Chapter 40

Xia Weining stayed at home for another two days, and when she was almost recovered, she officially returned to work.

"Teacher Xia, you are finally back."

"Teacher Xia, are you feeling better?"

"Teacher Xia, I miss you so much."

"Teacher Xia..."

After class, a group of students crowded into her office to see her, vying to greet her. She had no time to respond. It was as if countless speakers were installed in her ears, making her dizzy and tinnitus-filled.

Isn’t this a kind of sweet happiness?

Tanya came over from outside and teased her with a smile, "The music teacher used to be the most popular, but now you are the most popular."

"That's still no match for the music teacher." Xia Weining recalled the gossip she had just heard. "I heard a class got into an argument today over learning 'Listen to Mom' and 'Chrysanthemum Terrace'?"

"Yes, it was decided by a vote."

"Which song did you learn?"

The music teacher stood up and said, "You can tell from the title that we are learning 'Chrysanthemum Terrace'."

As soon as these words came out, several teachers burst into laughter.

"These kids are at the age where they are independent and unique. They are interesting and hard to control."

"Our place is still good. The No. 3 Middle School next door is much more chaotic."

"Yes, I heard that too."

Several teachers gathered together and discussed in a low voice. Xia Weining smiled helplessly. It is human nature to eat melons no matter what time it is.

She was troubled by the pile of homework in front of her. When she was in school, she liked to pretend to be a teacher and check her homework. But when she became a teacher, she realized how painful it was to check homework.

There is no way to deal with the pain, so I can only bite the bullet and change.

She has two evening study sessions today, one of which was assigned to her by Zhou Renting.

Speaking of Zhou Renting, the two of them haven't seen each other many times since the incident. She has taken too much leave during this period, so when they meet occasionally, they just greet each other like ordinary colleagues, and there is no awkwardness as imagined.

Xia Weining was very happy with the result.

After evening self-study, she walked out of the school gate alone. Not far away, she saw the police station. The lights in front of the door were on, and a person was standing under the street light.

Seeing her walk over and coming side by side with her calmly, Xia Weining just glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and ignored her.

"Hello, Xia Weining."

"What?"

Sheng Huaizhou was very unconvinced, "Don't you know how to say hello when you meet people?"

Xia Weining stopped and turned to look at him, "Why are you here?"

"I'm off work, I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence."

"oh."

Xia Weining turned and left, not believing what he said at all. He could come up with such a bad excuse.

"Xia Weining, are you hungry?"

"Not hungry."

"But I'm hungry."

"Eat if you're hungry."

"I don't want to eat alone."

Xia Weining suppressed her rising temper and asked patiently, "So? What do you want to do?"

"Let's go eat."

"I don't want to eat, Sheng Huaizhou, let me go."

Despite her strong objections, Sheng Huaizhou still dragged her to a restaurant.

They each ordered a bowl of noodles.

After the meal came, Sheng Huaizhou started eating by himself. Xia Weining stared at the meal for a while and silently took out the chopsticks.

She really wasn't hungry at first, but the smell of food aroused her hunger, and her restless heart finally couldn't be restrained, so she decided to fill her stomach.

He quickly mixed the noodles, stuffed a mouthful into his mouth, and sighed in satisfaction, "It's delicious."

"Who said they didn't want to eat?"

"You ordered it all, it would be a waste if you don't eat it."

Sheng Huaizhou chuckled helplessly. He knew Xia Weining too well and she was the toughest talker in the world.

After eating and drinking, Xia Weining wandered around the street, sometimes walking with his eyes closed, sometimes walking backwards, sometimes walking in circles, and he just refused to walk properly.

She knew nothing would happen because Sheng Huaizhou was by her side.

She vaguely remembered that it was after Wei Zhan followed her in the middle of the night that every time she passed by the police station after evening self-study, she would see the lights on and Sheng Huaizhou standing nearby making a phone call.

When she walked a distance away, he would hang up the phone and follow her naturally. The two of them would always walk one in front and the other behind until they returned to the community.

At that time, they were not very familiar with each other and never spoke to each other. They just walked their own ways in silence.

Xia Weining wasn't sure if he was accompanying her or if it was just a coincidence, but his presence brought her great psychological comfort.

In the past, when she passed the dark alley in front of her, she would be afraid that someone would suddenly jump out. Every time she passed by, she would be nervous and run all the way.

At first, she was wary of Sheng Huaizhuo's sudden "joining", but later she gradually let go when she found that he had no ill intentions.

He always kept a distance that was neither too far nor too close, so that the sound of his footsteps could just reach her ears clearly.

Because of the footsteps, she knew there was someone behind her, so she was no longer afraid and could walk through the dark alley normally.

To a certain extent, Sheng Huaizhou had lit a ray of light for her when she was most afraid, dispelling the darkness and fear around her.

This tacit understanding lasted for a while. One day, it was raining and she was walking with an umbrella. He walked in the rain behind her. Xia Weining stopped and waited for him. When he approached, she pushed the umbrella out and said, "Let's walk together?"

