Chapter 23

After the sports meet ended, the joyful atmosphere of November slipped away.

The winter in the capital arrived earlier than in Lu Wuqi and Lan Xu’s hometown of Lin County, forcing them into warm down jackets by early December. Their post-dinner strolls and chats were temporarily canceled, replaced by studying and working together in the library.

The one tapping away on her laptop with an external keyboard was naturally Lu Wuqi. In order to come clean to her mom about her relationship with Lan Xu over the New Year holidays without any hitches, Lu Wuqi had started following up on the autonomous driving special team in Yingwei Technology’s R&D Department right after the sports meet. She had even maneuvered her way into the deputy team leader position.

Even though Lu Wuqi’s daily work hours had increased from three to four, it didn’t affect their routine meals together or their occasional weekend outings for shopping, movies, or plays.

Lu Wuqi knew exactly why she was making money. She wanted to give herself and Lan Xu a better life. That was why she would never neglect Lan Xu for work or get her priorities backward.

“Lu Wuqi, the Youth Volunteer Association is heading to the nursing home next week for volunteer activities. They’re opening seventy internal spots and eighty external ones, for a total of 150 volunteers,” Lan Xu said in a lowered voice. She leaned toward Lu Wuqi and shifted her phone screen into view.

“There are six nursing homes in total. If I sign up, we might not end up in the same group.” Lu Wuqi lifted her hands from the keyboard and grasped Lan Xu’s hand. “How about we stick to the plan from before? Wherever you’re assigned, I’ll just tag along with you.”

“Are your volunteer hours enough for evaluation?” Lan Xu tilted her head. “The hours from the sports meet last time only seem to cover the minimum graduation requirement.”

“They’re enough. I helped out the club a little, and they gave me ten hours. That puts me right at the minimum line for evaluation.” Lu Wuqi swiped through the phone screen with her thumb and quickly spotted a familiar name.

Lu Wuqi asked, “Xuxu, will there be a leading teacher accompanying us this time?”

“Yeah, I think so. I haven’t looked too closely yet.” Lan Xu’s gaze dropped to the screen as well, surprise flickering in her eyes. “Eh, this Teacher Yi from the Foreign Languages Department—isn’t she the classmate our class teacher mentioned?”

“Teacher Yi Rushi. She should be our class teacher’s university classmate.” Lu Wuqi read the name aloud, her thoughts drifting for a moment.

Arranging a teacher from the Foreign Languages Department to lead the group—did that mean a lot of students from their department were participating?

After all, the Foreign Languages teacher wasn’t the one listed as responsible for the Youth Volunteer Association. If they needed a leader, it should have been someone from Social Sciences and Humanities.

Besides, nursing homes didn’t seem to have much connection to Foreign Languages. Freshmen volunteering there wouldn’t do much for improving oral skills or diplomatic abilities, right?

–

Lu Wuqi’s instincts were spot on. Out of the final 150 volunteers announced for the event, a full sixty were from the Foreign Languages Department.

These students weren’t joining to boost their professional skills, though. During class, Yi Rushi had noticed that some of them were arrogant show-offs—overly idolizing foreign systems and environments while lacking any real appreciation for their own country.

To give them something productive to do and force some self-reflection, Yi Rushi had talked it over with the Youth Volunteer Association’s person in charge. They dispersed the sixty students as much as possible and assigned them the tasks that required the most interaction.

Lu Wuqi hadn’t signed up herself. Instead, after Lan Xu got her specific nursing home assignment, Lu Wuqi hitched a ride on the bus.

She was pretty happy to see Yi Rushi leading the group. But when she spotted Duan Qian sitting in the back rows, the smile faded from her face.

Once the bus got moving, Lan Xu gathered her thoughts and struck up a conversation with Yi Rushi, who was seated to her right. “Excuse me, are you Teacher Yi from the Foreign Languages Department?”

“Hm? Is something the matter?” Yi Rushi turned sideways, her gentle gaze landing on Lan Xu.

“Does Teacher Yi know Teacher Ye Yixuan?” Lan Xu asked softly. “She should be your classmate from university.”

