“Meng Bai, your reaction was way too big.” Zhou An handed her a bottle of water, concern in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Meng Bai gulped down some water, the coolness sliding down her throat and finally bringing her back to her senses. She lowered her head, her voice a little downcast. “It’s nothing. I’m just hungry.”
Zhou An saw through it but didn’t call her out. She seemed to realize that Miao Bai was a very special presence in Meng Bai’s life.
So she didn’t pursue the topic.
On the road from the small town to the city, Meng Bai stared out the window the whole way, lost in thought.
Autumn had arrived, and the fields were full of clusters of brownish-yellow wild chrysanthemums, blurring into a flowing sea of flowers as the bus sped by.
But Meng Bai had no heart for the view. Her eyes brimmed with anxiety.
She was wondering how Miao Bai had come to this world—a complete mystery.
What she cared about more was whether Miao Bai would disappear someday.
What would she do if Miao Bai vanished?
“What are you thinking about?” Zhou An leaned in close to Meng Bai’s ear and asked.
“Nothing.” Meng Bai pulled her gaze away, not daring to meet Zhou An’s eyes.
“You look so glum.”
Meng Bai rubbed her eyes. “Didn’t sleep well last night. I’m a bit tired.”
Zhou An didn’t think much of it and nodded. “Then sleep a little more. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“Okay.”
~~~
They arrived in the city half an hour later.
Zhang Gou and his crew were sneakier than she’d thought. The place wasn’t very bustling—in fact, it was pretty remote.
It was basically an abandoned normal college, with red brick buildings wrapped in ivy. With autumn in full swing, the ivy leaves had turned a bloody red.
At first glance, Meng Bai didn’t find it appealing.
The group got off the bus, and Li Yue led the girls in looking toward the teaching building. “I thought it’d be lively. It’s pretty out of the way.”
Soon another bus pulled up, unloading a bunch of boys.
“They’re here, they’re here! How many classes are in this tutoring program anyway?”
“Two classes! Boys in one, girls in the other!”
The leader emerged from the teaching building—a middle-aged man. He clapped his hands loudly. “Come on, girls, follow me! Boys, head that way!”
“Where are we going?” someone whispered in the crowd.
Another girl shook her head. “How should I know? Just follow him.”
Meng Bai stayed quiet the whole time, trailing slowly behind with Zhou An and Xu Zhou.
The man leading them wound left and right until they reached a red brick building, then up the stairs to the top floor.
“Top floor?” A girl looked around, puzzled. The first floor looked unused, so why hold classes on the third?
Everyone followed obediently.
They soon reached the third floor: a plain, ordinary large classroom with a dozen or so desks scattered around and an old-looking blackboard.
No one complained. For now, they were grateful for the free tutoring.
“Girls, just grab any seat. More came than I expected. If there aren’t enough desks, share for now—two to a desk. I’ll sort more out next week!”
The organizer spoke with a cheerful grin. He was a bit chubby, with a round face, stubble, but his eyes crinkled kindly when he smiled, making him seem friendly.
His words instantly eased the atmosphere.
“Sure, uncle.”
“No problem, uncle.”
Meng Bai found a seat with Zhou An and Xu Zhou in the same row.
Li Yue sat in front and turned around after setting down her bag. “This is weird. Where’s the teacher?”
Meng Bai tossed the question back. “Yeah, why’s that?”
Li Yue shrugged. “No idea! It’s not what I pictured.”
The classroom buzzed with chatter as everyone discussed the new setup. A few minutes later, a man appeared at the door.
He was tall and refined, wearing glasses, carrying a stack of books, looking clean and crisp.
He drew the girls’ eyes the moment he stood in the doorway.
“!” Li Yue whipped her head around, her face flushing red. “Is that our teacher?”
Meng Bai frowned slightly. “…”
Observing him closely, he was twenty-five or twenty-six, decent-looking with regular features—the type most girls would find appealing.
He stepped to the lectern, set down his books, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in a magnetic voice. “Good morning, class. I’m your math tutor, Zhou Yizheng.”
Xu Zhou nudged Zhou An’s arm. “Handsome guy with the surname Zhou. Related?”
Zhou An rolled her eyes. “He’s not even that handsome!”
Xu Zhou giggled. “Yeah, I don’t think so either…”
“You can call me Teacher Zhou. Every weekend from now on, I’ll be tutoring you in math to help you aim for a top-tier university!”
Zhou Yizheng picked up some chalk, turned, and wrote “XX University” on the blackboard in big letters.
He tossed the chalk aside, clapped his hands, and smiled. “I just graduated from XX University. Not much teaching experience, but my knowledge is solid. Ask me anything—I’ll explain it well.”
He seemed easygoing, his smile disarming.
In just a few words, he earned applause from the girls.
Of course, Meng Bai didn’t clap. Her attention wasn’t there at all.
“Before we start, I’d like to pick a class rep. Anyone willing?” Zhou Yizheng leaned on the lectern, his gentle eyes scanning the girls.
No one raised a hand.
Not unwillingness—just shyness.
“If no one volunteers, I’ll have to pick. Okay?” His gaze jumped to Meng Bai.
Meeting Zhou Yizheng’s eyes, Meng Bai furrowed her brows and even shook her head, signaling no.
His gaze shifted to Zhou An.
“You, miss—would you be my class rep?”
Zhou An froze.
Was she fated to be math class rep forever? She’d been one at school, and now here too.
Zhou An nodded awkwardly. “Uh, sure, okay.”
“What’s your name?”
“Zhou An.”
