SYLM Chapter 34
by VolareChapter 34 “Are you still mad at me, Classmate Chen Lu?”
Coming out of the principal’s office, Gu Wan Jun let out a long sigh of relief, gradually relaxing her clenched fist, her palm damp with cold sweat.
Recalling Lu Jianghong’s conflicted expression, Gu Wan Jun apologized in her heart. This was probably the first time she had shown her sharp edge in front of a leader.
Was it right to keep Chen Lu in Class 12? Should she have done it?
Who knows?
Gu Wan Jun simply made the decision according to her own heart.
Perhaps Tang Ying was right, Class 12 was no worse than Class 1, and she could definitely nurture Chen Lu into a good seed.
—
That evening, during evening self-study.
As soon as the school bell rang, Gu Wan Jun, standing on the podium, packed her things while occasionally glancing in the direction of the window seat.
Fourth row by the window.
Fu Yi Wen hastily stuffed her unfinished test paper into her schoolbag while chatting and complaining to Chen Lu:
“Why is there so much homework today? I feel like I’ve been writing for almost the entire evening self-study, and there’s still so much left. I’ll have to carry my schoolbag home tonight, so annoying!”
“Math error notebooks are collected once a week. You pile up a week’s worth of work to do in one day, of course, you won’t finish,” Chen Lu said truthfully, without even looking up.
“Tsk, even though that’s true…” Fu Yi Wen scratched her head, put one hand on her hip, and said, “But Chen Lu, can’t you say something to help me out?”
“Huh? How can I help you?” Chen Lu looked up at her best friend.
“You could say that the math teacher assigned too much homework and pass the blame directly to old Wang!”
“Hmm…”
Chen Lu seriously thought about it for a while, then replied with a straight face:
“But I don’t think it’s too much. I finished it the day before yesterday.”
“…”
They weren’t meeting for the first time; Fu Yi Wen had known about Chen Lu’s sly nature for a long time.
Hearing Chen Lu deliberately joking with her, Fu Yi Wen cooperated by wrinkling her face. While complaining, “Are we even friends anymore?” she clenched her fist and punched Chen Lu lightly, the movement more thunderous than impactful, so gentle as to be almost non-existent, afraid of breaking her Chen Lu.
Seeing her friend puff up her cheeks like a little squirrel storing food in its mouth for the winter, Chen Lu, who had been feeling down all afternoon, finally curled her lips into a smile.
After packing her things, Chen Lu said goodbye to Fu Yi Wen. As she was about to leave, she saw Gu Wan Jun standing at the front door of the classroom, talking to Jiang Zhen Zhen.
“Go home and discuss it with your parents, and follow your own wishes. Just tell me the result tomorrow. The teacher won’t force you.”
“Okay, thank you, teacher.”
“It’s okay.”
Gu Wan Jun smiled. After ending the conversation, she once again “inadvertently” glanced towards the window seat, only to find that Fu Yi Wen was the only one left there.
?!
Chen Lu was gone just while she was talking to Jiang Zhen Zhen?
Gu Wan Jun’s expression immediately changed.
Noticing the change in the person in front of her, Jiang Zhen Zhen hesitated whether to ask what was wrong when the person in front of her was already hurrying to say goodbye until tomorrow.
…
After leaving the classroom, Gu Wan Jun looked around while quickening her pace.
She had been thinking of chatting with Chen Lu about what happened during the day while walking home together tonight, but this kid was probably still mad at her and left on her own—
“Teacher?”
Her scattered thoughts were interrupted. At the corner of the corridor, a clear voice reached her ears. Gu Wan Jun immediately stopped and looked towards the sound.
Unlike the other students hurrying to leave, Chen Lu stood not far away, leaning against the wall, as if she had been waiting for her all along.
However, the corridor was not as bright as the classroom, and Gu Wan Jun could not see Chen Lu’s expression clearly, nor could she figure out what the other party was thinking at the moment.
After an unknown amount of time of eye contact, Gu Wan Jun finally came back to her senses. Approaching, she looked at Chen Lu’s dark and clear eyes, suppressed her emotions, and tentatively asked:
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Yes, I saw the teacher talking to Zhen Zhen, so I came out to wait. Let’s go.”
…
—
The harsh winter was over, and the snow on both sides of the street had melted a lot.
Leaving the school, the two of them crossed the road one after the other, then walked side by side.