“Ye Yixuan? You know Yixuan?” Surprise flashed in Yi Rushi’s eyes at first, quickly turning to delight. Her tone grew a touch more urgent.

“Teacher Ye was our high school homeroom teacher,” Lan Xu explained. “After we got into Capital University, our class teacher mentioned you to us.”

“Really? She talked about me.” Yi Rushi’s smile deepened, her tone settling back to its initial warmth. “She must have mentioned that we’re both Capital University graduates—your seniors, in a way?”

“Yes, our class teacher did say that.” Lan Xu nodded.

“Teacher Yi, our class teacher also said that if we’re short on hours, we could come work for you.” Lu Wuqi leaned over to join in. “Teacher Yi, would it be okay if we added each other as contacts?”

“Sure. I haven’t seen your class teacher in ages. How has she been lately?” Yi Rushi pulled out her phone from her pocket and quickly added Lu Wuqi and Lan Xu. She even adjusted their group settings so she wouldn’t block them from her Moments.

“Our class teacher is handling first-year high schoolers this year. She’s still teaching English and serving as homeroom teacher,” Lan Xu said.

Yi Rushi gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. When a new greeting message popped up, she couldn’t help glancing at the one chat pinned at the top of her list.

The timestamp in the top right corner of that chat was nearly eleven months old. The last time the two had messaged each other was on New Year’s Day.

“You’re Lan Xu, and you’re Lu Wuqi?” Yi Rushi pulled her gaze away, trying to match the names to the girls in front of her. “I don’t think I saw Lu Wuqi’s name on the list.”

“Teacher Yi, I’m just here accompanying Xuxu,” Lu Wuqi explained. “I didn’t sign up, so I’m not on the list.”

“I see. Do you need volunteer hours? If you’re willing to help out, I can add your name later.” Yi Rushi offered. After all, they were Yixuan’s students—she naturally wanted to look out for them.

“Thanks, Teacher Yi, but I’ve got enough hours already. If you’re ever short-handed, just give me a shout, and I’ll help out.” Lu Wuqi replied with a smile.

The bus ride to the target nursing home took about forty minutes. Yi Rushi clearly had a strong interest in their class teacher Ye Yixuan—at least one out of every three things she said brought her up, along with questions about her.

Lan Xu answered straightforwardly, sharing some high school stories and lavishly praising their homeroom teacher’s diverse teaching methods. Their class always had the highest average English scores after every exam.

Lu Wuqi, who had picked up on the subtext, shared some gossip from her memories instead—like the time their class teacher had mixed up the schedule and arrived late, then made up for it by taking over a full break period.

“Our class teacher is a really great teacher. That evening during self-study, she bought two huge boxes of bread as compensation for our lost break time,” Lu Wuqi said.

Yi Rushi’s expression softened, her brows relaxing as she listened intently to the two girls. She tried to picture the outstanding and diligent main subject teacher from Lan Xu’s stories, and the principled yet approachable homeroom teacher from Lu Wuqi’s descriptions.

“Teacher Yi, has it been a long time since you last saw our class teacher?” Lu Wuqi asked proactively as they neared their destination.

“Yes. I stayed in the capital after graduation, but your class teacher went back to Lin County.” Yi Rushi’s voice was soft. “I’ve been to Lin County before, but only during winter and summer breaks or holidays. She was never at school during those times.”

Without knowing where Ye Yixuan lived, Yi Rushi couldn’t even try to bump into her. After a few failed attempts, she had given up for the time being.

“That’s really unlucky. But this winter break should be easier for our first-year class teacher—high school first-years don’t have supplementary classes.” Lan Xu said. “Teacher Yi, you can just schedule a time with her in advance. Our class teacher doesn’t go out much usually. She just likes staying home alone.”

“What about New Year’s? Does your class teacher have a habit of going out?” Yi Rushi asked, a spark of hope igniting in her heart.

Had Ye Yixuan sent her students to find her because she’d forgiven her past stupidity?

