Despite Professor Wei's expectations, Liu Fengying had no intention of releasing her anytime soon.
It wasn't a hidden desire to take advantage of the situation to prolong their physical contact. Honestly, even though the professor's face—a rare beauty, much more soul-stirring than usual due to her watery gaze and the bright flush in her cheeks—was just inches from her eyes, and despite being under the constant pressure of her voluptuous body, no erotic thoughts crossed Liu Fengying's mind at that moment. Instead, she was haunted by the image of how badly Professor Wei could have been hurt had she not reached her in time.
However, seeing how deeply affected Professor Wei was by the fright of the fall—having hovered on the brink of unconsciousness for nearly a minute—Liu Fengying feared that her legs might give way upon contact with the floor, causing her to collapse again.
Furthermore, she felt entirely uncomfortable with the thought of so many people seeing Professor Wei in such a vulnerable state. Was this merely a protective instinct, or had a sense of possessiveness mingled in? Well, not even Liu Fengying could have said for certain at that moment, but since there was no contradiction between the two feelings regarding the action they prompted, she had no reason to overthink it.
For these reasons, Liu Fengying was determined to keep Professor Wei in her arms until she could place her in the executive chair of her office, where she could recover in peace and complete safety.
Nevertheless, before leaving, Liu Fengying had to put an end to the matter of Han Yu's confession. It wasn't necessarily that she wanted to show respect or felt pity at the thought of leaving Han Yu stressed by her lack of a decision; rather, she didn't want to disappoint Hua Shu, who had single-handedly confronted not just Han Yu, but also his group of friends who had come to support him.
Additionally, Liu Fengying did not want Han Yu to take advantage of the absence of a firm rejection and reappear before her later; he had already caused her plenty of trouble. Moreover, even though she was aware that Han Yu had not intended to put Professor Wei in danger, she still held a grudge against him for the fact that the professor had tripped over his decorations.
And it wasn't just Han Yu whom Liu Fengying no longer wanted to see; this applied to all the other boys who might want to confess to her. Perhaps until now she had been able to maintain an indifferent attitude toward them, but after the incident caused by this confession, she had completely lost her patience. Furthermore, Liu Fengying expected that, following Han Yu's example, confessions would become increasingly grandiose and extreme; after all, there's no point in playing at a lower level than someone who has already been defeated, is there? Who knows—perhaps one of the more unhinged ones would climb onto the school roof and threaten to jump if she didn't agree to be his girlfriend.
In any case, to ensure that neither she nor those she cared about would suffer by being involved in such situations, Liu Fengying thought it best to nip the desire to confess in the bud for those boys who felt attracted to her.
Due to the chaos caused by Professor Wei's accident, Han Yu's friends were unable to maintain the barrier behind him; consequently, a dense crowd formed around the staircase, everyone jostling to see what was happening. However, since Han Yu remained frozen in place—paralyzed by the shock of the miraculous rescue he had witnessed firsthand, performed by the very target of his confession—Liu Fengying had no trouble finding him. She headed straight toward him with Professor Wei in her arms, while the surrounding students dutifully scrambled out of her way.
Han Yu flinched when he saw this. Did Liu Fengying want him to help carry Professor Wei? It wasn't that he disliked the idea; what boy in the prime of his youth would refuse physical contact with such a beautiful woman? The problem, however, was that he wasn't sure he was capable of it. After all, Professor Wei was not only tall but also possessed a, shall we say, well-developed physique, so Han Yu estimated her to be around 70 kg. Was he capable of carrying such weight? Perhaps if he mustered all his strength, he could manage, but Han Yu doubted he could do it as effortlessly as Liu Fengying.
Honestly, having witnessed Liu Fengying's extraordinary physical prowess, Han Yu felt somewhat intimidated by her. After all, as a boy, being in a relationship with a girl stronger than you is truly humiliating. He couldn't help but marvel at how a girl as perfect as Liu Fengying, who excelled in everything, could even exist; for the first time, doubts began to creep in as to whether she was someone he could actually "possess."
