Dating Myself - Chapter 3

Jian Yixi’s first class had a test, so after she finished changing her uniform, she quickly grabbed her blazer to hold up as a shield for An Mu. An Mu looked at the fine sweat beading on her nose and offered her a tissue.

Jian Yixi had a habit of sweating when she was nervous, and it was always most noticeable on the tip of her nose.

She took the tissue, quickly dabbed her face, and then looked back at the clock. “Shouldn’t you change your uniform now?” she urged.

“You don’t need to shield me. I’ll go to the restroom to change later.”

Jian Yixi glanced back at the restroom entrance.

“There are so many people. It’ll take forever.”

“It’s okay. I’m not in a hurry to go back anyway.”

The restrooms in the main academic building also had long lines, even longer than here, since many lazy girls hadn’t bothered to come to the pool area.

Jian Yixi really wanted to just leave, but she felt it would be rude to take advantage of someone’s help and then just walk away.

She hesitated, then held up her blazer again.

“How about I shield you? It’ll be quick.”

“No, you have a test to get to, right? You’ll be late.”

“But you…”

An Mu didn’t remember her past self being so indecisive.

She took matters into her own hands and pushed Jian Yixi by the shoulders, guiding her toward the swimming pool exit.

“Go.”

It was a simple word, but it was crisp and pleasant to listen to.

Jian Yixi stopped hesitating. She waved goodbye, hurried past the scattered puddles on the ground, and made her way toward the academic building. It was halfway there that she suddenly remembered. How did An Mu know she had a test next period? Had she said something?

An Mu watched her leave, and the warm, pleasant look in her eyes instantly dropped to below freezing.

When a student has a problem, it should be handled in a student-like way. Although she had no hope for the school, she decided to give them a chance this first time.

An Mu meticulously folded her uniform, neatly put it back in its packaging bag, smoothed it out, sealed the opening, and held the plastic handle. She then turned and stood just outside the glass doors.

Three girls, having finished changing, walked out of the swimming pool area, laughing and chatting. Just as they stepped out the door, An Mu suddenly reached out and snatched the phone from陆Yuexin’s hand.

Lu Yuexin was caught off guard and instinctively turned to grab it back, but An Mu was one step ahead of her, turning and descending the steps.

Lu Yuexin quickly chased after her, shouting, “Stop her! She stole my phone! Stop her!!”

The two girls with her also shouted and chased after them.

There were many people coming and going, and while some turned to watch the commotion, no one stepped in to stop them.

This was a school campus, in broad daylight, with so many people around. No one would be crazy enough to rob someone in this situation. It must just be a joke.

And since it was a joke, no one was going to get involved.

An Mu had long legs. One of her steps was one and a half of Lu Yuexin’s short ones. Before Lu Yuexin could catch up, a patrolling female teacher who had heard the commotion came forward.

“What’s going on?”

Lu Yuexin was panting from the chase. It was laughable that someone couldn’t even keep up with another person’s walking pace.

“Teacher, she stole my phone!”

Her tone was like a child tattling, and the girls watching couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

Lu Yuexin’s expression turned ugly as she glared at them.

Before the teacher could even ask, An Mu directly handed over the stolen phone.

“They were secretly filming. The video is right here on the phone.”

“Secretly filming?”

The teacher was clearly taken aback. She had only ever heard of lecherous men secretly filming people, not girls filming girls. This was a new one.

Lu Yuexin’s face paled noticeably. She instinctively glanced at her two friends, who looked just as bad as she did.

Lu Yuexin forced herself to stand her ground. “Teacher, don’t listen to her nonsense. Why would I secretly film anything?”

“Yeah, we’re all girls. What is there to film?”

“Don’t slander a good person!”

The three girls, emboldened by their numbers, each spoke a line, becoming more confident as they went.

The teacher was more impartial. She looked at the phone in her hand and said to Lu Yuexin, “How about this: you unlock the phone. A quick look will prove your innocence. If she is falsely accusing you, the school will deal with her seriously.”

Lu Yuexin bit her lip, looking at the teacher and then at An Mu. Her heart was in a panic, but she maintained a tough front.

“What do you mean, Teacher? She slanders me, and I have to show you my phone? That’s my private property!”

The two friends chimed in like a chorus.

