After Escaping Marriage - Chapter 82
Chapter 82
On the screen, night turned to day, and the woman's silhouette was briefly illuminated in the theater.
The woman's face was close, her skin smooth and delicate, without visible pores, tinged with a faint pink. Her lips were also a light pink, moist and full, looking very kissable.
Yu Qingtang's fingers slid from her cheek to the woman's chin, gently lifting it.
All of this was instinctive.
Closeness, intimacy, kissing, affection—as long as it was this person before her, anything was fine.
But Yu Qingtang was already awake. She was like an uninvolved bystander, lucidly watching her reason and impulse battle endlessly within the same body.
Cheng Zhanxi's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Yu Qingtang's gaze struggled to move from her red lips to her eyelashes. This string, stretched to its limit, finally had a moment's respite. Seizing this sliver of opportunity, Yu Qingtang's hand left Cheng Zhanxi's chin.
The expected kiss didn't arrive. The warm breath that had brushed her lips receded, and the feeling of closeness vanished.
Unease rose in Cheng Zhanxi's heart.
At the same time, a sudden clap of thunder erupted from the screen.
Bang—
It exploded in both their ears simultaneously.
The only four audience members in the theater were startled. The two people in front hastily separated, presumably having just kissed. Cheng Zhanxi opened her eyes and looked at Yu Qingtang before her. Yu Qingtang's expression was clear. She raised her hand to tuck a strand of long hair behind Cheng Zhanxi's ear, her voice calm and cool: "It's just the movie's sound effects."
Cheng Zhanxi hummed softly.
Both looked at the big screen simultaneously—a daytime downpour.
The previously brilliant sunlight instantly disappeared into the clouds, replaced by roiling dark clouds, carrying silver-white lightning that split the darkness again and again, only for the darkness to surge back, engulfing the light, leaving no sight of the sky.
Yu Qingtang's left fingertips, hanging by her side, dug deeply into her own knuckles. She closed her eyes.
Her runaway heartbeat gradually returned to normal.
Before the movie ended, the male and female leads finally had a kissing scene, kissing very affectionately and passionately.
The couple in the front seats were hugging and making out. They would probably be together after leaving the cinema.
Cheng Zhanxi glanced at Yu Qingtang out of the corner of her eye. Yu Qingtang placed the no-longer-crispy popcorn on her lap, lowered her head, and put it into her mouth piece by piece. The long hair by her ear fell, obscuring her expression.
The movie ended, and the lights in the theater gradually brightened.
Yu Qingtang first picked up Cheng Zhanxi's coat and draped it over her, then put on her own. Cheng Zhanxi reached out to take her hand. Yu Qingtang subtly avoided it for a moment before letting her hand rest in Cheng Zhanxi's palm.
Cheng Zhanxi watched her lowered gaze as she slowly walked down the steps, tossing the empty cup in her hand into the green bin prepared by the cleaning lady.
In the mall elevator, Yu Qingtang wrapped her scarf around her, revealing only her dark eyes, which stared unblinkingly at the descending numbers of the elevator.
The car was parked on the mall's basement level. Their footsteps, uneven, echoed with a slightly messy sound in the empty parking lot.
Cheng Zhanxi pressed the lock button on the car key. In Yu Qingtang's peripheral vision, the white Audi's lights flashed. Her eyes moved sluggishly, then she lowered her eyelids.
Cheng Zhanxi led her to the car, helped her into the passenger seat, and reached for the seatbelt by the door. A fair, slender hand grasped the top of the seatbelt. Yu Qingtang said, "I'll do it myself."
Cheng Zhanxi smiled. "Okay."
A section of the seatbelt got stuck at the exit point. Yu Qingtang pushed it in a little, then smoothly pulled it out and inserted it into the buckle.
Cheng Zhanxi went around to the other side and got in the car, turned on the car stereo, and played "Xiao Chou," a song Yu Qingtang liked very much.
Yu Qingtang stared at the parking lot wall in front of the car window, saying nothing.
Cheng Zhanxi drove away from the mall.
A cup to hometown, a cup to the past / Broadening my body, weighing down my shoulders / Never believing in so-called endless mountains and rivers / Life is short, why dwell on what's unforgettable...
