Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Summer in the North brought unbearable heat. The August sun felt like a scorching furnace pressed too close, making people miserable.

Mo Zibei went to bed very late yesterday. The old wall-mounted air conditioner in her room was broken, and the one in her father’s bedroom wasn’t working either. Coupled with the fact that they lived on a high floor, the sustained heat from the fiery sun turned the indoors into a sealed steamer. Even at night, it was stuffy and hot. Taking a shower didn’t help much; she would be drenched in sweat again shortly.

Towards the latter half of the night, she truly couldn’t stand it anymore. She grabbed her eye mask, got up, and went to the lounge chair on the balcony. Opening the glass window, an occasional night breeze would slip through the thin screen, carrying a hint of coolness.

Though still hot, it was much more comfortable than the bedroom. She finally closed her eyes on the lounge chair and wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but she managed to drift off.

There were mosquitoes on the balcony, but her constitution was unique; she generally didn’t attract those insects, so she slept relatively soundly.

The morning light didn’t disturb her sleep. The black eye mask silently shielded her from the glare, and she continued to sleep, deeply and sweetly.

However, after eight or nine o’clock, the day started heating up again. A thin layer of sweat seeped onto the tip of her nose, and there was a bit of sticky, hot liquid on her forehead…

She slowly reached up and pulled the eye mask down, feeling the light and scenery outside with closed eyes, then slowly opened them. She turned her head and looked up and to the right; the sky was bright, and the air carried the scent of sunshine.

After a few seconds, she got up, went to the small bathroom to wash up, tied her hair into a ponytail, grabbed her phone, and headed downstairs.

Her family lived on the eighth floor, which was the top floor. The building was an old residential apartment, quite aged, with outdated facilities and no elevator. They relied entirely on their legs for the daily climb up and down.

It was summer break, and she was the only one home.

Her parents divorced when she was three. Her mother ran away with a wealthy businessman the day after the divorce and never returned. All these years, she had lived with her father, Mo Lin. Mo Lin was an elementary school teacher. Although usually quiet, he was honest and kind. During the school’s winter and summer breaks, he always went to nearby nursing homes and orphanages to do volunteer work. Sometimes he would go to farther places. Especially in the last two years, since Zibei could take care of herself, he felt reassured and went further afield, hardly coming home during summer break, staying there instead. However, he called Zibei every day, either early or late. The calls were basically repetitive: Did you wake up? What did you eat? What time did you go to bed? Remember to close the doors and windows at night, etc… Anything else was rare.

After descending the last step of the staircase and just exiting the unit door, the phone in Zibei’s short pocket rang. Kicking her slippers along as she walked out, she pulled the phone from her pocket, answering the call by swiping the screen without looking, based purely on feel.

“Mhm,” it was her father calling, asking if she was awake. She confirmed and continued, “Going to eat breakfast now.”

Mo Lin then asked what time she went to bed last night. She stated the time she went to bed, omitting the part about waking up hot and going to the balcony, and didn’t mention the broken air conditioner, then hung up.

She went to the wonton shop she usually frequented, ordered a large bowl of wontons, added chili oil and vinegar, stirred it a few times, and began to eat.

As far as she could remember, this shop had been here. It had been an old establishment for at least over ten years. Its food was delicious and inexpensive, making it popular. The customers were all people from nearby communities, very familiar with one another.

People eating here who saw Mo Zibei knew she was the Mo family’s daughter, but few spoke to her. The reason was simple: the girl wasn’t very engaging and, like her father, was a woman of few words.

After finishing the wontons and paying, Mo Zibei walked straight across to the supermarket. The air conditioner at home was broken. In this hot weather, she had to find a way to cool down. In the past, when her father was around, if the air conditioner broke, he would patiently find someone to repair it. Mo Zibei found it bothersome and didn’t want to call anyone over. Besides, it was an old machine that wouldn’t work well even if repaired. She decided to just buy a fan this time to avoid the repeated hassle.

She bought a small desk fan at the supermarket and also picked up a watermelon. Watermelon was her favorite fruit this season—sweet and thirst-quenching.

