Falling in Love with High School English Teacher Sakura (GL Teacher-Student Love) - Chapter 1

Yue Ran had no idea how she had been reborn back to her fourth-grade elementary school days.

In her past life, Yue Ran was an unconfident, chubby gay woman who remained single and never experienced romance by the age of 30.

Her attraction to girls had been clear to her since elementary school. When she realized her sexual orientation differed from most people, she felt fear—yes, sheer fear. She was terrified others might discover it, terrified of being looked down upon or mocked for it. As a result, she never had a single romantic relationship by 30. Yet, unexpectedly, fate granted her a chance to start over, sending her back to her childhood.

In her past life, every time Yue Ran saw the beautiful class monitor, Ma Xue, she couldn’t help but blush, her heart racing. She couldn’t even bring herself to meet Ma Xue’s large, sparkling, expressive eyes.

Ma Xue, the class flower of Yue Ran’s elementary school, was an exceptionally pretty girl—her oval face framed by crystal-like, lively eyes, rosy cheeks, and a braid that swayed with every step, radiating youthful energy. What stood out most was her poised demeanor, head held high like a proud white swan. On top of that, Ma Xue was also an outstanding student. Even now, Yue Ran could vividly recall her image.

As a child in her village, Yue Ran often joined other kids in playing house. She always took on the role of the father—if she wasn’t allowed to, she’d get upset. A neighbor’s little sister, Xiao Hua, even invented a game called “belly pressing,” insisting Yue Ran lie on top of her with their stomachs touching. Xiao Hua claimed this was something only fathers did to mothers. Back then, Yue Ran didn’t understand and found the game boring, preferring to climb haystacks or raid bird nests with Shuo Shuo.

It wasn’t until she grew older that Yue Ran realized where Xiao Hua had learned “belly pressing.” Now, reborn and fully aware of its implications, she refused to play such games with Xiao Hua again and even stopped her from playing them with other boys. Xiao Hua stared at her in confusion.

From the moment she became self-aware, Yue Ran had never been attracted to any boys. While girls around her gushed over how handsome certain boys were, she stayed silent, privately dismissing them as silly. As she grew older, classmates saw her as an oddball—dressed like a tomboy from head to toe, skirts never part of her wardrobe. She even felt deep down that she should have been a boy. It wasn’t until adulthood that she discovered the vast LGBTQ+ community in China and learned that some progressive countries abroad had legalized same-s3x marriage. But back in elementary school, she was terrified of anyone uncovering her orientation—a fear that later shaped her into someone timid and insecure.

Speaking of which, Yue Ran found herself back in a fourth-grade elementary school classroom, face to face once more with that witch—Wang Piaopiao, her homeroom and Chinese language teacher. Old witch Wang Piaopiao was the most malicious teacher Yue Ran had ever encountered. She would categorize students based on their grades—beaming at the high achievers while berating and even physically punishing the underperformers. She even led the class in giving students cruel nicknames. To boost the class average, the old witch would pressure parents of struggling students to transfer their children out.

Yue Ran’s mother had suffered this treatment. Imagine a rural woman being dragged into the office, humiliated in front of all the other teachers as Wang Piaopiao ruthlessly mocked her child’s stupidity. How would a parent, trembling in such an awkward and powerless position, feel? That was why Yue Ran had vowed to be brave, study hard, and bring pride to herself and her parents.

Snapping out of her memories, Yue Ran began observing her classmates. She shared a long wooden desk with her deskmate, Cao Yu, its center etched with a “38th parallel” line—who knew which generation of students had carved it? Nearly every desk in the class had one.

Cao Yu was a thin, dark-skinned girl with a striking, spirited look—monolid eyes, bright and lively. Every time Yue Ran saw her, she was reminded of Mulan. At the moment, Cao Yu was carefully writing Chinese characters on her test paper with a pencil, her handwriting neat and precise.

Noticing Yue Ran’s gaze, Cao Yu turned and asked curiously, “Yue Ran, why aren’t you working on your test? We have to hand it in soon.”

Only then did Yue Ran realize they were in the middle of an exam—no wonder everyone was hunched over, scribbling away. Cao Yu spotted the broken tip of Yue Ran’s pencil and the many blank answers on her paper.

Concerned, Cao Yu asked, “Yue Ran, why haven’t you written anything? The test’s almost over. Do you need a pencil? Here, use mine—I’m almost done. Give me yours, and I’ll sharpen it for you.”

