Chapter 42: A Fictional Dilemma and an Unexpected Intruder

“Class, let’s begin. Please turn to page 47 as we continue with the material from our last lesson.”

The history teacher, a tall, slender man past fifty, always seemed lost in his own rhythm while lecturing, making the lesson’s highlights far less engaging than his thinning hairline.

By the last class of the morning, Mo Qiu had utterly given up.

Having spent the entire morning staring at Bai Chen, not only had she achieved nothing, but she had also nearly been caught by the teacher.

Once this class ended, it would be lunchtime, offering far more freedom of action than during lessons. No longer fixated on her longing gaze, she began to strategize her next move.

‘Where exactly had things gone wrong?’

Several times, Bai Chen had almost met her gaze, yet he never seemed to notice her presence.

‘Did this guy never pay attention to what was happening behind him?’

‘No, that couldn’t be right; earlier, at the street corner, he had been incredibly sharp, not even allowing an opportunity for contact.’

‘Was he intentionally guarding against me?’

Mo Qiu quickly banished that thought; given Bai Chen’s intelligence, he wouldn’t believe the truth even if it were laid out plainly before him.

‘Then was my approach flawed?’

Glancing at the history teacher, who was spitting excitedly on the podium, utterly oblivious to the students in the front row whose faces had turned liver-red with boredom, Mo Qiu quietly pulled out the novel with the pink cover.

Opening to the marked pages, she reread the relevant passages.

‘It really wasn’t the same as what I did,’ she realized. ‘The book describes the male lead intentionally pulling the female lead to prevent her from falling after they collided, which led to that awkward posture.’

‘So that was it! The problem was there?’

Mo Qiu had an epiphany: she shouldn’t have rushed towards Bai Chen; she should have let him rush towards her.

Mo Qiu flipped to other pages, rereading the scene where the male and female leads made eye contact in class.

In the book, the two sat in adjacent seats, and the male lead wasn’t paying attention in class at all, which was why he turned to peek at the female lead, and their eyes met.

“The difference is too great,”

Mo Qiu muttered, casting another glance at Bai Chen’s back.

Her seat was in the furthest corner of the classroom, almost an entire classroom’s length away from Bai Chen, and behind him. Bai Chen had recently fared poorly in the last exam, so he was listening with exceptional focus in class, certainly not idle enough to peek at others.

Mo Qiu sighed, closing the book.

‘The conditions were too disparate; fantasy was beautiful, but reality was stark.’

‘Was there a more easily achievable scenario?’

‘This was all for my grand plan, not because I was bored in class and couldn’t resist reading a novel.’

Thus comforting herself, Mo Qiu reopened the novel and began to read with relish.

At first, she only skipped to the marked sections, but reading them without context felt strangely incomplete, so she decided to read through continuously.

Eventually, she found herself back at the very beginning of the novel, savoring it page by page.

Rereading it, she discovered an unexpected bonus: the author hadn’t written haphazardly but had skillfully laid out foreshadowing earlier on, truly hidden deep within the text.

Just as the plot reached its first major climax, a hand suddenly entered Mo Qiu’s vision, snatching the novel from before her.

For a fleeting moment, Mo Qiu was on the verge of erupting with killing intent, but she quickly suppressed it, looking up to see the history teacher’s face, a jumble of emotions.

“I wondered why you kept your head down,” the history teacher boomed. “So you were reading *this*.”

The history teacher’s voice was loud, causing nearly the entire class to turn their attention towards them. Bai Chen, sitting in front, was still taking notes, only noticing the commotion when Old Zhu, seated in front of him, tapped his desk.

‘Mo Qiu was reading a novel in class?’

It was the first time Bai Chen had learned she had such a hobby.

“This is a history class!” the teacher continued. “Is our nation’s glorious history somehow inferior to this fictional nonsense?”

The history teacher tucked the book behind his back, gazing at Mo Qiu, his lecture unrelenting.

“What good is it to be obsessed with such things all day? Will reading novels feed you in the future? You’d be better off learning more about our nation’s history; perhaps you could even become a teacher like me someday.”

The history teacher lectured loudly, and his scolding was no less aggressive; many students who usually caused trouble in class behaved obediently during history, lest their ears be worn raw from his incessant lecturing.

If it had been any other student, they would have been nodding profusely, apologizing, and promising to pay attention in class from now on.

But Mo Qiu was different; throughout the entire ordeal, her expression remained unchanged, and she even shifted her gaze away from the history teacher’s face, appearing utterly uninterested.

Her demeanor made the history teacher pause, his tone sinking lower as if he were suppressing something.

“Student,” he began, his voice now dangerously quiet, “are you even listening to me? You neither pay attention in class nor heed my words. What exactly is your purpose for being here…?”

Just as his impassioned emotions were about to reach their peak, on the verge of erupting, a sudden wail came from behind them.

“Ouch!”

“Old Zhu, Old Zhu, are you alright?”

Bai Chen quickly spoke up, solicitously checking Old Zhu’s injury.

Old Zhu shot him a glare, but still gritted his teeth obediently, letting out a muffled groan.

“It looks quite serious,” Bai Chen said, standing up and raising his hand. “Teacher, Student Zhu’s old injury has flared up again.”

‘An old injury?’

Mo Qiu looked over, noticing Old Zhu was clutching his foot, as if someone had stepped hard on his instep.

“Old injury? What old injury?” The history teacher turned around.

“It’s, it’s an injury from playing basketball,” Bai Chen rattled off, cold sweat beading on his face. “Teacher, you wouldn’t believe it, that game was incredibly exciting. Both teams were locked in a fierce struggle, playing from dawn till dusk, and in the end, Old Zhu sacrificed himself to score the winning point. But his foot got injured, and it hasn’t healed since.”