The night was as cool as water.
Building 19 of Mingmen Residence stood quietly in the moonlight. The elevator on the 21st floor opened from the middle to both sides.
"Goodnight, Teacher Yu."
"Goodnight." Yu Qingtang nodded and walked to the left.
Cheng Zhanxi watched her retreating figure from where she stood. Yu Qingtang's steps grew slower and slower, her willow-like eyebrows furrowed, and she stopped.
She turned around sluggishly, opening her arms a little slower than usual. Her eyes looked at Cheng Zhanxi's face, yet seemed to be staring blankly. Her voice, slightly adrift, said, "Today, we haven't..."
Before she could finish, Cheng Zhanxi walked over in a few steps and hugged her.
Yu Qingtang's hands hung by her sides.
Cheng Zhanxi rubbed her cheek against Yu Qingtang's, which had become cold from the wind in the underground parking lot, and whispered clearly in her ear, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
The door to 2101 closed.
Cheng Zhanxi didn't linger in the hallway and turned to enter the opposite apartment.
Yu Qingtang took off her shoes, like a walking corpse, and walked barefoot to the living room sofa and sat down. On the opposite wall hung "Blizzard," which had been rehung outside. The gloomy, howling blizzard in the canvas, mixed with violent water vapor, seemed to surge out of the frame, tossing her high like a fishing boat. Cold seawater rose, starting from her ankles, bit by bit submerging her neck, mouth, nose, and eyes, and continued to rise.
The living room was filled with seawater. Yu Qingtang lay in the seawater with her eyes closed, letting the familiar feeling of suffocation envelop her, her mind blank, drifting with the current.
Yu Qingtang looked at the painting for a very long time. The corners of her lips twitched into a semblance of a smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Her expression was indifferent.
She pulled the thin blanket from the sofa, unfolded it, covered herself, and lay down directly, closing her eyes.
After a while, she opened her eyes, folded the blanket back to its original state, got up, and returned to the bedroom.
She never slept on the sofa at home, no exceptions.
Her long hair half-dried, Yu Qingtang emerged from the steamy bathroom. An image flickered vaguely in her mind, but before it could fully form, Yu Qingtang forcibly expelled it. Her steps didn't even pause; she maintained her usual pace to the edge of the bed, casually picked up a purely English professional book from the drawer, and leaned against the headboard, flipping through it expressionlessly.
Time passed midnight. Yu Qingtang closed the book, propped her elbow on the pillow, and lay down.
Darkness easily made thoughts inescapable. Yu Qingtang dimmed the table lamp but didn't turn it off, gradually falling asleep in the slightly harsh light.
She was glad that, due to childhood events, she had developed the ability to not remember her dreams. In the past, she always liked to fantasize that her incomplete life could be made whole in dreams: Yu Ci hadn't died because of her, she had a happy family, parents who doted on her, and grew up healthy and happy in love and warmth.
But waking up, she could only face the cold reality.
Yu Ci became a black and white photo in a frame in the mourning hall. Her maternal grandparents didn't say it, but Yu Qingtang knew they also harbored resentment: why did their excellent daughter die so young, leaving behind a deaf-mute girl? Yu Qingtang still remembered that winter when, entrusted by Wei Tingyu, they went to the countryside near the capital to pick her up. That was the first time she met her grandparents. Based on her limited knowledge, she knew they were her mother's parents. She washed her face clean, combed her hair neatly, changed out of her old cotton clothes, and put on the new clothes she had secretly hidden, which were meant to be worn the following year, waiting for them in the courtyard.
At that time, her grandparents' hair wasn't entirely white, only gray at the temples, and they looked quite healthy. When they saw Yu Qingtang standing in the courtyard like a silent little blade of grass, they asked the servant beside them with a complicated expression, "Is this her?"
The servant, eager to get rid of Yu Qingtang, this burden, and return to the city sooner, said cheerfully, "Yes, it's her, Wei Qingtang."
Everything was packed in advance. There wasn't much luggage to bring, as most of it had been withheld by the servant. Yu Qingtang folded the drawing Cheng Zhanxi had given her and hid it in her undergarments.
