Chapter 19: A sudden surge of anger welled up inside him.
Mu Tingyu was awakened by a knock on the door.
She felt dizzy and a little uncomfortable, like she had returned to the feeling of drinking all night with friends back in college.
"Wait, wait a minute, let it break for another ten minutes..."
She mumbled incoherently, then groggily turned over. A voice came from outside the door: "—If you don't get up now, you'll be late for class."
Attend class? !
She jerked her eyes open and struggled to fumble for her phone under the pillow.
"Ta-da!"
A flurry of activity suddenly filled the room, as if someone had jumped out of bed in an instant.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of a chair being dragged came from the doorway.
With a click, the door opened.
Mu Tingyu's hair was a mess, her T-shirt and pajamas had slipped off her shoulders, and she said with a look of utter despair, "--There are still five minutes until class starts, you called me way too timely!"
Xing Ze, without changing his expression, pulled her clothes up, glanced at the chair by the door, and commented calmly, "Even after drinking so much, you still remembered to hold the door shut. You have a good sense of self-preservation."
"Is this the time to talk about this?" Mu Tingyu pushed aside the person blocking the doorway, and after he moved aside, she rushed into the bathroom.
Xing Ze reached out and touched the spot where Mu Tingyu had just pushed him, raising an eyebrow.
Mu Tingyu poked her head out with a toothbrush in her mouth: "Is there breakfast?"
Xing Ze leaned against the door with his arms crossed: "You really don't hold back."
"Oh, I was just asking." Mu Tingyu shrank back again, her voice muffled, "Then I'll just leave later."
"......"
"Yes," Xing Ze sighed. "It's downstairs. You can eat it as soon as you wash it."
A loud shout came from inside the bathroom: "OK!"
......
"Didn't you say last night that there were no dumplings?!"
Mu Tingyu poked a dumpling with her chopsticks and asked sadly.
Xing Ze raised an eyebrow: "Weren't you drunk? You still remember this?"
"I did drink a bit too much, but I didn't black out!" Mu Tingyu stuffed a dumpling into her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and nodded in satisfaction.
These dumplings taste best when they've cooled down a bit; the skin is chewy, but the filling is still warm. One bite reveals the aroma of juicy scallions and pork.
There was a bowl of tofu soup in front of me, with white jade mushrooms and diced tomatoes. It was thickened with cornstarch and cooked until it was sticky and viscous, with a sour and appetizing flavor.
She kept talking while also making time to speak: "Did you make these dumplings?"
"Otherwise what?" Xing Ze glanced at her. "Was it Xiaoyu who packed it?"
Mu Tingyu discovered that he really was a bit sharp-tongued.
However, since she was in the wrong, she immediately praised her: "You can even make dumplings! That's amazing! You're practically an all-rounder!"
Xing Ze remained unmoved: "Eat your food properly, and be careful not to bite your tongue."
Mu Tingyu said sweetly, "Thank you, it's delicious."
No need to thank me.
"......"
"What's there to be shy about? You clearly like it when I praise you." Mu Tingyu muttered to herself, lowering her head and continuing to struggle with the dumplings.
Xing Ze clicked his tongue and pushed the vinegar dish in front of her.
After finishing her meal, she rushed out the door and carried out her bicycle.
Xing Ze leaned against the door, looking rather lazy: "We're already late, what's the rush?"
"I couldn't possibly accept that. I already messaged Teacher Zhuang on WeChat and asked him to start teaching first." Mu Tingyu hopped on her bicycle, waved, and said, "I'm off!"
Xing Ze raised his chin: "Ride slowly."
She showed no signs of being drunk last night, happily riding her bike away down the side road.
Xing Ze remained motionless, squinting as he rolled the words "Teacher Zhuang" around in his mouth, feeling somewhat irritated.
...What was that kid up to last night, getting so close to me?
If he doesn't say anything, is he already planning to get physical?
Mu Tingyu was naturally slow-witted and always had a smiling face. She seemed to have no ulterior motives and didn't even know what the people around her were thinking about her.
But that personality is just so attractive. In just a few days, she's already completely bewitched Zhuang Ren.
With that kind of look, she's probably attracted countless unwanted suitors outside.
Xing Ze felt a sudden surge of anger.
He frowned as he poured milk for the whimpering puppy and went inside to wash the dishes.
.
Mu Tingyu received a message from Shaoyue as soon as she finished class in the afternoon.
[Ah Yue: Listen, I'm done here~]
[Ignoring: Really?! That's great! You've worked so hard, Yue, you can rest now~]
[A-Yue: Send me your location, I'll come stay with you for a few days.]
After saying goodbye to a group of lively children, Mu Tingyu continued typing away.
[If you don't listen: Then you'll have to sleep with me, okay? Squeeze into my tiny 1.5-meter bed, hehe.]
[A-Yue: We've all squeezed into that dorm bed that was so tight you could barely turn over, so what's 1.5 meters?]
[Not listening: [The kitten rubs against me]]
[He wouldn't listen: You finally get a few days off, don't go through all that trouble coming and going, reversing here is quite a hassle.]
[A-Yue: I promised to come keep you company, and I haven't seen you in ages. I've seen you posting updates on your WeChat Moments every day, but you haven't been posting much lately. Are you busy?]
[I don't listen: It's okay, not busy, just quite fulfilling.]
As she straightened the table, she typed with one hand: "I'll send you my location, and I'll book the plane tickets and stuff..."
Before I finished typing, Shaoyue sent another message.
[A-Yue: Perfect timing! Everyone in our group said they wanted to find somewhere to have fun. I remember you said you were going to the beach, right? How about I bring them all along? You know them all.]
