Chapter 6: In This Moment, She Wanted to Monopolize Her
Lunch break.
Ruan Xi lay on her bed, recalling the chicken leg from lunch, and…
The person sitting across from her.
That overly beautiful face flashed through her mind. Her face flushed red, she pounded the mattress, tossing and turning. She felt like she was still immersed in that moment, like someone in a fairy tale who had fallen into a pile of treasure and didn’t want to climb out.
Teacher Tong…
She took a deep breath and covered her head with the blanket.
In truth, she didn’t really see Teacher Tong as a teacher. So beautiful, so gentle, so young… She preferred to think of Tong Yao as an upperclassman, or an older sister.
Ahhhhhhh!
I really want to see Teacher Tong again, and… eat with her again.
For the first time in her life, Ruan Xi was looking forward to math class this much.
But tomorrow was Teacher Lu’s music class. Without math class, she felt like she would die.
**
**
As the sun slightly restrained its brilliance and time marched into September, on a Saturday afternoon, the analysis of the opening exams was complete. The second-year grade group held a grade assembly in the small auditorium.
The air conditioning wasn’t on. Over a thousand people were squeezed together, their exhaled carbon dioxide constructing a small greenhouse.
Student representatives spoke.
The grade group leader spoke.
Awards for outstanding classes and outstanding teachers.
It was monotonously boring, simply a waste of life.
Ruan Xi saw that Ji Chen and Yin Jiali had already taken out their exercise books and started grinding through problems.
I really envy their ability to focus.
She sighed, took out some scratch paper and a pencil, and started doodling stick figures.
On stage, Director Zhang from the Academic Affairs Office spoke, stating that discipline would be strictly enforced over the next month, and students who violated school rules would be severely punished.
“Next, we invite Principal Tong to speak.”
Ruan Xi subconsciously looked up. She had been a bit sensitive to the character “Tong” recently. What she saw was a middle-aged man with a beer belly on stage.
Vice Principal Tong Jiansheng. He was a somewhat crazy figure in the eyes of the students. All day long, he talked about surpassing Hengshui High School in assemblies, but No. 1 High School and Hengshui weren’t even in the same province, so surpassing them seemed a bit difficult. At least within this province, No. 1 High School already looked down on everyone else. Since no one else could be used for comparison, the Vice Principal loved to compare the current batch of students with the previous one. He spoke impassionedly alone, trying to make the students understand the urgency of studying, but in the end, all his wasted breath only moved and inspired himself.
It was just that he easily reminded Ruan Xi of another person with the surname Tong.
Once she started thinking about her, she couldn’t stop.
Meanwhile, Tong Yao had already comfortably returned to her dormitory.
—That’s right, her dormitory was all set up. The rent collected by the school was cheap, and having 70 square meters all to herself was perfectly suitable for someone like her who didn’t like to move around. The only unhappy people were her brother and father, who didn’t want her to move out.
What surprised her slightly was that students lived both upstairs and downstairs—these third-year students, wanting a better rest environment, rented apartments from teachers at high prices. Some even had parents accompanying them to study, and the school turned a blind eye to this.
That price… had to be at least 2000 a month.
Tong Yao had discovered another perk.
But she wouldn’t rent out her apartment, otherwise she’d have to move back home and endure her mom’s control. The only fly in the ointment was that her pet had to be kept at home because she wouldn’t have time to feed it if she brought it here.
“How’s the dorm?” A message from Tong Hua popped up on her phone.
It seemed that since he didn’t get quick replies on WeChat and QQ, he had switched to SMS.
“Very good.”
To avoid the damn sis-con calling her, Tong Yao replied helplessly.
“I’ll take that little fox of yours to raise?”
“Mm… don’t feed it too much.”
She had a pet fox at home. Raised from a young age, it had no wild nature and acted like a dog.
“Good luck, be a good teacher!” Tong Hua said finally.
A soft look flashed across Tong Yao’s eyes.
