In short, Ni Sihan’s birthday party had brought her nothing but satisfaction from showing off. Otherwise, she hadn’t enjoyed it at all.
This time, Liang Sheng had won a total victory.
On Monday, when they returned to school, Liang Sheng noticed that her homeroom teacher was looking at her differently—stealing glances at her every so often.
“Teacher?”
The furtive homeroom teacher had been caught red-handed.
“Ah, ah?” Dong Yue suddenly didn’t know how to face her own student and fumbled awkwardly. “What’s up, Liang Sheng?”
“You’ve been acting a bit strange lately, Teacher!” Liang Sheng looked Dong Yue up and down. “You haven’t called on me to answer questions at all. Did I do something wrong?”
Dong Yue felt utterly embarrassed. She couldn’t even bring herself to meet her student’s eyes. Anyone who didn’t know better might think Liang Sheng was the teacher and she was the student.
“N-No!” Heaven help her—why was she stammering? Why were her palms sweating like some lovestruck schoolgirl…? No, wait, not a schoolgirl. Spit! That was her student, six years younger! What kind of old cow munched on young grass?
No, scratch that—the real issue wasn’t her being the old cow. The real issue was that Liang Sheng was her student!
Eh? Liang Sheng’s clever little mind turned it over and connected the dots to Dong Yue’s rising favorability toward her. Her homeroom teacher had a crush on her… which was a bit weird.
What was it like to be liked by your own homeroom teacher?
No, no, no—it was all just her speculation for now.
While Liang Sheng was lost in thought, Dong Yue had already slipped away with the other homeroom teachers.
“Huh?” By the time Liang Sheng snapped out of it, Dong Yue had already turned the corner downstairs.
“Little Dong, are you running a fever? Your face is so red,” asked the young female teacher walking beside her.
Dong Yue shook her head. “N-No, I think I just bundled up too much.”
As they walked, Dong Yue suddenly blurted out, “Teacher Jiang, what do you think a sister-brother romance feels like?”
Teacher Jiang was only three or four years older than Dong Yue. Though married, her husband was nearly ten years her senior—a proper uncle type. How would she know? She hemmed and hawed for a moment. “Well… it should be pretty lively, right? Being with someone young and energetic…”
Teacher Yang, who was a bit older and pushing fifty, adjusted her glasses and chimed in. “Ha, what does Little Jiang know about it? Her husband babies her like a daughter.”
Teacher Jiang blushed. “Teacher Yang, that’s nonsense…”
Teacher Yang chuckled and turned to Dong Yue. “You’d get a better answer from me. I’m in a sister-brother romance.”
“Ah!” Dong Yue and Teacher Jiang’s eyes instantly locked onto her.
Though nearing fifty, Teacher Yang was impeccably well-preserved. Talking about her husband, she turned into a bashful young woman, touching her cheek. “Oh~ That was all back in our youth. My husband’s five years younger than me—a fellow townsman. He chased me first~”
“Ooh~” Teacher Jiang teased.
Dong Yue stared intently at Teacher Yang, her eyes urging her to go on.
“Don’t let his age fool you—he’s got game. He had me spinning dizzy.” Happiness lit up Teacher Yang’s face whenever she spoke of her husband.
For some reason, Dong Yue thought of Liang Sheng again. She felt like her beloved student had her spinning just as dizzy.
“It’s all the same with sister-brother romances. Even if he’s several years older, if he doesn’t love you, he won’t treat you right.” Teacher Yang smiled at Dong Yue. She could tell the younger woman was tangled up in love troubles. “I used to think a younger guy couldn’t take care of me properly, but in reality, if he loves you, he’ll always have you on his mind—loving you, protecting you, caring for you. Even the most scatterbrained ones will step up.”
Those words struck right to Dong Yue’s heart. She nodded without thinking.
With a gossipy grin, Teacher Yang slung an arm around Dong Yue’s shoulders. “Little Dong, are you in love?”
Dong Yue panicked at the question, nearly dropping her textbook. “N-No!”
Teacher Yang wasn’t buying it. The more flustered Dong Yue got, the more suspicious it seemed. She was definitely head over heels.
Still, Teacher Yang didn’t pry. She just gave Dong Yue’s shoulder a meaningful pat and sighed. “Ah… we’ve all been young once~”
Wouldn’t he mind her being older? Dong Yue desperately wanted to ask. Before she could, Teacher Jiang joked, “Little Dong, haven’t you heard the saying? ‘A girl three years older is like hugging a golden brick—make it thirty and you get a kingdom’?”
“I’ve heard it…” Sure, that made sense in theory, but… but! Liang Sheng was a girl! This wasn’t a sister-brother romance—it was sister-sister!
“You’re still young. If you like her, just go for it.” Teacher Jiang gave Dong Yue a playful shove with an auntie smile.
Dong Yue kept up her denial. “Who said I like anyone? I was just asking casually…”
Teacher Jiang and Teacher Yang exchanged glances, then turned back to Dong Yue.
“Hahaha…”
—— —— ——
Sure enough, time flew by, and winter break was upon them. Liang Sheng sat in a chair, cracking open fragrant roasted chestnuts and watching the show.
Literally watching a show.
Cha Susu had landed a new drama and invited Liang Sheng to visit the set.
Of course she’d go. No matter how cold it was, she wouldn’t slack off—conquering girls was priority one! Besides, Su Ze and Ni Sihan were buzzing with energy lately, showering girls with attention left and right.
But why was she wearing such thin clothes…? Filming in winter? Wasn’t she freezing?
Liang Sheng stared at the palace costume in front of her, lost in thought.
This wasn’t directed by Cha Susu’s father, Director Cha Su, so naturally, no one was coddling the third female lead. Once the scene wrapped, they waved Cha Susu off set.
Probably because Cha Susu’s star power wasn’t there yet. Sure, her recent web drama had blown up, but as the female lead, she hadn’t drawn as many eyes as the scheming second female lead, Bai Zhen.
Seeing Cha Susu come down, Liang Sheng grabbed a puffy cotton jacket, rushed over, and draped it around her. She pulled her into a warm hug. “Cold? Here, let me warm you up.”
Liang Sheng really was such a thoughtful girl~
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Cha Susu’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 99”
“Ehehe, not cold with Shengsheng here.” Cha Susu was the lovestruck type—plenty of green tea lines up her sleeve, but sweet and a bit naive at heart.
Liang Sheng gently pushed Cha Susu back, made a fist with her right hand, and held it up mysteriously. “Guess what’s inside?”
