Gu Qiu seriously considered Zhao Yulong’s suggestion.
Quitting and then disappearing without a trace really was the most effective way to get away from Qin Zhiyi.
But he still had to think about his students.
Although this semester’s classes had only just been divided into arts and science tracks, they had at least spent nearly a month together. If he suddenly ran off, not only would it cause trouble for the school, but the students’ progress would definitely be greatly affected.
Thinking of this, Gu Qiu shook his head.
“Let’s finish teaching this semester first!”
“Then be careful… hesitation breeds disaster!”
Zhao Yulong laughed heartily.
Gu Qiu didn’t keep arguing with him about it and changed the subject.
“You still haven’t told me why you called!”
“What else would it be for? We haven’t seen each other in ages. Let’s grab a couple of drinks this weekend, and while we’re at it, let’s go visit Grandma. She was talking about you just a few days ago.”
“You’re really something too. We’re only a few streets apart, and you still don’t go see her when you have nothing to do!”
Listening to Zhao Yulong, an old woman’s kind face appeared in Gu Qiu’s mind.
A couple of days ago, he had even said it felt like he had forgotten something. So it turned out to be visiting Grandma Chen.
“My bad. I just forgot!”
Zhao Yulong answered casually.
“Ah, don’t worry about right or wrong. I know you’re busy. She didn’t say much either, just told you to take care of yourself.”
Hearing that, Gu Qiu paused slightly, then said:
“Then let’s go over on Saturday. We’ll buy more groceries while we’re there.”
“Sure, I’ll come pick you up then!”
The two made their plans, chatted a bit longer, and then hung up.
Gu Qiu put down his phone and noticed that the cola in his left hand was almost gone, so he simply finished it in one gulp.
He lifted the can, about to make a three-pointer into the trash can, when the view outside the window caught his eye.
The sky, which had still been bathed in sunset glow not long ago, had now turned pitch black. The howling wind carried a few leaves past the glass window, several chirping sparrows flew low with their wings beating, and the air had also become a little stiflingly hot.
Suddenly, Gu Qiu remembered that there would be heavy rain tonight, and he couldn’t help frowning slightly.
After experiencing that rainy night at the end of his previous life, he really didn’t have much fondness for rainy days.
He got up from the sofa, casually tossed the can away, checked the windows once, and planned to eat something simple before curling up under the blankets!
…
A heavy rain eventually fell quietly in the middle of the night, and it only grew stronger and stronger, lasting all the way until the next morning.
The doors and windows of the first-year high school office were tightly shut. The side of the storage shelf was covered with dripping umbrellas, and many messy shoe prints were left on the slippery floor.
A female teacher with both a cleanliness obsession and OCD simply couldn’t stand it anymore and wanted to clean up.
Just as she was about to get up and fetch a mop, there was suddenly movement at the office door.
She instinctively looked over, and surprise immediately appeared on her face.
Qin Zhiyi hurried in, looking somewhat disheveled. Her clothes and the bag she was carrying had both been soaked by the rain to varying degrees, and beads of water kept sliding down her forehead along the damp strands of hair stuck together before falling onto her cheeks.
This scene quickly caught the attention of everyone else in the office.
“Teacher Qin, how did you get soaked like that?”
“The rain is really heavy today. You should have brought an umbrella when you left!”
“The school’s security booth has umbrellas and disposable raincoats. If nothing else works, you could post in the group chat and have someone pick you up!”
“Turn on the air conditioner first. Don’t catch a cold.”
“…”
Gu Qiu, who was in the corner gnawing on a bun, also stared blankly at Qin Zhiyi. In the midst of the teachers’ back-and-forth chatter, he caught something useful, scooted his chair back, took the remote from the cabinet beside him, and turned on the air conditioner.
Qin Zhiyi gently brushed the stray hair away from her eyes and looked down.
Seeing that her clothes were not in any way indecent, she quietly let out a breath of relief.
Good thing she had changed into a denim outfit today. If she had worn a dress like yesterday, it would probably already be stuck to her body!
She quickly adjusted herself, smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the teachers, then walked to her seat and sat down.
Soon after, the female teacher who had been about to mop the floor handed her a towel.
Qin Zhiyi pressed her lips together and didn’t take it right away.
Seeing this, the female teacher added:
“It’s new. It hasn’t been used.”
“The temperature dropped today. If you don’t wipe yourself off, be careful not to catch a cold.”
At that point, Qin Zhiyi could no longer refuse.
“Thank you…”
She wanted to thank her, but she didn’t know how to address her, since she hadn’t seen her yesterday afternoon.
The female teacher smiled and introduced herself:
“My name is Ge Yan. I’m the homeroom teacher for Class 9. If you don’t mind, just call me Sister Yan.”
