July, under the scorching sun, the weather changes as unpredictably as a woman's temperament. The sky was clear a moment ago, now it's swiftly enveloped by dark clouds, accompanied by lightning and thunder.
Liu Jin, standing under the teacher's office block of East China No.1 Middle School, circled around for over a dozen times but finally decided to go up. Head Teacher Wang Dongsheng, who taught him for three years, was hospitalized due to a liver disease last week. With the university entrance exam
Gaokao
just around the corner, the school had temporarily appointed a substitute female teacher.
Liu Jin had seen the substitute teacher. He thought she was very charming with delicate features and attractive figure. Long legs, and the glimpse of her fair skin made young students like him wanting to nose bleed.
Liu Jin, after all, decided to go up.
"Teacher Li…" Liu Jin felt a bit awkward calling her. This woman didn't look much older than him and she was utterly young. Calling such a young woman a teacher seemed strange, but now was the time he needed to ask her for help.
"Liu Jin, I heard from class monitor that you haven't paid your material fee yet. You're the only one left to do so in the entire class. It's already May 22nd, you should be aware of how close the Gaokao is. 'Sharpening an ax at the last minute can't make it instantly sharp,' don't you think this exam exercise is important? Or do you have any resentment towards me?" Li Xue glared, her voice fluctuating with anger. How could the top student in the class not understand this simple fact?
"Teacher, it's not like what you think, I…" After hesitating for a long time, Liu Jin finally plucked up enough courage to admit, blushing, "I don't have money."
Li Xue was taken aback. East China No.1 Middle School was prestigious. In her mind, the last thing the students here lacked was money. Upon hearing Liu Jin's words, she took a closer look at his appearance. He wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which was quite common at this particular time, but the pair of shoes on his feet, with the uppers already worn out, made Li Xue realize that Liu Jin was not lying.
"Sit down and talk to me." The attractive teacher suddenly softened, a smile playing on her lips. There was something about her flushed face and lack of austerity that was highly attractive. Her voice was truly beautiful.
Scratching his head, Liu Jin couldn't help but look at this newly-appointed, rather cute, when smiling, teacher.
"Why didn't you speak earlier about your difficulties? I thought…" Li Xue blushed with embarrassment. She initially believed herself to be facing a rebellious student who didn't acknowledge her authority because she was new. However, changing teachers immediately prior to the Gaokao is akin to changing generals during a war and is considered a big mistake, although Li Xue had faith in her abilities.
Seeing his new teacher seated opposite him, Liu Jin couldn't help but focus on her striking figure. He mentally chastised himself; he was supposed to be pleading for a delay in payment of fees because he couldn't do part-time work until the one-day holiday before the Gaokao.
"Who else is in your family?" Seeing Liu Jin's slightly awkward expression, Li Xue felt a pang of regret. She had been overthinking; students like him wouldn't have hidden motives. They were, evidently, just in need of money. She pondered that she could only meet such pure students in a third-tier city like Donghai.
"I have an elder sister," Liu Jin's heart was a bit bitter. Their parents died in a car accident seven years ago, only revealing on their deathbed that he was adopted, and his only possession from them was a jade pendant. Even so, his sister, Liu Muqing, took care of him as if they were real siblings. After starting college, she would come back home every week and use her part-time job salary to buy him better meals.
"I see. Let me cover your fee first, teacher. You can pay me back when you work during the summer vacation," said Li Xue. She knew very well that students like this tended to be very proud. If she offered to pay directly, it would make him uncomfortable. Besides, Liu Jin, being the top student in the class, would certainly be able to influence his classmates positively. In general, a class's learning atmosphere was not determined by the majority, but rather by a few key individuals.
"Thank you, teacher." Liu Jin stood up from the chair, prepared to leave. He was relieved. The new teacher wasn't as scary as he thought, and she was quite nice.
"Ah!"
Before he could stand up fully, the pretty teacher already cried out. Liu Jin turned to see that she intended to stand and escort him out of the office, but in her hurry, she tripped over her chair and fell.
Liu Jin rushed to help her up, and in his hurry, didn't know how to handle the situation and ended up hugging around her waist to support her back onto the chair. "Teacher, did you twist your ankle?" He asked, noticing the painful expression as she clutched at her ankle.
Li Xue felt rather unlucky. She had twisted her foot earlier at the stairway, and it wasn't so bad then. But now, she had twisted her ankle again, right in front of her student.
"It seems so," answered Li Xue with a clear understanding of the situation. Twisting an ankle was common, and rest along with some physical activity could help the healing process.
Liu Jin took a look at her ankle strapped in high heels and made up his mind. "Teacher, let me massage it for you, I often help my sister when she sprains her ankle." He was being humble, actually. During his part-time job at the pharmacy, Old Wang had already taught him some useful skills.
Li Xue's face turned red. She felt quite embarrassed to have been held around the waist by a sturdy young boy. However, seeing Liu Jin's bright and pure eyes, she hesitated to refuse. "Alright then. Have a try. If it doesn’t help, don't worry about it."
Liu Jin carefully lifted her foot, examined it, and started to massage. When he hit a sensitive spot, Li Xue could not help but cry out in pain. "Ah!"
"You're okay now," Liu Jin concluded. He had encountered many cases like this, simple sprains were no challenge for him.
Li Xue moved her foot slightly and found, to her surprise, that the pain was gone. It was indeed miraculous and she nearly threw her arms around Liu Jin in a warm hug.
"Teacher, if you're alright now, I'll be leaving," Liu Jin said.
Li Xue sat at her desk, her face flushed as images of the recent event replayed in her mind. A woman's foot was one of her most sensitive spots, and till now, no man had ever touched hers. She never thought it would be one of her students... Moreover, having been held by him in such a way, if anyone had seen, they would have surely misunderstood. On the other hand, this student was genuinely notable: he excelled in his studies and even had healing skills.
After some idle thoughts, Li Xue felt slightly embarrassed for her whimsical ideas. She then focused on her lesson plan on her desk, which brought her mind back to normality.
