Chapter 8

The Yu-Xiang Shredded Pork and Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs, which had been passable before, suddenly tasted bland and flavorless.

For once, Si Nanyu didn’t finish her meal. On the walk back, she kept her eyes lowered, Yang Miao’s words going in one ear and out the other. But when they passed the Academic Affairs Office, she spotted Wen Qingyan, and her eyes lit up before filling with confusion.

When she and Yang Miao had left, Wen Qingyan had still been in line at the serving window. How had she gotten back so fast?

“Teacher Yang…” Si Nanyu was just about to voice the questions piling up inside her when Yang Miao sighed and said, “With the Monthly Exam coming up, plus the Sports Meet to organize, the Academic Affairs Office has its hands full.”

Si Nanyu cast a longing glance at Wen Qingyan, who had taken only a few bites of her food before burying herself in work again, and muttered under her breath, a little displeased, “So busy she can’t even eat a proper meal…”

Then she caught herself and looked at Yang Miao.

After all, her husband was the Director of Academic Affairs. Put that way…

But to her surprise, Yang Miao’s resentment ran even deeper. “You’re telling me! My Old Li was exactly like that back in the day, even more of a worry than Little Wen.” Then she added with a sigh, “Thank goodness he’s not in the Academic Affairs Office anymore.”

When she turned her head, she found Si Nanyu staring at her blankly, and she chided her fondly, “Nanyu, don’t tell me you forgot again. My Old Li… got promoted.” Yang Miao pointed upward, looking mysterious.

She rattled on for a while about how busy Old Li was as Vice Principal, smiling as she spoke, though her eyes were full of complaint.

Old Li wasn’t a faithful man, and nearly everyone in the school with decent gossip sources knew it.

Only Yang Miao herself knew how many years of bitterness and tears that had cost her.

Fortunately, she was an optimist. As soon as she finished that thought, she cheerfully moved on to other topics…

“Nanyu, you’re at the perfect age. Hurry up and find yourself a boyfriend or a girlfriend and get married.” She turned to the matter of Si Nanyu’s love life.

Si Nanyu hadn’t expected her to be so open-minded, and it took her a moment to respond. “Find a… girlfriend?”

“That’s right. Don’t tell me you’re that old-fashioned. Same-sex marriage was legalized three or four years ago. Never mind society in general, our school alone has held Mixers more than ten times already.”

“What do you say? Interested? If you are, I’ll set something up…”

The more Yang Miao talked, the more excited she got, her voice rising several notches. To Si Nanyu, though, it all sounded terrifying. She had someone she liked. And more to the point… she and Wen Qingyan were already “married.” How could she possibly agree?

Besides, after hearing Yang Miao out, she finally understood something: she and Wen Qingyan hadn’t registered their marriage abroad, as she’d assumed. They had a Red Marriage Certificate issued by the state.

A perfectly official channel!

It was just that… apparently nobody at school knew about it.

She had no idea why they’d kept the marriage secret, but she knew she couldn’t let it slip. And since she had no intention of actually attending a Mixer, she waved her hands emphatically. “No, no, no! There’s no need. I… I have a girlfriend!”

The moment the words were out, Si Nanyu felt a twinge of guilt. But on second thought, she and Wen Qingyan had the certificate to prove it. Calling her a girlfriend wasn’t exactly a stretch, was it?

“Oh? So Nanyu has a girlfriend already. No wonder. With your looks, of course people are lining up.” Yang Miao sounded surprised, but her gossip instincts kicked in immediately. “Is it the person who came looking for you last Friday?”

Last Friday? What last Friday?

How was she supposed to know?!

Si Nanyu was finding Yang Miao’s gossip harder and harder to handle, and she was starting to look for an escape. But Yang Miao just had to land one more bombshell: “You know, the girl in the super short skirt. Spicy and sweet, looked pretty young too.”

Si Nanyu’s eyes went wide at those words. Not only had she just figured out who Yang Miao was talking about… Wen Qingyan had also just walked out of the Academic Affairs Office!

