Jiang Lin looked at him in surprise, “You’re a student?”

Tian Ye laughed self-deprecatingly, “Is it because I look too old?”

Jiang Lin observed him and indeed couldn’t gauge his age precisely.

After all, men’s ages can be quite deceptive; some in their teens look like they’re in their thirties, while others in their forties might appear much younger.

Tian Ye continued, “I’m a teacher at the Art College. We recently started recruiting students, and the campus…” He pointed to the building next door, “We’re temporarily using classrooms and dormitories from your school.”

Jiang Lin quickly said, “Teacher Tian, I didn’t realize. I’m sorry.”

Tian Ye responded, “You can call me ‘Tian Shifu’ too, that’s fine.”

Jiang Lin smiled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t notice before. But you always gave me extra meat and vegetables when I was at the cafeteria, so I really should thank you. Now that you mention it, you do have slightly longer hair than other men, with that distinctive artistic flair.”

“It’s no problem. After all, I’m not as famous as you,” Tian Ye chuckled, “You’re one of the most famous campus beauties at the Provincial University.”

“Teacher Tian, don’t tease me. Married people don’t really belong in the same category as young girls, it feels a bit awkward,” she said.

She had heard about this—good things being said about male students ranking the campus beauties.

Among married women, she was the only one on the list.

Male students harbored an unspoken hostility towards beautiful married women, secretly calling them “cabbages being pushed around by pigs.”

On the other hand, Zeng Hongjie, who was unmarried, was a standout among the single students, with many admirers.

Unfortunately, she was aloof with everyone except her close friends, which wounded the male students’ pride, giving her the label of “cold beauty.”

Therefore, the male students favored those who were beautiful, friendly, and willing to chat and dance with them, including those who were named “dance party flowers.”

Jiang Lin and Zeng Hongjie, who never danced with strangers, were not among those favorites.

Tian Ye said, “I know Zeng Hongjie as well, the one who often eats with you.”

Hearing that he knew Zeng Hongjie, Jiang Lin’s impression of him deepened.

Xiao Jie was from the College of Literature and was the head of the campus newspaper, so naturally, she knew many people.

As they were about to enter the teaching building, Tian Ye said, “By the way, there’s a girl in our Art College who looks quite like you. Her name is similar too—such a coincidence.”

Jiang Lin laughed, “But we only have two daughters in our family, none sent out.”

Tian Ye chuckled, “Haha, Jiang Lin, you’re very humorous. If you have the time, would you and your friends be willing to model for us?”

---

Jiang Lin hadn’t fully come to terms with the fact that her kitchen master was an art academy teacher when she was invited to model again.

She reflexively declined, saying, “Sitting still like that is too much for us. I’m really sorry.”

Tian Ye wasn’t upset.

He smiled and said goodbye to her.

Jiang Lin went to her classroom, which was for a combined lecture on Building Equipment Engineering Technology, with two classes attending together.

When she walked in, Su Xingyun waved at her to come and sit next to him.

Su Xingyun had previously shown interest in Zeng Hongjie, but she never gave him a chance to express his feelings clearly.

Instead, during a social event, she subtly communicated her disinterest, making it clear she wouldn’t accept him.

Su Xingyun was open-minded and didn’t let it affect him; he moved on from Jiang Lin to Zeng Hongjie and quickly adjusted his focus.

He eventually found a girlfriend in the Arts Department, who seemed quite compatible with him.

Jiang Lin sat down and said, “Class monitor, you look well.”

Su Xingyun grinned and said, “We’re planning to go to my place for the New Year and get married secretly.”

He was close to Jiang Lin and knew she was a trustworthy person who would keep secrets, so he didn’t worry about her revealing their plans.

Jiang Lin glanced around; the classroom was noisy with people studying and chatting.

She lowered her voice and said, “The school doesn’t allow that right now. Be careful. Cohabitation is overlooked, but marriage isn’t approved. You’ll have to wait until after graduation. There’s also the issue of job placement after graduation. If you’re not assigned together, it could cause problems.”

Su Xingyun replied, “We’re not worried.”

In the back, Zhu Caiping and Yao Zhenxia were arguing about something.

They had been inseparable friends, but lately, they seemed to be drifting apart and sometimes ignored each other.

