"Who is the other person?"

The homeroom teacher was taken aback: "Huh?"

Shi Youxi said coldly, "Who is the person rumored to be dating me?"

Mu Yiran, who was completely confused, asked: ...Did they talk or not?

"It's Bai Yuning, a second-year high school student."

Upon hearing this name, Shi Youxi gave a cryptic twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Just then, a furry body approached from the side, and Mu Yiran leaned in: "So, you really talked to him?"

A faint fragrance wafted into Shi Youxi's nose as he stared intently at the woman's face, which was now close and magnified in her presence.

A familiar surge of excitement and impulse swept through my body.

Shi Youxi's eyes were swirling with thoughts, as if they were about to burst forth at any moment.

Since he didn't speak, Mu Yiran assumed that Shi Youxi had tacitly agreed.

Hey!

"So you really talked?"

"Am I pretty? Long hair or short hair, was she your first love?"

"....."

The homeroom teacher was dumbfounded; what was going on?

She called Shi Youxi's parents over, clearly to stop Shi Youxi from dating and to give her a "mixed doubles" lesson.

Why does Madam Shi look not only not angry, but actually quite... happy?

Then the homeroom teacher thought about it again.

The other party was not Shi Youxi's biological mother, but a young girl who wasn't very old either.

Having ousted the original wife and taken her place, what genuine concern could she possibly have for her stepson? It was all just a pretense.

This girl seems to support Shi Youxi in everything. Could it be that she's planning to "praise Shi Youxi to death"?

How can you make the other person lose themselves in the pain of youth and be unable to extricate themselves, so that your child with Mr. Shi can inherit the family business?

The homeroom teacher had already imagined a grand drama unfolding in the mind of the Shi family.

But she had to follow the proper procedures and was trying to interrupt Mu Yiran's curiosity.

The boy, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "Aunt Cheng seems to really want me to talk."

Aunt Cheng Muyi: "Ah, is it that obvious... No, that's not what I meant."

"What era are we living in? We have free love, and this is also how you make friends."

"Besides, if you really like someone, would I break you up? Just don't go too far."

Mu Yiran is really into playing the role of an enlightened stepmother.

Others might be very angry if their parents are called in because of this.

But Mu Yiran is different.

The fact that Shi Youxi can fall in love means that he has developed richer emotions than he did when he was a child, and that he is no longer the boy whose emotions were dominated by Shi Yan and Bai Shengsheng.

Mu Yiran wanted Shi Youxi to experience as much as possible the emotions and life experiences he had missed in his childhood and never had during this time travel.

After all, who knows when she'll travel back in time, or if this will be her last time traveling back in time...

"And I also believe that you will definitely not let this interfere with your studies."

Class teacher: "No, that Mrs. Shi—"

"What if it goes too far?"

Shi Youxi chuckled lightly, his posture relaxed, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Mu Yiran seemed to say: Come on, keep acting, let me see how great you can portray enlightened maternal love!

Mu Yiran snapped her fingers and said in a strong voice, "Then take good precautions! Don't buy off-brand products."

"After all, boys also need to learn to protect themselves when they're out!"

After all, his identity was special, and there were too many people who could benefit from it.

head teacher:"......."

#Bodhisattva's speechless face#

What exactly is her purpose in calling her parents today?

Is this for popularizing physiological knowledge?!

Completely unable to bear it any longer, the homeroom teacher ignored Mu Yiran's attempt to communicate and instead launched into a tirade against Shi Youxi.

But the boy, who had been so carefree just moments before, suddenly became dazed after hearing Mu Yiran's words.

What if I'm a psychopath?!

Even when boys are home alone, they need to know how to protect themselves!

"..."

Deep in his memory, only one person had ever said the same thing to him.

"The teacher doesn't object to you dating, but seeing a lone man and woman entering a club in public, especially while wearing school uniforms, really damages the school's image—"

"...We didn't talk about it."

The homeroom teacher choked on her words: "What?"

Shi Youxi slowly raised his head, looking at Mu Yiran beside him. A faint red appeared in his eyes. He parted his thin lips slightly, and his hoarse voice trembled slightly.

"I said I didn't talk about it."

Mu Yiran: ...If we didn't talk, we didn't talk. Why are you looking at me like I'm about to cry?