“I, I, I… she’s not my…”

Yang Miao, with her back to Wen Qingyan, hadn’t noticed her. Seeing Si Nanyu’s face, she assumed the girl was flustered out of shyness and teased her with a smile. “It’s fine if your girlfriend’s a bit young. Cute, isn’t it?”

Young and cute. Neither one hit anywhere near Si Nanyu’s taste. She was shaking her head, about to deny it, when Wen Qingyan, standing behind Yang Miao, spoke up with a pleasant smile. “Teacher Yang, Teacher Si. Out for a stroll after lunch?”

Back in the office, Si Nanyu sat in a daze for a good long while. Her phone, which had held some appeal last night and that morning, now lay abandoned on the desk. She held her thermos and stared out the window.

Her mind was entirely occupied with one question: would Wen Qingyan misunderstand?

And even if she did misunderstand, what then?

Surely she wouldn’t… read anything into it. Right?

After all, Wen Qingyan had barely acknowledged her at the cafeteria. At the door of the Academic Affairs Office, she’d exchanged at least ten sentences with Yang Miao, and exactly half of one with her.

And that half had been tacked onto a question meant for both of them.

Si Nanyu felt utterly deflated. This hurt more than when she’d been secretly pining for Wen Qingyan.

Back then, she could hide behind her identity as a student, asking Wen Qingyan about this and that. But now?

Now the tension between them was unbearable. She was terrified that anything she said would be… wrong!

“Nanyu, time for your class with Class Two!” Yang Miao came over and tapped her desk, pointing at the clock.

It was almost three. She really did have to go.

But Si Nanyu wasn’t ready.

She’d flipped through the Lesson Plan Notebook Yang Miao had handed her at noon who knows how many times, and none of it had sunk in.

She didn’t understand why she’d ended up in this profession at all.

She was terrible at dealing with people her own age…

Wait, no. They weren’t her age anymore.

Si Nanyu nodded her thanks to Yang Miao and dragged her twenty-eight-year-old body off to class.

Class Two was easy to find. Straight down the hall from the office.

Having spent the better part of a day familiarizing herself with the campus, Si Nanyu had a clear picture now. Aside from the renovations, the school hadn’t changed much. Senior Year still occupied its own building, with the arts faculty offices on the first floor and Classes One through Eight on the second and third.

Her office was on the second floor, which made classes and rehearsals convenient.

Wen Qingyan…

She had two offices. One for the Academic Affairs Office, and one with her own department.

Si Nanyu knew this because barely a minute after leaving her office, she ran straight into Wen Qingyan.

Her own office was near the stairwell. Wen Qingyan’s was in the middle.

An extremely efficient collision, really.

“Teacher Wen!” Clutching her textbooks, Si Nanyu nodded to her.

Wen Qingyan gave a soft “mm” and regarded her coolly.

An opportunity like this could not be wasted! Si Nanyu hurried forward in two quick steps and fell in beside her, asking earnestly, “Teacher Wen, how am I supposed to teach a class…?”

Wen Qingyan stopped in her tracks and stared at her in disbelief.

It lasted only a second. Then her brows knitted, and she shot back, “The arts faculty. Is that really something you should be asking me?”

The question, paired with those icy eyes, startled Si Nanyu. She clutched her textbooks tighter and answered, face burning, “But I… I don’t know anything at all…”

“Then ask the Class Representative.”

“I have a class. I can’t keep wasting time.” With that, Wen Qingyan walked briskly into Class Three.

She left Si Nanyu standing there, stunned.

Wounded again. Because Wen Qingyan thought she was… a waste of time?

Si Nanyu’s fragile heart… quietly shattered one more time.

Of the eight classes at Zhennan High School, One and Three were the top science classes, Two and Four the top liberal arts classes, Five and Six the regular mixed classes, and Seven and Eight the arts classes.

For the first six, her music course was just a general introduction, nothing demanding. The students of Class Two were relatively quiet too, so Si Nanyu got through it fairly easily.

