3-10: "I...I just wanted to see you."

In the office, Bai Wenzhou wore a pair of frameless glasses perched on his nose.

Huai Yan was so clumsy that he almost stopped breathing.

In front of men, he often felt that all his little thoughts were laid bare.

"What's wrong?" Bai Wenzhou asked calmly, without stopping his movements.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Huaiyan became even more nervous.

He stood in front of his desk, almost burying his head in his lap.

"Teacher Bai," the boy said, trying to appear calm, "I...I wanted to ask about the geography competition."

Bai Wenzhou paused, his expression unchanged.

The boy mustered his courage and tried to control his stammering: "Has the geography competition registration closed? Why, why hasn't Jiang Yuxing received a notification?"

In the space, which was neither too big nor too small, the boy's questioning sounded resounding.

Bai Wenzhou suddenly put down his pen, his tone dropping abruptly.

"You care about him a lot?"

The question was vague, but Huaiyan could easily sense the coldness in the man's words.

……What's wrong?

This sudden change made it seem as if the warmth the man had shown him in the office a few days ago, as if he had been faking everything for him, was all an act.

Huaiyan was somewhat startled for a moment.

He held his breath and answered Bai Wenzhou's question carefully.

The boy's already red eyes became even redder.

"No, no..."

The tension still involuntarily overwhelmed him, and the boy stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

“It’s Jiang Yuxing’s grandfather. He’s sick.” The boy’s eyes were downcast, and his voice was somewhat aggrieved. “He… he can’t live without the scholarship.”

Bai Wenzhou's expression was icy, and it was unclear whether he believed the boy's words or not.

"The spot is finalized." After a long pause, the man said in a deep voice, "He's not on it."

With just one sentence, it was as if Jiang Yuxing had been sentenced to death.

"Teacher Bai!" Huai Yan became anxious without realizing it, and her voice rose a few decibels. "Jiang Yuxing really needs this spot..."

The office was silent.

The only faint sound could be heard was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Bai Wenzhou pushed up his glasses and replied expressionlessly, "You want to help him grab a spot?"

The atmosphere between the two began to feel strangely awkward.

A sinister glint flashed in the man's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

If the boy speaks up for Jiang Yuxing again, he might just drop his current mask.

Bai Wenzhou thought indifferently.

He didn't want to get involved in Jiang Yuxing's affairs because he wasn't the homeroom teacher and the person wasn't under his jurisdiction.

After all, a school is like a miniature society, full of unspoken rules.

Despite Jiang Yuxing's excellent geography grades, Bai Wenzhou did not want to get involved in any scandals.

Therefore, he will not get involved in this mess; he will simply watch quietly and let things unfold as they will.

But now, the boy was pleading with him in soft, gentle words.

"No, I didn't mean to steal it!" Huai Yan exclaimed in surprise, waving her hands hastily. "I... I meant..."

Seeing that he was making things worse by trying to explain, Huaiyan obediently shut up.

He cautiously observed Bai Wenzhou's expression, and suddenly felt uncertain.

I was just being delusional.

Changing a decision that has already been made too easily is really like playing a game.

"Hmm." Bai Wenzhou's cold gaze shifted to the young man's face.

The man's movements were nonchalant, and he said noncommittally, "I know."

-

Even after school ended, Huaiyan was still terrified.

In the office, Bai Wenzhou did not give a clear and affirmative answer.

Unable to guess the man's thoughts, he dared not linger and obediently left.

"Don't think about it anymore." 073 was also shocked by Huaiyan's huge failure. He sighed and said, "At least he didn't directly reject you."

The boy buried his head, slowly packing his schoolbag, his little face contorted in a pained expression.

The seat next to him, which belonged to Jiang Yuxing, was empty.

The last period was a self-study period, but Jiang Yuxing had already left school early to go do part-time work.

In the end, only Gao Jia was left to accompany Huai Yan home.

But eighteen-year-old Huaiyan still came up with a reason to separate from Gao Jia halfway.

These past few days after school, Huaiyan hasn't had a moment's rest; she's been doing the same thing all the time.

—Following Bai Wenzhou.

In the original story, the original owner was just as persistent, and even after being discovered by Bai Wenzhou, she still followed him.

To fit the character, Huaiyan hesitated for a long time before embarking on this path of no return.

Because the original plot itself barely touched on Bai Wenzhou, especially after Chen Nuannuan appeared.

The later plot revolves entirely around the main character, and no one really cares about the supporting characters.

This resulted in each person having their own system, making it impossible to know in advance the fate of Bai Wenzhou and the original owner.

Except for the main characters, everyone else has to wait and see how things unfold.

Huai Yan also needs to understand Bai Wenzhou; at the very least, he can't be completely ignorant of everything.

However, Huaiyan's pursuit today was undoubtedly a failure.

After school, he did not see Bai Wenzhou.

Based on his observations over the past few days and the original owner's previous diary entries.

