Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

The two looked at each other, their eyes meeting for about two seconds.

Just then, Mu Hanxi’s phone rang. Mo Zibei appropriately released her hand and lowered her head to look at the menu.

“Mhm,” Mu Hanxi didn’t leave her seat and answered the call in front of Mo Zibei, “I’m not at the company right now; I came out to eat.”

She didn’t know who was on the other end of the line, but Mu Hanxi hung up the phone after only a few words. After that, Lin Xiaoran also returned from the restroom. The slight incident of the rubbing had vanished as if it were a random drawing on the beach, washed away without a trace by the tide.

As soon as her butt touched the seat, Lin Xiaoran complained softly to Mu Hanxi, “I’m about to be driven crazy by that Physics teacher from the second year of high school,” she picked up the teapot and poured a cup of water. “Besides calling and sending annoying messages, he keeps running over to the office to find me for no reason, making everyone in the office tease and joke about me now.” When Lin Xiaoran went to the restroom just now, she coincidentally ran into a female colleague from the same office. That person’s eyes flickered with a meaningful smile and she whispered a couple of sentences, saying that Liu Wenjian came looking for her less than a minute after she left the office…

Liu Wenjian was that Physics teacher from the second year of high school, the subject of gossip in Qu Junzhi’s dorm room previously.

Mo Zibei poured a cup of water for both herself and Mu Hanxi. She took small sips from her cup, starting to think back seriously. When she went to the office to pick up and drop off homework, she had indeed encountered an unfamiliar male teacher. Every time, Mo Zibei walked in just as he was walking out—it must have been him…

Mu Hanxi handed the menu to Lin Xiaoran and said softly, “Let’s order first and eat.” Lin Xiaoran was rough and careless in nature, sometimes not paying attention to the occasion when speaking. No matter what, Mo Zibei was her student, and it was ultimately inappropriate to discuss private emotional matters in front of her own student.

Lin Xiaoran glanced at Mo Zibei, who was lowering her head and drinking tea, and seemed to realize the issue. She cleared her throat and asked, “Is there anything you two would like to eat?”

Mo Zibei put down her teacup and pursed her lips, “I’d like to have fish.”

“Mhm,” Lin Xiaoran started looking for fish-related dishes, “How about steamed sea bass?”

“That works.”

“Hanxi, what about you? What would you like to eat?”

Mu Hanxi didn’t have anything particular she wanted to eat. She turned her gaze to Mo Zibei instead.

Mo Zibei understood, whispering a suggestion, “How about braised beef brisket with tomatoes?”

Mu Hanxi nodded happily.

Noticing their small interaction, Lin Xiaoran silently put a checkmark next to the braised beef brisket with tomatoes.

Since they had two meat dishes, Lin Xiaoran ordered a vegetable dish for a balanced meal.

After ticking the vegetable dish, Lin Xiaoran pushed the menu back to Mo Zibei, “See if there’s anything else you’d like to eat.”

“I think this is enough to eat. There are only three of us, and neither of you has a big appetite.” Since childhood, Father Mo had taught her not to waste food.

Mu Hanxi also nodded in agreement with Mo Zibei.

In the end, they only ordered these three dishes but asked for four bowls of rice. Mo Zibei said she could eat two bowls.

While waiting for the food, the three chatted casually.

The kitchen here was quite efficient. Within a few minutes, the vegetable dish Lin Xiaoran ordered arrived, and four bowls of rice were brought to the table as well.

Mo Zibei was genuinely hungry. She lowered her head and shoveled rice with the vegetables, eating with gusto.

Mu Hanxi and Lin Xiaoran weren’t very hungry, but her appetite made them feel hungry too.

By the time the fish and beef brisket arrived, Mo Zibei’s bowl of rice was nearly empty.

Mo Zibei had another bowl of rice with the fish and beef brisket.

She had already finished two bowls of rice, while the other two hadn’t even finished one bowl.

She touched the back of her head, blushing as she softly explained, “I’m used to eating fast at the school cafeteria; my speed is a little quick.” High school students generally eat very fast. Girls are a bit better, but boys are even faster. Mo Zibei’s speed was about the average combined pace of male and female students.

Lin Xiaoran smiled, “It’s fine. It’s not that you’re fast, it’s that we’re slow.”

Mo Zibei didn’t say anything else, her ears feeling a little hot.

Mo Zibei took small sips of water and sat quietly waiting for the two of them.

In a few minutes, the two put down their chopsticks. Mo Zibei secretly peeked: Mu Hanxi hadn’t even finished one bowl of rice. She really ate very little.

