The clock was pointing to 11:30 AM. The nearly midday sunlight was exceptionally hot and bright, pouring through the entire room in a dazzling glare.
Liu Xiaohua rubbed her sleepy eyes, struggled to sit up from the single bed that smelled familiar, then slowly shuffled into the bathroom, squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush, and began her delayed morning routine.
The minty foam spread through her mouth, clearing her mind a bit from the drowsiness caused by staying up late to binge-watch dramas.
‘Sigh, a rare weekend, finally no need to face those headache-inducing Ancestral Mistresses.’
‘…What did I do yesterday? It feels like the holiday passed in a flash, and now when I open my eyes, it’s already Sunday noon.’
‘In half a day, I’ll have to go back to South City, pick up the lesson plans again, and face those chattering little brats.’
‘Especially that Little Tyrant named Su Wanli…’
Thinking about this, Liu Xiaohua felt her temples start to throb again.
‘Alright, I can’t slack off anymore. For the last half day of the holiday, I must make good use of it and restore my mental state to the point where I can teach five consecutive days…’
Just as she was brushing her teeth and silently planning what to do at the festival later, a voice filled with nine parts reproach rang out from outside the bathroom door.
“Xiao Hua, how come you’re just waking up when it’s almost noon? With an attitude like this, you still teach students? Do you see any difference between you and those college students lying in their dorms until the sun is high in the sky?”
Liu Xiaohua’s mother was holding a plate of cut fruit, leaning against the bathroom doorframe, and shaking her head helplessly.
“You’re this old and still don’t know how to wake up early, go out shopping, buy groceries. You order takeout every day when you’re in South City, don’t you?”
“Aiya, that’s not true! I usually cook my own meals! Really!”
Liu Xiaohua mumbled a vague reply, spit out the foam, and then rinsed her mouth with water.
“This time it’s only because work was too tiring, so I took advantage of the festival to come home and play, just relax a bit.”
Although in recent days, that Little Tyrant Su Wanli seemed to have become a bit more restrained due to the influence of the transfer student, the trouble she brought Liu Xiaohua was still abundant. Just last night, someone called her to ask for an explanation about their child’s cheating.
‘If it weren’t for my strong mental fortitude and the head teachers’ big promises, I would have found an auspicious day to resign long ago.’
Liu Xiaohua silently added this in her heart, then wiped her face with a towel and waved at her mother.
“Let’s go, Mom. It’s a rare festival. You and Dad should go out and have fun. Don’t stay in front of the TV all day!”
With that, Liu Xiaohua casually grabbed a jacket from the coat rack, put it on, hummed a tune, took her car keys, and walked briskly out of the house.
The sunlight was perfect, the sea breeze was refreshing—it was a good time to go out and find food.
Liu Xiaohua drove her brand-new car, skillfully weaving through the ancient streets of Yunsheng County, heading to the noodle shop on the corner that she had eaten at since childhood, to have a bowl of steaming hot seafood noodles.
However, just as she arrived smoothly at her destination and had just parked the car and stepped out, two figures that looked quite familiar suddenly barged into Liu Xiaohua’s field of vision.
“So, you really fell asleep immediately last night?”
“Yes, probably within five seconds after the lights went out, I lost consciousness.”
“…I-I of course slept well too! I slept soundly! As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep!!”
“That’s good. I saw you yawned many times just now, so I was worried you might not have much energy.”
‘…Huh!? Su Wanli? And Meng Wange!? Why are they both here!?’
‘Meng Wange is forgivable—she was personally brought by me to Yunsheng County—but why is Su Wanli here too…’
Liu Xiaohua’s foot suddenly slipped, almost causing her to fall flat on her face. Fortunately, she reacted in time, stumbled and turned, plopped down onto the steps by the roadside, and used a stone lion to hide herself.
‘…Eh, wait, why am I hiding? I’m their teacher; they should be hiding from me, shouldn’t they?’
