"Is it appropriate for a student to pry into her teacher's private life?" Xiang Xiaotong asked.
"Aren't we good friends?" Song He countered.
Xiang Xiaotong sighed softly and said with a helpless smile, "There's actually nothing much to tell. Just like you predicted, every meeting ended the moment we met. The blind dates were a complete disaster!"
"Tell me everything." Song He asked, "Wasn't that lecturer from Peking University your first choice? Why did you turn him down?"
"When I met him, we sat down and he introduced himself first. But after only a couple of sentences, he suddenly sighed and laughed, saying he was very sorry, but he knew at first glance that it probably wouldn't work. He felt he wasn't good enough for me." Xiang Xiaotong held her forehead. "After saying that, he got up and left. I hadn't even reacted yet."
Song He was surprised, and his impression of the man changed drastically. "Looks like he was an upright man, not an Academic Lao Ai."
"Actually, he gave me a pretty good impression. Maybe we could have talked for a while. I didn't expect him to be such a coward." Xiang Xiaotong looked helpless. "A few years ago, there was an associate professor on my research team who suddenly handed in his resignation. I asked whether he was dissatisfied with his salary. He said no. He had joined my team because he was attracted to me, but the more he interacted with me, the more he felt he wasn't good enough for me. He didn't dare pursue me at all, so he decided to withdraw in the face of difficulties."
"I was even a little tempted at the time. I nearly told him to give it a try, but he had no confidence, and I lost confidence