Boss Teacher - Chapter 20: Xie Tao Disappears

"Teacher Xiao Chi."

Lian Deng, holding a cardboard box, saw Yan Chi, and his eyes lit up. He obliviously squeezed between Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu, holding up the box. "The little ones want to say hello to you too."

Inside the box, stick insects waved their thousand legs, red threads from a red water baby floated in the air, and a small bone rolled.

Yan Chi touched them one by one. "The little ones are so good."

The three shrunken monsters were very happy.

Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu had already looked around the shop and were preparing to leave. Lian Deng was a little reluctant, "Then when the little ones' clothes are finished and they've changed into their new outfits, I'll bring them back to show you."

Yan Chi: "Okay."

Watching Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu leave, Lian Deng, carrying a cardboard box, found Zhou Guixiang, "I want to have clothes custom-made for them."

Zhou Guixiang glanced at the three little monsters, swallowed hard, and suppressed her fear, "Okay, what style would you like?"

Lian Deng thought for a moment, then pointed to the stick insect and the bone, "Make them little dresses, pink ones, preferably fluffy cake skirts, with lace trim."

For the red water baby, Lian Deng wanted a hat.

Zhou Guixiang nodded and noted Lian Deng's request, but she felt a bit troubled about the little skirt on the skeleton. "It might not be able to hold the skirt up..."

The skeleton understood. Desperate for the skirt, it immediately reverted to its original form—a complete skeleton, its empty eye sockets burning with eerie green flames. Its hand bones pointed to its hips, then to its knees.

Zhou Guixiang turned deathly pale with fright, her legs giving way as she collapsed to the ground.

The little girl cried out worriedly, "Mommy..."

Zhou Guixiang waved her away, telling her not to come any closer.

In the player forums, in the super S-rank dungeon [Gray Mist], the boss hidden in the mist is a skeleton like this. It has killed countless players and is a veritable executioner of players.

"What's wrong?" Lian Deng tilted her head, looking at her. "Can't you make me clothes? But I'll give you money."

"No, no, I can make you clothes." Seeing that the skeleton was docile and had no intention of attacking her, Zhou Guixiang stood up, bracing herself against the table, and picked up a piece of fabric. "Would this light pink color be okay?"

Lian Deng glanced at the skeleton, which nodded repeatedly, almost nodding its head off.

Lian Deng: "This color is pretty, I want this one."

Not far from the doll shop, Shen Chang Le and Xingluo were buying fruit. Xingluo spotted two familiar figures and tugged at Shen Chang Le, "Look, isn't that Teacher Xiaochi and your uncle?"

Shen Chang Le recognized them immediately, "It's them."

"Let's follow them and see." Xingluo excitedly pulled Shen Chang Le to follow Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu.

...

After shopping for over an hour, Yan Chi hadn't bought anything, but his mood visibly soured, growing increasingly anxious. Finally, he sat on a bench, staring blankly at his phone.

—Xie Tao still hadn't messaged him.

From his sudden disappearance yesterday afternoon until almost noon today, Xie Tao seemed to have vanished. Yan Chi's calls went unanswered, and the pent-up worry in his heart finally erupted at this moment.

Shen Mingsu, carrying some things, half-squatted in front of Yan Chi, brushing the stray hairs from his forehead. He had noticed early on that Yan Chi was burdened with something, and he was waiting for him to tell him.

But Yan Chi remained like a little snail, holed up in his shell and refusing to come out.

Shen Mingsu leaned closer to Yan Chi. "Teacher Chi, can you tell me what happened?"

Yan Chi didn't want to trouble Shen Mingsu. His eyes were slightly red as he looked up at him. "Can you give me the day off tomorrow? I want to go back home."

"Teacher Chi, do you remember what I said to you two hours ago?"

Yan Chi paused, then began to recall. "What did I say…?"

"I said I liked you, and you said yes." Shen Mingsu cupped his face, lowered his head, and kissed his cheek. "So, can you please not treat me like an outsider?"

