Ch16 - Teacher Fang.

Editor: Waterlily- Overlord Shay

At five o’clock in the afternoon, the first day of exams ended. 

It was already dark, and the rain hadn’t stopped.

Xue Yingshuang held an umbrella in one hand, and the bag containing his textbook materials in the other. He walked forward quickly.

Instead of taking the bus home, he walked in the opposite direction.

The examination site is some distance from home, and it takes three hours to go back and forth. Therefore, Xue Yingshuang made up his mind a few days ago and decided not to go home. He spent money to book a youth hostel for 20 yuan a night. 

Of course, maybe he’ll never have to go back, after all, it’s not his home either.

He had no home to begin with.

However, he still needs to go back to receive compensation for dismissal.

The rain is not too heavy, but the wind is not weak. The wind blows the rain everywhere, even if he holds the umbrella, it is in vain. Xue Yingshuang was already wet when he arrived at the youth hostel, but fortunately the bag was still dry.

When Xue Yingshuang arrived at the youth hostel, he first took a shower before returning to his room.

He lives in a large room with bunk beds for eight people, and it was mixed gender.

The beds here are a bit old, and the ladders will squeak and shake a little when climbing them. Xue Yingshuang put the sheets and quilts on the bed and climbed onto the bed.

He sleeps on the upper bunk near the door. Although it is noisy and the bed is small, there is a light above his head, which makes it easy to read. 

There are no rules in the youth hostel. Xue Yingshuang sat on the bed and read a book while eating bread for dinner.

……I wonder if Xing Yun has eaten yet?

This thought suddenly appeared in Xue Yingshuang’s mind, which startled him.

He was not at ease last night. He cooked a meal for Xing Yun early and put it in the refrigerator. Don’t know if Xing Yun saw it… forget it, what does he expect? How old is Xing Yun? It’s not that he doesn’t have the ability to take care of himself. Why is he sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong? 

Does Xing Yun want him to take care of it? Does he deserve it?

Xue Yingshuang folded the finished plastic wrapper and put it away. At this moment, a person suddenly poked his head out of the lower bunk and said to Xue Yingshuang, “You only eat this?”

It was a university-aged girl. She smiled at Xue Yingshuang and said, “How is that enough for dinner? Little brother, we’re going out for a skewer later. Do you want to join us?”

“Come on, let’s eat together.” Another person stuck their head out and said to Xue Yingshuang, and there were a few people on the side discussing where they would go to play later. 

These people are tourists who live in the same room as Xue Yingshuang, and they are a group of university students who came to travel from the next city.

University students are full of youth. It is precisely when they love to play. Seeing Xue Yingshuang is handsome and of the same age, they naturally want to go out and play with him.

Xue Yingshuang smiled gently at them, “Sorry, I don’t want to go out, you guys can go play by yourselves.”

The university student encouraged again: “It won’t take much time. We’ll be back in an hour or two. Let’s go, we know a lot of fun places.” 

Xue Yingshuang still shook his head and said firmly: “I want to study.”

University student: “What are you studying? What major are you studying, why do you have to study when you’re here to play?”

Xue Yingshuang: “Self-examination.”

The university student was quiet for a moment, but still invited once more. 

Even Xing Yun couldn’t tempt Xue Yingshuang, let alone others. Seeing that he had a firm attitude, they didn’t force him, and happily went out to play.

Xue Yingshuang was the only one left in the room. He looked at the backs of the group of university students leaving, and then lowered his head for a long time to continue studying.

Late at night, the university students came back.

They haven’t had the best time yet, drinking and chatting in the lobby with tourists from several other rooms. 

Xue Yingshuang had to take the exam the next day and went to bed early.

He was awakened by the laughter of people in the middle of the night, and for a while he had the illusion that he was still sleeping in the factory dormitory, but he remembered that he should be sleeping in Xing Yun’s house at this time.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Is it Xing Yun? Xing Yun’s voice is not that loud, what’s happened to Xing Yun?

“Qtja j rtlaas rmtbbi, atfgf lr cb jlg mbcvlalbcfg lcrajiifv lc remt tba kfjatfg, tbk vb sbe kjca qfbqif ab ilnf?” 

