He Haowen: "..."

Shen Yulan: "..."

Zhuang Xiaowen: "..."

The three of them stared at each other in an extremely strange atmosphere.

He Haowen didn't know how to explain the scene before him, and Shen Yulan was too ashamed to look up.

After a long pause, Zhuang Xiaowen finally recovered from her shock and exclaimed as if suddenly realizing something, "Oh! Oh! Teacher He, I heard at school that you have a girlfriend. Is this your girlfriend?"

He Haowen felt it was better not to deny it at this moment.

Otherwise, it would be even harder to explain.

He made a muffled murmur that sounded like an admission.

Zhuang Xiaowen said with a grin, "Haha, it's nothing, it's nothing. It's a new society, a new era. I understand, I understand."

After saying that, she quickly took out her keys and went inside.

The two walked out of the dormitory building in silence.

He Haowen dropped Shen Yulan off at the gate of Beijing Normal University. Shen Yulan jumped off her bicycle and thanked him politely, "Teacher He, thank you for what happened last night. I won't trouble you again."

He felt a little disappointed when he heard Shen Yulan say that.

He would rather Shen Yulan keep causing him trouble, so that he would have more opportunities to get to know her.

Shen Yulan smiled politely at him, still regarding him as Teacher He, Anzi's homeroom teacher.

But He Hao's gaze toward Shen Yulan had completely changed.

He thought this girl was cute and attractive in every way.

Watching Shen Yulan's figure disappear into the crowd, he sighed with a sense of loss and rode his bicycle back to school.

Throughout the journey, he kept thinking about what excuse he should use to meet Shen Yulan next time.

Asking him out directly probably won't work, as that would make him seem too direct.

The girl slept in his bed for one night, and he immediately asked her out for dinner, a movie, and a walk in the park. His intentions were too obvious. After much thought, he decided to use Anzi's midterm exam results next week as leverage.

Next week is fast approaching, and He Haowen is even more eager than the students for the midterm exam results to come out.

When he received his report card, the first thing he looked for was Anzi's grades.

Anzi studies very hard and is also very smart. This time she ranked fifth in her class, which is even better than her final exam results last semester.

To avoid making his intentions too obvious, he selected a few students and decided to visit each of their homes.

When Anzi learned that her homeroom teacher was going to make a home visit, she was so nervous that she didn't know what to do.

"Teacher He, I think I did pretty well on this test."

He Haowen called An Zi to his office and asked for his home address. An Zi answered quietly.

"Why are you so nervous? The teacher isn't going to tell on you."

He Haowen smiled and said, "Your grades are good, but there are a few subjects that are not particularly ideal. For example, in Chinese, your essay score was not very good this time, and in physics, you made several calculation mistakes."

Anzi solemnly stated, "Teacher, I will definitely pay special attention to the issues you mentioned, especially regarding home visits..."

While flipping through the report card, He Haowen asked, "You're still a transfer student, right?"

Anzi nodded.

"Students attending on temporary assignments should hold themselves to even higher standards."

He Hao asked, "Our school's policy is that only students who study in Beijing for three years, achieve excellent grades, and obtain a Beijing city household registration are eligible to enter the high school. Although you currently have a Beijing household registration, can you guarantee that your middle school entrance exam results will be exceptionally good and that you will be directly admitted to the high school?"

Anzi cautiously shook her head.

"That's right, so home visits are still very necessary."

He Haowen felt a little smug inside.

Anzi rubbed his hands nervously and said, "Um, teacher, when you come to my house, could you please speak a little more gently? Don't be fooled by my older sister's gentle voice; she's very strict about my studies. Sometimes when I get a question wrong, she even hits my hand with a ruler."

"Your sister will hit your hand?" He Haowen asked in surprise.

Anzi nodded vigorously: "I've been beaten several times already."

He Hao couldn't help but imagine Shen Yulan hitting someone with a stern face.

He had never seen Shen Yulan lose her temper, but thinking about it now, he found the way she educated her students... quite adorable.

"Teacher, teacher?"

Anzi noticed that He Hao's eyes were vacant, as if he were lost in thought, and called his name several times.

"Huh?" He Haowen finally came to his senses and coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment.

"Alright, write down your home address and go back to class."

Friday night, the sky was overcast, and it looked like it was going to rain heavily.

He Haowen grabbed his briefcase and rushed to Sanfang Hutong as quickly as possible.

He knocked on the courtyard gate and heard a clear voice call out from inside, "The gate's open, come in!"

Upon hearing this voice, He Haowen's heart immediately leaped with joy.

Isn't this the voice he's been longing for all week?

Upon entering the courtyard, he smelled the aroma of food.

Shen Yulan, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen and greeted him warmly, "Teacher He, you're here! Please come in and have a seat!"

Seeing her smile, He Haowen felt all the fatigue of the day vanish.

He couldn't help but fantasize that one day, he and Shen Yulan would live in such a small courtyard, and every day after get off work, as soon as he opened the door, he would see Shen Yulan's beautiful smile.

The two of them chopped vegetables and cooked together. After eating, they went to the small park, strolled around hand in hand, and then went inside. Anzi and Mingxiu politely bowed to He Haowen, called him "Teacher He," and then quickly went inside to do their homework.

Shen Yulan brought him tea and a plate of fried peanuts.

"Teacher He, you've worked so hard, making home visits even after get off work on Friday."

He Hao looked around and asked casually, "Aren't Shen Zhian's parents home?"

Shen Yulan said, "My parents are both at the farm. They've been busy selling grain and reclaiming wasteland these past few days, so they can't get away. I usually take care of Anzi and Mingxiu's studies, so just tell me."

He Hao felt a surge of secret joy.

With the elders not home, the younger siblings were all obediently doing their homework and dared not come out.

Then he could spend as much time alone with Shen Yulan as he wanted.

He first took out the report card and solemnly analyzed Anzi's grades with Shen Yulan, and also offered a lot of tutoring suggestions, which sounded very professional.

Shen Yulan brought out her notebook and carefully wrote down all the important points.

He Haowen stole a few glances at Shen Yulan's handwriting; it was delicate and neat, just like her temperament.

We talked for almost an hour, and it gradually got dark outside.

He Haowen had put a lot of thought into spending this one hour together, but when the time was up, he had to leave.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be proper for us to just stay at someone else's house!

Just as he was about to get up, Shen Yulan said, "Teacher He, the meal is ready. Please eat before you leave."