NOVEL NEXT Ch. 7
Chapter 7: Flytrap Bottle
Yan Junzhu.
This name, whether at Jiangcheng No.1 High School or in the entire Jiangcheng education circle, carried a dazzling halo.
A year ago, she had just returned from studying abroad at Cambridge.
Rejecting the olive branches from many prestigious schools and institutions, she chose to come back to her hometown and teach at Jiangcheng No.1 High School.
That alone was already eye-catching enough.
Moreover, her family background was equally prominent—her father was the current director of the Education Bureau, and her grandfather was the highly respected former principal of Jiangcheng No.1 High School.
A standard scholarly family, a household steeped in education.
With such an identity, combined with her impeccable academic credentials, elegant and outstanding temperament, and a face of breathtaking beauty, she became the focus of everyone’s gaze from the very first day she stepped into Jiangcheng No.1 High School—an undisputed “goddess teacher.”
Pursuers? Love confessions? Declarations?
Those were endless, like fish crossing a river.
Love letters filled her drawers, flowers piled up in her office, and someone even dared to recite love poems publicly over the school broadcast…
Even more outrageous, it was said that last semester, a rich second-generation student, after being firmly rejected by Yan Junzhu, became so distraught that he climbed onto the rooftop of the teaching building and threatened to jump!
In the end, it took the school leaders making an emergency intervention, exerting great effort to finally persuade him down.
The matter caused a huge uproar, and Yan Junzhu endured much criticism and pressure because of it.
From that moment on, she kept an even greater distance from all forms of affection shown toward her.
In the eyes of countless people at Jiangcheng No.1 High School, she was a lofty flower on a high mountain, an untouchable bright moon.
And at this moment…
On an early winter evening, the cold wind howled outside the window.
Inside the small rented apartment, the air conditioner worked hard to blow warm air, dispelling the chill.
The air was filled with the aroma of food and the faint scent of medicine.
This goddess teacher, admired by countless people, the very one who had once triggered the “rooftop incident.”
She was wearing the T-shirt of an ordinary high school senior boy, her face bare, her hair casually tied up.
She sat across from him, having just wolfed down a takeout meal.
Because her hunger had made her stomach growl aloud, she blushed with embarrassment.
Now, she lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong, recounting her story of running away from home, having her bag stolen, spraining her ankle, and ending up stranded on the streets in such a sorry state…
Bai Lengci’s gaze swept over that ill-fitting T-shirt she wore, which nonetheless unexpectedly outlined her figure.
Normally, his relationship with Yan Junzhu could indeed be considered good among teacher and student.
She had taken care of him, the “sickly” student, giving him extra lessons after class with gentle patience.
He, in turn, respected her knowledge and character.
But this “good” relationship absolutely, absolutely had not reached the level where they could spend the night together!
A thought, extremely complicated and carrying a trace of absurdity, quietly slid through Bai Lengci’s heart.
If…
If those fervent admirers at school, the ones who had written her countless love letters, even made scenes of threatening to jump from rooftops for her, were to find out…
That their pure, untouchable goddess, Miss Yan, at this very moment was wearing his Bai Lengci’s clothes, staying the night in his shabby little apartment, personally feeding him medicine, wiping his sweat, and even had her stomach growling with hunger…
He wondered…
A cold, slightly twisted thought took shape clearly in Bai Lengci’s mind.
He wondered if, on the rooftop of Jiangcheng No.1 High School’s teaching building, there would be a few more people standing there, going to experience just how strong the early winter night wind really was.
……
“Miss Yan.”
He spoke, his voice now clearer than before, though still slightly hoarse from recent illness.
“So… what are you planning to do next?”
Yan Junzhu pursed her lips.
“Oh, just now… when I used your phone to order takeout, I… I called my best friend.”
She paused, seeming a little embarrassed.
“She’ll come to pick me up in a while.”
Bai Lengci gave a barely perceptible nod, not expressing any objection to this arrangement.
“That’s good.”
……
A brief silence once again enveloped the dining table.
The two of them quietly cleaned up the empty takeout boxes, the plastic containers rustling softly.
