Chapter 601 - 616: Becoming Neighbors

A blue electric scooter came to a steady stop at the entrance of An Ning’s small courtyard home.

"We’re here."

"Mm."

An Ning hummed in response and got off the back of the scooter. She pressed the code into the keypad lock, and with a CLICK, the door opened.

Jiang Xia pushed the little scooter inside. For a moment, the two of them stood on either side of it, looking at each other without a word.

The air was thick with a hint of ambiguity, an awkwardness stemming from the impending change in their relationship.

"What do you want to eat for breakfast tomorrow?"

Jiang Xia’s question instantly dispelled An Ning’s awkwardness.

"I want saozi noodles! The sour and spicy kind!"

"Okay. I’ll call you when it’s ready tomorrow."

An Ning looked at Jiang Xia, confused. He just pointed next door and said, "We’re neighbors."

Realization dawned on An Ning. She gave Jiang Xia a thumbs-up. "Nice."

"Get some sleep. Good night."

"Good night."

After saying their goodbyes, Jiang Xia walked out of the gate. An Ning followed and closed the door behind him.

Separated by the door, Jiang Xia rested a hand on the wooden panel. His head told him to leave, but his legs didn’t want to move.

"Are you still out there?"

An Ning’s voice came through. Jiang Xia replied, his own voice brimming with happiness, "I am!"

At the same time, they both broke into the sappy smiles of new love.

"An Ning, is your hand on the door?"

"No. Why?"

"Nothing. Mine isn’t either."

Jiang Xia nervously lowered his hand and cleared his throat. "I’m really leaving this time. See you tomorrow morning."

"Mm, see you tomorrow morning."

With that, An Ning turned and went inside. Jiang Xia, however, remained at the gate. After listening to her footsteps fade into the distance, he ducked his head with a small smile and turned to enter the house next door.

That night, Jiang Xia suffered from insomnia.

That night, An Ning slept especially soundly. ’The boy next door is in the bag.’

「The next morning」

Jiang Xia was up before five. He went to the morning market early to pick out the best ingredients, then returned home to make saozi noodles.

An Ning slept until five, then got up to practice her boxing and get her body moving.

Around six o’clock, the rich, savory aroma of the saozi noodles was so fragrant that An Ning climbed up onto the wall separating their yards.

"Jiang Xia!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Xia quickly called back from the kitchen.

"It’s almost ready! Go wash your hands!"

"You got it!"

An Ning cheerfully climbed down from the wall and went back inside to wash up.

A few moments later, An Ning was sitting at the table in Jiang Xia’s courtyard, waiting for her longed-for bowl of saozi noodles.

"The noodles are here!"

"Don’t touch, it’s hot!"

Jiang Xia set down the two bowls of noodles, turned back to the kitchen, and came back out with two plates.

"I made roujiamo with minced green peppers, and also onion with chicken frames. Lots of onion, not much meat on the chicken."

"It smells amazing!"

An Ning waited for Jiang Xia to sit down before picking up her chopsticks. Her eyes crinkled with a smile as she announced, "I’m digging in."

"Go ahead."

The sound of slurping noodles filled the air. The dish was sour, spicy, and refreshing. The noodles were thin, smooth, and perfectly chewy. Just one bite was enough to make her back break out in a light sweat. So satisfying!

They both had hearty appetites. Not only did they polish off their large bowls of noodles, but they also finished all four roujiamo. As for the plate of onion and chicken frames, most of it ended up in An Ning’s stomach.

An Ning washed down the strong taste of onion with some of the noodle broth.

"I’m so full!"

"What do you want for lunch?"

Feeling a bit stuffed, An Ning looked at Jiang Xia and asked, "You can come back to cook for lunch? What about your company? A pursuit has to be practical, you know. I have to go to Beijing University during the day. A few of my PhD students’ dissertations haven’t been approved yet."

"You just focus on your work, and maybe take a moment to think about the best way for me to pursue you."