“A genius from A University becoming a lowly teacher?” “Does she have no ambition?”—these were the comments her university classmates made behind her back. Of course, there were also acquaintances who openly tried to dissuade her. Her father didn’t express an opinion, but even her mother implicitly opposed her.
She had a secret—she wasn’t actually a genius.
In that brief previous life, she was just an ordinary guy. Mediocre for twenty years, muddling through university in a daze. It was more accurate to say that she was only truly living in this life.
She wanted to be a teacher, but the only one supporting her was this cheap brother.
Submissive to his sister, but striking hard at everyone else.
She should cherish her family more.
Sitting on the sofa, she suddenly realized she had forgotten something.
—She left her bag in the office.
**
**
It was Tong Yao’s first time coming to school on a Saturday evening. Usually, she would have taken a car home by now.
There were still quite a few people at school, mostly out-of-town students who made up a third of the student body. Every Saturday after school, the homeroom teacher would distribute the phones that were to be turned in on Sunday night, giving everyone a brief day of joy. If it was discovered next time that fewer phones were handed in than distributed, strict individual interrogations would await the students.
After retrieving her bag from the office, Tong Yao walked back toward the dormitory in her high heels. Passing by Class 7, she saw Ruan Xi in the corridor.
So she’s an out-of-town student.
Tong Yao realized.
This time, Ruan Xi didn’t notice her. She was looking down at her phone. In this era where 4G could be turned on with a tap and the iPhone 5s was already out, looking at that blank, scratched screen and internet speed measured in tens of KB, Tong Yao felt anxious for the child.
“Ruan Xi?” She stood behind the girl and called out softly.
Ruan Xi was startled, almost dropping her phone downstairs.
“Teacher… Teacher Tong?”
“You stay at school on weekends too?”
“Mm…” Ruan Xi subconsciously put away her phone. “My home is over in Southern Hunan…”
“You tested in from middle school? That’s quite far.” Tong Yao’s eyes curved into crescents, her tone gentle. “How often do your mom and dad come to see you?”
“Usually, just… when I go home for holidays.”
The atmosphere seemed to suddenly become heavy.
Did I touch a sore spot?
Tong Yao wasn’t sure, so she changed the subject. “Why are you playing on your phone in the corridor?”
Ruan Xi stammered. As a student, holding a phone in front of a teacher always felt guilty. She instinctively wanted to hide it in her pocket. “Because… the signal in the classroom is bad.”
“What do you usually use your phone for? Watching movies?” Tong Yao smiled, seemingly in the mood for a chat, unaware that she was asking a bit too much.
“No way,” as the conversation opened up, Ruan Xi relaxed a little. She touched her ear shyly, her eyes darting around. “I don’t have enough data. I only use my phone one day a week, and I only have 100MB a month.”
She usually used the 3G network to read novels and such.
After the girl finished speaking, she didn’t dare look directly into the teacher’s eyes. Her wandering gaze landed on the teacher’s legs and got stuck there. Tong Yao wasn’t particularly tall, but her legs were slender and long, fair and smooth, looking as beautiful as if they had walked out of an anime.
“100MB? How is that enough?” Tong Yao sighed, then extended her hand, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. “Do you want a small gift from me?”
“Huh?”
Ruan Xi looked blank. Having just snapped out of staring at Teacher Tong’s legs, her face was flushed, but almost without hesitation, she placed her phone in Tong Yao’s palm.
What does Teacher Tong… want to do?
Tong Yao tapped the screen. It seemed to be a cheap smartphone costing seven or eight hundred yuan. The screen felt like the touch screen of a brick Nokia from over a decade ago; some places required a fingernail to register a tap.
She struggled to operate it for a while, then returned the phone to the little girl.
“Don’t play for too long, okay?”
With that, she waved and set off on the road back to the dormitory.
What did Teacher Tong do?
Ruan Xi stared blankly at the screen. A few minutes later, she finally discovered that mobile data and 4G were turned off, replaced by WiFi.
WiFi Name: Second Year Grade Group.
This was the WiFi that students staying at school dreamed of connecting to, but software like WiFi Master Key couldn’t crack it.