Fang Wenjiao took Yu Qingtang's hand.
Walking to her grandfather's side, the couple exchanged a look and sighed softly.
Her grandfather shook his head as he walked.
During the long journey from the Capital City to Sicheng, they hadn't hugged her, not even once.
The precocious Yu Qingtang knew then that her mother's parents didn't like her either. She was like a worthless piece of cargo, passed from one person's hands to another's, disliked by everyone, yet they had to accept her.
Her biological father treated the Wei family's children as his own, yet she couldn't even call him "Dad."
So she wasn't afraid of falling asleep, nor was she afraid of dreaming. Whether good or bad, dreams were just dreams, leaving no trace upon waking.
The cinema was also a dream. She hadn't watched a movie with Cheng Zhanxi, nor had she wanted to kiss her, and certainly hadn't developed feelings for her beyond those of a good friend.
After waking from the dream, everything would return to how it was.
Yu Qingtang's self-hypnosis was very effective. She once again woke up in the faint morning light, touching the upturned corners of her lips.
At the 21st-floor elevator entrance.
Yu Qingtang: "Good morning."
Cheng Zhanxi looked at the smile blooming in her eyes, slightly surprised, and returned the same smile: "Good morning."
Yu Qingtang pressed the elevator button.
The two walked into the elevator. Cheng Zhanxi looked at their faces reflected on the smooth elevator wall, her thoughts a little dazed.
What was the situation now?
Had she accepted it? Tacitly approved of their relationship?
Having learned her lesson from last time at Yu Qingtang's house, Cheng Zhanxi didn't dare to unilaterally define their relationship again. Her perspective and Yu Qingtang's might not be the same. If Yu Qingtang could forget a kiss they'd shared before, how much more so this time when they hadn't even kissed.
Cheng Zhanxi decided to test the waters first.
Cheng Zhanxi: "Last night at the cinema..."
The elevator stopped at one of the floors, and a tenant happened to enter. Cheng Zhanxi paused. Just then, she heard Yu Qingtang's puzzled voice: "What cinema?"
Cheng Zhanxi: "..."
Yu Qingtang said, "Didn't I have evening self-study last night?"
Cheng Zhanxi explained, "You covered an evening self-study session for Teacher Wang last Friday, so last night's session was Teacher Wang's turn."
Yu Qingtang was silent for a moment, then said, "So?"
Cheng Zhanxi was at a loss for words.
"So..." Cheng Zhanxi looked into her eyes, wanting to say, "The two of us went to the cinema together," but a mist suddenly welled up in Yu Qingtang's clear, watery eyes as she looked at her almost pleadingly.
Cheng Zhanxi was stunned. The words that had risen to her heart took a turn, and she changed her tune: "No 'so'." She gently stroked Yu Qingtang's head and comforted her, "Nothing happened."
Yu Qingtang softly asked back, "Nothing happened?"
Cheng Zhanxi's heart ached, but she affirmed, "Yes."
Yu Qingtang relaxed and habitually wanted to lean into Cheng Zhanxi's embrace. Because of their previous conversation, she hesitated for a moment. Cheng Zhanxi took the initiative to hug her, gently patting her back.
During the lunch break, the two went home together. Yu Qingtang slept in Cheng Zhanxi's study.
At half-past one, Cheng Zhanxi pushed the door open and sat on the edge of the bed.
Yu Qingtang's hands were clasped over the quilt on her waist, her breathing light and steady, her chest rising and falling rhythmically.
Cheng Zhanxi felt a little like laughing, but the corners of her lips were as heavy as if a stone was weighing them down, leaving only a sigh in her eyes.
Yu Qingtang probably didn't know that her acting of being asleep was also terrible.
Cheng Zhanxi gently nudged Yu Qingtang's shoulder. Yu Qingtang didn't open her eyes and skillfully snuggled into her embrace. Cheng Zhanxi held her as usual, cradling her and coaxing her with soft words.
The two maintained their good-friend relationship as if walking on thin ice, just as before.
...
A week later, on Wednesday, during evening self-study.
