Chen Qingning sat on the grimy public bus, the seat cover in front of her split open and stained with unidentifiable marks, a cacophony of odors swirling around her. Her face was ten times gloomier than the overcast sky.
The smooth road had turned into a bumpy path, and Chen Qingning’s backside was getting sore from all the jostling.
She shifted in her seat and accidentally kicked a chicken that a plump old lady beside her had placed on the floor.
The chicken was wedged between the old lady’s feet, its legs bound with straw rope, curled up in a ball, lifeless except for its rolling eyes. Suddenly, as if experiencing a brief resurgence of vitality, it flapped its wings and let out several startled clucks, scaring Chen Qingning into screaming along with it.
The human-chicken duet made every passenger turn their heads to look at her.
Chen Qingning, still shaken, exclaimed, “What’s wrong with it?!”
The old lady bent down, grabbed the chicken by its wings, and muttered, “Behave yourself.”
Once the chicken quieted down, she sat up straight, glanced at Chen Qingning with her cloudy eyes, and said something in an indistinct dialect with a smile: “Girl, you should wash your shoes.”
Chen Qingning shot her a sideways glare. “These are Golden Goose dirty shoes.”
The plump old lady clearly hadn’t heard her clearly. “Huh?”
Chen Qingning curled her lips, ignored her, and turned her head to look out the window.
The late spring chill combined with the end of the holiday meant all the younger folks had returned to the city. Baihe County stretched out with barely a soul in sight, exuding a desolate coldness.
The mulberry groves in the fields were bare, and a motorcycle sped by, kicking up dust that seemed like it could choke you even through the window.
What kind of godforsaken school was located in this middle-of-nowhere place?
That was Chen Qingning’s first impression upon getting off the bus.
Gazing at the unremarkable gray building ahead, she muttered to herself: Why isn’t the school marked?
Chen Qingning decided to ask the driver.
She dragged her suitcase—a big white box covered in stickers—with a clattering sound. She circled around to the driver’s window, her voice sweet, her smile even sweeter, her nose scrunched up. “Uncle—Uncle—”
The driver leaned out. “What’s the matter?”
Chen Qingning pulled out her phone, checked her notes, and spoke in dialect: “Is Baihe Special Education School around here? Is it this one?”
The driver chuckled. “How could it be? This is the county government office.”
Chen Qingning’s smile instantly dropped. She stopped trying to be friendly and switched to a flat, emotionless Mandarin: “Then where is it? Are you still heading there? Can you give me a ride?”
The driver said, “I can’t get there. My bus can’t make it on that road.”
Chen Qingning’s smile vanished completely. She let out a puff of white breath, turned around, and sent a voice message to her dad.
She put it on speaker. It was cut off after two rings, followed by an extremely irresponsible reply: In a meeting. You there?
Is he really in a meeting or not… Chen Qingning’s mouth twitched in annoyance. She complained: Why didn’t you tell me the bus doesn’t go all the way? I don’t even know where to go now.
Ugly Dad: Let me ask.
Chen Qingning: Don’t ask. Send someone to pick me up.
Ugly Dad: I have navigation. I already looked it up. [Image] It’s only 800 meters. It’s cold out—walking will warm you up.
Ugly Dad: I’m busy now.
Is he even human? Chen Qingning was dumbfounded. She opened the image, zoomed in: Baihe Special Education School, 800 meters on foot.
She cursed under her breath, then looked around.
The bus had already left. The weather was freezing, the trees were withered, there wasn’t a soul in sight, and the sky wore a grim face, threatening snow at any moment.
Chen Qingning shivered. This place was not worth lingering in.
She grabbed her suitcase and set off toward her destination. Every time she thought she was almost there, she’d check the navigation and find she hadn’t even covered half the distance.
In minus-six-degree weather, Chen Qingning’s legs were stiff, her hands numb, her gaze unfocused. Finally, when she heard the voice say, “You have arrived at your destination,” she sped up as if coming back to life.
To her surprise, the special education school was built quite decently—its scale and appearance were better than she’d expected.
The entrance wasn’t grand, but it was decorated with flower beds and equipped with a folding gate. The facilities were fairly complete.
Chen Qingning didn’t want to touch her suitcase again. She went up the steps alone and knocked on the door of the guard room.
After a moment, someone came out—an old man with a white crew cut, slightly hunched, his cheeks etched with deep wrinkles.
Chen Qingning immediately announced her identity with a sarcastic edge: “I’m Mr. Chen’s daughter. The Mr. Chen who funded this school—the golden phoenix that flew out of Baihe County, Chen Yu’en.”
Golden phoenix, my ass. More like a black-hearted wolf, she cursed inwardly. “I’m specially hired to intern here for six months.”
“Okay, okay,” the old man said, looking a bit bewildered as he scratched his head. “Let me make a call to confirm.”
Chen Qingning was equally taken aback. No welcome reception with flowers, and now they needed to verify her identity? Didn’t anyone know she was coming? Was this some multinational corporation where meetings required advance appointments?
When the old man put down the landline, she squeezed out a pitiful smile. “Grandpa, could you help me carry my suitcase? My hands are sore from pulling it.”
The old man glanced down at the steps and said okay.
Chen Qingning nodded in satisfaction and scurried back inside. The guard room was simply furnished—a single room with a small desk, a wire bed covered with two floral-print quilts, and an old heater tucked under the desk, glowing with a warm orange light.
The only thing with any modern tech feel was a wall of color surveillance monitors, recording every corner of the campus in real time.