But Teacher Tong had actively helped her connect. On weekends, the teachers went back to their own homes, leaving her to monopolize the connection. The internet speed was flying.
She suddenly felt her phone becoming very hot.
Her face too.
**
**
Before going to sleep, Tong Yao made herself a cup of hot milk. Then, she discovered her QQ was a bit lively.
Xu Yin: “Goodnight, Sister Yao.”
…Since when did I become a sister?
She recalled that the students in Class 4 seemed to have started calling her Sister Yao.
It shouldn’t be… a bad thing, right? It shows I’m approachable and have a good relationship with my students.
Not replying would make her seem aloof, and it would also hurt the young girl’s pride, so she patiently replied:
“Mm, goodnight.”
Then, just after putting it down for a moment, her phone started up again.
Yin Jiali: “Teacher Tong, are you asleep? Sorry to disturb you, I wanted to ask about this question. No rush, just take a look when you have time.”
She also attached a picture.
Well, can’t sleep just yet.
Tong Yao took a sip of milk. She noted inwardly that the picture was a bit blurry, but still started calculating. It took a bit of effort to solve it. She took a photo and sent it back, adding a “Go to sleep early.”
Finally, she could rest.
Miss Tong lay down with a sense of relief and gratification.
Buzz buzz.
The vibration made Tong Yao’s scalp tingle.
If it’s a boy, I’ll send him a whole set of exam papers—she thought viciously as she tapped the screen.
Ruan Xi: “Teacher Tong, thank you for the WiFi… really, thank you very much. Goodnight!”
Tong Yao paused slightly.
The dissatisfaction of being disturbed vanished instantly.
She smiled and drank the rest of the milk. These kids were more polite and sensible than the last. Being thanked by them was actually quite heartwarming.
Is this what a teacher’s QQ looks like?
—Peaches and plums all over the world? (Idiom: students everywhere)
She looked forward to that day.
**
**
Under the same moon.
In the bedroom of a residential building, the girl named Xu Yin held her phone and giggled foolishly.
—I should be the only one saying goodnight to Teacher Tong, right?
Teacher Tong treats me differently.
In the upper bunk of a dormitory, Yin Jiali rejoiced secretly under her covers: I’m the math representative, so naturally, I’m the student closest to Teacher Tong.
And Ruan Xi, standing on the balcony, looked at the moon alone, falling into a young girl’s troubles.
Teacher Tong… is she this good to everyone?
“Ruan Xi, Ruan Xi!” There were only two people left in the dorm for the weekend. The other was He Xueyu, who was reasonably good-looking and belonged to Ji Chen’s circle. He Xueyu ran to the balcony, scratching her head as she asked, “Um, I saw you watching Campus Prince in the classroom. Did you cache that drama?”
Ruan Xi blinked and nodded.
“Big boss!” He Xueyu was practically kneeling. “Can you lend me your phone to watch tonight? I beg you! My phone is out of credit!”
“…Um,” Ruan Xi logged out of QQ and handed the phone over. “Watch it, I’m done with it.”
“Thanks… Whoa, you cached all of it?” He Xueyu exclaimed. “You have so much data…”
“No, it’s WiFi—” Ruan Xi explained subconsciously, then immediately shut her mouth. Shoot, I should have said I cached it at home—no, that’s wrong too, even the latest updates are there. That lie is too clumsy. I should say it was gifted data that I just used up.
“WiFi?!” He Xueyu’s eyes gleamed. “The Second Year Grade Group WiFi? What’s the password? I definitely won’t tell anyone!”
“I don’t know either…” Ruan Xi said awkwardly. “I… used WiFi Master Key to crack it.”
“Huh?” He Xueyu looked distressed. “Why doesn’t it work when I use WiFi Master Key…”
Ruan Xi simply stopped talking, afraid the lie would grow bigger and bigger.
She didn’t want anyone else to know about her and Teacher Tong… her and Teacher Tong’s… what?
It seemed like there was nothing.
But even if there was nothing, she didn’t want anyone else to share this warmth.
