Chapter 33: Rejecting Wang Qimin Again

The weather grew colder.

Before the last snowfall had fully melted, an even heavier snow began to drift down.

Inside the classroom, which was only a few degrees warmer than the outside, the students all wore thick cotton-padded jackets. Their faces, ears, and hands were flushed bright red from the cold, and some with less resilient skin even had frostbite.

Fortunately, they had gradually adapted to the winter chill, so it didn’t much interfere with their studies.

Although down jackets were already available in the market, given the generally low average income of rural families, how many students’ households could afford to buy their children down jackets? Looking around the class, most students wore bulky outer garments, undoubtedly stuffed with thick cotton-padded jackets sewn at home. Some even wore cotton overcoats on the outside. A very few from better-off families wore yellowish-brown or grayish-black down jackets, while others wore leather coats or imitation down jackets… On their feet were snow boots or homemade cloth cotton shoes.

Under these circumstances, the already overcrowded classroom felt even more cramped. Students sharing a desk for three couldn’t even rest both arms fully on the desktop.

Su Chunfeng wore his school uniform as an outer layer, with a thick cotton-padded jacket sewn by his mother underneath.

Right now, his left hand was under the desk… holding Wang Haifei’s right hand.

This had been going on for three or four days.

They kept it very secret, and since everyone was bundled up so thickly now, with almost no gaps between the desks, their little secret remained undiscovered so far. Even Zhang Lifei didn’t know.

At first, Wang Haifei had shyly resisted, but later she somewhat enjoyed letting it happen.

Don’t misunderstand the word “enjoy.” Wang Haifei was naturally thin-skinned and shy. She mostly couldn’t resist Su Chunfeng’s insistence on warming her hand and was afraid any struggling might attract attention. As for “enjoy,” it was because Su Chunfeng’s palm was like a hot water bag, always warm. In such cold conditions, having her hand enclosed by that warmth was a sensation anyone would find comfortable and reluctant to pull away from.

Su Chunfeng naturally had robust internal heat; the lower the temperature, the warmer his palms became. When it was warmer outside, his palms would actually feel cool from sweat.

Of course, he genuinely enjoyed the process of warming Wang Haifei’s hand.

While sitting quietly listening to the lecture, Wang Haifei suddenly felt her right hand being squeezed firmly by Su Chunfeng and then released. She couldn’t help but blush slightly, secretly leaning forward a bit. She placed her right hand on the desk, while her left hand obediently stretched out from below, allowing Su Chunfeng to reach over and grasp it—the chilly little hand was instantly enveloped in comfortable warmth.

This was a signal Su Chunfeng had arranged with Wang Haifei earlier via a small note.

Would she refuse?

If she refused, he would simply pull her hand anyway!

So the shy Wang Haifei, fearful of their secret being discovered, could only comply with Su Chunfeng’s nearly forceful and imposing enthusiasm, filled with bashfulness and happy delight.

On the podium, English teacher Xiao Qian was lecturing earnestly.

She wore a beige jacket-style down coat, jeans, and knee-high leather boots lined with cotton, which accentuated her tall, slender figure and full of youthful, fashionable flair. As she lectured, her dark, glossy ponytail swayed back and forth, and her clear, bell-like voice echoed through the classroom…

The classroom was quiet.

Apart from Homeroom Teacher Li Jichun’s Chinese class, only during Xiao Qian’s English lessons did Class 14 remain this quiet.

The reason was simple: the boys all tried their best to behave well.

As was typical of Xiao Qian’s efficient teaching style, she finished the lesson with over ten minutes left before the bell. She lifted her slender hand, gently blew off the chalk dust, pulled back her sleeve to check her watch, then smiled and scanned the class. “Now, everyone review what we just covered. If there’s anything you don’t understand, raise your hand to ask…” After saying this, she lowered her head to tidy the textbooks, lesson plans, and chalk box on the lectern.

Low murmurs finally rose in the classroom.

Xiao Qian didn’t mind much.

Since she began her temporary internship teaching English to the third-year students at Dongwangzhuang Township Middle School, she had grown increasingly confident in herself.

The reason, naturally, was that the average English scores in her class had improved significantly. Moreover, she seemed to have a natural authority as a strict teacher. The students weren’t as mischievous as other teachers described, and disruptions during class were rare. Being young and inexperienced in teaching, she didn’t realize that while her teaching skills were decent, the results she achieved were largely due to her youth and outstandingly beautiful appearance.

Her confident mindset and excellent teaching performance strengthened her sense of responsibility, to the point where she wanted to go a bit beyond the norm…

“Going beyond the norm,” put nicely, meant having a strong sense of responsibility and good morals for teaching and nurturing students. Put bluntly, it meant meddling in others’ affairs.

She knew the next period was a self-study class. After some thought, she looked at Su Chunfeng and said, “Su Chunfeng, come to my office after class. I have something to discuss with you.”

“Huh?” Su Chunfeng was startled. What did Xiao Qian want to talk about? But he nodded and replied, “Okay.”

