Chapter 212 - RONG SHUN

LUO YAN walked towards the professor and peeked on the screen of his laptop. Just like he thought, he was typing strings of codes. Probably for some program or something.

"What are those codes for?" he asked.

Rong Shun didn't glance at him. He didn't even show any signs that he was surprised by the sudden appearance of some kid in his favorite computer lab. Instead, he just continued typing. 

"Is it for a computer program?" Luo Yan asked again, not the least bit bothered that he was being ignored. "Or maybe you're hacking into some site or something?"

That last one finally got Rong Shun's attention. He turned towards the direction of the annoying voice that suddenly disturbed his 'me time' and was momentarily speechless when he saw its owner. It was a beautiful kid, probably in his early teens. A boy who definitely inherited the best genes from both his parents, letting him have an almost perfect physical appearance. But Rong Shun quickly got over his surprise. If one didn't look closely, they wouldn't even notice that he was surprised for a second.

"What are doing here, kid? Lost?" he said, closing his laptop and putting down his legs. 

Luo Yan smiled. He knew he would get this guy's attention once he mentioned the word 'hacking'. After all, when Rong Shun was still his thesis adviser, he would catch him hacking into some site. It mostly happened whenever he's pissed on a product he bought. He would then hack on the official website of the company that created that product. It's really nothing serious, mostly just childish stuff. Like putting a random doodle all over the site or shutting it down for a couple of hours. The IT department of those companies had never traced the hack back to Rong Shun. Which spoke highly of his skills as a hacker.

Luo Yan once asked him why he let him know about that little hobby of his. Was he not afraid that he would tell it to others? Or worse, use it as some blackmail material? He just said that he's not the type who would bother to waste his time doing something like that. He was kind of surprised when he heard that answer. Because it was the truth. He never expected Rong Shun who usually didn't care about his surroundings to be quite observant. 

"I'm not lost. I came here with my friend," he said.

Friend? Was there an excursion for middle school student today? But wasn't it the holiday? – Rong Shun thought.

"Yan Yan—" Shen Ji Yun who finally caught up with Luo Yan stopped what he was about to say when he saw the person he was talking to. "Professor Rong," he greeted with a slight bow.

"Shen Ji Yun, you know this kid?" Rong Shun asked when he saw this rather famous student. 

Oh? So, he knew Shen Ji Yun. This guy only bothered to remember the name of students who impressed him. Well, Luo Yan had no doubt that Shen Ji Yun could impress Rong Shun. His appearance alone was enough for people to remember him. 

Shen Ji Yun walked beside Luo Yan. "He's my friend."

That was rather an unexpected answer. And here Rong Shun thought this expressionless guy who almost seemed like a doll instead of a person wouldn't have any friends. Wait- how could this ice block have a friend this young? 

"Don't you mean younger brother?" he said. "I know it's not easy for you to have friends. But it's rather lame to pass of your younger brother as one."

Shen Ji Yun felt the corner of his left eye twitched because of what the professor said. He tried not to react because he knew he wasn't mocking him when he said that. He was simply stating his opinion. Since Shen Ji Yun became a student here, he had been to a few of Rong Shun's lectures. And anyone who interacted with him, even just a little, would know how weird he was sometimes. 

Even though he was a professor, he always looked sloppy. Even during his lectures, he would be nibbling on some lollipop or something. There was no stopgap between his brain and his mouth. So, he doesn't hesitate to say the first thing that came to his mind. That's why everyone thought of him as rude. But the lectures he gave was really good and easy to understand. So, Shen Ji Yun didn't mind that quirk of him one bit. 

Until now, that is.

"Teacher, that's rude. I am really Brother Ji Yun's friend," Luo Yan admonished.

"Oh, sorry then," Rong Shun said. "So, does that mean you just prefer kids as friends?"

Again, Shen Ji Yun felt the twitching at the corner of his eye. But he chose not to react because he could feel that this weird professor was just genuinely curious.

"That's even more rude. I'm not a kid. I'm already 17, you know?" Luo Yan said seemingly affronted.

Shen Ji Yun happened to glance at the rabbit. He was pouting and his cheeks were slightly bulging. Even though he was glaring at Rong Shun, it didn't have any effect at all because of how cute he was. Shen Ji Yun's hands were itching again to pinch him.

"Seriously?" Rong Shun said, looking all surprised. He stood up and looked at Luo Yan up and down. As if studying some rare specimen. "Are your parents both short? Or do you simply lack the proper hormones to grow tall? No, maybe you're being mistreated that's why you're not eating properly and wasn't able to receive the needed nutrition for you to grow?"

This guy. Luo Yan felt like a vein on his forehead would pop. "That's definitely the rudest! I simply haven't got my growth spurt yet. I swear, next year I'm going to be 20 cm taller!"

"I highly doubt that." Rong Shun bent down towards Luo Yan and stared at his face. "Kid, I suggest you don't get your hopes up or you would be in for a big disappointment."

Shen Ji Yun stepped between the two, completely hiding Luo Yan behind him. "You're too close, Professor Rong."

"Ah, really?" Rong Shun didn't ask much and just stepped back.

Luo Yan peeked from behind Shen Ji Yun and said to Rong Shun, "Teacher, I will definitely grow 20 cm by next year. And my name is not 'kid', it's 'Luo Yan'."

And just as Luo Yan wished, there was a noticeable change in Rong Shun's expression when he mentioned his name.