Since the start of the school year more than a month ago, Old Yu, as the homeroom teacher of an ordinary class, had been living his days in blissful ease. On top of that, having a student who ranked first in the entire grade in his class meant he could walk anywhere with his head held high.

Beyond that, nearly a quarter of the top fifty spots on the grade rankings belonged to Class 18, and this enviable record meant he had long since stopped paying any attention to that endlessly trending “school tyrant secret admirer” post on the school’s online forum.

But what Yu Bingshan, who had spent over a decade teaching in peaceful obscurity, never expected was that the forum posts were nothing at all — there was something even more explosive waiting for him just around the corner.

His top student. The top student he treasured like a gem. That student’s sexual orientation seemed to be… a little different.

In truth, Old Yu wasn’t one to discriminate against these things. It was just that in today’s society, in an environment this complex and with information shifting so rapidly, same-sex relationships often encountered a great deal of obstacles and opposition.

He didn’t want a good student like Jiang Yan to be affected by idle gossip, potentially ruining a promising young talent.

So after Old Yu heard the full account relayed to him by Old Yang, he immediately had someone call Jiang Yan to his office.

He didn’t beat around the bush like he usually would. Once the student arrived, he went straight to the point and said, “Your situation — Teacher Yang has told me everything. I want you to know I understand.”

Jiang Yan: “……”

Old Yu looked at the young man before him, who was as clear and bright as a gentle breeze after rain, and his tone softened involuntarily. “It’s just — does your family know about this?”

“They don’t—” Jiang Yan instinctively started to respond, but the very next second he snapped back to reality. Know what exactly? He didn’t actually like boys. He quickly pushed back: “Teacher Yu, I’m not…”

Old Yu waved a hand, cutting off his words. “Teacher understands. Teacher knows. It really isn’t easy to explain this kind of situation to one’s family.”

Jiang Yan was left with a sentence stuck halfway up his throat, unable to go up or down.

Old Yu looked up and glanced at him again — with an expression that was either regret or something else — and sighed. “How about this: I’ve already spoken with Teacher Yang about your situation. We will keep this confidential for you. You don’t need to worry about anyone else finding out. But this matter is no small thing — no matter what, you should still let your family know.”

“……”

“But whatever the outcome, always remember this.” Old Yu weighed his words carefully and said with heartfelt sincerity, “Liking someone — that is not your fault.”

Jiang Yan’s eyelid twitched. He inexplicably felt like laughing, but when he thought about it more carefully, he actually found it rather touching.

In all fairness, Yu Bingshan was a genuinely good teacher. His teaching methods were also quite unconventional — he never suppressed a student’s nature. He was far more likely to counsel and guide than to scold.

In a situation like today’s, if it had been any other teacher, who knows, the matter might already have been blown wide open, possibly even escalating into a student psychological issue.

But Old Yu was different. He deeply respected his students. As long as you weren’t doing something truly terrible, he would basically leave you be.

More often than not, he was Class 18’s reliable and steadfast backup, a warm and broad safe harbor.

Jiang Yan thought that encountering a teacher like this during one’s school years was actually quite rare.

It was just that now was not the time to be moved. He promptly interrupted Old Yu’s lengthy speech: “Teacher Yu, please let me explain…”

“You don’t need to explain. Didn’t Teacher just say — I understand.” Old Yu picked up his teacup and took a sip of hot tea, offering comfort. “Teacher has been educating students for over a decade. What storm or wave haven’t I seen?”

Yu Bingshan wasn’t talking nonsense. He genuinely understood. Children of this age were at exactly the age when feelings first bloomed — but what was wrong with liking someone?

There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

No rule said a boy couldn’t like a boy.

Jiang Yan: “……”

Oh, for the love of—

Jiang Yan spent half a class period in Old Yu’s office. On his way back, the chemistry teacher happened to be out of the office, so without even asking permission, he walked straight in.

Lin Tao set down her phone and stared at his expressionless face for a few seconds, then cautiously leaned over and asked, “Old Yu didn’t say anything, did he?”

Jiang Yan’s hand paused as he flipped through his book. He turned to look at her, his tone light. “He didn’t say much.”

