That Girl Who Skipped Class — You're In Big Trouble! - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After An Qianyáng and Bèi Xuān said goodbye at the bar entrance, she walked forward while looking at her phone, ready to hail a taxi home at the familiar intersection ahead.

She walked and texted Xiāo Xuán: “What a coincidence? We’re also going there for a sketching trip during the National Day holiday. I heard the drama there is great. If you have time, I’d like to treat you.”

Xiāo Xuán: “You understand drama?”

An Qianyáng: “Not really… just heard about it…”

Xiāo Xuán: “A student treating a teacher? We’ll see. I need to rest now, An :)”

An Qianyáng said goodnight and locked her phone, standing at the roadside intersection feeling a little lost. Xiāo Xuán hadn’t mentioned the time she stole a kiss, and her words seemed like the most ordinary response between a teacher and student? Perhaps she had been too impulsive, but it was that kiss that made An Qianyáng decide to face her feelings for Xiāo Xuán honestly.

Cars passed by An Qianyáng, the glare of the headlights making her slightly squint. For the first time in her 19 years, she felt a mixture of grievance and loss.

“Sister, want to come in and look at some clothes?” An Qianyáng turned around and saw a store assistant standing at the entrance of a trendy clothing store that hadn’t closed yet. The illuminated border sign of the store had a few roaring English letters printed on it: Let it be. She walked into the clothing store, bought a few neutral hoodies and a baseball cap that she had never tried before, and took a taxi back to her apartment.

…

On the afternoon before the National Day holiday, on the bullet train heading to Wūzhèn, An Qianyáng rested her chin on her hand, looking out at the patches of dark blue-roofed industrial area outside the window. Her classmates from the same department sitting next to her were asleep. Due to her breakup with Lǐ Chénchén, the two boys who used to be close to her were sitting in a compartment further back.

There was no phone signal, so An Qianyáng opened WeChat, clicked into the chat she had read countless times, and stared at the sentence “A student treating a teacher? We’ll see. I need to rest now, An :)” floating above Xiāo Xuán’s light blue profile picture. She looked at it aimlessly for a long time, then started guessing the person’s expression and mood when she sent that message. Was she disdainful? Or tired? Or did she consider An Qianyáng’s obviously inappropriate behavior as quite normal? Or did she have feelings but had to restrain herself due to the teacher-student boundary? Or was she even against same-sex relationships?

However, what about the passionate moment that night? If she had known it would be like this, why did she have to disrupt Xiāo Xuán’s normal life, causing An Qianyáng to think about her day and night, thinking of the coolness of her straight nose pressed against her face, thinking of her hands gently lifting her chin? This darn woman!

An Qianyáng realized that in less than half a month, she was so eager to see her.

The group finally arrived in Wūzhèn. It was almost evening. The students quickly ate dinner and moved their luggage and drawing boards to the entrance of a budget hotel.

“An Qianyáng, you’re sharing a room with me.” The class monitor walked over, dragging her suitcase, and motioned to An Qianyáng. An Qianyáng nodded and followed the monitor onto the elevator. The elevator stopped on the 4th floor, and the students rushed out to find their rooms. An Qianyáng followed the monitor through the narrow corridor.

“Monitor, are the teachers also here for a meeting during the National Day?”

“Yes, Qianyáng, the department head said it’s a seminar and a vacation combined. There are teachers from several different colleges.”

“What are they discussing?”

“I’m not sure about that,” the monitor stopped, turned around and pushed up her glasses. “Since when are you so interested in this kind of thing?”

An Qianyáng paused, quickly replying: “Nothing, I was just curious.”

The next day, as soon as the sky was faintly lit, An Qianyáng was woken up by the monitor: “Qianyáng, time to get up. We meet downstairs at 8 o’clock.” An Qianyáng quickly washed up and got ready, only applying some foundation cream before grabbing her drawing board and rushing downstairs with the monitor. Most of the students had already gathered downstairs, and the department head was standing at the hotel entrance holding a cup of soy milk.

“Students, our sketching session starts today. The time for sketching is from 9 am to 5 pm. To ensure everyone’s safety, you are not allowed to move around within the scenic area during the sketching period. Our scope is limited to these main areas outside the scenic area,” the department head said, pointing at a map with his other hand. “You can choose any location you like. Everyone must come here to sign in at 5 pm, and after 5 pm, you are free to move around.”

“Yes, Professor!” The eager students answered loudly.

“Alright, everyone can start.” The department head waved his hand, and the circle of students scattered in all directions with a rush.

An Qianyáng followed the monitor and a group of girls towards a less crowded area. It was still early. Under the misty, hazy sky of the morning, patches of tile-roofed houses stood above gurgling river water. People on a few fishing boats anchored in the middle of the river were casting nets. An Qianyáng and her group arrived by a small stone bridge and began setting up their drawing boards to paint.

Perhaps it was the serene atmosphere emanating from Wūzhèn that made An Qianyáng, who was usually hasty in her painting, also calm down, and she uncharacteristically presented the scene she captured on paper one brushstroke at a time.

Time passed by second by second.

“Ugh, I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”

The monitor looked at her phone and saw it was already 12:30 pm. She said, “Why don’t we go find something to eat first.”

The group of girls packed up their drawing boards and started walking towards the town center. The streets were full of National Day tourists. They walked through the crowded people into an alley, where a restaurant with an elaborate facade caught their eyes.

“This one looks pretty good, let’s go here.” A few girls led the way into the restaurant and started ordering. An Qianyáng also ordered a ‘Steamed Meat with Rice Flour Wrapped in Lotus Leaf’ and a plate of ‘White Fish in Clear Water’, and sat down at a round wooden table in the center of the dining area.

“Hey, hey, isn’t that Professor Xiāo?” A girl tapped the monitor’s shoulder and pointed diagonally upwards. An Qianyáng followed the direction the girl was pointing and caught sight of a familiar figure.

Xiāo Xuán was wearing a simple blue dress, the open neckline revealing the fair skin of her chest and a small part of her shoulder. Her black hair was scattered to one side, and she was smiling and chatting with someone next to her. An Qianyáng’s heart suddenly fluttered.

“Hello, Professor Xiāo.” A girl at An Qianyáng’s table suddenly called out.

Xiāo Xuán looked up at their table, her gaze briefly swept past An Qianyáng, then drifted back and looked at her again. Xiāo Xuán smiled and nodded: “Hello, everyone.”

An Qianyáng’s heart pounded with the subtle, lingering glance from Xiāo Xuán. She looked at the person next to Xiāo Xuán, and her mood instantly felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over her.

Sitting there was a beautiful woman, or more accurately, a handsome and beautiful woman. That person was wearing a striped shirt, had delicate features and short brown hair, with sunglasses clipped to her ear. She was sitting very close to Xiāo Xuán, leaning her body towards her, with one hand resting on the armrest of Xiāo Xuán’s chair.

An Qianyáng’s first big meal in Wūzhèn was ruined just like that. The whole meal tasted like chewing wax, spent interspersed with the girls’ whispers like, “Professor Xiāo’s friend is stunning,” and “Professor Xiāo truly is A University’s ace with both looks and talent.”