Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After getting into bed, Mo Zibei, blushing, folded Mu Hanxi’s pajamas into a long strip and placed it over her eyes. A faint fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose—it was the scent of that person…

The rain stopped during the night, but it drizzled again around four or five in the morning. However, when Mo Zibei left, it wasn’t raining anymore.

After experiencing a single autumn rain, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply.

The slightest chill assailed her during her morning bike ride. The weather was cold, but her heart was warm, and a smile played on Mo Zibei’s face, her hair tips flowing in the wind.

When she arrived at school, she didn’t return to the classroom but went straight to the English office with her backpack.

Lin Xiaoran was leaning back in her seat, pressing her temples with her eyes closed. She only released her hands and looked up when she heard approaching footsteps.

“Teacher Lin, this is… Mu Jie’s umbrella.” Mo Zibei placed the umbrella on her desk.

“Mhm.”

Having returned the umbrella, she should have left, but seeing her still standing there, Lin Xiaoran felt a bit confused. “Anything else?”

Mo Zibei pursed her lips, glanced at Lin Xiaoran, then shook her head and whispered, “No, Teacher Lin, I’m going back to class.”

Although she had memorized Mu Hanxi’s phone number, she hadn’t obtained it in an open and honest way, and it would be hard to explain if she needed to contact her later. However, she was afraid that asking Lin Xiaoran directly would make her intentions too obvious and cause the other person to overthink, so she ultimately gave up the idea.

Back in class, as soon as Mo Zibei sat down, Qu Junzhi asked her for the math practice book.

The math homework was due after the morning reading class, a task assigned by the homeroom teacher that couldn’t be carelessly handled. Moreover, Qu Junzhi had been individually summoned to the office for criticism and education by Old Luo (the math teacher) during the third evening self-study session yesterday…

Mo Zibei took the practice book out of her backpack and handed it to her, then pulled out her English textbook to read.

The two of them—one was scribbling furiously, copying homework, and the other was earnestly looking down, memorizing vocabulary—were acting differently from normal.

Du Chenxing scanned the two of them while reciting his book, rubbed his chin, took a sip of water, and finally couldn’t hold back. He leaned closer to Mo Zibei and whispered, “I think… something is not right with you two.”

“?” Mo Zibei didn’t even lift her head, her eyes fixed on the vocabulary list, humming a question through her nose.

Du Chenxing wanted to cover his mouth and continue whispering, but he caught sight of Lin Xiaoran entering, wearing high heels, and he wisely stopped in time.

But today, he wasn’t as focused on reciting as usual, sparing a fraction of his attention to secretly observe the pair. He then saw Qu Junzhi secretly asking Mo Zibei for a math problem. After Mo Zibei explained it to her, Qu Junzhi then corrected Mo Zibei’s pronunciation of an English word. This back-and-forth, surprisingly, was quite harmonious, like it was pre-arranged.

After class, the two didn’t leave their seats. Their heads were close together; it was either Mo Zibei teaching Qu Junzhi math or Qu Junzhi teaching Mo Zibei English. Qu Junzhi had studied at a foreign language middle school before transferring, and her English pronunciation was not only authentic but also very pleasant to hear.

The whole morning, the two of them were more productive than anyone else, leaving Du Chenxing completely dumbfounded next to them.

When it was lunchtime, everyone else rushed to the cafeteria, but the two of them rushed to the restroom. They were so busy discussing problems during the break that they hadn’t managed to go to the bathroom.

Mo Zibei came out a little before Qu Junzhi and waited outside.

Qu Junzhi had her own little thoughts; she wanted to have lunch with Mo Zibei but was too embarrassed to ask directly. She deliberately lingered a while inside, washing her hands before finally coming out.

“Let’s go.” As soon as Mo Zibei turned around, she saw Zhou Ruoxin and Meng Yuanhao not far away.

“We waited for you downstairs for a while, but you didn’t show up,” Meng Yuanhao walked toward Mo Zibei, pulling on Zhou Ruoxin’s shoulder sleeve. “Why are you so slow today?” Zhou Ruoxin’s expression was initially natural, but upon realizing that the person behind Mo Zibei was Qu Junzhi, her brow subtly knitted.

“Got delayed by the restroom,” Mo Zibei started walking forward but noticed Qu Junzhi hadn’t followed. She turned back and asked, “Are you eating with us for lunch?” Mo Zibei knew Qu Junzhi had her own lunch group, but Qu Junzhi had told them to go ahead today because she was busy discussing problems.