‘…Forget it, logical issues aside. It’s a rare holiday, I specially came back to my hometown to rest, and I don’t want students showing up at my door.’
‘Luckily, Su Wanli and Meng Wange don’t seem to have noticed me. Taking this chance, I should quickly slip away through the side alley!’
“Ugh, that terrible shop owner. I just didn’t react in time, and she actually barged into the room, causing me to lose face big time…”
“Sorry, Miss Su, it was my lack of consideration. Since I knew earlier that there would be bloodstains left behind, I should have dealt with them promptly.”
“Well, it’s not really your fault. If I hadn’t asked for an extra blanket, leaving no extra space on the bed, we might have discovered those bloodstains earlier. It’s also my fault; I was just too tired yesterday…”
The footsteps that Liu Xiaohua was using to flee rapidly were shocked to a standstill by these words.
‘What are these two just saying?’
‘Shop owner, inside the room, asked for an extra blanket, and bloodstains on the bed…’
Just a few keywords caused Liu Xiaohua’s brain to freeze for a moment.
‘Eh? Is… is it what I think it is? Su Wanli and Meng Wange…’
‘So it really is that kind of unhealthy romantic relationship they talk about on forums?’
‘No no no, see no evil, hear no evil! I didn’t find anything, I didn’t hear anything!’
‘Mmhmm, no matter what, as a pure people’s teacher, I shouldn’t suspect my students! They must be talking about something else—I just misunderstood!’
Liu Xiaohua shook her head vigorously, trying to expel those messy images from her mind, then made a quick getaway.
‘That’s right, slip away…’
‘…But after all, I am still a teacher, aren’t I?’
‘Even if all the students don’t acknowledge me, and even the teachers gossip about me behind my back, in the end, I once took an oath and became the head teacher of Class Three, Year Two. How can I turn a blind eye to this abnormal, even dangerous, relationship between students?’
‘That’s right, I have the responsibility and duty to guide Su Wanli and Meng Wange onto the right path!’
However, just as Liu Xiaohua was about to bravely step forward and admonish them, “It’s too early to consider such things; at your age, the most important thing is studying,” their conversation suddenly took a turn and returned to a relatively normal channel.
“Alright, let’s stop talking about this. Miss Su, is that bracelet we just made still there? Why aren’t you wearing it?”
“It’s a bit too heavy, and the bells jingle when I walk, so I put it away for now.”
“…I see. Later, I’ll adjust it for you, reduce the number of shells, and try lengthening the string to turn it into a necklace. How about that?”
Listening to these words that were no longer dangerous, but instead full of girlish charm—shells, bracelets—Liu Xiaohua finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
‘Good, good. They really are just ordinary high school girls with normal hobbies for their age.’
‘As for those words just now, they were probably just jokes between young girls, right? Besides, matters of rich young ladies are none of a poor teacher like me pulling a fixed salary’s business.’
‘That’s right, with this free time, I might as well go eat another bowl of seafood noodles.’
Liu Xiaohua found a suitable excuse to comfort herself, then prepared to blend into the crowded throng and slip into the noodle shop unnoticed.
However, the gears of fate did not seem to want to let her off so easily.
Just as Liu Xiaohua turned around, a clear and familiar voice suddenly sounded in her ear.
“…Eh, Liu Xiao Hua? You’re really here?”
“Yeah, I just noticed too. This seems to be the car Teacher Liu drove when she brought me to Yunsheng County.”
Meng Wange led Su Wanli forward together. She smiled slightly at Liu Xiaohua, then bowed.
“Good afternoon, Teacher Liu.”
Liu Xiaohua’s body stiffened in place, then she turned her head inch by inch, just in time to meet Su Wanli and Meng Wange’s two pairs of probing eyes.
She forced a smile, then awkwardly raised her hand and waved at them.
“Hi, Su Wanli, Meng Wange, wh-what a coincidence… Ha, hahahaha…”