MTB - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Brazen

"Are you sure?" Tang Yuelou was a bit surprised. She walked out of the kitchen carrying the freshly fried sandwiches. "You want to come listen to the lecture? If you're just looking for a place to do your homework, I think the study room would be more suitable."

"I can't play on my phone, and I can't love learning either?" Yun Yang frowned. "You have too many rules here."

"That's not what I meant, it's just..." The ceramic plate clinked crisply against the marble tabletop. Tang Yuelou set down the items in her hands, leaned forward to brace herself against the back of Yun Yang's chair, and asked softly, "Are you sure?"

"I just want to stay with you a little longer, is that not allowed?" Yun Yang turned her head to look into her eyes.

Tang Yuelou raised her hand, the pad of her finger gently caressing the corner of Yun Yang's lips, before lowering her head to kiss her.

The kiss was incredibly tender. Tang Yuelou hadn't used any messy perfumes; the kiss tasted only of refreshing mint, guiding her deeper until she was trapped in that specific "Tang Yuelou-style" gentleness.

When they parted, Yun Yang was still a little short of breath. She half-covered her mouth and licked the corner of her lip.

Tang Yuelou gently pressed against the back of her neck and asked softly, "Can I interpret this as you wanting to place yourself under my gaze for the entire day?"

She emphasized the words "entire day." She was too close, speaking almost in a whisper, her warm breath spilling onto the side of Yun Yang's neck. Half of Yun Yang's body went weak, and she couldn't help but involuntarily conjure up some rather indecent, stimulating images, her fingers gripping the glass tightly.

"Where did your mind wander off to? You look so nervous." Taking in her reaction fully, Tang Yuelou was in a good mood. She smiled and patted Yun Yang's hair. "Of course you can go."

"With you saying that, I'm automatically going to assume it's because your skills aren't up to par and you don't want me to see you embarrassing yourself," Yun Yang said, pouring salad dressing onto her toast and mocking her mercilessly to hide her own fluster.

Tang Yuelou smiled. "You can listen for yourself."

Facts proved that Yun Yang had indeed worried too much.

The title of "Owner and Designer of Dianqing" had left too deep an impression on Yun Yang; she had almost forgotten that Tang Yuelou's main focus was actually Ancient Literature. Come to think of it, this was the first time she had seriously listened to Tang Yuelou lecture. In the class she had dropped previously, she had been on pins and needles from the moment she saw who the teacher was and hadn't absorbed a single word.

This was one of the specialized electives in the Chinese Department. Tang Yuelou never took attendance or asked questions, yet the class was still fully packed. This time, Yun Yang sat in a corner of the first row. She had intended to open her computer and write her paper, but she found her eyes glued to Tang Yuelou, unable to look away.

Whether she was solemnly explaining knowledge points, interacting with students, or occasionally turning to write on the blackboard, Tang Yuelou seemed to possess a magical ability to command attention. Heaven really might not be fair; it adds so many extra talent points to certain people. There is always that small group of individuals who can achieve perfection in multiple fields simultaneously.

Yun Yang stared at her unblinkingly until the end of the first period. Resting her chin in her hand, she watched Tang Yuelou sit at the podium drinking water to soothe her throat, before casting a glance in her direction.

Their eyes met. She raised an eyebrow and was just about to stand up when several students approached the podium ahead of her, seemingly to ask questions. Yun Yang pursed her lips and sat back down.

Quite popular. She watched Tang Yuelou smiling and conversing in low tones with the students, feeling inexplicably sour.

The five-minute break passed just like that. The bell for the second period rang. having not managed to say a word, Yun Yang felt extremely annoyed. She clicked on her phone to check the time, feeling that there was something wrong with her.

Who on earth audits a class just as a pastime when they have nothing better to do?

Just as she was struggling with this subtle, strange mood, a call suddenly came in on her phone. Yun Yang looked down and immediately frowned.

The caller ID was "Dad."

She didn't want to answer, letting the screen light up for dozens of seconds before it automatically went dark. The other party was persistent, and soon the second call came through.

When the fifth call came in, Yun Yang finally went outside the classroom to answer it.

"I'm studying. Can you stop calling me constantly?"

"Studying? You still know about studying?" Yun Guangwen's voice could not conceal his anger. "Look at what you're posting on your Moments. Drinking and clubbing—is this what a student should be doing?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to block you," Yun Yang sneered. "I didn't know you still had the time to care about this daughter of yours. Thanks for the concern."

"You—"

After that single word, Yun Guangwen slowly leveled his tone, trying to reason with her. "Yangyang, Dad knows you have feelings about this. Dad has neglected caring for you these past few years, but the separation between your mother and me was actually..."

Yun Yang suddenly calmed down.

"Dad, I know." She calmly interrupted him, her hand resting on the rough wall of the teaching building outside. "If you had told me these things a few years ago, I probably would have been very happy."

"Yangyang..."

"But now, I don't need it anymore."

This was followed by a silence lasting several dozen seconds.

"Yangyang, I'm sorry."

Yun Yang hung up the phone.

At nine o'clock in the autumn morning, the weather was still a bit cool. The classroom behind her was hosting a foreign language class conducted by a foreign teacher. Through the soundproof window glass, she could only see the smiling faces of students interacting with the professor. Yun Yang stared at a strangely shaped cloud on the horizon for a while, suddenly losing all interest in going back to continue listening to the lecture.

Her parents had divorced when she was in elementary school. Their relationship had always been discordant; from the time she could remember, the house was filled with endless quarreling. Later, custody of her was awarded to her father.

Yun Guangwen was a busy doctor who simply had no time to take care of her. Yun Yang had attended boarding school since junior high. Back then, her mother often visited her at school—children of that age always have some bizarre ideas, like how she always harbored the fantasy that her parents should get back together, frequently doing foolish things that made it awkward for both sides.

It wasn't until she was in high school that Yun Guangwen remarried.

Later, she learned that Yun Guangwen and this woman had been involved long ago, likely dating back to before he divorced her mother.

Yun Guangwen and her stepmother had another boy together. As a stepmother, that woman was very qualified; she was polite to Yun Yang. But Yun Yang always felt as if she were drifting outside this happy family. She wasn't close to anyone, including her so-called "Dad."

Outside the teaching building was a small garden surrounding a wooden swing. After a night of autumn wind, several golden poplar leaves had accumulated on it. Yun Yang sat on the swing, playing with a leaf she had picked up at random. Her heart felt blocked up, and she accidentally crushed the dry leaf in her hand, so she lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.

"Coming to my class and actually daring to leave early? That's a bit brazen, Student Yun Yang."

The sunlight in front of her was blocked. Yun Yang raised her head and saw Tang Yuelou standing opposite her, carrying both her own bag and Yun Yang's.

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