The flickering light of the street lamps cast long shadows on the ground.
Gu Wan Jun kept glancing at Chen Lu beside her, but the other party looked straight ahead, walking normally, as if nothing had happened.
She couldn’t figure out what was on this kid’s mind.
Gu Wan Jun sighed in her heart.
Although Chen Lu was walking home with her as usual, Gu Wan Jun could easily feel the intentional estrangement and politeness in Chen Lu’s tone during their conversation. It was as if the temperature between them had dropped to the day they first met.
Could it be that, as Jiang Zhen Zhen said, Chen Lu was already disappointed in her?
Thinking of this, Gu Wan Jun couldn’t help herself and broke the silence:
“About the transfer this afternoon… are you still mad at me?”
“Principal Lu wanted to transfer me, and as a homeroom teacher, you couldn’t do anything about it.”
Chen Lu’s tone was calm and official, not answering directly. Gu Wan Jun’s heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She continued to press:
“Are you angry because I said I hoped you would go to Class 1?”
“…”
As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Lu didn’t say anything. At the same time, the two of them happened to arrive at the entrance of the residential complex.
Chen Lu subconsciously searched through her school uniform pockets, only to find that she hadn’t brought her access card.
What a godsend.
Gu Wan Jun immediately stuffed the access card she had subconsciously taken out back into her coat pocket. She didn’t block the entrance but pulled Chen Lu aside by the arm.
When her arm was grabbed, a hint of fluctuation flashed in Chen Lu’s eyes, but it quickly returned to calmness. Her tone was very polite:
“What’s wrong? Did the teacher not bring her access card either?”
“Chen Lu, you’re still mad at me.”
“Everything the teacher does is for our own good. How could I be mad at the teacher?”
“…”
Chen Lu’s cold tone made Gu Wan Jun both angry and anxious, but she still couldn’t bear to raise her voice at Chen Lu. She only tightened her grip on Chen Lu’s arm:
“Chen Lu, don’t talk to me in such a distant tone. I don’t like it.”
“When you wanted me to go to Class 1, the teacher didn’t ask me if I liked it or if I was willing. As for the tone being distant or not…”
Chen Lu paused, met Gu Wan Jun’s ever-gentle peach blossom eyes, and her whole heart trembled, but she still forced herself to look directly into Gu Wan Jun’s eyes:
“Anyway, people will grow apart sooner or later, and didn’t the teacher teach me not to be emotional?”
“…”
This was one of the few times Chen Lu had spoken to Gu Wan Jun in such a stiff and even sharp tone.
From a rational point of view, Chen Lu was well aware of Gu Wan Jun’s difficulties.
But from an emotional point of view, Chen Lu hated that Gu Wan Jun didn’t listen to her thoughts, directly made decisions for her under the guise of doing what was best for her, and hated that Gu Wan Jun treated her as a child who only acted on emotions.
…
Chen Lu’s words were like fine, dense needles piercing into Gu Wan Jun’s heart. Looking at the stubbornness in those crescent-shaped eyes, Gu Wan Jun realized how much hurt she had caused this child.
…
Many pedestrians passed by. The entrance to the Rose Garden residential complex, which was close at hand, opened again and again. The surrounding things kept changing, but the two of them fell into a silent standstill.
Chen Lu turned her head to look at the opposite side of the road, blinking her eyes rapidly.
Words spoken were like water spilled, impossible to take back.
Chen Lu knew that her words just now sounded like she was just being unreasonable, and it was completely inappropriate for a student to say to a teacher. After she said these words, Gu Wan Jun might be angry, think she was childish and ignorant, or she might suppress her temper and explain that everything she did was for her own good, or perhaps—
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
There were no perhaps.
Gu Wan Jun’s words directly cut off Chen Lu’s chaotic thoughts.
Her dense, long eyelashes trembled rapidly as if they had been pricked by a needle. Chen Lu turned her head back, looking at Gu Wan Jun with complicated emotions.
She had never dared to imagine that Gu Wan Jun would apologize to her.
However, what she dared not imagine even more was yet to come—
Gu Wan Jun pursed her lips and continued with a sincere tone:
“It was wrong of me not to listen carefully to your thoughts. Don’t be mad at me.”
