On the first day back to work in the new year, Xu Xing was thrown a red bombshell. By now, she was so shocked by the wedding gift money request that she felt dazed, fearing another shock that would leave her completely lost.
While she was lost in her thoughts, a soft, sticky "Teacher Xu" finally jolted her back to reality.
Lu Xiaoke looked up at her with innocent eyes, exuding a sweet, obedient charm.
After calling her name, he even smiled at Xu Xing, revealing a row of tiny teeth.
How could someone be this cute?
Kang Chen stepped forward with Lu Xiaoke in tow and calmly introduced him, "My nephew."
Xu Xing was still processing this information when Kang Chen added, "Your student."
…?
She glanced at Kang Chen and then down at the little kid.
Lu Xiaoke was very cooperative, tilting his head back, and his moon-like eyes sparkled brightly when he smiled.
Seeing his smile, Xu Xing suddenly felt her heart melting.
She crouched down, patted the little boy's head, and gently asked, "What's your name, little friend?"
Lu Xiaoke tilted his head as if pondering the question, causing a few short hairs to bounce on top of his head.
Soon, he tilted his head back, mischievously whispering to Xu Xing, "I'm called Diga!"
…?
Her student is named after an Ultraman? Oh my goodness.
Just as little Diga finished his secret, Kang Chen unceremoniously pulled him back, instructing, "Pay attention in class."
Lu Xiaoke looked up, as if he could read the warning "Don't cause trouble" in his uncle's eyes.
With class about to start, Xu Xing didn't have time for pleasantries or to voice her questions. She exchanged a few words with Kang Chen and then led the little boy inside.
Lu Xiaoke was the youngest student in her class. Xu Xing finally connected the dots; she remembered that Kang Chen had a younger cousin with the surname Lu, who was just a year older and in a higher grade. He was also... Xu Yue's classmate.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Xu Yue.
Once she confirmed the information in her mind, she quickly focused and prepared to start the class.
At only three and a half years old, and being Kang Chen's nephew, Xu Xing had intended to keep a close eye on him. After all, young children could be quite mischievous, and one moment of inattention could lead to chaos.
However, reality was always full of surprises. Once little Lu Xiaoke was out of his uncle's sight, he began to run wild like an untamed horse, and the classroom discipline became utterly relaxed.
As Xu Xing was speaking, he suddenly dashed onto the stage.
He took it upon himself to assign roles to the four older kids:
"Do you want to be Ultraman? I'm Diga; you can be Leo, okay?"
The four-year-old boy looked at Lu Xiaoke with confusion, "I don't know Leo…"
Little Diga insisted, "Leo is very strong, um... he's just a little worse than Diga, but it's okay; I can help you."
Taking advantage of the boy's moment of confusion, he sweetly threatened, "If you're not Leo, then you're Godzilla! Do you know Godzilla? He's a very ugly, big monster!"
"I'm not a monster! I'm not ugly!" The boy shook his head, looking pitiful.
"Then you're Leo!"
…?
Why is a three-year-old capable of saying so much and gathering little followers? Is he some sort of little demon?
Xu Xing couldn't watch any longer. She quickly moved around to the back, grabbed Lu Xiaoke, and intended to carry him back to his seat.
But the little boy reacted incredibly fast, dramatically flailing his little legs and immediately entering a state of loud, wailing protest.
***
After two classes that totaled ninety minutes, Xu Xing had never felt so exhausted before.
For a brief moment, she even recalled her days in prison, sitting with a fellow inmate peeling corn.
Outside the women's prison, there were tall electric fences, but above, there was still a small patch of sky where sunlight could be seen.
Soaking up the sun while peeling corn, with a big sister telling stories beside her, was really not as exhausting as chasing after a bunch of rowdy kids in a classroom.
Kang Chen hadn't left; he sat in a café downstairs. Just before class was over, he returned to pick up Lu Xiaoke.
Lu Xiaoke seemed to have mastered the art of face-changing; upon seeing his uncle, he became demure and behaved like a proper little girl.
But Kang Chen wasn't fooled. Ignoring him, he turned to Xu Xing and said, "From now on, you can contact me directly regarding Lu Ke. His parents are traveling abroad at the moment."
Xu Xing was worn out, looking a decade older after just two classes. She forced herself to nod and then asked, "By the way, did you only realize I was his teacher after just meeting me?"
"When his dad gave me the teacher's contact information, I already knew. Plus, didn't you mention before that you were working in... education?"