“Thank you, Sister Yan!”
“All right, don’t be so polite. Hurry and dry yourself off.”
After saying that, Ge Yan walked toward the corner where the cleaning supplies were stacked.
Qin Zhiyi roughly wiped her face and hair, then immediately took several thick books and lesson plans out of her bag.
After checking them, and seeing that everything was intact, she set them aside with peace of mind.
She raised her bright eyes slightly, looked at the position of the air conditioner, and found that it was right beside her, so she took off her denim jacket and planned to hang it on the back of her chair to dry.
Then, just after Qin Zhiyi had put her clothes away, she turned her head and found Gu Qiu staring in her direction. She blinked at him.
Gu Qiu’s brows tightened, and he hurriedly looked down.
A few seconds later, a message notification sounded from the phone on his desk.
Just as he was secretly relieved that the message had arrived in time to ease his embarrassment, he discovered that the sender was actually Qin Zhiyi.
『Look all you want, no need to be embarrassed!』
Gu Qiu raised his eyes a little and indeed saw Qin Zhiyi drying her hair while playing on her phone.
He had originally planned to ignore it, but her message came again.
『A-Qiu, my nose is itchy. I feel like I’m catching a cold. Do you have any medicine there?』
Apparently afraid that he wouldn’t believe her, Qin Zhiyi followed it up with a soft sneeze.
Seeing this, Gu Qiu sighed and typed back:
『Want some Banlangen?』
『Yes!』
Qin Zhiyi replied almost instantly.
Gu Qiu noticed that both of them were holding their phones, and that the notification sounds were going off back and forth. Worried that someone might notice, he immediately turned his phone to silent.
Then he was just about to pull open the drawer to get the medicine.
Who would have thought that at that very moment, Chen Qian suddenly handed a box of Sanjiu Cold Remedy and placed it on Qin Zhiyi’s desk.
“Teacher Qin, don’t collapse right after you start class.”
“I bought this medicine last week for the students to drink. There’s still half left. Mix yourself a cup and drink it first!”
Qin Zhiyi had wanted to refuse, but Chen Qian said that and directly left the office.
Gu Qiu’s motion to pull open the drawer froze. After staring blankly for two seconds, he pulled his hand back.
But the next second, Qin Zhiyi’s message came through.
『I want Banlangen!』
Gu Qiu raised his brows and replied:
『The cold remedy works better.』
『Brother Chen is usually the most warmhearted. Don’t waste his kindness.』
But Qin Zhiyi was unusually stubborn:
『Ah, I don’t care. Just give me the medicine!』
『If you’re worried about people gossiping, just pass it over quietly from underneath.』
Their desks were facing each other, and there was space underneath, more than enough to pass things through.
『You made such a mess of yourself on your first day of class. Nobody else could do that but you!』
Gu Qiu complained in exasperation.
After glancing left and right twice, he quickly took out two packets of Banlangen granules from the drawer and shoved them over from under the desk.
Qin Zhiyi quickly took them, took out her mini water cup, tore open one packet, and poured it in directly.
In order not to let down Chen Qian’s kindness, she also took out two packets of cold remedy and put them into her drawer.
While she was getting hot water, she placed the remaining cold remedy back on Chen Qian’s desk.
A little while later, Qin Zhiyi sat back down and complained to Gu Qiu on her phone:
『Sigh, there was wind, rain, and thunder in the middle of the night yesterday. It ruined my rest, and when I got up this morning I was completely dazed. I thought there was an umbrella in the car, so I rushed straight to school, but I couldn’t find it…』
『I left home in such a hurry that I didn’t even eat breakfast. Now I’m cold and hungry. The tragic little bitter melon of the human world is talking about me. T▽T』
Gu Qiu had originally wanted to tell her that breakfast was still being sold in the cafeteria, but for some reason, when he saw the last line, he couldn’t help feeling sorry for her and asked:
『I still have a bun here. Want it?』
『Yes!』
Qin Zhiyi replied instantly again.
Immediately, the two of them carried out another under-the-desk handoff.
Very soon, Qin Zhiyi bit into the still-warm preserved vegetable bun and took a sip of sweet Banlangen. Her face lit up with a smile.
『Hehe, I knew A-Qiu was the best!』
Thinking of the decision he had just made yesterday to keep his distance from Qin Zhiyi, and then seeing that today he had already given her medicine and shared breakfast with her, Gu Qiu immediately scolded himself silently and reflected on his behavior before changing the subject:
『I’m not good. Everything I just gave you has to be paid for. The bun is one and a half yuan, and the Banlangen is two yuan!』
Qin Zhiyi’s jade-like eyes lifted slightly. After thinking it over for a moment, she smiled and replied:
『What if I don’t have any money? Can I pay with myself?』