"Mr. Gu," the head of the research and development group looked at Gu Fei, "Didn't you say you would wear a tie? I see you brought one today?"

"It's right there," Gu Fei pointed to the tie thrown on the table, "I'll put it on before class, I'm out of breath already."

"Don't forget later," the head said, "Let other schools see the charm of our young teachers."

"Sure," Gu Fei nodded seriously.

Gu Fei rolled up the tie and put it in his coat pocket, then went to the classroom.

Today, his open class was a city-level public research class, which the school valued highly, and he also took it seriously. In addition to consulting with senior teachers during lesson preparation, he even visited Mr. Xu's house twice. Although junior high and high school are different, there are still lessons to be learned from experience.

When he entered the classroom, the students looked similar to usual, either slumped over their desks or leaning against them as if they were about to collapse any second.

He walked to the platform and threw the things in his hand onto the platform with a loud noise, "Bang."

The struggling crowd below turned their heads towards the platform.

"How about lining up to get some fresh air?" Gu Fei looked at them, "Is it too warm in the classroom?"

There were sighs of relief, high and low, from the struggling crowd, and they slowly sat down.

"Relax a bit during class later, just like usual. Don't be as tense as the last public class in school. I could hear your bones cracking when you stood up," Gu Fei said, checking the time. It was almost time, so he took out the tie from his pocket.

To be honest, he had never worn a tie before. This was his first time teaching a city-level research class, so he just bought one. He only remembered to ask Jiang Cheng how to tie it when he was leaving in the morning, and he forgot the moment he took it out now.

Perhaps he was a little nervous.

Avoiding various public occasions and collective activities and not wanting to face gazes had been a habit ingrained in his character many years ago.

But starting from almost graduation, he had to face it with gritted teeth, from trial teaching to standing in front of forty or fifty students, and now to open classes.

It was true to say that he was not used to it, but he couldn't avoid it like before.

However, this kind of nervous discomfort couldn't be completely eliminated in just half a year. After all, this was only his second open class, and it was at the city level.

After looking at the tie for a while, he finally couldn't help but sigh against the platform, "Who knows how to tie a tie?"

"I do!"

"I..."

"I can do it! Me!"

There was a chorus of shouts below, and Gu Fei glanced over, pointing to the class representative for his Chinese class, "Come teach me."

The class representative was a little boy. As he stood up, there was a collective sigh from the side. Gu Fei noticed his momentary hesitation and quickly tapped the platform, "Hurry up."

The little boy came up, skilfully wrapped the tie around his own neck, and tied it up in no time. Then he loosened it, took it off, and handed it to Gu Fei.

"Awesome!" The shouts rose again.

Gu Fei was also surprised and asked, "Who did you learn from?"

"Watching TV," the little boy said, turning around and walking away, "It's a must-have skill for men."

"Oh," Gu Fei couldn't help but smile. After fixing his tie, he tapped the platform again, "As I mentioned yesterday, everything that needs to be explained has been said. Everyone remembers, right?"

"We remember!"

"Great, thank you," Gu Fei nodded.

*

Jiang Cheng felt like he was on the verge of becoming an immortal lately. After Gu Fei went to work in the morning, he lay back in bed, and in his consciousness, it was probably just a blink of an eye, yet an hour had passed.

Perhaps it was because Gu Fei had replaced the bedroom curtains with thick linen blackout curtains, so once they were drawn, it was hard to tell morning from night.

He checked the time on his phone. Gu Fei's open class should be in session now.

He yawned and walked to the window, pulling the curtains halfway to look outside.

The steel plant remained unchanged over the years. From his sophomore year until now, almost graduating from senior year, the leaves grew and fell, the grass turned green and withered, people came and went, but those old buildings and gray streets remained the same.

Every time Jiang Cheng came back, it felt like stepping into memories.

But it was fine. He didn't want to forget those memories, good or bad, that were left here.

He stretched lazily, then turned back to lie down on the bed, absentmindedly opening an app to see what takeout to order for lunch.

The school where Gu Fei now taught wasn't far from their former high school. Gu Fei usually came home for lunch.

Jiang Cheng wasn't skilled at cooking lunch, but he was skilled at ordering takeout.

