Sang Zhi actually had no idea how old he was. But hearing him say that and recalling Sang Yan's age, she put on a stern face and said unhappily, "You are quite old."
"..."
You are quite old.
Quite old.
Old.
Although Duan Jiaxu didn't particularly care about age, hearing these words still felt like a stab to his heart.
Being labeled as "old" just after turning twenty, Duan Jiaxu didn't know how to describe his current mood. He slowly let out a breath and asked, word by word, "I'm old?"
Sang Zhi nodded again. "You're old."
"..."
A few seconds of silence.
"Kid, you think I'm old," Duan Jiaxu stared straight at her, probably finding it too absurd and ridiculous, he was speechless to the point of amusement, "then why don't you call me uncle?"
"Oh." Sang Zhi thought for a moment, finding it somewhat reasonable, and immediately changed her address. "Uncle."
"..."
The little girl's eyes were round and large, clear and pure, untainted by any impurities. When she spoke, she was serious and earnest, as if every word she uttered came straight from the heart.
Using the most innocent expression to twist the knife in the wound.
Chen Mingxu, who was nearby, interrupted their conversation at this point. He poured a cup of water for Duan Jiaxu and said somewhat awkwardly, "Sorry, please sit for a while. I drank too much water, I need to go to the restroom."
Duan Jiaxu adjusted his emotions and replied, "Alright."
Perhaps out of sheer boredom, after Chen Mingxu left, Duan Jiaxu turned his head and brought up the previous matter with Sang Zhi again: "Do you know that if you call me that, your brother would have to call me that too?"
Sang Zhi answered honestly, "I didn't know."
Duan Jiaxu: "So, should you call me brother or uncle?"
Sang Zhi thought for a moment and reluctantly said, "Then I'll call you brother."
Duan Jiaxu's brows relaxed, and he said leisurely, "You're quite protective of your brother, huh."
"What protection?" Sang Zhi didn't understand his words. "Why would I protect him? He always bullies me. I just don't want him to call you uncle."
"Why?"
"He looks older than you."
"..."
Not expecting such an answer, Duan Jiaxu was momentarily stunned, then suddenly burst out laughing. Suppressing his laughter, he repeated, "Sang Yan looks older than me?"
Sang Zhi: "Yeah."
Even though it was a victory in the competition of "who's older."
Duan Jiaxu's mood improved greatly. He cleared his throat and asked, pretending to be humble, "Kid, how can you tell he's older than me?" After a pause, he added, "I think we look about the same."
Sang Zhi's gaze swept over his face, then quickly lowered as she said slowly, "Well, there's still a bit of a gap."
"..."
The next moment, a woman knocked on the open office door, her eyes looking in their direction, appearing somewhat shy. "Hello, is Fu Zhengchu's homeroom teacher here?"
Teacher Zhang quickly stood up as well. "Yes! You're Zhengchu's older sister, right?"
The woman smiled slightly and walked in. "That's right."
Fu Zhengchu, who had been standing for a long time, couldn't help but complain, "Sis, why did you take so long to get here?"
Sang Zhi naturally looked over.
The woman's facial features bore some resemblance to Fu Zhengchu's. She wore a white dress and had a very student-like aura. She wore light makeup, her lip color was subtle, and her face was delicate and striking. She explained quietly to Fu Zhengchu, "I came as soon as class ended. It's a bit far."After speaking, the woman noticed Duan Jiaxu sitting in the chair. Her gaze lingered for two seconds before quickly shifting away, her tone seeming even more nervous: "Sorry, Teacher Zhang, have you been waiting long?"
Teacher Zhang waved his hand: "It's fine, and thank you for making the trip here."
Because of Sang Zhi's earlier words, Duan Jiaxu had been laughing for a long time. The corners of his mouth were still upturned, his gaze fixed on Sang Zhi without moving: "When will your teacher be back?"
Sang Zhi averted her eyes: "Should be soon."
"Little Sang Zhi, your brother is a bit bored," Duan Jiaxu teased her idly. "Come and say something nice to cheer me up?"
Sang Zhi looked at him suspiciously: "Say what?"
"Just say," Duan Jiaxu replied without thinking, "Brother Jia Xu is the most handsome in the world."
"I'm not a repeater," Sang Zhi said unhappily.
"I just want you to praise me," Duan Jiaxu said. "I'm not treating you like a repeater."
Sang Zhi refused: "I don't want to."
Duan Jiaxu wasn't angry, dragging out his tone as he teased: "Stingy little thing."
At that moment, Chen Mingxu, who had gone to the restroom, finally returned. He sat down in his seat and said with a chuckle, "Sorry, my stomach suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable."
Duan Jiaxu: "It's fine, no rush."
Then, he pushed the untouched cup of water on the table toward Sang Zhi and asked, "Thirsty?"
The "stingy little thing" didn't respond.
Duan Jiaxu tapped twice beside the cup with his knuckle: "Drink water."
After that, he turned to Chen Mingxu and listened to him attentively.
Only then did Sang Zhi pick up the cup and take a silent sip. Noticing the empty table and remembering that he hadn't had any water since arriving, she hesitated for a moment before finally walking to the water dispenser to pour him a cup of water.
One thing Sang Zhi found most annoying about Chen Mingxu was that every time he called in parents, he said exactly the same things. Having heard it several times, Sang Zhi felt she could recite it backward. Upon reflection, Chen Mingxu really did resemble the "repeater" they had just mentioned.
