After Helping the Protagonist Escape From a Madman, I Became His Target [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 23

After finishing the IV drip, Shen Luyang drove Peng Jun home. Noticing the boy’s guarded expression, he chose not to invite himself in, making a quick excuse to head out instead.

By the time he got home, it was 6:00 PM. He scrolled through his contact list. It was sparse and clean, with very few names. He pulled up the contact info for Peng Jun’s debt collectors, thought for a moment, and sent a message to Ning Wanshu.

[Mom, a friend of mine needs to consult someone about a loan issue. Do you know any reliable lawyers?]

As soon as he sent it, he shed his suit and ran to the bathroom to wash the “mature adult” styling out of his hair. He whipped up a few simple dishes, ate, and finally collapsed onto the sofa.

He wavered for a few seconds between “should I prepare for lessons?” and “there are still two days of holiday left.” Teacher Shen decisively chose the former. Since his foundation was weak, this clumsy bird had to start flying early.

After two hours of solving physics problems in the study, he stood up and stretched. Sitting for too long left him aching. He rolled out a yoga mat and went through a circuit of push-ups, crunches, and planks until he felt much better.

Being a teacher was indeed exhausting—sitting in an office all day, grading homework, reflecting on classroom performance, and constantly pulling students aside to ask, “Did you actually understand today’s lesson?”

He had observed the science department; except for Teacher Xie, almost everyone had some health issues—sedentary habits, lack of exercise, constant worrying…

Suddenly, his phone pinged. He wiped off his sweat with a towel and checked the screen. A new WeChat message.

[Shen Tangping: I can see your change, but it’s not enough.]

[Shen Tangping: If you can keep your head down and stay at that school for a full year, you can come back and intern at the company.]

Shen Luyang leaned against the wall, analyzing his father’s psychological state. His mother had likely done a lot of sweet-talking, and his brother was probably too busy investigating the rumors of “Duan Chen’s character issues” to smear him behind his back. This allowed his father to finally step down from his pedestal and speak to his “unfilial son” after that dinner.

Shen Luyang chuckled and typed back.

[Thanks, Dad. I’ll definitely work hard to become an outstanding teacher.]

He might not even want to go back by then. Teaching is great—molding young minds and being colleagues with Teacher Xie…

Wait, why is it getting so hot?

After another half hour of exercise, despite the cool October weather in the North, Shen Luyang took a cold shower. Not only did it not help, but it felt even hotter. He was too restless to sleep, so he ended up pacing around the house shirtless—alternating between admiring his six-pack in the mirror and flipping through workbooks to review knowledge.

Eventually, he passed by a neglected corner of his bookshelf. He hadn’t had time to organize the clutter yet; it was a mess of figurines he’d been planning to resell but kept forgetting about. Driven by a strange pull, he moved two figurines aside to reveal something hidden behind them—a bottle of red wine, looking quite expensive.

He searched the original owner’s memories, but the section regarding red wine was a blur. It was a sign of the original’s indifference; if the original didn’t care about it, the current Shen Luyang wouldn’t know much either. He guessed the original had just bought it to show off.

Shen Luyang pulled the bottle out and gave it a sniff like a bloodhound. Suddenly, he felt a wave of relief. He placed the bottle on his nightstand as if possessed. Although the feverish heat didn’t vanish, it noticeably subsided once he lay down.

******

The National Day holiday is like the hair on your head—gone before you know it. Before you can even react, it’s already the 7th.

Shen Luyang never expected that after graduating and getting a job, he would still have to go back to school with a heart as heavy as a funeral procession. The holiday didn’t feel that precious while it lasted, but now he was filled with regret.

On the 7th, students had to return for an evening self-study session to acclimatize, but all teachers were required to be on-site as well. Shen Luyang couldn’t understand this “water-on-the-brain” arrangement. What were the subject teachers even there for? To tell the students, “I missed you so much these past seven days, mwah”?

But no matter how baffled he was, a temporary worker making 2,000 a month couldn’t break the rules. He threw on some casual clothes and pulled a baseball cap low to hide his “this is b—s—t” expression, driving to school fully armored.

The students were lively enough; at that age, even if they hated school, the chaos of being with friends helped them recover quickly. The teachers were a different story. The moment Shen Luyang pushed open the door to the science office, he was hit by the overwhelming aura of gloom.

His movements slowed down; he spoke listlessly: “Happy first day back, everyone.”

Jiang Nuanyu looked up from a stack of biology worksheets, her eyes vacant. “Happy to you too. I hope you’re happy forever.”

Shen Luyang dropped his bag and yawned. “Happiness for all…”

Compared to the chattering students, the science teachers were eerily quiet. No one talked about their holiday; no one said, “I missed you, let’s chat.” They just sat there in a silent funk, looking like they each had a small raincloud crying over their heads—a sharp contrast to the fiery enthusiasm echoing from the hallways.

Shen Luyang couldn’t help but chuckle. It was actually kind of cute.

On his desk sat the homework collected by the class rep, Zhan Jingmiao. The girl had handled everything without him needing to ask. Once he recovered from his own funk, he planned to give her a massive shout-out. Compared to the other teachers’ desks, which were buried under paper, his stack was tiny. Correspondingly, his workload was significantly lighter.

He pulled a few sheets to check. The easy problems were mostly done individually, with clearly different logic and steps. The two hardest problems, however, were suspiciously identical. Fifty-some students had just shuffled the steps or swapped the order to pretend they’d written it themselves.

Despite their efforts to hide it, it was all transparent to an old fox like him. These are all tricks I invented when I was your age.

Amidst the deafening noise of the hallway, Shen Luyang forced himself into the “grading zone.” As he worked, he suddenly felt something was missing. He looked back—Xie Weihan wasn’t there.