Yue Ran looked at her bright-eyed, pretty deskmate and said, “But you haven’t finished either, right? I’ll sharpen it myself. Thanks, Cao Yu!”

Cao Yu sighed, exasperated. “Yue Ran, by the time you sharpen it, we’ll have to turn in the test. Do you really want to be last again? The teacher paired us together so I could help you improve!”

Yue Ran didn’t argue further. Thanking Cao Yu, she took the pencil and began writing furiously. For a 30-year-old like her, the questions were a breeze. Meanwhile, Cao Yu kindly sharpened Yue Ran’s pencil beside her.

When the bell rang, the last student in each row collected the tests from the back. Luckily, both Yue Ran and Cao Yu had just finished.

“Yue Ran, how’d you do?” Cao Yu asked in her childlike voice.

“Not bad—probably not last place,” Yue Ran replied. “What about you?”

Cao Yu said confidently, “I did pretty well on the test, just didn’t have enough time to double-check my answers!”

Yue Ran thanked Cao Yu again, but couldn’t help recalling the rumors about him that had circulated among other students in her past life. Such vicious bullying could easily ruin a person’s life.

Later, Yue Ran encountered Cao Yu again during a high school holiday. At the time, Cao Yu was working at a shoe store owned by his relatives. Initially, Yue Ran didn’t notice him when she entered the shop—it was Cao Yu who recognized her first and greeted her. Looking at him, Yue Ran could clearly see that the spark in his eyes was no longer as lively and bright as it had been in elementary school. In her past life, she deeply regretted not sitting down to have a proper chat with him about how he’d been doing. But back then, due to her shy nature, she only exchanged a brief greeting before leaving. Deep down, Yue Ran never believed Cao Yu would do something like snooping through others’ letters, as the rumors had claimed.

Later, she learned that the relentless rumors in middle school had caused Cao Yu—who had always been an outstanding student—to perform poorly in the high school entrance exams, failing to get into a prestigious high school. In the end, he ended up at No. 1 High School, which had a much poorer academic environment. Back in elementary school, Cao Yu, as her deskmate, had always looked out for her, so Yue Ran couldn’t help but feel regret on his behalf.

Aside from Cao Yu, Yue Ran saw many familiar yet youthful faces, including Wang Chong, the class’s sports committee member.

Many classmates often linked Wang Chong with Ma Xue, the class beauty. Whenever students gossiped about the two, their expressions would turn animated, as if there were something going on between them. In her past life, Yue Ran had particularly disliked hearing their names mentioned together—probably out of jealousy, haha. Even at such a young age, she had already known what jealousy felt like.

Then there was Liu Yugang from her class, a repeater who was two years older than everyone else. Liu Yugang often bullied younger students in the class.

And Zhang Qiang—a tall, skinny boy who looked somewhat like an unevolved ape. He was one of Liu Yugang’s lackeys, constantly at his beck and call. Zhang Qiang also frequently harassed the girls in class, his hands always up to no good.

Xu Ning was another boy in the class—physically strong but simple-minded, with a penchant for violence. Why? Because he was always challenging other boys to fistfights to prove who was tougher. He and Liu Yugang got along well, often teaming up to bully classmates for fun. In her past life, Yue Ran had frequently been their target, and they had even given her several nicknames.

And finally, there was Ma Xue, the class beauty Yue Ran had secretly admired. Ma Xue wasn’t just the class beauty—she was also the class monitor. Not only was she beautiful, but her grades were also among the top. Comparing Ma Xue to Yue Ran was like night and day. Ma Xue came from a well-off family, was stunningly pretty, and excelled academically. And Yue Ran? She came from a poor family, her grades were abysmal, and apart from being somewhat decent-looking, she had nothing else going for her. The contrast between her and the class beauty couldn’t have been starker.

The class’s cultural committee member was a boy named Li Xu, who had sweet dimples when he smiled. He had a great voice and sang beautifully, but during class, Li Xu often chatted with his classmates. Surprisingly, he always performed well on exams, while those who chatted with him saw their grades drop. It was likely that Li Xu had already previewed the material at home and had a sharp mind, so he could score well whether he paid attention in class or not. Meanwhile, the others, who didn’t prepare in advance and spent class time chatting with him, inevitably saw their grades decline.