My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 13

“How is it, did the method work?…

“How is it, did the method work?”

As soon as the long break ended, Xue Shuangxi couldn’t hold back her impatience. She weaved through the crowd and came up next to Zuo Xian, resting her hand on Zuo Xian’s shoulder and asking in a whisper.

Students on the sports field poured toward the academic building. Zuo Xian, fearing the crush, strolled slowly behind with Xue Shuangxi. Upon hearing the question, she shook her head heavily.

Xue Shuangxi was surprised, “Ah? Could it be that Tao Ran likes the cold shoulder?”

“Not exactly.” Zuo Xian said, distressed, “I can’t bring myself to be cold to Tao Ran, and even less to be mean to her.”

“No way.” Xue Shuangxi wrinkled her face. “You two aren’t actual sisters, and you don’t like her romantically. Is my method really that difficult for you to implement?”

“I just can’t bear to see her sad, though,” Zuo Xian stated matter-of-factly. “We’ve been good friends for so many years. If I could ignore her pain, that wouldn’t be right!”

What she said made a lot of sense, and Xue Shuangxi clicked her tongue. “In that case, we can only activate the second plan.”

“You have another brilliant idea?” Zuo Xian mocked. “It better be brilliant. Don’t give me any more rotten suggestions.”

“What are you talking about? My brilliant idea is theoretically sound, correct, and perfect. The failure was clearly due to your execution.”

Left Xian, listening to Xue Shuangxi’s continued self-praise, interrupted, “Alright, alright, then quickly tell me the second plan. Once you’re done, let’s hurry upstairs. I’m freezing.”

The cold wind of late autumn blew, making the crowns of the trees beside the sports field shiver. Zuo Xian was also shivering from the cold, her nose slightly red.

The temperature was only in the single digits today. Zuo Xian had been in a hurry when she left home, so she only wore a hoodie and her school jacket over it.

Neither the baggy hoodie nor the school uniform, famous for its one-size-fits-all nature, could block the chilling autumn wind. The wind, wrapped in cold air, kept drilling into Zuo Xian’s clothes, almost freezing her silly.

Xue Shuangxi squinted her eyes and chuckled, “Blow! Keep on blowing!”

Zuo Xian was too frozen to even get angry and didn’t bother to respond to Xue Shuangxi. “Then you blow, I’m leaving.”

With that, she took big steps toward the academic building. She had only taken a couple of steps when Xue Shuangxi grabbed her.

“Don’t go! This is the second plan!”

Zuo Xian sniffed, “This is the first time I’ve heard that catching a cold can be included in a brilliant plan.”

“No, no, no. The second plan is to showcase your flaws and make her retreat knowing the difficulties.”

“…Do I really have such annoying flaws?” Zuo Xian didn’t want to believe it.

Xue Shuangxi: “It doesn’t necessarily need to be your actual flaw. This flaw needs to be troublesome enough, annoying enough. Even if you don’t have one, you need to pretend.”

“So what does this have to do with my cold?”

Xue Shuangxi raised her voice, “Of course, it’s about making a show of it! They say when a person is sick, it’s when they are least disguised. You need to use an illness to let Tao Ran ‘see through you’.”

“The distance between lovers is much closer than between friends. If she were your friend, she would naturally subconsciously minimize or even ignore these flaws. But if she wants to become your lover, she will inevitably scrutinize all your traits, both merits and faults.”

“You…” Zuo Xian gasped, looking at Xue Shuangxi with some unfamiliarity. She was shocked, “How do you know so much?!”

Xue Shuangxi scoffed, “When big sister started studying love, you were still playing with mud.”

After the relentless efforts of Zuo Xian and Xue Shuangxi, Zuo Xian successfully got sick.

It was just a little different from the cold they had intended.

The wicked wind of Lushi in November directly gave Zuo Xian a fever.

The homeroom teacher of Class 2, Grade 1, was a young new teacher who valued her first batch of personal students more than her own eyeballs.

