"No!" Li Zheng hurriedly snatched the piece of paper away from the old man. "What did you ask just now?"
"Homeroom teacher—who do you think is suitable?" The old man raised his eyebrows and said, "Choose from the rest of your subject teachers."
"Let me think about it…" Li Zheng mulled over the question. "In terms of experience, it should be the English teacher, Mrs. Zhao. But she would always leave the class in a hurry after the lesson was over, and wouldn't grade our assignments seriously. She's a little more easygoing and doesn't bother with us much. She's not very suitable for the role."
"Yes." The old man took back the piece of paper and made a note. "Mrs. Zhao is irresponsible, right?"
"You can't really say that. She does all she needs to do. It's just that she doesn't go to the extremes that Mrs. Hu Chunmei goes to." Li Zheng was a little cautious. "What are you writing down?"
"Do you still want the past issues of Science Fiction World?"
"Alright, alright, I won't ask…" Li Zheng continued to deliberate. "The Biology teacher, Mr. Hu. He's more responsible, but he has too good of a temper. Also, he does things very slowly and might not be able to keep up with the rhythm of our class."
"In other words, he slacks off and doesn't do his work." The old man penned down his notes.
"No, I didn't say that." Li Zheng then continued, "The Physics teacher, Mrs. Tao. She has enough experience and is very intelligent. I like listening to her lessons. They're organized, fast-paced, and filled with key points. But it always seems like she's only focused on giving the lesson. She doesn't usually communicate with us."
The old man moved his pen. "Hates the students and refuses to communicate."
"Forget it. Whatever floats your boat." Li Zheng opted to stop correcting the old man. "The Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Yu. She acts high and mighty and probably isn't interested in being a homeroom teacher. She's a good teacher, but she doesn't listen to others' opinions. She does what she pleases."
"This… No one would dare to offer their opinion even if she wished to listen." The old man thought for a moment, then trembled as he put his pen down. "Forget it. Even I can't afford to offend her… Oh yes, you haven't mentioned the Language teacher?"
"Yes, I'm hesitating on that one," Li Zheng said, conflicted. "The Language teacher, Mrs. Tang, is very passionate and responsible. She's a good enough teacher. She always comes up with creative teaching methods. Language is the only subject our class isn't behind in. I actually don't put much effort into Language, but I can always follow her lesson and get a decent score."
"Then why do you hesitate?"
"Don't you know about what happened last year?" Li Zheng sighed. "Three parents chased her around and scolded her. They said that she physically punished her students. But how could that be possible? With a temper as good as hers, it would be good if the students didn't bully her. Thinking about it, it's better to not let her take the class. I don't want to see a young, exceptional teacher like her be hurt again… Let the Biology teacher, Mr. Hu, take on the role. Our class monitor is quite good. He'll help the teacher."
"Oh my." The old man raised his eyebrows and said, "To think that you would be so sensitive. Even a lad like you knows how to be tender and protective?"
Li Zheng lowered his head and looked at his sparkling clean uniform. "How am I not sensitive?"
"Alright, I won't put you on the spot anymore." The old man smiled as he stood up. "Wait a moment. I'll go help you look for the magazine."
After Li Zheng anxiously waited for a moment, the old man brought over all of this year's issues of "Science Fiction World."
"Huuu… Huuu…" He blew on the cover of the magazines and wiped away the dust. "Other than me, only that girl has read these books."
Li Zheng secretly cried out in joy.
His judgment had been correct. Lin Yujing had been following every issue of the magazine.
"You can only borrow three books at once, but since you helped me download BaliBali, I'll make a small exception for you." The old man filled in the records as he mumbled. "Hm, "Science Fiction World"... It's been some time ago, but I also once asked her why a girl like her would enjoy science fiction."
"Why is that?"
"Hehe." The old man stroked his beard and gave a smile. "It's a romantic answer. I won't tell you."
"Isn't it for her studies?" Li Zheng silently stuffed the year's worth of magazines into his bag.
"You can put it that way…" The old man scratched his head. He felt that there was something strange going on. "Why is it that when I speak to you, even ordinary words sound so strange?"
