Su Yao looked at herself in the mirror and said,
“This way, no one should be able to recognize me, right?”
Other than changing her jacket, she’d also put on a mask just to be safe. Still, she couldn’t help but worry, so she tied up her hair and found those old plain glasses she’d impulsively bought a while ago. Even though they weren’t black-rimmed, at least they covered her a bit.
Once she was fully armed, Su Yao finally felt at ease enough to leave the house.
When she passed by the Neighborhood Gate, the security guard uncle glanced at her in surprise, frowning as he failed to recognize her at first. After she’d walked some distance away, Su Yao felt a rush of excitement and her heart thumped rapidly. With this small confirmation, she felt sure no one would be able to tell she was that “Mantou Teacher,” right?
Just as she was about to walk into the breakfast shop, the shop owner greeted her warmly.
“Pretty girl, the usual?”
“Ah? Ah… Um…”
Su Yao performed a three-stage confusion act, starting with bewilderment, slowly realizing something, and finally her mind blanking out. She took today’s breakfast in a daze, eating as she walked, and only snapped out of it once she’d entered the school.
The auntie at the shop had completely flustered Su Yao, making her lose confidence in her disguise. Every step she took at school, she was extra cautious, terrified of being noticed. She successfully sneaked to the entrance of the teaching building without being found out, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
Luckily, not everyone was obsessed with online gossip. Most students were focused on their studies, or gaming—who had the time or energy to care about someone else’s business? At most, they’d just look for fun.
Hahaha, I was worried for nothing!
Just as Su Yao began to relax, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Startled, she jumped back several steps, only to see that it was Luo Yu. Narrowing her eyes and fuming, Su Yao glared at her.
Luo Yu grinned, looking like she deserved a beating. She seemed about to speak, and judging from her mouth shape, Su Yao frowned deeply. The moment Luo Yu uttered the first syllable, Su Yao’s face turned pale—she hurriedly slapped her hand over Luo Yu’s mouth.
Using the momentum, she circled behind Luo Yu, hooked her other arm around Luo Yu’s neck, and dragged her away from the entrance under everyone’s gaze.
Since it was just two girls fooling around, they caught some attention; a few people stopped to watch, but there was no follow-up. When Su Yao finally released Luo Yu, she put on her angriest face, silently warning Luo Yu not to say anything else that would make her even angrier.
Luo Yu gave a cheerful laugh, sidling up to Su Yao with a mischievous look.
“Mantou Teacher, you’re something! I thought you were so pure and innocent, but turns out you’re the Mantou Teacher I admire! Your romance stories are so good—why’d you stop writing them? Oh? Is it because you’re together with Senior Mu now, so you don’t dare to keep writing?”
Faced with Luo Yu’s sarcastic teasing, Su Yao’s anger meter shot through the roof. By the time Luo Yu finished, her rage bar was full. Glaring at Luo Yu, Su Yao quickly grabbed her by the waist. The instant she touched her, Luo Yu tensed up and stopped smiling.
“Ah, no, Mantou Teacher, I was wrong! Please let me go!”
Let you go? Then who should I vent my anger on?
Su Yao couldn’t care less and went straight for revenge. Feeling the movement at her waist, Luo Yu freaked out and yelped.
This drew a lot of curious glances, but luckily Luo Yu managed to cover her own mouth in time.
Even so, Su Yao didn’t stop her revenge.
By the time they got to the classroom and sat down, there were hardly any seats left, so they had to split up. Su Yao sat behind Luo Yu, and with her watching, Luo Yu sat up perfectly straight.
“Su Yao, are you really together with Senior Mu?”
Her deskmate, a boy, grinned at her as if he was high, so cheerful that Su Yao shot him a cold glare, snorted, and said,
“So what if I am, so what if I’m not—none of your business. Move, move, move!”
The boy was scolded but just smiled and swapped seats with Luo Yu. Su Yao had expected some classmates might have seen the rumors, but thought the odds were low. Who would’ve thought she’d run right into someone who knew.
So annoying!
Glancing sideways at Luo Yu, who was still reeling from the tickling, Su Yao pursed her lips and said,
“Still haven’t recovered?”
Luo Yu shot her a resentful look. Once your waist gets tickled—especially mercilessly like that—it becomes extra sensitive. Now, even a small movement made Luo Yu feel like someone was tickling her. It was torture, and she had to hold back her laughter.
Seeing Luo Yu’s pain, Su Yao felt a lot better. Then she realized her tone earlier had been a bit harsh—had she been too mean to her classmate? She usually wasn’t like this. It’s all… all Luo Yu’s fault!
Fortunately, no one else in class brought up the matter. Whether they didn’t know or just didn’t say anything, Su Yao couldn’t control what people discussed behind her back. She could only pretend nothing had happened and convince herself everything was fine.
After class, Su Yao hurried home, but on the way downstairs, she ran into Zhang Li. Seeing her homeroom teacher coming over, Su Yao felt anything but good and quickly ducked her head, edging to the side.
“Su Yao, what’s wrong? Still not feeling well?”
Seeing Su Yao wearing a mask, Zhang Li curiously asked about her health. She’d been busy lately and hadn’t had much time for her students. Now that she saw her number one problem student, she decided to check in.
Startled by Zhang Li’s call, Su Yao spun in place, mumbling, “Um, um…”
Seeing her like that, Zhang Li sighed helplessly.
“In a hurry to get home?”
“Mm, mm, mm!”
Go home? Of course! Su Yao nodded rapidly and prepared to leave, but just as Zhang Li was about to let her go, she remembered something and stopped Su Yao again. Having just experienced emotional ups and downs, Su Yao thought nothing could faze her anymore, but something happened to turn her joy into sorrow.
“There’s a subsidy at school lately. Let me see if I can help you apply for it. Come fill out an Application Form.”
“Uh… Okay, Ms. Zhang.”