Chapter 17: Her Heart Grew Hotter and More Confused
As autumn set in, the sky began to darken faster.
It was nearly eight o’clock, and without lights, it was almost impossible to see the path.
Tong Yao held the gift box, fiddling with the ribbon on top, and asked the young girl:
“How much did this cost? Was it very expensive?”
“N-no!” Ruan Xi said, afraid she wouldn’t accept it. “It was a little over a hundred, but Teacher Tong, your card saved me a lot of money on meals, so, so…”
“Alright, alright, what are you so nervous about?” Tong Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you. I like it very much. I’ll definitely be able to use it.”
The young girl’s pretty face flushed, and she stammered:
“As long as… you can use it.”
Tong Yao teased, “You’re dressed very nicely today. Did you go out with someone?”
“No!” Ruan Xi quickly explained, her voice suddenly much louder. “I was studying in the classroom the whole time…”
“Pfft, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Tong Yao chuckled. “Don’t always stay cooped up at school. You need a balance between work and rest. You can go shopping with your friends once in a while.”
“…Oh.”
The young girl replied dejectedly and fell silent.
Tong Yao checked the time. Standing downstairs wasn’t a solution. Carrying the gifts, she turned toward the stairwell.
“Want to come up and sit for a while?”
She tilted her head, her raised arm pointing toward the door, the corners of her lips slightly upturned. The sight made Ruan Xi’s heart pound.
“M-mhm…” The young girl quickly lowered her head.
“Come on up.”
In the quiet night, the sound of their shoes echoed in the stairwell.
Thump, thump, thump.
Turns out… that was the sound of my own heartbeat.
The door opened. Ruan Xi swallowed nervously as she watched Tong Yao crouch down to get her a pair of slippers. The discomfort of being served urged her to quicken her movements as she took off her shoes and stepped into the living room, but there was no little fox to greet them.
“Teacher Tong, is Tamamo not here?” Ruan Xi asked, looking around.
“Tamamo?” Tong Yao poured two glasses of water and placed one in front of the young girl. “I don’t have time to feed it, so my brother took it home.”
With that, she picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and then tossed it onto the sofa. “I’ve paid the TV bill. You can watch whatever you want.”
Ruan Xi nodded and then, very clumsily, picked up the remote.
She had barely touched a TV since starting high school. Modern TVs had many more functions than before, and it would be a hassle if she accidentally pressed the wrong button.
She changed the channels one by one, her mind not on the television at all. Is Teacher Tong in the kitchen? Did she just take something out of the fridge? The programs on TV couldn’t hold her attention until Tong Yao came out with a plate of sliced oranges.
“Want an orange?” Tong Yao offered her a slice without waiting for an answer. “It’s very sweet.”
Ruan Xi trembled. She felt that when Teacher Tong held a slice of orange, it was like she was holding a flower petal. Every movement was…
Attracting bees and butterflies.
And she had taken the bait, willingly and thoroughly hooked.
“Did you pick a movie to watch?” Tong Yao sat down, somewhat surprised.
Only then did Ruan Xi notice that the TV was on the movie channel, and a film was playing, just as the opening credits were rolling.
“Hey, it’s Life is Beautiful,” Tong Yao exclaimed after watching for a moment.
Teacher Tong… is so close.
Ruan Xi’s face felt like it was on fire.
Why is Teacher Tong sitting next to me?
The sofa was so soft; she felt that if she wasn’t careful, she would lean right into Teacher Tong. Teacher Tong’s body… She had felt it before, that day she had crashed into her. The memory was seared into her mind, and she didn’t even know why she had become like this.
She didn’t dare to look to the side, so she stared at the screen, gradually becoming captivated by the plot.
It was a story that took place in the cruelest of places, yet it was the warmest of stories.
Ruan Xi was engrossed, forgetting even to eat the orange. When she heard a line from the movie, her heart trembled along with it—
“I think, rather than dying early, I am more grateful to God for letting me be born into this world, to be able to meet you like this, to be loved by you like this.”