Under the teacher’s gaze, Wang Haifei nervously and guiltily withdrew her left hand, unable to hold back a blush and a stifled laugh.

Zhang Lifei noticed something slightly off about Wang Haifei. Pouting, she wanted to get Su Chunfeng’s attention, so she quickly wrote a small note and passed it to him: “Hey, you really are the model student now. All the teachers like calling you to the office… Even Wang Qimin called you twice.”

After reading the note, Su Chunfeng smiled and shook his head, not replying.

Yesterday afternoon after school, Wang Qimin had called him to the office again. As soon as he entered, Wang Qimin got straight to the point: “Su Chunfeng, you should know my character. I never lie, and I never interact with any student. You are the first, and the only one! I won’t deceive you!”

Su Chunfeng nodded at the time and said, “Ah, I know.”

Wang Qimin then said seriously and firmly, without room for doubt, “Tonight after evening self-study, come with me to my home. I will perform a real Esoteric Technique to prove it to you!”

This attitude made Su Chunfeng feel a twinge of guilt inside.

He knew that his former master from his previous life was really getting anxious now, afraid that a promising disciple might be snatched away. So this usually gentle man was willing to risk his dignity, being so direct about actively performing the kind of deceitful Esoteric Arts display that would inevitably incur Backlash, all to bewitch and lure a student with potential for practicing Esoteric Arts, hoping to make him willingly become a disciple.

Unfortunately…

The current Su Chunfeng was not an immature teenager but a reincarnated person with a very mature mind, and quite familiar with Esoteric Arts and even the entire Jianghu of Esoteric Arts.

He absolutely would not become Wang Qimin’s disciple again to practice mysterious Esoteric Arts, nor did he want the slightest connection with people from the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts anymore. Before this, Su Chunfeng’s idea for refusing and getting Wang Qimin to give up on taking him as a disciple was to behave poorly, act like a jerk, making Wang Qimin dislike and resent him, so he would naturally abandon the idea.

But now, Wang Qimin’s attitude made Su Chunfeng unable to bear being disrespectful to him anymore.

After all, he was his master from his previous life!

Moreover, Wang Qimin’s character and his dedication as a teacher were almost flawless.

Of course, the somewhat deceptive act of luring Su Chunfeng to practice Esoteric Arts didn’t count. Also, Su Chunfeng understood in his heart that the tragic outcome of his parents’ accidental deaths in his previous life couldn’t be entirely blamed on Wang Qimin teaching him Esoteric Arts, making him an Occultist, entering the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts, and leading to the subsequent series of events…

So yesterday evening in Wang Qimin’s office, when faced with another sincere invitation, Su Chunfeng showed a genuinely moved expression. With great difficulty, he used another reason to politely refuse Wang Qimin again: “Teacher Wang, I believe in your character. I believe you wouldn’t lie to me, and I’m grateful you think highly of me… But, those mystical Esoteric Techniques you mentioned, I truly dare not learn them. If my father found out, he would beat me to death.”

“You can learn in secret!” Wang Qimin quickly said.

“Teacher Wang, I’m sorry… I can’t do such a thing, and I certainly can’t deceive my father.” Su Chunfeng shook his head guiltily. Then, without waiting for Wang Qimin to say more, he turned and quickly left the office.

He feared that continuing the conversation might make Wang Qimin suspicious.

However, he thought the reason for this refusal was barely passable—in these times, the vast majority of rural parents still adhered to the parenting philosophy of “spare the rod, spoil the child.” With hot-tempered parents, if a child didn’t behave, they really might take a stick and thrash them.

Ding, ding, ding…

The melodious class-ending bell rang, rousing Su Chunfeng from his reverie. He saw Xiao Qian smiling and gesturing for him to come, so he stood up and walked out under the envious gazes of many boys.

Groans of complaint erupted in the classroom:

“Darn it, this guy hit the jackpot!”

“Teacher Xiao Qian asked him to the office for a talk. Why didn’t she call me?”

“Sigh, even if she called me to scold me, even if Teacher Xiao beat me up, being hit by her hand would be a pleasure for me.”

Such teasing naturally drew scornful disdain from the girls.

Meanwhile, Wang Haifei and Zhang Lifei both showed slight displeasure. However, Wang Haifei’s expression was less obvious, while Zhang Lifei directly muttered, “Why is she calling Su Chunfeng to the office for no reason? Su Chunfeng has excellent grades and never causes trouble in English class. What is there to talk about? Hmph!”

The heavy snow had just stopped. The sky was white and misty.

There was no wind. The thick, white snow covered everything, dressing the trees and rather old-looking buildings in silver, making the somewhat aged middle school campus even quieter and more elegant, possessing a certain Scholastic Atmosphere.

Crunching through the thick snow, Su Chunfeng followed unhurriedly behind Xiao Qian, watching the young female teacher’s graceful, beautiful figure… Even without any improper thoughts, his mature mind couldn’t help but enjoy the lovely sight as he made his way to Xiao Qian’s office.