What the Hell Was This About a Teacher-Student Romance?

Looking at the message, Wen Ce really wanted to reply with a yes.

But he also knew that since Zhao Li had come to pick him up this time, things probably weren't that simple.

"How long will it take? Can I leave by dinnertime?" Even though he knew it was impossible, Wen Ce couldn't help asking.

Zhao Li glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Come on, Ce, are you still half-asleep? A week at the earliest, and even that's not certain."

He lowered his voice. "Uncle Chou said the other party got in when someone on our side logged in and unlocked the system..."

Wen Ce frowned. Didn't that make it obvious that there was a problem on their end?

By the look of things, Uncle Chou probably wouldn't let him leave so easily, either.

He sighed, lowered his head, and replied to Luo Lianqing. [Something urgent came up. I need to go out of province, and I'll need to ask you for leave while I'm at it. Could you approve it, teacher?]

Miaomiao's words had originally given Luo Lianqing some confidence, and she had been planning to test the waters over dinner with Wen Ce tonight.

Besides, she really wanted to eat Wen Ce's cooking. They had even bought the ingredients together at the supermarket.

Who would have thought Wen Ce's reply would be like a basin of cold water dumped over her head?

She stared straight at the words "Could you approve it, teacher?" Her expression looked awful.

That one sentence felt as though it had instantly pulled them apart.

Sitting opposite her eating potato chips, Miaomiao saw her go from smiling as she sent messages to suddenly expressionless, her eyes filled with disappointment. She couldn't help asking, "What's wrong? Did he turn you down? Then try next time. There's no rush."

"Who knows when next time will be? He suddenly went out of province..." Luo Lianqing looked rather glum. "And he called me teacher and asked me to approve his leave."

Then she added petulantly, "If I don't approve it, will he come back?"

Miaomiao let out an "Ah." "So that door closing just now was because something urgent came up. Nothing you can do about that. Are you really not going to approve it?"

Luo Lianqing shot her a look with her wide eyes. "Of course I am."

Then she lowered her head and replied, [All right. How many days do you need? You'll have to submit a leave slip when you get back.]

By then, Wen Ce was almost there. Zhao Li was a fast driver to begin with, and they were pressed for time on this trip.

Before going inside, he quickly replied, [A week for now. If that isn't enough, I'll ask for more then. I'll submit the leave slip when I get back.]

"Time to get out," Zhao Li called. "Uncle Chou's in a real hurry."

Wen Ce murmured an acknowledgment. As he pushed open the car door and got out, he kept his head lowered and added, [I'll cook for you when I get back.]

Watching him race against the clock to send messages, Zhao Li raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Something going on?"

Wen Ce glanced at him and gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Sure is. More overtime, right? I'm asking for leave."

Zhao Li pulled him inside. "We don't want this either. The capable have to do more, so just bear with it..."

The moment they entered the building, the phone that had been showing full signal suddenly ran out of battery.

Wen Ce let out a breath, casually stuffed his phone into his pocket, and followed Zhao Li up to the fifth floor.

As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw four or five people with their heads lowered, clattering away at their keyboards.

One of them, a tall, burly middle-aged man, looked over with a frown. His eyes lit up when he saw Wen Ce. "Little Wen! Come over here. Your computer's right here."

The man was Wang Qiang, whom they called Uncle Chou. Although everyone called him Uncle Chou, he wasn't ugly at all. In fact, he was rather ruggedly handsome.

That was if you ignored the way he was looking at Wen Ce right now, like a dog spotting a meaty bone.

Wen Ce sighed and walked over, resigned to his fate. An open laptop sat beside Wang Qiang.

Its lock screen showed a black silhouette.

Wang Qiang's computer was already unlocked. The reason he was called Uncle Chou was that his lock screen showed a clown.

After sitting down, Wen Ce placed his finger on the computer's fingerprint scanner, and the lock screen immediately disappeared.

"I just told them to bring the computer over too, but those bastards wouldn't let them..." As Wang Qiang spoke, he watched Wen Ce's fingers begin flying across the keyboard. "This one's a bit troublesome. They came straight through our internal..."

Luo Lianqing was rather happy to receive Wen Ce's message saying they would eat together when he got back, but seeing that he wanted a week's leave for now still worried her a little.

That was quite a long time, and his tone suggested it might be longer than a week.

Luo Lianqing replied, [Let me know if there's anything I can help with.]

Unfortunately, the message sank like a stone into the sea, never receiving a reply.

Even the several messages she sent afterward went unanswered by Wen Ce.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed, and Luo Lianqing still hadn't heard a thing from Wen Ce.

The tightly shut door opposite hers had never opened, either.

Luo Lianqing took out her phone and glanced at it, worry filling her face. The screen was covered with messages she had sent Wen Ce.

But not a single one had received a reply.

She typed out each word. [Tomorrow is the last day of your week's leave. When are you coming back?]

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Luo Lianqing looked up and saw Zhou Chi, who hadn't shown up in a long time.

Luo Lianqing frowned unconsciously. "Come in."

Zhou Chi sighed. "Come on, teacher, do you have to frown the moment you see me? I'm here to hand in the forms."

He waved the stack of forms in his hand. "The employment preference surveys. The class monitor was busy."

As he spoke, he placed the forms on Luo Lianqing's desk.

Luo Lianqing nodded and said, "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble."

Zhou Chi choked on his words.

He looked at Luo Lianqing's unhappy face, then remembered that he hadn't seen Wen Ce these past few days.

His thoughts involuntarily began stirring again. He really did like Luo Lianqing, and he had been serious about pursuing her before.

But after his phone had inexplicably turned perverted following that trip to the cinema, he hadn't had much interest in it anymore.

On top of that, the school forums were full of rumors that Luo Lianqing had a boyfriend, and that the two of them had even bought human-cub death bags together at the supermarket. That had put the idea out of his head completely.

Even a playboy had principles.

Lately, though, Luo Lianqing had looked unhappy, and he hadn't seen Wen Ce either.

Zhou Chi couldn't resist asking tentatively, "Teacher, did you break up with Wen Ce? Is that why you're in a bad mood?"

Luo Lianqing froze. Since when had she and Wen Ce been together?

She glanced at Zhou Chi. "You're sticking your nose in too much. Go back."

Seeing that she hadn't answered directly, Zhou Chi thought he had guessed right and instantly perked up again. "Come on, teacher, it's a teacher-student romance either way. Couldn't you consider me? I'm no worse than Wen Ce, am I?"

Luo Lianqing: ...What the hell was this about a teacher-student romance?

She felt rather helpless. "Zhou Chi, I really don't like your type. Besides, Wen Ce and I aren't in some teacher-student romance. Most importantly, don't you already have a girlfriend? This isn't right."

Without thinking, Zhou Chi argued, "That girl last time wasn't my girlfriend. She's the daughter of one of my mom's friends. I don't like that type. I like your type."