589. The Class Teacher’s Home【8/20】
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Looking back now, the class teacher claiming he often cooks was clearly just bragging.
This class teacher loved to boast. Back in high school during math class, he had once bragged about having thousands of students, saying that even the thugs in the whole county wouldn’t dare mess with him. He claimed that if any student were bullied by outside punks, he could handle it without breaking a sweat.
Hearing this, Lin Nan felt a wave of safety and even placed the class teacher on a pedestal, thinking of him as her protector against the world.
However, after Lin Nan graduated, she never heard of a student seeking his help after being bullied by thugs, which was kind of disappointing.
It was probably only her.
“You seriously don’t think he can cook, right? No way, no way! You’ve been sweet and naive for way too long.”
Lin Nan angrily slipped on her low-heeled sandals and stepped on Chen Yao’s foot, “Speak properly!”
“I’m sorry!” Chen Yao quickly realized the price of teasing as pain shot through his foot.
The class teacher chuckled at their banter, reminiscing about when he caught them skipping class behind the school walls, unable to hold back a laugh.
When the two turned their gaze toward him, he explained, “Back then, seeing you two skipping class together, I never imagined you’d end up as a couple.”
“When Lin Nan was a boy then, and you’re not into that kind of thing, how could you think of that?” Chen Yao retorted. “At least we thought she was a boy.”
Lin Nan’s face turned a little red as she lowered her head to eat noodles, remaining silent.
“Even though Lin Nan was rather delicate and introverted back then, you couldn’t tell she was a girl!” The class teacher laughed at Chen Yao, “You lucky punk! Lin Nan took you as a brother, and you ended up flirting with her.”
Chen Yao scoffed, “Clearly it was Lin Nan flirting with me.”
Sure, he told Tu Junhui he would share the secret to turning a buddy into a girlfriend, but honestly, it seemed like Lin Nan had always been the one making the moves, while he just delivered the final blow—confession.
If it weren’t for that last push, they might still be stuck in the “not-quite-dating” phase.
“Oh?” The class teacher looked at Lin Nan, who was buried in her bowl, too scared to lift her head. “Can’t tell you’re this bold.”
Lin Nan buried her head even deeper, her face burning up, and kicked Chen Yao hard under the table.
Chen Yao’s face went pale—what a luckless day! First, his mother had given him a beating, then Lin Nan’s kick, and now he had been slapped twice by the class teacher.
The class teacher had a small appetite. After devouring a bowl of noodles, he pulled out some white liquor and started picking seafood to go with his drink.
With this kind of eating habit, he’ll probably end up being a gout victim someday.
“Hey, old man, cut back on the booze.” Lin Nan frowned as she looked up, “My grandpa drinks at every meal, and now he’s suffering from gout.”
“Relax, I’m just happy today, so let me have a couple of drinks,” the class teacher waved his hand dismissively. “Do I need you to teach me about this? Think you’re so great now?”
Who knows if you’re just getting old and forgetful or if you’re nursing a broken heart from a divorce with a liquor pitstop for comfort.
But at least from how he interacted with them, Lin Nan saw no signs of the class teacher being a divorcee; he still seemed pretty cheerful.
After looking around, Chen Yao curiously asked, “Where’s your kid?”
“In his last year of high school, just finished the college entrance exam a couple of days ago, and now he’s out partying. Who knows when he’ll be back?” The class teacher’s smile deepened with pride at the mention of his child.
“Let’s see, my kid is about your age, right?” He turned to Lin Nan, “When you enrolled, I thought you’d be the most obedient one since you looked the youngest.”
Lin Nan covered her head with one hand while shoveling noodles with the other, too shy to look up.
If I had known, I wouldn’t have come here! Why does he keep dragging out my embarrassing history? Even though they all knew her background, it still felt shameful.
Without hesitation, Chen Yao shot back, “Lin Nan’s birthday is tomorrow, and she’ll turn nineteen! Who’s the same age as your kid?!”
Mmp! You better not be thinking of trying to poach your kid’s girlfriend!
“Lin Nan’s birthday is tomorrow; aren’t you gonna do anything special, class teacher?” Chen Yao asked again.
“Do something? What do you want? Didn’t I already treat you to watermelon and noodles? If you’re looking for handouts, find someone more generous; don’t just pester me!” The class teacher glared at Chen Yao.
After finishing the noodles, Lin Nan quickly left the dining table, feeling awkward. She intended to continue helping clean up, but the class teacher snatched the cleaning supplies and put them back on the balcony.
“Go watch TV! You think coming over means you get to help clean too?” The class teacher glared at her, making Lin Nan compliant, and she obediently plopped down on the sofa.
Once she settled down, the class teacher returned to the dining room to continue chatting and eating noodles with Chen Yao.
These two used to be rivals. Chen Yao took Lin Nan skipping class every day, while the class teacher was constantly trying to catch them, running off to the local internet cafe to snag them whenever he got the chance.
Usually, when caught, it was Chen Yao who would be punished in the academic affairs office, while Lin Nan’s obedient appearance made the class teacher always believe that Chen Yao was leading her astray.
In the past, they were troublemakers; now, they were reminiscing, with Chen Yao chatting happily with the class teacher.
After chatting for a while, Lin Nan lost interest in the TV and decided to sit back down. Whenever they reminisced, she would chime in occasionally.
It wasn’t until ten o’clock at night that the class teacher finally realized it had gotten completely dark.
“You two should head home. It’s ten already. Girls shouldn’t stay out too late.” The class teacher stood up, interrupting their talk. “You’ve got nothing to do during the summer break, so if you want to, come find me at the walking street any night. I have a stall there; if you help me out when it’s busy, I might throw in a free meal, but no salary.”
When he mentioned the stall, Lin Nan’s curiosity piqued again. “I heard that stall owners have to pay protection money?”
“Where did you hear all this nonsense?” The class teacher rolled his eyes at her. “What age are we in now? The walking street is packed every night, with police watching over; who’d dare to ask for protection money? They’d be worried about being filmed and put online!”
Lin Nan nodded thoughtfully.
“And who do you think your teacher is? After so many years, I’ve had thousands upon thousands of students! Now they’re all kinds of professionals! If someone dares to come collect, I’ll make sure they don’t come back!”
“Don’t believe him; he’s definitely just blowing smoke.” Chen Yao pulled Lin Nan back, fearing his girlfriend might actually buy into the class teacher’s tall tales.
The class teacher, annoyed, smacked the back of Chen Yao’s head again, grumbling as he pushed them out the door, “Get lost, it’s ten already! Go home and sleep!”
Kicked out of the house, with a loud bang as the door slammed shut, Chen Yao and Lin Nan exchanged glances before bursting into laughter in unison.
