Chapter 14

Outside the nightclub, thunder rumbled; inside, people were drunkenly oblivious.

Reality lay outside the doors; dreams dwelled within.

And there they stood, between dreams and reality, with thunder and music intermingling.

Xiao Chen grabbed Yu Na's slender, icy wrist, startled by the cool sensation.

In fact, it wasn't the first time he had grasped her wrist.

Back when they were in college together and Yu Na started to cross the street obliviously, he had grabbed her wrist then too as a car approached.

Back then, her wrist had still been soft and plump, though her figure was slim but not bony.

She looked like someone who had been pampered and raised in comfort.

She gave off the impression that she was lively, cute, yet refined.

But now, for some reason, the innocence had faded, replaced by an uncommon aloofness.

She was only suitable to appreciate from afar.

It seemed outsiders could never enter her world. They could secretly steal a glance at her beauty from a distance, remark on it, then leave again, with that being the best interaction possible.

Yu Na's heart thumped heavily with another crack of thunder.

She uncontrollably moved to stand in front of Xiao Chen. Perhaps affected by the thunder, her heartbeat grew faster too.

If he pulled her forward just a bit more, she would tumble right into his embrace.

But he only drew her up to stand in front of him.

Then his arm encircled her to reach around behind her back.

He pulled up the hood on the back of his sweater over her head.

Yu Na glanced down again at the jacket. She wasn't wearing it zipped up, just draped over her shoulders.

She stood motionless, secretly hoping that Xiao Chen would help zip it up for her.

And Xiao Chen had already raised his hand, but then he abruptly halted his motion, as if realizing something. He quickly withdrew his hand again.

Yu Na felt her heart sink down too.

"Zip it up yourself, it's cold outside," said Xiao Chen.

Yu Na: "......"

He really did keep his distance from people.

Even in the past, no matter how close he was with a girl, others would not misunderstand.

Because he was always conscious of maintaining proper boundaries. After Yu Na zipped up the jacket herself, they returned together to the car.

As soon as they sat down inside, even before she could lower the hood, she saw a WeChat message from Song Yan pop up on her phone: 【Teacher, he's at the KTV on Floor 2, Room 1 at No. 52 Zhonghai Road.】

Seeing the message, Yu Na was overjoyed. "Now I know where he is!"

Xiao Chen asked, "Where?"

Yu Na showed him the message and asked, "But do you know exactly where that is? I haven't been here long."

"I know the place," said Xiao Chen, suppressing his anger as he drove directly toward that KTV.

The KTV wasn't far from Xiao Chen's home, but he hadn't intended on going to that area.

Qiao Rui loved playing games, especially recently.

So Xiao Chen had automatically assumed he must be with some friends playing games at an internet cafe.

The windshield wipers swayed back and forth across the front window, mingling their squeaking with the whirring air conditioning inside the quiet, oppressive atmosphere of the car.

Xiao Chen used to have an optimistic disposition. Unless someone truly angered him, he wouldn't show his unhappiness over other matters.

So Yu Na had never seen him angry before.

But in fact, it was precisely this type of person whose anger could be terrifying when provoked.

Those who tended to bury things inside while enduring patiently―when they finally lost control and erupted, things would spiral out of hand.

Xiao Chen was this sort of person.

The car pulled up outside the KTV. The two of them got out and headed upstairs to Room 1 on the second floor.

Inside, a group of lively young men and women were partying exuberantly.

They seemed around the same age as Qiao Rui and ought to have been students too.

But Yu Na didn't recognize anyone there. She hadn't been at the school long and only remembered her own students.

Yet one student inside recognized Teacher Yu Na.

Afraid she would notice something amiss, he hastily hid himself behind a rotund youth.

Qiao Rui was not among them inside the room.

Without greeting the others there, Xiao Chen directly asked, "Where's Qiao Rui?"

His forcibly suppressed anger frightened everyone present.

One bolder youth answered, "Bro, we heard you were coming, so Qiao Rui already ran back home first."

Xiao Chen fell silent, but it was right then that Song Yan contacted the cowering student to tell him his elder brother was looking for him.

