Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Although Mo Zibei’s school adhered well to the concept of quality education, in the current environment where the Gaokao (National College Entrance Exam) significantly affects life trajectories, it couldn’t be an exception. The senior year students started school a week earlier.

The school considered the special nature of their Gaokao next year, so they started early to allow them to quickly get into their studies and better adapt to their final year of high school.

Mo Zibei’s home was not far from Kaicheng No. 1 Middle School, about twenty minutes by bicycle. The school did not enforce mandatory boarding for all students; those living nearby could apply to commute. She, Zhou Ruoxin, and Meng Yuanhao were all day students and did not board at school.

Mo Zibei woke up at six in the morning; today was the first day of school.

After she finished washing up, her father, Mo Lin, placed the prepared breakfast on the dining table.

After breakfast, Mo Zibei put on her backpack, went downstairs, and rode her bicycle to school.

She, Zhou Ruoxin, and Meng Yuanhao were not in the same class, but they were all on the same floor on the A-section side of the building, and their classes were not far apart.

They were promoted directly from Grade 11 to Grade 12, with no re-shuffling of classes. Mo Zibei was in Class 15, Grade 12; Zhou Ruoxin was in Class 9, Grade 12; and Meng Yuanhao was in Class 11, Grade 12.

Zhou Ruoxin and Meng Yuanhao were on the third floor, and Mo Zibei was on the fourth floor.

The first day of school was relatively relaxed. The homeroom teacher used the morning reading time to hold a brief class meeting, explaining the school’s arrangements and any changes, followed by each subject teacher using their class time to greet everyone, offer encouraging words, distribute new textbooks, and introduce new knowledge points.

Mo Zibei’s homeroom teacher, Luo Hao, was a math teacher with many years of teaching experience. He usually sported a buzz cut and wore black glasses. He looked quite stern but was not rigid; sometimes, he was quite humorous.

During the morning reading session, the homeroom teacher informed the class that because the original English teacher was on maternity leave, their class would welcome a new, young female teacher this semester.

This new teacher was named Lin Xiaoran, she was young, 24 years old, and had only been teaching for two years since graduation, but she had a knack for teaching. Many students she had guided achieved outstanding results.

Knowing they were getting a new English teacher, everyone was secretly looking forward to it. Some bolder students, who knew a bit about the teacher, immediately started discussing her in class with others.

“Lin Xiaoran was my sister’s former English teacher, she’s very beautiful,” “Quite fashionable and trendy,” “Probably still single,” “We’re in for a treat,” a male student diagonally behind Mo Zibei was whispering excitedly to other boys…

Old Luo deliberately coughed a few times at the podium. The sporadic talking finally subsided. He rambled on about a few other things until the morning reading class ended, then he left.

After the first period, which was Chinese class, the second period was English.

As the bell rang for the break, many students rushed out in a flurry, some going to the washroom, some to get water, and many boys gathered together, enthusiastically discussing the new teacher they were about to meet.

Yan Xiaoshuai, Mo Zibei’s deskmate, also eagerly went over to listen to the gossip.

Mo Zibei wasn’t interested in these things. She quietly pulled out a casual book from her desk drawer and flipped through it.

She didn’t like studying English, and her grades in this subject were poor. Her previous teacher had put a lot of effort into her, but with minimal results, and eventually stopped pushing her, letting her be.

Two minutes before class started, Yan Xiaoshuai returned to his seat excitedly. He tapped his finger on the desktop, wanting to get Mo Zibei’s attention to share the interesting news he had heard, but after meeting Mo Zibei’s calm gaze, he wisely shut his mouth…

Mo Zibei was very kind, but she was a woman of few words and didn’t really like interacting with people. That’s why the homeroom teacher had moved him—someone who loved to chat in class—to be her deskmate.

Having words stuck inside and unable to speak was quite uncomfortable. Yan Xiaoshuai poked the back of the student in front, Zhu Dong, who was currently eating a bun. Zhu Dong’s mouth was full, and he turned around while chewing.

“Eat less, you’re already so fat…” Seeing his appearance, Yan Xiaoshuai looked somewhat disgusted.

Zhu Dong hated being called fat the most. He glared fiercely at Yan Xiaoshuai and, regardless of the food in his mouth, started cursing back…

Oh boy, the moment he opened his mouth, bun crumbs sprayed out indiscriminately in all directions, scattering everywhere… Even Mo Zibei’s book pages had quite a few land on them. Mo Zibei paused, picked up her book, and gently shook it off…

Yan Xiaoshuai frowned, brushing the bun crumbs off his desk, and occasionally retorted with a few insults.

They quieted down only when the class bell rang. Mo Zibei also put her casual book back into the desk.

The classroom was very quiet. The students were all in agreement; except for a few individuals, everyone was looking in one direction—at the doorway.