“Ah, yes, yes, I had the air conditioning on too high last night, and the wound got cold.”

The two of them played off each other perfectly, their coordination seamless. The history teacher’s gaze became noticeably sterner, though his tone softened:

“Then quickly take him to the infirmary; don’t delay.”

“Alrighty.”

No sooner had the words left his lips than the bell for class dismissal rang, students erupted in cheers, and the history teacher had no choice but to announce the end of class before departing.

Just as Bai Chen was about to help Old Zhu up, the other boy shook off his hand.

“Go on, go on, find your girl,” Old Zhu groaned. “You bastard, your aim was brutal; at least give me a heads-up next time.”

“Thanks, I’ll play basketball with you tonight, we’ll have a blast.”

“It’s a deal then.”

Having sent Old Zhu away, Bai Chen finally found Mo Qiu, who was still seated in her spot.

“Mo Qiu?”

Bai Chen waved a hand in front of her. Although her expression remained unchanged, he could distinctly sense the negative aura emanating from her.

“Don’t take it to heart,” he said gently. “You know how that teacher is. There’s nothing wrong with reading novels; I like reading them too.”

“Really?” Mo Qiu turned her head to look at him.

“Uh, of course.” Bai Chen scratched his head. “Anyway, don’t overthink it.”

“No, I don’t care.”

“Alright then.”

Bai Chen gave a dry laugh, then couldn’t help but sigh as he left.

‘Her reaction was so cold. She must care after all… and she’s probably still angry at me.’

Yet, Bai Chen had already found a way to appease her.

Mo Qiu hadn’t lied; she truly didn’t care about the history teacher’s words. If it weren’t for Bai Chen, she would never have confined herself to a classroom with a bunch of immature students.

After sitting in the classroom for a while, Mo Qiu got up and left, not heading to the cafeteria like the other students, but instead making her way to the office door.

The young woman pressed her ear against the wall, and only after confirming there was no sound inside did she push open the half-ajar door.

The teachers in the office had also gone for lunch; some would return soon, so she didn’t have much time.

Simply stealing the novel back wouldn’t be difficult; the challenge lay in not knowing where the history teacher’s workspace was. With so many desks in the office, searching them one by one would be a hassle.

Perseverance paid off; Mo Qiu finally located the history teacher’s desk, but her novel wasn’t on the surface. Perhaps it was in a drawer.

The first drawer, empty.

The second drawer, empty.

The third drawer—she found it!

Mo Qiu’s eyebrow twitched; she picked up her little treasure, which had been missing for a while. Since Bai Chen said he liked reading novels, the risk of sneaking it back was worth it.

Just then, she heard footsteps.

Mo Qiu immediately held her breath, hunching her shoulders and hiding beneath the desk.

‘The footsteps were getting closer. Had the history teacher returned?’

This was no place to linger. Mo Qiu crawled out, bent at the waist, using the office desks to shield her body.

‘The footsteps stopped?’

Mo Qiu crawled on, puzzled, until her head collided with someone crawling from the opposite direction.

Both tumbled backward simultaneously. Just as Mo Qiu was about to knock the other person unconscious, they spoke first.

“Mo Qiu?”

‘Bai Chen?’

They stared at each other, both speechless.

Bai Chen noticed the novel in her hand and blurted out, “Why are you here stealing things too? It’s dangerous.”

Mo Qiu wasn’t listening to a word he said; her mind was consumed by a single thought:

‘What a perfect opportunity! I remember a similar scene in the book.’

‘The female lead sneaks in, gets discovered by the male lead, feigns weakness to gain his favor, and ultimately leaves in his princess carry.’

‘Yes, weakness.’

“Mo Qiu?” Bai Chen was puzzled as the young woman began to retreat.

‘What was happening?’

Mo Qiu, like a threatened small animal, “accidentally” tumbled to the floor as she backed away, exuding a toy-like fragility.

“Please, don’t tell anyone else.”

“Huh?”

“I… I’m willing to do anything.”

Mo Qiu adored this original line and used it without alteration. As it turned out, the effect was phenomenal.

“Wait, what kind of act is this?” Bai Chen was utterly bewildered. He tried to approach her, but Mo Qiu widened the distance between them again.

Before he could recover, Mo Qiu scrambled up and grabbed the hem of her shirt. Her pale belly was revealed before him, and above it, the bra supporting her ample breasts.

‘When facing danger, exposing one’s vulnerable parts signifies a lack of hostility; this fact was also recorded in *Miss Demon Falls for Me*.’

“Stop, stop, stop! What are you doing?” Bai Chen couldn’t stop her, so he simply squeezed his eyes shut.

The scene, to an onlooker, would appear as if Bai Chen had caught the young woman in a deserted office, cornering and pressuring her relentlessly.

‘Why wasn’t he comforting her yet?’

‘At this point, the male leads in novels would already be warming the female lead with their bodies.’ Mo Qiu, too, was expecting Bai Chen to close in, but he simply didn’t.

So she took the initiative, her bra, unhindered by clothing, directly pressed against Bai Chen’s body, like a squeezed balloon.

‘Oh no, Little Bai Chen is about to perk up.’ (TL Note: “小白辰” (Xiao Bai Chen) is a playful or affectionate nickname for Bai Chen, but in this context, “小白辰要抬头了” (Xiao Bai Chen yao tai tou le) is a euphemism for an erection, referring to Bai Chen’s penis.)

Just as Bai Chen wavered, an uninvited guest burst in.

Having eaten her fill and stretching contentedly, Zheng Yuxin walked into the office, only to stumble upon this exact scene.

As the class teacher, her expression instantly turned grim.