Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After the first session of evening self-study, it started raining outside.

Mo Zibei stood by the corridor window, watching the drizzle… She hadn’t checked the weather when she left, didn’t know it would rain today, and hadn’t brought a raincoat or an umbrella.

Lin Xiaoran had two evening self-study sessions today. To avoid making the homeroom teachers’ work too heavy, their school assigned morning reading and evening self-study classes to subject teachers. When it was their scheduled time, these subject teachers would help supervise morning reading or watch over the class during evening self-study. There were no restrictions on which subject was read during morning reading. During evening self-study, students were free to do homework, work on test papers, or preview new content.

Just before the second session was about to start, Lin Xiaoran noticed Mo Zibei still standing by the window looking outside.

“What are you looking at?” Lin Xiaoran glanced outside. “Class is about to start.”

Mo Zibei withdrew her gaze, intending to turn back to the classroom.

“Wait,” Lin Xiaoran suddenly called out to stop her. “Did you bring rain gear?” She remembered Mo Zibei was a day student.

Mo Zibei gently shook her head.

“Want to ride in my car?”

In the past, when Mo Zibei forgot her rain gear, Zhou Ruoxin would sometimes have a spare for her, or Zhou’s father would pick her up and take her home, and she would ride a shared bicycle back to school the next day.

Mo Zibei nodded: “Then I’ll trouble you, Teacher Lin.” Mo Zibei usually didn’t like troubling others, but if the person was Lin Xiaoran, who had a close relationship with Mu Hanxi, she was quite willing to trouble her.

“After class, pack your things and wait for me in the English office.”

“Got it.”

After the second session of evening self-study ended, Mo Zibei went to the third floor to tell Zhou Ruoxin that she would be riding in Teacher Lin’s car.

Zhou Ruoxin found it strange. Why would Mo Zibei be willing to trouble Teacher Lin, especially since she had just mentioned that Zhou’s father would come to the school to pick them up in the car? But Mo Zibei insisted on going with Teacher Lin.

As day students, they were secretly allowed to carry mobile phones because they sometimes needed to contact their parents, but they kept them turned off and locked in their lockers during study hours. The school was quite strict about managing this; getting caught playing with a phone meant confiscation and writing a self-criticism, and in severe cases, calling the parents.

“Then call me when you get home.” Seeing her insistence, Zhou Ruoxin didn’t press the matter further.

“Mhm, got it,” Mo Zibei waved to her. “Go find Yuanhao quickly, I’m leaving.”

When Mo Zibei returned to the office, Lin Xiaoran was already there.

“Help me check if the windows are closed while I pack up my things.”

“Okay.” Mo Zibei put her backpack on a nearby chair and turned to check the windows.

After a while, seeing that she was done, Lin Xiaoran carried her bag in one hand and an umbrella in the other, nodding towards the door: “Let’s go.”

Mo Zibei put on her backpack and walked up to her side: “Teacher Lin, give me the umbrella. I’ll hold it in a moment.”

Lin Xiaoran didn’t stand on ceremony and handed the umbrella to her.

The rain outside wasn’t heavy, but there were a lot of water stains on the corridor and steps, left by students’ footsteps. Lin Xiaoran was wearing high heels, so it was a bit inconvenient.

She grabbed Mo Zibei’s sleeve with her right hand for support to steady herself, and walked slowly. Mo Zibei followed her rhythm, slowing her pace.

Leaving the main hall, the two shared one umbrella and walked to the parking lot.

Just as they got into the car, Lin Xiaoran’s phone rang. It was Mu Hanxi calling.

“Has class ended?” A clear and pleasant female voice came from the earpiece.

“Mhm,” Lin Xiaoran answered while searching for her spare flats. “Just got in the car.”

“Do you want to eat some late-night snack?” The voice on the other end asked with a smile. “I made seafood congee.”

Lin Xiaoran’s eyes moved slightly. She covered the phone’s microphone with her palm, turned to the side, and quietly asked: “Are you hungry?”

Mo Zibei was about to say no, but on an impulse, she nodded… She didn’t know the person on the other end of the phone was Mu Hanxi.

“Mo Zibei is in my car. We’ll be there in a bit,” Mu Hanxi responded. Lin Xiaoran hung up the phone, and while changing her shoes, she said, “Your Elder Sister Mu made seafood congee. We’ll probably finish eating there around nine something. You should call home first.”

Mo Zibei’s heart immediately tightened. She asked uncertainly: “Did you just say… Elder Sister Mu?”

“Mhm,” Lin Xiaoran started the car. “We’ll go to her place first, and then I’ll drive you back.”

“Oh.” Mo Zibei’s heart uncontrollably sped up.

“By the way,” Lin Xiaoran started the car and backed out of the space, asking, “Where do you live?”

Mo Zibei calmed her mind and then gave her address.

Lin Xiaoran nodded, then turned and drove out of the parking area.

“Does… Does Elder Sister Mu live nearby?” After a moment of composure, Mo Zibei asked again.

“Mhm, not far from our school,” Lin Xiaoran looked at the road ahead. “In the New City residential area.”

Mo Zibei subconsciously gripped the backpack on her lap.

“She’s not from around here.” Perhaps the car was too quiet, so Lin Xiaoran proactively offered this information.

“I can tell,” Mo Zibei whispered. “She doesn’t have our local accent.”

Lin Xiaoran smiled at her remark.

While waiting at a traffic light, Mo Zibei asked another question: “Is she working here now?”

“Sort of,” Lin Xiaoran tapped the steering wheel with her finger. “But she won’t be staying here for long. She might go back in a few months.”

Mo Zibei slightly lowered her brow, looked out the window, and said nothing more.

