Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Meng Yuanhao was struck by sleepiness before he finished half an hour of homework. He propped his head up with his hand, his head nodding forward repeatedly.

Zhou Ruoxin poked the back of his hand with the end of her pen cap: “If you’re sleepy, go home and sleep.”

Meng Yuanhao’s eyes were blurred, and his speech was a little slurred: “Are you two… leaving or not?”

Zhou Ruoxin looked at Mo Zibei when she heard this. Mo Zibei turned her head to look around: the place was getting more crowded and noisy.

“Let’s go.” Mo Zibei capped her pen and began packing her books.

The three pushed the door open and stepped out, and a wave of heat immediately hit their faces.

“It’s so hot today,” Meng Yuanhao grumbled.

Mo Zibei squinted and looked up at the dazzling sun: “Yuanhao, I’m going to your place.”

“Huh?” Meng Yuanhao was a little confused. “Aren’t you going home?”

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei put on her backpack and cycled across the crosswalk. The other two followed closely behind.

Meng’s parents were both absent. Besides the cleaning lady who came at a set time, only Meng Yuanhao was home. It was more relaxed and casual at his house, and it was also very close to where Mu Hanxi lived, which was convenient.

Zhou Ruoxin went back to her own house, but soon came to Meng’s house, bringing a fruit platter: cut watermelon and washed sweet dates.

She was so considerate because Mo Zibei was there. Meng Yuanhao himself never enjoyed such treatment when he was home alone.

Meng Yuanhao ate the watermelon, clucking and shaking his head, quietly muttering that Zhou Ruoxin was biased.

However, this wasn’t the first or second time this had happened, and he was long used to it.

His seat was far from Zhou Ruoxin, and his voice was low, so Zhou Ruoxin didn’t hear him, or else the two would have started fighting again.

After eating the fruit, all three were feeling a bit tired.

“Why don’t you come to my place to sleep for a bit,” Zhou Ruoxin didn’t ask why Mo Zibei wasn’t going home at noon. “Otherwise, you’ll be tired this afternoon.”

“Why go to your place?” Meng Yuanhao complained. “I have space here too.”

Zhou Ruoxin glared at him: “Idiot, don’t you understand the difference between males and females?”

“Zibei and I are close; we don’t need to be so particular!”

Mo Zibei lifted her wrist and glanced at the time; it was two o’clock: “Let’s go, Ruoxin.”

As the two girls stood up, Meng Yuanhao instinctively followed suit.

Zhou Ruoxin pushed him back down onto the sofa: “It’s none of your business. Don’t be so shameless and follow us.”

Meng Yuanhao insisted: “Hmph, who wants to go to your place!”

Upon reaching Zhou Ruoxin’s bedroom, Mo Zibei actively suggested: “I’ll make a bed on the floor. Can you help me find a mat?”

Zhou Ruoxin’s bed was $1.5 times 2.0$ meters, very spacious. There was more than enough room for two people, even if they didn’t sleep close to each other, but she knew Mo Zibei wasn’t used to it.

“You sleep on my bed. I’ll go sleep in my parents’ room.” Zhou’s parents weren’t home at noon.

“Mhm.”

The air conditioner was on in the bedroom, and this one’s cooling effect was much better than the one in Mo Zibei’s room.

Zhou Ruoxin instructed her to cover herself with the thin quilt before leaving the bedroom, as she would surely get cold once she fell asleep.

This thin quilt was Zhou Ruoxin’s personal one, carrying a faint scent of a young girl.

Mo Zibei suddenly regretted it; she should have gone home.

“I’m leaving,” Zhou Ruoxin closed the bedroom door for her. “I’ll wake you up when you’re done sleeping.”

“Okay.”

After she left, Mo Zibei pulled the thin quilt down, away from her nose. The smell was much fainter.

Mo Zibei didn’t sleep well this time. It felt unsettled. She woke up several times in between, and since it was still early, she could only keep lying down.

Around three o’clock, Zhou Ruoxin came over and knocked on the door.

Mo Zibei exhaled, answered, and let her in, getting out of bed herself.

“How did you sleep?” Zhou Ruoxin looked at her expectantly.

“It was alright.” Mo Zibei didn’t tell the truth.

When the two left Meng’s house, Zhou Ruoxin had conveniently grabbed Mo Zibei’s backpack for her.

