Chapter 8: Attend My Class! Not Paying Attention?

As people approached, standing under the shade cast by the Poplar Tree, they could hear low exclamations from the girls of class nine.

Shang Jianghan hadn't planned to come over.

At the beginning of the year, Lianzhong had a charitable education fund donation event, and they picked several key high schools in the city district, with Yuncheng No. 1 High being the primary beneficiary.

To express their gratitude, the school sincerely invited senior executives of the group to serve as advisory consultants for a year.

The position was inconsequential, and just then, Shang Jianghan had been idling at home recovering from an illness, so the role fell onto his shoulders.

At Yuncheng No. 1 High, he was just a figurehead. He would have two classes per week, and naturally, someone would take his place.

It was just that he thought back to that day in the hospital corridor, that tall figure gradually disappearing into the slanting sun.

Later, as he was fetching his car from the parking lot and happened to look back involuntarily, he caught sight of that figure again. She was standing next to a tall, slim, handsome young man, the two of them chatting and laughing and even playfully scuffling – it was quite an eyesore.

Just like now, as he stood in front of class nine, all eyes on him were filled with amazement, but that person was smiling subtly.

"Good day, Mr. Shang!"

The uniform greeting reached Shen Chaoxi's left ear.

At this moment, her right earbud was still cycling through a set of English listening vocabulary.

She suddenly looked up, and the person she had coincidentally met at the hospital two days ago was actually right in front of her.

And why was the person, with a face that could bewitch all beings, walking towards her?

Before Shen Chaoxi could figure it out, a fresh, woody fragrance wafted over, followed by the lifting of his left arm, adorned with a light blue, expensive steel watch.

His skin was a pale, cold white, his arms firm and well-proportioned, and his hands were unusually handsome, long and with well-defined knuckles.

His palm moved with a brisk breeze, brushing past Shen Chaoxi's cheek.

Shen Chaoxi's eyes flickered slightly, her thick lashes trembling, the upturned corners of her eyes exceptionally seductive. With a look of surprise, she instinctively dodged to the left like a startled little fox.

The next second, her right ear was empty.

The white earbud had been removed.

"You're in my class,

not paying attention?"

The man in front of her lowered his gaze, his fingers gently rolling the white earbud, his deep voice like a strain of music, melodic and lingering.

Shen Chaoxi: ...

Why did she feel like this man was deliberately targeting her?

"Mr. Shang, I was listening to English vocabulary for listening comprehension."

"Oh?" His questioning tone lilted, clearly, Shang Jianghan was not buying that excuse, "What kind of English vocabulary includes jokes?"

Listening to English and you're laughing like a little fox?

The students nearby were a bit stunned. Seizing the moment Mr. Shang wasn't looking, they quietly started to remove the earbuds playing pop music from their ears.

If she got "criticized" just for listening to English, imagine the consequences of getting caught listening to rock music!

Shen Chaoxi felt he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Her cheeks flushed slightly, whether from the heat or from a hint of embarrassment at being caught, she looked down without saying a word.

"You're not happy getting a few critiques for listening to English vocabulary during sports class?

Then remember to come to me for a physical education session during your English class, see if that works out?" Shang Jianghan spoke with a teasing mischief in his voice.

At those words, laughter rippled quietly through the ranks.

Even Shen Chaoxi was amused by his remark, her lips pursed into a smile.

To play hooky during Bai Jinyuan's class was certainly courting death!

The brief interlude before the class quickly passed, and after some simple stretching, Shang Jianghan had the students jog slowly around the track for two laps.

The track was four hundred meters per lap, and two laps added up to eight hundred meters.

By the time they reached the second lap, it was clear that the girls, excluding Shen Chaoxi, were lagging due to lack of stamina, beginning to drop back in twos and threes.

Shen Chaoxi, with her arm being pulled by Fang Yuan, could only slowly dawdle at the back of the boys' group.

"What do you think, if I pretend to faint now, will I give myself away?"

Fang Yuan was panting heavily, having had to change strategy on the fly, it seemed that feigning a stomach ache hadn't been very effective.

At that time, the previously gloomy sky cleared up as the sun pushed through the clouds and enthusiastically kissed the earth.

The dryness, coupled with the scorching sun, caused the girls to complain incessantly.

"I thought Teacher Shang was handsome and kind-hearted, understanding enough to pity and cherish the fairer sex, but look at him, all relaxed, watching us run laps!"

Hearing these complaints, Shen Chaoxi subconsciously glanced toward the poplar tree that was several decades old.

Beneath the dappled shade of the poplar tree, a man dressed in light grey sports casual wear leaned lazily against the trunk, puffing out smoke.

His features were obscured by a cloud of grey-white smoke, indistinct to the eye.

Throughout her twelve years of schooling, this was the first time Shen Chaoxi had ever seen a teacher be so... indifferent during a physical education class!

In her mind, she suddenly pictured this scene: if Fang Yuan were to faint, what would that seemingly rogue but cold-natured man do?

"If you faint..."

Just as Shen Chaoxi was about to respond to Fang Yuan, a cry of alarm came from behind.

"Ah! Yu Nan has fainted!"

Shen Chaoxi:...

"Teacher Shang, Yu Nan has fainted! Yu Nan has fainted!"

The girl running alongside Yu Nan cried out loudly for help.

Shen Chaoxi and Fang Yuan exchanged a look, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?

The two of them were closest to Yu Nan and, regardless of what they thought, they immediately knelt down to check on her. They saw Yu Nan leaning weakly in the arms of the girl who was crying for help, her complexion pale, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead and neck.

"What should we do? She was fine just a moment ago, then suddenly she slumped onto me!" the girl stammered, scared.

Shang Jianghan who was standing under the poplar tree heard the commotion, tossed away his cigarette, and strode quickly over. His long strides brought him rapidly to where Yu Nan had fainted.

About a dozen students gathered around, making a tight circle around the scene.

When Shang Jianghan pushed past a tall boy to get through, he saw an excessively pale hand resting on the fainted girl's right wrist.

That gesture was all too familiar, instantly dragging Shang Jianghan's memory back to the intersection of Yuncheng's circular road, inside that narrow car cabin.

The cool touch had left such a strong impression on him in that hot and cramped space, it was unforgettably vivid.

"How is she?" Shang Jianghan knelt down, and the girl called Yu Nan was gradually coming to.

"Do you have anemia, or low blood sugar?" Shen Chaoxi withdrew her fingers and asked.

"Chaoxi, you can take a pulse?" asked Fang Yuan, overly curious.

"Learned a bit from books," Shen Chaoxi replied, unwilling to elaborate.

Yu Nan's complexion was slowly improving, and she didn't pay attention to Shen Chaoxi. Instead, her eyes were fixed on Shang Jianghan.

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher Shang, I'm fine now. It's just my period, I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable," the girl said shyly, lowering her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's, but still heard by those who were meant to hear.

Shen Chaoxi stood up and took a few steps back.

"That" referred to what exactly? Anyone who had attended a normal middle school biology class and had a female in their household would know.

"Is she sick or something? Saying such things in front of the boys, and Teacher Shang too!"

Some girls murmured quietly.

Yu Nan's face remained pale, her eyes innocent and vulnerable, her intentions clear for all to see.

Shang Jianghan frowned slightly as he stood up, returning to his lazy demeanor.

"Now that she's awake, take her to the nurse's office."

Upon hearing this, the girl next to Yu Nan moved to help, but was gently refused by the other.

"What should I do if my legs are too weak to stand up?"