Sheng Huaizhou obviously didn't expect that she would invite him to share an umbrella with her. He stood there in a daze for a long time until Xia Weining stuffed the umbrella into his hand and he came back to his senses in a panic.

"You're too tall for me to reach, so you hold the umbrella."

"oh."

Sheng Huaizhou took the umbrella and, like a stiff robot, mechanically followed the instructions to open the umbrella, always maintaining the same posture, with the umbrella constantly moving towards her.

Did Xia Weining even suspect that his arms had no feeling?

After this ice-breaking experience, the relationship between the two entered a warming stage. They no longer walked in silence, but occasionally spoke a few words and sometimes had supper together.

Xia Weining walked backwards for a while, from tiptoeing at the beginning to walking very fast now. She could play without worry because Sheng Huaizhou would remind her if she took the wrong path or there was danger ahead.

Thinking of this, she suddenly stopped and waited for Sheng Huaizhou to walk in front of her.

Seeing the tears in her eyes, Sheng Huaizhou was a little confused, "What's wrong?"

"Sheng Huaizhou, thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

Xia Weining smiled and didn't answer.

Her behavior made Sheng Huaizhou feel uneasy. "I haven't offended you recently, have I?"

"No."

"Then why did you suddenly say thank you?"

"Just thank you."

"Okay." Sheng Huaizhou immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "Since you want to thank me, then take some concrete actions."

Xia Weining looked at him warily, "What are you going to do?"

"Go shopping with me."

"What are you buying?"

"I'm giving it to a sister's child. I don't know much about these things, so I can only ask you."

Xia Weining's expression could only be described as dumbfounded. She sighed, "Sheng Huaizhou, you really know how to pick the right time. You seize the opportunity and strike."

"Are you going or not? This little thing shouldn't be a big deal to you, right?"

"Go." Xia Weining could only swallow his anger. After all, he was the one who said thank you, but who knew that this guy would not be polite at all? So he gritted his teeth and asked, "When?"

Sheng Huaizhou thought about it seriously, "I've been busy these past few days, how about this weekend afternoon? We should all be free then."

"Okay, that's decided then."

Xia Weining thought this was just a normal shopping trip, but she fell into Sheng Huaizhou's trap again.

Sunday is the time for students to return to school. Most students will arrive at school early, put down their schoolbags and play outside for a while, and then go back to school when class starts.

The place Sheng Huaizhou took her to was near the school, and there were students everywhere who knew her.

"Sheng Huaizhou, did you do this on purpose?"

"What on purpose?"

"I don't want to talk to you." Xia Weining covered her face with her hands, "Buy it quickly."

"Hello, Teacher Xia."

"Hello."

"Teacher Xia."

She smiled and put her hands down. There was no point in covering them now. Students were greeting her wherever she went anyway.

Xia Weining felt so aggrieved that she wanted to kick him a few times to vent her anger.

Sheng Huaizhou picked up a necklace and asked, "Do you think this looks good?"

"Wow……"

The students who were watching the show around exclaimed in surprise. They thought Sheng Huaizhou was buying something for Xia Weining.

Xia Weining felt the need to speak up for herself, so she deliberately raised her voice and asked, "Is it appropriate to buy a necklace for your niece who is so young?"

"So it wasn't bought for Teacher Xia. I got so excited for nothing."

"If it's a gift for Teacher Xia, I should buy something very expensive. But the fact that Teacher Xia helped me buy it shows that they have a very close relationship."

"That's right."

Xia Weining: ...

Kids nowadays are really mature, but she felt even angrier when she saw Sheng Huaizhou's raised mouth corners.

"Why don't you go first? Nothing here is suitable for children."

"I think it's quite appropriate."

Xia Weining couldn't stand it any longer, so she walked up to him and lowered her voice, "Who gives away something so cheap?"

“She specifically asked me to buy it here.”

Xia Weining gritted her teeth and smiled, saying several good words.

"In that case, choose carefully." She flipped through the pages carefully. "These are all accessories related to some popular TV series. How about choosing a 'Midsummer Night's Star' bracelet for her?"

Sheng Huaizhou picked up the "Midsummer Night's Star" bracelet and said, "This one is fine." He then picked up a necklace and said, "How about this one?"

"Brother, that's a couple's necklace. Are you sure you want to buy it for her?"

Sheng Huaizhou put it down hurriedly, "Oh, that's not appropriate."

Xia Weining was really annoyed and looked at him carefully, "Do you not understand or are you doing this on purpose?"

"I don't understand." He was still aggrieved. "This is my first time in a store like this."

As the name suggests, the "Two Yuan Store" sells cheap goods, mostly small accessories or daily necessities. The target audience is mostly students, especially couple's accessories, which are hot-selling items that almost everyone must have.

Sheng Huaizhou picked up another pair of rings and said, "This one suits you very well. Do you like it?"

Xia Weining's face turned almost black as charcoal, and she rolled her eyes at him, "I don't like it."

"If you don't like it, forget it."

Sheng Huaizhou took the selected goods to pay, finally ending this annoying and weird shopping experience.

Xia Weining thought it was over and didn't take it to heart anymore. It was only when she arrived at school that she realized everything had just begun.