Seeing that An Ning wasn’t shy at all, Jiang Xia replied just as directly, "Alright. I’ll be sure to do my part. And I ask that you, Miss Anning, evaluate me seriously."

"Don’t worry. I’ve decided I won’t make it easy for you!"

With that, An Ning got up and left, a smug smile on her face.

In sharp contrast, Jiang Xia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’Did I just make things harder for myself for no reason?’

It wasn’t that Jiang Xia regretted it. He genuinely felt that An Ning deserved to have a beautiful memory, and he was willing to be the person to give it to her.

The two of them were playing a game only they understood, and they were enjoying it immensely.

Full and satisfied, An Ning rode her little electric scooter to Beijing University, calling her three students along the way.

When the three PhD candidates received An Ning’s call, their first instinct was to pretend they hadn’t heard it.

There was nothing they could do. They had already revised their dissertations three times!

Three times! A doctoral dissertation! Not some few-hundred-word essay.

Ever since An Ning had become their advisor, their journey had gone from excitement and pride to feeling like they were in a living hell.

Regardless, a master’s command could not be defied. Resigned to the fact that they’d just have to revise it again if it wasn’t good enough, they rushed to Beijing University once more.

It was the same office. The three of them stood obediently in a line, their heads bowed, not daring to meet her eyes.

An Ning sat in her lounge chair, flipping through the dissertations. The RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE of the pages sounded like a call from the grim reaper.

"Sigh—"

An Ning let out a long sigh, but before she could even finish...

"Professor, I’ll take it back and rewrite it right now."

One of them came forward to take the dissertation from An Ning’s hands. An Ning jerked her hand back and shot him a look. "Did I say you had to rewrite it?"

"Huh? But you sighed, I... I—"

"Go back to your spot. It’s approved."

An Ning set the dissertation aside and picked up the next one.

The PhD student who had stepped forward almost thought he had gone deaf. Not daring to ask An Ning for confirmation, he could only turn to look at his two comrades.

After getting a nod of confirmation from them, the young man was so happy he almost burst into tears, but he managed to hold them back.

Their advisor, An Ning, had once said: ’If you have time to cry, you’d be better off writing your dissertation or reading more books!’

Next, the other two also passed without a hitch.

When the three of them left An Ning’s office, they were still in a daze, and had to check with each other to make sure it was real.

"Ow, that actually hurt!"

"It’s real! We passed!"

"Oh my god, I thought I wouldn’t graduate until I was in my seventies or eighties."

An Ning had no idea what her three students were exclaiming about. She had just been a little bit strict, that’s all.

An Ning was now alone in her office, engrossed in a book.

If anyone had been there to see, they would have noticed that inside the book cover of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was a romance novel titled *Those Years of Us*.

This was a recently developed hobby of An Ning’s. She had originally started reading them to gain experience for pursuing the boy next door, but after getting into it, she found that although they were full of clichés, they were also quite addictive.

Deep in her reading, An Ning jolted in fright at a knock on the door. She fumbled to hide the book here and there before finally placing it to the side nonchalantly and calling out, "Come in."

"Master."

"What can I do for you?"

Yu the Elder nodded repeatedly, pulled over a small stool, and sat down opposite An Ning.

"Master, I’ve won an award. I’d like to invite you to the award ceremony. It’s a domestic one, so it’s completely safe."

"It’s not like we’re afraid of going abroad, but I accept."

An Ning agreed without hesitation. Yu the Elder was moved, repeatedly saying how wonderful his master was.

An Ning’s eyes darted to her book. Listening to Yu the Elder’s emotional thanks, she debated saying something. ’Would it be too harsh? He’s getting on in years; I should probably go easy on him... But why is he still going on?’

The RING RING RING of the telephone came to An Ning’s rescue.

An Ning answered the call, her expression suddenly turning serious. She looked at Yu the Elder and pointed a finger at the phone.

"Top secret business."

Yu the Elder understood immediately. He got up and left.