Math Teacher, Please Get Lost (GL) - Chapter 31

Shu Yan begged her father and grandmother until she finally earned Yao Shuhan’s forgiveness. Right now, she was sitting on the bed with her head tilted back, mouth wide open, tongue sticking out long, showing it to her.

Yao Shuhan squeezed out a piece of medicated Yikou Patch, wet it with some water and stuck the yellow square onto her fingertip before applying it onto Shu Yan’s tongue. “Your tongue’s got a white coating. Did you honestly keep the quilt over you last night?”

Shu Yan cheekily licked Yao Shuhan’s finger with her tongue tip. Yao Shuhan immediately pulled her hand back and tapped her on the forehead. “Your tongue’s already ruined and you’re still fooling around!”

Shu Yan grinned, leaned over and wrapped her arms around Yao Shuhan’s waist. “I always kick off the blanket when I sleep at night, so my stomach gets cold.”

Yao Shuhan worried inside and wanted to tell Shu Yan to tuck herself in at night, wrap up like a silkworm cocoon so she couldn’t kick it off—otherwise her stomach would suffer. But looking at Shu Yan’s mischievous grin only made her irritated, so she pushed her away. “Freeze to death for all I care.”

“Hey, Shuhan.” Shu Yan knelt on the bed, straightened her upper body, and tried to pull Yao Shuhan onto the bed. “Why don’t you sleep with me tonight?”

!!!

What did she just say?

Yao Shuhan slowly turned her head, eyes wide. “Say that again if you dare.”

Shu Yan carefully studied her expression. Her lips were tight, uh-oh, she seemed angry… Whatever the case, best to calm her down first. “I was wrong, I was wrong, don’t be mad, Shuhan. We’ll take it slow.”

Yao Shuhan pushed her face-down onto the bed. “Nobody’s taking it slow with you.”

Shu Yan buried her head in the pillow. “But you said you’d wait for me!”

At the door, where Shu Yan couldn’t see, Yao Shuhan’s lips curved into a smile.

Liar.

Twelve years turned into thirteen. 4,680 days had already passed—what was there left to “take slow”?

From the very beginning, you were always mine.

City L sat in a basin, where rain was plentiful. The past days had been a stretch of dreary drizzle, everything damp.

That morning, before leaving the house, Yao Shuhan prepared an umbrella for Shu Yan—it had a Pikachu design. Shu Yan normally disliked umbrellas on rainy days. She always bought coats with oversized hoods instead, because they gave her a sense of safety. Rain came? Just pull up the hood and go. Umbrellas were too much trouble! But when it came to the care of her soon-to-be… wife, Shu Yan never refused. She popped open the umbrella and twirled it around happily by the doorway, entertaining herself.

Yao Shuhan came out, pulled Shu Yan’s coat hood up over her head, gave her a little push forward. “Out you go!”

“Ehh~” Shu Yan spun the little umbrella as she trailed behind Yao Shuhan. Yao went down two steps, glanced back at her. “You know, if your students see you carrying that kind of umbrella, won’t they laugh at you?”

Shu Yan rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Nope. They’ll think I have a childlike heart.”

Yao Shuhan thought, Yes, you do have a childlike heart. Whenever someone says something bad about you, you always find a way to spin it into something good.

At the first-floor landing, the two parted ways. Yao Shuhan headed upstairs. Just as she reached the second floor, someone stepped out of Class Nine.

“Xiao Yao, just the person! Got a moment?”

She turned and saw Old Peng from the physics department, a very learned old teacher—though unfortunately plagued by hemorrhoids, so the chairs he sat on always had holes cut in the middle.

Yao Shuhan quickly said, “I do. My class is third period. What do you need, Teacher Peng?”

He nodded. “Wait here a moment.” He went back into his classroom, retrieved a USB drive from the multimedia console, and handed it to her. “Could you deliver this to Xiaomi across the way for me?”

She took the USB. “Of course.”

Old Peng smiled his thanks, then strode briskly straight into… the restroom.

Yao Shuhan blinked in surprise, then realized—he must be heading in for another round of life-and-death battle with his hemorrhoids.

Crossing the connecting corridor, she went into the south teaching building. It was quiet throughout; students sat bent over their papers, pens scratching diligently. As she passed window after window, watching them work so hard, her lips curved into a satisfied smile.

Senior year students really were different…

As soon as she entered the office, a round of applause broke out.

“Look who’s here!” A man in his thirties stood up with a grin. “Our great talent, Teacher Yao! What a rare guest.”

It was Xiao Wang from the senior physics group.

Yao Shuhan waved it off. “Teacher Wang, you’re teasing me again.” She glanced around the office but didn’t see Mi Guoqiang, so she asked, “Where’s Teacher Mi?”

Wang thought a moment. “Old Mi? Oh, he was just called over to Class One by Director Liang. You can find him there.”

Director Liang from the Discipline Office?

Mi Guoqiang was Class One’s homeroom teacher, so it wasn’t strange for him to be there. But what did it have to do with Liang?

Yao said, “Alright, I’ll head to Class One.”

