Upon hearing those words, Fang Yize’s scalp felt like a ruler being pressed against the edge of a table and snapped—trembling and numb for a good while.
She swallowed hard, shrinking further into the corner as she shifted her gaze away from Jiang Xule with visible awkwardness.
Jiang Xule thought Fang Yize was simply at a loss for words. Just as she was about to get up and take the cup used for the Ganmaoling (cold medicine) to the sink, Fang Yize finally spoke.
“Be my girlfriend, and you can feed me whenever you want.”
Fang Yize looked like a timid little thing huddled in the corner, yet she threw such a direct curveball. It was hard for Jiang Xule not to suspect she was just feigning bashfulness.
Jiang Xule was somewhat speechless. How did the conversation loop back to the ‘girlfriend’ topic again? Choosing not to respond, she treated the comment as a deliberate joke meant to tease her, then stood up and took the cup away to wash it.
There were forty-five gift boxes in total, requiring the two of them to make two trips downstairs to move them all. Stepping out of the air-conditioned room into the sweltering heat was suffocating; the sun blazed mercilessly upon the earth, and the breeze felt like it was being blown through a furnace.
It wasn’t just Class 2 of Grade 10; teachers from many other classes were also preparing Children’s Day candies for their students, though none were quite as exquisite as the ones Fang Yize had prepared.
Since outsiders weren’t allowed to linger on campus, Jiang Xule had to leave immediately after helping move the items.
True to her word, Fang Yize promptly transferred two hundred yuan to her. As the final period for Class 2 belonged to Fang Yize, she granted them the privilege of watching a movie in honor of Children’s Day.
However, the film was educational in nature—this gave her a ready excuse should the school leadership come by on patrol.
The evening gala proceeded as scheduled. Fang Yize stood at the designated spot for Class 2 in front of the stage downstairs, waiting for her students to bring their chairs down in an orderly fashion.
Many students had applied their makeup and donned their performance costumes well in advance. During events like this, relatives were permitted to visit the school. However, since many students lived far away, not many family members actually showed up.
Fang Yize made it a point to record every performance involving her students. When no one from her class was on stage, she would sit on a bench in the school’s small nearby garden and play on her phone.
The garden featured a pond, flowers, and trees, which meant there were quite a lot of mosquitoes. Fortunately, Fang Yize came prepared; she had applied repellent and was wearing anti-mosquito patches.
Feeling bored, she opened a casual game—Bingo Crush. The sound effects were quite loud, and combined with the music from the stage, the environment was paradoxically noisy.
Despite the din, Fang Yize still managed to hear the sound of someone flirting nearby.
Her scalp tightened instantly. To be honest, she had seen plenty of young couples hiding in the shadows during large-scale events, both during her own high school days and in university.
But this time was different. Her current identity was that of a teacher. If she witnessed “early love” (student dating) and chose to turn a blind eye, the consequences could be disastrous if she allowed it to continue.
She recalled a teacher from the previous graduating class who had offended a student; on the way home from work, that teacher had been stuffed into a sack and dragged into an alley for a beating. Dedicated as he was, he had still shown up for work the next day with a bruised and swollen face.
Truthfully, Fang Yize felt a bit apprehensive.
She hesitated for a moment before turning off her phone screen and slowly walking toward the source of the sound.
The streetlights in this garden had been broken for some time without any repairs from the school, which was exactly why it had become a “trysting spot” for numerous students and even some faculty.
Fang Yize soon spotted a pair of students on a bench, locked in a heated embrace and “gnawing” on each other’s mouths. From their physical appearance, she could tell they were seniors from Grade 12.
Fang Yize lacked the courage to step forward. She knew that if she were on a date and someone interrupted, she would find it incredibly unlucky and frustrating.
So, she hit upon a plan and sent a signal to Director Shan.
Director Shan was an expert at catching “early love.” He was accurate every single time, and while his methods of punishment were varied, he never caused physical harm—otherwise, it would be difficult to handle the situation if parents came to the school to make a scene.
Director Shan was well aware that these types of events were prime opportunities for dating students to sneak off. He had already been patrolling the Arts Building—a frequent haunt for young couples—with two other teachers.
As it turned out, he hadn’t caught anyone there because they had all gone to the garden to feed the mosquitoes.
Upon receiving Fang Yize’s message, Director Shan rushed over without a moment’s delay. Coordinating with the other two teachers, they immediately surrounded the couple.
The commotion caused by Director Shan was like a gunshot in a forest; it instantly startled all the “birds,” sending them fleeing in all directions.
Fang Yize, watching from the shadows, witnessed several other couples she hadn’t even noticed before bolt the moment they heard Director Shan catching someone. Her eyes went wide at the sight.
Even more bizarrely, a panicked couple running hand-in-hand blindly slammed right into Fang Yize. The impact sent her reeling, and she landed squarely on her backside.
“AAAAHHH!!!”
Instead of apologizing, the young couple let out synchronized screams and sprinted away, sounding strangely exhilarated…
Fang Yize thought: I’m the one who should be screaming here, okay?!
Today, she had truly stumbled into a hornet’s nest of teenage romance.
Previously, she had felt that the school’s crackdowns on “early love” were unnecessary and had even complained about them during her own student days. Now, she felt they were absolutely essential. These dating students truly had no sense of propriety.
Hiding in the dark was one thing, but she couldn’t stand those who hugged and kissed in broad daylight. Forget students; even if it were adults constantly “eating each other’s mouths” in public, she would roll her eyes at them.
