Sending Paper

The greyish-white toilet partitions divided the entire restroom into three identical stalls, each with a gap of about ten centimeters beneath the door panel.

The greyish-white partitions contrasted with the white floor tiles, making the space look very clean and tidy. Su Ke stood at the entrance with weak knees, peering through the narrow gap of the open door: "Secretary Li, did you call me?"

As he spoke, Su Ke didn't even realize his voice was trembling with nervousness. He felt like a thief, not daring to cross the threshold, and could only try his best to squint into the interior.

"Su Ke!" Li Yuhua's voice, sounding like the buzzing of a mosquito, drifted over from the innermost stall.

"Yes!" Su Ke gulped, swallowing hard, and hurriedly responded.

"Can—can you help me get some... get some toilet paper?" Li Yuhua stuttered, finally managing to get the whole sentence out. Once the words were spoken, not only did Li Yuhua feel a weight lift, but Su Ke also felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and he quickly agreed.

"Alright, just wait a moment!"

Su Ke pulled his head back and shut the door behind him, but a new problem arose. "Damn it, I don't have any paper either!" He rummaged through his pockets, but aside from some loose change, there wasn't even five centimeters of toilet paper to be found. What was he supposed to do?

If he ran to the principal's office to get paper, my god, wouldn't that be blatantly selling Secretary Li out? Should he go downstairs to the school's small convenience store? By the time he got back, the opportunity would have long passed, and Secretary Li's embarrassing problem would have likely vanished with the breeze—or rather, air-dried!

He looked around blankly, feeling helpless, when his eyes accidentally landed on a door not far from the restroom that bore a sign reading 'Finance Office'.

I hope it's a male teacher! Su Ke prayed silently. Whatever deity it might be—the Jade Emperor, the Primordial Lord of Heaven, the Goddess of Mercy—he didn't care; they just had to help him out this one time!

"Knock, knock, knock!" The door to the Finance Office was a thick security door, and his knocking produced a dull thud. Su Ke took deep, ragged breaths; all his hopes for borrowing paper were pinned on what lay behind this door.

"Creak!" The security door was pushed open from the inside. Su Ke took a deep breath, and before he could even see a person, he blurted out in his nervousness:

"Teacher, could you please lend me some paper?"

"Hmm?" A woman poked her head out. She looked surprised to see Su Ke standing at the door.

"Uh!" Su Ke looked up. The person who had poked her head out of the Finance Office was actually a female teacher. She didn't look old, probably not even thirty, wearing a pair of delicate metal-rimmed glasses. Her cheeks were quite refined. As she looked at him, she reached up to adjust the frames on her nose, her eyes filled with confusion.

Damn it, I can't take this. Why does it have to be a female teacher! Su Ke felt a wave of frustration. It seemed his prayers had been in vain. He had hoped for a male teacher so it would be easier to ask, but who would have thought it would turn out like this?

Su Ke's face flushed bright red. His hands clenched into fists involuntarily, and his voice dropped much lower: "Teacher, could you please lend me some paper?"

"Paper?" the female teacher repeated hesitantly. She looked Su Ke up and down, and seeing his awkward state, she smiled slightly. "Sure, what kind of paper? I don't have any exercise paper here, will A4 printer paper do?"

"Uh!" Su Ke was even more embarrassed by the teacher's question. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. After all, for a boy who had always been somewhat introverted and dull, asking a female teacher for toilet paper was truly a massive challenge.

But, but there was a Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Youth League in the bathroom waiting for him to deliver the paper!

"Teacher!" Su Ke could even hear his own rapid heartbeat. With a bitter expression, he finally spoke again: "I... I want to borrow some toilet paper. I need to use the restroom!"

"Pfft!" The female teacher in the Finance Office was suddenly amused by Su Ke. Watching him look so helpless and red-faced—especially since he was already drenched in sweat after just a short while, whether from nerves or because he was truly desperate—it was just too comical.

"Wait here!" With that, the female teacher turned and walked back inside. As she turned, the black ponytail tied at the back of her head swayed from side to side.

"Here you go!" Before long, the female teacher reappeared in front of Su Ke. She extended her fingers; her snow-white arms were as delicate as mutton-fat jade, and her slender fingers were spread open, handing Su Ke the item he had been dreaming of.

"Uh, I don't need this much!" The teacher was truly too thoughtful; she had handed him a whole wad of toilet paper, enough for three or four people. Subconsciously, Su Ke tried to decline.

"Just take it! It's not like it's anything precious." Without letting him argue, she shoved it directly into Su Ke's hand. Su Ke was so moved he almost had tears in his eyes, and he hurriedly nodded in thanks.

Clutching the toilet paper, Su Ke crept back toward the restroom door. "Secretary Li?"

"Yes!" Li Yuhua responded from inside.

"Should I bring the paper to you?" Su Ke felt his throat tighten, his voice sounding a bit hoarse. He didn't know if Li Yuhua had heard him, so he waited nervously.

"Yes!" It seemed Li Yuhua was also hesitating. After a moment, her voice came again.

Screw it, no matter what, I'm entering the women's restroom with Secretary Li's permission! Su Ke gritted his teeth and pushed open the restroom door, but the moment he took a step, his legs felt weak, and he nearly tripped.

Entering the women's restroom—this was the first time in his life, a truly earth-shattering event. And to make matters worse, there was a Secretary Li inside, currently squatting!

Hearing the door creak, Li Yuhua knew Su Ke had walked in. She nervously glanced at the stall door handle, confirming it was indeed locked, but her heart still hammered wildly. Her right hand remained on the handle, terrified that Su Ke might try to open the door.

Moving inch by inch, Su Ke finally managed to shuffle to the innermost stall. A thin layer of sweat had broken out on his back, and he was gripping the toilet paper so hard he nearly crushed it into a ball.

Su Ke knew that he and Li Yuhua were separated by only this one door panel. The thought made his scalp tingle and his mouth go dry. He slowly bent down, not daring to get too close, but unable to stay too far away either.

His right hand, holding the toilet paper, trembled slightly as he reached it toward the ten-centimeter gap beneath the door. The moment he poked it through, he felt his hand lighten; the paper had left his grasp.

"Thank you!" Li Yuhua's voice came again.

"Uh, you're welcome!" Having finally completed his mission, a relieved Su Ke immediately turned tail and fled, running out as if his life depended on it, leaning against the outer wall of the restroom to take deep, ragged breaths.