Chapter 75 Inspection, but he would only think she was being coquettish.
The car bumped along the way and finally stopped in front of the Juxian Elementary School.
Fang Zhen's awkward feelings came and went quickly. She saw her mother waiting for her at the gate from afar, rolled down the car window, and waved excitedly.
Tang Yi took it all in. Looking at Yang Yuanyue's kind smile and Fang Zhen's sweeping arm movements, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
Zhang Minglang's hand reached up in the darkness and intertwined with her hand, which was resting on her lap.
Tang Yi turned her head, and Zhang Minglang looked at her tenderly, his hand gripping her tighter: "You have me."
Tang Yi just smiled and shook her head.
She no longer envied others for these things, and she no longer struggled with the fact that her mother didn't love her.
She looked at their clasped hands.
She received even more love than that, and that's the biggest reason.
The three of them got out of the car. Fang Zhen had already jumped out and thrown herself into Yang Yuanyue's arms. Yang Yuanyue patted her back with a smile and said in a tone that seemed to be scolding but was actually affectionate, "Aren't you ashamed? Your colleagues are watching."
Upon hearing this, Fang Zhen released her and retreated somewhat embarrassed to Tang Yi's side.
Yang Yuanyue led them to sit down in the office. Tang Yi told her the main purpose of their visit today and suggested that if it was convenient, they could go and see the library and the counseling center now.
Yang Yuanyue readily agreed.
She held Tang Yi's hand, and Zhang Minglang followed beside her. Yang Yuanyue paid attention to Zhang Minglang's expression and movements, recalling what Tang Yi had said before leaving last time, and looked up at Zhang Minglang seriously.
From the moment Zhang Minglang first met Yang Yuanyue, he kept a close eye on her and sat properly to the side, listening to them talk.
Knowing the influence this elderly teacher had on Tang Yi, he naturally regarded her as Tang Yi's direct elder.
Therefore, Zhang Minglang tried his best to keep a straight face throughout the process, making himself look reliable in order to make a good impression.
When he felt Yang Yuanyue's gaze on him, he felt inexplicably nervous, and his slightly hunched back straightened up unconsciously.
He withdrew his gaze, but before he could even relax, Yang Yuanyue's voice rang out: "Yiyi, now he's finally your boyfriend, right?"
Tang Yi was startled, turned her head to look at Zhang Minglang, and then nodded in agreement.
What does "finally" mean?
Zhang Minglang didn't have a chance to think about it; he felt he should say something. So he stopped and said earnestly, "Aunt Yang, I will treat Tang Yi well, you can rest assured."
Fang Zhen, who was behind her, also heard her mother say "finally." Some of her radars went off, and she excitedly asked, "Mom, you knew about Tang Yi's relationship all along?"
Yang Yuanyue chuckled and said, "When your sister Yiyi came last time, I asked her if she and Xiao Zhang were dating, and she told me that it would happen soon. I only remembered to ask her again today when I saw Xiao Zhang."
Tang Yi blinked, unsure of what to say, and just wanted to change the subject: "...Let's hurry to the library, don't waste too much time."
Fang Zhen's gaze began to wander between the two people in front of her.
Is that so?
After listening, Zhang Minglang seemed to realize something. He narrowed his eyes, put his hands on his hips, and smiled, wanting to get to the bottom of this.
Fang Zhen, being very sensible, stepped forward and took Yang Yuanyue's arm, leading her forward while saying in a grand manner, "Mom, come on, let's go to the library first..."
Tang Yi looked up, wanting to speak, but Fang Zhen had already vanished in a flash.
In the long corridor, only Zhang Minglang and Tang Yi remained.
Zhang Minglang remained with his hands on his hips. The sleeves of his black turtleneck sweater were rolled up above his arms, and his voice, tinged with laughter, sounded like he was calling out for a piece of candy: "What's going on, Tang Xiaoyi? Why didn't you give me any advance notice?"
He raised his head and thought carefully for a moment, then his smile deepened: "When was the last time I came to Ju County...?"
Tang Yi didn't want to listen anymore. She pushed him away, lowered her head, and walked forward, pretending to be nonchalant: "What's there to think about? It's just a sentence."
Zhang Minglang followed behind her, his hands in his pockets: "That's all? Then what are you embarrassed about?"
Tang Yi kept walking forward, saying, "You've got it wrong."
He chased after her like that. Warm sunlight streamed in from the sky outside the corridor, falling on their matching black clothes and turning their black hair golden.
Zhang Minglang couldn't help but imagine again that if he and Tang Yi had met during their student days, would he have followed her closely like he does now?
However, Tang Yi would wear a school uniform back then, while he would at most pretend to wear his school uniform jacket around his waist, looking like a good-for-nothing hoodlum.
Perhaps Tang Yi would still tie her hair in a high ponytail, turn her head away with a really annoyed look, and try to scare him away with her cold expression.
He would only think she was being coquettish.
cute.
No matter what Tang Yi does, even if her hand is already in front of him, he will only think it smells good.
As Zhang Minglang was thinking this, Tang Yi, who was in front of him, suddenly turned around.
Warm yellow light shone from her profile, casting a small shadow on her face. He could see the dust particles rising in the air around her, her slightly trembling eyelashes, and her tightly pursed lips, which appeared exceptionally soft in the light.
She glared at him: "Can't you hurry up? Stop dawdling."