Eggplant pot, braised duck, maybe a soup, and...

The door outside received a couple of kicks.

"Coming!" Jiang Cheng replied and jumped out of bed, slipping on his shoes to go open the door.

Gu Miao walked in dragging her skateboard, plopped down on the couch, and then rolled up her pants, revealing her knees.

"Oh my," Jiang Cheng glanced at her and froze. There was a large scrape on Gu Miao's left knee, already oozing blood. "Did you fall?"

Gu Miao nodded.

"I'll get some medicine for you," Jiang Cheng opened the nearby cabinet and took out the first aid kit. "How did it happen?"

Gu Miao looked at him for a good while, probably unsure how to explain. She started treating the wound with some cotton without saying anything else to him.

"I'm ordering takeout," Jiang Cheng sat next to her with his phone. "What else do you want to eat?"

Gu Miao glanced at the phone screen as Jiang Cheng scrolled through it. Since Gu Miao wasn't very good with characters, she mainly relied on pictures. In the end, she pointed at the braised pork with preserved vegetables and the clams.

"Alright," Jiang Cheng nodded and placed the order for several dishes.

Previously, Gu Miao's injuries were always treated by Gu Fei because Gu Miao was afraid of blood, and he tried to shield her from seeing it. However, Xu Xingzhi pointed out ruthlessly that Gu Miao's fear of blood didn't stem from any traumatic event but rather from Gu Fei's own fear. Since then, Gu Fei hadn't helped her with her wounds. Instead, he gradually taught her how to clean and treat them herself. Now, she wasn't easily injured, and even if she was, she could handle it herself, and her movements were quite skilled.

She looked pretty cool doing it.

"You're becoming like a female assassin day by day," Jiang Cheng teased her. "Are the people at your skateboard club afraid of you?"

Gu Miao glanced at him, smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Your brother said you've grown taller, that you've gained five centimeters in three months. Is it true? Are you 1.5 meters tall now?" Jiang Cheng asked again.

Gu Miao nodded.

"Can't tell," Jiang Cheng remarked.

Gu Miao clicked her tongue, threw the cotton ball in her hand, stood up, then reached out to grab Jiang Cheng's arm, pulling him up, and then compared their heights.

"1.5 meters," Jiang Cheng lowered his head to look at the top of her head and said with a smile, "Reaching the chest now."

After cleaning and disinfecting the wound, Gu Miao took out a picture book from her bag and started reading.

It was a picture book Gu Fei bought for her, with very few words and mostly pictures. Gu Miao knew few characters but liked looking at illustrations, so Gu Fei would buy her picture books from time to time.

Jiang Cheng leaned back on the couch, observing her. Gu Miao had made significant progress over the past two years. She no longer screamed, could understand others' intentions, and her emotional expressions were becoming richer. She could cry, laugh, and get angry, although her literacy and speaking skills were still slow to improve. But for her, it was already good enough.

Last year, Gu Fei had found the skateboard club that Gu Miao had encountered on the square before, and they readily agreed to let Gu Miao join.

Compared to before when she used to skate aimlessly on the streets, now every leap she made counted as a small goal, her own small goals.

Gu Fei didn't have many demands for her. As long as she could gradually integrate into life around her, make friends, it was enough. As for the rest, he didn't push for it.

The takeout arrived quickly. Jiang Cheng went downstairs to pick it up, and it was quite heavy.

Just as he took a couple of steps upstairs, his phone rang. Thinking it might be Gu Fei, he struggled to hold all the bags in one hand and took out his phone to check. It turned out to be Pan Zhi.

"Ah," Jiang Cheng sighed, "You're calling at quite the right time."

"Grandpa, I'm escaping," Pan Zhi blurted out, "Get ready to receive me."

"What's wrong?" Jiang Cheng was puzzled. "Didn't you say you were locked up?"

"I was just giving them face. Can they really keep me locked up? I can leave whenever I want," Pan Zhi said. "I just can't stand it anymore. I'll come to you tomorrow."

"Hold on," Jiang Cheng said, "You're just leaving like that? Won't your mom go crazy?"