“Ktf olgra mbcrlvfgjalbc P mbcrlvfgfv ktfc P mtbrf atf rmtbbi kjr jlg mbcvlalbclcu. Rbk P yijra atf jlg mbcvlalbclcu lc atf vbgwlabgs fnfgs vjs jcv ilf wbalbcifrr.”

Coafg Wef Tlcurtejcu ilrafcfv obg j ktlif, tf gfwfwyfgfv ktfgf tf kjr. Lf qeiifv eq atf delia ab mbnfg tlr tfjv, megifv eq jcv mbcalcefv ab riffq.

He was not annoyed by such noise.

Because he knew that he would have to return to that kind of life soon, it would be better to get used to it earlier. And he is quite happy to be able to listen to university students talking about university life. 

Listening to them chatting, he felt as if he had also gone to university.

Xue Yingshuang still took the exam the next day.

The wind and rain were a bit heavier than yesterday, and Xue Yingshuang’s pants were wet and he was trembling from the cold during the exam.

At five o’clock, the exam was over. 

Xue Yingshuang heard the news of the typhoon from others. At that time, it was already a whole gale and heavy rain, and everyone was scattered after leaving the examination room.

Xue Yingshuang stood at the school gate in the heavy rain, not knowing where to go for a while.

There was one more place he had to go, but what about after that? Where should he go?

Should he go back to Xing Yun’s place? Yesterday, Xing Yun told him to get lost, and he seemed to be unable to go back now. 

It would be better to stay in a youth hostel for another night. Yesterday, he heard from others that there are cheaper hotels nearby, less than 20 yuan a night.

Xue Yingshuang made good plans and walked into the rain holding the umbrella that was almost crooked by the wind.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered that it was raining heavily on the day he dropped out of high school. He also walked out of the school with a broken umbrella and walked into the rain alone.

The rain was too heavy, and the clothes and shoes that he had worked hard for were soaked in an instant. 

A car horn sounded harshly behind him, and Xue Yingshuang thought he was blocking the way, so he hurriedly moved aside.

But before he took a few steps, his arm was pulled.

Looking back, seeing the person who came was familiar, it was Xing Yun.

Lightning flashed across, and the night sky lit up. At that moment, Xue Yingshuang saw Xing Yun’s big eyes looking at him, his eyes extremely angry, but there was a helplessness that he couldn’t understand. 

Xing Yun opened his mouth and said something, but was overshadowed by the thunder that followed.

Xing Yun pulled Xue Yingshuang to the car, he pushed Xue Yingshuang into the passenger seat, and then returned to the driver’s seat and shut the door against the storm.

After closing the door, the sound of the rain outside suddenly lessened, making the car even quieter.

No one spoke, and the two just sat in the car soaking wet. 

Xing Yun started the car, and drove in the rainstorm.

At the red light, Xue Yingshuang tried to sneeze quietly.

Xing Yun stretched out his hand and pressed the air-conditioning button vigorously a few times. At the same time, he squinted at Xue Yingshuang and found that Xue Yingshuang was also looking at him.

The two looked at each other in silence, and time seemed to stop at that moment. 

Xue Yingshuang’s lips opened slightly, and at that moment, Xing Yun held his breath, waiting for Xue Yingshuang to start talking.

“Can we make a trip to the supermarket later?” Xue Yingshuang said.

Xing Yun was taken aback, and then sneered.

With the light turned green, Xing Yun stepped on the accelerator, and the car drove off in the rain again. 

In the supermarket, two drenched people walked among the shelves.

Xue Yingshuang walked quickly in front, while Xing Yun indifferently walked behind with his hands in his pockets.

Soon Xue Yingshuang brought a box of milk, another fruit gift box, and some extra fruits.

When checking out, Xing Yun habitually took out his phone, but Xue Yingshuang said, “I’ll do it myself.” 

The person, who usually has to report their accounts for everything, has taken the initiative to pay. Xing Yun let him do as he wished, wanting to see what tricks he was going to play.

Carrying the things they had just bought, the two got in the car once again.

No one spoke in the car. After a while, Xue Yingshuang spoke again: “Can we stop up ahead for a moment?”