Jiang Lin had noticed this occasionally when staying in the dorm or hearing about it from Yang Lu, but she hadn’t paid much attention.

Yang Lu leaned in and said to Jiang Lin, “Jiang Lin, did you know? A new campus beauty has arrived and might take your place.”

Jiang Lin looked at her.

Since she had mentioned those vague statements like “Are you yesterday’s you? Am I yesterday’s me?” to Yang Lu, Yang Lu had shifted from being chatty to mysterious, often talking in a cryptic manner and enjoying gossip and secrets about classmates.

“I’m not really a campus beauty, just an ordinary student and already married. So, you don’t need to worry about me.”

Yang Lu said, “But that campus beauty looks so much like you. Aren’t you curious?”

Jiang Lin looked at her.

Really? This was the second time she’d heard that morning.

Should she go back and ask Xu Aimei if there was a younger sister given away?

Yang Lu could tell from Jiang Lin’s expression that she was curious.

She said proudly, “I’ve seen her, and she really looks like you. If I didn’t know you weren’t at school, I’d almost have thought it was you.”

Su Xingyun said, “Yang, you’re exaggerating. I don’t think they look alike at all.”

Yang Lu insisted, “Have you seen her?”

Su Xingyun replied, “Of course. I saw her the day before yesterday at the College of Literature, and I didn’t think they looked alike.”

Yang Lu gave him a look that said he must be blind.

She was adamant that the girl was a spitting image of Jiang Lin, just younger and more innocent.

Before Jiang Lin could say anything, Su Xingyun got annoyed, “Class is starting!”

Yang Lu was startled and quickly went back to her seat.

Su Xingyun then reassured Jiang Lin, “Don’t be upset.”

Jiang Lin had already read two pages of her book.

The class was over, and now she was reviewing for the exam.

The teacher had come to answer questions, so she needed to organize the knowledge points and discuss anything she couldn’t understand.

“Upset? Oh, you mean the campus beauty?” Jiang Lin smiled, “I don’t care about that campus beauty. Everyone is the same. Why slap a special label on it? If people think I’m pretty, just compliment me, no need to tag me and keep using it. I don’t think there’s anything to be proud of. Compliment me again when I get first place and win a scholarship.”

Su Xingyun gave her a thumbs-up, “Jiang Lin, I admire you.”

Jiang Lin added, “And you, now that you have a girlfriend, don’t always stick too close to me, or she might misunderstand.”

Su Xingyun, who was around the same age as Jiang Lin, couldn’t help but act a bit protective like an older brother.

Plus, he knew Cheng Rushan and Fang Chengguang and envied the strong men around her.

He couldn’t help but be close to her.

Even though he had a girlfriend, he didn’t distance himself from Jiang Lin.

He felt that distancing himself would be unnecessary and a loss on his part.

Since Su Xingyun and Jiang Lin were close, everyone in the class and the entire department knew about it.

No one would misunderstand their relationship.

Even Cheng Rushan didn’t misunderstand, so why would others?

For those who love learning, class time passes quickly.

Jiang Lin, who was entirely focused on her studies, didn’t think about where to hang out after class or which classmate to flirt with.

She was solely interested in asking the teacher questions, almost to the point of exhausting them.

The teachers had mixed feelings about her.

They were both fond of and wary of her, fearing that they might be stumped by her questions.

Especially when she teamed up with the top male students in the class to discuss questions, it was a real challenge for the teachers.

After all, many teachers had limited knowledge themselves.

They had lost ten years and were now trying hard to catch up while teaching, afraid of losing face if they didn’t work hard enough.

They often found themselves struggling even more than the students.

At lunchtime, Jiang Lin went to the cafeteria with Su Xingyun and a few class leaders, and Yang Lu caught up with them.

Su Xingyun said, “After the final exams, we should plan a big event.”

Due to the preparations for the final exams, their class activities had been canceled for the past month, and everyone was getting restless.

Jiang Lin replied, “Let’s talk about it later.”

She didn’t want to organize anything because she was pregnant and just wanted to stay at home with her husband.

She found herself missing Cheng Rushan terribly.

Even though he was just going on a business trip, she missed him more and more each day.

It was only two days, but she already longed for him.

When they reached the cafeteria, Jiang Lin smiled at Su Xingyun and said, “Aren’t you going to have lunch with your girlfriend?”