Under everyone’s expectant gaze, Lin Xiaoran walked in, wearing a pair of five-centimeter nude high heels. She wore a white chiffon blouse on top and paired it with high-waisted, wide-leg black trousers on the bottom. When she walked, her posture was graceful and impressive.

She picked up a piece of chalk, turned slightly, and in a moment, wrote three words on the blackboard. She turned around, raised her hand to brush back the chestnut-colored curls near her ear, and parted her red lips: “My name is Lin Xiaoran, and I am your new English teacher.”

The students below began to stir, whispering to each other.

“I feel like this teacher is quite unique,” “So young, probably not much older than us,” “I think I’ve seen her before, I didn’t expect her to be our teacher now.” The discussions below rose and fell. Seeing this, Lin Xiaoran smiled, tapped the podium with the board eraser, and after the class quieted down, she said: “It seems like the students have something to say… Then let’s use this class to get to know each other. Later, students can introduce themselves. Try to highlight your personal characteristics when speaking, so the teacher can be impressed and remember you.”

Soon, the students started introducing themselves, mostly following the routine of name + personal interests/hobbies/talents. When it was Mo Zibei’s turn, she only said three words—her name—and nothing else.

Lin Xiaoran looked at her closely for a few seconds, curved the corner of her lips, said nothing, and let the next student continue the introduction.

Before she knew she would be taking over this class, she had called Old Luo and the former English teacher to gather some information. Both of them mentioned Mo Zibei, and their evaluation and impression of her were: This child’s overall grades are okay, but she has a subject imbalance, especially English; she doesn’t care about it at all… She doesn’t talk much usually, has an indifferent attitude towards everything, and motivational work is very difficult to do…

Mo Zibei’s homeroom teacher, including some of her subject teachers, all believed she had potential and wanted to help her go further, but she simply wouldn’t reach out… leaving them feeling helpless and frustrated.

Lin Xiaoran didn’t see it that way; she actually found Mo Zibei quite special…

At noon, Mo Zibei, Zhou Ruoxin, and Meng Yuanhao went to the third floor of the cafeteria to eat stir-fry. After eating, they each went back to their classrooms to nap, as they usually didn’t go home for lunch, finding the back-and-forth troublesome.

The eighth period in the afternoon was originally scheduled for the class meeting, but Old Luo had covered all the required announcements during the morning reading session, so it was self-study, with Old Luo supervising nearby.

“Go to the English office,” Old Luo walked over to Mo Zibei less than two minutes after entering. “Your Teacher Lin is looking for you to talk about something.”

Mo Zibei gently put down her pen, stood up, and walked straight out the door to the English office.

Lin Xiaoran was the only person in the English office. Today was the first day of school, so there wasn’t much work, and it was relaxed. Teachers without classes had gone home, and those with classes were teaching.

After Mo Zibei knocked, Lin Xiaoran responded, telling her to come in.

“Sit down.” Lin Xiaoran was lowering her head preparing lessons and didn’t stop her actions.

Mo Zibei stood to the side, her tone indifferent, showing no intention of sitting down: “You can just say what you need to.”

Lin Xiaoran stopped her work, placed her pen in the porcelain white pen holder, looked up, scrutinized her for several seconds, and raised an eyebrow: “There are no nails on the chair.”

Mo Zibei sat down but turned her gaze toward the window.

Lin Xiaoran watched her pick up her water cup and take a few small sips.

“Do you think I called you here to do motivational work?”

“Mhm.”

Lin Xiaoran smiled.

“I just think it’s a shame. Your other subjects are fine, but your English… is too weak… seriously dragging you down.”

“Oh.”

This wasn’t just being a person of few words; it was practically being sparing with words as if they were gold.

Lin Xiaoran shifted her gaze and asked again: “Are you interested in being my class representative?”

“No.” The class representatives for other subjects were already decided, mostly filled by the previous students; only the English position was still pending.

Her refusal was expected, and Lin Xiaoran wasn’t upset.

“I won’t ask you to do anything else, just collecting homework and distributing papers, that sort of thing,” Lin Xiaoran tapped her finger on the desk. “If you accept, I promise I will never talk to you about this kind of motivational work again… If you don’t accept, I will frequently invite you to the office for heart-to-heart chats and in-depth communication… In any case, the choice is yours, you decide.”

Her last sentence was said casually, but it made Mo Zibei frown.

“Well, have you thought it through?”

Mo Zibei remained silent for a long while, then looked up, staring at her. Finally, she pursed her lips and asked: “Just collecting homework and distributing papers?”

Lin Xiaoran nodded.

Mo Zibei lowered her gaze, looking rather unwilling: “Fine.”

After Mo Zibei walked out and Lin Xiaoran was sure she couldn’t hear, she leaned back in her chair and dialed Mu Hanxi. As soon as the call connected, she chuckled: “I met a kid today who feels quite special.”

Mu Hanxi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked gently: “Oh, how so?”

Lin Xiaoran stood up, walked to the window, and, watching the leaves swaying with the breeze, slowly began to tell her story…

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