Then he looked back down, pressing his finger pad against the spine of the book, and said idly, “Just told me he supports me and understands me.”

“Hm?” Lin Tao looked at him in puzzlement. “Understands you how?”

The fingers Jiang Yan had pressed to the page tapped without rhythm. He glanced sideways at her and said, word by word, “Supports me. Understands me. Coming out of the closet.”

“……”

Lin Tao genuinely had not expected Old Yu to pull something like that. She froze for a few seconds, then couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing — completely disregarding the somewhat-unraveling look on a certain person’s face.

Jiang Yan stared at her for a few seconds. He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, and his voice sounded like it was being squeezed out through gritted teeth. “Is that funny?”

Lin Tao timely reined in her laughter, though her eyes were still full of an amusement she couldn’t hide. She said with forced sincerity, “It’s not funny. Not funny at all.”

Jiang Yan lightly closed his eyes, pressed his lips together, and held his breath for a moment, not wanting to say anything more.

But Lin Tao’s curiosity had been completely piqued. After a short pause, she reached out two fingers, pinched his sleeve, gave it a tug, and — without any concern for her life — asked again: “What exactly did Old Yu say to you?”

The hand Jiang Yan had balled into a fist trembled slightly. He controlled himself with great effort against the urge to hit someone. “I’m advising you not to ask anymore, or you might not live to see tomorrow’s sun.”

Lin Tao let out a soft noise, her long lashes curling upward at the tips, her amusement evident. “The weather forecast says it’ll rain tomorrow. There was no sun to see in the first place.”

“……”

She’s my girlfriend.

Can’t hit her.

Have to endure.

Jiang Yan loosened his tightly clenched hand. His slender, pale fingers grabbed at the air, then his thumb pressed down against the knuckle of his index finger and cracked it with a crisp pop. He drew out his words at length: “Girlfriend — you’re being a little bold today, aren’t you?”

“How am I being bold?” Lin Tao flatly denied it, making her case in her own defense. “I’m showing concern. Concern for my boyfriend who got called to the homeroom teacher’s office.”

She leaned over and blinked her eyes at him. Her gaze was deep and bright, as if it held a dazzling galaxy within. “Don’t slander me. I have the image of being a top-tier devoted girlfriend.”

“And so?” Jiang Yan reached out and pinched her chin, applying a bit of pressure. He leaned forward and down, their breath tangling together. “Why was this top-tier devoted girlfriend scrolling through that kind of post in class?”

“……” Lin Tao’s gaze drifted a little evasively. She patted his arm and quietly reminded him, “Boyfriend. We’re still in the classroom. Can you calm down.”

“Girlfriend is being too rowdy. Can’t calm down.”

He said that and then leaned a fraction closer still.

“……” Lin Tao was entirely no match for him and very quickly lowered her head in surrender. “I was wrong.”

Jiang Yan let out a low hum, feeling a rush of satisfaction like a long-awaited revenge. He deliberately dragged his finger pad slowly upward until it covered her lips, and said with clear enunciation, “Where were you wrong?”

“……”

This was absolutely taking a mile when given an inch.

Lin Tao was the type of person where if you take one step back, she’ll take one step back too — but if she takes one step back and you take yet another step forward, she’ll take two steps forward. And when a person acts on impulse, action always outruns thought.

She parted her lips, and using the downward force he was pressing with, she bit down on his fingers. The sharp edge of her upper teeth caught against his knuckle.

Jiang Yan froze for a moment. As he came back to his senses, the bitten finger instinctively curled — and accidentally grazed the tip of her tongue.

Both of them froze at the same time.

Lin Tao instinctively pressed her lips together. Her soft lips brushed lightly over the back of his finger.

The sensation between his fingers was vivid and unmistakable — warm and gently heated — the rosy lips against pale, beautiful hands forming a striking contrast.

Jiang Yan stared at the point where their two bodies had touched for a few seconds, his thoughts in chaos, feeling as though his mind was now full of nothing but inappropriate ideas.

He abruptly looked away. His throat bobbed, and his voice came out strangely hoarse. “Let go.”

Lin Tao’s entire body had gone rigid. Her face flushed red, her breath unsteady, and she let go.

