Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

At 4:30 PM, Mo Zibei received a WeChat message from Qu Junzhi: Mo Zibei, can you come to the snack street near Xincheng Residential Area now?

Mo Zibei: What’s wrong?

Qu Junzhi: Two guys with dyed yellow hair keep following me, harassing me. It’s really annoying!

Seeing this message, Mo Zibei quickly capped her pen, starting to pack her backpack while sending a continuous message: Turn on WeChat location sharing now. I’ll be there soon.

Qu Junzhi: Got it.

Mo Zibei hurried downstairs with her backpack, calling Meng Yuanhao as she went. His house was close to that area, and Mo Zibei wanted him to go check first, but the call went unanswered. She glanced at her watch, guessing he was still asleep with his phone on silent.

She hung up the phone and hailed an express taxi with her phone. She left the residential area, and the car arrived in less than a minute. Mo Zibei opened the car door, bent in, gave the driver the address, and lowered her head to continue composing a message for Qu Junzhi: Go into a crowded shop and order something to eat. I’ll be there very quickly.

Qu Junzhi did as instructed.

The snack street in Xincheng was very close to Guo Lianke’s vocational school. Usually, many vocational school students snuck out of school to buy food, especially since today was Sunday.

Compared to regular high school students, vocational school students were harder to manage. The vocational school also gathered many troublesome small-time gangsters and delinquents. These people disrespected elders, ignored discipline, fought, and caused trouble. Some of the more vicious ones had even dealt with teachers they disliked in the school. Parents were also helpless, as they had long lost control of their children.

When Mo Zibei arrived at the shop, the two young men with yellow hair were sitting across from Qu Junzhi, leaning sideways, holding cigarettes, blowing out white smoke, looking lecherous, and acting like thugs.

Mo Zibei entered and, without saying a word, grabbed Qu Junzhi’s arm and pulled her towards the exit.

Qu Junzhi stumbled, her body unstable. Mo Zibei reached out to steady her, tilted her head, and whispered, “Hurry and go.”

“Hey, who are you?” The two yellow-haired guys were confused, not understanding the situation, slightly dazed.

Mo Zibei ignored them, pulling Qu Junzhi and directly running away.

The two yellow-haired guys were a bit slow to react. They stood up to chase, but once outside the shop, the person had vanished in a flash. The two cursed, “Damn, what the hell… why the f*** did they disappear!”

It was Sunday, and there were many people around. Mo Zibei was very familiar with the area. Pulling Qu Junzhi, she rushed into the crowd, and using the people as cover, she turned a corner and slipped into an alley, completely disappearing.

Qu Junzhi’s chest heaved up and down, panting heavily. Mo Zibei’s movements were too fast and agile. She struggled to keep up and was almost out of breath.

Running out of the east end of the street, Mo Zibei looked back over her shoulder, confirming no one was following them before stopping. She released Qu Junzhi’s arm, “No need to run anymore, take a rest.”

Qu Junzhi’s face was flushed, and she was panting intensely…

Mo Zibei pulled a pack of tissues from her backpack, took out two sheets, and handed them to her, “Wipe your sweat.” This was the tissue pack Qu Junzhi had given her during P.E. class before, and she hadn’t used it until now.

“I think I have a stitch…” Qu Junzhi held her right side, taking the tissues with her left hand, her expression one of pain.

Hearing this, Mo Zibei took out her phone from her pocket and searched for what to do for a side stitch. She soon found the answer, “Rub the painful area yourself. It says massaging helps to relieve it,” she looked up at Qu Junzhi, “It also says holding your breath and taking deep breaths is effective. Try both.”

Qu Junzhi nodded. A moment later, the pain indeed lessened.

Throwing the used tissues into a nearby trash can, Qu Junzhi looked up and asked, “Where are we going now?”

“Back to school.”

“I’m still a little hungry,” she hadn’t had much appetite at noon and only ate a little. Later, her uncle drove her back to school. In the afternoon, after tidying up in the dorm, she felt hungry but didn’t want snacks. Hearing from her roommate that there was a snack street in Xincheng Residential Area that sold everything, she took a taxi over. Who knew she would run into two annoying yellow-haired guys right away? “The food I ordered just arrived, and you pulled me out before I could take two bites.”

