Embarrassed and Awkward
Su Li smiled faintly, cleared her throat, and suddenly imitated Professor Jade Evans's voice: "Leonard Yuan, I've already heard the news that you've passed the county exam. I'm truly delighted, and I hope you'll continue to work hard and aim for the top scholar title soon."
Leonard Yuan was still in a daze when, out of nowhere, Professor Jade Evans's voice sounded in his ear. Instinctively, he turned around and bowed respectfully toward the source of the voice. "Student greets Professor Evans!"
"Hahaha!" Across from him, it wasn't Professor Evans's voice that rang out, but rather Su Li's bell-like laughter.
Leonard Yuan snapped back to reality, raised his head, and saw that there was no Professor Evans in front of him—only his own sister, Su Li!
But just now, he clearly heard Professor Jade Evans's voice! Leonard Yuan could never mistake that voice, not even in his dreams. What was going on?
Leonard Yuan's mind was even more muddled than a pot of porridge. He stood there, dumbfounded, looking like a silly goose, which made Mrs. Charlotte Evans burst out laughing. "Leonard, have you studied yourself silly? The Professor you keep thinking about is actually your sister, Su Li!"
"Ah!!!" Leonard Yuan's eyes widened in shock, his mouth agape—he could've fit two eggs in there.
"Professor Jade Evans is actually Sister Su Li? This... this... how is that possible!" Leonard Yuan could hardly believe his own ears.
"Leonard, your mother isn't lying to you. The whole capital knows by now—you just got back and haven't heard, right?" Mrs. Charlotte Evans smiled. "Actually, your father and I have known about your sister's identity for a long time. We were just worried that if you found out the Dean was your own sister, you might lose motivation and slack off in your studies, so we kept it from you."
Now Leonard Yuan was completely stunned. He stared blankly at Su Li, comparing the Professor Evans in his memory to his sister standing before him. Oh wow, the body shape really was similar!
"Sister Li, are you really Professor Evans?" Leonard Yuan's face turned bright red as he scratched his head.
"That's right, I am Professor Jade Evans, and Professor Evans is me. Years ago, Dean Gu invited me to teach at Phoenix Academy, so for convenience, I asked White Pete to make me a disguise mask and appeared to the world as Professor Evans. Now that my identity has been revealed, there's nothing left to hide." Su Li laughed.
"Ahhh! My sister is actually Professor Evans—this... ahhhh!" Leonard Yuan thought about how the person he admired most was actually his own sister!
Then he remembered all the silly, mischievous things he'd done in front of Su Li since childhood—turns out Professor Evans had known about them all along! Instantly, his face felt like it was on fire, burning with embarrassment. He covered his face and dashed out of the room.
Leonard Yuan ran off, leaving Su Li and Aunt Charlotte laughing heartily.
Aunt Charlotte chuckled, "Leonard respects Professor Evans so much. Telling him all of a sudden that you're Professor Evans—he probably just can't handle it right now."
Su Li nodded. "Mm, I get it. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to accept it right away either."
The two of them chatted about family matters for a bit. Then Su Li personally walked Aunt Charlotte and Leonard Yuan to the door. Halfway there, Su Li casually asked, "Aunt Charlotte, do you think it's better to run a hot pot business in the capital or back home in Southland?"
Aunt Charlotte replied, "Both places have their advantages. It's hard to say which is better."
"What if your family opened a hot pot restaurant in Southland?" Su Li asked, sounding offhand.
Aunt Charlotte laughed, "There aren't any franchise hot pot restaurants in Southland yet. It's a huge market over there—opening one would be a great idea."
Su Li smiled. "Then I'll leave it to you to give it a try."