And just as Wen Qingyan had said, the moment she walked in, the Class Representative stood up and played a recording of a folk music piece.

Teaching might not be her strength, but music certainly was.

By the end of the period, music appreciation had taken up half the class, and Si Nanyu’s personal commentary filled the other half.

The nerves were still there, but when the bell rang, the weight pressing down on her finally lifted.

Thankfully that was her only class today. Mission accomplished.

Now all she had to do was wait for the final bell…

No, wait. For the end of the workday.

She gathered her textbooks and headed out, her mood lifting considerably. Even her shattered heart had been hastily glued back together.

Passing Class Three, she couldn’t help sneaking a glance inside.

Wen Qingyan’s expression was grim as she walked out.

And when she saw Si Nanyu, it seemed to darken even further.

But this time she didn’t ignore her. Instead, she spoke first. “Wait for me at the Subway Station after work.”

“I’m taking you to pick up the car.”

That last sentence came out heavy, almost harsh. Si Nanyu didn’t dare say a word. She just nodded hard.

Then marched back to the office, arms and legs somehow failing to coordinate.

She couldn’t explain it, but whenever she ran into Wen Qingyan in situations like this, it only made her more nervous.

An hour later, when Yang Miao stood up to leave, Si Nanyu got ready to head out as well. Yang Miao had someone picking her up, so Si Nanyu walked alone to the Subway Station where she was supposed to meet Wen Qingyan.

She leaned against the wall, bored out of her mind. The crowd ebbed and flowed, and still no sign of Wen Qingyan.

It was nearly six when Wen Qingyan finally came striding over.

She’d changed her shoes, flat canvas ones, though she was still wearing the same outfit.

Having hurried over, a few strands of her pinned-up hair had come loose and fallen against her ear. She stopped, caught her breath, and said, a little apologetically, “Something came up, so I was delayed…”

Having known each other for a few years now, Si Nanyu understood that Wen Qingyan had a strict sense of time. She would never run late for personal reasons; it had to be something at school.

Not that Si Nanyu minded.

She broke into a bright smile and waved a hand. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”

But to her surprise, Wen Qingyan merely glanced at her and didn’t move.

Instead of heading toward the Subway Station like Si Nanyu expected, she pointed at the roadside. “I called a car. We’re taking a taxi.”

The school wasn’t close enough to walk casually, nor far enough to call a real trip, so Si Nanyu had assumed Wen Qingyan chose the subway to keep their relationship hidden. She’d forgotten… that Wen Qingyan could simply take a taxi.

Si Nanyu leaned in a little closer and murmured a reminder. “Teacher Wen…”

“What?”

Before she could even get to the point, Wen Qingyan shifted a step away, asking warily.

Perhaps she’d grown used to Wen Qingyan’s coldness, because this time Si Nanyu felt no extra sting. She kept her voice low. “You… you’ve got a few strands of hair stuck by your ear.”

She gave a little giggle and stepped up beside Wen Qingyan, her gaze settling on that profile.

And then… she saw Wen Qingyan’s ears flush red.

Her lips pressed into a tight line, visibly uncomfortable.

Si Nanyu stole a few more glances, then started to feel a little embarrassed herself.

Because she… rather liked seeing Wen Qingyan flustered. Moments like this were what turned those ear tips red.

And she was startled to discover that her twenty-eight-year-old body had grown taller, just slightly taller than Wen Qingyan now. To glimpse those reddened ears, she only needed a casual glance. No more craning up like before.

That realization made her lose all restraint, and her stare turned shameless.

Wen Qingyan felt it, naturally. She smoothed her hair back, seemingly unbothered. Anyone else staring like that would have earned her anger, but this was Si Nanyu.

After all, Si Nanyu had once looked at her with eyes far more scorching than this.

So she remained unmoved, and even let a flicker of reproach slip into her gaze as she looked over. “People are walking past left and right. Are you not afraid of being seen?”