“Exactly! Why should she?!”

An Mu’s expression was calm and indifferent. “If there’s no video, I’m willing to be expelled.”

Expelled?!!

The whole crowd buzzed with noise.

At some point, a circle of girls had gathered around. They were whispering and discussing. They had already been suspicious of Lu Yuexin. After all, they were new to high school and didn’t know anyone, so why would An Mu falsely accuse her?

The words “expelled” came out, and now they didn’t even need to see the phone. It was 100% certain that they had been secretly filming. Otherwise, why would An Mu joke about her own future?

Secretly filming! This was secret filming! This was a serious crime!

It wasn’t just one or two people who had been changing uniforms; everyone had!

“Was I secretly filmed?”

“Was I?”

“Oh no! My little belly looks so embarrassing!”

“Is that what you should be worrying about right now?! Your priorities are all wrong, girl!”

“They weren’t filming for some porn site, were they? I heard they pay a lot of money for those videos.”

“Huh? No way! How am I supposed to face people after this?”

“Teacher! Delete the videos right now!”

“Yeah, Teacher, hurry and delete them!”

Seeing the girls get more and more agitated, with new girls joining and their voices growing louder, the teacher quickly raised a hand to calm them down.

“Quiet! Everyone quiet down. The school will definitely handle this matter seriously. We will not indulge a problem student, nor will we falsely accuse a good person.”

Since the matter involved privacy, it was inappropriate to handle it out in the open, especially since some girls had already taken out their phones and started recording. The two female teachers exchanged glances. One stayed to block the path and prevent any boys from coming over, while the other led An Mu and Lu Yuexin to the office.

It was the first day of school, and things were busy. Teachers with classes were busy teaching. Teachers without classes were busy preparing for the opening ceremony after the next period. The office only had one old teacher resting, who was close to retirement. The female teacher led the few students inside, closed the door behind them, and blocked the curious, gossiping students from coming in.

“There’s no one here. Unlock it.”

The old teacher looked up, her eyes a little resentful.

—So I don’t count as a person now, even though I haven’t retired yet?

The female teacher turned the phone over and gestured for Lu Yuexin to unlock the pattern.

Lu Yuexin bit her lower lip. Her hand reached out, and her finger hovered over the first dot for a moment before she suddenly pulled it back.

“My phone has some private photos. It’s not convenient for people to see.”

With her stalling and excuses, the teacher wasn’t a fool and could clearly see what was going on.

The teacher maintained the composure of an educator and said kindly, “Don’t worry, we’ll only look at the videos, not your photo album.”

“But my videos are also private.”

The teacher had seen all kinds of problem students before. She stood up.

“It seems I can’t handle this matter. I’ll have to take it to the Dean’s office and let the Dean handle it personally.”

Every school had a terrifying Dean of Students who struck fear into the hearts of all students. Anyone who got involved with them would either get a demerit or have to write an apology. In serious cases, they could even be expelled.

Although Lu Yuexin was a new freshman and hadn’t yet experienced the Dean’s authority, she had come from middle school and knew how scary a teacher with that title could be.

The composure she was desperately holding onto showed a crack.

The teacher continued calmly, “If even the Dean can’t solve it, we’ll have to hand it over to the police department. After all, secretly filming is no joke, especially when it’s inappropriate videos.”

“But I… I really didn’t secretly film! My phone has videos of myself… myself… you know… videos of myself. I really can’t let people see them! Teacher, you have to believe me. I swear I didn’t do it. You can record a video of my oath, and if any secret videos ever leak out, you can deal with me however you want!”

That was an empty promise.

With the matter this big, the first thing she would do when she got home was delete all the videos. Only an idiot would let them leak.

The teacher was also a bit hesitant. It was the first day of school, and they were all new students. She didn’t want to blow the matter out of proportion. It would be bad for the school’s reputation.

Scaring them to this extent was probably enough. The goal had been achieved. Whether the girl had filmed or not, she would definitely delete the videos when she got home. It was better to just settle the matter quietly.

The teacher nodded slightly. “That works. I’ll record a video of you, and then I’ll announce that this was all a misunderstanding. Neither of you was in the wrong. Do you accept this outcome?”

Accept it! Of course she accepts it!