Watermelon in her left hand, desk fan in her right, she huffed and puffed her way up the eight flights of stairs. By the time she reached her front door, her forehead was slick with sweat. It wasn’t that she was physically weak, the weather was just too hot.

Putting her belongings on the floor, Mo Zibei took out her key to open the door. Once inside, she put the items on the small table and immediately went to shower. Going outside had made her sticky and uncomfortable.

Coming out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed, she dragged the extension cord from the bedroom next to the table and plugged in the fan. She then turned to the kitchen to wash the watermelon, sliced it, placed it on a fruit plate, and brought it back.

She sat on the rug by the small table, eating watermelon while enjoying the breeze, her expression relaxed.

After finishing a few slices of watermelon, she took the fan back to her bedroom. She had nothing else to do but read a book and some comics while enjoying the breeze. She slept again around noon. The room was still hot, but the fan made it bearable.

Around two or three in the afternoon, she was awakened by her phone ringing.

Her father usually didn’t call her at this time. She grabbed her phone and glanced at the screen. It was Zhou Ruoxin, a childhood friend.

She, Zhou Ruoxin, and Meng Yuanhao had all grown up together in this old residential building. Their homes were close, they went to school together, and their relationship was naturally strong. However, after graduating from elementary school, Zhou Ruoxin and Meng Yuanhao both moved to the nearby New City. Still, the old residential building wasn’t far from the New City, about forty minutes by bike. Plus, the three of them attended the same middle and high school, so although they didn’t live together anymore, their relationship didn’t drift apart. In fact, they still ate lunch and dinner together at school.

Zhou Ruoxin called to invite her over for dinner. This happened often, especially when Mo’s father was away. Mo Zibei sometimes went and sometimes didn’t; it was unpredictable.

“I won’t go,” she shifted slightly, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her fingertip. “It’s hot today, and I’m too lazy to move.”

“I’ll come pick you up.” Zhou Ruoxin said, getting out of bed and heading to find clothes in her slippers.

Mo Zibei’s family only had bicycles. Riding over would take about forty minutes. Zhou Ruoxin was planning to ride her electric bike to pick her up. She had done this a few times before, secretly going to pick her up when Mo Zibei said she wasn’t coming for dinner.

Hearing this, Mo Zibei got up, turned off the fan, pulled back the curtains, and looked outside: “Then I’ll just come over myself.”

“Mhm,” Zhou Ruoxin paused in her search for clothes, a smile forming on her lips. “Mom bought the fish you love to eat.”

“Got it.”

Mo Zibei loved eating fish but didn’t like picking out the bones, and her father wasn’t good at cooking fish, so she rarely ate it at home.

However, she often got to eat fish when she went to Zhou Ruoxin’s house. Her mother was good at cooking fish, and her technique was excellent. Plus, the fish she bought had few bones and the meat was tender and smooth, which she really liked.

She changed out of her shorts into lightweight long pants, a casual style, paired with a white T-shirt on top. Since she would be cycling, she wore canvas shoes for convenience.

Due to the heat, she tied her hair in a high ponytail. Even when it wasn’t hot, this was usually her hairstyle. It gave her the look of an ancient swordswoman, and the few strands of hair fluttering by her temples added a sense of boldness.

She was tall and slender, with fair skin and striking features, making her quite noticeable in a crowd. However, she was a woman of few words, giving people a somewhat cold impression. Coupled with her narrow, upturned eyebrows, people often inexplicably perceived her as arrogant.

Cold and arrogant—that was the first impression many people had of her.

She was indeed hard to approach. Over the years, the only people she was close to were the two constants: Zhou Ruoxin and Meng Yuanhao. There were no others.

It took her about forty minutes to finally arrive. In such hot weather, cycling was quite an exertion. Mo Zibei was sweating even at the back of her neck, and her inner clothes were damp and clinging to her back.

Zhou Ruoxin was waiting for her under a parasol at the community gate. Seeing her approach, she grumbled helplessly and handed her a tissue: “I told you to take the bus, but you refused.” She didn’t want to pick her up, and Zibei didn’t want to take the bus, so she had to suffer in this weather.