When they arrived, Mu Hanxi was surprisingly already waiting outside with an umbrella, holding an extra one in her hand.

Lin Xiaoran didn’t drive into the residential area but parked on one side outside. She and Mo Zibei got out of the car, sharing an umbrella.

“You came out even though it’s raining…” Lin Xiaoran chided her affectionately.

The security here wasn’t very strict, and since it was raining today, they were free to walk in.

Mu Hanxi walked over, smiling: “The rain isn’t heavy. I didn’t get wet.”

She approached and handed the pink umbrella in her hand to Mo Zibei: “Hurry and open it. Don’t get your clothes wet later.”

Mo Zibei took it and thanked her, then handed the purple umbrella she was holding back to Lin Xiaoran. Lin Xiaoran took it and continued to hold it over herself.

Mu Hanxi also moved her white umbrella slightly closer to Mo Zibei.

Mo Zibei was now under the shelter of two umbrellas…

“I’ll hold it for you,” Mo Zibei’s eyes darted around, then she reached out and took the white umbrella Mu Hanxi was holding. “You open mine for me.” After saying this, she bent down and ducked under Mu Hanxi’s umbrella.

Mu Hanxi was still slightly stunned, holding the pink umbrella Mo Zibei handed her.

Lin Xiaoran was even more bewildered. In the blink of an eye, how did Mo Zibei end up under Mu Hanxi’s umbrella?

Taking advantage of Mu Hanxi’s daze, Mo Zibei started her next careful maneuver: “Do you think sharing one umbrella is enough?”

Mu Hanxi blinked, didn’t say anything, unsure of what this person meant.

No words meant tacit consent… Mo Zibei took the pink umbrella back from Mu Hanxi’s hand, held it in her left hand, and continued to hold the white umbrella with her right: “Let’s go.” Mo Zibei subtly moved the white umbrella over Mu Hanxi’s head.

After walking a few steps, Mu Hanxi realized something was amiss: “No, you’ll get wet like this.” Her umbrella was small, and sharing it with two people was a stretch.

“It’s fine, the rain isn’t heavy…”

Lin Xiaoran stood still, looking at the two of them as if they were fools. They had two umbrellas, why were they only using one?

Mo Zibei, of course, knew her behavior was childish and silly… but when she saw Mu Hanxi standing at the entrance of the residential area, wearing a thin knitted sweater and holding a white umbrella, her heart was suddenly overwhelmed with excitement… The urge to share an umbrella with her surged out like a tidal wave, impossible to restrain.

Before Lin Xiaoran caught up with them, Mo Zibei leaned her head over and quietly murmured to Mu Hanxi: “I just feel that the pink color doesn’t suit me very well…” She couldn’t let Mu Hanxi truly think she was silly…

Mu Hanxi glanced at her, suppressed a smile, and nodded.

“What’s wrong with you two?” Lin Xiaoran caught up, frowning, slightly confused. “Why aren’t you using the extra umbrella?”

Mu Hanxi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and replied gently: “Zibei doesn’t really like pink.”

Zibei… Hearing her call her this, Mo Zibei’s hand gripping the umbrella tightened involuntarily… Sharing an umbrella meant they were already close, and Mu Hanxi’s intimate tone made Mo Zibei’s mind a tangled mess…

Lin Xiaoran muttered to herself: “She’s so young and already dislikes pink…”

Her voice was too low for the other two to hear clearly, so no one responded.

The three took the elevator upstairs and changed into slippers after entering the apartment.

“You two make yourselves comfortable.” Mu Hanxi put the folded umbrellas on the balcony to drip dry and then turned and went into the bedroom.

Lin Xiaoran didn’t hesitate; she went straight into the kitchen and started scooping up congee herself. Only Mo Zibei sat stiffly on the sofa, unmoving. She… was a little nervous…

“I don’t have any clothes that would fit you perfectly here,” Mu Hanxi came back holding a long-sleeved white T-shirt. “Go into the bedroom and try this on to see if it fits.” She looked slightly embarrassed as she said this. She bought this shirt online, and it was a bit big; she had worn it a few times as sleepwear…

Mo Zibei’s left shoulder had gotten wet from the rain because she was focused on keeping Mu Hanxi dry while holding the umbrella. Mu Hanxi was looking for clothes for her to wear because she was worried about her catching a chill, but she didn’t state it directly, subtly catering to Mo Zibei’s sensitive nature.

Mo Zibei’s face felt warm. She reached out and took the shirt, nodded stiffly, and followed Mu Hanxi’s direction into the bedroom.

As soon as she entered the room, a faint scent rushed into her nostrils. Mo Zibei swallowed, quickly glanced around, but didn’t dare to look much…

She only remembered that the room was mostly decorated in light blue and pure white, very clean and tidy…

Mo Zibei took off her black and white short-sleeved school uniform, and then put on Mu Hanxi’s white T-shirt. The shirt was very comfortable to wear. Mo Zibei tilted her head and sniffed the shoulder fabric; she could smell a fresh, milky scent, which was very pleasant, though the length was a little short, it was generally fine…

Mo Zibei’s heart pounded. She tugged at the hem of the shirt, swallowing… A mix of nervousness and shyness…

No one outside was rushing her, but she felt too awkward to stay inside for too long…

After a bit of internal preparation, she came out holding the school uniform short-sleeve she had taken off.

As soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, she turned her face and met Mu Hanxi’s gaze…

Mo Zibei’s heart seized up, her breathing hitched, and even her steps became sluggish…

“Looks good.” Mu Hanxi’s gaze was very soft, a faint smile spreading across her cheeks, her voice gentle and soothing, like a flowing stream…

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