I support it!

Mu Yiran looked at him with some surprise.

"you..."

As soon as she opened her mouth, the sitting boy got up and left.

Holy crap?

Mu Yiran was truly exasperated by this dog's temper, which was even more unpredictable than the weather forecast!

Mu Yiran could only stand up, turning back to say, "Teacher, you heard it too. Xiao Xi said he is innocent, and of course I believe him."

"So please deal with those rumors. We'll be going now. Hey—Shi Youxi, wait a minute!"

"..."

After their antics, the homeroom teacher was left all alone in the office by the time she came to her senses.

"If you haven't talked about it, why didn't you say so earlier?"

We wasted more than an hour of her time, should we pay her overtime pay?

Mu Yiran jogged after him, while Shi Youxi had already gone downstairs and was walking on the road leading to the parking lot.

She caught up with him, slightly out of breath, "Shi Youxi, what's wrong with you all of a sudden? If you didn't talk, you didn't talk. I won't tell your father..."

The boy now had long legs and big strides, one step covering two of Mu Yiran's. Seeing that he didn't stop, she tried to grab his sleeve.

Before they even touched each other, the boy jerked away as if he had been startled.

"?"

Mu Yiran: "Did I electrocute you?"

This kind of weather, coupled with the dry climate of Beijing, makes it most prone to generating electricity.

"Don't let it happen again..." Shi Youxi murmured in a low voice.

If the person in front of you is just another illusion like in the past, then stop following him...

Anyway, it's all fake. He might disappear in the blink of an eye.

"What did you say?"

His voice was too low, and the wind blew by so quickly that Mu Yiran didn't hear anything.

A large number of cherry blossom trees are planted along the roadside of Jingyi School. It is currently the flowering season, and the pink and white petals are carried into the air by the wind and fall down.

A few strands fell into the boy's curly hair, but Shi Youxi was oblivious, his head bowed, refusing to look up no matter what.

Until a warm touch brushed against his temple…

When Mu Yiran saw the flower petals in Shi Youxi's hair, her body reacted before she even thought about it.

She raised her hand and picked up the pink petal, then, as if she had done this many times before, her fingers moved downwards, her fingertips gently kneading the pale earlobe.

"......"

But this time, Shi Youxi's action was much more dramatic. He took a large step back, his eyes and the area behind his ears instantly turning red. "You..."

Mu Yiran: ...

This time, Mu Yiran understood that it wasn't static electricity at all.

Shi Youxi simply disliked Mu Yiran touching her.

"Uh, you have flower petals on your head...sorry."

Mu Yiran withdrew her hand and glanced at Shi Youxi, whose eyes were red and whose expression was complicated, staring at her as if she had seen a ghost.

Perhaps... it's best not to say anything for now.

She turned and walked ahead, leaving Shi Youxi behind.

Before we knew it, it was time to leave school, and an unfamiliar English song came over the school's loudspeaker.

Shi Youxi's pupils contracted, his dark phoenix eyes filled with the image of that figure etched into his heart.

A gentle male voice sang softly:

Can you hear my prayer?

Can you hear my prayer?

Once you held me tightly

You who once held my hand tightly

Is it a hallucination? Like a flash of stars

Was it an illusion, like a fleeting star?

I try to smile for you

I try to smile for you

Thinking of you while I sleep

Me falling asleep thinking of you

It would be nice to die in your arms

Even dying in your arms would be wonderful.

Can you hear my prayer?

Can you hear my prayer?

I miss you a million times

I miss you a thousand times.

Please don't leave me again.

Can you please not leave me again?

please don't stop holding my hand

Can you please not let go of my hand again?

…

Shi Youxi's breathing became rapid, and a metallic taste filled his throat.

I meet you again in every illusion, only to part again in the next instant.

Even if this time it's still just a fantasy, even if I have to repeat the pain of losing you a million times.

This time, Shi Youxi wanted to hold that person's hand again, just like before.

"elder sister..."

Perhaps this time, it's not his hallucination.

Mu Yiran, who was walking in front, turned around when she heard the sound.

Shi Youxi walked step by step to her, his bright red phoenix eyes curving into a smile as he said:

"Can you take my hand and lead me away?"