Yan Chi instinctively closed his eyes. The soft, warm touch lingered on his face for a moment. His curled eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes, meeting Shen Mingsu's somewhat sad gaze.

"I...I can't contact my friend." Yan Chi's eyes were downcast, filled with panic. "I haven't been able to reach him since yesterday. I called him but no one answered. This has never happened before. Something must have happened to him..."

In an instant, he was pulled into a warm embrace. Shen Mingsu's voice sounded from above him, a hand gently patting his back, "It's okay, don't worry, everything will be alright. Tell me first, what's his name?"

Perhaps it was Shen Mingsu's calm voice, or perhaps it was the embrace that eased Yan Chi's anxiety.

Yan Chi buried his head in his chest, his voice muffled, "His name is Xie Tao, he works at a game company."

Shen Mingsu: "Okay, I'll help you look into his whereabouts. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news, okay?"

"Okay." Yan Chi nodded, then suddenly remembered something. He rested his chin on Shen Mingsu's shoulder, opened his phone, found the dean's mother's number, and asked her if she had any news about Xie Tao.

The hospital director, a woman in her sixties, answered the phone slowly. "It's Xiao Chi."

Yan Chi sniffed. "Yes, it's me, Director."

The director's voice was kind. "Good boy."

"Director, do you have any news about Xie Tao? I can't reach him."

"No, Xie Tao hasn't called in a long time either. Oh dear, is he still working in the new district?"

"Yes, he hasn't changed jobs."

The director panicked, exclaiming in alarm, "Yesterday afternoon there was a ground collapse in the new district! Several buildings have sunk, and we can't find anyone. Could Xie Tao be there? What are we going to do…?"

Collapse…buildings collapsed…

Yan Chi's ears rang, tears streamed down his face like broken beads. His mind went blank. He instinctively stood up. Xie Tao's fate was unknown; he had to go back to find him.

Shen Mingsu stayed by Yan Chi's side, overhearing his conversation with the headmistress. He took Yan Chi's hand. "Xiao Chi, wait a moment. I know where Xie Tao is."

"Really?" Yan Chi looked at Shen Mingsu through teary eyes, as if grasping at a last straw, choking back tears. "You...you're not lying to me."

"I won't lie to you." Shen Mingsu gently wiped away his tears. "Trust me, I'll find him."

Yan Chi gazed into his dark green eyes, believing him without question. He nodded and hugged Shen Mingsu's neck. "Thank you."

Shen Mingsu patted his head. He knew that the usually gentle and kind Teacher Chi was actually just a child at heart, capable of secretly shedding tears.

Shen Mingsu hugged Yan Chi, his heart softening. "So don't cry, okay?"

"Mmm..." Yan Chi nodded obediently.

Yan Chi was upset, so Shen Mingsu took him home.

After they left, Shen Chang Le and Xingluo emerged from around the corner. The two children wore identically grave expressions. Because they were worried about being discovered by Shen Mingsu, they kept a distance, but they could still see Yan Chi crying.

Since Yan Chi had been perfectly fine just moments before, Shen Chang Le and Xingluo naturally blamed Shen Mingsu.

Xingluo's playful demeanor vanished, and he pursed his lips. "I didn't expect the principal to bully Teacher Xiao Chi. He's gone too far! Teacher Xiao Chi is such a good person."

Shen Chang Le muttered to himself, "That can't be right."

He knew perfectly well how much his uncle liked Teacher Xiao Chi, so he shouldn't have bullied him. But Teacher Xiao Chi had cried anyway.

"The principal is such a jerk! He actually bullied Teacher Xiao Chi!"

"Are they really together? I always thought it was just a rumor."

"Yeah, I was right there when he confessed."

Shen Chang Le: "...?"

He turned around and saw Sethia, Mingcai, Feng Wang... almost half the class was eavesdropping, all strongly condemning Shen Mingsu for making Yan Chi cry.