After the first session, the pen in Xing Bailu's hand was snatched away. He Shuangjiang grabbed her hand and ran out of the classroom.
"Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Xing Bailu asked while running, looking back at her desk. A corner of her test paper was lifted by the wind coming through the window, fluttering precariously. She shouted, "Tong Feifei, help me put my paper away, don't let it fall on the floor."
Tong Feifei drawled, "Got it~"
The break between classes was only ten minutes.
He Shuangjiang pulled Xing Bailu quickly downstairs. Xing Bailu wasn't very fit; after running down a few flights of stairs, she was panting heavily, her tone laced with dissatisfaction, "What are you doing?"
He Shuangjiang didn't speak, staring intently at her. She brought the hand she was holding to her lips and pecked it lightly.
A blush flew onto Xing Bailu's cheeks. She tried to pull her hand back but couldn't, then reluctantly let He Shuangjiang separate her fingers.
He Shuangjiang understood and intertwined their fingers.
The wisteria in Sicheng No. 1 Middle School's covered walkway was lush, almost covering the entire corridor, like a sea of purple. The wisteria bloomed year-round, becoming even shadier in winter.
A sacred spot for couples' dates. Xing Bailu had clearly been brought here before. She glanced around. Although it was just the two of them, she couldn't help feeling nervous. Her fingers, intertwined with He Shuangjiang's, tightened, and she whispered a reminder, "Hurry up."
He Shuangjiang embraced her and sat down in the corridor, one arm tightening around her waist. Their clasped hands separated, and He Shuangjiang lifted her chin.
Xing Bailu's heart pounded. She closed her eyes.
The cold wind blew through the corridor but couldn't cool the couple's burning hearts.
He Shuangjiang's eyes lowered, and she kissed her.
Xing Bailu's hand, which had been gripping He Shuangjiang's hem, loosened, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around her neck. Warmth passed between them, their breaths mingling.
He Shuangjiang cupped the back of her head, pulling her into her embrace while deepening the kiss.
"Mm..."
Xing Bailu's expression was dazed. She couldn't help but want to see He Shuangjiang's expression. Her eyelids slowly opened, and in her peripheral vision, she saw someone standing behind He Shuangjiang.
Xing Bailu's eyes flew wide open, her pupils contracting violently.
He Shuangjiang was suddenly pushed away by a strong force from in front of her. She stumbled backward, almost tumbling from the corridor into the lawn behind.
A slender, strong hand firmly supported her back.
He Shuangjiang subconsciously started, "Tha—"
She suddenly felt something was wrong and looked up to see their dear homeroom teacher, Yu Qingtang.
He Shuangjiang's face turned deathly pale.
Xing Bailu's heart sank.
Was there anything worse than being caught secretly dating and kissing by your homeroom teacher? No.
But why did Yu Qingtang's face look even worse than theirs? As if she had received some kind of shock.
Was it because they had angered her?
The two girls lowered their heads in self-reproach and shame.
After a long while, they finally heard Yu Qingtang's restrained voice from above.
"Come to my office."
Yu Qingtang took the first step, her figure swaying unsteadily. Xing Bailu wanted to support her, but Yu Qingtang waved her hand, indicating she was fine. She leaned on a pillar of the corridor, her pale face under the corridor light looking like a female ghost—her face white, her lips even whiter.
Xing Bailu shot He Shuangjiang a fierce glare.
If it weren't for her, Teacher Yu wouldn't have been this angry!
Yu Qingtang rested for a moment, then walked towards the office, followed by two dejected students.
Arriving at the office, Yu Qingtang closed the door and walked towards the two girls standing in front of her desk as if being punished.
...
After lecturing the students, Yu Qingtang seemed to have lost all her strength and slumped into the soft office chair.
She didn't have self-study class tonight, just stayed at school in case of any unforeseen situations. Feeling stuffy in the office, she went out for some air, wandering aimlessly. Unconsciously, she arrived at the covered walkway she had visited with Cheng Zhanxi, and that's when she accidentally stumbled upon He Shuangjiang and Xing Bailu kissing.
She had never seen anyone kiss at such close range, let alone a pair of girls.
