This resentful gaze made Lin Li feel uncomfortable all over, as if he were trapped inside an iron maiden.
Teacher Kou Kou, please show some restraint! If you look at me with those eyes and your husband sees it, he'll definitely beat me to death!
Getting beaten to death like this would be really unfair.
"Teacher, is something wrong?" Afraid that Kou Kou might really appear as a ghost standing by his bed in the middle of the night looking at him like that, Lin Li asked cautiously.
"Lin Li, do you have any opinion about your teacher?" Kou Kou asked seriously.
The younger the teacher, the more they cared about students' attitudes toward them.
Those veteran teachers who weren't homeroom teachers would just laugh it off in this situation—whatever the hell these kids wanted to do.
No wait, they probably wouldn't even remember who Lin Li was.
"Opinion?" Lin Li thought for a while, then said seriously, "Teacher, I think you're very suited for curled ends. What you have today should be done with a curling iron, right? It looks really good. I think you could handle even curlier hair. If you ask me, you might as well just go to a salon and get a perm."
"Really? Teacher also thinks the current hairstyle is very nice," Kou Kou's eyes lit up as she nodded vigorously, using her fingers to twirl her hair. "I've been considering what you mentioned. What do you think about curling it to this degree?"
"Very good, definitely better than your usual straight hair anyway." Lin Li approved.
"You have the same good taste as teacher. I'll listen to you and try it tomorrow..." Kou Kou suddenly closed her mouth, then quietly lowered her head.
What the hell am I doing!
I came here to question Lin Li about his opinion of me, so how did I suddenly start chatting with Lin Li about hair!
"The opinion teacher wanted to hear... wasn't actually this one..." Kou Kou spoke again.
"As for clothes, I have terrible fashion sense, so I can't give any opinions." Lin Li shook his head, bravely admitting his shortcomings.
"It's not this opinion either!" Kou Kou raised her voice. "Teacher wanted to ask you, do you have any opinions about my English classes? Why does everyone say you've been very focused recently, but I can't feel it at all!"
The loud voice startled Lin Li, who shrugged and gasped, leaning backward.
After hearing clearly, he blinked.
Oh no, it's not about having too little but about unequal distribution. So this was the source of Kou Kou's resentment.
After thinking carefully, Lin Li quietly explained, "Teacher Kou Kou, is there a possibility that they're actually being sarcastic about me, and I'm not actually listening seriously at all?"
Kou Kou: "?"
"That's right! That's exactly it! Don't worry, Teacher Kou Kou, I haven't been listening in any of my other classes either!" Lin Li felt more and more confident the more he thought about it.
He really was a genius.
"You're admitting that you haven't been listening in English class at all?" From Kou Kou's even more resentful look, she didn't believe his explanation, and... seemed to have caught the key point.
Lin Li was stunned: "?"
Oh no! It's a bad woman! Are you also Domination Demon Sachima-san?
Kou Kou was digging a trap for him!
Damn, is this the cunning of adult women? So hard to guard against.
"I do listen occasionally though... ha, ha, ha..."
Lin Li laughed dryly.
Done for, the resentful attribute was still increasing.
Even if Kayako came, she'd probably have to serve as a maid.
This was already at the level of a red-robed ghost.
Scratching his head and thinking quickly, Lin Li finally honestly bowed his head in apology, "I'm sorry, teacher. I'll listen more seriously in the future. I really have no opinion of you. Who would have opinions about the prettiest teacher? I'm so so so sorry."
It's not me who has opinions about you, it's my abstract system!
I definitely won't slack off so blatantly in the future! Teacher Kou Kou!
I'll at least try to hide it a bit from now on!
Lin Li silently added in his heart.
"Sigh, I will remember your words. I hope you can follow through. I also needs to go home first. Bye bye." Kou Kou shook her head somewhat helplessly, then stood up.
"Goodbye, teacher."
After Kou Kou left too, the originally lively office suddenly had only Lin Li left.
Just when Lin Li was beginning to wonder if Xue Jian was constipated, he finally returned.
Seeing Lin Li, he nodded, "Here for the banner?"
"Yes, teacher."
"Alright." Xue Jian nodded, walked to his seat, but started fiddling with his phone.
Just as Lin Li was wondering what was happening, Xue Jian showed him his phone screen.
Lin Li looked curiously.
[To Teacher Xue of Nansang Middle School, Xiling County: Your teaching methods are solid, peaches and plums fill the world. Respectfully presented by student XXX...]
A banner image.
Lin Li didn't immediately understand why Xue Jian was showing him this, but after realizing, he felt somewhat indescribable.
"..."
Teacher Xue was unexpectedly concerned with face.
He actually remembered that casual comment from this morning so clearly.
But he knew what to say at this moment.
"Wow, is this a banner that parents gave you before, teacher? It's so well-made!"
Obviously, Lin Li's words made Xue Jian very satisfied. After a few modest exchanges, Xue Jian finally bent down to open his drawer and began looking for Lin Li's banner.
His phone was left on the desk like that. Perhaps because he'd accidentally touched the screen when putting down the phone, the originally full-screen image had shrunk back.
The phone showed WeChat, because this image came from chat history.
Lin Li instinctively looked over.
The contact was "Wife."
"Xue Jian: Is it ready yet?"
"Wife: Almost, almost, it'll be ready soon."
"Wife: You're really something, everything's fine about you except you care too much about face. I'm embarrassed for you about printing a banner for yourself."
"Xue Jian: Don't worry about that, wasn't it because you didn't keep it safe before."
"Wife: Done."
"Wife: [Image]"
The content of that image was self-evident.
Lin Li blinked. He seemed to have seen something incredible.
"Here, Lin Li, your—" Just then, Xue Jian happened to stand up holding Lin Li's banner, and his words cut off abruptly.
Lin Li's gaze was still on the screen.
It seemed too late to turn his head now.
His peripheral vision had already sensed a faint killing intent.
"..."
"Gulp."
Lin Li swallowed very loudly.
He looked at the screen, Xue Jian looked at him, until the screen automatically went dark and Lin Li had nothing to look at.
Lin Li looked up, and now the two of them were staring at each other, but both tactfully said nothing.
Looking at each other, only disappointment remained.
Was he hallucinating? Why did he see a red "danger" character appear above his head?
What was with this life flashing before his eyes? I don't want to start reminiscing about my life! Stop the images! No good!
Who will save me! Where's the Miracle Walker? Help me out!
Damn, looks like he could only save himself.
Lin Li suddenly covered his eyes tightly and screamed:
"Ahhhhh Erkang, I can't see! Why can't I suddenly see!
Ahhhhh left-turn red lights are the hardest to wait for!
Ahhhhh I suddenly remembered, I suffer from periodic blindness and occasionally become blind, but why did it suddenly act up..."
Xue Jian: "..."
(End of Chapter)
Sachima - Reference to a dominating character type (like a snack food name used as character reference)
Kayako - The vengeful ghost from "The Grudge" horror series
Erkang - Character from popular Chinese drama "Princess Pearl"
Iron maiden - Medieval torture device
Red-robed ghost - High-level vengeful spirit in Chinese folklore
Miracle Walker- Gaming/anime reference for a savior character