Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 46: Comparing People

“Are you really not mad?” Parth looked into her eyes, trying to determine the truth.

Shehnaaz’s gaze was clear, and she laughed again, smoothing her
hair. “Yep, I’m not going to get mad over someone who doesn’t concern me. It’s late, go home first Class Rep.”

Parth looked at his watch, “Then I’ll go now. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow.”

Shehnaaz quickly shook her head, “It’s ok, I have to work on my thesis tomorrow”

“Ok, you go up first. I’ll leave after I see you get back to the dorm.” Parth lit another cigarette and smiled at Shehnaaz. She seemed like an easy going person, but it would actually be difficult to win her affections.

Shehnaaz saw that she couldn’t convince him otherwise and said no more before turning back to the dorm. She went upstairs and took out the coffees and muffins her roommates had ordered from the large Starbucks box and set them on their respective desks. She then went to the veranda to look downstairs.

Parth raised his head and squinted as he waved goodbye, then got back in his car and drove off. The roommates saw that Shehnaaz appeared relaxed and cheerful, so they knew that the pair must have worked it out. They didn’t point it out openly, but
purposely said, “What a tiring day, we should sleep soon.”

Shehnaaz came out after showering and saw that her roommates were all asleep. She checked her phone and saw that Sidharth still hadn’t called back. She took her laptop to bed with her and began to write her thesis, not stopping until the clock struck two in the morning. By that time, her eyes couldn’t stay open, so she finally
closed the laptop and fell asleep. She kept the phone beside her and didn’t set it to vibrate, in case Sidharth did call.

She woke in the morning when the sun was already bright.

Little Temptress was doing yoga on the balcony and when she heard Shehnaaz speak to Green Tea Sharma, she said, “Lil Sis, Class Rep brought breakfast over for you. I think it’s a
breakfast combo from Fortune
Terrace.”

Shehnaaz checked her phone and saw that there were no calls or texts. Looks like Sidharth was very busy, or maybe he doesn’t care about something as trivial as my acceptance? The thought saddened Shehnaaz. Although she called him Uncle Sid, they were not related at all. He was an esteemed
Major General, and she was an orphan. Shehnaaz shook her head and
hurriedly dressed and washed up. She then took her laptop bag and went downstairs.

Parth walked over. “Did you eat yet?”
“Class Rep, you knew I hadn’t eaten yet and brought this over?” Shehnaaz looked at the Fortune Terrace container Parth was holding with interest.

I really am hungry.

She barely ate last night due to her excitement. When she woke up in the morning, she finally realised she was truly starving. Parth took her to the stone table and bench by the campus lake to have breakfast. Early March in C City was a little chilly in the
mornings, but Fortune Terrace’s
steaming birds nest orzo congee,
freshly steamed soup dumplings, and authentic stewed beef were so deliciously warm that she hardly noticed the nippy air.. Before they
knew it, she had devoured the entire breakfast combo.

Parth only dipped from a box of milk. He laughed.

“Looks like you really didn’t eat
yesterday. You didn’t like the Italian food from the Red ManorRestaurant?”

Shehnaaz smiled, “It’s not that I don’t like Italian food.!I just don’t like onions.”

Parth thought about it and realised that there were quite a few dishes with onions last night. He nodded. “I’ll know for next times I won’t order anything with onions for you.”

They talked for a bit more, then tidied up and went their separate ways. Shehnaaz sat in the library all morning and revised the abstract statement for her thesis. Her neck was sore from sitting in front of the computer for so long. She rubbed the back of it and suddenly noticed that someone had sat down in front her her. Shehnaaz raised her head and saw it was Professor Kartik Sen.

“Professor Sen?!” Shehnaaz was shocked and delighted.

“You came to read at our library?”
Kartik nodded his head. He was in a navy blue casual suit jacket made of wool, paired with matching trousers. He sat across from Shehnaaz, a whole head taller than her even while seated. It was only then that Shehnaaz really
took note of just how tall and
handsome he was. Although he was not as muscular as Sidharth, he had a similar athleticism about him. With the combination of his piercing eyes and mature demeanor, he radiated an enigmatic presence.

As Shehnaaz observed him, he did the same to her. She was taller than most girls her age and was already nearly
5’7 before even turning 18. Her skin was so fair it appeared translucent—from a distance it looked like it was as smooth as marble, and up it was even more flawless. Her wide eyes were especially captivating. As for her
figure, although she was wearing a loose fitting, lavender cashmere sweater, he could see that her curves were more pronounced than the
average woman’s. He lowered his eyes and casually closed the book before him. “What are you writing?”

“My graduate thesis.” Shehnaaz thought about Kartik becoming her instructor next spring and instantly became excited about discussing the abstract for her thesis. Kartik was indeed able to quickly point out
defects in her abstract. He also helped her formulate several excellent
breakthroughs.

Shehnaaz revised her abstract again and sighed in appreciation. “Applying the words and corrections of a wise
man is truly superior to ten years of studying.”

Kartik stood up. He took out a slim card holder from his pocket and pulled out a business card. He set it on the
table. “Work hard on your thesis. You can send it to me after you’re done and I’ll help you revise it further.”

“Ok!” Shehnaaz was overjoyed. She took Kartik’s business card with both hands and saw that it had his email,
phone number, and his office’s
address. It also had the address of a law office.

Shehnaaz looked at it carefully. “Professor Sen, are you working part-time at the Sovereign Law Firm?”

Kartik’s softened slightly as though in amusement, but it was so faint that it dissipated immediately. “No, not part- time. This is my law office.”

“Oh? You truly are the role model for us law students!” Shehnaaz marveled, genuinely impressed. When would she
ever be able to be a partner, or run her own law office?

Kartik seemed to read her mind and said dryly, “Becoming a partner is not a difficult thing to do, as long as you can prove your abilities.”

“I humbly accept your blessings, then.” Shehnaaz was thrilled to be receiving such advice and praise from Kartik. This was to be her instructor and boss for the next three years, and things would be a lot smoother if she was right by his side! As she watched him leave, her phone rang plaintively.

She extended her finger to swipe it open. “Class Rep, what’s the matter?”

“It’s noon; I’ll pick you up for lunch.” He then said, “It’s raining too. I brought you an umbrella. Stay inside and wait
for me at the door.”

Shehnaaz looked outside and saw it had indeed started raining without her realising it. She was a little touched. She tidied up to go downstairs and ended up seeing Rashmi attentively hold an umbrella for Kartik, bending over to open the car’s rear door for him to get in. Shehnaaz clicked her tongue to herself and thought that Rashmi wasn’t a teaching assistant, but rather more like a housekeeper.
Kartik’s black Mercedes splashed through the puddles as it drove off in the rain. Several people standing in front of the library quickly moved out of the way to avoid it. One of them was Parth, who was holding a grey umbrella.

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I hope you enjoy reading it.
Love you all.