The sun wasn't too strong today; thick clouds shielded the scorching heat. The tallest ancient tree in the botanical garden, Huating, spread its canopy, and birds perched on it chirped merrily.

Shen Mingsu led Yan Chi directly to his house. Shen Chang Le and Xingluo were out playing and not home. He asked Yan Chi to sit on the sofa and poured him a glass of water. "I'll go cook."

Yan Chi nodded. After he went into the kitchen, Yan Chi went to the doorway and sat on the steps, lost in thought.

His phone, lying to the side, kept beeping, but he had no interest in looking at it. He stared blankly at the ants on the ground.

"Xiao Chi."

"Xiao Chi!"

Yan Chi turned around and saw Xi Chang standing in his yard, looking at him worriedly. "What's wrong? I called you for ages and you didn't respond."

Yan Chi shook his head. "Nothing."

"You don't look okay at all." Xi Chang had never seen Yan Chi so heartbroken and tearful. He climbed over Yan Chi's fence and, with some difficulty, vaulted into Shen Mingsu's yard.

Seeing him stumble and fall, Yan Chi stood up to protect him. "What are you doing?"

"Shen Mingsu doesn't like us getting close to his territory." Xi Chang looked around and shushed him. "Let's keep our voices down and not disturb him. I came quietly and will leave quietly later."

Yan Chi finally understood Shen Mingsu's arrogant status in the school.

Xi Chang brushed the dust off his clothes, his azure eyes suddenly drawing close to Yan Chi's face. "Tell me," he said, "Did Shen Mingsu bully you? Is that why you're so sad and cried?"

Yan Chi was both amused and exasperated. "It has nothing to do with Shen Mingsu."

"Really? But a lot of people are saying that Shen Mingsu confessed to you, you didn't accept, and then he got angry and scared you so much that you cried and went back to school with him."

"Yan Chi, don't be scared," Xi Chang said chivalrously. "If Shen Mingsu really bullied you, you have to tell me." "I'll help you…help you fight him? No, I can't beat him. Then I'll ask Lin Heng to help me, no, he can't beat Shen Mingsu either. Even if we combine our efforts, we still can't beat him…"

Xi Chang thought for a moment, then lowered his head dejectedly. "I'm sorry, we're so useless."

'What is all this nonsense?'

Yan Chi sighed helplessly. "Shen Mingsu didn't bully me, really. What you heard is all a rumor."

He realized that rumors at school were always outrageous, and he didn't know how they spread, but they could reach a large number of people in an instant.

"Really?" Xi Chang looked at Yan Chi as if he were some pitiful little thing oppressed by evil forces.

"Who is spreading rumors about me?" Shen Mingsu opened the window, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. "Teacher Xichang, please get this straight, I love Teacher Xiaochi. I'd beat you all up before I bullied him."

“And…”

Shen Mingsu watched Xi Chang step onto his family’s land, repeating in his mind a thousand times, “This is Teacher Xiao Chi’s friend,” before he finally managed to stop himself from throwing him out of his yard.

Shen Mingsu turned to Yan Chi and smiled, "Teacher Chi, dinner will be ready soon."

Yan Chi nodded and said okay. Shen Mingsu closed the window and continued cooking.

After that, Yan Chi had no choice but to tell Xi Chang about Xie Tao, Xi Chang's expression turned somewhat strange. He was never one to hide anything, so he simply said, "Since Shen Mingsu said he'd help you find him, he definitely will. Your friend will be alright, don't worry."

Xie Tao had most likely entered the Infinite World, meaning he was completely under Shen Mingsu's watchful eye, so nothing untoward would happen.

He spoke with such certainty, as if he already knew where Xie Tao was. Shen Mingsu had reacted the same way just now, but how could that be? They clearly didn't know Xie Tao.

Yan Chi pondered for a moment, suppressing his doubts, and sat down on the steps, sighing, "I hope so."

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