Qu Junzhi noticed Zhou Ruoxin’s unhappiness and Meng Yuanhao’s confusion. She avoided the gaze of the two, walked to Mo Zibei’s right rear, nodded, and murmured an affirmation.

Mo Zibei didn’t detect anything wrong with the atmosphere. She walked forward independently, with Qu Junzhi following closely behind her.

It wasn’t until they were at the cafeteria table that Mo Zibei belatedly sensed a hint of the unusual.

During the meal, Zhou Ruoxin didn’t say a single word and hardly ever raised her head. She also didn’t touch the food Meng Yuanhao put on her plate.

Her clear unhappiness was hard to ignore.

Mo Zibei took a sip of her porridge and glanced at Zhou Ruoxin.

Before Mo Zibei could react further, Zhou Ruoxin stood up. “I’m full.” Her tone was cold, and her face was devoid of emotion. She left after saying it.

Meng Yuanhao quickly put down his chopsticks, looked at Zhou Ruoxin’s retreating back, and anxiously said to the two of them, “I’m full too.”

Mo Zibei withdrew her gaze from Zhou Ruoxin, looked down, and hummed in acknowledgment.

“I’ll head back first,” Meng Yuanhao paused. “You two… take your time.”

As soon as Meng Yuanhao left, Qu Junzhi also put down her chopsticks. Mo Zibei continued sipping her porridge in small mouthfuls. “You’re not eating anymore?”

Qu Junzhi was silent for a moment, then said, “She’s mad at me.”

Mo Zibei put down her spoon, pondered for a few seconds, and then said, “Don’t overthink it.”

“Oh.” Qu Junzhi’s voice was subdued.

After they finished eating, Mo Zibei went into the small store and bought a package of cream-filled cookies as they passed by.

Qu Junzhi turned her head, kicked a small stone by her foot, and said in a reluctant tone, “Are you planning to use that to appease her?”

Mo Zibei didn’t answer. After a while, she only said softly, “She likes to eat this.” Mo Zibei wasn’t good at coaxing people, but she knew eating something you like would make one feel better.

Qu Junzhi frowned, gloomily quickening her pace, and didn’t speak to Mo Zibei on the way…

During the break of the first class in the afternoon, Mo Zibei went to the third floor to find Zhou Ruoxin.

Zhou Ruoxin reluctantly came out. When she saw the cookies she liked in Mo Zibei’s hand, most of her anger dissipated, and a smile was faintly visible at the corner of her mouth.

Mo Zibei rarely came to the third floor to find her and wasn’t good at coaxing people. Her action today was already a very rare thing.

Without mentioning Zhou Ruoxin’s angry departure at lunch, Mo Zibei simply handed her the cookies. “You didn’t eat much at lunch.”

Zhou Ruoxin maintained her composure for two seconds but took them anyway, grasping the package and forcefully kneading it. After a moment’s pause, she still couldn’t resist asking, “Are you and Qu Junzhi very close now?”

“It’s alright, we’re just deskmates.”

Just deskmates… Zhou Ruoxin bit her lip, wanting to ask: Then why did you ask her to eat with us?

Their small trio had been established a long time ago, and Zhou Ruoxin was naturally bothered by the sudden inclusion of others. Of course, there were also other personal feelings mixed in.

But before she could ask, Meng Yuanhao came over. This person had bothered her all lunchtime, sticking around in her classroom. Now, as soon as the class was over, he came again.

Meng Yuanhao went straight for Zhou Ruoxin’s classroom after coming out of the men’s restroom but unexpectedly bumped into the two of them in the hallway.

“Are you still mad?” Seeing that Zhou Ruoxin was no longer wearing a cold face, Meng Yuanhao raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.

Zhou Ruoxin glanced at Mo Zibei and immediately glared at Meng Yuanhao, denying, “Who said I was mad!”

“You almost turned into an angry toad at lunch…” Before he could finish, Zhou Ruoxin stomped hard on his foot. Meng Yuanhao instantly yelped in pain.

Meng Yuanhao painfully clutched his right leg, circling while howling, and at the same time, he didn’t forget to grumble angrily, “Do you have any conscience! I kept you company all lunchtime when you were in a bad mood!”