The Shaoyue research group consists of only a few classmates from the same year or senior students from the year above.
Mu Tingyu is the social butterfly of their college. She is always involved in the student union, youth volunteer groups and various clubs. You can often see her making a ruckus in volunteer activities such as "old books for green plants" and "old clothes recycling". People from the previous and next grades may not know her name, but they are at least familiar with her face.
but......
She quickly deleted the line of text she had typed and retyped it.
[He doesn't listen: Ah Yue, there's nothing fun here, it's just the sea. And the village doesn't provide you with a place to stay...]
A reply came after a while.
[A-Yue: They said it's fine, it's good to experience life. We plan to rent a campervan when we get there, and then set up a few tents or something, so we can sleep there.]
Mu Tingyu thought about it for a moment and found the idea quite interesting, and even considered joining them.
[Not listening: [location]]
[Ignore: It's right here.]
Shaoyue sent an "ok" emoji.
As Zhuang Ren wiped the blackboard, he kept glancing at Mu Tingyu out of the corner of his eye.
I noticed she was typing away on her phone, probably chatting with someone.
Zhuang Ren felt awkward interrupting her, so he waited until she finished chatting and put her phone in her pocket before asking, "Teacher Mu, are you feeling alright now?"
"Huh?" Mu Tingyu didn't react for a moment. "Ah...you mean me? I'm fine."
Zhuang Ren scratched his head: "Well, you drank a bit too much last night. Aren't you feeling unwell now?"
After hearing this, Mu Tingyu waved her hand dismissively: "This is nothing. I was much more carefree back in college. A mere half a bowl of baijiu..."
And a sip of osmanthus wine.
--etc!
A bolt of lightning struck her head.
Last night...
Did she use the same cup as Xing Ze?
Mu Tingyu gasped in shock, covered her ears in embarrassment, and quickly began to hypnotize herself.
Oh well, I did so many embarrassing things last night, one more won't make a difference...
She spent the entire day trying to hypnotize herself, because the mere thought of what she had done the night before filled her with shame and made her want to disappear into the ground...
Zhuang Ren was caught in a terrible internal struggle and didn't notice her almost suicidal expression.
“Teacher Mu,” he took a deep breath and mustered his courage again, “Do you remember what I told you last night about going to the movies?”
Mu Tingyu casually fanned herself with her hand: "Ah, I remember, you said there was a new movie theater in town, right? Actually, I don't really like watching movies, I always fall asleep when I go to the theater."
"I see..." Zhuang Ren was a little disappointed, then asked, "Then, do you like watching plays? There will be plays being put on in town these days, the streets will be very lively, would you like to go see one?"
“I know even less about drama,” Mu Tingyu shook her head with a regretful expression and smiled. “Sorry, you might have to ask someone else.”
Zhuang Ren quickly waved his hand, "No, it's alright..."
Is there anything else I can help you with?
Zhuang Ren paused, swallowed the question he was about to ask, "Then what do you like?", and shook his head: "Nothing. I'll just go wash the rag. You can go now, I'll close the door."
Mu Tingyu walked towards the door, greeting him in a rising tone, "Thank you for your hard work! See you tomorrow!"
Zhuang Ren watched her retreating figure and murmured dejectedly, "See you tomorrow..."
He dejectedly clutched the rag in his hand: "Sigh... I still couldn't get a date..."
As soon as Mu Tingyu stepped out of the gate, she saw Xing Ze leaning against her bicycle.
She paused, then walked over with a surprised look on her face: "You... what brings you here?"
Xing Ze's face remained expressionless: "Why did it take you so long to come out?"
"It hasn't been 'that long'! get out of class just ended, okay?"
Hearing her lighthearted tone, Xing Ze lowered his eyes and said, "The students left ten minutes ago."
"You've been here for ten minutes?" Mu Tingyu looked at him strangely. "I helped Teacher Zhuang tidy up the classroom."
Xing Ze narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but ask, "—What did that kid just say to you? And what was that expression on his face?"
"?"
A question mark slowly appeared above Mu Tingyu's head: "He asked me if I wanted to go see a movie, what was that expression on his face? I didn't even notice."
Xing Ze suddenly stood up straight: "You agreed?"
"No," Mu Tingyu said, puzzled. "Why would I go to the movies with him?"
Xing Ze's expression froze for a moment, and after a long while, he gave an ambiguous "hmm".
Then, his furrowed brows relaxed: "Okay, let's go."
Mu Tingyu looked him over suspiciously: "How did you know what expression Zhuang Ren had on his face? Are you a clairvoyant?"
"......"
"That's not right." Mu Tingyu stroked her chin. "Were you outside just now? Why didn't you make a sound?"
"......"
Xing Ze hopped on his bicycle: "Are we going or not?"
Just as Mu Tingyu was about to speak, she suddenly noticed a white patch on Xing Ze's sleeve.
That was putty powder scraped off the wall.
She pulled her hand away from the bicycle, walked to Xing Ze's side, suppressed a laugh, tugged at his sleeve, and showed him: "Look, doesn't it look like a kitten?"
Xing Ze turned his head to look at her, glancing at her sideways: "Like you."
Mu Tingyu reached out and patted him, but he was wearing black clothes, so it was difficult to clean him properly.
She tried several times, and finally said helplessly, "Go back and wash up."
Looking at her soft and lovely hair and her almost intimate gestures, Xing Ze's displeasure vanished instantly, and he responded with a soft "Mm".
Mu Tingyu gave him a teasing look: "Showing off comes at a price. That's why you didn't stand properly and insisted on leaning against the wall."
Xing Ze: "......"
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