Dim and stifling, the garage carried a faint smell of stagnant water.
Under a flickering candlelight, Xia Hua was stretching her calves after a workout, muttering under her breath, “Little flywheel, little flywheel… what the hell do you two pervy losers know? You think that’s chubby? That’s full— ripe (dramatic emphasis).”
“And me, I’m turning full-figured into fit and fabulous.”
“Beautiful abs.”
“They’re waving at me now, hahaha…”
Xia Hua burst out laughing and threw a punch, accidentally hitting the corner of the table.
Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain, and she started swearing again, cursing those two blind, tasteless jerks.
There was a blackout in the neighborhood, so the garage was even darker than usual.
That’s how it is in these old residential areas.
The electrical circuits designed decades ago never accounted for how power-hungry modern appliances would be.
As soon as summer hits, every household cranks up the AC. Even Xia Hua had her fan blowing all night long.
“(_ _)( – . – )(O)……( – . – ).” Xia Hua yawned. Honestly, this kind of darkness had a calming effect, a sort of sleepy vibe washing over her.
“Good thing I’ve had a falling out with the homeroom teacher these past couple days.”
“So homework basically has nothing to do with me.”
“Otherwise I’d be the laughingstock again tomorrow for sure.”
“Sleep, sleep.”
She gave her thighs a couple more taps, slick with sweat, and collapsed wearily onto the bed.
Was all this suffering for weight loss really worth it?
Xia Hua thought it was.
Because she wasn’t doing it for anyone else— it was for herself.
Talking about “health” felt fake.
She just genuinely loved beautiful girls.
The next morning, after finishing her jog, Xia Hua was on her way to school, tugging at her messy hair with both hands— it was practically matted together in clumps.
“What the heck is going on~~~~” Xia Hua muttered in frustration.
Click, click, click~
“Damn, so much hair broke off.” Xia Hua looked devastated.
Sometimes, when she tried to comb through her tangled hair with her fingers, it ended up snapping off instead.
A quick flick of her hand and a whole clump of hair would go flying.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t washed her hair— this was actually the result of washing it.
Xia Hua had a bad habit: she really hated using a hairdryer to dry her hair, especially in summer. The hairdryer was basically sealed away like some cursed relic.
She’d taken a shower after her morning run.
Even though she’d already washed her hair the night before.
But out of old habits from her days as a guy—
Xia Hua had never once showered without also washing her hair.
“What’s happening?! My head’s even steaming…” Xia Hua was about to lose it over her hair.
Her hair wasn’t dry, and her body heat made it even warmer. Walking around made her sweat a bit too.
With the relatively cool morning air, it all added up to a thin mist of steam occasionally rising from her head.
Is this what it means to be a girl?
Is this what girl hair is like??
Aaaaaaaah~~~~————————~~~
Aaaah aaaah aaaah aaaaaaah aaaa ~~~
Xia Hua swore that next time, after washing her hair, she would definitely use the fan to dry it completely before stepping outside.
The last few times, she had done just that— dried it with the fan before leaving— so she hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
But today she was in a rush and went out with damp hair, and this was the tragic result.
Even though fan-dried hair was still frizzy and wild—
It was way better than this mess.
Grabbing at her tangled hair with both hands, she trudged toward the school gate in a terrible mood.
Suddenly— “Xia Hua…” a crisp voice called out.
“Eh? You’re…” Xia Hua froze mid-tug, blew the stray broken hairs off her fingers, and after thinking for a moment, said, “The teacher from the broadcasting room, Ms. Ye Ling?”
“That’s right.” Ye Ling smiled.
“I’m not only the broadcasting room teacher— I’ll also be your English teacher.”
“Oh, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just a substitute.”
“……”
Ye Ling smiled sweetly at Xia Hua, especially at her mess of a hairdo.
This girl really didn’t know how to take care of herself, did she??
One of the basic skills of being a girl: managing your hair. Most girls were naturally gifted at it, while Xia Hua seemed like the kind who’d only picked up the bare minimum, but still had the guts to keep her hair long like a warrior.
And right then, Xia Hua fell into deep thought.
It seemed like Teacher Ye Ling had been waiting here just for her.
This wasn’t simply about informing her that she’d become her substitute teacher, was it?
“Is there something you needed, Teacher Ye Ling?” Xia Hua asked plainly. If it was just to persuade her to let things go, then she really didn’t need to bother.
After all, because of Zhou Qing, Xia Hua had never felt much fondness for teachers as a profession.
Not exactly hatred, but definitely not affection.
Ye Ling pulled a comb out of her bag and tidied up Xia Hua’s hair a bit as she said, “Your former homeroom teacher, Zhou Qing, has been suspended and is under investigation. After such a major teaching incident, his career is basically over.”
“Tomorrow, he’ll probably be reassigned to No. 8 Middle School.” A notoriously bad school.
“I’m here on behalf of the school to ask you something.”
“Do you want to let things end here— or do you want Zhou Qing ruined?”
“If you want to end it here, I’ll go report that to the principal and the others. If you want Zhou Qing gone for good…”
Ye Ling shrugged. “The school will probably issue a dismissal notice, and that’ll be the end of it.” She acted as though it didn’t matter much either way.
The unspoken message was: if you choose to end it here, Ye Ling would handle the rest.
If you wanted Zhou Qing ruined, the most the school would do is fire him, and then the rest— pressuring the education bureau, leaking the story to the media— would all be a huge, messy ordeal.
Maybe this was just the helplessness of being an ordinary person.
Xia Hua was still struggling just to make ends meet.
She didn’t have the energy to completely destroy Zhou Qing.
You could say she had already achieved her goal. And in a way, she’d gotten her revenge.
No. 8 Middle School was a rough place, with frequent stories of students attacking teachers.
Zhou Qing, a classic bully who preyed on the weak, was going to suffer there— tsk tsk… That kind of punishment was far more painful than being officially dismissed from the teaching profession.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Teacher Ye Ling.” Xia Hua touched her hair— it had actually been fixed up nicely!
“You’re welcome.”
“Will you be our new homeroom teacher from now on?” she asked.
“You’re overthinking it.” Ye Ling replied flatly, clearly uninterested. “I have zero desire to be a full-time teacher. It’s exhausting. If I have to teach you guys, well, good luck to us all.”
“Once they find a proper English teacher,”
“I’ll go back to being a student affairs counselor.”
“A cup of tea, a pack of cigarettes— well, I don’t smoke— but one good drama, and the day’s done…”
At the fork between the teaching building and the multi-purpose hall, the two of them parted ways.
Just as Xia Hua was about to dash into the teaching building, Ye Ling turned back and called out, “Oh right, next time you wash your hair, try using some conditioner. Once you try it, you’ll know.”
Huh, conditioner?
Xia Hua touched her dry hair.
Well then, guess I’ll give it a shot!!