Sang Zhi wasn’t quite sure how old Duan Jiaxu was. But hearing him say those words, and then thinking about Sang Yan’s age, she frowned and said, “You’re pretty old.”

“……”

You are pretty old.

Pretty old.

Old.

Although Duan Jiaxu didn’t care much about age, hearing that still felt like a stab to his heart.

Being labeled ‘old’ right at the age of 20, Duan Jiaxu didn’t know how to describe his feelings. He exhaled slowly and asked, word by word, “I’m old?”

Sang Zhi nodded again. “You’re old.”

“……”

After a few seconds of silence.

“Kid, if you think I’m old,” Duan Jiaxu stared straight at her and probably finding it too absurd, he laughed, “then why don’t you call me uncle?”

“Oh.” Sang Zhi thought for a moment and found it reasonable, so she immediately changed her address, “Uncle.”

“……”

The little girl’s eyes were round and large, clear and clean, without a trace of impurity. She spoke seriously, as if every word she said came from the heart.

She used the most innocent expression to rub salt into someone’s wound.

At this moment, Chen Mingxu interrupted their conversation. He handed Duan Jiaxu a cup of water and somewhat awkwardly said, “Sorry, please sit here for a while. I drank too much water and need to go to the bathroom.”

Duan Jiaxu adjusted his mood and replied, “Alright.”

Maybe out of boredom, after Chen Mingxu left, Duan Jiaxu turned his head and started to argue with Sang Zhi about the previous topic again, “Do you know if you call me that, your brother will have to call me that as well?”

Sang Zhi answered honestly, “I don’t know.”

Duan Jiaxu asked, “So, am I brother or uncle?”

Sang Zhi thought for a while and reluctantly said, “Then I’ll just call you brother.”

Duan Jiaxu’s expression relaxed and he said leisurely, “You’re quite protective of your brother, huh.”

“What protective?” Sang Zhi didn’t understand what he was saying. “Why would I protect him? He always bullies me. I just don’t want him to call you uncle.”

“Why?”

“He looks older than you.”

“……”

Not expecting such a response, Duan Jiaxu was stunned and then burst into laughter. He repeated, “Sang Yan looks older than me?”

Sang Zhi answered, “Yeah.”

Despite being labeled old, Duan Jiaxu was still in a good mood. He cleared his throat and asked humbly, “Kid, why do you think he looks older than me?” After saying that, he added, “I think we’re about the same.”

Sang Zhi’s gaze scanned his face, quickly lowered, and she said slowly, “There’s still a bit of a gap.”

“……”

The next second, a young woman knocked on the open office door, looking over shyly. “Excuse me, is Fu Zhengchu’s homeroom teacher here?”

Teacher Zhang quickly stood up. “Yes! Are you Zhengchu’s sister?”

The young woman smiled and walked in. “Yes.”

Having stood for a long time, Fu Zhengchu couldn’t help but complain, “Sis, why are you so late?”

Sang Zhi looked over.

The young woman’s eyebrows and eyes resembled Fu Zhengchu’s. She wore a white dress, looking very much like a student, and had a delicate and striking appearance. She explained softly to Fu Zhengchu, “I came over right after class, it’s a bit far.”

After speaking, she noticed Duan Jiaxu sitting in the chair. Her gaze lingered for two seconds and then quickly moved away, her tone seemed more nervous, “Sorry, Teacher Zhang, for making you wait.”

Teacher Zhang waved his hand, “It’s alright. Thank you for coming over.”

Because of Sang Zhi’s earlier words, Duan Jiaxu had been laughing for a long time. At this moment, his mouth was still curved upwards, his gaze fixed on Sang Zhi. “When will your teacher be back?”

Sang Zhi withdrew her gaze. “He should be back soon.”

“Little Sang Zhi, Brother is a bit bored.” Duan Jiaxu said teasingly, “Can you say something nice to entertain Brother?”

Sang Zhi looked at him suspiciously, “What should I say?”

“Just say,” Duan Jiaxu didn’t even hesitate, “Brother Jiaxu is the most handsome in the world.”

“I’m not a recorder.” Sang Zhi was displeased.

“Just praise me.” Duan Jiaxu said, “I’m not treating you as a recorder.”

Sang Zhi refused, “I don’t want to.”

Duan Jiaxu wasn’t angry. Dragging his tone, he teased, “Stingy.”

At this moment, Chen Mingxu finally returned. He sat down and smiled, “Sorry, my stomach suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.”

Duan Jiaxu answered, “It’s alright, there’s no rush.”

Then, he pushed the cup of water on the table toward Sang Zhi and asked, “Are you thirsty?”

The ‘stingy’ kid didn’t respond.

Duan Jiaxu tapped the cup twice with his knuckles. “Drink water.”

Then he turned to listen to Chen Mingxu seriously.

Sang Zhi picked up the cup and took a sip silently. Noticing the empty table and remembering he hadn’t had any water since he arrived, she hesitated for a moment before walking to the water dispenser to get him a cup of water.

Sang Zhi was most annoyed by Chen Mingxu’s repetitiveness. Every time he called her parents, he would say the same things. Sang Zhi had heard it several times and felt she could recite it backward. Looking at Chen Mingxu, he seemed like the ‘recorder’ they were talking about earlier.