Lu Yuexin quickly nodded and reached out to grab her phone. In that instant, An Mu suddenly grabbed her hand. Before she could react, An Mu pinched her index finger and pressed it firmly against the fingerprint sensor.

The phone screen instantly lit up.

The teacher was stunned. An Mu quickly took the phone, walked around the desk, and scrolled through it, finding the video. She then transferred it to her own phone.

Lu Yuexin struggled and fought for the phone, annoying An Mu. She turned back, her eyes cold, and kicked out her leg.

Lu Yuexin screamed and fell to the floor. Her two friends, who had been about to back out of this mess, suddenly got a surge of energy when they saw An Mu get physical. They quickly rushed to help Lu Yuexin up.

“Lu Yuexin, are you okay? It must hurt so much, is it broken?”

“Is the school not going to do anything about this? She openly injured a classmate in the office. Even if she’s not expelled, she should at least get a demerit!”

Lu Yuexin reacted quickly, too. She clutched her calf and cried out in pain. Her face was truly pale from the pain; An Mu’s kick was a strong one.

An Mu ignored them. Her face was ashen, without a single expression. She turned and held up her phone to the female teacher. Her cold gaze made the teacher’s heart run cold.

“This is the video they secretly filmed. I have transferred it to my phone and kept the evidence. I hope the school will handle this matter seriously.”

Her tone was anything but polite, and the teacher’s expression turned noticeably ugly.

What class was this girl in? She had already said she would settle the matter. How could she so brazenly take things into her own hands? Did she have any respect for her as a teacher?!

Outside the office, a crowd of gossiping students was squeezed together. The door was closed, but the windows were still open, and several students were holding up their phones and recording, not at all afraid of the teacher’s glare, especially the ones who were full-tuition students.

“Teacher, the evidence is clear. If you don’t handle it, isn’t that inappropriate?”

The students shouted from outside the windows. There were both girls and boys who had heard the commotion.

The teacher angrily walked over to close the window, scolding them. “No filming! I’ll confiscate your phones if you keep filming!”

The old teacher was a white-haired woman. She sighed, took off her reading glasses, and came over to check Lu Yuexin’s injury. They were all wearing their new uniforms. Under the plaid skirts, their legs were bare, and she could see a faint red mark on the calf. It would probably bruise later, but it wasn’t serious enough to be a fracture.

The old teacher looked at the younger female teacher, then stood up, addressing one of the girls. “You, take her to the nurse’s office first. The rest of you, come with me to the Dean’s office.”

The female teacher frowned. “Does it have to be escalated to the Dean?”

The old teacher smiled kindly. “Don’t worry about it. If anything goes wrong, it’s on me.”

Jian Yixi got back to her class, and not long after, the bell rang. Xie Maomao was not only friendly but also couldn’t sit still. She pulled Jian Yixi out of the classroom, and they leaned against the hallway railing, watching the people below, breathing in the so-called “air of freedom” while chatting aimlessly.

“Hey? What’s that crowd doing? Why are they all standing in front of the Dean’s office?”

The academic building had a square courtyard structure with classrooms on all four sides. In the middle was an open area with a lawn, rose bushes, and a small pond. In the pond was a miniature waterfall flowing from a man-made mountain about a person’s height, and many koi fish were in the water.

From the third floor, you could see everything clearly.

Jian Yixi followed her gaze and saw a crowd of students holding up their phones, blocking the entrance to the Dean’s office.

“Maybe… they’re dealing with some kind of troublemaking student?”

“Listen to what they’re saying?” Xie Maomao leaned halfway over the railing, stretching her ears down. “Listen, it sounds like someone is tattling on someone? They’re not elementary schoolers anymore. What’s with all the tattling? I can’t stand people who love to tattle! And to get the Dean involved! What’s the big deal?”

Jian Yixi agreed completely. She didn’t like tattletales either.

“You’re right. People like that have such low emotional intelligence. They’ll suffer after they leave school.”

Xie Maomao looked back at her, winking and smiling. “Right? People like that just need a good dose of reality to beat some sense into them~”

Jian Yixi nodded earnestly. “Yes, they need a good beating from reality.”

“Achoo!”

In the Dean’s office, An Mu, who was explaining the situation, suddenly sneezed.