Chapter 43: Her Boyfriend Could Dispatch a Coquettish Pest with a Single Slap (6)

When Bai Yao arrived at the school, the children in her class were already waiting for her at the gate. The moment they saw her, they all rushed over, brimming with excitement.

There weren’t many children in the town; Bai Yao’s second-grade class was the only one at that level, and it had just five students. With so few pupils, there was naturally a shortage of teachers as well. Besides teaching language arts, Bai Yao also handled science and music.

She handed the candies she’d prepared in advance to the class monitor and asked him to distribute them to the others.

The class monitor, Huahua, was the florist’s son. He’d always been at odds with the vice monitor, Qiaoqiao. Holding the bag of candy, he shot Qiaoqiao a triumphant glance.

He was quite pleased that Miss Bai had given him the responsibility instead of Qiaoqiao.

Qiaoqiao glared at him, fuming.

Bai Yao patted Huahua’s head. “Huahua, you must get along well with your classmates.”

“Yes, Miss Bai,” Huahua replied obediently.

He was an adorable boy with rosy lips and bright white teeth, endearing to everyone.

Bai Yao smiled, then pushed her bicycle to the rack.

Behind her, Huahua let his guard down for a moment, and suddenly a hand darted over and gouged out his left eye. Huahua turned angrily to Qiaoqiao, and was about to retaliate by going for Qiaoqiao’s eye when the person ahead turned back to look.

Huahua quickly covered his hollow left eye, while Qiaoqiao hastily hid the eyeball she’d grabbed behind her back.

Bai Yao said, “There will be a dictation quiz today. Anyone who gets it all correct will receive a reward.”

The children immediately lit up with happy smiles, especially Qiaoqiao, who answered with confidence, “I’ll get them all right!”

Bai Yao looked at Huahua, her tone full of concern. “Huahua, what happened to your eye?”

Huahua replied, “My eye’s just a little itchy.”

“Don’t keep rubbing your eyes,” Bai Yao reminded him. “It’s bad for them.”

Huahua nodded vigorously. “Mm-hm!”

After parking her bicycle, Bai Yao told the children to head back to the classroom for self-study. She then carried her bag into the teaching building—she had the first class of the day and needed to prepare a bit in the office.

It was only after Bai Yao left that Huahua and Qiaoqiao broke into a full-on scuffle.

Huahua had a leg pulled off, Qiaoqiao’s head was twisted 180 degrees, and the two of them wrestled fiercely on the ground, locked in a stalemate while the other children cheered them on, enjoying the spectacle.

The class monitor and vice monitor had been harboring grudges for a long time—they brawled every few days. Of course, their fights ended in mixed victories and losses; after all, they were still young and didn’t know any better. A little roughhousing was only normal.

When Bai Yao reached the office, her colleagues were already there. The math teacher she partnered with was an older man named Mr. Wu, who brought his breakfast to school every day.

Upon seeing Bai Yao, he greeted her warmly. “Miss Bai, I made rose pastries with fresh ingredients. Would you like one?”

Mr. Wu was evidently a good cook; his food always looked appealing. However, he was obsessed with ketchup and slathered it thickly on everything he ate.

Bai Yao wasn’t in the mood for something so heavy first thing in the morning. She smiled and declined, “Thank you, Mr. Wu. I had breakfast at home before leaving, so I’m still quite full.”

Mr. Wu looked a bit disappointed, but the P.E. teacher, Mr. Zhao—a bald, middle-aged man—was happy to try Mr. Wu’s cooking. That quickly lifted Mr. Wu’s spirits.

Mr. Wu said with a smile, “I heard a new batch of pigs has come into the processing plant—some are quite tender. They’ll be perfect for pan-frying.”

Mr. Zhao, savoring a rose pastry drenched in ketchup, smacked his lips and licked them. “You’re a great cook. I’ll have to invite myself over to your place for a meal.”

Mr. Wu beamed. “You’re always welcome—when have I ever left you out?”

While correcting assignments, Bai Yao overheard their conversation and looked up. “Mr. Wu, if you have a source for fresh meat, could you get me ten pounds? Xue Yan’s been working hard lately, and I want to cook something nice for him.”

In truth, Xue Yan had exhausted himself during his recent molting, and she wanted to make sure he ate well and regained his strength.

But at the mention of Xue Yan, both Mr. Wu and Mr. Zhao exchanged odd looks. Mr. Wu smiled awkwardly. “Sure, if I get the chance, I’ll buy you ten pounds. But I can’t guarantee there’ll be any available.”

Bai Yao got the sense he might not be able to get fresh meat, but she nodded. “If you manage it, I’ll pay you.”

Mr. Wu quietly returned to his breakfast, looking a bit uneasy.

As the homeroom teacher, Bai Yao was supposed to stay until the end of the school day, even when she didn’t have class. But today, she and Xue Yan were helping Aunt Dong replace her windows, so she asked Mr. Wu to look after the class and left an hour early.

The children crowded by the window, watching Bai Yao ride her bicycle away, all wearing unhappy faces, reluctant to see her leave.