When Pan Zhi entered college, he didn't really consider the choice of major. He studied library science, and now his family wanted him to take the civil service exam to work in a library. For Pan Zhi, who was usually considered performing well if he did not skip class, this was almost like a death sentence.

"If she kills me, then so be it," Pan Zhi said. "If she doesn't kill me, I'll die within two months from reading those books. I can go to a bookstore, and when they calm down, I'll go back and ask for some money to open a bookstore... I'll explain more when I see you."

"Oh," Jiang Cheng responded, "Should I book a room for you?"

"You don't need to bother. I'll do it myself," Pan Zhi replied. "Just spare some time to chat with me in the next few days."

"Mm," Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, "How about... I give your mom a call and talk to her?"

"Forget it. She's always using your acceptance into grad school against me. If you keep being so understanding, she'll be even more shocked," Pan Zhi sighed. "Just wait for me, treat me to some barbecue."

"Alright," Jiang Cheng smiled.

Jiang Cheng brought out all the food on plates and set the table. After arranging the bowls and chopsticks, Gu Miao, who had been sitting on the couch reading the whole time, turned her head slightly.

"Come." She said, her voice a bit hoarse compared to three or four years ago. Gu Fei said it was her voice changing period and expressed nostalgia for the time when she used to call him "Brother Cheng" in a soft and gentle voice.

"Mm, I heard the sound of a motorcycle," Jiang Cheng walked to the window and looked down. Gu Fei had just parked his motorcycle downstairs. He whistled down at him, "Your brother is wearing a tie today. Check it out later, he looks unusually serious."

Gu Fei took off his helmet, looked up, waved at him, locked the motorcycle, and ran into the building.

Gu Miao wasn't interested in whether her brother looked like a serious person or not when he was wearing a tie. When Gu Fei came in through the door, she immediately sat down at the table, waiting for dinner to start.

"This definitely looks like takeout," Gu Fei took off his coat and said with a smile.

"Er Miao, look," Jiang Cheng pointed at Gu Fei, "Suit. Have you seen it before... Where's your tie?"

"I took it off, it's uncomfortable," Gu Fei said as he prepared to take off his suit jacket.

"Wait," Jiang Cheng took out his phone, "Let me take a picture. This kind of dress is a bit rare. Usually, you dress like a gym teacher."

"This isn't a formal suit," Gu Fei looked at him. "It's our school uniform, everyone has one."

"It's more formal than your sports outfit," Jiang Cheng chuckled.

Indeed, it was the uniform of Gu Fei's school, dark blue in color, the fabric was decent, but the style was just average. Usually, no teacher wore it. It was only brought out for somewhat official occasions when "formal attire" was required.

After all these years, Jiang Cheng still couldn't get used to it. He still found Gu Fei handsome, with a good physique. Even in this kind of outfit, when worn on Gu Fei, it still made Jiang Cheng's heart flutter.

This is love...

Jiang Cheng sang a song in his heart as he took photos.

"Done?," Gu Fei asked.

"Mm, change your clothes and let's eat," Jiang Cheng looked at him.

Gu Fei took off his suit jacket, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked towards the bedroom. Jiang Cheng immediately followed him, leaning against the wall and continuing to watch him.

Unbuttoning his shirt was completely different from when Gu Fei took off his T-shirt.

One was the former tyrant of the steel factory.

The other was like a model dog (NT: someone putting on airs).

"How was the public class today?" Jiang Cheng grabbed him around the waist.

"Damn," Gu Fei took off his shirt, about to speak, but Gu Miao knocked on the bowl outside. He turned his head, "I said no knocking on the bowl! It's rude!"

Gu Miao held her chopsticks properly and looked at him.

"If you're hungry, go ahead and eat first," Gu Fei said. "I'll talk to Brother Cheng."

Gu Miao nodded and served herself some rice, bowing her head to eat.

"Nervous?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Yeah," Gu Fei put on a T-shirt. "Pretty uncomfortable. Our group leader said he couldn't tell I was nervous, but I know I was."

"How was the class overall?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"It was okay. The kids today were much better than the last public class. I was worried they'd be more nervous than me, but it turned out fine," Gu Fei explained.