“Let’s go. Ride with me back to school.” Lin Xiaoran picked up her bag and stood up.

“Mhm.”

Lin Xiaoran paid at the counter, and Mo Zibei and Mu Hanxi waited at the entrance hall.

“Our school’s cafeteria food is very delicious,” Mo Zibei initiated the conversation, “You can come and try it sometime.”

Hearing Mo Zibei say this, Mu Hanxi remembered a female classmate. She smiled and said, “A girl in the dorm next to mine loves eating at school cafeterias. She’s been to the cafeterias of several universities near our school,” she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, continuing, “It’s the same when she travels. If there’s a university in the area, she always finds a way to eat at their school cafeteria.”

Mo Zibei suddenly smiled, “That’s a pretty unique hobby.”

Mu Hanxi affirmed with an “Mhm.”

“What are you two talking about?” Lin Xiaoran walked over at this point.

“Zibei was saying that your school’s cafeteria food is delicious and suggested I try it sometime.”

“Oh,” Lin Xiaoran nodded, “It’s indeed not bad, but the food in the faculty dining hall is even better than the student cafeteria. Next time you come, I’ll take you there to eat.”

“Teacher Lin,” Mo Zibei had a little idea and shamelessly spoke up, “I’ve never eaten at the faculty dining hall. Next time Sister Mu comes, could you take me along?”

Lin Xiaoran didn’t think much of it, simply assuming the little class representative was just greedy and wanted to try something new. She teased her intentionally, “That depends on your performance. If you perform well, I’ll take you with us.”

“Oh.” Mo Zibei glanced at Mu Hanxi sideways.

Mu Hanxi gently patted her shoulder and smiled softly, “Remember to perform well.”

Mo Zibei’s heart fluttered. She lowered her head and softly affirmed with an “Mhm.”

The three parted ways. Mo Zibei and Lin Xiaoran returned to school together.

After getting out of the car, Lin Xiaoran gently instructed her, “You still have a little time. Go put your head down for a few minutes, or you’ll have no energy this afternoon.”

“Got it.”

Mo Zibei returned to her class, and Lin Xiaoran went back to her office.

During the first break of the afternoon, Mo Zibei started gathering information.

She poked Qu Junzhi, who was about to lie down and sleep on her desk, leaned closer, and whispered, “During P.E. class before, you said a second-year Physics teacher was pursuing our Teacher Lin. Do you know his name?”

Qu Junzhi was feeling sleepy, but her words immediately roused her.

“Don’t you usually dislike gossip?” Her eyes widened, “What’s wrong today?”

“Nothing, just asking casually. If you don’t know, never mind.”

Not wanting to tell her, Qu Junzhi first let out a small “Tch,” then patted Mo Zibei’s shoulder, “Wait, sis will go ask for you.”

“…” This person is clearly younger than me.

Qu Junzhi stood up, walked over, and called their dorm room leader to the restroom. The two whispered softly in the cubicle for a while.

Qu Junzhi happily returned, sat down, first drank a sip of tea very seriously, and then crooked her index finger at Mo Zibei, “Come closer and listen.”

Making it all mysterious, Mo Zibei leaned her head over.

“That person is named Liu Wenjian.”

“Do you know which classes he teaches?”

“I don’t know that…” Who would ask for such specific details?

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei turned back and sat up straight.

Du Chenxing had just stepped through the front door when he saw the two of them leaning together intimately. He couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What were you two whispering about?”

“Girl stuff,” Mo Zibei brushed him off with a single sentence.

Du Chenxing felt embarrassed to ask any further.

After eating dinner at the cafeteria in the afternoon, Mo Zibei didn’t return to class. She went to Teaching Building No. 2.

The school’s teaching buildings were all separate: Teaching Building No. 1 housed all first-year high school students, Building No. 2 housed all second-year students, and so on.

After sneaking into Teaching Building No. 2, she started randomly asking students she encountered if they knew Teacher Liu Wenjian. She was lucky enough. After asking seven or eight people, she actually met one of Liu Wenjian’s students, a girl.

She followed the girl back to the classroom, asked her for paper and a pen, and copied the physical class schedule for their class. Afterward, she went to other classes that Liu Wenjian taught and copied their Physics class schedules.

She returned the pen and folded the copied class schedule paper, putting it in her pants pocket. After returning to her own class, she copied a copy of Lin Xiaoran’s class schedule. She compared the two schedules, circling the class periods when both were available and their classes didn’t overlap. After marking them, she took out a piece of paper and recorded these class periods.

