Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During these two weeks, Chen Dongyang worked as a sports teacher at the school. He not only made the children happy, sunny, and healthy but also greatly boosted their enthusiasm for learning.
At the end of the month, the first mock midterm exam for the semester arrived. The children's exam results were very good, improving their ranking by a full six places among all schools in the county.
Li Yuan, who had been last in the class exam last time, improved his math score by twenty points.
Although her Chinese didn't improve much, Tiantian was still very happy.
This was her first time being a teacher, her first time genuinely wanting to help a group of people. They accepted her, and they were doing as she wished, making her feel that her existence was necessary and that she wasn't so burdened by guilt.
The sense of accomplishment and excitement, the feeling of struggling out of immense guilt and seeing a glimmer of light, made her want to write a five-thousand-character essay to announce it to the world.
Of course, it was just a thought; her style wasn't that ostentatious.
Feeling a little better, she thought of Ge'er. Ge'er was three months pregnant, and she really wanted to call her.
After the incident, she had buried her head in the sand like an ostrich, refusing to face the world, leaving all the bitterness and hardship for Ge'er to bear alone. Ge'er, a pregnant woman…
She wondered how Ge'er was doing now.
The phone was flipped back and forth in her hand, the number typed and deleted, typed and deleted, but she still couldn't muster the courage to dial it.
She had been too selfish, too terrible, and had wronged Ge'er too much recently.
To expect a few light apologies to make Ge'er forgive her? That would be too easy.
Tiantian couldn't get past her own mental barrier and eventually put the phone back in her pocket.
She returned to the classroom to share the good news with everyone and encourage them, planning to reward them with a music class.
Just as she was heading to the cafeteria to make arrangements, her phone vibrated.
It vibrated several times in a row. Thinking something had happened, she took it out and her mood immediately soared.
Ge'er had messaged her!
Heavens, they really were twins! As she was thinking of Ge'er, Ge'er was also thinking of her!
Seeing the red number 4 in the corner of their chat box, Tiantian almost jumped for joy on the campus!
She thought this was exciting enough, with Ge'er initiating contact, signaling forgiveness.
However, upon reading the content, she was even more touched.
The first two were ultrasound images. Ge'er's baby was three months old, and the examination results were excellent.
The next two messages were two sentences.
The first sentence: "Hello Tiantian, I wonder if you still remember me. I am Lei Dongyi. Your sister just returned from the hospital after her check-up and is sleeping. I am the one talking to you."
The second sentence: "I've heard a little about what happened to you recently. If you have time, I'd like to call and chat with you. Although she doesn't say it, she still misses you. Last night, she called your name in her sleep. I hope I'm not meddling. If you see this message and are willing to chat, please call me."
Tiantian was shocked.
She had heard that Lei Dongyi had returned before leaving Nan City, but it was just hearsay. She never expected…
He was actually with Ge'er? And from the looks of it, they were quite close!
What did this mean? Had he remained single all these years abroad? Did he still have Ge'er in his heart? Was he preparing to take care of Ge'er and the child for the rest of their lives?
Seeing Lei Dongyi, whom Ge'er had secretly admired for many years, suddenly appear and be there for her when she needed comfort the most, Tiantian was so happy her hands trembled!
After reading the message, without a second thought, she dialed Ge'er's number.
As expected, Lei Dongyi answered.
Ge'er's condition had improved a lot recently; she wasn't throwing up as much, could eat and sleep well. Lei Dongyi went to the balcony and chatted with Tiantian for over an hour.
Learning that Lei Dongyi hadn't intentionally abandoned Ge'er back then, that he had always liked her, that he had now confessed his feelings and would stay by her side no matter what, and that he had received Jiang Nan Fang's support, Tiantian shed tears of happiness for Ge'er, tears of relief after a near disaster.
After that, she lost interest in the music class.
There was still someone waiting patiently, waiting for her to figure things out, waiting for her to give him a chance.
Tiantian suddenly felt sorry for him and wanted to go save him quickly.
She ran back to the classroom and told her students that the class would be a self-study session for now.
"Teacher has some urgent matters to discuss with the sports teacher. Be good, don't make a fuss. Have a self-study session, and next week I'll have him teach you two sports classes."
After nearly two months of interaction, the students knew she was easy to talk to and dared to be a bit cheeky.
"Teacher, what do you need to discuss with the sports teacher? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Are you two getting married?"
"Teacher, when exactly are you getting married?"
"Can you get married here? We want to attend your wedding."
"Yes. I haven't attended a wedding in so long. No one in the village has gotten married for a long time."
"If Teacher gets married, she'll definitely be the most beautiful bride in the world. Teacher, just let us watch you get married. We'll pay for it, I can ask my mom for money!"
"I want to attend too! Teacher, I can have my grandma pay!"
Tiantian listened, amused and exasperated, "What makes you think I'm getting married to the sports teacher?"
"Who told you I was his girlfriend?"
Everyone answered in unison: "The sports teacher said so!"
"He told us long ago that you were his girlfriend, and he also said that if we were good and did well on the final exam, he would…"
"He would what?"
Everyone suddenly stopped, smiling slyly. Tiantian knew Chen Dongyang hadn't said anything good.
"Alright, alright, you have a self-study session first, and I'll go talk to him. I promise you, if he behaves well, I'll agree to be his girlfriend, and when we get married, you can attend for free."
"Yay!"
The students erupted in cheers.
Tiantian didn't have time to borrow the principal's electric bike and ran on foot to find Chen Dongyang.
Normally, with a vehicle, she felt the town was very small, ending in just a few minutes.
But walking under the scorching sun today, she realized it was quite far.
She walked and ran, panting heavily, and it took her a full twenty minutes to reach Chen Dongyang's house.
The small courtyard gate was locked. Chen Dongyang was working and suddenly heard Tiantian's voice, thinking he was hallucinating.
It wasn't until Tiantian called out more than ten times that he came out to open the door. Seeing her flushed and breathless, he thought something had happened.
"Why are you here at this time?"
"Why didn't you call me to pick you up?"
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Don't worry, come in and calm down before you tell me."
He wanted to help Tiantian, but he was afraid she wouldn't like it, so he withdrew his half-extended hand. Tiantian, however, suddenly giggled and took his hand proactively.
"Chen Dongyang."
"What is it?"
"Do you still want me to be your girlfriend?"
"Huh?"
"I said I want to be your girlfriend, marry you, and have children with you. Do you still want that?"