“When the principal told me to transfer you and Jiang Zhen Zhen to Class 1, there were ten thousand reasons why I was reluctant and unwilling. I didn’t want you to leave.”
“Especially you.”
Gu Wan Jun looked fixedly into Chen Lu’s eyes and sighed softly:
“That sentence ‘don’t be emotional’ seemed to be directed at you, but in reality, I was reminding myself. You are my favorite student. How could I be willing to let you go to another class?”
“But it’s a fact that Class 1 is better than Class 12. Everything Principal Lu said was for your own good. I can’t let my own reluctance and unwillingness delay your future and prospects.”
“…”
She personally said that she was her favorite student.
She said that she couldn’t bear to let her go.
Chen Lu pinched the tip of her index finger hard with her thumb hanging by her side, only then daring to confirm that she wasn’t dreaming. Gu Wan Jun’s gentle and firm voice was still reaching her ears:
“When I went to the principal to ask for you back this afternoon, I didn’t even know if what I was doing was right.”
“…”
As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Lu’s dark and bright pupils trembled, and she instantly got the main point:
“You went to the principal to ask for me back?”
“Yeah, you took the initiative to express your position to Principal Lu, so how could I, as the homeroom teacher, hold you back?”
“Did he agree?”
“Of course, the two of us personally took action, and Principal Lu isn’t an unreasonable person.”
“What if he didn’t agree?”
“I would keep talking until he agreed. If that didn’t work, I would just hold you back, so no one could take you away.”
Gu Wan Jun curved her eyebrows, with a hint of teasing in her tone.
Looking into each other’s eyes, Chen Lu felt an unspeakable feeling of being touched and moved.
Even if they had disagreements at the beginning, Gu Wan Jun didn’t blame her for acting rashly, didn’t persuade her to change her mind, but respected her to the greatest extent, understood her, and stood on the same side as her with tacit understanding.
Could there really be such a good person?
And this person just happened to be her teacher.
The person she liked.
…
Seeing that Chen Lu’s expression was no longer as tense and cold as before, Gu Wan Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief. She reached out and rubbed Chen Lu’s head, asking softly:
“Are you still mad at me, Classmate Chen Lu?”
“…”
The words “Classmate Chen Lu” made Chen Lu blush rapidly. She shook her head at the speed of light and then bowed her head to apologize for her previous attitude: “I’m sorry, teacher.”
“Hmm.”
Gu Wan Jun pursed her lips, with a hint of grievance in her gentle and affectionate tone:
“Then tell me, what did you do wrong?”
“I…”
Just as Chen Lu was about to answer, Gu Wan Jun suddenly hooked her arm around hers, while taking out the access card from her coat pocket, preparing to pull Chen Lu into the residential complex. She said to herself:
“Forget it, it’s getting late, I won’t make you reflect on it. I forgive you this time, but next time, you’re not allowed to say anything about growing apart, and you’re not allowed to talk to me in such a cold tone, got it?”
“Hmm.”
“When you talk to me like that, so coldly, I’ll really be sad.”
“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again next time.”
“This time, I was wrong first, and I’ll pay attention next time.”
As she spoke, as if she had thought of something, Gu Wan Jun raised her eyebrows slightly, her tone smiling:
“You were mad at me but still willing to wait for me after school, that’s pretty cute.”
“Actually… I was planning to leave first.”
“…”
Chen Lu’s tone was serious. As soon as she finished speaking, the smile on Gu Wan Jun’s face instantly faded, and her originally gentle tone became slightly imperceptible and forceful:
“Then why didn’t you leave?”
“Isn’t it because I didn’t bring the residential complex access card…”
“…Are you serious or joking?”
“Joking.”
“…”
The girl’s pleasant laughter reached her ears. Gu Wan Jun bit her lip and couldn’t help but get physical:
“Chen Lu, if you keep doing this, I’m going to tickle you—hey, don’t run, run slowly, there’s ice in the yard, don’t fall, I won’t chase you, okay?”
Gu Wan Jun solemnly announced a truce, but the next second, when Chen Lu took it seriously and really stopped running—
“Hmph, I’m not chasing you, that’s strange. I caught you, little Chen Lu. How dare you tease me again? Huh?”
“…”
The two of them entered the unit door of Unit 6 in a chaotic mess.
Years later, when others asked Chen Lu about the moment she was moved by Gu Wan Jun, tonight would definitely be a striking stroke.