"It must be because you have impure thoughts," Li Zheng whispered to himself.
He jogged out of the library after he bowed and said goodbye.
He couldn't wait for the hot-blooded contest against Jiang Qinghua.
Sometime later, a girl ducked her head into the library.
Her movements were identical to what Li Zheng did previously.
They were both secretly scouting the area to see if there were any detestable people around.
"He left. You don't need to look around anymore." The old man smiled as he waved his hand.
"Huuu…" Lin Yujing walked into the library. She said, embarrassed, "Teacher… Yesterday…"
"Do you want this?" The old man smiled as he pushed her student card forward.
"Yes… Thank you, teacher." Lin Yujing grabbed her library card, then looked at the October issue of "Science Fiction World" on the table.
"Do you want to borrow this?" The old man flipped open the cover page and said, "It's been dirtied by that lad, but I've punished him for you."
"Actually… It's alright," Lin Yujing mumbled.
"It's alright if you don't have a problem with it." The old man then pushed the magazine forward and asked, "That lad secretly asked me about why you like to read 'Science Fiction World.'"
"?!" Lin Yujing froze.
She wanted to become angry.
But dared not to.
"How… How did you…" Lin Yujing grabbed the magazine, then looked down, her face turning red. "You promised not to tell anyone…"
"Hehe, I didn't tell him. I merely whetted his appetite." The old man smirked, saying, "That silly lad thinks that you do it for your studies. There's a hole in his brain."
"Sigh…" Lin Yujing collected herself. "You must not… You must not tell him anything else."
"You don't have to worry about me."
He looked on as Lin Yujing shyly left the library.
The old man experienced a wave of emotion.
"It's great to be young," he thought.
"If time could turn back to when I was in high school."
"Why would I study?"
"All of the girls in school."
"I would interact with all of them!"
…
Lin Yujing had just stepped out of the library...
When two thick arms suddenly assaulted her from behind.
Boom!
It was a bear hug.
She suffocated.
She struggled.
She pounded frantically with her arms.
"Alright, alright!"
Qiao Bixia only released her grip after she became bored. "Hehe."
"Sigh…" Lin Yujing wiped the saliva off her mouth and stared at Qiao Bixia. "I'll bite you if you do that again."
"Hey, it's not easy for your little teeth to grow so straight. Don't abuse them." Qiao Bixia hugged Lin Yujing and said, "Let's go. Let's play basketball."
"I'm not going."
"Oh my, are you really afraid of that lad?" Qiao Bixia said, her eyes widening.
"I just don't want to go."
Then, Xu Mengxi strutted over with her tiny strides. "It's alright. We played with Li Zheng after that. He's quite peaceful."
"Tch!" Lin Yujing turned her head and said, "I'll ignore you guys if you keep speaking up for him."
"Who's speaking up for him?" Qiao Bixia said. "Don't just look at that lad jumping around in the court. He has extremely poor stamina. I'll be able to knock him around once ten minutes are up."
Xu Mengxi wiped off her sweat. "You don't need ten minutes… You can knock anyone around at any time."
"That's the spirit." Qiao Bixia grabbed Lin Yujing's shoulder, then turned her head and pulled Lin Yujing toward the restroom. "Change your clothes quickly. I'm going to abuse that lad with you today."
Lin Yujing suffocated.
She struggled.
She pounded frantically with her arms.
In the end, all she could do was bite.
Ow.
"Hey, hey, hey…" Qiao Bixia finally released her grip. She gave a silly grin as she looked at the teeth marks on her arm. "That really hurt."
"..." Lin Yujing wiped the corner of her mouth, then turned her head and asked softly, "Mengxi, is he… Can he really be pushed around after ten minutes?"
"It's true. I even managed to cover him for a while in the end."
Lin Yujing felt the itch to play.
Her mouth felt itchy too.
Though her teeth felt painful.
She stared at Qiao Bixia's arm.
She started to rub her mouth.
"I've told you." Qiao Bixia hurried and pushed Lin Yujing toward the restroom. "Hurry, I've been holding it in for a day. I didn't sleep well yesterday."