Having changed back into her white tracksuit, Yan Junzhu’s movements were clumsy and slow because of her injured ankle.
Bai Lengci did not help her; he simply tidied up the mess in front of himself quietly.
At that moment—
“Knock knock\~”
A crisp knock on the door suddenly sounded in the silence of the small room, breaking the delicate stillness.
Yan Junzhu almost immediately lifted her head.
“It should be Ranran!”
As she spoke, she braced herself against the table and stood up with some difficulty.
Bai Lengci watched her limp toward the door without following, remaining where he was, his calm gaze fixed on the entrance.
Yan Junzhu took a deep breath and opened the door.
Standing outside was her best friend, Xiao Ran.
Xiao Ran wore a well-tailored off-white cashmere coat, her makeup exquisite.
But at this moment, her strikingly beautiful face was filled with undisguised anxiety and worry.
She had clearly rushed all the way there; her breathing was still a little uneven.
The moment the door opened, her gaze swept quickly over Yan Junzhu.
“Junzhu!”
Xiao Ran’s voice carried a tremor.
She immediately opened her arms and pulled Yan Junzhu into a fierce embrace, holding her so tightly it was as though she wanted to merge her into her own body to confirm her safety.
“My god! You scared me to death! You couldn’t explain clearly on the phone! How are you? Are you hurt? Did someone bully you?”
A barrage of questions poured out like a rapid-fire cannon, her tone brimming with genuine, unfeigned worry and distress.
Yan Junzhu was squeezed so tightly she could hardly breathe, but the familiar embrace and scent of her best friend finally allowed her taut nerves from the entire day to relax completely.
She gently patted Xiao Ran’s back, her voice carrying a hint of nasal reassurance.
“Ranran… I’m fine, really fine… just… just twisted my ankle a little, it hurts… but otherwise I’m okay.”
Only then did Xiao Ran loosen her hold slightly, though her hands still gripped Yan Junzhu’s shoulders.
“A sprain? Is it serious? Let me see!”
“Stop fussing! It’s nothing serious.”
At this moment, Bai Lengci walked out.
Xiao Ran’s gaze passed over Yan Junzhu’s shoulder and landed on him.
The boy was tall yet somewhat thin, simply dressed, but his eyes were strikingly clear and calm.
He stood there like a bamboo shoot growing solitary and upright.
Xiao Ran’s eyes narrowed slightly, then a trace of realization flashed through them.
As the school doctor at Jiangcheng No.1 High School, she naturally recognized this boy.
Bai Lengci.
The “sickly” student who showed up at the infirmary every other day, and more importantly, the only one in the entire school who possessed such unforgettable, outstanding looks.
No matter how low-key he was, it was hard for anyone to overlook him.
“Student Bai?”
She nodded, her tone carrying the right degree of distance and politeness.
“Thank you.”
Her gaze swept across the cramped little room, finally returning to Bai Lengci’s pale face.
That look was complex, containing gratitude, curiosity, and perhaps even a faint, almost imperceptible assessment of the situation.
Bai Lengci met Xiao Ran’s gaze, his face without ripple, only inclining his head slightly.
His voice was calm and flat: “Mm, it’s what I should do.”
Xiao Ran looked at him deeply, then said no more.
She only tightened her hold on Yan Junzhu’s arm.
“Let’s go, Junzhu. I’ll help you down.”
Half-supported by Xiao Ran, Yan Junzhu staggered a little as she walked out the door.
At the very moment the door was about to close, she couldn’t help but glance back.
Bai Lengci still stood where he was.
The dim yellow light behind him cast a long shadow at his back.
He quietly watched the doorway, his face expressionless.
Those overly clear eyes, at the boundary between light and shadow, appeared especially deep, as though they contained a bottomless sea.
“Click.”
The door closed softly, cutting off the two worlds inside and outside.
In the cramped little apartment, only Bai Lengci remained, along with the faint lingering scent of another person in the air.
Outside, the Audi that came to take the goddess away rumbled softly to life, quickly driving off and merging into the twilight traffic of the city.