Chapter 52

My phone rang in my pocket.

You Congxi took out his phone and found it was a message from the philosophy group.

[DaiY: I've already sent our group's assignment to the teacher privately. I'm taking leave today, so our group will be without its pillar in Chinese class. Don't worry.]

[Feeling sleepy? Drink Jia Duo Bao: Whose ancient-style young man is this?!]

[Rat Poison Cookies: @IamAFish take them.]

[Dai Y: I am terrified!]

【. :well. 】

You Congxi's mouth twitched as he watched. It was such a chaotic scene so early in the morning. As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." He felt like his cerebellum would shrink if he spent too much time with these lunatics.

She didn't post in the group chat. Judging from Shen Yue's mental state, he probably wasn't delirious from the fever, but rather his brain had been damaged.

She stepped out of the elevator and came face to face with an older woman carrying a shopping basket. She couldn't help but glance at her twice, earning a roll of her eyes in return. True to her age, even her eye roll was more thorough than a young person's, like she'd been a zombie for two hundred years.

I haven't seen any middle-aged women for a while, and I didn't expect them to still be so individualistic.

The older woman had a new hairstyle; I couldn't tell if it was an afro or big waves, but it looked vaguely familiar, like I'd seen it somewhere before.

You Congxi walked a few steps forward and remembered—it looked like the brown teddy bear that the neighbor in the next building always walked.

Teddy's owner is a young man who loves to take his dog to the groomer and change its look every ten days or so, determined to make his dog the most fashionable new star in the whole neighborhood.

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged woman got the same hairstyle as the new star dog... You Congxi looked away, "Look at the mess this has made."

If the dog owner saw this, he'd probably yell at him, calling him an ordinary person trying to scam a famous celebrity by going to the moon.

As she pushed open the unit door, she heard the older woman say, "Hmph, I told you puppy love wouldn't last. Look, they've only been together for a few days, and now they're already flying off at the last minute."

"..." You Congxi pretended not to hear, and as the elevator doors closed behind her, she pushed open the unit door and walked out.

The weather forecast showed that it would be cloudy today, and her phone also popped up a low temperature warning. She tightened the collar of her coat and began to consider the possibility of wearing a down jacket in early November.

As soon as she stepped into the classroom, the warm breeze that greeted her instantly relaxed her tense body.

It was still dark outside the window, but the lights inside were on, and more than fifty people filled the small space. Just looking at them had a visually warming effect.

She glanced at the morning reading materials on the blackboard, rummaged through the pile of rubble, and finally found the books and notebooks she needed.

After two or three minutes of anaerobic exercise, she had a layer of fine sweat on her forehead, so she simply took off her coat, leaving her only wearing a sweater vest and long-sleeved undershirt.

"You're here so early." Qu Qi came in through the back door, and You Congxi stood up to let her pass.

“Hmm,” You Congxi said as she sat down again after she went inside. “You woke up early today.”

When it was time for morning reading, the students in the class stood up one after another. She folded her coat and put it on the table, and also prepared to stand up.

"Did you eat dumplings yesterday for the Beginning of Winter?" Qu Qi bent down to take a book out of the drawer and chatted with her. "My mom, my grandma, and my maternal grandma are three women in one. Each of them made two kinds of fillings and started a cooking competition at home. In order to avoid a family war, I ate half a plate of each kind by myself. By the end, I was almost foaming at the mouth, but my mom still forced me to eat the dumplings she made."

"Even my poor dad, who was on duty at the police station, couldn't escape this ordeal. My grandma packed three insulated containers and delivered them to him overnight, watching him eat one of each kind of filling and asking him which one he liked best." Qu Qi recalled with lingering fear, then turned to You Congxi and asked, "What kind of filling did you eat?"

“I ate it,” You Congxi said, standing up and pulling the book out from under her coat. “It’s carrot-filled.”

After she finished speaking, she paused, then thought of the wine and dumplings she had drunk the night before.

"Carrot filling..." Qu Qi stood up with the book in hand, then suddenly remembered something and her eyes lit up. "Hey, what a coincidence! I saw on my WeChat Moments yesterday that Shen Yue was eating carrot filling too!"

"You two are really on the same wavelength!" She turned to look at You Congxi, a little puzzled. "What happened to your ears? Did they get cold outside? They're so red."

You Congxi mumbled an "Mmm," raised his hand to rub his burning earlobe, and stared at the book in front of him, pretending to be studying hard.

Seeing this, Qu Qi clicked his tongue, turned back, and casually flipped to a page, intending to give a few perfunctory answers.

"The late emperor's great undertaking was not yet half completed..." Qu Qi frowned as he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, feeling that it looked somewhat familiar.

“And he died halfway through his life…” She turned her head again and looked at You Congxi’s hand holding the book.

Fair-skinned and slender, with well-defined joints that weren't jarring, very handsome... but the focus is on the cuffs.

Qu Qi pondered intently, recalling that after zooming in on the photo Shen Yue posted yesterday, it seemed like a sleeve was vaguely visible... but what was it again...?

A rabbit...yes, a rabbit. There was a rabbit on the cuff, outlined with gold thread, the stitches were so fine, it was so cute. At the time, she thought Shen Yue had gone home to celebrate the Beginning of Winter with his family, maybe it was his cousin or something...

She glanced again at her deskmate's cuff.

Cousin? ??

"Hey Xiaoyu, do you know where Shen Yue ate yesterday?" Qu Qi asked.

