He stared at this photo for a full five seconds, and after making sure he wasn't seeing things, he stiffly asked: "This is your homeroom teacher?"
Qiao Rui thought his cousin had been instantly captivated and fallen head over heels when he saw the photo. With a smug look on his face, he said, "Yeah, I didn't lie to you, did I?"
"What's your homeroom teacher's name?"
"Yu Na."
Xiao Chen's mouth twitched: "......Are you sure you're not joking?"
"Why would I joke about this? Go on, tell me, brother, you're captivated, aren't you!"
"......"
Damn.
What are the chances?
While feeling astonished, countless questions also arose.
No one would have imagined that an heiress born with a silver spoon, from a prominent family, would go and become a high school teacher.
Although being a teacher is glorious work, it just feels out of place for her.
Shouldn't she be abroad?
Why did she return to China?
Becoming a teacher definitely wasn't her devil of a father's idea.
So what has she gone through?
At our college graduation ceremony, Xiao Chen had made things clear, bluntly stating that they weren't from the same world, that he was just an ordinary man who couldn't be together with her or give her the happiness she wanted.
They had parted unhappily that day, and Yu Na had even deleted his WeChat to thoroughly forget about him.
No matter how Xiao Chen tried to think things through, he would have never imagined that she had returned to China. More dramatically, she had actually become Qiao Rui's homeroom teacher.
The coincidence was that he was now Qiao Rui's temporary guardian.
In other words, for parent-teacher meetings at Qiao Rui's school or any other school event, his attendance would be required.
The traffic light hadn't turned green yet, when a message popped up on his phone.
It was the group chat.
"[Dear parents, I'm Yu Na, the new homeroom teacher for Class 23, Grade 11. Please feel free to come to me if you have any questions or issues.]" "[Please reply to confirm receipt]"
It was the parents' group chat for Grade 11, Class 23.
This intersection, which had occurred again without any psychological preparation, left him completely dumbfounded.
God must be playing a joke on him.
No one else would say upon encountering this, "What a coincidence!"
Along with that comment, a bunch of parents' replies followed.
"[1]" "[Thanks for your hard work, Teacher Yu]" "[Hello Teacher Yu]" "[Received]" "[1]"
Messages kept popping up.
Xiao Chen threw his phone aside without responding. When the traffic light turned green, he started driving.
Qiao Rui asked, "Bro, you should reply too. The other parents did."
Xiao Chen: "I'm driving. Thanks."
Qiao Rui leaned forward directly to grab the phone from the passenger seat. "Let me reply for you then."
Xiao Chen: ?
He was driving so he couldn't stop Qiao Rui. By the time he pulled over, it was too late to intercept him, yet Qiao Rui happily said, "Done!"
Xiao Chen snatched back his phone to see that Qiao Rui had used it to reply in the group: "[Received, thanks for your hard work Teacher Yu. Please take good care of the child.]"
Xiao Chen threw a punch at Qiao Rui. "Go take care of your grandpa!"
Qiao Rui dodged away cheekily. "Hehe, isn't this bringing you and my teacher closer? After all—" He raised his brows meaningfully. "You'll still need to show up for future parent-teacher meetings."
Xiao Chen put away his phone wordlessly, his face dark, and restarted the car.
...Yu Na returned to her rented apartment and took a bottle of mineral water from the fridge. Then she opened her phone.
Nearly all the parents had replied to her message in the parents' group chat that afternoon.
She scrolled through them one by one until she came across: "Received, thanks for your hard work Teacher Yu. Please take good care of the child."
She saw that this parent's username in the chat group was "Qiao Rui's Brother."
Hold on, how could it be his brother when the age difference couldn't be that big? Moreover, the profile picture was that little Kevin from Home Alone—the style didn't seem old at all based on the photo.
How could the words sound like they were from a middle-aged person?
She figured it must be because the brother had raised him.
Every family has its problems.
That was what Yu Na thought, but her hand seemed to have a mind of its own. It tapped to open "Qiao Rui's Brother's" WeChat profile picture before she could regain control.
The next second after seeing his WeChat profile pic, she was so startled she nearly dropped her phone on the floor.
How could it be him?
Yu Na rubbed her eyes vigorously and checked over and over again.
Although she had deleted his WeChat a long time ago, his WeChat account was etched clearly in her memory.
This WeChat belonged to Xiao Chen.
He was Qiao Rui's brother?
How could there be such a coincidence?
"......"
Yu Na sank onto her couch, her elbow leaning against the armrest. She clutched the mineral water bottle tightly in her hand, making it crinkle noisily.
She stared blankly at the little Kevin profile picture, about to get lost in her memories. But then she suddenly realized—if Xiao Chen was in the parents' group chat, it meant they would inevitably cross paths and meet each other at school events.
When this thought struck her, Yu Na's mind went completely blank.
She found Lin Shuang's WeChat chat and sent her a emoji.
After deleting Xiao Chen's WeChat back then, she also hadn't kept in touch with their mutual friends.
Occasionally she would chat a little with Lin Shuang, exchange holiday blessings, and gift each other presents.
Lin Shuang had tactfully never brought up Xiao Chen, and Yu Na had never asked either.
It was as if he didn't exist.
So over these years, she also hadn't known Xiao Chen was living in Changwan.
She also hadn't informed Lin Shuang about settling down in Changwan.
She had wanted to wait until after getting settled before saying anything. But she had been busy house hunting, taking exams, interviewing, and then getting immersed in her new job, that she could never find the time.
When she first moved here, her days had felt chaotic and disorderly.
In the past, wherever she went, house help and bodyguards would follow her—she didn't need to worry about anything herself.
This time was different. She had been busy with all the preparations and follow-ups herself.
It was inevitably somewhat unfamiliar to her at first.
But she didn't regret it either. This kind of free life was something she hadn't even dared dream about before.
Lin Shuang quickly replied with another emoji.
She also asked: [What's up?]
Yu Na replied: [I've settled down in Changwan! We can meet up often from now on! [Happy Face]]
Lin Shuang: [?]
Lin Shuang followed up with a barrage of questions: [You've settled down in Changwan? Found a job? Did your dad agree?]
Yu Na replied with an amused smile: [Yup, he agreed. I'll tell you the full details when we meet up. It's a long story.]
Lin Shuang sent back an "OK" emoji.
The corners of Yu Na's lips curved up. Fortunately, she had an old friend in this city. Even if they didn't meet up often, she wouldn't feel lonely.
She tapped the input box again. She really wanted to ask about Xiao Chen's current circumstances, where he was, whether he was in Changwan.
Whether the WeChat account was currently used by him.
Because when she calmed down and thought it over, the tone of those words really didn't seem like something he would say.
But then she reconsidered—what if it was him, and upon seeing the new homeroom teacher was Yu Na, he thought she was an old acquaintance so he wanted to tease her a bit?
After all, objectively speaking, he himself was a very warm person.
These two completely contrasting guesses kept pulling back and forth in her mind, leaving Yu Na dizzy and muddled.
Oh well.
She would just have to accept things as they were.
That was the only way she could comfort herself now.
Realizing they would intersect again, a trace of complicated emotions surged up in her heart.
Delight, anticipation, nervousness, fear.
These four very different emotions blended together, once again adding a trace of thrill and novelty to her dull, mundane life.
However, the opportunity for their paths to cross again came much sooner than she had imagined.
She thought it would at least have to wait until the next parent-teacher meeting.
But it seemed like God couldn't wait to arrange this long-awaited reunion scene for her.
On just the very next day.