Bai Wenzhou's home is not far from the school, and the man sometimes walks to and from get off work.

Otherwise, the original owner wouldn't have had the chance to follow Bai Wenzhou all the way home.

Today was no different, except that in the blink of an eye, Bai Wenzhou was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing this, Huaiyan was about to follow the road, hoping to find Bai Wenzhou based on her memories from the past few days.

But soon he noticed that someone's gaze had suddenly fallen on him.

The boy stood in the middle of the bustling crowd, a chill running down his spine, inexplicably feeling like he was being watched.

That gaze was cold, sticky, and malicious.

But when Huaiyan suddenly turned around, trying to find some clues...

That gaze vanished instantly into the crowd, disappearing without a trace.

"What's wrong?" 073 sensed something was amiss and asked in a low voice.

The boy shook his head, assuming it was just his imagination: "It feels like someone is watching me."

073's mind immediately went on high alert.

But then he remembered that Huaiyan hadn't offended anyone in the past few days.

A few days ago, the people who bullied the students were locked up. Faced with a lot of evidence, their fate is still unknown.

So right now, logically speaking, no one should be following Huaiyan.

Huai Yan frowned, preoccupied with tracking Bai Wenzhou, and had no time to think about anything else.

“There are a lot of people leaving school,” 073 said. “It’s normal to feel that way.”

Otherwise, Huaiyan would have been approached by someone long ago.

The boy stood in the bustling crowd and nodded obediently.

Bai Wenzhou's home is on the way to the city center.

That's a high-end residential area in Licheng, where the land is said to be incredibly expensive.

Even though people say it's expensive every year, every year there's a steady stream of people moving into the neighborhood.

The boy walked along this road for about five or six minutes without seeing any familiar figures.

Left with no other choice, Huaiyan gave up.

In the past few days, he has roughly figured out the route to Bai Wenzhou's house.

This road is busy with people, so it's easy to follow them.

No wonder in the original story, the original owner followed him for quite a long time before Bai Wenzhou caught him red-handed.

Huai Yan sighed.

Amid 073's words of comfort, he took a few steps back, intending to return to his apartment.

However.

The boy's heel stepped on something.

A thin, frail back suddenly bumped into a broad, cool embrace.

The boy froze, a chill creeping into his heart.

He quickly turned around and put some distance between himself and the people behind him.

A few meters away, Bai Wenzhou stood in front of him, a half-smile on his face.

"Teacher Bai... Teacher Bai." Huai Yan immediately felt guilty, her eyes darting around.

"Huai, classmate."

The man's voice was icy, carrying the chill of early spring, as if covered with a layer of frost.

The words that came out were also incredibly chilling: "Are you following me?"

Huaiyan: "..."

Huaiyan's gaze wandered, and involuntarily, she took several steps back.

He anticipated that one day, the man would catch him red-handed in the act of stalking.

But Huaiyan did not expect that this retribution would come so quickly.

"No..." Huai Yan's voice trembled as she struggled to regain her footing under the gaze of the passing crowd. "Teacher Bai, I, I..."

After stammering for a while, the boy still couldn't come up with a coherent explanation.

"No?" Bai Wenzhou's tone changed, pressing further, "Then, Huai, who were you looking for just now?"

The boy's legs went completely weak.

When he made eye contact with the man, he felt a tingling sensation in his groin and almost knelt down.

Seeing Huaiyan trembling and refusing to admit it no matter what, they noticed that Huaiyan was shaking.

Bai Wenzhou couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

It was just a joke, and you're so scared?

He didn't know how the child had the audacity to follow him every day.

"Alright." Bai Wenzhou lowered his eyes and pinched the boy's delicate chin. "Go home after school and don't follow me."

The boy was forced to look the man in the eye.

When Huaiyan saw those eyes, as calm as a lake, her nose suddenly stung with tears.

Being caught following someone is no big deal.

However, Bai Wenzhou's reaction definitely doesn't qualify as him liking him.

It was more like a ruthless command.

Yes.

No teacher would like being followed like a pervert by their student.

"I...I understand." The boy's voice choked up, filled with sobs. "Teacher Bai...I'm sorry."

As he spoke, tears streamed down the boy's face, sliding onto the man's cold fingertips.

"I...I didn't mean to follow you..."

The boy, his voice hoarse, explained haltingly and incoherently, avoiding eye contact with the man.

He was afraid that if they looked at each other again, his tears would flow even more uncontrollably.

"Why are you crying?"

As Huaiyan raised his hand, he seemed to hear a sigh that sounded like helplessness.

Then, the man's cold fingertips gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"You did something wrong, and you even cried." Bai Wenzhou's voice was calm, but there was no hint of blame.

Upon hearing this, Huaiyan's ear tips instantly turned red.

Although he was still crying, his sobs were gradually subsiding.

Ultimately, he was still feeling guilty.

"I...I just..." The boy's eyes were filled with tears, his gaze shimmering, and he said in a soft voice, "...I just wanted to see you."