Half an hour later, Yan Chi finally woke up. Only the school doctor was in the infirmary; he didn't see Shen Mingsu and even thought his memory was playing tricks on him, that he was dreaming.
"Shen Mingsu left first. Did you need to see him?" The school doctor, seeing Yan Chi looking around anxiously, reminded him and handed him a sandwich. "It's lunchtime, eat something to fill your stomach."
Yan Chi was indeed very hungry. He thanked the doctor and started eating the sandwich. "Just now, Principal Shen... said Feng Wang just came back to life. Is that true? He wasn't joking, was he?"
"He was joking. Feng Wang isn't dead. Your students are just making a fuss."
Yan Chi breathed a sigh of relief. The idea of a zombie coming back to life was too far-fetched. Thinking that he had actually believed Shen Mingsu, he chuckled at himself. "It seems the principal really enjoys joking."
And he's a serious-sounding joker.
The school doctor nodded. "Yes, that's just his personality."
In Yan Chi's memory, school principals were always serious and upright figures. His stereotype of them was that male principals had thinning hair, were slightly overweight, and wore administrative jackets; female principals had short, neat hair, wore glasses, and black trousers and a shirt. Yan Chi had never met a leader as young and playful as Shen Mingsu before, and found it quite unusual.
Moreover, since Shen Mingsu had taken him to the infirmary, Yan Chi felt it was only right to thank him. After telling the school doctor about this, the doctor immediately added Yan Chi as a friend on his phone and then gave him Shen Mingsu's contact information.
The school doctor told Yan Chi, "He's always wandering around; you'll probably have a hard time finding him. Just send him a message saying thank you. You're such a polite kid."
Yan Chi smiled, two small dimples appearing on his cheeks. "He did help me, so I should at least say thank you."
His smile was infectious; it seemed to brighten the world. The two small moles at the corners of his eyes seemed to lift, and his chestnut hair was soft and fluffy, like a long-haired calico with naturally long, narrow eyeliner.
The school doctor couldn't help but chuckle, patting Yan Chi's head. "Good boy."
While Yan Chi was still unconscious, his background had been fully investigated. His self-perception was indeed flawed, because he didn't know why he had grown up in human society from a young age, without any elders, and had to rely on human charity to survive.
The information detailed Yan Chi's life from childhood to adulthood: excellent grades in elementary and middle school, working part-time to earn tuition during high school while tutoring younger children in an orphanage, becoming a teacher at a training center after graduating from university, and then coming to Yunzhou.
Without family, he struggled to support himself.
The school doctor looked at Yan Chi with pity. "You...do you remember your parents?"
Yan Chi was taken aback, a hint of wariness creeping in.
The school doctor belatedly realized his behavior was too abrupt. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking that perhaps I know your parents, because you look somewhat familiar."
This wasn't a lie; the school doctor genuinely felt Yan Chi's appearance was familiar.
Yan Chi was familiar with the school doctor's gaze; almost everyone who heard he was an orphan showed that same look of regret and pity. He shook his head. "I don't remember. I've been in the orphanage since I can remember. I've never seen my parents."
"But you don't need to help me find them." Yan Chi lowered his eyes, his tone flat. "I'm not a child anymore. I'm past the age where I need parents. To me, they're just strangers. It's fine as long as we remain strangers."
The school doctor understood his meaning and said regretfully, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up."
Yan Chi didn't take it to heart. "It's alright."
After spending some time in the infirmary, Yan Chi's condition improved significantly. He said goodbye to the school doctor and went back to work. The school doctor stopped him, took out a bag of medicine, and said, "Your health is very poor. This is to help you recover. Drink a little every day."
"Okay, thank you." Yan Chi hurriedly tried to pay.
The school doctor waved his hand, "No need, it's a staff benefit; teachers don't pay for medical care."
Yan Chi hadn't expected the school's benefits to be so good. He felt the job was even more worthwhile, which fueled his enthusiasm, and he returned to his post without delay.
Yunzhou didn't schedule nap time for students. Classes started promptly at 1 PM and ended at 4 PM. Students could choose to stay in the classroom to study or arrange their own time, but the only option was to stay at the school.
When Yan Chi returned to his office, it was still empty. Surprised, he glanced out the classroom window.
Xi Chang was singing on the platform, while the students slumped listlessly on their desks, occasionally joining in with a few choruses before quickly falling silent again.
From a purely musical perspective, Xi Chang's voice was undoubtedly heavenly, while the students' occasional singing was unbearably hoarse and unpleasant to listen to.
One second it was like listening to celestial music, the next it was like being plunged into hell.
Xi Chang, while teaching, couldn't help but laugh to himself.
Yan Chi's emotions fluctuated wildly. He glanced at Feng Wang, seeing that he was in good spirits, the wound on his head had disappeared, and sighed at the young man's remarkable recovery ability. A weight lifted from his heart.
He stood by the window. Several students saw him and then called to their companions. Except for the sleepy students in the back row, almost all the students turned to look at Yan Chi.
Xi Chang naturally noticed the students' unusual behavior. He looked at Yan Chi, who smiled at him and turned back to his office.