“Hey, Teacher Jiang,” Shen Luyang leaned over and tapped her desk. “Where’s Teacher Xie?”

Jiang Nuanyu propped up her chin, her eyelids drooping. “Probably the infirmary. I saw him heading that way when I was coming back.”

Shen Luyang froze. “What’s he doing there? Does he have a cold?”

Jiang Nuanyu looked at him, her cool face full of “I can’t be bothered” lethargy. “How should I know? Just send him a message.”

Good point. Shen Luyang pulled out his phone and weighed his words.

[Teacher Xie, do you have a cold?]

He waited a while, but there was no reply. Seeing that he had finished half his grading—putting him far ahead of the other teachers. He decided to go out for some air and see if he could bump into Xie Weihan.

Just as he stepped out, he ran right into Teacher Xie walking toward the office.

The weather had turned cool, and he was wearing a black wool overcoat. Perhaps because of the fabric, his aura seemed a few degrees softer today. The flickering shadows of the hallway hit his side, outlining his tall, slender frame. His hair was a bit windblown, which he brushed back casually. The blue veins on his pale hands were more prominent in the cold air. With his narrow eyes and crimson lips, he looked like an elegant vampire wandering through the darkness.

Shen Luyang stared for a moment before asking, “Teacher Xie, were you at the infirmary?”

Xie Weihan stopped in front of him. The composure and artifice in his eyes dissipated slightly as he laughed and admitted it. “I was. Why?”

Shen Luyang scrutinized his face, but he couldn’t tell anything. Teacher Xie was always pale, and he looked just as pale now. “Do you have a cold?”

“You could say that.”

“…What kind of medicine smells this strong?” Shen Luyang sniffed. Being close, his sharp nose caught a medicinal scent on Xie Weihan—one that didn’t belong to a common cold. It smelled exactly like those two “unlabeled” bottles he had bought from Fang Yi.

Xie Weihan didn’t answer. Instead, he naturally placed a hand on Shen Luyang’s shoulder, guiding him gently. His deep, warm voice sounded at his ear: “Why are you out here? Isn’t it cold?”

Shen Luyang followed him back into the office in a daze before remembering what he wanted to ask. He didn’t even return to his seat, instead leaning over Xie Weihan’s desk. Taking advantage of the students’ noise outside, he lowered his voice: “That medicine… it smells like that S-class Alpha pheromone buffer from before.”

Xie Weihan’s brow quirked, his lips curving into a delighted arc as he praised him seriously, “Indeed it is. You’re quite clever.”

Shen Luyang was about to say “don’t mess with me” when he looked up and crashed right into those deep, tender eyes. His heart skipped a heavy beat. He steadied himself and looked away. “Where exactly are you feeling unwell? Are you really going to keep secrets from me, given our relationship?”

Xie Weihan’s gaze swept over the slight heat on Shen Luyang’s ears. A trace of hidden amusement flickered in his eyes as he explained softly, “The frequent ruts aren’t over yet. I was getting medicine.”

Shen Luyang finally remembered. He had promised to help Xie Weihan through this, but since the man had shown no signs of a rut, he had completely forgotten. He turned his head away, scratching behind his ear in embarrassment. “Why didn’t you tell me? If I’d known, I would have come in earlier today.”

Xie Weihan didn’t press the point, gracefully changing the subject. “Did you have a good holiday?”

“It was okay, mostly just slept at home, but—” Shen Luyang cut himself off, looking back at Xie Weihan. He wasn’t going to let the topic slide. He asked bluntly, “Teacher Xie, why didn’t you come to me for your rut? We had a deal.”

Xie Weihan looked at him quietly. The dim office light cast shadows across his face, lending his features a touch of intoxicating affection. As if afraid of making him sad, he lowered his voice even further, making it sound magnetic and warm. “Didn’t you say you didn’t like it?”

Shen Luyang was stunned. He said instinctively, “I never said I didn’t like it.”

Stripping away all the messy thoughts, every time they had done it, he had actually… enjoyed it.

His reaction was so strong that Xie Weihan reached out and ruffled his hair. The slight friction between the hair and fingertips made his heart itch. Xie Weihan smiled slightly. “During the rut… didn’t you tell me not to touch you?”

Shen Luyang wanted to argue that he’d never said that, but the memory came flooding back. He remembered. By the stairs, he had shamelessly asked Teacher Xie to keep his distance, otherwise he would… “get hard.” What he had meant was that he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from harassing Teacher Xie. But his brain had been a mess, and it came out sounding like “I’ll get that kind of hard.”

The current situation was becoming hard to handle. Every explanation he thought of felt stuck in his throat as he looked at Xie Weihan’s indulgent expression. No matter how he put it, he sounded like a scumbag, using Xie Weihan when he needed him, then telling him to stay away when he didn’t.

Oh my god!

Shen Luyang took a deep breath and leaned in closer, whispering so low he was barely audible: “Teacher Xie, actually…”

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his brain couldn’t keep up with his mouth.

“I’m still a virgin.”

Xie Weihan’s gaze sharpened.

Shen Luyang tossed his dignity to the wind and charged ahead: “That was also the first time I’d ever helped someone… like that.” A look of genuine conflict flashed across his face. “You’re just too good-looking—prettier than all the beautiful women I’ve ever seen. I was afraid I’d start having ‘inappropriate’ thoughts, which is why I said that to you when I was dazed. Don’t misunderstand; I’ve adjusted now. I can help.”

Xie Weihan looked at him thoughtfully, his half-lidded eyes hiding his thoughts. After a long moment, he suddenly let out a laugh.

“You’ve adjusted now?”

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