“Who cares about your company!” The more he spoke, the angrier Zhou Ruoxin got, eventually reaching out and shoving him.

Meng Yuanhao was already struggling to keep his balance while hopping on one leg. With that push, he immediately began to fall to one side. To make matters worse, a careless person rushed past like the wind, suddenly colliding with Meng Yuanhao, who swayed and ultimately stumbled toward Zhou Ruoxin…

Everything happened too fast to think. Mo Zibei was close to Zhou Ruoxin, and in that split second, she subconsciously reached out and pulled Zhou Ruoxin. As a result, Meng Yuanhao fell into empty space, and his forehead made intimate contact with the wall, making a dull thud. When he looked up again, a small bump had swelled on his forehead…

“A-WOO! A-WOO! A-WOO!!!!!” Meng Yuanhao’s mouth contorted in pain.

Mo Zibei let go of Zhou Ruoxin’s arm, then quickly crouched down to help the fallen Meng Yuanhao, looking him over. “Are you okay?”

Meng Yuanhao’s features were twisted in pain and hard to discern, but Mo Zibei still caught the aggrieved look in his eyes…

“Sorry…” Mo Zibei draped his arm over her shoulder and helped him stand up.

Meng Yuanhao bared his teeth and complained, “Are you playing favorites?” Pulling Zhou Ruoxin away and letting him hit the wall directly!

Zhou Ruoxin was also a bit startled. She was about to go and check Meng Yuanhao’s injury when she heard this. She immediately stopped, and her heart jumped.

Mo Zibei pursed her lips. “I wasn’t thinking much at the moment…”

Mo Zibei hadn’t intended to protect her. Zhou Ruoxin felt a bit disappointed after hearing this, but also a little happy. Actions done subconsciously must mean there was some care, right?

Meng Yuanhao was dissatisfied with Mo Zibei’s explanation, grunting and muttering. Zhou Ruoxin stepped forward, looked at him, and couldn’t help but frown. “You’re all banged up, why can’t you settle down?”

“Ugh…” Meng Yuanhao was wronged, depressed, and extremely annoyed. “Who is to blame for me being like this?”

Zhou Ruoxin, considering his injury, didn’t bother to argue with him. She turned and spoke a few words to the onlookers and the classmates who came to help, asking them to help request a leave of absence from the homeroom teacher. Then, she and Mo Zibei supported Meng Yuanhao and headed to the infirmary.

Halfway there, Meng Yuanhao started cursing again. “Who knows why that son of a turtle ran so fast? He hit me so hard I got dizzy, or else I wouldn’t have hit the wall…”

The other two ignored him, so he continued to grimace. “If I knew which son of a bitch it was, I’d beat him up severely. He hit me and then ran away without a trace. In a traffic accident, that’s hit-and-run, and it warrants criminal detention! Damn, I didn’t catch him. That scumbag got off easy!”

His language was foul. Zhou Ruoxin was about to scold him when she saw Mo Zibei let go of him, her eyebrows drawn together.

Meng Yuanhao looked embarrassed and wisely shut up.

Mo Zibei resumed supporting him, her tone seemingly casual. “Is your deskmate still Liu Yang?”

“Yeah.” Meng Yuanhao felt a little guilty. He didn’t use to swear much. He learned it all from his deskmate, Liu Yang, after the second year of high school. It was also Liu Yang who encouraged him to secretly stay up late playing games at the internet cafe after evening self-study. During the holidays, Liu Yang even tried to invite him to bars and nightclubs, tempting him to smoke and drink… Meng Yuanhao thought these things weren’t good and didn’t dare to agree, and he was also afraid that Zhou Ruoxin would smell the smoke or alcohol on him at the tutoring class and twist his ear…

“Stay away from him in the future,” Mo Zibei recalled seeing Liu Yang with a group of ruffians with yellow and green hair causing trouble on the street once. “He’s not a good person.”

“Understood.” Meng Yuanhao retracted his neck.

At the infirmary, the staff applied a cold compress to Meng Yuanhao’s head and gave him medication and a spray to promote blood circulation.

His injury wasn’t serious. After getting the medicine and resting for a while, the three of them returned to the classroom.

Presumably, Mo Zibei’s reminder had an effect. After returning to his seat, Meng Yuanhao didn’t interact much with Liu Yang for the rest of the time, and he was even pondering how to better distance himself from him in the future…

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