Mo Zibei rubbed the tip of her nose and flicked her backpack strap, “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“I’ll take you to eat.”

“Oh.”

Mo Zibei walked two steps forward. The phone in her pocket suddenly rang. It was Meng Yuanhao.

“Zibei, did you call me?” He had just woken up, his voice was still hoarse. He was grabbing a bottle of drink from the refrigerator for himself.

“Mhm, it’s fine now,” Mo Zibei turned her head to look at Qu Junzhi and quietly asked, “Is there still food at home?”

Meng Yuanhao tilted his head back and took a few sips of the drink, wiping his mouth with his thumb, “Yes, the a**yi’s dishes from noon aren’t finished. Just need to reheat them.”

Mo Zibei hummed, “I’ll come over to find you in a bit,” she added, “And Qu Junzhi too.”

“Cough, cough, cough,” Meng Yuanhao coughed violently a few times, then asked in surprise, “Why are you two together?” Zibei is even bringing Qu Junzhi to his house!

“We’ll talk when I see you, I have to hang up now,” Mo Zibei put her phone in her pocket and said to Qu Junzhi, “Yuanhao’s family isn’t home, he’s alone. Let’s eat at his place. It’s very close to here.”

Qu Junzhi felt a bit uncomfortable, “I don’t know him very well.”

“Mhm… It’s okay. He… he’s easy to get along with.”

“Oh.” Qu Junzhi walked close to her, keeping right beside her.

Before the two of them arrived, Meng Yuanhao unusually tidied up his room and the living room. Clothes and socks were stuffed into the cabinet. Leftover snacks and trash on the coffee table were all dumped into the plastic bin next to it. Mo Zibei and Zhou Ruoxin had never seen him so neat when they came over.

Mo Zibei rang the doorbell. Meng Yuanhao, neatly dressed, came to open the door for them. Usually, he was in his pajamas at this time.

“Ah… that, Qu Junzhi,” Meng Yuanhao rubbed the back of his head, his face slightly red, his expression a little unnatural, “Welcome… welcome to my house, please come in.” After speaking, he eagerly found slippers for Qu Junzhi to change into.

Mo Zibei silently observed the stammering, red-eared Meng Yuanhao, lowered her head to change her own slippers, and didn’t say much.

“You don’t have to be so polite.” Qu Junzhi found it a bit awkward that he wasn’t acting like his usual playful self.

Mo Zibei tossed her backpack onto the sofa and then asked, “Did you put the dishes in the fridge?”

“I put them in the fridge,” Meng Yuanhao suddenly darted in front of Mo Zibei and whispered to her, “I’ll go, I’ll reheat the dishes… you go talk to Qu Junzhi.”

Mo Zibei nodded, then turned to Qu Junzhi, “Can you drink cold drinks?”

Qu Junzhi’s small face flushed, and she slightly shook her head. She had been on her period a few days ago.

Meng Yuanhao immediately offered eagerly, “I’ll go wash cups.”

His taking over the task saved Mo Zibei the trouble. Mo Zibei turned on Meng Yuanhao’s TV and sat on the sofa with Qu Junzhi to watch the animation, the rest of My Neighbor Totoro.

Meng Yuanhao brought Qu Junzhi a cup of hot water and conveniently grabbed a cold drink for Mo Zibei.

“I’m going to reheat the food,” as Meng Yuanhao handed Mo Zibei the cold drink, he leaned closer and quietly reminded and instructed her, “Talk to Qu Junzhi more, don’t make her feel awkward.”

“…” Mo Zibei glanced at the strangely abnormal and overly eager Meng Yuanhao today. A strange feeling passed through her heart.

After Meng Yuanhao went to the kitchen, Qu Junzhi tilted her head and asked Mo Zibei, “Is he always like this at home?” She looked puzzled, “Why does he seem so different from when he’s at school?”

Mo Zibei didn’t know how to explain to her. She twisted the cap off the cold drink bottle, took two sips, and remained silent.

Qu Junzhi was used to Mo Zibei occasionally ignoring people and didn’t ask further, silently turning her attention to the TV screen.