Su Xingyun replied, “She said she had plans for lunch and couldn’t join us.”

They got in line, and when it was Jiang Lin’s turn, she saw Tian Ye.

She could no longer look at the cafeteria staff the same way.

She had previously thought the cafeteria staff was quite handsome, but now it was awkward.

Over the past year, many people had specifically gone to Tian Ye’s counter to get food, leading to long lines.

To avoid trouble, Jiang Lin sometimes deliberately avoided his line and chose another one.

Jiang Lin had picked a short queue in the cafeteria for a quick meal, only to find that when it was her turn, Tian Ye was the one serving.

He smiled at her and asked, “What would you like?”

Jiang Lin glanced at the few options available: cabbage, potatoes, radishes, and maybe some spinach and tofu.

The spinach looked a bit wilted, so she decided to go with the cabbage and tofu for a safer choice.

Tian Ye served her, as usual, giving her extra pieces of meat.

The cafeteria’s meat was always cut generously—fatty and lean mixed together, unseasoned, just the plain white meat.

As she looked at the food, a sudden wave of nausea hit her.

She covered her mouth and rushed to the side, where she vomited into the sink.

Her stomach was empty after the morning, so she only brought up a bit of water, but the discomfort was overwhelming.

Su Xingyun and Yang Lu hurried after her. “Jiang Lin, are you okay? Do you want to go to the medical office?” Su Xingyun and Guo Yanqiu were familiar with each other, making it easy to get medicine for minor ailments.

Jiang Lin shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Yang Lu whispered urgently, “Jiang Lin, are you pregnant?”

Jiang Lin gestured for her to keep her voice down.

Yang Lu, flustered, said, “But now they’re promoting family planning.”

Jiang Lin replied, “I conceived before the new policy came out. It wasn’t intentional.”

With all the recent family planning campaigns, she’d realized how quickly things had changed since she last checked.

Before she left to see her sister, the regulations hadn’t been as widespread, but now they seemed to be everywhere.

Su Xingyun helped her by taking her lunch box and bun.

At lunch, Jiang Lin gave all her meat and vegetables to them, as she had no appetite.

She tried to eat a bun soaked in vegetable soup but couldn’t manage to finish it.

Su Xingyun, seeing her condition, felt sorry for her. “Is this how it is for all pregnant women?”

Yang Lu said, “I didn’t have any problems. I could eat anything. My sister was different; she vomited all the way until she gave birth, I…”

Su Xingyun interrupted, “Xiao Jie, over here!”

He turned his gaze to see Zeng Hongjie approaching with a lunch box. She was dressed in a stylish dark green coat with a cream-colored scarf and a black knit hat.

Her fashionable and elegant appearance drew attention from many students.

She walked directly to Jiang Lin and noticed her eating soup-soaked bun with a slightly furrowed brow. “Lin Lin, are you reminiscing about past hardships?”

The next day, Jiang Lin told Zeng Hongjie about her pregnancy and bragged about how she was feeling great with no pregnancy symptoms, proudly claiming she was eating well.

But she learned that boasting wasn’t wise; just a month into it, she started feeling nauseous and exhausted, wishing she could just lie down somewhere.

Jiang Lin looked at Zeng Hongjie and felt very aggrieved with Cheng Rushan not around.

She could still be affectionate with her close friend.

“Xiaojie……”

Zeng Hongjie, sitting next to her, patted her on the back and asked, “Feeling unwell?”

Jiang Lin nodded and rested her head on Zeng Hongjie’s shoulder, saying, “Yes, feeling unwell.”

Su Xingyun, Yang Lu, and others watched silently.

They had always seen Jiang Lin as independent and capable—she even moved big tables by herself in class.

They had never seen her act so delicate with classmates before.

Zeng Hongjie said, “Let me take you back to the dorm to rest.”

Jiang Lin replied, “You go get lunch.”

At that moment, Tian Ye approached with a lunchbox and asked Zeng Hongjie, “Do you have time this afternoon?”

The Art Academy, where Tian Ye was from, was adjacent to the Literature Department, and they shared classrooms and dorms.

They had also worked on drama programs together recently, so Zeng Hongjie and Tian Ye had gotten to know each other.