You Congxi hesitated for a moment, then quickly said, "I don't know, how would I know?"

“Oh, so he’ll eat at home then. This young master definitely won’t spend the winter solstice in a rented room,” Qu Qi said.

You Congxi gave a perfunctory "hmm".

Qu Qi stared at her for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.

“That’s not right, but Shen Yue’s WeChat Moments post last night was tagged at Shuxiangyuan,” Qu Qi whispered to her deskmate, her tone questioning, “Could it be that you two ate dinner together last night?”

Qu Qi clearly felt the girl next to him stiffen.

She snorted, glanced at the girl's bright red ears, and thought to herself, "You little brat, trying to mess with me? Don't you know my nickname is 'Little Couple Detector'?"

“Let’s go for a swim in the Congxi River.” Tang Miaosong tapped on her table.

Qu Qi immediately distanced himself from You Congxi and pressed himself against the wall, wishing he could be a hundred and eight thousand miles away from her.

"Qu Qi, I haven't even settled the score you got on this week's test yet. You better behave yourself," Tang Miaosong threatened, pointing at her.

"The world is now divided into three, and Yizhou is exhausted..." Qu Qi immediately began reading.

“And you,” Tang Miaosong changed targets, “who told you not to wear your school uniform? Put it on.”

You Congxi obediently put on her clothes and, at Tang Miaosong's prompting, followed her out of the classroom.

To prevent students from falling asleep in the warm classrooms, the doors and windows of each classroom were forcibly opened during the director's rounds. At this time, the chaotic sounds of reciting texts mixed together in the corridor, high and low, like hundreds of monks in a temple chanting sutras while striking a wooden fish.

"You..." Tang Miaosong hesitated for a moment before swallowing the words he was about to say and changed the subject, "You did well on this week's test. Keep it up and don't get arrogant or complacent."

"Mm." You Congxi nodded.

She glanced at the single hair sticking up on Tang Miaosong's head, not understanding what Da Shu meant by calling her out specifically to say that.

Tang Miaosong didn't speak, and You Congxi was even less likely to speak. The two of them listened quietly to the chanting for a few seconds in the corridor that resembled a scripture hall.

Tang Miaosong looked at the girl in front of him. She had almond-shaped eyes, a pert nose, and a small face. She had a light and elegant temperament and her appearance was one of the most outstanding in the entire school.

She had taught many classes and was considered a veteran teacher, so she was quite adept at handling issues like puppy love. However, after learning about You Congxi's family situation from one of his previous homeroom teachers, she realized it wasn't just a simple matter of puppy love.

Yesterday, she suddenly received a call from You Congxi's father, who said that his daughter was dating early in her class, and not only that, she was also rebellious and talking back to her parents. He wanted her, the homeroom teacher, to help pay attention to her... To be honest, she didn't quite believe it.

You Congxi is a typical good student who makes teachers worry-free. Moreover, she can still achieve such excellent grades in such a family environment. Regardless of whether her personality is as quiet and aloof as it appears, this child must know it herself.

After spending about half a year with this child, Tang Miaosong really admires him. He is ambitious, reliable, and kind-hearted. No matter how cold he appears on the surface, you can tell from the little details that he is a very kind-hearted child.

But she couldn't directly tell the parents that what they said was unfounded and wrong, that they didn't understand their daughter. She also knew that You Congxi's father had remarried for many years and had another child, so his care for her was definitely not adequate. Therefore, she could only try to persuade her while saying some nice things about You Congxi. However, You Congxi's father was a very stubborn person. He spoke softly and gently, but if you listened carefully, it was still the same old story.

"I heard you and Shen Yue have become neighbors?" Tang Miaosong asked.

“…Hmm.” You Congxi responded hesitantly, unsure of what the big tree meant by that.

Based on general patterns, the homeroom teacher talking to the boys and girls together... suspects they're dating?

You Congxi tensed his back, preparing for the questioning to come.

“That’s perfect,” Tang Miaosong smiled and said in a relaxed tone. “He’s on leave. Take his homework and other things back to him after school and tell him not to slack off on his studies just because he’s on leave.”

"Also," Tang Miaosong patted the girl on the shoulder, "when communicating with your family, pay attention to your approach and always remember that you come first... If you're unhappy about anything, just send a message or call the teacher, or come to my office after class to talk to me."

Even after returning to his seat, You Congxi was still in a daze.

Shen Yue, at home.

With these two words appearing together, what else could she not understand?

Her good stepmother really didn't disappoint her; she embellished the story of her encounter with Shen Yue and told You Yuanming about it, just as she had always whispered in his ear in this way before...

But this call must have been made by You Yuanming.

You Congxi felt a little amused.

No matter what Yu Junya is like, she is not her biological mother and has no blood relation with her, so it doesn't matter whether she treats her well or likes her or not, because she doesn't care about Yu Junya at all.

But You Yuanming was different.

You Congxi stared at the open textbook for a few seconds, while Qu Qi next to him finished reciting "Memorial to the Throne" and began reading "The Untamed".

"I have suffered misfortune and hardship since childhood. My beloved father passed away when I was only six months old..."

Father, Dad.

In the end, it's just a title.

You Congxi gave a mocking laugh.

He didn't take Yu Junya seriously, but even her biological father didn't understand her as well as Yu Junya did.

This was the funniest lame joke she had heard in seventeen years.