"What do you want to talk about? Must you come this close to me before you speak?" Mr. Fang queried with an unpleasant gaze.
He was worried about his nose picking up any strong scent or odor. He didn't want to deal with the aftermath later, so it was better to avoid every root problem from the onset.
Zhang Liling thought he was very angry with her because of the incident in class and quickly apologized to him with a bow before standing erect and fixing a panicked gaze on him.
"Mr. Fang I'm really sorry for offending you. But can you explain where I got it all wrong? You asked me to convince you, and I did tell you my story." Zhang Liling said with an ashen gaze.
Her tone was very mild to the extent that you could feel the exhaustion in her voice. She was feeling very weak and faint, but clearing the air with Mr. Fang was very important.
Mr. Fang took a good look at her and felt that she was not okay, but that didn't bother him.
He would have left anyway, but because she was bold enough to find out where she went wrong, he was willing to explain to her, but first, he had to put a distance between them.
With that, Mr. Fang took a few steps backward but Zhang Liling misunderstood his actions and thought he wanted to run away, so she put a step forward, but Mr. Fang's command stopped her in her tracks.
"Don't you dare move an inch! Must you come close to me before we can have a conversation?" Mr. Fang asked with a glare as he put his fingers on his nose to rub it.
He was almost frustrated by Zhang Liling's actions. He was trying to put a reasonable distance between them, but she seemed not to get it.
Zhang Liling on the other hand was taken aback by his instructions and actions, but she soon stopped worrying about them when she saw that he wasn't trying to leave.
Mr. Fang loosened his guard seeing her standing there obediently then, he released his nose from the firm grip before saying to her with a serious gaze and a little disappointment in his tone.
"You are in your graduate year already and as a business student, but your negotiation skills are zero. I wonder how you managed to escape from your abductor." Mr. Fang sneered.
He wondered who was the fool between Zhang Liling and her abductor if she managed to get away with the 0 negotiation skills she showed to him.
Zhang Liling looked surprised that he believed her story and almost crossed the line, but his reminder to keep the distance cleared her fogged mind.
"Mr. Fang, do you believe my story?" Zhang Liling asked with a big smile. Just a few seconds ago, she looked as if she was about to die, but right now, she was looking like her usual self.
"Only if you don't want to graduate would you dare lie to me." Mr. Fang said.
He was very sure that with his stern attitude towards his students, none of them would dare to lie.
"I asked you to convince me and you only talked about the problems you faced before going ahead to tell me you were 10 seconds early to my class. Where were your credibility and trustworthiness?" He questioned with a serious gaze.
Zhang Liling seemed a little lost. She was unsure if her mind was messing with her, but she didn't look like she read any meaning to his words.
Mr. Fang observed her from the side and knew she didn't understand a word he said. He no longer wanted to waste his time on her.
He could have left there and walked away, but when he thought back to the 100% chance of her chasing after him, he decided to release a deep breath to calm his nerves down before explaining.
"Your explanation was good, pointing out that you were on time, was okay, but what happens after that? You didn't apologize although you were caught up with unforeseen circumstances, and you didn't say anything about today's situation not repeating itself."
Zhang Liling just stood there like an obedient cat listening to his lectures.
'What an honor it is to stand before Mr. Fang. Gosh, his looks are heavenly and he has a pair of attractive eyes, but why does he hide them with a framed-glasses? Ehn… are those glasses fake?'
The human being Mr. Fang was speaking to had already gone into a trance while admiring him.
Mr. Fang was still unaware that his outstanding student wasn't even paying attention to his teaching, but he stopped speaking because Zhang Liling didn't look well to him.
He thought that it must be related to the ordeal she faced in the morning and made a conclusive statement.
"If you want to last in the business world, work on your negotiation skills."
Zhang Liling came back to her senses after his last statement and seeing that he was about to leave, she asked an important question.
"Mr. Fang, can I continue to attend your class?"
If after everything he said to her, and all the efforts she put in to avoid a situation like this and he still goes on to ban her from his class, nothing would make sense.
And if she would want to retaliate, she would start with her stepmother first, not minding what it would cost her.
Fortunately, Mr. Fang nodded in approval and walked past her.
Zhang Liling became happy and more proactive. Forgetting how weak she was, she thanked him with a deep bow but ended up not making it back to her initial standing position.
She collapsed with a huge force, causing her entire body system to shut down automatically, not giving her brain even the chance to process her situation, and the pain from the force of her body making a contact with the hard tiled floor.
It was the loud sudden thud her body made when it kissed the hard cold floor, that managed to get Mr. Fang's attention, and stopped him in his tracks.
As he slowly turned around, he saw her lying there, unresponsive.