Xing Yun glanced at him and stopped the car by the side of the road. 

Xue Yingshuang got out of the car in the rain with his things and ran into the torrential rain. Xing Yun couldn’t figure out what he wanted to do again, so he probed to see, only to find that this place was strangely familiar, it was actually A.

A is a city of the highest scores of key schools and it is also the high school alma mater of Xing Yun.

Xing Yun had never returned to A School after graduating. At this time, he felt inexplicable, so he got out of the car.

The rain outside was getting heavier again, and there were fewer and fewer people on the road, everyone was rushing home. In the guard room in Center A, Xue Yingshuang said to the guard’s uncle: “Uncle, you still  have to work in such a heavy rain, you are really hard working.” 

“Xiao Xue is here again?” Uncle Guard said, “Your Teacher Fang’s birthday is coming again right? Is it tomorrow?”

“Hehe.” Xue Yingshuang smiled embarrassedly, and hurriedly handed the things over, “Of course I miss Grandpa too, this fruit is for you.”

Xue Yingshuang handed the small bag of fruit to Uncle Guard, and put the fruit gift box and milk on the side of the table: “Please give it to Teacher Fang for me on Monday, don’t say that I brought it.”

Uncle Guard smiled and said, “Your Teacher Fang knew it was you a long time ago, and she is not a fool. Which student gives her a birthday gift every year like this?” 

Xue Yingshuang smiled embarrassedly and said goodbye to his uncle.

When he turned around, he saw Xing Yun holding an umbrella, standing behind him and looking at him quietly.

He put away his smile and said politely to Xing Yun: “Thank you, you can go now.”

In the rain, two people each holding an umbrella, under the umbrella is their own small world. 

The wind was too strong, and the rain hit the two people, soaking the already wet pair to the bone.

Lightning flashed across, and the night sky suddenly became bright, like day.

“Class monitor?”

A shout appeared in the distance, mingled with thunder. 

“Xue Yingshuang! Xue Yingshuang, wait!”

When the two looked back, they saw a woman in her fifties trotting towards them with an umbrella.

Xue Yingshuang saw the person and said in surprise, “Teacher Fang?”

In the guard’s room, Teacher Fang grabbed Xue Yingshuang’s hand and looked at him carefully. 

She came out to buy something, thought she had left something at the school, so she stopped by to pick it up, but unexpectedly, on such a day, she actually saw a student she hadn’t seen for many years.

“The class monitor has grown up,” Teacher Fang couldn’t hide the excitement in her eyes, “This teacher finally saw you, and I almost couldn’t recognize you, but I had a hunch that that back was yours.”

“Teacher hasn’t changed at all,” Xue Yingshuang smiled gently, “It’s exactly the same as before.”

“Teacher is getting old and about to retire.” Teacher Fang’s hair is half white, and her face is kind. She looked like a soft-hearted person. Sure enough, she can’t help but cry when she looks at Xue Yingshuang. 

Teacher Fang took Xue Yingshuang’s hand: “Why don’t you visit your teacher? Everyone goes to school every year, but you don’t come in to visit your teacher. You, you little kid!”

Xue Yingshuang was embarrassed and whispered, “How dare I come back, I’m not even an alumnus.”

“How come you don’t count! You’ll always be a good class monitor in Teacher’s eyes.” Teacher Fang said, “How have you been these past few years? Have you suffered a lot?”

Xue Yingshuang shook his head, smiled brightly at the teacher, showing his small white teeth: “That’s not true. Look at me, teacher. I’m doing very well. I can work and earn money. I even took the self-examination exam today.” 

“Really?” Teacher Fang was surprised, “I knew our class monitor was the most capable. You didn’t give up your studies. Teacher is very happy.”

Xing Yun was standing in the back, and Teacher Fang saw that he also looked a little familiar, and asked, “Class monitor, who is this person behind you?”

Xue Yingshuang didn’t know that Xing Yun also attended A, and he didn’t expect Xing Yun to stand behind them all this time. He had no choice but to say: “It’s my boss.”