Still, he had no intention of giving up; he had already gone to such lengths to win her over, hadn't he? Moreover, the more perfect Liu Fengying was, the more he desired her. So, to avoid making a bad impression, he reached out his arms to take Professor Wei from her, prepared to carry her successfully even at the risk of breaking his back.
But his attempt at self-sacrifice was not met with the appreciation and relief Han Yu had anticipated. Not only did Liu Fengying take a step back to avoid him, but she also looked at him with a mixture of displeasure and caution.
"What do you think you're doing?", Liu Fengying asked in an unfriendly tone.
Suppressed by both the coldness she radiated and the strength she displayed, Han Yu found it difficult to maintain the image he wanted to project—one of safety and confidence, like a knight in shining armor. Well, that image had mostly been in his head anyway, as his forced smile and trembling hands didn't exactly fit the part.
"To help you…", Han Yu finally stammered, trying to pull himself together.
Liu Fengying was already dissatisfied, having suspected his intentions; now that he had confirmed them, her attitude toward him became even more aggressive.
"There's no need. You've done quite enough already," Liu Fengying interrupted him before he could reach for Professor Wei again.
Did Han Yu think her reaction was an exaggeration? Well, he should have thanked the heavens for his current situation; had they been in the world where Liu Fengying had spent her previous life, he would likely be searching for his severed arms on the floor right now. After all, Professor Wei was someone she was interested in, so how could Liu Fengying not feel provoked by Han Yu's actions?
"Besides, I doubt you'd even be capable of it..." Liu Fengying didn't hesitate to rub salt in the wound, scanning Han Yu's rather slender arms with a critical gaze.
"......", Han Yu stood there with a frozen smile, his mask of gentility beginning to crack. He felt he had put an immense amount of effort into impressing Liu Fengying, so being treated with such disdain was a devastating blow to his ego. After all, he was someone raised as a young master, not some stray dog to fawn over whoever had just kicked him.
Moreover, being singled out in front of everyone for being weaker than a girl made him want to sink into the ground with shame. Under these circumstances, how could he not harbor resentment toward Liu Fengying?
But did this diminish his desire to be with her? On the contrary. Han Yu swore to himself that he would win her heart at any cost, even if it meant being treated like a doormat. It wasn't out of some masochistic tendency, but rather the opposite: he thought that once Liu Fengying fell head over heels for him, it wouldn't be too late for the roles to be reversed. Just imagining such a perfect and proud girl being completely at his mercy sent a thrill of excitement through him.
"...Then, is there anything else I can help you with?" he continued, trying to appear as benevolent as before.
Had Liu Fengying missed the malice that flashed through Han Yu's eyes? Of course not. In fact, she suspected exactly what was crossing his mind; Han Yu was hardly the first young man to develop a sick obsession with her, and she was quite familiar with the signs they displayed.
However, since the importance Liu Fengying placed on Han Yu was exactly zero, she was totally indifferent to how sincere he was being. Ultimately, there was only one kind of response he could ever receive from her.
"The only way you can help me is by leaving me alone from now on..." Liu Fengying began, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "First of all—and this applies to others as well—I am not attracted to men, so I see these confessions as nothing more than a nuisance..." Liu Fengying said, putting into practice her plan to ensure the boys at school would stop pursuing her.
Was her partial "coming out" a bit hasty? Liu Fengying didn't think so; after all, she had no intention of hiding her attraction to girls. It was true that doing it in such a dramatic fashion felt a bit tacky; her preferences were her business alone, and no one else's concern. Still, in a world full of people who ignore subtle signs, it is sometimes necessary to make things blindingly obvious, otherwise, peace is impossible to find.
Naturally, her words sparked a wave of exclamations all around her, but Liu Fengying ignored them and continued:
"Secondly, and this refers specifically to you: my opinion of you is the same as my friend's. Well, I don't have the time to repeat what she said, and I don't think you'd enjoy hearing it again anyway. Because of that, even if I were willing to enter a relationship with a boy, it most certainly wouldn't be you..."