She felt so bored she wanted to yawn, her thoughts beginning to drift.
Suddenly, she noticed that the atmosphere next door was quite harmonious, unlike her side where she only heard Chen Mingxu constantly complaining.
Sang Zhi listened carefully.
Teacher Zhang suddenly laughed: "Zhengchu is just poor in academics, but he's good in every other way. This time, it's not because he did anything wrong that I called you in. It's because he suddenly rushed into the office yesterday, shouting that he wanted his parents called in, which even startled me."
"..."
Hearing this, Fu Zhengchu immediately looked at Sang Zhi.
Their eyes met.
—Silence.
Not expecting her to hear, Fu Zhengchu's expression changed, looking extremely embarrassed as if he wanted to find a hole to bury himself in the next moment.
Sang Zhi clearly found it unbelievable and silently tapped her temple twice with her finger.
Silently asking: Is there something wrong with your head?
Who would actively request to have their parents called in?
Fu Zhengchu forced calm and mouthed, "I'll explain another day," before looking away.
As he turned his head, Sang Zhi happened to notice Fu Zhengchu's sister glancing in her direction, though not at her.
Sang Zhi followed her gaze.
Sure enough, she was looking at Duan Jiaxu.
Thinking it was just a coincidence, Sang Zhi later saw her glancing over several more times.Whether by accident or for some other reason,
Sang Zhi lowered her gaze, slowly clenched her fist, then subtly shifted her position to block the woman's line of sight—
The conversation lasted about forty minutes.
After finishing his complaint, Chen Mingxu took a sip of water: "That's pretty much it. Honestly, I don't really want to trouble you to come here all the time, but Sang Zhi really gives me a headache. When I asked her to stand up and answer a question, she asked me if I didn't know the answer, if I called on her because I wanted her to teach me, and even said she couldn't steal my job. This distracted the other kids from paying attention in class."
Duan Jiaxu paused, glanced sideways at Sang Zhi: "There was such a thing?"
Sang Zhi immediately bowed her head, pretending to be reflecting.
Chen Mingxu nodded: "I've communicated with your mother several times before, taking up a lot of your time, but it's for this child's own good. Sang Zhi is very smart; if she studies hard, she can definitely get into No. 1 High School in the future. Please keep an eye on her when you go back."
"Okay," Duan Jiaxu said, "I'll discipline her properly when we get back."
The two left the office.
Things had gone more smoothly than expected. Chen Mingxu hadn't suspected a thing, and the heavy weight in Sang Zhi's chest lifted. She looked at Duan Jiaxu, her expression growing more affectionate: "Thank you, brother."
Duan Jiaxu hummed in acknowledgment: "Going home?"
"Yeah," Sang Zhi blinked, her tone carrying a hint of ingratiation because he had helped solve her problem, "What else would we do?"
"Didn't I," Duan Jiaxu's voice paused, then he leisurely reminded her, "just say I haven't started disciplining you yet."
"..."
These words felt like a bucket of cold water poured over Sang Zhi's head. Her joy instantly faded by half, and she reluctantly muttered: "Are you going to lecture me too?"
"Let's go," Duan Jiaxu said noncommittally, "Brother will take you home."
Since he didn't answer, Sang Zhi thought his earlier remark was just a joke. Before she could sigh in relief, Duan Jiaxu continued: "I'll lecture you slowly on the way."
Sang Zhi: "..."
They walked side by side toward the school gate.
He did give her some buffer time and didn't bring up the matter again while still on campus. Sang Zhi nervously gripped her backpack strap and couldn't help saying: "When my brother goes to see the teacher for me, he never scolds me afterward."
Duan Jiaxu: "Really?"
Sang Zhi: "Of course it's true!"
Duan Jiaxu stared at her as if gauging the truth of her words, then took his phone out of his pocket: "I'll ask."
"..."
"Wait!" Sang Zhi was startled, hopping to snatch his phone, "If you ask, my brother will find out! If he finds out, the whole world will know! Then your trip today would be for nothing!"
"Brother just needs to check," Duan Jiaxu teased her like a cat, raising his hand up and down, not letting her reach it, "I came all this way. If I get tricked by a kid like you, wouldn't that be pitiful?"
At that moment, a female voice from behind interrupted their interaction. The voice was soft, almost inaudible, and tinged with obvious nervousness: "H-hello!"
The two instinctively turned around.
It was Fu Zhengchu's sister. She stood alone; Fu Zhengchu was nowhere to be seen.The woman wasn't particularly tall, with a slender build. Her delicate features were petite and elegant, her cheeks flushed pink. She looked at Duan Jiaxu, flustered as she pulled her phone from her pocket: "Can I have your contact info?"
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Duan Jiaxu glanced at her but remained silent.
It felt like a silent rejection.
The woman's expression grew increasingly embarrassed and uncomfortable.
Sang Zhi's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, unable to decipher Duan Jiaxu's intentions. Before he could respond, she suddenly lifted her head and blurted out something shocking: "Sister, my brother has had twenty-nine girlfriends."
Duan Jiaxu's brow twitched as he lowered his gaze to look at her.
"Don't be nervous, he'll probably give it to you." Not daring to meet Duan Jiaxu's eyes, Sang Zhi spoke with an earnest and cheerful tone, "He changes girlfriends every day. This month, he's still one short—probably you."
"..."
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