat window and chuckled.
“Is Teacher Xiao Fei’s tone so cute when she chats with you?”
Zhu Yiqiao leaned against the back of the car, the dark cloak making her appear even colder.
“Zaozao added them for her.”
“Oh~” Lan Lubai missed her friend’s adorable child. “Then she must have also added little rabbits, puppies, little bears, and the like. I’ll add them to my emoji library too.”
Zhu Yiqiao’s expression was indifferent as she watched her friend’s antics.
Soon, Lan Lubai finished adding the emojis and immediately sent a “peeking kitten wagging its tail” emoji to the absent Min Man.
The next moment—
[Min Man: ?]
[Min Man: ???]
[Min Man: It seems Executive Lan is under too much work pressure. Do you need me to help you apply for mental health counseling? [smile.jpg]]
Lan Lubai asked Zhu Yiqiao next to her, puzzled,
“What does Min Man mean? Only mentally unstable soldiers need—”
Understanding, Lan Lubai continued to send the emojis she had added to Min Man. After sending all of them, she cleared them and added a bunch of funny and exaggerated emojis that matched her usual chat style.
After doing this, she said to her friend, “It’s okay for Zaozao, it’s okay for Teacher Xiao Fei, but not for me. Got it, got it, I won’t bother you two anymore.”
After saying that, Lan Lubai, who had other work to do, got out of the car with the same determination as if she were going to a battlefield.
The hovercar was warm and comfortable, but after the silence returned, the music Lan Lubai had set beforehand immediately started playing. The name of the song was “Leopard, You Don’t Understand Love.”
Zhu Yiqiao turned off the melodious music. At the same time, there was a sound from the window.
The monitoring system automatically started facial recognition of the person outside the car. After confirming it was Ming Fei, the closed door opened.
Ming Fei smoothly got into the back seat, bringing a gust of biting cold wind with her.
She seemed to have run over, her cheeks flushed, her hat and scarf slightly askew, but her clear and bright eyes were filled with a smile.
“Jiejie, are you done with your work?”
Zhu Yiqiao continued to look at her: “Mm.”
Ming Fei thanked her: “Thank you for picking me up.”
She was still not used to addressing Zhu Yiqiao as “Jiejie” and would unconsciously call her by her title in private, but she would immediately correct herself afterward. After all, this was also part of the agreement, and no Party A would repeatedly tolerate mistakes from Party B.
“You’re welcome.”
Ming Fei clearly knew this was just an act, but the joy of being picked up for the first time in the solemn winter still overwhelmed her awe of Zhu Yiqiao. She smiled, just about to correct her address for Zhu Yiqiao when she heard the other party ask first,
“Did you run here?”
Ming Fei explained, “The Ivy League school hasn’t granted access to our ID cards yet, so we can’t unlock the campus transportation for now. Crescent Moon Lake is quite close to the north gate, so I didn’t waste time waiting for the public school bus.”
Noticing her slightly disheveled scarf, Ming Fei immediately adjusted it: “I didn’t exactly run, I just walked a little faster.”
“Mm.”
Zhu Yiqiao reminded her, “Your hat is crooked too.”
As Ming Fei raised her hand to adjust her hat, the scar on her right wrist was exposed. Zhu Yiqiao’s gaze lingered on the scar. After Ming Fei’s sleeve covered it again, she looked away towards the display screen.
After adjusting her hat, Ming Fei asked, “Jiejie, what do you want to eat for lunch?”
Zhu Yiqiao: “I’ve made a restaurant reservation.”
Ming Fei nodded, silently putting aside her original plan and deciding to go there when she had time.
Snow fell like catkins, and the hovercar sped towards its destination, disappearing in an instant. However, the scene of Chief Judge Zhu crossing half the main urban area to pick someone up was still captured by some reporters who had been waiting in advance.
On the way from the Ivy League school to Valeria Street, Ming Fei read the entire time.
Arriving at the reserved restaurant, Ming Fei held Zhu Yiqiao’s hand as she got out of the car. They were both wearing gloves, one black and one white, cooperating tacitly, as if holding hands in public had become a natural thing.
Delicadeza had been famous in Taiya since the beginning of the last century for its unique culinary feasts.