She received quite a shock, so for a moment, she forgot to speak up and interrupt.
He Shuangjiang cupped Xing Bailu's face, gently nibbling her lips. The moist, soft redness slipped in, tangling gently.
A faint, wet sound echoed in the air.
Yu Qingtang trembled body and soul. The scene reflected in her eyes, but gradually, a sense of daze arose.
Those two figures elongated and transformed, their features maturing. The people kissing in the corridor became her and Cheng Zhanxi. Once the thought arose, it spread like wildfire.
The cinema she had deliberately forgotten, the intimate distance where they were just two centimeters from kissing, leaped over the surface of her memory and emerged clearly.
She wanted to kiss her, absolutely and truly.
Yu Qingtang tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
The door to 2102 was wide open.
Cheng Zhanxi raised her wrist to look at her watch, her expression anxious. It was already ten-twenty, why wasn't Yu Qingtang back yet?
Yu Qingtang hadn't sent a message saying she had school matters and would be late.
Cheng Zhanxi waited until ten-thirty, went back inside to put on her coat, ready to go out and look for her. Just as she closed the main door, the elevator dinged.
There were only two households on this floor. Cheng Zhanxi took a few steps forward. Yu Qingtang looked up in the elevator, and Cheng Zhanxi's worried face appeared in her line of sight.
Without thinking, Yu Qingtang instinctively took a small step back.
Cheng Zhanxi watched her take that step back, a dull ache in her chest. Her gaze traveled up from Yu Qingtang's feet to her face, and she asked gently, her expression unchanged, "Why are you back so late today?"
Yu Qingtang answered vaguely, "Something came up suddenly."
Cheng Zhanxi stepped back from the elevator entrance and said, "Next time, let me know in advance."
Yu Qingtang nodded. "Got it."
She walked out. Cheng Zhanxi reached out to touch her face. Yu Qingtang subtly avoided it and said, "Goodnight."
Cheng Zhanxi: "Goodnight."
She used a smile to hide the growing unease and fear in her heart, tilted her head, and asked in a light tone, "No hug today?"
Yu Qingtang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes."
Cheng Zhanxi opened her coat and forcefully pulled Yu Qingtang into her embrace.
Yu Qingtang buried her face in Cheng Zhanxi's neck, feeling the body in her arms trembling slightly. Her hand, hanging by her side, involuntarily rose to gently pat her back.
They hugged in the hallway for a long time before Cheng Zhanxi finally let her go. She took both of Yu Qingtang's hands, which were hanging by her sides, looked at her deeply, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
The wind blew all night. Everything was desolate, and the winter insects in the grass were silent.
The next morning at six o'clock.
Yu Qingtang walked out of the elevator, her face unusually pale. The "salted fish" receptionist on duty on the first floor was propping up her chin, her eyelids almost stuck together, her head nodding.
The sound of shoe soles on the floor startled her, making her almost jump out of her chair. She opened her eyes and saw the slender Yu Qingtang in a black coat in front of her. Outside the first-floor glass door, the night was still deep. The "salted fish" rubbed her eyes and looked back at the wall clock behind her.
Miss Salted Fish: "!!!"
It's only six o'clock!!!
What kind of demonic departure time is this?!
"Good morning, Miss Yu." Shocked as she was, she greeted her politely with a sweet smile.
Yu Qingtang nodded slightly.
The beauty mark at the corner of her left eye and her upward-tilting eyeliner formed a line. Her expression was icy, and she wasn't smiling.
Perhaps it was Miss Salted Fish's imagination, but Yu Qingtang's demeanor felt a bit like when they first met—just as distant and unapproachable. Was it because Miss Cheng wasn't by her side?
Miss Salted Fish watched her open the glass door, her black figure slowly melting into the depths of the night, gradually disappearing from sight.
School dormitory area.
Xiao Qing was the first to finish washing up. She put away her washbasin, came out, changed her clothes, and picked up her books to go to the classroom.
It was just six-fifteen. The sky was gray and dim. The school was silent. Streetlights cast tree shadows that swayed in the wind. Xiao Qing came up the stairs and saw a person standing silently at the distant classroom door. It was very abrupt in the long, quiet corridor. The daylight wasn't bright, and the person, dressed in black, blended into the darkness.