Mo Zibei took the tissue, wiped her sweat, and casually asked, “Didn’t you have tutoring today?”

“Mhm,” Zhou Ruoxin walked beside her, shifting the parasol toward her. “The teacher had an emergency at home and took a day off at the last minute.”

Mo Zibei nodded lightly, indicating she understood.

They would be entering their third year of high school soon. Zhou Ruoxin and Meng Yuanhao had been attending tutoring during winter and summer breaks since the eighth grade, covering both main subjects and weak points. Mo Zibei never went to tutoring. Her overall grades were acceptable, but not great, especially English. She had never passed, and she wasn’t particularly interested in English. If she failed, she failed; she wouldn’t care too much or take it to heart.

As soon as they entered the door, a wave of cool air hit them. Zhou Ruoxin’s house was kept very cool.

After changing shoes, Zhou Ruoxin led Mo Zibei to the kitchen to greet her mother.

“Auntie,” Mo Zibei greeted as she entered.

“Zibei is here,” Zhou’s mother turned around and replied with a smile. “Hurry and go stay in Xiaoxin’s room. It’s smoky in here.”

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei acknowledged, then was pulled away by Zhou Ruoxin. As they left, Zhou Ruoxin grabbed two tomatoes her mother had just washed.

They went to Zhou Ruoxin’s bedroom. The light pink and warm yellow decor made the room feel cozy and comfortable.

Just as they sat down, Mo Zibei’s phone in her pocket rang again. It was Meng Yuanhao calling.

“I’m ordering a Family Bucket this afternoon, are you coming?” He was in the same tutoring class as Zhou Ruoxin, so he also didn’t have class today.

“I’m at Ruoxin’s place,” Mo Zibei squatted next to the trash can to eat a tomato so the juice wouldn’t drip on the floor. “Eating dinner at her house tonight.”

“Huh?” Meng Yuanhao heard this and shot up, jumping off his bed. “Wait for me, I’ll be right there.”

Mo Zibei was accustomed to his reaction. Putting her phone in her pocket, she calmly told Zhou Ruoxin, “Yuanhao is coming over in a bit.”

“Hmph,” Zhou Ruoxin snorted. “No one invited him.”

Mo Zibei didn’t respond, continuing to eat the tomato with her head down. After finishing, she went to wash her hands.

Meng Yuanhao’s house was very close to Zhou Ruoxin’s—the same building in the same community. He arrived a few minutes later…

After greeting Zhou’s mother, he came to the bedroom.

“You are so biased,” Meng Yuanhao pouted at Zhou Ruoxin. “Every time you invite Zibei over for dinner, you never call me.”

“I don’t call you, yet you still show up, don’t you?” Does that thick skin really need an invitation? Zhou Ruoxin gave him an eye roll.

Mo Zibei, who had returned after washing her hands, didn’t participate in their argument. She casually picked up a magazine from the side and sat on the low stool next to Zhou Ruoxin’s bed to read.

“I want a tomato too,” Meng Yuanhao eyed the tomato in Zhou Ruoxin’s hand. “Go get me one.”

“Don’t you have hands yourself?”

“This is your house.”

“Oh, now you know it’s my house?”

Meng Yuanhao stiffened his neck, ready to argue further, but Zhou Ruoxin immediately stuffed the tomato in her hand to Mo Zibei: “You eat it.”

Mo Zibei didn’t refuse. She took the tomato and the magazine and squatted next to the small trash can again, eating and reading. After finishing, she went to wash her hands again.

Meng Yuanhao was infuriated by Zhou Ruoxin’s action. He took off his shoes, threw himself onto Zhou Ruoxin’s bed, and retaliated by rolling, kicking, and thrashing about. Zhou Ruoxin wouldn’t tolerate this. She grabbed the short bamboo stick from her desk and started swatting him. The two dissolved into a brawl.

Mo Zibei returned after washing her hands and quietly sat in a corner, trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the two brawling people…

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