She quickly approved the leave slip, and since she knew Zuo Xian lived alone, she even prepared a home visit plan to check on her student.

She inquired within the class beforehand and learned that the student with the best relationship with Zuo Xian was Xue Shuangxi. She originally wanted Xue Shuangxi to take her to Zuo Xian’s house.

But Xue Shuangxi said she didn’t know where Zuo Xian lived either, but there was one person who definitely did.

The dismissal bell rang, and Tao Ran packed her school bag and walked towards the office.

At this time, there were still four or five teachers in the office. Two middle-aged male teachers were sitting by the tea table chatting and drinking tea, while the other female teachers were busy at their own desks.

As soon as Tao Ran stood at the door, the two male teachers drinking tea noticed her.

One of them had once subbed for the history teacher of Class 1.

He recognized Tao Ran, a smile on his face, and took the initiative to speak.

“You are Tao Ran from Class 1. Are you looking for your homeroom teacher? She seems to have gone to the administrative office. How about I pour you a cup of tea, and you can wait here.”

Students like Tao Ran, who had good grades and were well-behaved, were always the type teachers liked the most. Even if they weren’t in their own class, they were willing to actively help.

Tao Ran politely replied, “Thank you, teacher, but I’m here to see Teacher Su from Class 2.”

“Teacher Su?” The older teacher who had spoken frowned, recalling. “Teacher Su doesn’t teach Class 1, right?”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Teacher Su rushed in from outside the office, clutching a book, and looked at Tao Ran. “Tao Ran, you’re here. Sorry, I was delayed a bit just now assigning homework to the class.”

“It’s okay, Teacher Su. I just arrived, too.”

“Alright.” Teacher Su quickly walked to her spot and looked up at Tao Ran. “Wait for me for a bit. I’ll pack up my things, and then we’ll leave.”

“Okay.”

The older teacher by the tea table listened, furrowed his brow, and smilingly reminded her, “Little Su, where are you and student Tao Ran headed? Why not bring us two old men along to broaden our horizons.”

School regulations strictly prohibit excessive private communication between teachers and students to prevent teachers from showing favoritism or parents from offering gifts.

If reported, the ship of Teacher Su’s newly launched career would have to anchor and sink immediately.

Tao Ran understood the implicit meaning of the older teacher’s words but said nothing.

If she, given her identity, were to speak up for Teacher Su, it would only further suggest that the two had a close private relationship, implying a lack of teacher ethics on Teacher Su’s part.

Teacher Su didn’t think much of it and replied while organizing her belongings, “Oh, a student in my class, Zuo Xian, is sick. She’s an unaccompanied minor living alone, and her parents aren’t around, so I’m worried. I heard that student Tao Ran and Zuo Xian are childhood friends and now live next door, so I asked her to guide the way for me. I’m going to make a home visit to check on the student.”

“Zuo Xian?” The older teacher recalled again. “I remember now. She’s the good-looking student in your class, who sits in the back and is either sleeping or zoning out every day.”

Not far away, the Class 2 math teacher also looked up. Her face was deeply wrinkled as she interjected, “I remember that student. She sleeps like the dead during math class. I saw that she tried many things to stay awake, but none of them seemed to work.”

The older teacher happily added, “She wasn’t sitting in the back at first, but the teachers all told her to stand in the back if she was sleepy. She stood every class, and eventually, she just moved her desk to the back.”

Tao Ran lowered her head, trying to suppress a laugh.

Teacher Su also sounded a bit helpless. “While this child isn’t academically strong, she’s very cheerful, has a good temper, and is very resilient.”

The older teacher clapped his hands. “No wonder she sleeps so soundly.”

Teacher Su could no longer defend Zuo Xian and dryly laughed a couple of times, speeding up the pace of tidying her belongings.

The older teacher turned to Tao Ran again. “Student Tao Ran, you entered as the top scorer in the high school entrance exam. Your friend has an improper study attitude, and you should supervise her well.”

“Isn’t there a trendy saying online now? Progressing together is the best form of friendship.”