“I say, stop arguing. No matter how much you fight over this, we still need to hear what Jiang Chan wants. We should put the student first.”
Seeing Jiang Chan watching from the sidelines, Director Liu simply dragged her into the fray. He could not stand the way she acted as though this had nothing to do with her. She ought to have a headache over it too.
His words immediately drew the homeroom teachers’ attention. Realizing that things were taking a bad turn, Jiang Chan slipped behind He Qinxue in a flash. At a time like this, she needed a good shield.
He Qinxue, who had been turned into that shield, felt helpless. So now she remembered him. Several teachers stood in front of him, smiling as brightly as the wolf trying to lure Little Red Riding Hood.
“Jiang Chan, you really should come to my class. Old He and I have been colleagues for years. The two of us are very close.” One teacher moved quickly and grabbed He Qinxue’s wrist, giving him no chance to refuse.
With Old Jiang’s spit practically flying into his face, He Qinxue leaned back in disgust. “Keep your distance. What does it look like, two grown men tugging at each other? Step back. If you don’t, I won’t put in a word for you.”
The teacher reluctantly took a step back but still refused to let go of He Qinxue’s hand, as though he simply could not bear to part with him.
“Old He, that’s not very loyal of you. We were classmates for so many years, and now we work at the same place. No one knows better than you what kind of person I am. If Jiang Chan doesn’t end up in my class today, our brotherhood is over!”
The man was about the same age as He Qinxue, in his forties. After listening to his long stream of chatter, He Qinxue waved a hand. “That’s not up to me. Jiang Chan has to decide for herself. Why don’t you ask her which subject she wants to study?”
Jiang Chan poked her head out. “I’ll choose science. Please look after me from now on, Teacher!”
This man was the teacher who had just marked her math paper. Given his relationship with He Qinxue, Jiang Chan had to choose him. There was no other reason. There was a personal connection to consider.
Hearing her choice, the man was overjoyed. He slapped He Qinxue on the shoulder. “Old He, thank you so much for teaching such an outstanding student. I’ll gladly take her off your hands. Hahaha!”
The corner of Jiang Chan’s mouth twitched. Was he thanking Teacher He or rubbing salt in the wound? When she saw He Qinxue’s twitching mouth, she kindly suppressed her smile.
He Qinxue gritted his teeth and decided not to stoop to his childhood friend’s level. It was strange, really. He and Old Jiang had attended kindergarten together, then spent six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and three years of high school as classmates.
When they finally went to university, they both studied math. After graduation, they even worked at the same school. No matter where he went, he ran into the man. This could only be called an ill-fated connection. He Qinxue sighed.
With Jiang Chan’s choice made, the teachers dispersed. Only the director of academic affairs, Jiang Chan, He Qinxue, and Old Jiang remained in the office.
“Jiang Chan, your Teacher Jiang may be big and burly enough to look like a PE teacher, but he does know a thing or two about teaching math. He’s only a little worse than your current teacher…”
“What are you talking about? I have a strong physique. With that scrawny little chick’s body of yours, so weak a gust of wind could knock you over, you’ll never be like me!” Old Jiang protested indignantly. Old He belittled him whenever he had the chance!
“You have to admit, with that build, if you went out and didn’t tell people you taught math, they’d all think you worked in sports.”
He Qinxue shot back. His height would forever be a sore point!
“I’m in a good mood after meeting Jiang Chan today, so I won’t argue with you. Jiang Chan, the second-year students return to school on the tenth day of the Lunar New Year. You still have three days. Go home and get some proper rest. Competing abroad must have been tiring.”
Old Jiang’s class was Class One of the second year. After learning that, Jiang Chan prepared to return to the orphanage. On the way back, she used her scholarship money to buy a little electric scooter and sold her old twenty-eight-inch bicycle to a scrap yard.
Once Jiang Chan was out of sight, Old Jiang draped an arm over He Qinxue’s shoulders. “Old He, come to my place for dinner tonight. We’ll celebrate me getting such a good student as Jiang Chan!”
He Qinxue stared at him with dead-fish eyes, shrugged off his arm without a word, and turned to leave. Was this fellow trying to stab him in the heart? He had planned to teach Jiang Chan all the way through her third year of high school. Who could have expected Old Jiang to swoop in and reap the rewards?
Tall and long-legged, Old Jiang caught up with him in just a few strides. “Come on, are you still upset? The girl knows her own mind, and her exam results are excellent. Staying in the first year really would be a waste of her time.”
He Qinxue kept walking. “Can you stop showing off in front of me? I’m grieving the loss of my star student. Now that Jiang Chan is in your class, you’d better take good care of her. Don’t let her grades drop.”
Old Jiang grew serious. “Of course. A promising student like her has to be properly nurtured! I say, Old He, can’t you wait for me? Why are you driving off by yourself? Aren’t you taking me home?”
From a distance, He Qinxue tossed back, “Get lost! Walk home yourself!”
Left standing there, Old Jiang rubbed his chin, then set off on his long legs. He would treat it as a jogging warm-up. Old He really was something. He was the one who had called last night to tell him about Jiang Chan’s grade-skipping exam and had even given him a ride to school that morning. Now he was turning his back on him as though they were strangers.
He seemed entirely unaware that he had shamelessly insisted on catching a ride with He Qinxue that morning. After all his showing off in front of He Qinxue now, it would have been a miracle if the man had looked pleased.
Jiang Chan sped along on her little electric scooter. It was the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, so the bank should be open. She wondered whether Dean Fan had cashed the check yet. She had already decided to go with Dean Fan tomorrow and take Kang Kang to the provincial hospital for surgery.
Now that she had passed the grade-skipping exam, Jiang Chan could turn her attention to the mission Qingyuan had mentioned. Qingyuan had said that she would be going to an immortal cultivation world this time. Jiang Chan intended to go before Kang Kang’s surgery so that, once the operation was over, she could take good care of him during his recovery.
Tonight seemed like a good opportunity. Jiang Chan tapped the jade cicada. “Are you sure I’ll really be able to come back?”
She did not want to take on a mission only to lose herself in the process. Her life was so comfortable and peaceful now. Jiang Chan was not afraid of danger. What frightened her was the possibility of never coming back.
Qingyuan transmitted her voice to her. “Don’t worry. If something really happens to you, I’ll bring you back no matter how great a price I have to pay. I won’t let you die in there.”
“What kind of price?”
“Nothing much. My soul would just be damaged again, and you’d have to complete more missions afterward to make up for it. But there are limits to what I can do. You need to protect yourself too. You can’t fail more than two missions in a row, or my soul will scatter completely.”
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