She was bored and wanted to yawn, her thoughts drifting away.

She suddenly noticed that the atmosphere next door was quite harmonious, unlike her side where only Chen Mingxu kept complaining.

Sang Zhi listened carefully.

Teacher Zhang suddenly laughed, “Zhengchu is a kid with poor grades but good in other aspects. This time, it’s not because he did something wrong that I called you over. He suddenly rushed into the office yesterday, shouting he wanted me to call his parents, which startled me.”

“……”

As soon as those words were spoken, Fu Zhengchu immediately looked at Sang Zhi.

Their gazes met.

Silence.

Not expecting her to hear it, Fu Zhengchu’s expression changed, embarrassed to the extreme, as if he wanted to find a hole to hide in.

Sang Zhi found it unbelievable, silently pointing at her temples.

She was silently questioning: Do you have a problem here?

Who would voluntarily ask to call their parents to school?

Fu Zhengchu tried to stay calm, mouthing the words ‘I’ll explain later’ before looking away.

When his head turned, Sang Zhi noticed that Fu Zhengchu’s sister glanced her way, but she wasn’t exactly looking at her.

Sang Zhi followed her gaze.

Sure enough, the other party was looking at Duan Jiaxu.

Sang Zhi thought it was just a coincidence, but she later saw the other party look over several times.

It was unknown if it was unintentional or not.

Sang Zhi lowered her eyes, clenched her fist, and then quietly moved to block the young woman’s line of sight.

———pr


The conversation lasted for about 40 minutes.

After Chen Mingxu finished complaining, he took a sip of water. “That’s about it. Actually, I don’t want to trouble you too much, but Sang Zhi really gives me a headache. When I ask her to stand up to answer a question, she asks if I don’t know the answer. I asked her if she wanted to take my place to make her pay attention to class, but she said she couldn’t take my job. It distracted the other children from learning.”

Duan Jiaxu paused and glanced at Sang Zhi. “Is that true?”

Sang Zhi immediately lowered her head, pretending to reflect.

Chen Mingxu nodded. “I’ve talked to your mother several times, taking up a lot of your family’s time, but it’s for the child’s good. Sang Zhi is very smart. If she studies well, she will definitely get into the best school. You should supervise her more.”

“Yes.” Duan Jiaxu said, “I’ll discipline her properly when we go back.”

They left the office.

Things went smoother than expected, and Chen Mingxu didn’t suspect anything. The weight on Sang Zhi’s chest was lifted. She looked at Duan Jiaxu with more closeness. “Thank you, Brother.”

Duan Jiaxu nodded. “Going home?”

“Yeah.” Sang Zhi blinked, her tone slightly fawning because he solved her problem. “What else would I do?”

“Isn’t it that,” Duan Jiaxu paused, reminding her slowly, “I haven’t started disciplining you yet.”

“……”

Those words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Sang Zhi and her joy dissipated. Reluctantly, she squeezed out, “Are you going to nag at me too?”

“Let’s go.” Duan Jiaxu didn’t answer. “Brother will take you home.”

He didn’t respond, so Sang Zhi thought he was joking. Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Duan Jiaxu continued, “I’ll nag you on the way.”

Sang Zhi: “……”

The two walked side by side towards the school gate.

He gave her time to process, not continuing the topic on campus. Sang Zhi, anxious, clutched her backpack strap and couldn’t help but say, “If it’s my brother who met the teacher for me, he won’t scold me afterward.”

Duan Jiaxu asked, “Really?”

Sang Zhi said, “Of course, really!”

Duan Jiaxu stared at her, as if discerning the truth of her words, then took out his phone, “I’ll ask.”

“……”

“Wait!” Sang Zhi was startled and jumped up to snatch his phone. “If you ask, won’t my brother find out? If he knows, it means the whole world will know! Then you came here for nothing today!”

“But Brother have to ask.” Duan Jiaxu, like teasing a cat, lifted his hand up and down, keeping his phone out of her reach. “This old buddy came all this way. If I get tricked by a kid like you, wouldn’t that be pitiful for me?”

At that moment, a female voice interrupted their interaction. The voice was soft, almost inaudible, filled with obvious nervousness, “H-hello!”

They both instinctively turned around.

It was Fu Zhengchu’s sister. She was standing alone, with no sign of Fu Zhengchu.

The young woman wasn’t very tall and had a slim figure. Her features were delicate and pretty, with a rosy face. She looked at Duan Jiaxu and nervously pulled out her phone from her pocket. “Can I get your number?”

The atmosphere immediately became awkward.

Duan Jiaxu looked at the young woman without speaking.

It felt like a silent refusal.

The young woman’s expression grew more embarrassed and uneasy.

Sang Zhi’s eyes darted between the two, unable to discern Duan Jiaxu’s intentions. Before he could respond, she suddenly looked up and said something shocking, “Sister, my brother has twenty-nine girlfriends.”

Duan Jiaxu’s eyebrow twitched as he looked down at her.

“Don’t worry, he will probably give his number to you.” Sang Zhi continued earnestly and cheerfully, not daring to meet Duan Jiaxu’s gaze. “He changes girlfriends every day and he’s one short this month. It’s probably you.”

“……”