Sheng Muxi also supported her shoulders.
To outsiders, their movements appeared normal, but they could feel each other's chests rising and falling with their breaths.
Chai Qianning gently rubbed her fingers against the other person's palm, then clenched her fist.
Feeling the tightening of the other person's grip, Sheng Muxi was stunned for a moment. She looked down and realized that the way the two of them were holding hands looked like that of lovers.
When the word "lover" popped into Sheng Muxi's mind, she was quite startled.
Once you lose your composure, the enemy can defeat you without even attacking.
Chai Qianning tugged at her hand and walked ahead, saying, "Let's go."
Her eyes were smiling, and as they reached the supermarket entrance, she squeezed her fingers and leaned close to her, saying, "Teacher Sheng, what are you nervous about?"
"Huh?" Sheng Muxi suddenly came to her senses.
Chai Qianning rubbed her fingers together and looked at the thick clouds in the sky: "Isn't it hot today? Why are your palms so sweaty?"
Sheng Muxi turned her head away, walked in front of her, and said without showing any emotion, "Is that so? But I feel a little hot."
Chai Qianning smiled and followed.
noon.
Chai Qianning ate at Sheng Muxi's house.
The dishes were made by Sheng Muxi, who said he wanted her to taste his cooking skills.
One meat dish, one vegetable dish, and one soup—I didn't make much; it was just enough for two people.
They both took a nap in the morning and didn't eat breakfast, so they ate a lot at noon, leaving their plates almost completely empty.
Sheng Muxi looked on with great satisfaction and said, "When I cook at home, I usually try to cook less, but there are always leftovers. This time is quite rare."
"Does Teacher Sheng often cook for herself at home?"
"No, I usually eat at the school cafeteria or restaurants outside the school. I only cook on weekends when I have nothing to do, but it's not easy to cook for one person."
"Yes, it's really hard to cook for one person."
Chai Qianning strongly agrees with this: "Before, my rice cooker at home didn't work well. The rice would stick to the pot after it was cooked, and I would always eat half of the rice while the pot was full."
"So you changed it later?"
"Of course I replaced it. I couldn't let it suffer for nothing. It wouldn't really matter if I raised it for nothing. But every time it gets coated, it gets a super thick layer of food on top, and it can eat more than I can."
"Eat more than you? Pfft." Sheng Muxi was amused by her: "What kind of analogy is that?"
Chai Qianning rested her chin on one hand: "Teacher Sheng, since you think it's hard to cook for one person, do you want me to help you?"
"How will you help me?" Sheng Muxi looked at her lips: "Help me eat it?"
Chai Qianning chuckled, "Would you welcome me to come and freeload a meal?"
"Welcome!"
——
A few days after the heavy rain, the leaves and rotten branches on the school grounds were cleaned up.
The moment the sun came out, everything returned to tranquility.
Class 23, Grade 11.
A boy burst into the classroom, sweat beading on his forehead from a game of basketball: "Breaking news! Breaking news! The principal's coming to check our phones! He's already downstairs on the battlefield..."
A murmur rippled through the classroom as people began hiding their phones in all sorts of bizarre ways.
office.
Chai Shuqing handed a leave slip to Sheng Muxi.
"Why can't I attend tomorrow afternoon's lecture?" Sheng Muxi placed the leave slip on the table, tapped it lightly with her fingertips, and glanced at her with her eyelids lifted.
With her hands behind her back and fingers intertwined, Chai Shuqing answered fluently, "I'm going to attend the funeral of a distant relative."
Sheng Muxi looked at her for a few seconds, then slowly picked up the phone that was lying face down on the table, and was texting someone.
A minute later, Sheng Muxi handed the phone to Chai Shuqing: "Are you sure?"
In the chat window, Chai Qianning replied to Sheng Muxi's message: 【What distant relative?】
Chai Shuqing gasped sharply.
Unbelievable! They forgot! They conspired beforehand!
My leave request was denied.
Chai Shuqing walked out of the office.
In the corridor.
Yao Yunqi ran up from behind and put her arm around her shoulder: "How did it go? Did you get the leave?"
"No," Chai Shuqing said casually, her hands gripping the railing.
Yao Yunqi exclaimed, "No way, this reason won't work. I got leave with just any random excuse."
Chai Shuqing shrugged: "Teacher Sheng knows my sister."
"So it was exposed by your sister?"
"Yes, Teacher Sheng specifically asked my sister. It's my fault for not thinking things through; I should have told my sister beforehand."
