An Open and Honest Talk

She could tell that Xu Qing had clearly thought long and hard before coming to see her.

"This must have been hard for you." Qin Lin patted Xu Qing on the head.

Xu Qing gave an awkward smile, his face still a little red. As a fellow guy, he found it really embarrassing to say out loud.

"You could've told me sooner," Qin Lin said, looking at him.

"I just didn't expect them to keep getting worse, acting like I wasn't even there." Xu Qing was a little annoyed, too. If he hadn't been so restrained, he would've beaten them up long ago.

After all, he was a Warrior. Beating up ordinary people wouldn't get him in trouble.

"Mm, I understand the situation. If you want to move out, that can be arranged. The problem is that it's not easy to find a place to rent near the school right now. As you know, there are a lot of people around universities, and there's never enough housing. Even if you have money, you might not find a place," Qin Lin said.

"Mm, it's fine. I'll keep looking. I'll move out once I find somewhere." Xu Qing didn't think it was a big deal. It wasn't as if he had to move out right away.

"How about this? I live nearby. I could rent you a room in my house. What do you think?" Qin Lin suggested.

"Huh?" Xu Qing froze. He hadn't expected Qin Lin to say that.

Was his homeroom teacher really that nice? She was even willing to rent him a room in her own home. Wasn't that a little too kind?

It was so kind that Xu Qing could hardly believe it.

Besides, he was a guy. How could he live in a female teacher's house? That didn't seem right.

It wouldn't have been a problem if she were a male teacher.

"Think it over. My house is quite large, and I live alone, so there are plenty of spare rooms. It's not far from the school, and I can even drive you to school for free," Qin Lin continued.

After hearing that, Xu Qing couldn't deny that he was tempted. But he felt awkward accepting. Wouldn't he be taking advantage of her?

And she was his homeroom teacher, too. How could he bring himself to agree?

Most importantly, the idea of renting a room in his homeroom teacher's house just seemed strange no matter how he looked at it.

"Don't worry. I won't do anything to you. You don't have to be afraid I'll hurt you," Qin Lin added.

"No, I wasn't thinking that," Xu Qing hurriedly said, shaking his head.

Come on, he was a grown man. What did he have to be afraid of? Qin Lin might not even be able to beat him.

He just felt that it would look bad for a male student to live in a female teacher's house.

"Then it's settled. Move into my place for now. If you ever want to leave, you can move out whenever you like. How does that sound?" Qin Lin made the decision for him.

"Okay, fine. Thank you, Teacher Qin." Xu Qing couldn't bring himself to refuse, so he could only agree.

"Then let's do it today. When you're free, I'll drive over to your dorm," Qin Lin said, acting decisively as always.

Xu Qing was swept along by her pace. He thought for a moment. "I don't have class this afternoon."

"Good, then this afternoon. Go back and pack your things. I'll contact you later," Qin Lin said.

Just like that, Xu Qing had settled on a place to stay. Even as he walked out of the office, it still didn't feel real.

Afterward, Xu Qing told Xu Xin about it. He didn't mention his roommates, only that he was moving in with Qin Lin.

After hearing what had happened, Xu Xin sensed something was going on, but she didn't say anything.

Half an hour later, Xu Xin arrived at Qin Lin's office.

"Teacher Qin, can you tell me why you're being so kind to Xiao Qing?" Xu Xin's voice was sharp, and all her usual gentleness was gone.

From Xu Qing's account, she had immediately picked up on something being off. Putting it together with a few things that had happened before, she felt she might have figured something out.

So she'd come straight to Qin Lin to confront her.

Qin Lin wasn't surprised to see Xu Xin. She remained calm. "Sit down and we'll talk."

Steam curled from the red tea as Xu Xin and Qin Lin sat facing each other. The office door was shut.

"The fact that you came to see me means you've figured out how I feel. You're right. It's exactly what you think," Qin Lin admitted easily.

At that answer, Xu Xin's deeply furrowed brows relaxed instead. "I thought you kept calling Xiao Qing to your office because he was distracted in class. I didn't expect this."

"Does it seem hard to believe?" Qin Lin gave a self-deprecating smile.

Xu Xin shook her head. "I'm just a little surprised."

In truth, to her, it was much like how Luo Feng had secretly watched her every day in their first year of high school.

Qin Lin had simply gone about it differently, more discreetly, so it was harder to notice.

"I don't know whether you think these feelings are normal. After all, I'm a teacher and he's a student. There's not only a difference in status, but in age as well, so I don't dare do much," Qin Lin murmured. It sounded as if she were talking to herself, but also as if she were talking to Xu Xin.

She didn't know when she'd fallen for Xu Qing. Maybe it was the first time they met, when his reaction amused her, and she started paying attention to him after that.

By the time she realized what was happening, she'd started catching Xu Qing fishing. She called him to the office, but didn't scold him; she just gave him things to do so he'd stay a little longer.

She hadn't done anything inappropriate, and she didn't dare to.

So even now, Xu Qing probably still thought she was deliberately picking on him. In fact, she wasn't. She was just trying to spend more time with him.

Listening to Qin Lin, Xu Xin could understand how she felt: liking someone but not daring to say it, being careful, and pretending nothing was wrong.

In that respect, Qin Lin was just like Luo Feng had once been. The only difference was that Luo Feng had moved forward, while Qin Lin was still standing still.

"Then why did you ask Xiao Qing to move into your house this time, Teacher Qin?" Xu Xin couldn't understand that part.

Qin Lin shook her head. "I can't tell you outright. I can only say that there's something wrong with his two roommates. You can look into it yourself. Don't worry, Xu Qing is fine."

"He didn't want to tell you because you're his older sister."

Xu Xin frowned. No wonder Xu Qing hadn't been willing to say anything. So that was the reason.

If even Xu Qing wasn't willing to tell her, then it must have been something embarrassing.

"But, Teacher Qin, is that really the only reason you want Xiao Qing to move in with you?" Xu Xin set aside the matter of Xu Qing's roommates and continued to press her.

Qin Lin shook her head. "Of course I have my own motives. But don't worry, I won't do anything inappropriate. I also told him he could leave whenever he wanted."

At that, Xu Xin had no more questions.

She could understand Qin Lin's personal motives. If Qin Lin had said she had none at all, that would have been strange.