Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Mu Hanxi’s naturally faint smile was more beautiful than a starry night.

Mo Zibei felt her heart strongly thump against her ribs. She swallowed hard, enduring the physical discomfort in her chest, and softly complimented, “The noodles today were exceptionally delicious. I really loved them.” Mu Hanxi’s culinary skills were exquisite. The tomato and egg noodles she made looked enticing, had a rich tomato flavor, and tasted smooth, savory, and irresistible.

Mu Hanxi couldn’t help but laugh again upon hearing this: “Student Zibei is very appreciative.” She had eaten the noodles and didn’t leave a single drop of the soup. Mu Hanxi had even gently reminded her a couple of times, worried she might overeat.

Mo Zibei’s face flushed suddenly. She opened and then closed her lips, looking down at her toes: “I need to go back now.”

Mu Hanxi suppressed her smile, bent down, and retrieved a handbag for her: “Put the slippers in here.”

Mo Zibei obediently changed back into her own shoes, then carefully placed the slippers into the handbag, and finally put the handbag inside her backpack.

After patiently waiting for her to finish packing, Mu Hanxi said softly, “I’ll walk you down.”

Mo Zibei rubbed the seam of her pants with her fingertips and offered a slight protest: “It’s no trouble, I can go down by myself.”

“It’s fine,” Mu Hanxi stepped out first. “Eating dinner late, I’ll take it as a post-meal stroll for digestion.”

Since she had put it that way, Mo Zibei naturally didn’t refuse, and a touch of sweetness blossomed in her heart.

Locking the door, the two walked out side by side. Inside the elevator, Mu Hanxi asked a few more casual questions, and Mo Zibei answered each one seriously.

“You don’t have to walk any further,” Mo Zibei felt a pang of reluctance to trouble her when they exited the building door. “Go back and get some rest early.”

“Alright,” Mu Hanxi didn’t insist further. “Then be careful on your way, and ride slowly.”

“I know,” Mo Zibei thought for a moment, then proactively added, “I’ll… text you when I get home.” She had initially meant to say call, but the word changed on her tongue.

“Mhm.”

Mo Zibei gave her a slight wave and turned to walk toward the complex gate.

Mu Hanxi only turned to leave once Mo Zibei was out of sight.

Normally, she would cycle very quickly at night when alone, but Mu Hanxi had specifically instructed her to slow down today. Mo Zibei eased her speed, riding back leisurely. The entire trip took about 10 minutes longer than usual.

When she reached her neighborhood, climbed the stairs, and entered the house, she found Mo’s father still sitting on the sofa in the living room, waiting for her.

“Dad.”

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei had previously texted him, saying she had something to do and would be delayed, returning late.

Seeing Mo’s father rise, and guessing his intention, Mo Zibei proactively said, “Dad, you don’t need to heat milk for me today. I ate a lot tonight and can’t drink any more.”

Mo’s father paused his steps, then nodded slightly: “Then hurry up and get ready. Sleep early.”

“I know.”

After Mo’s father returned to the bedroom, Mo Zibei immediately went to her own room, unable to wait to send a text message to Mu Hanxi: I’m home.

Mo Zibei bit the bone on the back of her hand, staring at the phone screen. Two or three minutes passed, and there was no reply.

Mo Zibei stood up, rummaged around, and finally found a transparent waterproof bag, put her phone inside, and took it to the bathroom.

While showering, she frequently paused the water to check her phone, afraid that the noise would be too loud and she would miss a message.

As she was lathering her hair with shampoo, a text message sound came from the phone. Mo Zibei turned on the shower, quickly and perfunctorily rinsed the white foam from her head, grabbed the towel hanging nearby to casually wipe her eyes and hands, and rushed to check the phone.

Mu Hanxi replied: I was showering and drying my hair, just saw this. You have to get up early tomorrow, so go to bed early tonight.

Mo Zibei pursed her lips and smiled.

Putting down her phone, Mo Zibei washed her hair properly again.

By the time she finished cleaning up and drying her hair, it was almost past 11 p.m.

Mo Zibei took out her books and practice materials and did homework for a while.

