Mark Me, Okay? - Chapter 2

“Teacher Qin, you wanted to see me?” Luan Li knocked on the open door of the math department office.

Qin Qing looked up, closing the lesson plan in her hands, and gave Luan Li a playful wink. “You’re here? Come on in.”

Qin Qing was a beautiful omega (who seemed perfectly matched with Yue Qiu) who taught math for classes three and four, and served as homeroom teacher for class three. She was quite fond of Luan Li and Qi Xiangxing, often remarking to Yue Qiu about how capable today’s students were.

Luan Li walked over and spoke softly, “Teacher Qin.”

Qin Qing opened her desk drawer and pulled out a stack of printed booklets, handing them to Luan Li. Looking down, Luan Li saw they were registration forms for the sports meet.

“These are for classes three and four—I picked them all up. It was originally supposed to be a spring sports meet, but you know how it is—the playground is surrounded by willow trees, and in spring, willow catkins get everywhere. So they moved it to autumn!” Qin Qing explained. “The meet is next week, and we need to bring honor to our class!”

Then, with a slightly troubled expression, she added, “You know how the school insists on fostering competition between classes. While the intention is good, it can easily provoke rebellious attitudes in students. If it goes too far, that wouldn’t be good.”

Luan Li nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s already getting a bit excessive.” She recalled the scene earlier that morning when assigning tasks to class four—how unwilling they had been.

“Alright, I hear you and Qi Xiangxing get along well. The two of you can discuss it.” Qin Qing patted Luan Li’s shoulder. “We want healthy competition.”

At the mention of Qi Xiangxing, Luan Li’s gaze softened. “I’ll let her know.”

“Oh, speaking of which—didn’t you just turn eighteen? Have you gone for your secondary gender test yet?” Qin Qing picked up her cup from the desk and took a sip.

Luan Li smiled gently. “I did. It’s 99% omega.” She paused, then added, “Qi Xiangxing is 99% alpha.”

“That’s good too,” Qin Qing said, pleased to see Luan Li’s calm attitude. “Alright, I won’t keep you from morning reading. Don’t forget to remind class four to hand in their homework.”

Just as Luan Li reached the door of class four, the bell for the end of morning reading rang. Standing at the doorway with an armful of materials, she politely addressed the students inside, “Excuse me, I’m looking for Qi Xiangxing.”

Du Ziheng let out an exaggerated “Oh!” before shouting energetically into the room, “Class monitor! The class monitor from class three is here for you! Hurry up!”

Luan Li opened her mouth, about to say she wasn’t in a rush, when Qi Xiangxing emerged, yawning in her school uniform jacket. The moment she saw Luan Li, her eyes lit up, and her drowsiness vanished. “Luan Li? What’s up?” Then, remembering what she had witnessed earlier, her initially bright tone dimmed slightly.

Luan Li chuckled, not noticing her discomfort, and reached out to smooth down a stubborn strand of hair sticking up on Qi Xiangxing’s head. When it popped back up, she gave up and handed half of the registration forms to Qi Xiangxing. “Sports meet next week—all the requirements are listed here. You handle the distribution.”

Qi Xiangxing blinked, and the awkwardness from earlier—when she had seen someone confessing to Luan Li—instantly disappeared. Flustered, she took the forms, staring at Luan Li’s face. Whether it was some subconscious impulse or not, the words slipped out before she could stop them: “Luan Li, you smell really nice today.”

Luan Li froze: “What?”

Qi Xiangxing widened her eyes, suddenly realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud. Her ears flushed red as she avoided Luan Li’s probing gaze, trying to cover up: “I… I meant, does Teacher Qin have anything else?”

“Teacher Qin asked you to collect the math homework,” Luan Li replied with a polite smile before walking away.

Qi Xiangxing returned to the classroom clutching the sign-up sheet in frustration, completely missing the faint blush on Luan Li’s ears.

“Has everyone seen the sports meet sign-up sheet?”

Qin Qing had just finished class and was packing her lesson plans when Yue Qiu stepped onto the podium. As if deliberately speaking for Qin Qing to hear, she declared passionately: “Everyone should sign up enthusiastically! Let’s strive for excellent results in this sports meet!”

Qin Qing shook her head with a helpless smile as she finished packing. After all these years, Yue Qiu was still so childish.

“No math homework today, but please prepare for tomorrow’s lesson,” Qin Qing said with a smile, glancing at Yue Qiu and adding pointedly: “The saved time can be used to practice for the sports meet events—let’s all strive for excellent results.”

Yue Qiu froze momentarily.

Qin Qing gave her a teasing eyebrow raise before leaving with her cup and lesson plans.

“Class monitor, don’t you think Old Yue and Teacher Qin make a perfect match?” Du Ziheng poked Qi Xiangxing’s arm.

Qi Xiangxing folded her arms and swept a knowing gaze over Yue Qiu, speaking with exaggerated wisdom: “Based on my observations… your ship is fake.”

Du Ziheng protested urgently: “How can it be fake? Look at the way they glance at each other—so full of chemistry! How could that be faked?!”

Qi Xiangxing snorted: “All I see is the crackling sparks of hostility when they make eye contact.”

“That’s love!”

“No, that’s hatred.”

On their way home after school, Qi Xiangxing rode her electric scooter with Luan Li sitting behind. The early autumn breeze carried a gentle warmth against their faces.

After much hesitation, Qi Xiangxing finally spoke in a pitiful tone: “You didn’t wait for me this morning.”

Luan Li clung tightly to the hem of Qi Xiangxing’s shirt, explaining: “You woke up too late. I was on duty today.”

Though terrible at riding, Qi Xiangxing loved showing off her nonexistent scooter skills. Luan Li became the first victim—after nearly being thrown off for the third time, she finally surrendered and held onto Qi Xiangxing’s waist for dear life.

“Is that any excuse for leaving me behind?” Qi Xiangxing sounded even more aggrieved as she stopped at a red light and turned to face Luan Li, her eyes glistening with accusation.

Luan Li suddenly had the illusion that Qi Xiangxing looked exactly like the golden retriever at her home—especially when pouting, with drooping head and watery eyes.

“I saw your school uniform hanging in your yard when I left this morning,” Luan Li remarked abruptly.

Qi Xiangxing stiffened, shrinking her neck as her pitiful aura vanished instantly. She forced an awkward laugh: “I was just thinking about our class’s honor!”

Luan Li sighed: “The school paired our classes as rivals to encourage healthy competition, not opposition.”

Qi Xiangxing had never considered this question before. She froze for a moment before suddenly asking, “Do you think there’s something going on between Old Yue and Teacher Qin?”

Luan Li couldn’t understand how Qi Xiangxing’s train of thought could jump so far. They were supposed to be discussing serious matters between their two classes—how did she suddenly switch to speculating about their homeroom teachers’ relationship?

Luan Li snorted and didn’t answer.

Qi Xiangxing asked cautiously, “Are you angry?”

“I’m not.”

“Luan Li, you are angry!”

“I’m not.”

“I was wrong! You can hug our family’s Bao Bao!” Qi Xiangxing shamelessly offered up her cat.

“Qi Xiangxing! The light’s green! Are you going or not?”