Xiao Qing was startled and almost cried out.
Xiao Qing's heart leaped. Clutching her books, she walked forward a dozen steps and felt that the figure looked somewhat familiar.
"Teacher Yu?"
The person turned at the sound. It was indeed Yu Qingtang, her expression grave.
Xiao Qing breathed a sigh of relief, walked over quickly, and said, "Good morning, Teacher."
Yu Qingtang nodded but didn't speak.
Xiao Qing took the key from her pocket, opened the classroom door, and flicked the switches by the door. The classroom lights came on one by one, instantly as bright as day. The white light pouring out from the doorway dispelled the darkness behind Yu Qingtang.
Yu Qingtang squinted, stung by the light.
Xiao Qing said, "Teacher Yu, why are you here so early today?"
Yu Qingtang stood outside the door and said lightly, "Woke up early."
Xiao Qing: "It's cold outside. Would you like to sit in the classroom for a while? The others won't be here so soon."
Xiao Qing was a boarding student, responsible for opening the door in the morning, and was usually the first to arrive. The weather was getting colder. Ten minutes before the morning reading session started was the busiest time for students to arrive at school, which was still half an hour away.
"No need. You study."
Xiao Qing said no more and went to her seat.
Yu Qingtang watched her quietly from the doorway for a moment, then forced herself to look away and walked to a place where the classroom was out of sight.
Xiao Qing looked up, glanced outside, and bit her lower lip gently.
Morning light pierced through the gray mist, and the sky gradually brightened.
Students, either alone, with arms around each other's shoulders, or holding hands, came from the end of the corridor, greeting Yu Qingtang one by one. Yu Qingtang, expressionless, repeated the same phrase: "Go in."
This session was Chinese morning reading. After Hu Juan arrived, Yu Qingtang left Class 7.
The sound of reading aloud filled the classroom.
"Psst, psst." Li Lan propped her Chinese textbook up in front of her, making a secret signal.
Lian Yabing turned her head. Something flew over in her peripheral vision, and a paper ball landed on her desk.
Lian Yabing unfolded it. On the white letter paper, a line of neat handwriting read: Is Teacher Yu in a bad mood this morning?
Lian Yabing: "..."
Is it necessary to use such a big piece of paper for a note? And letter paper too! Anyone who didn't know better would think you were writing a love letter.
Lian Yabing wrote back on the next line: Probably because Teacher Cheng isn't here. Not seeing her for a morning is like three autumns.
Li Lan: But she didn't even look at me this morning.
Lian Yabing: Who do you think you are? Are you as good-looking as Teacher Cheng? Why should she look at you?
Li Lan: Have you gone crazy shipping your CP? Shake the water out of your brain! I'm usually not as good-looking as Teacher Cheng either, but she still looks at me.
Lian Yabing: You're the one who's gone crazy chasing idols! You're just a minor fan, isn't it normal for her not to look at you?
Li Lan: "..."
Can't continue this conversation.
After two classes, Lian Yabing also noticed something was wrong. Yu Qingtang hadn't smiled at them for the entire class. Although she didn't smile much before, today she was exceptionally serious. Tong Feifei and the others who went to ask questions after class felt it even more keenly. Winter was cold, but it was even colder around Teacher Yu.
Lian Yabing collected the homework and handed it in at the office. Yu Qingtang didn't even look up and said, "Just put it down."
Lian Yabing gently put down the homework, silent as a cicada in winter.
She turned her head and cast a questioning glance at Cheng Zhanxi at the next desk. Cheng Zhanxi returned a wry smile.
Crack—
Lian Yabing's pink heart shattered into eight pieces.
Could her CP... have broken up?
They hadn't broken up, because they had never been together in the first place.
Cheng Zhanxi hadn't gone for her morning run today. She had been waiting by the peephole ten minutes early to create a chance encounter with Yu Qingtang. Yu Qingtang's state when she returned home last night had worried her. Who knew that even after waiting until six thirty-five, she still hadn't seen Yu Qingtang. She sent her a message, and Yu Qingtang said she was at school. The first-floor receptionist said Miss Yu had left at six.