Ming Fei and Li Xing had also wanted to dine at Delicadeza before their first business trip to Taiya, but even though they made a reservation ten days in advance, they were still told there were no seats available.
Therefore, after entering the restaurant, she was especially looking forward to the upcoming lunch.
However, Delicadeza was very different from what she had imagined. From its architectural style, it didn’t look like a restaurant at all. The interior decoration was very retro, filled with old products that had long been updated and eliminated.
The maître d’ who led the way was wearing local ethnic clothing. The red and blue color scheme matched Taiya’s passionate and open customs.
Ming Fei politely observed her surroundings. After entering a private room on the third floor, she noticed a gift placed on the table.
The maître d’ explained with a smile: “This is a wedding gift from Delicadeza. We wish you a happy wedding and a long and happy life together.”
After the Trial Court announced their marriage, Ming Fei had lost count of how many times she had heard this blessing.
—Happy wedding, and may you have a long and happy life together.
Everyone’s wishes were sincere and beautiful.
However, this marriage was just… an agreement.
She responded flawlessly on the surface, but in her heart, she was thinking that there were only ten months left until the agreement ended.
After the maître d’ left, Ming Fei looked down at her phone. It wasn’t until she received a message from Li Xing that she realized what Zhu Yiqiao had just posted.
[Li Xing: Ahhh I’m hooked, is the Chief Judge so straightforward? I now believe that love at first sight is real!]
[Li Xing: I didn’t expect the students at our school to be so fierce, haha.]
Attached to the message were two screenshots. The first one was the latest news released by the Trial Court, and the second one was the debate on social media after the news was released. Someone had questioned Ming Fei being too young when she first became a teacher at Q University, as the youngest teacher at Q University before her was 28 years old.
But in no time, Q University students posted proof of her academic qualifications on the official website. Since this information could be directly found on the school’s official website, the students were a little angry at such accusations, and finally told the other party to directly complain to the relevant government departments if they suspected the official academic credentials were forged.
Ming Fei pursed her lips, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.
When the restaurant waiter came in to serve the dishes, she lowered her head and replied to her friend’s message.
[Thank them for me. I’ll bring back small gifts for them.]
[Thank you too, Xing.]
[[Little bear holding honey.jpg]]
In the blink of an eye, when Ming Fei looked at the message again, her ears almost burned from Li Xing’s straightforward words.
[Li Xing: No need to thank me, thank your partner, Chief Judge Zhu, instead?]
[Li Xing: Be practical, arrange something tonight—]
[Li Xing: Unspoken Secrets Between Lovers On Marital Sex in the New Century …]
Ming Fei closed her phone after just a glance.
Perhaps because she suddenly straightened up, her eyes darting around, acting a little strangely, Zhu Yiqiao, sitting opposite her, looked over.
Ming Fei’s ears felt hot, and she shifted her gaze to the delicious-looking dishes on the table.
She had thought Delicadeza’s dishes would also contain chili peppers, but after carefully examining them, she was certain that none of them did. And in addition to sweet dishes, there were also several dishes she liked very much.
Her strangeness and surprise were written all over her face, and Zhu Yiqiao didn’t need to guess at all.
“Zaozao told me.”
“Told you what?”
Zhu Yiqiao: “The day I took her to the aquarium, although you weren’t there, she thought of you whenever she saw something delicious or fun.”
“During lunch, she told me the names of several of your favorite dishes.”
Ming Fei understood: “Thank you.”
“—This is an apology gift.”
Ming Fei was a little confused again: “Apology gift?”
“Mm.” Zhu Yiqiao looked at her. “After we announced our marriage, there were some unpleasant comments online, which might have affected your life.”
“It’s okay,” Ming Fei said. “I don’t mind these things.”
She really felt that it was still within an acceptable range, because most of the criticisms weren’t too harsh, and the few aggressive comments were directly censored. And she rarely went online to read these things. When she opened her phone, it was either to reply to messages, answer video calls, or read e-books and materials from the library.
Moreover, after her second adoptive parent had a mental breakdown, she had been subjected to a month of verbal abuse and accusations. She had long been accustomed to hearing harsh and sharp words. In comparison, those online comments were nothing.
Besides, she liked the Independent State of Yi Meng, and she believed that after the hype of the marriage announcement died down, people’s attention would gradually decrease, and the online comments would calm down.
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