Chapter 19: Even in school, you have to go through all the difficulties

But then a girl spoke seriously, explaining:

“Speaking of which, do you know what happened?”

“What happened?”

The quiet girl asked.

“Cheng Minghao, the guy who liked Qingya, died! Right at the school gate, hit by a car!”

The girl lowered her voice.

“Ah?! How is that possible?!”

The other classmates immediately gathered around, the crowd pressing in tighter.

Maybe it was because no one had a phone, so news spread slowly.

And it had just been Saturday and Sunday.

Some troublemakers didn’t even come to class, and Sunday was a holiday anyway.

So the news spread even slower.

Like before, Xiaopang didn’t know about Chen Qing’s death.

Now that it’s Monday, the news is finally spreading.

“Ring ring ring!”

Suddenly, the class bell rang.

“Hey, the teacher’s here! Run, get back to your seats!”

A boy whispered.

Lin Qingya looked flustered, but her quiet desk mate pulled her up and they both sat in the middle, at Lin Qingya’s spot.

Chen Qing’s seat was toward the back;

Lin Qingya’s in the middle;

Cheng Minghao’s was toward the front.

Every day, these three just stared at the blackboard.

Then the other two would look at each other, forming a chain.

The male teacher walked into the classroom.

“Class!”

The homeroom teacher called.

“Good morning, teacher!”

“Hello, students, please……sit.”

The homeroom teacher spoke as his eyes landed on Cheng Minghao and Lin Qingya.

Then he paused mid-sentence.

“After class, Cheng Minghao and Lin Qingya, come to my Office.”

The homeroom teacher finished and began the lesson.

During the Chinese class, some students whispered—

“They’re finished, caught dating and living together by the homeroom teacher. This is going to be interesting.”

The students below kept chatting, while the homeroom teacher’s eyelids twitched.

“Pa!”

A piece of chalk flew down.

“Quiet! Don’t disrupt the class.”

The homeroom teacher shouted.

After speaking, the homeroom teacher couldn’t help but recall the rumors about Cheng Minghao and Lin Qingya living together and early romance.

He hadn’t known before, but now…

He did.

—

After one class.

Outside the classroom, not far away, was the homeroom teacher’s Office.

Inside, two other teachers were chatting with thermos cups, one sitting and one standing.

Lin Qingya and Cheng Minghao stood before the homeroom teacher, who looked at them both.

Then the homeroom teacher asked:

“What happened with you two?”

Lin Qingya hurried to explain:

“We didn’t live together, it’s all just classmates’ rumors. We just happen to live next door to each other. You can check the home addresses, teacher.”

“Hmm?”

The homeroom teacher nodded, then opened the laptop to check the students’ home addresses.

Lin Qingya and Cheng Minghao had no phones or computers.

Previously, they had borrowed the homeroom teacher’s computer to join the group.

But the homeroom teacher hadn’t paid attention.

“Indeed, your apartments are across the hall, very close.”

He nodded.

“But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. All things have a root cause.”

“Have you two been…close lately?”

The homeroom teacher looked Cheng Minghao and Lin Qingya up and down, suspicious.

“No! No!”

Lin Qingya quickly denied it.

“We just live in the same building and walk the same road, so… all the school gossip…”

“Hmm.”

The homeroom teacher cut her off and continued.

“Now let’s discuss the issue of Absenteeism.”

“Ah?!”

Lin Qingya was stunned.

With a disciplinary record, it was easy to be held back a year.

Even for a minor record, whether you were held back depended on the teacher and school leadership’s mood.

The homeroom teacher just tapped at the computer, explaining:

“You both missed half a day, or even a whole day, last week.”

“I had some things to do and wasn’t at school much. When I did come, I didn’t see you two.”

“So, Absenteeism for a whole day…how should we handle this?”

The homeroom teacher asked, looking at both Cheng Minghao and Lin Qingya.

“We…”

Lin Qingya looked at Cheng Minghao.

Seeing this, Cheng Minghao spoke up immediately.

“Teacher, it was all my fault. Earlier, Chen Qing… died in a car accident, and I went drinking, then got drunk.”

“Lin Qingya couldn’t do anything…”

“So, teacher, please punish me. Lin Qingya had a reason. It was my own problem.”

“Your own problem? Heh~”

The homeroom teacher sneered, then fell silent.

“I asked the police about Chen Qing.”

“They said he died saving you.”

“I didn’t expect that even though you two quarreled all the time, at the critical moment…sigh~”

The homeroom teacher sighed, shook his head, and waved.

“Go back and rest. There’s still class later. Forget the disciplinary record. It’s all circumstantial.”

“Graduation is coming soon. Study hard. Don’t fall behind.”

The homeroom teacher let them off.

Lin Qingya, overjoyed, grabbed Cheng Minghao’s arm and bowed.

“Thank you, teacher! You’re the most generous!”

Cheng Minghao was also happy.

But soon…

“Hands!”

The homeroom teacher reminded them, raising his hand to point at Lin Qingya clutching Cheng Minghao’s left arm.

“I know you like him, but mind your image! Romance is not allowed in school, understood?”

The homeroom teacher said.

“Mm mm mm! Oh, no, I don’t like him, who would like him?!”

Lin Qingya nodded happily, then suddenly turned awkward.

She even let go, rolling her eyes as if disgusted.

The homeroom teacher watched Lin Qingya act dramatic toward Cheng Minghao;

Even Cheng Minghao looked at Lin Qingya with a gentle, indulgent smile.

The homeroom teacher coughed, pretending not to see.

He didn’t want to get involved.

There were plenty of couples in the class, both openly and secretly, as long as they weren’t caught by the school leaders and teachers.

As long as they didn’t make it too obvious.

A simple pair coming and going together was still acceptable.

But kissing and holding hands were strictly forbidden!

The homeroom teacher just coughed.

“You know the school rules. No romance, no kissing, no holding hands. Now go. Don’t give me a headache.”

“By the way, about Chen Qing’s desk, think about how to handle it.”

The homeroom teacher said.

“You were Chen Qing’s friends. If you don’t deal with it, I’ll ask Fang Xiaopang for his opinion.”

Fang Xiaopang was Chen Qing’s deskmate, one of the few friends the orphan Chen Qing had.

Personal belongings had to be handled by family.

But Chen Qing had no family, so only his friends could take care of it.

Since Chen Qing died saving Cheng Minghao, the priority for handling it naturally fell to Cheng Minghao.

Letting Lin Qingya help was just incidental.

“Oh, teacher, we understand. I’ll take care of it.”

Lin Qingya said, quickly pulling Cheng Minghao’s arm and dragging him away.

They even ran off.

“Hehehe! Another disaster avoided!”

Lin Qingya laughed joyfully.

From behind came the homeroom teacher’s shout.

“Hands! Eh~ can’t be bothered with you, it’s not my disciplinary record anyway.”

—

Another class began.

This time, it was English class.

The English Teacher was a middle-aged man, a bit chubby with a receding hairline.

He had no other bad habits, except he looked down on pretty girls.

According to ‘rumors,’

It was said that the English Teacher’s wife ran off with a rich man, so he especially disliked and targeted beautiful girls.

“Class!”

The English Teacher called.

After the usual greetings of teacher and students.

Lin Qingya was called out again.

“Now let’s begin…wait!”

The English Teacher suddenly glanced at Lin Qingya.

Then he saw Cheng Minghao, remembering how the two of them had skipped his class twice.

He immediately ignored Cheng Minghao and sneered coldly at Lin Qingya.

“You, stand up, come to the podium.”

The English Teacher pointed at Lin Qingya and ordered.