"I really want to go see you teach," Jiang Cheng remarked.

"I'll livestream one for you tomorrow," Gu Fei smiled.

"I'm serious," Jiang Cheng said.

"So am I," Gu Fei answered. "If you want to watch, I'll livestream it for you."

"Okay," Jiang Cheng smiled. "Why do I feel a bit excited?"

"Because you're childish," Gu Fei leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

*

When the two returned to the living room and sat down to eat, Gu Miao had already finished one bowl of rice and was in the process of getting a second one.

"It's a good thing you have a high metabolism," Jiang Cheng looked at her. "You can eat more than me. If this were any other girl, she'd be gaining weight from eating so much meat in every meal."

"You should go for a run when you're free," Gu Fei said as he ate. "You've been eating quite a lot lately. Just sleeping at home all day, you really live up to the 'grad school pig' nickname."

"I only turned into a pig after coming back. Before that, I was quite disciplined at school," Jiang Cheng took a sip of soup. "Now, I wish I could get back into shape quickly."

"You can be a pig for a while," Gu Fei said. "But think about how you'll feel once school starts. It breaks my heart just thinking about it."

"It's not too bad, I'm used to it," Jiang Cheng said. "Whenever I think about the study freaks in our dorm, I feel motivated... Oh, and there's something I wanted to tell you."

"Hmm?" Gu Fei responded.

"Pan Zhi is coming over tomorrow," Jiang Cheng mentioned.

"Didn't he get chained to the toilet with a titanium composite chain by his family?" Gu Fei inquired. "Did he escape?"

Jiang Cheng laughed for a while, "Yeah, he broke out. Said he's coming tomorrow."

"Is he staying here?" Gu Fei asked. "I can go home."

"He booked a room," Jiang Cheng said. "He wants to open a bookstore, do you think it's feasible?"

"It depends on how he handles it. If he adds some uniqueness to it, it might work," Gu Fei reflected. "Although Pan Zhi isn't good at studying, he's pretty stable in other aspects."

"Yeah, I think if he can make it a bit unique in that 'Unexpected' area, it might actually work," Jiang Cheng said. "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. He's been there several times anyway."

"He's been there more times than I have," Gu Fei clicked his tongue.

They visited the coffee shop named 'Unexpected'  together every year during the holidays. They claimed there wasn't anything special to commemorate, but they still considered it a place to store memories.

"You might as well spend every day there when you take Gu Miao there during the summer vacation," Jiang Cheng suggested, then hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Let me tell you something."

"Hmm?" Gu Fei looked at him.

"Even when Pan Zhi is alone and has nothing to do, he always goes there," Jiang Cheng continued. "I think..."

"That's quite normal, isn't it? The boss is beautiful and the coffee is delicious. It wouldn't be his style if he didn't go," Gu Fei laughed.

"No, the key is that he never mentioned it to me at all. With the previous girls, he would talk about it and even flirt in our circle of friends," Jiang Cheng remarked in a low voice. "I feel like... you know what I mean, right?"

"I understand," Gu Fei nodded, also speaking softly. "Pan Zhi might be caught?"

"Very much looking forward to it," Jiang Cheng said with a serious expression.

"Extremely looking forward to it," Gu Fei also looked serious.

"If he really is caught," Jiang Cheng continued with a serious face, "we need to prepare a big gift."

"We'll send it over with gongs and drums," Gu Fei nodded.

"What should we send?" Jiang Cheng pondered.

"Usually, when you send something with gongs and drums, there is a banner," Gu Fei said.

"But banners are usually given to girls," Jiang Cheng noted, "Write four characters on it: 'Eliminating harm for people.'"

Gu Fei couldn't hold back his laughter, and Jiang Cheng persisted with a serious face for quite some time before finally laughing along with him.

--

The author has something to say

The extra chapters will be updated slowly, and the timing may not be as punctual as before because, just like when a story ends and you suddenly feel empty, I also have this feeling, it's... quite empty, a bit melancholic. So, the extra chapters will be updated gradually. Whenever I finish writing one, I'll upload it. You don't need to wait specifically for it. Cheers!

 

Translator : DarNan