Chen Qingning quickly grabbed the folding chair, rubbing her hands and legs. It took a while before her bare knees, numb as ice bricks, regained feeling.
The old man came over, saw her red nose, turned to fetch a communal cup from the cabinet, and asked if she’d like some hot water.
Chen Qingning glanced at the white enamel mug in his hand, all covered in dents and scratches, and shook her head.
The old man gave up and struck up an awkward conversation: “Did you walk here?”
Chen Qingning crossed her legs, her black manicured nails—like those of a poison queen—swiping at her phone as she gave a perfunctory nod or two.
The old man stopped asking, walked off to fetch his tea, and leaned against the door, watching this sloppy, carefree city girl.
For a moment, there was silence.
Fortunately, that atmosphere didn’t last. Before long, the inner door of the reception room was pushed open, and a figure strolled in at a leisurely pace, bringing a gust of cold air with him.
The rustle of fabric was distinct. Chen Qingning looked up for a glance and didn’t lower her gaze again.
Handsome guy!
Maybe not drop-dead gorgeous.
But still, a handsome guy.
Calling him a “vibe handsome” wasn’t quite right—to be precise, this person’s aura was too eye-catching. Judging purely by his features, he wasn’t the trendy pretty-boy type, but his posture was tall and straight, his bone structure sharp. The moment he stopped there, it was as if the very air snapped to attention.
And he was wearing a black windbreaker—just like a celibate, plainclothes cop.
Especially when he looked over, his brow furrowing unconsciously—he didn’t look like he was here to pick her up, but rather to arrest her.
It seemed fate had destined her to become this handsome guy’s heart thief, only to flee the scene of the crime six months later.
In a matter of seconds, Chen Qingning had already played out an entire pink-and-yellow romance film in her head.
Chen Qingning smiled at him, her freshly applied eyelashes fluttering gently, the corners of her lips blooming like a hundred flowers.
The man shifted his gaze away without changing his expression.
The old man stepped forward to greet him, and only then did he give a slight nod.
The old man turned back to look at Chen Qingning: “Little girl, follow him to the dormitory.”
Chen Qingning let out an “Oh,” and with the tip of her shoe, nudged the half-person-tall suitcase beside her.
“Brother, could you help me carry my luggage?” she said.
The handsome guy didn’t respond, walking straight out the door.
He’s not deaf-mute, is he? Not a single word from start to finish.
Chen Qingning dragged her suitcase herself, following after him with suspicion.
The man had long legs and took big strides. Chen Qingning refused to fall behind, speed-walking to keep up, not forgetting to ask: “Want to add each other on WeChat?”
The handsome guy said nothing.
Chen Qingning asked again: “What’s your name?”
The handsome guy remained silent.
Chen Qingning: “Why don’t you ask what my name is?”
Chen Qingning: “Are you also a teacher here?”
Chen Qingning: “We’ll be colleagues from now on, you know.”
Chen Qingning pulled out her trump card: “Are my legs pretty?”
…
The handsome guy still kept his eyes straight ahead, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
Chen Qingning was basically confirmed: he was deaf-mute.
Could a deaf-mute just deliberately ignore her? Even if he couldn’t hear, at least he should notice her mouth moving under that Coco gloss, right? The more Chen Qingning thought about it, the angrier she got. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her pure black lambswool coat and quick-stepped around to his front.
The swivel wheels spun on the concrete floor as she came to a halt with him, blocking his path.
He stopped, his black-and-white eyes looking at her.
Chen Qingning started with a show of force, first pointing at herself: [Me]
Then pointing at him: [You]
She’d just extended her thumb, about to make a downward “you’re so low” taunting gesture, when the man suddenly parted his lips: “What’s wrong?”
His voice was light and cold, mixed into the wind yet not drowned by it—clear to hear in an instant.
Chen Qingning froze, then reacted quickly, pinching her thumb and index finger together, bringing them to her cheekbone in a heart shape, switching to a voice dripping with 200% sugar: “You’re so handsome—oppa, saranghae~”
The air stood still.
The man seemed at a loss for words, looked at her for a moment, and gave his name: “Yu Bei.”
Chen Qingning was stunned: “What?”
The man repeated: “Yu Bei. My name.”
Chen Qingning said: “I’m Qingning—like the lemon with super high vitamin C.”
Full name omitted.
From the moment Chen Yu’en had exiled her here, she officially declared a six-month severance of their father-daughter relationship. From today on, she had a given name but no surname.
The man nodded: “You can just call me Teacher Yu from now on.”
Chen Qingning smiled: “You can just call me Ningbao from now on.”
The man: “…”
Chen Qingning: “Teacher Yu, hello.”
Yu Bei said: “Teacher Chen, hello.”
Chen Qingning was a bit surprised: “You know my surname is Chen?”
Yu Bei said: “All the staff at this school know your father.”
“Oh,” Chen Qingning responded flatly, then her eyes lit up again: “Will you be the one guiding me from now on?”
Yu Bei said: “You’ll be guiding the students.”
Chen Qingning’s brows drooped listlessly: “But I don’t know anything.”
Yu Bei: “You can ask me anything you don’t understand.”
With that, he casually pulled Chen Qingning’s suitcase along and continued walking.
Chen Qingning broke into a satisfied grin, catching up to his side, rushing: “I have a question right now—urgent!”
Yu Bei: “Mm.”
Chen Qingning: “Are my legs pretty?”
Yu Bei: “…”