When Kang Chen mentioned the latter half of his sentence, Xu Xing sensed a hint of implication.
"..."
Xu Xing felt that she had just asked a very silly question. She touched the back of her neck, feigning understanding, and replied, "Oh, I see. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Kang Chen raised an eyebrow slightly. Through his thin glasses, his eyes held a teasing glint. "Telling you earlier would just have made you want to switch classes, wouldn't it?"
"..."
Although that was indeed what she was thinking, did this generation of childhood sweethearts always assume the worst of those who had helped him eat carrots?
For a moment, Xu Xing felt a surge of anger.
This frustration lingered until she got home and vented to Li Yuanjun.
Li Yuanjun was half-listening while browsing an author's forum, occasionally responding with an "uh-huh" or "ah" to show she was present.
Seeing Li Yuanjun's distracted expression, Xu Xing nudged her shoulder. "Li Zhaodi, are you even listening?!"
"I am!" Li Yuanjun clicked on a new post and continued to watch the drama unfold over plagiarism. "By the way, Xu Xiaoxing, don't you think the frequency of running into your childhood sweetheart is… a bit high?"
Xu Xing hadn't expected Li Yuanjun to suddenly ask this question and was momentarily taken aback.
Li Yuanjun continued, "So, you've mentioned him so many times; what is he doing now? It sounds like he has so much free time. Is he trying to create opportunities to see you, maybe hoping to pursue you?"
…?
Xu Xing was instantly left dumbfounded.
On the other hand, she hadn't actually asked Kang Chen what he was up to lately; she only knew he was definitely doing well.
As for the latter question, it made Xu Xing's heart race.
No way… During that forced kiss in high school, she had been pretending to be asleep the entire time.
After all, it was her first kiss, and her heart had raced like crazy.
She still remembered that Kang Chen had kissed her for nearly a minute before pulling away and then casually returning to the classroom with other classmates after PE class.
Because of that kiss, Xu Xing had been troubled for a long time.
She thought to herself: What if Kang Chen comes to confess to her? Should she accept? Although he came from a good family, was handsome, tall, and smart, he had never been her idea of a prince charming.
She had struggled with these thoughts throughout her first year.
Then, in her second year, they were no longer in the same class.
By the time they reached their senior year, Kang Chen had won a gold medal in a mathematics competition and had already secured a spot to study abroad, and that was the end of that. : )
Xu Xing had always felt that Kang Chen must have kissed the wrong person.
She had never had much luck with the opposite s*x throughout her life.
Logically, with her looks, she should have found a partner long ago.
But during school, some girls could easily get boys to help them move things or befriend them like brothers, while Xu Xing maintained a casual, indifferent classmate status with the boys.
In her first year of college, there was a guy who liked Xu Xing based on her looks and came to the girls' dorm to help everyone fix their computers.
After finishing, that guy saw Xu Xing playing a dance game and approached her, claiming he played it too.
Xu Xing became excited and immediately asked which server he played on and how he liked to play.
The guy mentioned his server and casually bragged about his skills, implying he had great gear and knew some big shots.
Xu Xing was even more interested and immediately asked him to show off his skills.
The guy happily agreed.
However, he didn't play very well, and after making excuses about his laptop and the slow campus Wi-Fi, Xu Xing didn't let it slide. She quickly played a couple of rounds, completely dominating him.
Her mediocre skills had already shown that he was indeed just boasting.
At that moment, Xu Xing was in a state of "I won't let you brag in front of me; I must expose you," and she rushed to open her backpack to show off her gear.
Then, when she opened her friend list and revealed a long list of impressive names, the guy was left speechless.
As a result, that guy never spoke to her much over the four years of college and instead turned around and found a delicate girlfriend.
When Xu Xing and Li Yuanjun were walking on the playground, she saw that guy playing basketball, with his girlfriend standing by, handing him water and saying adoringly, "You're so amazing!"
Seeing that made Xu Xing's skin crawl.
She was so ruthless with ordinary male classmates; she couldn't imagine how many outrageous things she had done to Kang Chen over the years.
Thinking about it that way, she felt Kang Chen didn't have to go through so much trouble to pursue her.
Out of nowhere, her mood suddenly soured.
Xu Xing felt like she was destined to be single for life.
In her wallet, she still kept the love charm Li Yuanjun had brought back from Japan, which had been ineffective for over half a year.
Xu Xing thought to herself: Foreign gods are just not reliable.