Chapter 87 Because I Love Learning
“May I ask if Luxianbei is here?”
Hearing Li Xuan’s voice outside the door, Luxianbei’s heart instantly jumped to her throat. She swallowed hard and looked at Professor Ma beside her, who had a bewildered expression, shaking her head vigorously.
Luxianbei was sure that on the day at Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, Li Xuan hadn’t seen her in her current state, but Jiang Li and An Qing did, so there must be a record of her appearance in the Siye Society.
If Li Xuan entered the seminar room now, it would undoubtedly trigger a conflict. The outcome of the conflict was secondary; the important thing was that Luxianbei did not want to clash with the Siye Society.
So far, the mysterious girl who appeared in her dreams had not led her astray, so she believed it was necessary to follow her advice to avoid conflict with the Siye Society.
Professor Ma was staring at the girl in front of him, who might or might not be Luxianbei, his brows knitted together, feeling conflicted.
Though her expression was neutral, the pleading look in her eyes, her small hands gripping the hem of her clothes due to nervousness, and her biting her lip—all conveyed her inner anxiety.
Professor Ma turned to glance toward the door of the research room and instantly understood the girl’s fear of the person outside, realization dawning upon him.
Did she not want the person outside to know she was here? Why was that?
“Professor…” Luxianbei was about to say something to Professor Ma when the knock on the door sounded again.
“Knock knock knock—knock knock knock—!”
“Professor Ma, is Luxianbei inside? I have something important to discuss with him.”
Professor Ma, “…”
What should he do now? Should he help her hide?
Earlier, she had exhibited signs of high temperature and transformed from a male to a female; she could very well be something like an urban legend.
But if she really was Luxianbei, then she was his student, and as her teacher, he had a responsibility to help her.
Should he… trust the coin one more time?
Professor Ma thought, silently picking up the coin from the table and tossing it into the air.
He watched the trajectory of the coin in the air, believing that if it landed heads up, he would help her hide; if tails up, he would let the person outside in.
“Ding—” The coin landed on the white round table, spun a few times, and settled heads up. Seeing this, Professor Ma let out a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face.
There’s a saying that when faced with a difficult decision, flipping a coin is the best choice, not because the coin can decide anything, but because the moment the coin is flipped, the answer reveals itself in your heart.
Although Professor Ma did not want to admit it, every time he flipped the coin, he already had the answer in his heart; the coin merely helped him be more certain.
But deep down, this time, he genuinely wanted to help the girl in front of him.
A girl who looked no older than his grandson, drenched and disheveled, appeared pitiful with her big watery eyes filled with a plea for help—who could resist that?
In fact, Professor Ma had always wanted a granddaughter. How lovely girls could be, so quiet and obedient.
Unfortunately, his own son hadn’t done well, having two unruly boys instead; he could no longer tolerate their antics and had painfully shaved off his beard that he had kept for over twenty years.
Moreover, this girl could possibly be Luxianbei, his student!
Luxianbei had helped him so many times; what was the problem with him helping her with a small favor now? Professor Ma thought.
Even if something went wrong with this favor, as her teacher, he had the confidence to help her get back on the right track.
Finally, to take it a step further, if someone saw a half-n*ked girl in an old man’s research room, wouldn’t that ruin his reputation?
After weighing the pros and cons, Professor Ma steadied himself, stood up, and walked toward the main door of the research room, clearing his throat as he went.
“Eh hem, who is it? Don’t you know I’m not receiving guests between ten in the morning and four-thirty in the afternoon?”
Professor Ma spoke in a deep voice, with a hint of anger in his tone.
“Professor Ma, I am…”
Li Xuan was about to say something when he was cut off by Professor Ma’s stern interruption.
“You’re my student? If you’re my student, you should know that I don’t receive visitors at this time. If you have any issues, ask in class tomorrow!”
“Professor, I’m not your student; I’m here to find Luxianbei.”
“Not my student? Then why should I meet with you? What right do you have to disturb my research?” Professor Ma thundered from outside the door, “You’re looking for Luxianbei? He left a long time ago; go look elsewhere!”
“No, Professor, I…”
“What do you mean ‘no’?” Professor Ma interrupted sharply again, “If you don’t leave, I’ll call security, and tell Luxianbei that if you see him, pass on a message for me.”
“As a student, the most important task is to study; don’t be hanging around with strange people like you all day. I can’t manage you, but I can manage him!”
“This time, I’ll just dock some of his usual grades; if there’s a next time, he won’t pass my course! Humph!”
Professor Ma said angrily, just as Luxianbei peeked her head out from the seminar room, pressed against the wall. Seeing Professor Ma act like a peculiar, severe, small-minded old professor, she was momentarily speechless.
What should I say? Forget it, just applaud! Let’s give Professor Ma a round of applause for his outstanding performance! Luxianbei thought.
But, is he really going to dock the grades?
…
Outside the research room.
Unsure whether it was due to Professor Ma’s repeated harsh words or perhaps having suffered a minor blow from peering into that powerful being with runes earlier, Li Xuan felt a sense of heaviness in his chest, like pent-up bl**d.
Is this professor’s temper really that strange? Or is he intentionally hiding something?
If he barged in now and it turned out as he said, that Luxianbei had already left, and he found nothing, things would get messy.