“Probably not?” Lan Xu replied. “Our class teacher likes staying home alone, reading books or practicing calligraphy.”

The classmates who knew her well had shown up unannounced for visits before precisely because they knew: if she wasn’t at school, she was definitely home.

The bus slowed to a stop before Yi Rushi could ask more. She pocketed her phone and swiftly shifted into leading-teacher mode.

After getting off the bus, she first coordinated with the nursing home director. Then, together with the director, she distributed the blue vests. Once the students were familiarized with the facility, Yi Rushi began announcing the groupings and assignments for the forty-person group.

Lan Xu must have been blessed by their class teacher’s lingering halo, because she drew an easy job: adjusting radios and TVs for the elderly with poor eyesight, and occasionally reading books to them.

With no assignment of her own, Lu Wuqi helped Lan Xu out. From time to time, her peripheral vision swept over Duan Qian, who was in charge of teaching the elders how to use smartphones and apps. Who knew what she was thinking.

The volunteer activities kicked off at 9:30 a.m. With Yi Rushi pitching in to help, everything went smoothly without any incidents, and soon it was 11:30.

The nursing home residents had varied tastes, so when mealtime arrived, they dutifully brought out their utensils and lined up to get their food.

Besides helping serve, the volunteers also had to take the day’s menu around to elders with mobility issues, chat with them, and fetch meals to their satisfaction.

Once all the elders were eating, the remaining food in the cafeteria—about half—was set aside for the thirty-plus Capital University volunteers and staff.

“Classmate Lu, Classmate Lan, long time no see.” After getting his food, Duan Qian tactlessly walked over. “Mind if I join your table?”

“Whatever.” Lan Xu said, shifting her tray and spot outward to make room.

Duan Qian apparently didn’t pick up on Lan Xu’s lack of enthusiasm. He interpreted her movement as making space for him and smiled, opening his mouth to try cozying up further.

“No one sitting here, right?” Yi Rushi appeared nearby, tray in hand, cutting him off before he could speak.

“Teacher Yi, it’s empty. Just take a seat.” Lan Xu’s tone warmed up instantly.

“Hello, Teacher.” Duan Qian swallowed reflexively, not daring to meet Yi Rushi’s eyes.

He had been sharply criticized by Yi Rushi just last week. Now, seeing her was like a mouse spotting a cat—every inch of him screamed that he wanted to bolt.

“You’re Duan Qian?” Yi Rushi asked.

A university teacher might not remember every student’s name, but one she’d called out and criticized recently? His face and name weren’t hard to commit to memory.

“Yes, I’m Duan Qian.” He straightened his somewhat slouched back.

“How did you do with your morning tasks? Any special insights?” Yi Rushi’s eyes sharpened with scrutiny, her expression turning serious. “Do you still remember how you criticized our country’s welfare policies before?”

“Teacher, my previous views were too superficial. I shouldn’t have spoken out without verifying the facts.” Duan Qian replied. He hadn’t even taken a bite yet, but sweat was already beading on his forehead from nerves.

“Hm. If you’ve realized that much, then this trip wasn’t a waste.” Yi Rushi’s tone softened a bit. “These elders are mostly over seventy. Their life experiences are incredibly rich. If you have time, chat with them more—they’ve witnessed our nation’s rise to power firsthand.”

“Okay, got it.” Duan Qian swallowed again. “Teacher, I’m going to grab seconds. Take your time eating.”

He couldn’t endure it for even three full minutes before picking up his tray and fleeing.

There was no helping it—eating face-to-face with a teacher he feared was pure terror. He didn’t even dare breathe too loudly.

Lan Xu, who had just shoved a mouthful of white rice into her mouth, had her cheeks slightly puffed out. She watched Duan Qian’s retreating back with open curiosity.

Why is this Duan Qian so afraid of the gentle and approachable Teacher Yi? Could it be that he did something bad and feels guilty about it?

Hmm, from this it seems Duan Qian’s character is extremely poor. I must continue keeping my distance from him.

If he tries to share a table with me again next time, I definitely have to refuse! Just say no!