Her heart felt like a plucked string. She instinctively looked to her side, only to find that Teacher Tong was leaning against the sofa, having fallen asleep at some point.
Teacher Tong… must be very tired, right?
For the first time, she could look at Teacher Tong so carefully and in such detail. Like Sleeping Beauty from a fairy tale, she felt that all the beautiful words in the world could be used to describe Teacher Tong. Her moist, cherry-red lips, her delicate and exquisite collarbones, and further down, the graceful curve of her chest rising and falling with each breath. Her skin was like jade, her scent was enchanting, making one’s heart race and lose all composure.
The young girl’s heart was pounding like a frightened deer. She quickly averted her gaze. It was all Teacher Tong’s fault for being too beautiful, making even someone of the same gender as her become mesmerized. The story in the movie was nearing its end. The Soviet Red Army entered the city, and the little boy saw a real tank. The whole story was both healing and tear-jerking.
“Hmm… is it over?”
Tong Yao slowly woke up. She had been in a state between sleep and wakefulness. It was a good movie, but she had seen it in her previous life. More than half of the oranges on the table were left. Feeling it was a waste, she picked up a slice and ate it.
Realizing she shouldn’t be wasteful, the young girl also started eating the oranges.
It was the first time she had been alone with Teacher Tong for so long.
She cherished every single minute.
Time, can’t you please go a little… slower?
“It’s past ten. You should be heading back now,” Tong Yao said, stretching and glancing at the time. “Oh, finish the oranges first.”
The young girl paused, her movements of eating the orange instantly slowing down, like a hesitant old lady.
“Do you get along well with your roommates in the dorm?” Tong Yao asked casually.
Ruan Xi hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, “…Mhm.”
When the electrician came to fix the lightbulb, the chair used as a stepping stool was usually hers. She never took long in the bathroom, yet she was always the one being rushed. No one was targeting her specifically, she just… had no status whatsoever.
How to gain status? Grades, or social skills.
She had neither, but she was now studying desperately, just trying to pull herself out of the mire.
“You don’t get along with your roommates?” Tong Yao noticed the young girl’s complete lack of confidence and couldn’t resist poking her on the forehead again. “Don’t bottle things up. You can tell me anything.”
“N-no…” Ruan Xi suddenly panicked and blurted out a lie, “We all get along great. It’s just, someone snores… and I have trouble sleeping…”
She had lied.
She had actually lied to Teacher Tong.
If she were to list the few people she would never want to deceive, Tong Yao would definitely be on that list. But… she just didn’t want Teacher Tong to worry about her too much.
She couldn’t always be a burden to Teacher Tong.
“Pfft, it’s rare for a girl to snore,” Tong Yao said with a laugh.
Ruan Xi silently thought, He Xueyu, I’m sorry.
“Why don’t you sleep here for the night? There’s another bedroom that I recently cleaned out,” Tong Yao said, her eyes glancing toward the room next to the master bedroom.
The young girl’s heart, for a split second, almost stopped.
**
Ruan Xi stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.
The Ruan Xi in the mirror was as foolish as ever, holding a toothbrush, her movements as stiff as a machine.
Behind the young girl was a light-colored curtain.
Under the light, a graceful silhouette was projected onto the curtain. The person taking a shower… was Teacher Tong.
Her brain was about to explode.
The blush on her face wouldn’t fade, and her wildly beating heart wouldn’t calm down. She quickly finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, then fled into the bedroom as if escaping, finally diving headfirst into the blankets.
Every time she saw Teacher Tong, she was so shy and nervous she could die.
She hadn’t thought too deeply about the reason, because right now, she already felt happy enough.
The sound of water from the bathroom stopped.
After her shower, Tong Yao no longer felt sleepy. Looking at the tightly closed door, she smiled and asked through the door:
“How’s the bed? Are you comfortable?”
“…Mhm.”
The voice from inside was muffled, but very cute.
“Goodnight then.” Tong Yao turned and walked toward her own bedroom.
Ruan Xi, wrapped in her blankets, felt her heart grow scorching hot. She murmured to herself, not knowing who could hear:
“Goodnight, Teacher Tong…”
