Chapter 15

The girl she had grabbed showed no fear or guilt. Instead, she stuck out her chin and talked back. "You bullied Teacher Lu's mother! A bad woman like you doesn't deserve to be a teacher or teach us!"

Lu Tinglan suddenly released her collar and cupped her face instead, studying her closely.

Of all the unfamiliar little brats at Lu Family Village Primary School, Lu Tinglan knew this girl best. Her name was Lu Ting. Her mother had died three years ago, and her father had found her a stepmother. The woman did not mistreat her, but a child without a mother was always pitiful. Over time, Lu Ting had become withdrawn and hard to like.

Children in the village started school late. Though Lu Ting was only in fifth grade, she would turn fourteen after the New Year...

Lu Tinglan gave her a strange look. Thinking of the girl's inexplicable hostility, she felt her anger suddenly subside.

The new teacher looked at Lu Ting as though she could see through everything, making the girl's skin crawl.

What kind of look was that?

Even the most good-tempered person would get angry after someone threw a lump of mud at her in public. So why had Lu Tinglan gone from furious to speechless? Why did her eyes even hold a trace of pity and exasperation?

That was the expression Lu Ting hated most. It was how all those adults looked at her!

She didn't need their sympathy!

Lu Ting wrenched free of Lu Tinglan's grip, ran off, then stuck out her tongue and pulled a smug face.

But if she could have heard Lu Tinglan's thoughts, she probably would not have been so calm. One glance was all Lu Tinglan needed to spot the secret she was desperately hiding—

Would an ordinary student defend a male teacher only a few years older than herself this fiercely?

Remembering the outrageous plot of the original book, Lu Tinglan had a bad suspicion. Don't tell me they aren't teacher and student, but lovers...

Jiang Xingnian, who was walking over, stopped short. He had only meant to greet Comrade Lu, who had helped him before. He had not expected to hear something so explosive as soon as he approached.

Before Lu Ting could make another move, a friendly-looking girl came up beside Lu Tinglan and offered her a thick rag. "Teacher, hurry and wipe off that mud. It'll be harder to get off once it dries."

Lu Tinglan looked at her with a faint, knowing smile but did not take the rag.

They remained at an impasse. In less than a minute, the girl's smile crumbled. She cried out in pain, and a little scorpion fell out of the rag.

If Lu Tinglan had taken it without thinking, she would have been the one with a swollen hand.

The student threw the rag down hard. Jealousy blazed in her eyes as she glared at Lu Tinglan and said through gritted teeth, "Don't think Teacher Lu likes you just because he treats you well. I'm the only one in his heart. If you know what's good for you, get lost. Otherwise, you won't have a single good day here!"

What?

Rare bewilderment crossed Lu Tinglan's face. She stared in shock at the female students surrounding her, then struggled to piece together the reason.

These girls... They're all targeting me... Don't tell me they think I'm competing with them for a man??? Seriously? Has it occurred to them that not everyone has a fetish for ugly men?

There was too much to criticize and nowhere to start. Lu Tinglan stood petrified for a full minute before saying earnestly, "Could we maybe stop looking for men in the trash?"

"..."

It was no exaggeration to say that the moment Lu Tinglan spoke, the surrounding chatter fell silent. The students' faces turned several shades paler than the powder they had put on.

Had she found out?

After that awkward pause, they all scrambled to explain themselves. Lu Tinglan found it irritating to listen to.

In the original book, the truth had not come out until two years later, at the cost of a life. Lu Tinglan had never imagined that Lu Xiaohu had turned the primary school into his harem so early.

What a bunch of foolish girls!

Lu Tinglan wanted to give each of them a punch and shake the water out of their heads.

Can we please stop driving up the price of pork!

That Lu Xiaohu you praise to the skies is just a short, scrawny runt with no abilities. How desperate would I have to be to fall for him? Raise your standards! Isn't Jiang Xingnian a thousand, ten thousand times better than that scumbag?

A thousand, ten thousand times...

Jiang Xingnian stopped in his tracks. So Lu Tinglan thought that highly of him.

But then his brain, briefly clouded by those sweet words, processed the earth-shattering secret.

Lu Xiaohu and so many female students—if this blew up, more than one life would be ruined.

"Comrade Lu!" he called from a distance, then followed his usual routine.

"Have you finished cutting the pig fodder today? Shall I tally your work points?"

Lu Tinglan was finally rescued from the circle of female students. They were vulnerable too, girls coaxed down the wrong path. Though they had cornered her so aggressively, Lu Tinglan found it hard to resent them.

The important thing was to deal with Lu Xiaohu and Qin Shujie.

Where have those two bastard lovers gone!

A dreadful suspicion arose in Lu Tinglan's mind. No way. Are those two so desperate that they had to sneak off and screw during one outdoor class...?

"???"

This time, Jiang Xingnian was the one whose face went blank. Was Lu Tinglan really speaking Chinese? He had heard every word, yet could not make sense of any of it.

"I'll get a notebook so I can keep track of everything," Lu Tinglan said casually, making up an excuse before slipping away.

The students had all gone to their activity class, leaving the little temple unusually quiet, apart from faint rustling in the teachers' office.

Lu Tinglan circled outside and crouched by the window, peering in with only her eyes showing. At some point, Jiang Xingnian had followed her over.

Jiang Xingnian knew perfectly well what she was doing, but he pretended to be confused. "Teacher Lu, what are you—"

Before he could finish, Lu Tinglan clapped a hand over his mouth.

Quiet, quiet, quiet! If you're going to eavesdrop, show some professionalism. Don't alert them!

Beneath her soft palm, Jiang Xingnian's eyes curved in a secret smile.

The two of them hid outside like thieves. Someone inside seemed to sense something. Lu Tinglan heard a door creak, followed by footsteps heading outward. A long while passed. She shifted uncomfortably where she crouched before the voices inside resumed.

Two voices, heavy with intimacy, rang out in the quiet little courtyard.

"Teacher Lu... Don't, don't do that. It feels strange..."

Then came a boy's duck-like voice, still in the midst of changing. "Be good and listen. Your teacher wouldn't hurt you. Try it. You'll understand once you try..."

The girl began crying out and struggling. Lu Tinglan's eyelid twitched, and she quietly clenched her fists.

I can't stand this anymore. Let me give him a kick that'll end his family line!

Jiang Xingnian reached out to stop her and shook his head. Bursting in recklessly would do the girl inside nothing but harm.

If word got out that a student was involved with her teacher, the villagers could drown her in spit. They might even hastily marry her off to Lu Xiaohu. Wouldn't that push her deeper into the fire pit?

Jiang Xingnian led Lu Tinglan around to the main entrance. They deliberately made just enough noise to be heard, and the room instantly went quiet. The people inside likely did not dare continue.

Qin Shujie came out of another classroom. His eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Xingnian. He strode over and draped an arm around the young man's shoulders as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What brings Educated Youth Jiang here today? You're well educated. Interested in teaching a couple of classes? It'd be cleaner and more respectable than slogging away raising pigs..."

Wow—

Lu Tinglan's inner voice swooped through eighteen exaggerated notes. That lingering gaze, that flirtatious touch... Has Qin Shujie taken a fancy to Jiang Xingnian? Trying to turn a straight man? That's a little perverted~

A shiver ran through Jiang Xingnian. In his eyes, Lu Tinglan saw his entire worldview shatter.

That's right. Exactly what you're thinking. You see him as a brother, but your brother wants your body~

"Aaaaaah..."

That was Jiang Xingnian's silent scream. If Lu Tinglan could have heard his thoughts, her eardrums might have burst.