“Aw, Teacher Yao,” Wang called after her, “since you’re here, why not stay a while? Chat with us a bit?”

She turned back and saw a group of middle-aged men grinning at her, each one like a misshapen melon in tucked-in polo shirts. Goosebumps prickled up her arms. With a polite smile she said, “Well, I still need to find Teacher Mi and then head back to class. Another time, maybe.” She slipped away as fast as she could.

Class One was at the far end of the first floor. As she approached, she heard a rustling murmur.

Strange. These were “rocket class” students—top-tier, seeds of the school. They were usually silent and focused, especially during morning study. Why was it noisy now?

Suppressing a vague unease, she reached the doorway just as a tall boy was lightly pushed out by Director Liang. Behind him came Mi Guoqiang, frowning. Finally, a pale, slender boy stepped out.

That boy glanced up and caught sight of her. His brows pinched with sorrow, lips parting as if to speak. But seeing Liang in front, he lowered his head again and stayed silent.

That was… Wu Junze?

She remembered him. Two years ago, during the school literary society’s recruitment, it was this delicate boy whose modern poem won the Freshman Cup. Over the past two years, he’d contributed much to the society. Back then, she’d been his mentor and even guided him to a national youth literary award.

Yao Shuhan walked over. “Director Liang. Teacher Mi.”

Liang’s face was stern, but upon seeing her, it softened a little. “Oh, Xiao Yao. Something you need?”

She smiled faintly and handed the USB to Mi Guoqiang. “Teacher Peng asked me to bring this to you. He’s… not feeling well.”

Mi blinked, then recalled Old Peng’s condition and immediately understood. “I see. Thank you.”

“Mm…” Yao cautiously asked, “These two students… what happened?”

The tall boy suddenly looked up. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion. His gaze brushed past Wu Junze, then darted away again, blinking hard.

Liang tugged his sleeve sharply. “Stand properly! Look at you—what kind of behavior is this?”

He was scolding the tall boy, but Yao noticed Wu Junze’s foot shift, his head bowing even lower.

Mi clicked his tongue, frowned, and sighed. He didn’t say it outright, only murmured, “They’re seniors. The pressure’s heavy. Their thinking has… gone a bit astray.”

Liang turned to Yao. “Xiao Yao, don’t you have class this morning?”

She startled. “Uh—yes.”

“Then go on back.” Liang urged the tall boy forward as he spoke.

Clearly, a dismissal.

Mi shook his head, led Wu Junze along behind Liang. As they passed, he patted Yao on the shoulder. “The liberal arts kids are easier. Girls don’t cause as much trouble. Sigh…”

She turned, watching their retreating figures, her gaze lingering on Wu Junze. She’d never really paid him close attention before, but now, she realized the boy who had studied writing with her for two years was frighteningly thin.

Behind her, muffled voices stirred in the classroom. Remembering Class One had no teacher now, she stepped inside and tapped on a desk. “Back to your self-study, everyone. You’re all excellent students—don’t waste your time.”

“Hey, aren’t you Teacher Yao Shuhan?” someone suddenly asked.

“Really? Is it her?”

“She’s so pretty! No wonder so many want to repeat a year just to get into Class 13 and be her student…”

Yao Shuhan: …

“Focus on your books,” she said quickly. Nothing unnerved her more than student gossip. She made her escape.

She deliberately took a roundabout route to the administration building, wanting to check the Discipline Office. But once she got downstairs and looked up, she didn’t dare go in.

The director was disciplining students—what right did a mere language teacher have to intervene?

Still, Mi’s words echoed: their thinking has gone astray. What did that even mean?

The tall boy’s exhausted eyes, Wu Junze’s pale face—the scene was strangely familiar, a faint sadness welling inside her.

No. Something was definitely wrong.

Between classes, she returned to the south building’s first floor. Students were at lunch. She caught a girl taking out the trash from Class One.

“Excuse me,” Yao said gently, “could I ask you something?”

The long-haired girl blinked, then nodded.

Yao guided her to the back row. “Sit down. This morning, your teachers took away two boys, right?”

The girl replied, “Oh, you mean Gao Tianhong and Wu Junze? Yeah, they left during morning study and haven’t come back.”

Yao’s eyes darkened. “Do you know why?”

The girl thought, then said, “How would I know? But… rumor is, people think they’re too close. Someone reported them for being… abnormal. They might even call their parents.”

Yao froze, eyelids heavy.

So that was it.

The girl frowned. “But Gao Tianhong’s a top student. Always in the top three, even top ten in the city. Wu Junze’s grades aren’t bad either. Two model students like them couldn’t be doing anything wrong. I think some people just can’t stand to see them doing well, so they stirred up trouble.”

Yao gave her a soft smile and pulled a pack of Lipo biscuits from her bag. “Thank you. And don’t tell anyone I asked you this, alright?”

The girl tucked the snack into her pocket, smiling. “I won’t. You’re Teacher Yao, right? I heard about you as soon as I entered Yingcai. You’re really so pretty.”

Uh…

Yao’s lips twitched. “You’re very pretty too.”