At the podium, Mr. Wu rapped the desk. “Everyone, sit up straight! Huahua, you’ve put your hand and leg on the wrong way. Qiaoqiao, your head’s on backwards. Lei, pick up your eyeball from the floor. Mei, let go! Stop gnawing on Quan’s fingers! Quan, turn off your chainsaw—it’s too noisy!”

Reluctantly, the children did as they were told, listlessly watching him from their seats.

Mr. Wu pointed to the blackboard, where he’d drawn a human figure. “Now, let’s talk about the vital points on the body.”

It was an overcast day, and the afternoon wasn’t hot.

After noon, Xue Yan found himself unable to focus on his duties at the neighborhood committee. He sat curled up on the steps outside, hiding in the shadow of the plants, chin resting on his knees, his dark eyes quietly fixed on the left side of the road.

The people at the inn had been sent out in groups by Jiang Xun to gather information around the town. But whenever they passed this spot, each one unconsciously gave it a wide berth. Even though Xue Yan now looked like an abandoned, harmless giant dog, the memory of that morning still haunted them.

Everyone in this town was wrong somehow. Each person was eerily frightening; no matter how normal someone appeared, no one could be sure what kind of lunatic lay beneath the surface.

Tian Susu had followed Jiang Xun and Cha Lan to several places, and she was utterly exhausted, especially since her feet were starting to ache. Her delicate soles must be reddened. Cha Lan, not wanting her to suffer, offered to carry her, but Tian Susu refused.

Her little face was soft and stubborn. “I don’t want you to carry me. You already have a fiancée. Stay away from me—I don’t want to get on your fiancée’s bad side.”

Cha Lan frowned. “Susu, did Yin Huanmian say something to you again? Did she give you trouble?”

Fortunately, Yin Huanmian was in a different group; if she’d heard this, she’d surely have started another quarrel with Cha Lan and Tian Susu.

Tian Susu gave a proud little “hmph” like an indignant kitten and ignored Cha Lan, instead glancing at Jiang Xun, who remained deep in thought, oblivious to her gaze.

They passed by the neighborhood committee building again.

Cha Lan pulled Tian Susu a little farther from that dark figure, and to be honest, Tian Susu was still unsettled by the morning’s events, so she didn’t shake off Cha Lan’s hand this time.

Despite all their caution around Xue Yan, he didn’t lift his head to look at them.

Tian Susu felt a strange twinge of emotion. In all her life, this was the first time she’d been so thoroughly ignored by a man.

The sound of a bicycle bell rang out.

The young man, motionless for so long, suddenly looked up. As the distant figure drew closer, a light grew in his eyes.

The cyclist was, without doubt, the girl whose beauty could take one’s breath away at a glance.

The moment Bai Yao stopped her bicycle, Xue Yan couldn’t wait any longer—he leapt to his feet and hurried to her side. He bent slightly, lips pressed together, gazing up at her with pitiful eyes. “Yaoyao, I got hurt at work today.”

Bai Yao immediately asked, “Where did you get hurt?”

He stretched out his hand. She quickly took it, examining it closely. Thanks to her sharp eyes, she spotted a tiny red mark at the side of his index fingernail. She shot him a look. “You got this pulling at a hangnail, didn’t you?”

He replied with exaggerated seriousness, “It hurts a lot.”

What pain? He just wanted her to fuss over him.

Bai Yao reached up, grabbed the drawstrings on either side of his hood, and pulled them tight. His entire face was swallowed by the hood, leaving him blind. Flustered, he groped around, calling her name over and over: “Yaoyao, Yaoyao…”

She let go of the drawstrings, and he finally managed to free his face. She poked his cheek. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

Xue Yan mumbled a slow, “Okay.”

Not far away, the three onlookers watched the young couple’s playful banter. Xue Yan and Bai Yao seemed no different from any ordinary pair of lovers. Cha Lan wanted to suggest that Bai Yao might be as terrifying a maniac as Xue Yan, but recalling the businessman’s death that morning, he bit his tongue.

Xue Yan, without being told, folded his long legs and sat on the back seat of the bicycle. Then, with practiced ease, he fished a popsicle out of Bai Yao’s bag, tore open the wrapper, snapped it in half, and savored its icy sweetness with narrowed eyes.

Bai Yao always said these treats were pure syrup and bad for him, but since he’d stopped being a shut-in and found a job, she was happy to bring him one whenever she picked him up after work.

She reminded him not to litter, and Xue Yan obediently stuffed the plastic wrapper into his pocket.

Just as they were about to leave, Bai Yao’s gaze drifted over to the trio nearby, and her eyes met Tian Susu’s.

Tian Susu froze. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt a little guilty and looked away. She hadn’t stared at Xue Yan out of any other motive; she was simply curious how someone could kill so decisively yet appear so harmless.

Could a terrifying killer truly love a woman?

As a fellow woman, Tian Susu could sense a certain hostility in Bai Yao’s glance.

By the time she looked back, Bai Yao had already left with Xue Yan.

Tian Susu pursed her lips, thinking to herself that Bai Yao was just like Yin Huanmian, always convinced her own man was the best and assuming she’d try to seduce him.

Tian Susu: [System, everyone here is so annoying.]

The system replied indulgently: [Even if you dislike them, none of them could ever dislike you.]

Of course—she was so adorable, who could ever bear to hate her?