Fang Yize grabbed a nearby tree to steady herself as she stood up. Luckily, she hadn’t sat on any dry branches, otherwise… but it was also fortunate she was wearing flared jeans today instead of a skirt.
She was naturally thin, so the fall was actually quite painful.
Among the two teachers accompanying Director Shan was Zhang Ning, who had personally witnessed Fang Yize being knocked to the ground. She hurried over to check on her.
“Ms. Fang, are you alright?”
Fang Yize smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine. Hard work for you, running around everywhere with Director Shan.”
If it weren’t for Zhang Ning, Fang Yize suspected she would have been recruited as Director Shan’s “Right-Hand Guard” instead.
“It’s nothing. I’ve been trying to lose weight lately anyway. Director Shan saw me eating my diet meals and figured he’d let me get some exercise.”
Poor child, Fang Yize thought, the nightmare has only just begun.
Fang Yize reached out and pinched Zhang Ning’s arm; it wasn’t much thicker than her own. “You’re already so thin and you’re still dieting? Can you really manage on just a few leaves of lettuce every day while working?”
“Well, I’m a dance teacher, aren’t I? My weight has to be strictly controlled, and I’m still not at my target weight.”
No. 1 High School only had two dance teachers. They had hired a new one back in May—Zhang Ning. Her two-month internship would end in late June, at which point she would become a permanent staff member.
In front of them was the sound of Director Shan lecturing the two students; behind them was the booming sound of jazz music from the stage. The two women sat on the garden bench and chatted for a long while.
It wasn’t until Director Shan led the male student away to find his homeroom teacher—with the female student following sheepishly behind with her head bowed and hands clasped—that Zhang Ning waved goodbye to Fang Yize.
It had taken Zhang Ning a month to finally add Fang Yize on WeChat. Previously, she wasn’t sure if she would pass her internship, so she hadn’t added anyone except Director Shan, figuring she could just use the group chat for work matters.
But now, Zhang Ning felt that she and Fang Yize got along very well. Fang Yize didn’t have that “senior employee” air of superiority, nor did she treat Zhang Ning like an intern to be ordered around.
As for Fang Yize, she simply felt that Zhang Ning reminded her of herself when she first started.
After the gala ended, Fang Yize went back to the classroom to ensure every student had returned their chairs before allowing them to go back to the dorms. Otherwise, some lazy students would leave their chairs behind and run to the dorms, only to complain the next day that they had nowhere to sit.
The gala ended at 9:30 PM, but it was 10:00 PM by the time Fang Yize finally left the school. By the time she got home, showered, and finished her skincare routine, it was already midnight. She was still working while sick today and was utterly exhausted.
However, the thought of it being Friday tomorrow—meaning she only had to hold on for one more day before the weekend—made her very happy.
Quite a few students were going home this weekend. In some cases, an entire dorm would be empty, but in others, only one person remained. Fortunately, they were used to it and generally weren’t afraid.
Fang Yize took this opportunity to do a dormitory check. The dorms were four-person rooms with lofts (bed on top, desk below). The female students in her class were quite disciplined; before heading home, they had tidied their belongings neatly.
The floors were spotless, and they had even placed an absorbent mat by the balcony door to prevent the floor from getting wet. The girls had decorated their bunks exquisitely in various colors, and the atmosphere was harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
Compared to the girls’ dormitory, Fang Yize didn’t even want to set foot in the boys’ dorm.
The floor where her boys lived also housed the student-athletes. As soon as she stepped up there, the smell hit her so hard her scalp tingled. Moreover, since it was Friday, a group of them had just finished training and were in no rush to shower. Smelly socks were draped haphazardly over doorknobs…
Holding her breath, she walked to the Class 2 boys’ dorm. The moment she knocked and entered, she felt like losing her temper. It wasn’t much different from the athletes’ room next door—the smell just wasn’t quite as heavy. Still, the stench of sweat mixed with the air-conditioned air was unbearable.
Not only were they too lazy to fold their quilts, they couldn’t even be bothered to spread them out; everything was crumpled into a ball. Some students were even sleeping with just a duvet cover—the zipper was broken, and they would probably end up crawling inside the cover while sleeping.
This was where the importance of an absorbent mat became evident. The boys didn’t buy them, so when they came out of the shower or bathroom, the floor was covered in water. After walking back and forth, the floor was covered in black scuff marks.
Who decided that homeroom teachers have to do dorm checks? What are the dorm wardens for?
If she had known, she would have checked the boys’ dorm first and the girls’ last. At least her mood would have been better on the way home.
Just as she got into her car, Sun Lin called.
“Babe, are you coming out?!”
The background noise on Sun Lin’s end was chaotic—deafening DJ music, the clinking of glasses, and people shouting to be heard.
Just listening to it made Fang Yize feel tired.
“Maybe next time.”
Sun Lin left the booth and walked to the restroom, finally giving Fang Yize’s ears some relief.
Looking in the mirror while smoothing her hair, Sun Lin said, “What’s wrong? You’re always so drained on Fridays. Your voice sounds very nasal, too. Got a cold? Want me to come over and keep you company?”
“No, don’t. My weekend is finally here, and all I want to do is get a good night’s sleep. I’m driving right now, talk to you later.”
Despite Fang Yize saying she didn’t need her to come, a notification from Sun Lin popped up on her phone just as she had changed into her loungewear and sat on the sofa to look for food delivery.
Sun Lin: [Open the door, today’s dose of happiness has been delivered!]