“Hello, teacher,” Xing Yun nodded to Teacher Fang, “I am Xing Yun, Yingshuang’s boss.” 

“Xing Yun… used to be from Old Chen’s class, right?”

“Yes, I am a student of Teacher Chen.”

“I knew it, you still look a little like you did in high school.”

Xue Yingshuang glanced at Xing Yun in surprise, but Xing Yun looked calm. At this time, the rain was getting stronger, Teacher Fang’s phone rang, and her family asked her why she hadn’t gone home yet. Teacher Fang said, “I met a student. I’ll immediately return later.” 

After Teacher Fang hung up the phone, she said to Xue Yingshuang: “The rain is getting heavier and heavier. You should go home quickly and come see Teacher when the weather is good. Do you understand?”

Xue Yingshuang obediently agreed, and Xing Yun said to Teacher Fang, “How will Teacher go back? I’ll give you a ride.”

Teacher Fang was planning to take a taxi back, but she couldn’t get a taxi. Xing Yun really rescued her by saying that.

The two of them held umbrellas to escort Teacher Fang into the car. Teacher Fang was sitting in the back seat. Seeing Xue Yingshuang sitting in the passenger seat, she realized that today was Sunday. 

Teacher Fang asked, “Do you two still go to work on Sundays?”

Xue Yingshuang laughed, and Xing Yun said, “Yingshuang came to take the self-examination today.”

Teacher Fang is a teacher who cares about her students, so it was inevitable that she would nag: “You’re giving him a ride? Class monitor, how can you ask your boss to drive you?”

Xue Yingshuang said, “Teacher, I can’t drive this kind of car, I can only drive a forklift. If this is a forklift, I will drive the boss immediately.” 

“Nonsense again,” Teacher Fang said with a smile, and asked Xing Yun, “Does this kid have this kind of virtue when he goes to work?”

“He jokes occasionally, but most of the time he’s very steady.” Xing Yun said, “Don’t worry, Teacher. Yingshuang’s work ability is very good, efficient, and responsible.”

“Really.” Teacher Fang was happy to hear that.

“Yes, I’m relieved to leave things to him.” Xing Yun replied. 

“Although he has suffered a lot, don’t feel bad for him. Toughen him well and seniors should look after their juniors.”

“If Teacher says so.”

Xue Yingshuang looked at Xing Yun, but Xing Yun just looked at the road ahead.

Xing Yun was clearly still angry, but he spoke up for him in front of Teacher Fang, in a very polite tone. Xue Yingshuang didn’t know how to describe his mood at this time. 

The car stopped at the entrance of Teacher Fang’s neighborhood, and Teacher Fang suddenly thought: “After receiving your gift, Teacher should also give you something.”

Xue Yingshuang hurriedly said no, but Teacher Fang raised the bag in her hand and said, “There is nothing good to give you. I just bought some sashimi, you can take it back to eat.”

Xue Yingshuang couldn’t refuse, and in the end he could only accept it.

Teacher Fang wanted to get out of the car by herself, but Xue Yingshuang was determined to send her off again. 

Outside the car, Xue Yingshuang sent Teacher Fang to the door of the neighborhood, and finally said to Teacher Fang: “Teacher, happy birthday.”

Teacher Fang said: “Hearing your news is the best birthday gift.”

“Teacher is going back. Class monitor, you have to cheer up. Study hard, Teacher believes in you.”

Teacher Fang entered the neighborhood, Xue Yingshuang propped up his umbrella and returned to the rain again. 

Suddenly, he turned around and shouted at Teacher Fang who had already entered the neighborhood: “Teacher, I will definitely work hard!”

Teacher Fang smiled and waved to him, motioning him to go back quickly.

In the rain, Xue Yingshuang bowed to the teacher.

At that moment, Teacher Fang seemed to have returned to many years ago. 

It was also raining like this that day. Xue Yingshuang, a freshman in high school, did not say goodbye to his classmates before leaving, but came to the office and bowed to her like this.

“Teacher, I can’t stay in school anymore, I have to go.” Xue Yingshuang said, “I promise, I will work hard and will not give up my studies.”

The two pictures overlapped, even after so many years, Xue Yingshuang did not forget his original promise.