The first class after waking up from an afternoon nap was English, taught by a middle-aged man around fifty, wearing a vest and shorts, with a pair of brown leather slippers on his feet.
However, in stark contrast to his attire, this English teacher, whom the students affectionately nicknamed Old Man Li, spoke English as if someone had suddenly switched channels to an English drama; his accent was impeccably pure.
“Don’t be fooled by Old Man Li’s simple attire; he raised his daughter alone, and that elder sister is now pursuing her postgraduate studies at Oxford University. It’s said that father and daughter speak purely in English when they call each other.”
Thanks to Lai Jielun, the local expert, Liu Chen quickly got a handle on the temperaments of the teachers in Senior Three, Class Six.
Old Man Li naturally noticed the two new transfer students in the back. He knew that one of them had achieved the highest English score in the class since transferring, which piqued his interest.
“Alright, let’s have student Liu Chen explain how to tackle this reading comprehension passage.”
“This reading comprehension primarily confuses us regarding the past, present, and future, so…”
Lai Jing, holding her lesson plan, passed by the window. Seeing Liu Chen standing on the podium, confidently explaining an English test paper, she couldn’t help but smile and nod. It was such a promising talent being pushed to leave; it was no wonder that Twelve Middle School had struggled for so many years without becoming a national key school.
It was unclear how Old Man Li had spoken to the other teachers, but Liu Chen ended up explaining test papers for three consecutive classes that afternoon.
Fortunately, the fourth class was a study period, giving Liu Chen a chance to take a sip of warm water and soothe his throat. He took out his silenced Nokia from his drawer.
Pushing the keyboard upwards, the small screen lit up.
An envelope-shaped icon blinked on the screen: “You have a new message.”
Had that scammer not given up? Or was the scammer planning a honey trap?
As Liu Chen pondered, he opened the message.
“Pfft!”
A mouthful of warm water was directly sprayed onto the desk. The freshly completed test paper was soaked, and the ink gradually blurred into a mess.
On the two-inch screen, Ren Yu’s photo was clearly displayed.
It was evident that the photographer had put a lot of effort into it, intuitively mastering the later discovered “looking up from below” photography technique. In the photo, Ren Yu was pursing his lips, standing solemnly in front of a desk, his hands hanging by his sides. Only his eyes behind the silver-rimmed glasses looked intently at the camera.
It even gave one the feeling… that he was looking at oneself through the lens.
Mi Zhuzhu heard the sound from behind and got up from her chair, rushing to Liu Chen's side.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Did Hu Qian say something mean?”
Upon seeing the man on her best friend’s phone, Mi Zhuzhu’s eyes widened: “Holy cow? Which actor is this? Honestly, he’s as good-looking as Lee Joon-gi, whom I’ve been a fan of lately!”
Hearing this, Ren Mo also curiously turned her head to look…
“It’s my brother, that reserved guy. Tsk, I wonder when this was taken. Sister, how did you find it?”
Pulled back to reality by Ren Mo’s voice, Liu Chen slid his phone down, and the screen went black, then displayed the phone’s built-in screensaver.
Pretending to be unconcerned, he put the phone back into the drawer and asked the other three:
“What are we eating later?”
—
In 2008, Tieba was still the most frequent platform for information exchange among students from various schools. From senior three down to junior one, the frequency of browsing Tieba was no less than refreshing one’s WeChat Moments in later years.
And the hottest post on Normal University Affiliated High School today was undoubtedly: “Let’s talk about the beautiful new transfer student in Senior Three.”
‘Heard there’s a beautiful academic genius who joined Senior Three Class Six and immediately got first place in the class? Passed by today and took a look. She’s alright looking, but I heard her grades weren’t good at her previous school, and she transferred because she hit a teacher. Is it possible she cheated on this exam?’
‘Transferring in Senior Three? Is it true she hit a teacher?’
‘I know, I know, she transferred from Twelve Middle School, and it’s rumored she transferred because she hit a teacher.’
‘Holy cow? An academic genius hitting a teacher? That’s so bold?’
‘Cheating? Surely not, it’s not some joint exam, why would she cheat?’
‘Everyone on the thread, calm down. The beautiful academic genius is dating the handsome top student of Class Six. Saw them going to eat KFC together at noon. Tsk, tsk, it seems even academic geniuses can’t resist a handsome guy!’
Perhaps it was because school had just started and everyone’s enthusiasm hadn’t been worn down by the flood of practice problems, but this post quickly garnered thousands of replies. Even those who weren’t initially interested clicked in out of curiosity when they saw how popular it was.
Liu Chen was completely unaware of this, after all… Tieba, for someone who had been reborn, was too distant, and she couldn’t recall such a place at all…
Her mind was filled with Ren Yu’s solemn photo. Those pale pink lips, why did they look so tempting to be… ravaged?
“Chenchen? Chenchen? Hello? Wake up!”
Liu Chen came back to his senses, blinked, and looked at Zhuzhu, who was frantically waving her hands in front of him.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Mi Zhuzhu eyed Liu Chen suspiciously. How come she felt… that her friend Chenchen’s expression just now was somewhat like her cousin’s when she was in love?
But…
It couldn’t be, right? Although that man was indeed very handsome, wasn’t he Ren Mo’s brother?
“Cough, cough, our little brother Ren Mo said that next Sunday is his brother’s birthday, and it’s rare for him to return to C City, so he’s inviting us to dinner together.”
Hmm? Ren Yu’s birthday is coming up?
Then what should I give him as a gift?
Liu Chen later checked the gift he received from him last time; it was worth twenty thousand yuan…
That was a house in C City worn on the wrist.
Having lived two lives, this was the first time Liu Chen had received such a precious gift, and he even had the thought of returning the watch to Ren Yu.
But thinking of those calm eyes, he inexplicably had a hunch that Ren Yu wouldn't accept it.
This question lingered in Liu Chen’s mind until school ended.
“Sister, why do I feel like the students in the school are looking at us?” Ren Mo asked uncertainly, her backpack slung over her shoulder as she walked alongside Liu Chen towards the familiar black Mercedes.
In fact, Liu Chen had noticed the intermittent gazes falling on them even earlier. There was no malice, just a kind of probing curiosity.
“Don’t worry about it. When we go to school tomorrow, Lai Jielun will naturally tell us.” Lai Jielun’s gossip speed was almost the fastest in the class.
“Haha, that’s true!”
The sight of the two walking side-by-side and getting into the car was captured by a busybody and uploaded to the already popular post on Normal University Affiliated High School’s Tieba: “Let’s talk about the beautiful new transfer student in Senior Three.”
Instantly, the entire Tieba erupted.
‘Front row, quickly gather around.’
‘Awesome, senior students walking together so openly after school?’
‘Breaking news, Normal University Affiliated High School’s public couple!’