Now the two planned to go to the study to do homework together.

At four o’clock, Meng Yuanhao came over, holding a bunch of bananas.

“It’s the first day of vacation, and you two are studying so hard?”

Mo Zibei took the banana she handed her, peeled it, and bit into it a few times with her head down, her eyes still fixed on the exercise problems.

“I can understand Zhou Ruoxin doing this,” Meng Yuanhao mumbled while eating. “Zibei, how did you get so diligent too?”

Zhou Ruoxin snapped: “So many questions! I shouldn’t have opened the door and let you in…”

Time passed quickly. The two girls worked on their problems with their heads down, and Meng Yuanhao would occasionally chime in with a comment or two. Zhou Ruoxin sometimes snapped at him and sometimes ignored him. Before they knew it, it was five o’clock.

Meng Yuanhao grew restless and kept bothering Mo Zibei, asking her to play video games with him because he was getting extremely bored.

Mo Zibei finally agreed, and the two moved the battleground to Meng’s house to play video games.

Zhou Ruoxin followed them, but she just sat on the sofa nearby, watching a TV series on her phone, not participating in the game.

At six o’clock, Mo Zibei suddenly stood up: “I should go back.”

“Huh?” Meng Yuanhao looked at her confusedly. “We haven’t finished this round yet. Why are you in a rush?”

“I have something to do,” Mo Zibei put down the controller and picked up her backpack. “I have to leave.”

Zhou Ruoxin also paused the screen on her phone and looked at Mo Zibei, puzzled.

Mo Zibei didn’t explain much. She waved goodbye and left.

Zhou Ruoxin put away her phone and walked her downstairs.

“No need to see me off. Go back,” Mo Zibei pressed the elevator button.

“I don’t have anything to do right now anyway.”

“Alright then.”

The two entered the elevator and went downstairs together.

Zhou Ruoxin still didn’t ask her where she was going until Mo Zibei stepped out of the elevator. She walked her to the neighborhood gate, then went back.

After leaving the neighborhood, Mo Zibei took out her phone and called Mu Hanxi. Generally, she should be off work by six o’clock if she wasn’t working overtime.

Mu Hanxi didn’t answer the first call. On the second call, Mu Hanxi finally answered in the last few seconds of the ring: “I was just in the restroom,” she explained proactively.

“Mhm,” Mo Zibei gripped her backpack strap and asked, “Mu Jie, are you off work yet?”

“I’m off, but I have something to do tonight, so I won’t be home until a bit later.”

Mo Zibei was silent for two seconds before saying, “Then you go ahead and be busy.”

“Little one,” Mu Hanxi’s tone was relaxed. “Is there anything else you wanted to say?” Mo Zibei calling her probably meant something, most likely to return the clothes.

Mo Zibei’s throat bobbed up and down. She licked her lips: “Approximately what time will you be finished?”

“Around eight o’clock.”

“Got it.” Without saying anything more, Mo Zibei hung up the phone.

Mo Zibei cycled to a nearby bookstore, wanting to purchase some English learning materials.

She looked around the bookstore, feeling unsure, and finally called Lin Xiaoran. Based on her suggestions, she bought a grammar book and specific practice books for English listening and reading.

A few days ago, Lin Xiaoran had already noticed the change in Mo Zibei’s attitude toward learning English. She was pleasantly surprised that Mo Zibei was still so dedicated to English even during the vacation. She complimented her a few times on the phone, but Mo Zibei’s reaction to the praise was indifferent. It seemed she genuinely wanted to learn English well, neither putting on a show for others nor seeking compliments, which was reassuring to Lin Xiaoran.

After buying the books, Mo Zibei didn’t leave the bookstore. She placed her backpack aside, leaned against the bookshelf, and began reading the grammar book, underlining and annotating with her pen.

She started by reviewing some basic knowledge, progressing step by step.

Around 8:05 PM, Mu Hanxi proactively called her.

Mo Zibei went outside with her backpack to answer the phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I just bought a few books,” Mo Zibei looked down at her shadow under the streetlamp. “Are you finished with your work?”

“Guess?”

Mo Zibei’s lips unconsciously curved into a smile. She skipped the guessing game and directly stated her purpose: “Mu Jie, I’ve washed your clothes clean.”

“Mhm,” Mu Hanxi pressed the car key’s unlock button. “Where are you right now?”