Zhou Yizheng nodded with a smile. “That’s quite a coincidence. I happened to pick someone with the same surname as me.” With that, he picked up a stack of test papers. “Alright, class rep, come up and hand out today’s practice exercises.”
“Oh—” Zhou An stood up in a daze. What was going on? She’d only been sitting there for five minutes, and now she was the math class representative?
The entire morning passed with the tutoring session going extraordinarily smoothly.
The students worked on their exercises while Zhou Yizheng explained them, then they reviewed the mistakes to solidify their understanding.
His approach to the problems was solid, and Meng Bai actually picked up a few useful insights.
It wasn’t until nearly noon that everyone suddenly remembered one crucial detail: lunch.
Just as anxiety over the matter began to build, the person in charge wheeled in a large box.
“Students, lunch time! Hot and fragrant boxed meals!!!”
He flipped open the lid of the foam cooler, revealing rows upon rows of neatly packed meals—stir-fried pork with green peppers, fish-fragrant pork, braised pork ribs…
The mouthwatering aromas wafted out, leaving everyone ravenous. They all desperately wanted to dig in, but pride held them back—no one dared to be the first.
“Come on, come on, there’s plenty for everyone! Help yourselves, take whatever you like. It’s all free—completely free!”
The food back home was nowhere near this good. Who would have thought a simple tutoring session would come with such a feast?
Finally, someone took the lead, grabbing a box and calling out gratefully:
“Ah, thank you, Uncle—”
“Thank you, Uncle!”
The Fat Guy shook his head with a laugh. “Save your thanks for me. Thank your organizer, Mr. Zhang Gou. He’s the one footing the bill!”
At the mention of Zhang Gou, the students’ smiles widened even further.
Someone even piped up first: “Uncle Zhang is such a great guy. When I make it big someday, I’ll come back and repay him properly!”
“Me too!”
“Count me in!”
Amid the crowd, Meng Bai, Zhou An, and Xu Zhou stood out like sore thumbs.
The three of them lingered at the back of the classroom, watching the scene with cold detachment. They didn’t touch a single boxed meal, and their faces were all set in sour scowls.
Zhou An muttered under her breath, “I don’t want to eat food bought by Zhang Gou.”
Xu Zhou fished a few steamed buns from her pocket. “Same here. Let’s just eat these!”
Without a word, Meng Bai snatched one and shoved it into her mouth. No thanks—she’d take a cold, dry bun over that tempting stir-fried pork any day.
With that, the three turned on their heels and headed out of the classroom.
The hallway outside was eerily quiet. This was an old teaching building, probably from the fifties or sixties.
They figured the original school had moved elsewhere, abandoning this place. It was patched up haphazardly in spots, looking downright shabby—worse than the school back in town.
Zhou An grumbled indignantly, “That cheapskate. I thought he was going to treat us to lessons somewhere decent!”
“What do you think—” Meng Bai swallowed her bite of bun “—separating the boys and girls like that means?”
“To sort them out for easier pickings.” Zhou An shot a glance at Xu Zhou. “Xu Zhou! What are you doing? Peeking at me again!”
Xu Zhou turned the tables. “How would you know if you weren’t looking at me?”
Zhou An spun around and grabbed at her. “Are you secretly crushing on me?!”
Xu Zhou burst into giggles as Zhou An caught her. “Who’s crushing on you? You’re so full of yourself!” Even so, a blush crept across her cheeks.
“You’re blushing! You’re totally blushing! Admit it—you have a crush on me!” Zhou An’s tone was pure teasing.
“You two, cut it out.” Meng Bai’s gaze drifted downward. “I wonder how the boys are holding up over there.”
Zhou An paused and peered across at the opposite building. A few boys were sprawled on the balcony, chowing down on their boxed meals.
“It’s so far away. Doesn’t anyone find that suspicious? Why split boys and girls into separate buildings?”
“Who knows what scheme they’re cooking up.” Meng Bai glanced sideways at Zhou An—only to spot Zhou Yizheng emerging from the classroom at that exact moment.
Zhou Yizheng immediately noticed the trio and approached with a welcoming smile. “Students, not eating? Why are you out here gnawing on steamed buns?”
Zhou An’s retort caught in her throat. His timing could not have been worse.
But he was the teacher, after all, so she had to put on a polite front.
“Ah, we’re not really into it.”
“Steamed buns over meat?” Zhou Yizheng narrowed his eyes, his smile radiant.
For some reason, Zhou An just didn’t like that smile. It felt insincere.
Normal people didn’t smile like that. His was too polished, too perfect—like a mask.
“Mm, not into it.” Zhou An mumbled dismissively. Meng Bai stayed silent, as did Xu Zhou.
The air turned awkward in an instant.
Zhou Yizheng faltered, suddenly at a loss for words with these three students. He made his excuses. “I’m heading over to the other building to check on things.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Yizheng turned and walked off.
The three watched his retreating figure until it vanished down the corridor.
“Don’t you think he’s kind of fake?” Meng Bai asked.
Xu Zhou nodded. “That smile might fool Li Yue and the others, but to me, he just seems like a creep.”
“So phony. Who’s he flashing that sunny grin at anyway?” Zhou An wrinkled her nose. “Hiss—”
“What’s with the hissing?”
Zhou An’s face twisted gradually. “Why do I feel like I’ve seen Zhou Yizheng somewhere before?”
“Get real!”
“I’m serious!”
“Then where?”
“It’s just… familiar.” Zhou An racked her brain but came up empty. “But I can’t place it…”