Looking at the scenery outside the teaching building, Chai Shuqing said, "You and Junjun go out to play tomorrow afternoon. I can't go."
Yao Yunqi propped her cheeks up with her hands: "We originally asked for leave to avoid that boring lecture. Since you can't get leave, I won't go either. I'll go home. We'll go out on Saturday. Oh, right, I think a singer is having a concert here on Saturday. Should we go check it out?"
"What singer?" Chai Shuqing secretly took out her phone from her pocket: "Let me check."
"You're lucky you had your phone with you."
"What's wrong?"
"The director came to check the phones just now, and you weren't there, so you escaped unscathed. That director is really cunning; he took a whole bag of phones."
Yao Yunqi said with a worried look, "This is the second phone that has been confiscated this month. I haven't gotten the last one back yet. My parents probably won't buy me another phone."
"I haven't gotten my phone back from the one that was confiscated last time. They need to call my parents to come to the school to get it back."
"Forget it, instead of calling my parents over, I'd rather pester my brother to buy me one."
Yao Yunqi leaned closer to Chai Shuqing to look at her phone.
Chai Shuqing glanced behind her furtively and said to Yao Yunqi, "Is it safe here? I have a chill down my spine."
"Teachers rarely pass by here, but I often see young couples hiding here on dates." Yao Yunqi shielded her phone with her body: "If we don't grab tickets now, it'll be too late."
Chai Shuqing lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and placed her fingers on the screen, ready to act at any moment.
"Did you manage to snag one? Did you manage to snag one?" Yao Yunqi asked, her voice tinged with excitement.
"Got them! Two!"
"yeah!"
"Shh, keep your voice down, keep it low-key." Chai Shuqing placed her finger near Yao Yunqi's lips, and Yao Yunqi made a shushing gesture.
However, the joy lasted only a few seconds before a dry cough was heard.
Chai Shuqing turned her head in fright, quickly hid her phone behind her back, and stared in disbelief at Sheng Muxi leaning against the stair railing.
"Did you snag the tickets?"
Yao Yunqi and Chai Shuqing stood there, not daring to speak.
Sheng Muxi walked towards them with a smile: "I heard that some students who are in early relationships come here for dates?"
Yao Yunqi and Chai Shuqing exchanged a glance and said in unison, "No, teacher, you've misunderstood."
“I know you’re not.” Sheng Muxi opened her palm and held it out to Chai Shuqing: “Give it to me.”
"No, teacher, I..."
"Hmm?" Sheng Muxi moved her fingers: "I saw it on my phone."
Having no other choice, Chai Shuqing had to hand the phone to Sheng Muxi.
"I've told you so many times, school rules say you can't bring smartphones into the classrooms. You can leave them in your dorms, why do you insist on bringing them here..."
After more than ten minutes of lecturing, Sheng Muxi finally let the two of them go back to the classroom.
After finishing a math class, Chai Shuqing was called to the office again.
Sheng Muxi listed the disciplinary violations she committed this month: skipping exams, arriving late for class, sleeping in class, playing on her phone during self-study, etc.
Sheng Muxi placed the list on the table, somewhat annoyed: "If I remember correctly, this isn't the first time your phone has been confiscated."
Chai Shuqing lowered her eyelashes and nodded.
She admitted her mistake very quickly: "Teacher, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I'll try not to do it again next time."
Sheng Muxi was amused by her: "Next time? Try your best?"
Chai Shuqing licked her lips, and then heard the sentence she least wanted to hear from the teacher: "Call your parents over!"
Chai Shuqing looked up: "Teacher, can you call my sister over?"
Sheng Muxi thought about it and felt that Chai Qianning was very likely to favor her, so she still refused: "No."
"Last time I asked you to call your sister over, you said she wasn't in good health and couldn't handle the travel. How come she's okay with it this time?"
Chai Shuqing: "..."
"I just...maybe...used an exaggeration?"
Chai Shuqing spoke softer and softer, stealing a glance at Sheng Muxi, who was staring intently at her: "What do you think?"
Chai Shuqing quickly lowered her head: "I was wrong."
"Well, since you've shown a good attitude in admitting your mistake, I won't scold you. You can call your mother or father over. Go back to class now."
"Teacher—" Chai Shuqing drawled, struggling desperately, "My parents really don't have time."
"Can't you even spare an hour?"
"It might not be possible to extract it."