Qiao Rui was so scared that his microphone slipped from his hand to the floor.

Xiao Chen had said he had matters that evening and might not be home. And a friend happened to be having a birthday celebration at the KTV, so Qiao Rui had taken advantage of no one being home to join the fun. But now suddenly hearing his brother had returned after all...

Qiao Rui promptly called a taxi to rush back home.

......After getting back in the car, Xiao Chen called Qiao Rui but his phone was still switched off.

He had originally intended to take Yu Na back home first, but unable to get through on the phone, he decided to return home first himself to check that Qiao Rui was really there.

In about seven or eight minutes, the car pulled into an upscale housing complex. Yu Na glanced at the name―Yunwan Mansion.

The car stopped below one building. As Xiao Chen undid his seatbelt, he asked Yu Na, "Will you wait here for me? Or― " "I'm scared of the dark," Yu Na quickly put in.

Implying that she intended to go upstairs with him, just phrased more tactfully.

Xiao Chen was in no mood for joking around. The two of them headed upstairs together.

The moment he opened the door, they saw Qiao Rui inside holding a feather duster. He seemed to have been plastering his ear against the door to listen for them.

Realizing Xiao Chen must have returned to interrogate him over what happened, but not expecting Teacher Yu Na to be with him too―wearing his brother's clothes no less.

"Teacher Yu..." Qiao Rui blurted out blankly.

Yu Na's face was also very ugly. Not only angry, but the earlier chill from being soaked in the rain showed too.

Qiao Rui froze for a second before holding out the feather duster in both hands. "Bro, Teacher Yu, go ahead and hit me."

Xiao Chen gave a mirthless smile. "I won't hit you. But I will be telling your mother about this."

"No, don't!" Qiao Rui panicked. "Don't let my mom know no matter what, or she'll fly over right away to tan my hide!"

Xiao Chen really did take out his phone to look up Qiao Rui's mother's number. "Works for me, saves me some trouble."

"Bro, I really didn't want to go at first, but they kept insisting I join them. You said you wouldn't be coming back home tonight, so I was bored by myself at home..."

Qiao Rui's voice grew smaller and smaller.

"Oh?" Xiao Chen sat down on the sofa, arms crossed. "So when I'm not home, neither are you? Tell me, what other surprises have been going on without my knowledge?"

Seeing Qiao Rui shoot Teacher Yu a pleading look, Xiao Chen glanced over at her too.

Yu Na's bare face was pale, seemingly a bit uncomfortable.

Propping herself up with some effort, she asked Qiao Rui, "Do you know there's class tomorrow?"

"I know..."

"We went to the place you were playing at just now too. It still reeked of alcohol in there. Honestly tell me how much you drank."

"I absolutely didn't drink any alcohol!" Qiao Rui felt wronged and suddenly yelled, "They wanted me to drink some, but I was afraid of getting caught being hungover at school tomorrow, so I didn't dare imbibe any."

Afraid they wouldn't believe him, he impulsively continued, "If you don't believe me, go ahead and smell my breath!"

Qiao Rui really did open his mouth, about to lean in toward Teacher Yu.

Yu Na instinctively recoiled...

At the same time, Xiao Chen also walked over. Pointing toward Qiao Rui's bedroom, he ordered, "I'll settle up with you tomorrow. Go take a shower now, then get your ass to bed."

Still holding the feather duster, Qiao Rui asked in puzzlement, "Huh? You're not going to hit me?"

Xiao Chen snatched the duster away and brandished it at him. "If you don't march yourself to bed this instant, not only will I beat your behind, I'll be telling your mother too."

"Good night, Bro and Teacher Yu!"

Qiao Rui bolted out of there, on the verge of running and tripping in his haste. But halfway to the bathroom, he seemed to recall something. His footsteps halted.

Glancing back over, his gaze lingered a moment longer on the jacket Teacher Yu wore. His brother's frequent outerwear.

"Bro, Teacher Yu doesn't seem to be feeling well either. Why don't you two just spend the night here since it's cold outside?"

Hand hovering over the doorknob, he added, "Don't worry, after my shower I'll go straight to my room and won't come out again tonight."

"......?"