She wasn’t very sleepy after finishing her homework. She excitedly took out the slippers from the handbag and put them on, pacing back and forth in her room. Later, perhaps feeling the room was too small, she went to the living room, the kitchen, and the balcony. She paced through every part of the house except her father’s bedroom.

When Mo’s father got up for a drink of water, he ran into her pacing back.

“It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping?” It was past 1 a.m.

“Oh…” Mo Zibei was slightly embarrassed. “I’m going to sleep now.”

As Mo’s father returned to his bedroom, he felt a little perplexed. What’s wrong with this child? He shook his head and didn’t think too deeply about it.

Mo’s father had already had the air conditioner at home repaired. Although it was past September, the weather was still muggy. Mo Zibei turned on the air conditioner every night and covered her navel with a small blanket to prevent catching a cold while sleeping.

Tonight, Mo Zibei didn’t use the small blanket. She folded Mu Hanxi’s denim shirt and placed it over her lower abdomen, covered her eyes with Mu Hanxi’s T-shirt, and finally went to sleep contentedly.

The next day, Mo Zibei woke up even before the alarm clock rang, half an hour earlier than usual.

She left a note for her father, grabbed her backpack, and cycled out the door.

She arrived at school, ran two laps on the playground, and then returned to the classroom.

It wasn’t time for morning reading yet. Mo Zibei ate the milk and bread Meng Yuanhao had bought for her as breakfast.

“Did you not eat at home?” Mo Zibei was drinking yogurt when Qu Junzhi arrived.

“Mhm,” Mo Zibei looked at her vocabulary list. “I woke up early today and didn’t let my dad make breakfast.”

“I have beef jerky here. Eat some more, so you don’t get hungry later.”

Mo Zibei didn’t stand on ceremony. She tore open the package, held a piece of beef jerky in her mouth, and began to silently write out vocabulary.

“You can’t just memorize vocabulary, you also need to catch up on grammar knowledge.”

“I know.”

Once the teacher entered, the two stopped talking.

Today was Thursday. Tomorrow was Friday, and school would be dismissed at noon on Friday.

During the large class break for exercise, Mo Zibei was already planning to call Mu Hanxi around noon on Friday to ask if she was free to receive the clothes.

After lunch, Mo Zibei accompanied Meng Yuanhao to practice basketball again, similar to yesterday, sweating quite a bit. Afterward, the two sat on a long wooden bench to rest.

Meng Yuanhao leaned on the bench, slightly out of breath, and asked her, “What are your plans for the weekend? Want to come to my place to play video games?”

“No, I won’t go.”

“You told Cheng Shu you had plans this weekend, and I thought you were just brushing him off. So you really do have plans?”

“Mhm.”

“What kind of plans?”

“Studying English.”

Meng Yuanhao opened his mouth wide. A few seconds later, he said awkwardly, “Oh, that’s good…”

She went home in the evening, did her homework, and then went to the study to use the desktop computer to look up some information about universities in City B and relevant majors.

She went to bed very late again, only returning to her own bedroom after 2 a.m.

When Mo Zibei woke up this morning, she couldn’t help but yawn several times.

After finishing breakfast, just as Mo Zibei was about to leave the table, Mo’s father suddenly asked, “Do you have something going on these days?” Mo’s father had gotten up last night to drink water and saw the light in the study was still on.

Mo Zibei was stunned for a moment, then shook her head gently.

“Mhm, then you go to school.”

“I’m leaving, Dad.”

The clothes had dried yesterday. When Mo Zibei left this morning, she collected the neatly folded clothes, put them in a garment bag, and then placed the bag in her backpack.

Compared to the previous days, she was somewhat restless in class today. Perhaps it was because she was going to see Mu Hanxi at noon. Her mood was so buoyant that she couldn’t contain it, and even the people around her could sense it.

“Are you very happy today?” During the fourth class in the morning, Du Chenxing took advantage of the English teacher’s distraction to gently poke Mo Zibei’s elbow with his pen cap.

“Mhm.”

“Why?”

“Aren’t we getting a break?” Mo Zibei answered while taking notes.

“Just because of that?” Du Chenxing was a bit skeptical. He had never seen Mo Zibei this happy when school let out before.

Mo Zibei hummed in confirmation.

The moment the dismissal bell for the fourth class rang, the students became restless.