Cheng Zhanxi arrived at school. She had just stepped into the office when Yu Qingtang came in right after her.
Yu Qingtang didn't show any deliberate coldness towards her. She still greeted her, her expression gentle, but her voice lacked emotion.
Afterwards, she prepared lessons at her desk, went out for class, and then returned to continue working at her desk, not even lifting her head.
Cheng Zhanxi wanted to talk to her but didn't know where to start.
They had lunch together and went home together. Yu Qingtang took her usual nap at Cheng Zhanxi's place. It seemed calm on the surface, but when Cheng Zhanxi tried to push open the study door, she found it locked.
At half-past one, before she could knock, Yu Qingtang opened the door from the inside and came out, neatly dressed.
Cheng Zhanxi's hand, halfway raised, stopped in mid-air as she met her eyes.
Yu Qingtang's dark eyes were deep, meeting her gaze calmly, without any ripple.
Cheng Zhanxi's heart skipped a beat.
A few seconds later, Cheng Zhanxi was the first to look away. She lowered her right hand to her side and smiled casually, "Going to work?"
Yu Qingtang hummed in agreement and walked past her towards the door.
Cheng Zhanxi's heart sank to the bottom.
She began to wonder if her move at the cinema had been a mistake, or if this was an unavoidable path.
She could feel Yu Qingtang closing herself off again. For the first time, she felt a sense of powerlessness, only able to watch helplessly as Yu Qingtang shut her heart's door bit by bit, with no way to stop it.
In the evening, Xiang Tianyou and a few classmates were doing homework in Yu Qingtang's office. He frowned tightly, scratched his neck, leaving a few red marks on his fair skin, then started scratching his head, pulling out a few strands of short hair. He was still stumped by the problem in front of him.
"Teacher Yu."
Yu Qingtang was sitting at Cheng Zhanxi's desk, her body facing the window, lost in thought.
"Teacher Yu," Xiang Tianyou raised his voice.
Yu Qingtang glanced over coolly.
Xiang Tianyou was taken aback.
Xiang Tianyou ignored the strange feeling in his heart, raised his hand, and said, "I have a question."
Yu Qingtang reined in her coldness, propped herself up with a hand on the desk, stood up, walked over, and said tonelessly, "Speak."
Xiang Tianyou didn't dare to speak, yet he didn't dare not to.
Teacher Yu was strange today.
Yu Qingtang explained the problem to him in a completely monotonous tone and asked, "Is there anything else you don't understand?"
Xiang Tianyou looked at her and said, "No, nothing."
When the evening self-study session began, the few students doing homework had all left a few minutes early. Only Xiang Tianyou remained in the office. Yu Qingtang looked up from her computer screen and asked flatly, "Is something wrong?"
Xiang Tianyou sat not far from her hand. The young man's delicate and handsome face showed obvious concern: "Teacher Yu, are you in a bad mood?"
Yu Qingtang's gaze returned to the computer screen. One hand rested on the keyboard, the other skillfully operated the mouse. "No."
Fifteen or sixteen-year-old youths, unlike adults, didn't know discretion. They were impulsive, impatient, their emotions written on their faces, saying whatever came to mind.
Xiang Tianyou: "You're lying!"
Yu Qingtang's fingertips, holding the mouse, paused for a moment, then immediately returned to normal.
She said lightly, "No."
Xiang Tianyou pressed on, "Did Teacher Cheng make you angry? Tell me, even if I can't beat her, I'll stand up for you."
In Xiang Tianyou's heart, Cheng Zhanxi was a teacher, a friend, and a buddy. Yu Qingtang was a respected female elder who also needed protection, like a mother or older sister. If the two of them really had a conflict, Xiang Tianyou would definitely side with Yu Qingtang. Teacher Yu was so gentle and delicate, she couldn't possibly be wrong. The one at fault must be Teacher Cheng!
Yu Qingtang's tone remained unchanged as she still said, "No."
Xiang Tianyou's eyes darted around, and he said, "I want to go to a haunted house on Saturday."
Yu Qingtang said, "Ask Teacher Cheng to take you."
