The next afternoon, Yu Na was in class.
The classroom was drowsy.
She pretended not to see.
Although it was only one day, Yu Na had already become the school's biggest celebrity.
But she was still young after all, and hadn't established much authority.
The classroom atmosphere was distracted.
And she was very lenient in disciplining students.
Her thinking was, as long as you don't affect other students, whether you study or not is your business.
So she pretended not to see those playing on their phones, sleeping, or passing notes.
As long as they didn't make any noise.
But it was precisely because of this tolerance that she found herself with a big problem.
Near the end of class, the originally quiet classroom suddenly erupted in commotion.
Yu Na was assigning homework, and when she heard the noise she turned around, immediately spotting Principal Qin who had come in from the back door at some point without her noticing.
He was the homeroom teacher.
Extremely strict, and known by students as the demon principal.
Anyone caught by him could expect their parents to be called as a minimum, with suspension or expulsion also possible.
Principal Qin walked to the last row on the far left side - Song Yan and Qiao Rui's seats.
The whole class turned their heads back to look at those two.
He pushed aside Song Yan's English textbook, revealing the phone that had been completely uncovered.
Star Sea High School strictly forbade students from bringing phones.
Principal Qin coldly snorted, then snatched the phone away. His sudden attack meant they didn't even have time to turn it off.
Next, something on Song Yan's desk caught his attention - the hole carved out of his English textbook.
"..."
The hole's location was right at the black section on the book cover.
With the phone camera placed there, nothing would look amiss unless examined closely.
Principal Qin was no fool.
Taking one look at the hole's size, he guessed what they must have been up to.
Opening the photo album, just as expected he saw two pictures of Yu Na that Song Yan had just secretly taken.
One was of her standing at the podium.
One was of her walking along the corridor.
Principal Qin picked up the textbook with the hole, placed the phone inside it with the camera lens aligned to the hole.
At that moment the rest of the class were watching the show, and upon seeing his action they suddenly roared with laughter.
Principal Qin coldly snorted again, seemingly praising but actually mocking, "Quite clever, huh."
"..."
Song Yan and Qiao Rui lowered their heads, not daring to retort a word in their pathetic state.
Principal Qin confiscated both the textbook and phone. Since it was self-study period next, he said "Come come, you two follow me to the office."
Yu Na watched bewildered from the platform, until Principal Qin also said to her "Teacher Yu, come with me for a bit."
Only after getting to the office did Yu Na understand they had secretly photographed her during class.
In the office.
Principal Qin pointed at Song Yan and Qiao Rui, yelling and lecturing them ceaselessly, getting angrier the more he spoke until his face turned red.
"It is clearly forbidden by the school for you to bring phones, Qiao Rui you've got some nerve! To so brazenly break the rules! I'm calling your parents here!"
"Song Yan, seems like you don't need this English textbook anymore, I'll throw it away for you!"
"Your parents send you here to study! Not to secretly photograph your teacher!"
"..."
The principal went on sentence after sentence, enraged.
He made them stand in the office as punishment for two self-study periods.
Principal Qin immediately called their parents on the spot, first calling Song Yan’s father to notify him to come to the school.
Then he prepared to call Qiao Rui’s guardian.
But Qiao Rui spoke up, “Principal, I’m currently under the care of my cousin brother.”
Yu Na’s breath caught.
Her nails unconsciously dug into her flesh.
If Principal Qin was adamant about calling the guardian, wouldn’t that mean... they would directly run into each other?
Principal Qin still held no warmth towards Qiao Rui, “Give me your brother’s number.”
“189xxxxxxxx”
After Principal Qin input the phone number, he directly dialed without another word.
Yu Na sat motionless in her seat.
But her heart had leapt to her throat, pounding intensely.
Principal Qin had the call on speaker.
After five rings, the other end finally picked up.
Principal Qin asked with unconcealed anger: “Is this Qiao Rui’s guardian?”
“Who's this?” asked the lazy voice from the other end.
Yu Na's fingers clenched as her breath hitched upon hearing his voice.
The account in the parents' group chat was indeed Xiao Chen.
All the vague doubts floating in her heart settled upon hearing his voice.
It had been a very, very long time since she last heard it.
Still as nice to hear as before, only more steady now.
Principal Qin's words pulled Yu Na's thoughts back: "I'm Qiao Rui's homeroom teacher. Please come to the school, there's something I want to personally hand to you."
"...Hearing the homeroom teacher's unfriendly tone, Xiao Chen felt uneasy, "What has he done?"
"I'll discuss the details when you arrive."
After speaking, he hung up without waiting for a response.
Still holding the phone and textbook, Principal Qin made the two of them continue standing at the back of the office as punishment.
Then looking at Yu Na, his voice softened a tad, "Teacher Yu, step outside with me for a bit."
Yu Na sensed it wouldn't be good, but as a new teacher she held little sway. She could only follow him out of the office.
"Teacher Yu, you've just joined and don't understand some things. Our school strictly forbids students bringing phones - this is something you must pay close attention to in future. If you see someone playing on their phone again just directly confiscate it and call their parents to retrieve it."
Yu Na nodded: "I'm sorry Principal, you're right I didn't notice properly, that was my mistake."
"I know, you're still getting used to things as a newcomer. But every place has its rules that need to be followed; sometimes you can't spoil them too much, otherwise those Class 3 kids will climb onto the roof. Strict discipline is required where needed."
"Got it."
...About half an hour later, the principal's phone rang again.
He took a look after picking up and immediately answered upon seeing it was Qiao Rui’s brother, “Hello there, Qiao Rui’s brother.”
The voice on the other end was even as it asked, "Principal, I'm at the school gate, where exactly are you?"
But before he finished asking, Qiao Rui quickly cut in, "Principal, let me go receive him."
Principal Qin glared at him. "Did I allow you to speak? Stand there properly."
He turned back to Yu Na, “Teacher Yu, go down and receive Qiao Rui’s brother.”
Yu Na: “...”
Bracing herself, she replied, “Alright.”
As Yu Na left the office towards the school gate, she passed by a transparent window and cursed at her pathetic state - getting so nervous like this was a disgrace to a teacher of the people. Yet shamelessly, she tidied her appearance and attire.
Upon reaching the school gate, she spotted in the distance a man chatting merrily with the security guard.
It was none other than Xiao Chen.
Just like before, able to converse casually with anyone.
The wide shoulders and simple black short sleeves gave him a sharp look. One hand tucked casually in his pocket as he laughed with fist over mouth at something said by the guard, shoulders shaking along.
The bright sunlight overhead shone down, dyeing a small patch of his hair golden.
It was as if fused together, still that little ray of sunlight as before - never failing to warm those around him.
That's why he was so well-liked by others.
Yu Na suddenly felt her legs turn heavy,
So heavy she couldn't even take a step.
Even after five years, the sight of him still... made her heart race like before.
It felt as if time had rewound back to freshman year.
Xiao Chen fearlessly yet politely standing his ground with her father: “Uncle, your daughter is an independent individual with her own mind; you should give her more space."
This happened when her father had forced Yu Na to participate in an event, but she slipped away midway to meet Xiao Chen instead.
Her father later found them, and wanted to directly take her away right there, with no regard for her dignity at all. Yu Na stubbornly refused to leave with him, resulting in a heated quarrel between father and daughter.
Unable to stand watching any further, Xiao Chen publicly debated reasoning with the business tycoon.
Yu Na still vividly remembered that scene til this day.
At the time, he was like a splash of dazzling color appearing in her dreary world.
Who knew five years on at their reunion, he would again play such a role.