“The food is ready,” Meng Yuanhao walked over, smiling shyly at Qu Junzhi, “We can eat now.”

“Thank you for your effort.” Qu Junzhi put down the white porcelain cup.

Mo Zibei put down her cold drink and said to Qu Junzhi, “Go wash your hands.”

Qu Junzhi nodded and went to the sink with Mo Zibei.

Just as they walked in, Zhou Ruoxin rang the doorbell.

“Ruoxin,” Meng Yuanhao’s eyes widened, and he stammered, “W-why did you come?”

“You think I want to come?” Meng Yuanhao’s expression, as if he had seen a ghost, annoyed Zhou Ruoxin. She rolled her eyes, “My kind-hearted mother told me to ask if you want to eat at my house.” She was just passing on the message. She didn’t care if Meng Yuanhao wanted to go or not.

“Um… there’s food at home,” Meng Yuanhao was nervous and anxious, “I’m not going. You should hurry back and eat.”

Zhou Ruoxin scoffed. Just as she was about to turn around, she caught sight of the two people coming out from inside.

She froze for a moment, completely not expecting Qu Junzhi to be there. No wonder Meng Yuanhao’s expression was so unnatural just now!

She glared angrily at Meng Yuanhao and questioned him with a sullen face, “Why is she here?”

Meng Yuanhao scratched his ears, unsure how to explain. Seeing Zhou Ruoxin’s expression grow increasingly sour, he blurted out, “Zibei brought her.” He was terrified.

Zhou Ruoxin turned to look at Mo Zibei, her eyes filled with complex emotions that were hard to decipher.

The two looked at each other. Mo Zibei didn’t say a single word.

Zhou Ruoxin’s body trembled slightly. Her face was red with frustration, and she turned and walked away.

“You two eat first,” Mo Zibei went to the entryway to change her shoes, “I’m going out for a bit.”

“Oh,” Meng Yuanhao replied, then pulled Qu Junzhi’s sleeve, “Let’s go eat first.”

Qu Junzhi numbly followed Meng Yuanhao to the dining table.

Mo Zibei rang the Zhou family’s doorbell. Zhou’s mother came to open the door.

“Xiaobei is here. I don’t know what’s wrong with Ruoxin,” Zhou’s mother said, confused, “I asked her to go call Yuanhao for dinner, but she didn’t bring him back, and she won’t eat herself. She even locked herself in her bedroom, and she won’t come out no matter how many times I call.”

“Auntie, I’ll go check.” Mo Zibei changed her shoes and went to Zhou Ruoxin’s bedroom door.

“Ruoxin,” Mo Zibei stood outside the door and knocked a few times with her knuckles, “Open the door, it’s Zibei.”

After two or three minutes, Zhou Ruoxin finally opened the door. Her eyes were red, clearly showing she had been crying.

Mo Zibei was surprised to see this. She lowered her eyes, pulled over a nearby wooden stool, and sat beside Zhou Ruoxin, stating everything that happened that afternoon, word for word.

Zhou Ruoxin was stunned after listening. She then felt a bit embarrassed. She had thought Mo Zibei had specifically invited Qu Junzhi over to Meng Yuanhao’s house to play, but things were not as she had thought.

“I’m going to wash my face.” Zhou Ruoxin pushed the door open, her face red, her head lowered, and went to the restroom. It was too embarrassing; Mo Zibei actually saw her crying.

Mo Zibei nodded, sitting where she was, waiting for her to return.

“I’m fine now,” after washing her face and coming back, Zhou Ruoxin didn’t dare to look at her and said with her head down, “You should go back.”

Mo Zibei pursed her lips, pondered for a moment, and explained, “Qu Junzhi is actually a good person. You might be misunderstanding her.” Through their later interactions, she had gradually realized that Zhou Ruoxin might not like Qu Junzhi…

Zhou Ruoxin sat down on the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow, and didn’t speak, muffled.

Mo Zibei felt a little helpless. She stood up and patted her shoulder, “Go out and eat dinner. Don’t let Auntie worry.”

For a moment, Zhou Ruoxin really wanted to throw away the pillow she was hugging and hug Mo Zibei recklessly, but she desperately held back. In the end, she just bit her lower lip and gently affirmed with an “Mhm”…

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