Li Xuan hesitated, staring at the tightly closed door of the research room, pacing back and forth a few times, and then sighed silently in resignation.
“Since Professor Ma has said this, I won’t bother him any further. You pass my message to Luxianbei, and I will…”
“Get lost, get lost, stop disturbing my research!”
Li Xuan, “…”
He seemed dignified, but was he really so strange, or was he hiding something? A little investigation around the school would clarify everything.
The informants at Huacheng University would continue to keep an eye on Luxianbei.
Thinking this, Li Xuan turned and left the Special Action Team’s Research Room, soon finding someone to investigate Professor Ma’s reputation among the students.
The results were unexpected.
Almost everyone firmly asserted that Professor Ma was a strict and peculiar teacher, and even his habit of docking grades was considered his usual behavior.
After hearing the report from the Special Action Team member, Li Xuan fell into contemplation and mourning for Luxianbei.
That kid Luxianbei seems to be… rather unfortunate with such a teacher?
…
Professor Ma leaned against the door, quietly listening to the sound of Li Xuan’s footsteps fading away. Once there were no more sounds in the hallway, he released his tightly clenched fist and let out a long breath.
As a law-abiding citizen, to think he was helping a girl deceive someone who seemed like a police officer made him nervous, that was undoubtedly true.
When he yelled those words at Li Xuan, he felt as if his high bl**d pressure was about to flare up, and now that he was calm again, his head still felt dizzy.
Leaning against the door for a moment, Professor Ma took a deep breath and returned to the seminar room.
Inside, Luxianbei had already sat back in her seat, looking obedient and charming.
Seeing Professor Ma return, she immediately stood up, ready to thank him, but Professor Ma jumped back as if electrocuted, stepping back, and shouted.
“You, you sit down! Don’t come over!”
While Professor Ma had helped the girl, he couldn’t shake off his fear thinking she might be Luxianbei or an urban legend, or possibly both.
Luxianbei tilted her head, “???”
Am I really that scary?
Though every time something strange happened after the urban legend manifested, she hadn’t had the chance to properly check this body, she felt she should still be quite okay!
“Professor, don’t be afraid! I won’t hurt…”
Before Luxianbei finished speaking, a drop of water landed on her delicate fingertip, and with a “hiss,” a puff of blue smoke rose, and a flickering flame passed by.
Professor Ma, “…”
How can anyone believe this?
Luxianbei, “…”
What’s going on? Is this the aftereffect of using the spell formula earlier?
Luxianbei thought, silently sitting back in her seat. Seeing this, Professor Ma relaxed a little, cleared his throat, and said seriously, “Eh hem, let’s explain! Explain who you are, and why you’re here. If your explanation isn’t satisfactory, I’ll call that person back at any time.”
“Professor, actually I…” Luxianbei hesitated, biting her lip several times, and finally decided to reveal her secret to Professor Ma.
“I am actually Luxianbei.”
Since he had already seen her, there was no point in hiding.
Moreover, even though he had said he would report her, judging from the fact that he had just helped her hide, as long as her explanation was acceptable to him, there shouldn’t be any problem. Luxianbei thought.
“You say you’re Luxianbei? Then how come…” Professor Ma pointed at Luxianbei, his eyes scrutinizing her uncertainly.
Although he had suspicions in his heart, hearing Luxianbei admit it directly still surprised him.
“This is…” Luxianbei’s mind raced, then a lie slipped out, “I have Nightfall Syndrome; I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Nightfall Syndrome?” Professor Ma was taken aback, thinking, I have heard that people with Nightfall Syndrome exhibit bizarre, hard-to-explain symptoms.
But…
How could Nightfall Syndrome manifest like this?
“Yes, Nightfall Syndrome.”
Luxianbei replied, lowering her head. Although she had no expression, her slightly furrowed willow eyebrows and the sorrowful look in her eyes perfectly conveyed the conflicted emotions of a secretive youth to Professor Ma.
“I have had this illness for almost two years. Whenever I come into contact with powerful mysterious objects, I become like this. I have never told anyone. I didn’t expect you to see me today.”
“Because of this illness, my godfather’s colleague has always suspected that I am an urban legend, so I did not want him to see me like this.”
Hearing Luxianbei’s explanation, Professor Ma furrowed his brows, deep in thought.
He had some understanding of Luxianbei; in fact, adhering to the principle of teaching according to the student’s needs, he had seriously learned about each student’s information.
From what he had learned, Luxianbei did indeed have a year-long leave of absence due to illness, which aligned with what she was now saying—it did not seem like a lie.
What a pitiful child! Professor Ma sighed within himself.
However…
“You should know that patients with Nightfall Syndrome cannot return to school before recovery. If I help you hide this…”
“This, um… this is a bit embarrassing to say.” Luxianbei stammered, “I’m afraid you’ll laugh at me.”
“What’s there to laugh about? Speak boldly.”
“Because I love learning!” Luxianbei looked up, her gaze blazing with intensity, her expressionless face slightly tinted with a blush due to excitement.
She was indeed blushing, saying she loved learning—how could that not be embarrassing?
“So, Professor, in order to continue staying at school, I have a request: I hope you won’t tell anyone my secret!”
“Is that alright? Consider it a favor, please!” Luxianbei said in a pleading tone.
Professor Ma supported his forehead, secretly glancing at Luxianbei through his fingers.
What should he say to her?