Mo Zibei, who usually didn’t feel anything, was also feeling excited and buoyant.

Teacher Lin, ever responsible, extended the class by two minutes before putting down the chalk and dismissing the class.

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone began actively packing their bags and chatting noisily.

“Duty students, don’t forget to clean up and close the doors and windows,” Lin Xiaoran reminded them before leaving the classroom.

“Teacher, I’ll stay to supervise them. Don’t worry,” the sanitation committee member, Fu Zihao, cheekily replied.

Mo Zibei couldn’t bother with any of this. She wanted to quickly pack her bag and go out to call Mu Hanxi.

When she actually took out her phone to call Mu Hanxi, Mo Zibei felt as if she hadn’t organized her thoughts well.

Just as she was figuring out what exactly to say, Zhou Ruoxin and Meng Yuanhao came up to the fourth floor to find her.

“What are you dilly-dallying for?” Meng Yuanhao had his bag slung across his body. “We’ve been waiting for you for a while.”

Mo Zibei reluctantly put her phone into her pocket: “Let’s go.”

The three walked downstairs together. Meng Yuanhao asked, “How are you two planning to eat lunch?”

Mo Zibei initially wanted to say she wouldn’t join them, but then she thought: if Mu Hanxi was free at noon, she would probably be at her company, not at home. A visit to the company would only be a fleeting encounter… Then why not find her this afternoon? Maybe they could even have dinner together tonight?

“I’m fine with anything. What about you, Zibei?” Zhou Ruoxin looked at Mo Zibei.

“I’m fine with anything too.”

Meng Yuanhao clapped his hands together: “Then I’ll decide. We’re going to eat KFC.”

Zhou Ruoxin glared at him: “Why do you only like to eat such greasy, unhealthy food?”

“It’s just food! You have something to say about this, too…”

Seeing the two about to start arguing again, Mo Zibei surprisingly intervened: “Ruoxin, what do you want to eat?”

Zhou Ruoxin’s mind was still focused on arguing with Meng Yuanhao, and she didn’t expect Mo Zibei’s question: “I… I haven’t decided yet.”

“Then why don’t we go to KFC? Occasionally won’t affect your health.”

“Ah, okay.” Zhou Ruoxin was a bit confused. Usually, when she and Meng Yuanhao argued, Mo Zibei always remained indifferent and uninvolved. She didn’t know what was going on today.

Meng Yuanhao circled to Mo Zibei’s side and said sourly in a low voice, “Your words are effective. She only listens to you.”

Mo Zibei seemed not to hear and didn’t react. What was on her mind was going to KFC for lunch, being able to do some homework afterward, and then going to find Mu Hanxi directly in the afternoon, without going home in between, to save the back-and-forth travel.

Regardless of the process, the result pleased Meng Yuanhao. He was happy the entire way, cycling with a flamboyant sway of his hips. Zhou Ruoxin saw it and shouted at him a few more times from behind.

Meng Yuanhao said he would treat them, and Mo Zibei and Zhou Ruoxin didn’t refuse his offer.

The three ordered a lot of food: burgers, chicken legs, chicken wings, chicken wraps, fries, egg tarts, cola…

Two cups of cola with ice, and one without. Meng Yuanhao and Mo Zibei both liked cold drinks.

“Eating in the store feels different from eating at home,” Meng Yuanhao took a bite of the soft, sweet egg tart. “It has more feel here.”

“Feel?” Zhou Ruoxin scoffed. “The feel of getting fat?”

The two started arguing again.

Mo Zibei sat quietly on the side, dipping her fries in ketchup and drinking her iced cola, not participating in their squabble.

After finishing the meal, Mo Zibei took out her textbook and practice papers and began doing her homework.

Seeing Mo Zibei doing this, Zhou Ruoxin didn’t rush home either, taking out her practice book to do some problems.

Meng Yuanhao, drinking his second cup of cola, widened his eyes: “Didn’t we come here to eat? What are you two doing?”

The two girls ignored him, not even lifting their heads…

Meng Yuanhao looked awkward and took a hard gulp of cola.

“Keep your voice down,” Zhou Ruoxin scolded him.

Meng Yuanhao pouted and didn’t speak.

After finishing his cola, he eventually put his head down and joined the homework battle…

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