Chapter 5: An Xue Ruo

“Hi, everyone. I’m Lu You.”

“I’m fifteen years old.”

“Please take care of me.”

A polite, confident introduction.

Not too attention-grabbing, not too shy.

Perfect.

“Hey, hey, chill out, stop staring.”

I sat down and patted Zheng’s shoulder.

The guy was practically drooling.

He’d been ogling the girl in front of me since we got here.

Our slightly older homeroom teacher was pretty efficient.

After roll call, she immediately assigned seats.

I requested to sit with Zheng.

Since we’re about the same height, the teacher agreed.

But… this jerk didn’t seem thrilled.

What, you actually thought you’d sit with An Xue Ruo?

Then the teacher put An Xue Ruo right in front of me…

“It’s your fault.”

“Why’d you have to sit next to me?”

“I was this close to sitting with An Xue Ruo.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

Without me, he might’ve been her deskmate.

“Didn’t you just go on about our three years of friendship on the bus?”

“And now this?”

“Scram, who are you?”

“Don’t interrupt my girl-watching.”

“Hehe, she’s so pretty.”

“I declare her my goddess.”

This jerk…

Fine, whatever.

But the girl in front of me was indeed beautiful.

Willow-leaf brows.

Smooth, water-blue hair.

A curvy figure.

A delicate, flower-like face.

She could almost rival Sister Yuan.

Though, compared to her, I prefer Sister Yuan’s more mature charm.

Her self-introduction earlier was a bit shy.

It had a delicate, refined girl-next-door vibe.

Thanks to her looks, the class went wild when she stood up to introduce herself.

So, naturally, no one paid attention to what I said afterward.

“Everyone, get to know each other.”

“The schedule’s posted by the blackboard.”

“Come to my office if you have questions.”

The homeroom teacher left after her final instructions.

The classroom erupted into noise again.

“I’m gonna nap for a bit.”

“Wake me when class starts.”

Zheng was still staring at the girl in front, totally ignoring me.

I nudged his head to get his attention.

“First period’s English, right?”

“I’m napping. Wake me for class.”

I repeated myself, then rested my head on my folded arms to catch up on sleep.

“Good morning, class.”

“I’m your English teacher this semester.”

“My name is Mo Yuan.”

Class must’ve started.

The teacher was already in the room.

That voice sounded so familiar.

Wait… Mo Yuan?!

I snapped my head up.

There was Sister Yuan, standing at the podium in a black suit.

Come to think of it, Zheng’s never seen Sister Yuan.

He knows I live with my sister but has never seen her face or heard her full name.

“And you called me out?”

“You’re the one getting all excited over a pretty voice.”

“Get lost.”

“I’m not like you.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Pot calling the kettle black.”

I didn’t bother arguing with Zheng anymore.

The classroom was buzzing louder than when An Xue Ruo introduced herself.

“Teacher, my English is great!”

“I want to be the class rep!”

“Teacher, how old are you?”

“You look so young!”

“Teacher, do you have a boyfriend?”

“Are you into younger guys?”

…

That last one was way too bold!

“Don’t ask questions unrelated to studies.”

“I won’t answer them.”

Sister Yuan’s voice was cold as ice, devoid of emotion.

“Wow, an ice queen beauty.”

“So gorgeous, Young Master Lu.”

“She’s alright, I guess.”

“Not that stunning.”

That was a total lie.

I’ve always known how breathtaking Sister Yuan is.

But in front of others, I can’t bring myself to gush about her beauty like they do.

“Just alright?”

“Young Master Lu, your standards are sky-high.”

“Yeah, yeah, she’s gorgeous.”

“So, compared to your goddess Xue Ruo, who’s prettier?”

“Hard to compare.”

“Xue Ruo’s the cute, girlfriend type.”

“Teacher Mo’s the big-sister type—perfect for a girlfriend or a sister.”

“If I had to choose, I’d say Teacher Mo’s a bit prettier.”

A sister…

I broke into a sweat.

Sister Yuan’s an incredible sister.

Maybe even too incredible.

“Hey, look, is Teacher Mo staring at us?”

“She’s been looking this way since earlier.”

“Is she looking at me?”

“Dream on, she’s not looking at you.”

“You’re such a narcissist.”

“What, if it’s not me, is she looking at you?”

She actually is…

But I didn’t call him out.

If Zheng, the big mouth, found out this stunning English teacher was my sister…

My high school life would never know peace.

Let him keep his confidence.

“Isn’t this my chance?”

“She’s still looking at me.”

“Young Master Lu, should I show off a bit?”

Huh?

She’s still looking this way?

I turned toward the podium.

My eyes met Sister Yuan’s.

She gave me a small smile.

“Young Master Lu, Teacher Mo smiled at me!”

“Did you see? Did you see?”

“Yeah, yeah, she smiled at you.”

“Don’t get so worked up.”

“How can I not?”

“A gorgeous English teacher keeps staring at you and smiles.”

“You telling me you wouldn’t be excited?”

I’m not excited.

I’m used to it.

“You’d better cool it.”

“Don’t cry to me later when you realize it’s a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“How’s it a misunderstanding?”

“If she’s not looking at you or me, what, is she looking at Goddess Xue Ruo?”

“Right, Teacher Mo’s so cold to guys.”

“Maybe… she’s into girls!”

“And Xue Ruo’s so pretty.”

“What if Teacher Mo’s got a crush on her?”

If Sister Yuan heard that, you’d be dead.

An Xue Ruo’s hand twitched in front of me.

I couldn’t see her face, but she seemed to react to our words.

Wait, can she hear us?

Of course she can!

We’re right behind her!

Realizing this, I yanked Zheng’s head closer.

I whispered in his right ear.

“Shut up.”

“An Xue Ruo can probably hear you.”

“Calling her that to her face? So embarrassing.”

Zheng finally caught on.

He whispered back just as quietly.

“Oh no, you didn’t tell me sooner!”

“She heard all my creepy fanboy talk, didn’t she?”

“I’m done for.”

“Instant negative affection points.”

I patted Zheng’s back, trying to comfort him.

“It’s fine, don’t stress.”

“I only just noticed too.”

“Worst case, I’m in this with you.”

“Get lost, I don’t need your company.”

“Ugh, now I’m even further from my goddess.”

You were never close to begin with.

A little lower affection won’t change much.

But he’s still my best bud.

I should help him regain some confidence.

“Um, An Xue Ruo?”

“What’s up, Lu You?”

She turned around after I called her name.

Her youthful face lacked the gentle, refined smile from earlier.

She seemed a bit upset.

“You heard our conversation, right?”

“Sorry, my deskmate didn’t mean any harm.”

“He just thinks you’re pretty.”

“It’s just natural admiration, a bit of innocent affection.”

“Heh, it’s fine.”

“I’m not as pretty as Teacher Mo anyway, right?”

Oh no.

She heard everything.

And I mean everything.

“It’s not like that, An Xue Ruo.”

“Teacher Mo’s just more mature.”

“When you grow up, you’ll definitely be prettier than her.”

That was Zheng chiming in.

I don’t think An Xue Ruo will ever outshine Sister Yuan.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Her tone remained flat.

She turned back around.

I looked at Zheng, who looked utterly defeated.

I shook my head.

Guess he’ll have to recover on his own.

I opened my textbook and grabbed my pen.

My eyes met Sister Yuan’s as she taught.

She stood near our side of the blackboard.

She read the book’s sentences fluently.

Her steps slowly moved toward me.

Finally, she stopped by my desk.

Her face was expressionless.

No, worse than expressionless.

Her gaze was sharp as a blade, like it could pierce me through.

“Come to my office after class.”