Chapter 14 — Social Death Happens in an Instant

A tingling electric current shot straight from her fingertips up to her scalp. Tang Xiaohe felt like she’d been burned and quickly pulled her hand back, avoiding Ji Yanli’s gaze.

“Ding ding ding—Class time now, students please return to the classroom.” Just then, the warning bell rang, and Tang Xiaohe felt as if she had been granted amnesty.

“I-I’m going upstairs first,” she said without looking back, hurrying to her classroom.
Ji Yanli stood frozen in place for a while, then his slender fingers gently stroked his lips, deep in thought.

The warmth of the girl’s palm seemed still to linger on his lips, but she was already gone. Ji Yanli couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Principal’s Office

The door was half-open. Xu Fangli was reporting on work when there was a knock — Ji Yanli, who had just answered a call from the principal’s office saying the principal had arrived at the school, was signaling to enter.

“Officer Ji, sorry to keep you waiting! I was a bit delayed on the way, really sorry!” the principal politely apologized.

“No problem, I just arrived not long ago.”

The principal laughed heartily and turned to Xu Fangli: “Quick, pour Officer Ji a cup of tea! Here, Officer Ji, please sit here.”

Ji Yanli sat down on the sofa; hands folded on his lap.

Xu Fangli poured him tea, eyes scanning him from the bottom up. Ji Yanli wore a pair of spotless black leather shoes with no visible brand but excellent craftsmanship; his plain uniform was perfectly wrinkle-free, which gave him an imposing, unapproachable aura.
Xu Fangli’s relaxed skin was full of smile lines. Her niece had just graduated from a medical college in western Sichuan and was currently a nurse at the top-tier hospital in Nancheng but had not found a boyfriend yet. Her gaze shifted to Ji Yanli’s well-defined fingers—no ring, hmm, there might be a chance!

Xu Fangli couldn’t help but start to think: “Officer Ji, you’re really young and promising. Do you have a girlfriend yet?”
Ji Yanli smiled politely but kept his tone distant:
“Not yet.”

“Oh, that’s perfect, my niece…”

“Ahem.” Ji Yanli cleared his throat softly and looked at the principal,
“Let’s talk about work first!”

His tone was calm but left no room for argument. Xu Fangli’s face flushed slightly, looking a bit awkward.

“Yes, yes, let’s focus on business first!” The principal quickly changed the topic.

After discussing the event details, nearly a class period had passed. The principal said,
“After the lecture, there will be a knowledge contest. We can take this opportunity to visit Teacher Tang’s class first. Officer Ji can briefly introduce the contest to the students.”

Ji Yanli gladly agreed.

At the door of Class 2, right after the bell rang signaling the end of class, Tang Xiaohe was tidying her books.

Suddenly, a burst of excitement came from the classroom:
“The police officer is here!”

Hearing this, Tang Xiaohe looked up toward the door and saw the principal, Xu Fangli, and Ji Yanli entering.
Ji Yanli’s eyes were warm, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly with a gentle smile, making him seem very kind.
Xu Fangli was a little puzzled—this Officer Ji seemed very different from the cold demeanor he had shown in the office earlier. She followed his gaze to the classroom, seeing only Tang Xiaohe at the podium and the students.

She understood and nodded to herself. Yes, even the coldest person becomes gentler around children.

“Teacher Tang, the legal awareness lecture is the day after tomorrow. How is your class’s preparation for the contest going?” Xu Fangli asked.

Tang Xiaohe was well prepared. She had already researched a large amount of material in advance and created a question bank suitable for the students’ level. Now she just needed Ji Yanli to review the questions to see if they were appropriate.

With the leaders present, Tang Xiaohe couldn’t leave, so she asked the class monitor, “Go to the teacher’s office and get the blue folder from the second drawer for me, please.”

The class monitor, reliable as ever, nodded confidently and quickly ran off to the office.

Not long after, the class monitor appeared breathless at the classroom door.

From running, the class monitor’s face was flushed and sweating slightly, with uneven breaths.

Tang Xiaohe looked at the class monitor with affectionate eyes—this kid was really capable! To fetch it so quickly, truly her right-hand helper!

Tang Xiaohe took the folder from the class monitor and said, “Thank you, you can go back to your seat now!”

She checked—it was indeed the blue folder she needed. Then she handed it directly to Ji Yanli.

Tang Xiaohe looked at Ji Yanli expectantly, her lips curling into a slight smile, wondering how he would praise her. She had stayed up for several nights preparing this question bank, carefully selecting professional, representative, and interesting questions that could really showcase her skills!

She really wanted to impress Ji Yanli, hoping he would see more of her strengths and like her more.

Ji Yanli took the folder with his slender fingers, flipped through a few pages, then paused. Without showing any emotion, he turned slightly to block the curious gaze of Xu Fangli behind him.

Ji Yanli studied carefully for a while, then said thoughtfully, “Hmm, questions like ‘Who is the main body responsible for drafting our country’s constitution’ are very good, having a certain level of difficulty; questions like ‘What legal phenomena appear in daily life’ are also very good because they relate closely to the students’ lives…”

Tang Xiaohe’s smile stiffened—those questions weren’t even in the question bank she had prepared! What was going on?

Ji Yanli closed the folder and returned it to her. “I’ve reviewed Teacher Tang’s question bank. It’s very good—I’m sure the students will benefit from it.”

The principal smiled broadly, “That’s great, that’s great!”

After briefly discussing some points, the principal and Xu Fangli left, leaving Class 6-2 under the care of Tang Xiaohe and Ji Yanli.

Without the leaders present, the students quickly showed their true colors.

“Uncle Policeman, can you catch bad guys?”

“Uncle Policeman, how many bad guys have you caught?”
“Uncle Policeman, my deskmate lost my pencil case, can you catch him?”

Chatter filled the room.

“Cough, ahem.” Tang Xiaohe cleared her throat, then glanced around the room, fixing her gaze for two seconds on the main troublemaker. Gradually, the classroom quieted down completely in about three seconds.

The students sat up straight—when Teacher Tang was warm and gentle, but silent and staring, she could be quite scary!

Ji Yanli found this amusing. He hadn’t expected this little cat to have such a fierce “scratchy” side, and his eyes curved with a smile.

Tang Xiaohe restored order and then handed the podium to Ji Yanli to give a pre-competition briefing. She moved to sit at the back of the classroom.

Tang Xiaohe focused intently, fully absorbed in Ji Yanli’s speech. Ji Yanli spoke confidently at the podium, occasionally looking at her, seeming to glow.

So focused was she that the folder on her lap suddenly fell to the floor with a “thud.”
Bending to pick it up, Tang Xiaohe suddenly remembered the questions Ji Yanli mentioned weren’t in her question bank, so she flipped through the folder to check.

As she opened it, she took a deep breath—she wanted to disappear from this beautiful world…

The folder her class monitor brought was the one she had casually tossed into the first drawer! It was filled with notes where she had scribbled and crossed out Ji Yanli’s name during a moment of chaotic thoughts!

Meeting Ji Yanli’s half-smiling, half-smirking gaze, Tang Xiaohe felt like some people were already dead while alive—and social death really does happen in an instant!