During the break, there were many people, and many students went to the office to ask questions. The best time for that teacher to talk to Lin Xiaoran would be during class time, and ideally when neither of them had a class and were free.

The next morning, right after the morning reading class, she went to the English office and gave the paper with the class periods written on it to Lin Xiaoran.

“What is this?” Lin Xiaoran looked at her puzzledly.

There were people to the left, right, front, and back of Lin Xiaoran, making it inconvenient to talk.

Mo Zibei silently took a blank sheet of paper from her desk, held a pen, and wrote a sentence: These are the class periods when that Physics teacher might come looking for you.

Lin Xiaoran was surprised by Mo Zibei’s action.

“Come out with me for a moment.” Lin Xiaoran tucked the class schedule paper into her drawer.

The two went to a corner at the end of the corridor, where there weren’t many people.

“How did you know who that person was?” She had only mentioned it briefly at the dinner table and hadn’t said who the Physics teacher was. Moreover, Liu Wenjian taught second-year students in Teaching Building No. 2, so Mo Zibei shouldn’t know him.

Mo Zibei pursed her lips, looking a bit troubled. After pondering for a few seconds, she said, “Someone in the class found out.”

Lin Xiaoran was very surprised. She then recalled a self-study session when a female teacher in the office, who was also a homeroom teacher, called a misbehaving student to the office for a lecture. Liu Wenjian was also there, sitting directly across from her desk, and that student had glanced over a few times… So, it was highly possible that student told someone in Mo Zibei’s class about it… Also, there were times when Liu Wenjian left the office only after the class bell rang, so it was normal for others to see him.

Lin Xiaoran held her forehead. She was truly infuriated by this man. Even though she had expressed her rejection, this male teacher still shamelessly came to find her, claiming he wanted to be friends… Now, not only colleagues but even students knew about it.

Lin Xiaoran sighed with worry, “Zibei, you go back to class first.”

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei looked at Lin Xiaoran and turned to go back.

Lin Xiaoran returned to the office, took out the class schedule paper, and looked at it carefully. An idea formed in her mind: This person is too thick-skinned. There’s no good solution; avoidance is the best strategy.

She also confided in a good colleague.

Every time it was one of the class periods when Liu Wenjian might come over, Lin Xiaoran would slip out and hide. After Liu Wenjian missed her and left, the female colleague would call her, and she would then return.

After Liu Wenjian missed her several times in a row, the frequency of his visits gradually decreased.

With this, Lin Xiaoran felt much more relaxed. On this Friday, she was fiddling with her succulents while drinking hot tea, humming an unknown tune. She thought, This little kid Mo Zibei is quite clever. This trick is too effective…

She was in a good mood when Mo Zibei happened to come over with her homework books.

“You’re here,” Lin Xiaoran put down her cup, tilted her head to look at Mo Zibei, finding her more pleasing to the eye the more she looked. She glanced around, beckoned to Mo Zibei, and Mo Zibei lowered her head and leaned in tacitly, “Honestly, that class schedule paper you made helped me out a lot.”

Mo Zibei smiled with pursed lips upon hearing this.

After saying that, Lin Xiaoran turned back, raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Tell me, what do you want as a reward?” There was no reason not to reward such a capable class representative…

Mo Zibei rubbed her thumb along the edge of the desk, “Nothing else, just… Teacher Lin, the next time you take Sister Mu to eat at the faculty dining hall, remember to take me along.”

“Hmm?” Lin Xiaoran smiled suddenly, “That’s it?”

Mo Zibei nodded seriously.

“Got it,” Lin Xiaoran simply took her for a foodie and didn’t catch the key word in the sentence, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely take you.”

Mo Zibei grinned.

As she smiled like that, Lin Xiaoran happened to catch a glimpse of her two small canine teeth, which made her think of the previous conversation. She casually said, “When I was in college, one of my roommates particularly liked people with small canine teeth. Many people pursued her back then, tall and handsome ones included, but she ultimately chose a plain-looking, quiet boy simply because of his pair of small canine teeth. She thought they were cute.”

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei didn’t take this comment much to heart.

“I remember Hanxi also quite likes small canine teeth…” Lin Xiaoran mumbled the last sentence vaguely.

Mo Zibei’s pupils suddenly widened, and her body trembled with excitement: She likes small canine teeth!!! Aww!!!

Next time I see her, I must smile for her to see!!!

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