Xiang Tianyou exclaimed, "What would Teacher Cheng and I do at a haunted house? Perform a show of wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, seeing who screams louder? Have you forgotten our miserable state last time? I almost peed my pants from fear, boo hoo hoo."
The corners of Yu Qingtang's lips couldn't help but curve up.
Xiang Tianyou pointed at her and said with a laugh, "You smiled."
Yu Qingtang tossed aside the mouse she was holding, hugged her left arm with her right, and forced a stern face. "Still not going to class?" All day long, just being cheeky. I wonder if he learned it from that loudmouth Tong Feifei.
Xiang Tianyou could see the hidden smile in her eyes. He picked up his homework and said with a grin, "Going now."
Yu Qingtang urged, "Hurry up."
Xiang Tianyou took a step, looked back at her, "Don't be unhappy."
Yu Qingtang kept a straight face.
Xiang Tianyou took two steps, looked back at her, "You're not allowed to be unhappy."
Yu Qingtang pressed her lips together.
Xiang Tianyou took three steps, looked back at her, "If you're really unhappy, you can mess with us. Give us any kind of test paper, all A's, all B's, all D's, anything is fine."
The corners of Yu Qingtang's lips softened.
"Why do you talk so much?" she tutted to herself.
Xiang Tianyou made a zipping motion across his lips and locked it.
He walked to the door and suddenly went "Hey!"
Yu Qingtang looked up.
Xiang Tianyou raised both arms above his head and formed a big heart shape—a Cheng-style heart gesture, plus version.
But he forgot he was holding his homework under his arm. As soon as he raised his hands, his workbooks and papers scattered everywhere with a rustle.
Just then, the bell for evening self-study rang. Xiang Tianyou quickly squatted down to pick up his homework. He was too tall, his center of gravity unstable, and he squatted too quickly, plopping down on the floor with a pained expression.
Yu Qingtang burst out laughing.
"Goodbye, Teacher!" Xiang Tianyou finished picking up his homework and hurried off. The young man's clear voice carried far down the corridor, scattering sunshine all around.
The sunlight briefly illuminated this corner. Yu Qingtang shook her head and chuckled, then focused her attention on the computer screen in front of her.
Friday morning math class.
Yu Qingtang walked into the classroom. On the teacher's desk was a bouquet of bicolored tulips, wrapped in light blue paper, with an exquisite card inside.
Yu Qingtang didn't want to open it, didn't even want to accept it. Since she had decided to return everything to the beginning, she should have no involvement with these students. The school had asked her to be their homeroom teacher for this semester, and coincidentally, there were less than ten days left before the final exams. She just had to endure these ten days. Next semester, she would teach a new class, no longer be a homeroom teacher, leave right after class every day, without having to deal with endless trivial matters, without having to teach those mischievous problem students, without having to rack her brains thinking about how to make them better, without...
Yu Qingtang kept trying to convince herself with various reasons. She lowered her gaze, ignored the tulips beside her, and opened her textbook.
"Today, what we're going to talk about is..." She went to the chalk box to get chalk to write on the blackboard. Her gaze inevitably swept over the students below the desk. The students pressed their lips together and lowered their heads.
Yu Qingtang's fingers had already touched the chalk. They seemed to turn with a will of their own towards the bouquet of bicolored tulips, picked out the card, and gently unfolded it. Li Lan's handwriting read—
Hope Teacher Yu is happy every day.
Signed: All students of Grade 1, Class 7.
Yu Qingtang stared fixedly at the signature, silent for a long time.
The students below were also very quiet, looking up at her with anticipation and apprehension.
After an unknown amount of time, Yu Qingtang finally looked up, met the gazes of the students below the desk, and said sincerely, "Thank you, everyone. I like it very much."
Li Lan counted down from three: "Three, two, one."
Yu Qingtang: "?"
All the students of Class 7 stood up together, bowed, and said in unison, "Thank you, Teacher—"
A faint mist welled up in Yu Qingtang's eyes. She calmly took a deep breath, broke a piece of chalk, and turned her back to write down the day's lesson content.
Outside the door, a figure slowly receded down the corridor.
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