Zhang Minglang was scolded, but he breathed softly.
All his fantasies about school uniforms vanished, because the real her standing before him was more moving than any boundless fantasy.
Zhang Minglang lifted his foot, smiled, and walked up to stand beside her.
Fang Zhen had been waiting in the library for a long time. Tang Yi walked around the library and found that the books were more abundant than before. Yang Yuanyue told her that the school's reading classes had increased from one to two per week, and that the school would regularly bring all students to the library to participate in book sharing sessions.
All activities proceeded smoothly and orderly, and the children's enthusiasm for reading and learning was high. In addition, thanks to Junmao's charity project, more and more people have noticed this small rural school. Besides following the funding to establish a psychological counseling room, many people from the community have also taken the initiative to donate books and tables and chairs to the library.
Everything has been renewed, everything is thriving, and everything is getting better.
Tang Yi's heart, which had been preoccupied with the distant town of Ju County, could finally be somewhat at ease. She wandered among the towering bookshelves of the library, occasionally asking the librarian for information.
Zhang Minglang was sent to the second floor by Tang Yi to inspect the area, while Fang Zhen went to another rest area on the first floor.
The three of them carefully walked around and learned about the situation, then moved on to the psychological counseling room, where they summarized quite a bit. However, before they could get a clear picture of the situation in the counseling room, it was soon time for lunch. Zhang Minglang made a quick decision and suggested that they take care of lunch first.
Fang Zhen raised her hand: "President Zhang, Secretary Tang, if you don't mind, my mom has probably cooked for you. You can come to my house for a meal!"
Tang Yi said, "Of course, it would be great if we didn't disturb you."
So the three of them, plus Yang Yuanyue, sat around a small square wooden table. A sheet of sheet metal was nailed to the tabletop, and it was uneven and pitted. Yang Yuanyue wiped her hands vigorously inside her apron and said somewhat embarrassedly, "The environment at home is a bit rough, please don't mind."
Zhang Minglang waved his hand first: "How could we mind? We are grateful that you are willing to go to the trouble of cooking."
After enjoying a comfortable home-cooked meal and thanking Yang Yuanyue, the trio didn't stay long and set off again for their investigation. Their work finally came to an end around three or four in the afternoon.
The three of them sat in the empty office for a short rest. Fang Zhen slumped in her chair, belatedly realizing how embarrassed she was.
She glanced at Tang Yi and Zhang Minglang and saw that Zhang Minglang was sitting crookedly, seemingly boneless, with his fingers idly twirling Tang Yi's hair. Tang Yi, on the other hand, seemed tireless, looking down at the data records they had been examining all day.
Fang Zhen suddenly realized how much light she was radiating here. She quickly stood up, made up an excuse to go home and get some clothes, and ran away.
The office was quiet, with only Zhang Minglang and Tang Yi remaining.
As Zhang Minglang played, his hands started itching again. He let go of her hair, moved down to the back of her hand, and gently held it.
Tang Yi looked up: "What are you doing?"
Zhang Minglang pulled her hand into his arms: "There's no one here."
Tang Yi tried to pull her hand out a few times, but couldn't.
She stopped flipping through the papers, looked up as if to say something, when suddenly there was a commotion outside the door, and then several little girls rushed in, calling out "Teacher" repeatedly.
Tang Yi frowned, stood up, and asked, "What's wrong? Tell me slowly."
The girls pieced together the explanation from various sources: some classmates had gotten into a fight and started arguing.
Tang Yi glanced at the time. All the teachers were in a meeting, so only she and Zhang Minglang could handle it. She turned around, and Zhang Minglang was already standing in front of her: "Let's go."
Surrounded by girls, the closer they got to the classroom, the louder the noise became.
Tang Yi pushed open the door and went in. She saw a boy and a girl fighting in the empty space at the back of the classroom. She couldn't recognize them. The other students were shouting and joining in the fun. Only a few students stood by, wanting to pull them apart, but hesitated and didn't dare to step forward.
Zhang Minglang had already stepped out before her, quickly pulling the boy away. Tang Yi followed suit, carrying the girl away as well, and the conflict subsided slightly.
Tang Yi squatted down, placed her hands on the girl's thin shoulders, and asked in as calm a voice as possible, "Can you tell me what happened? Why were you fighting?"
The girl had her head down, her messy hair obscuring her face. Tang Yi reached out to help her brush it aside, but the girl instinctively dodged to the side when she noticed her movement.
Tang Yi paused her outstretched hand, withdrew it, and asked softly, "Would you like to smooth your hair yourself?"
The little girl was silent for a moment, then ran her fingers through her hair a few times, finally revealing her dark face. Tang Yi looked closely and exclaimed in surprise, "Xixi?"
When Xixi heard her name, she slowly raised her head, but after recognizing Tang Yi, she lowered her head even further.
Tang Yi looked around; the place was filled with noisy children. Thinking of Xixi's family and personality, she straightened up, greeted Zhang Minglang, and then led Xixi to the office.
Before leaving, Tang Yi tugged at Zhang Minglang's sleeve, asking him to help communicate with the little boy and also to get the students in the classroom to quiet down and study properly.
Zhang Minglang nodded to her: "What trouble is there? Don't worry, leave this to me."
Tang Yi lowered her eyelashes and led Xixi towards the office.
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