“Right near your neighborhood’s bookstore,” Mo Zibei kicked the back of her heel with her toe. “I can be at your place in four or five minutes.”

“Then wait for me,” Mu Hanxi bent down to get into the car. “I’ll be at the neighborhood gate in about fifteen or sixteen minutes.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Mo Zibei cycled to the neighborhood gate to wait early. After waiting for about ten minutes, Mu Hanxi arrived.

Mu Hanxi rolled down the window and waved at her: “Follow behind my car.”

Mo Zibei nodded and obediently cycled closely behind her.

After the two parked their cars, Mu Hanxi took a bag out of her car: “I just bought some chestnuts. Try them and see if they’re good.”

Mo Zibei reached into the bag, picked out two, peeled them clean, and handed one to Mu Hanxi.

Mu Hanxi paused for a second, then took it and ate it.

“Why did you peel it for me?”

Mo Zibei looked straight ahead, as if it were the most natural thing: “You bought the chestnuts, you should have the first one.” After speaking, she popped the remaining chestnut into her own mouth, cheeks bulging. She chewed it; it was quite fragrant.

Mu Hanxi found it somewhat amusing.

“What did you have for dinner?” Mu Hanxi asked casually. She had no idea Mo Zibei hadn’t eaten dinner.

“Chestnuts.”

Mu Hanxi looked at her, bewildered: “You didn’t eat dinner?”

Mo Zibei rubbed the tip of her nose and didn’t speak.

Mu Hanxi scolded her with her eyes, pulling her sleeve to turn back.

Mo Zibei followed, her expression slightly confused: “Where… are we going?”

“You tell me.”

Mo Zibei lowered her head, her face slightly flushed: “I don’t know.”

“Taking you to eat.”

Mo Zibei worked hard to suppress the rising curve of her lips: “Oh.”

The two went back to the parking area, and Mu Hanxi drove her out.

“There are no more tomatoes at home,” Mu Hanxi explained softly to her while driving. “Otherwise, I could make you a bowl of noodles.”

“Eating outside is fine too.”

“Homemade is more hygienic.”

“Mhm.”

While waiting at a traffic light, Mu Hanxi asked, “Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Anything is fine with me.”

“That place should still be open. It’s a rice noodle shop. It’s quite clean inside, and the taste is good,” Mu Hanxi continued driving after the light turned green. “Let’s go there.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t far, only five or six minutes. Mu Hanxi parked the car in the parking area next to the shop, locked it, and walked inside with Mo Zibei.

Inside the shop, the two found an empty table and sat down. Mu Hanxi put the car keys in her bag: “Order whatever you want.”

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei ordered a bowl of beef rice noodles and two braised chicken feet.

After the rice noodles arrived, Mo Zibei got up, went to the utensil cabinet to get a set of cutlery, used the serving chopsticks to transfer a small amount of rice noodles from her bowl—about two bites’ worth—and also scooped a bit of the soup. After preparing the bowl, she pushed it towards Mu Hanxi.

Mu Hanxi asked with a smile, “Aren’t you afraid of not being full?”

Mo Zibei’s face turned slightly red at the question. She whispered with her head down: “I have enough to eat.” I just want you to try the taste.

Mu Hanxi took out her chopsticks and slowly ate the two bites of rice noodles. It seemed that since she could remember, she had never had an experience like this. Whether it was Mo Zibei proactively asking her for noodles yesterday or Mo Zibei serving her rice noodles from her own bowl today, these were firsts for Mu Hanxi. She had known Lin Xiaoran for many years, and they had never done this; they always ate separately.

Mu Hanxi interpreted this as a difference due to age, perhaps children these days interacted this way? But Mo Zibei usually seemed cool and distant, not like someone who enjoyed being close to others… Her thoughts drifted far away, and some time passed before she was called back to reality.

“Mu Jie, I’m full.”

Mu Hanxi collected her thoughts, looked up at her, pulled out a napkin, and handed it to Mo Zibei, trying to suppress a laugh: “Wipe your mouth.”

Mo Zibei’s face felt warm. She regretted ordering the chicken feet; it was so unladylike.

“Little one, let’s go.” Mu Hanxi scanned the QR code and paid.

The person who had just finished wiping her mouth with her head down felt her heart skip a beat again at the phrase. Mo Zibei felt that no matter what Mu Hanxi called her, it sounded especially pleasant…

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