A short while later, the sparse singing resumed. Yan Chi was engrossed in writing his lesson plan. He hesitated for a moment, then took out his headphones and put them on. The world became quiet for a moment.
After class, Xi Chang returned to his office and saw Yan Chi focused on writing. He already knew that Yan Chi had a self-perception disorder, so he naturally didn't take what he had said earlier to heart.
But he still felt a little awkward. If Yan Chi spoke to him first, he would forgive him.
“Class is over.” Yan Chi suddenly noticed someone else was there, took off his headphones, and smiled at Xi Chang.
From Mingcai's attitude towards Xi Chang, Yan Chi knew he had probably misunderstood Xi Chang. Thinking of their unpleasant parting last time, Yan Chi said apologetically, “I'm sorry, I misunderstood you last time. I thought you had a problem with Mingcai.”
Xi Chang's lips curled up slightly. “It's okay, here’s something to eat.”
At 21, still a baby, of course he wouldn't hold a grudge against a baby. He wasn't petty.
Xi Chang casually tossed Yan Chi a bag, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly took it back. “Um… not this, wait a minute.”
Yan Chi: “?”
Wait, that bag just now, why does it look like fish seasoning? 'It must be an illusion. Who carries a bag of fish food around? Is Teacher Xi Chang a fisherman?'
But looking at his glowing white skin, it didn't seem like it.
Xi Chang rummaged through his crossbody bag for a long time before finally finding a rice cake. He visibly breathed a sigh of relief and tossed the rice cake onto Yan Chi's table. "This is pretty good."
Yan Chi accepted it sheepishly. "Thank you."
He then started thinking about returning the favor. He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a packet of milk tea powder. "Here, take this. Jasmine oolong milk tea. It's quite delicious."
Xi Chang seemed very interested in the milk tea powder. He tore open the packaging, smelled it, and his beautiful light blue eyes lit up. "It smells so good."
He then poured it directly into his mouth before Yan Chi could even stop him.
"Cough cough cough..."
Xi Chang choked and coughed.
Yan Chi quickly patted his back, "Even if you like it dry, you can't just pour it straight into your mouth. Here, have some water."
Xi Chang took a big gulp of water to calm down. "Does it need to be dissolved in water?"
Now Yan Chi knew Xi Chang had never tried powdered milk tea before. "Yes, you need hot water."
Xi Chang nodded, poured the remaining milk tea powder into a cup, filled it with hot water, and the aroma of oolong tea and rich milk mingled together. Xi Chang sniffed it, a bright smile spreading across his face. "It smells so good!"
Xi Chang's childish behavior made Yan Chi chuckle. "Yes, you have to wait for it to cool down before drinking it, otherwise it'll be too hot."
Xi Chang nodded repeatedly, doing nothing but intently waiting for the milk tea to cool down.
Every few seconds, Yan Chi would see Xi Chang carefully take a small sip, only to recoil from the heat. He never learned his lesson and would try again shortly after. Finally, when the water reached the right temperature, he held the cup and drank it with relish, saying, "This is the best water I've ever drunk. Thank you, Xiao Chi."
Seeing how much he liked them, Yan Chi took out a few more and gave them to him.
Xi Chang's eyes lit up, and he rummaged through his small satchel, finding a beautiful pearl bracelet. "I won't take your things for nothing; I'll trade this for you."
Even if Yan Chi had no taste for valuables, he could tell the bracelet was quite expensive. He quickly refused, "No, no, it's not worth much. Take it back."
"It's alright, I have many at home, as many as you want. You can keep it." Xi Chang stuffed the pearl bracelet into Yan Chi's hand, and seeing that Yan Chi was about to give it back, he deliberately put on a stern face, "Don't give it back to me. Consider this a gift from me."
Yan Chi had no choice but to accept it, thinking to himself that he still wanted to give Xi Chang something else.
It was obvious that Xi Chang's family was quite wealthy. Yan Chi couldn't afford anything more expensive for him. Seeing that he liked drinking milk tea and eating, he thought for a moment and asked, "Do you like desserts?"
Xi Chang, holding his milk tea, asked, "What kind of desserts?"
"Cheesecake, egg tarts, mochi, milk cups, things like that."
"I've never tried them. Are they as good as milk tea?"
Yan Chi was shocked. Never tried them? But then he thought, perhaps the food rich people eat is different from what ordinary people eat.
"It's food," Yan Chi decided. "Then I'll make some for you next time."
Xi Chang nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay."
"Teacher, what are you eating?"
A sudden voice rang out. Yan Chi turned around and saw that Sethia had entered the office at some point, leaning against the table, staring at Xi Chang's milk tea, swallowing hard.
Not only him, but Feng Wang and Tan Mo, who had fought that morning, were also there, along with Li Huai and another boy with dark green eyes. For no apparent reason, Yan Chi felt an awkward sense of embarrassment at being caught eating alone, especially since Xi Chang was so possessive of his food. Faced with Sethia's pleading gaze, he turned away, his entire being screaming "I refuse to share!"
Sethia looked at Yan Chi pitifully, "Teacher..."
That sweet, childlike voice immediately struck a chord with Yan Chi, and he promptly took out the remaining milk tea sticks.
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