Jiang Yan quickly pulled his hand back. His finger pad caught on one sharp, protruding tooth as he withdrew — a faint, brief sting.

As his fingers left her lips, a thin silver thread trailed behind. The scene was suggestive and delicately enticing.

Lin Tao had no idea how things had suddenly started developing in this direction. All she knew was that she was so overheated she was about ready to explode.

And there was a small, inexplicable embarrassment she couldn’t put into words.

Both of them went quiet.

Jiang Yan took a tissue and wiped the dampness from his fingers. Once he had cleaned them, on the first finger below the fingernail, there was a clearly visible ring-shaped bite mark.

He could not help but recall the sensation of his finger being enveloped in soft, wet warmth — the tingling, numbing feeling of a warm tongue tip lightly sweeping across the pad of his fingertip.

Every bit of it, every trace of the sensation, was amplified infinitely.

Damn.

Jiang Yan cursed under his breath, the line of his jaw taut. He raised a hand and rubbed his brow bone, pressing down the countless waves of restlessness surging up from inside him.

After this episode, Lin Tao and Jiang Yan spent the entire rest of the afternoon in composed silence, sitting still as mountains — but Hu Hanghang and Song Yuan sitting behind them were having a very hard time controlling their hands.

They were only one desk away from the two in front, and just by raising their heads they could see every small movement the pair made; sometimes if they stretched up just a little they could even see the two holding hands under the desk.

Not long after Jiang Yan returned, Hu Hanghang and Song Yuan finished a round of their game. They looked up — and caught the pair with their noses nearly nuzzling each other, on the verge of actual contact.

Hu Hanghang and Song Yuan exchanged a glance and felt they should probably say something. This was still the classroom. Could they not maintain even a basic sense of propriety?

But just as Hu Hanghang extended a hand halfway to get their attention, he watched Lin Tao open her mouth and bite down on Jiang Yan’s finger.

Hu Hanghang: “……”

Song Yuan: “……”

This was absolutely intolerable.

What did they think the classroom was for?! Holding hands here and there was one thing, but pushing the limits all the way to this level?!

Naturally, this kind of thing couldn’t be said in front of a girl, so during the evening self-study period, Hu Hanghang specifically created a small group chat and added Jiang Yan, Xu Yichuan, Guan Che, Song Yuan, and a few others.

The group name cut straight to the point:

Can you act like a human being?

By the time Jiang Yan was added, the other two who hadn’t been there had already been briefed by Hu Hanghang on the full sequence of events:

Guan Che: Holy sh*t! What has the world come to? Moral decay!

Xu Yichuan: Is that something a human being could even do?!

Hu Hanghang: Not something a human does. No human could do something like that.

Song Yuan: Jiang Yan has not been acting human for a very long time.

Guan Che: Condolences to the few of you in the same class as him.

Jiang Yan: ……

The moment he appeared in the chat, all four launched a rapid-fire barrage at him, one message after another: Jiang Yan, can you please act like a human being?

Jiang Yan laughed in spite of his irritation. He said nothing, and simply left the group.

The four had been mid-rant when they realized something was off. Hu Hanghang glanced at the group member list, then, right in front of a whole classroom of classmates, let out a yell: “What the — Yan bro, can you please act like a human being?!”

Hu Hanghang’s voice was already naturally loud, and this shout came out in a state of extreme shock, making it even more resonant and booming. It drew nearly half the classroom to turn and look over.

Jiang Yan: “……”

Damn him.

He wanted to kill someone.

The last period of evening self-study ended. Soothing music played over the school broadcast, the entire campus shimmered with lights, and laughter floated in from the corridors.

Lin Tao had been working through practice papers for all three evening study periods, and when the dismissal bell rang, she had just gotten to the last question. She planned to finish it before leaving, so she kept her grip on her pen and didn’t stop.

Jiang Yan finished a documentary episode, rubbed the bridge of his nose, glanced over at her still sitting in her seat, and asked, “Not leaving?”

“Just this one question.”

Lin Tao didn’t look up. She was bent over her work, and the line from her neck to her back was clean and graceful.

The classroom was warm. She had taken off her outer jacket and was wearing a thin sweater. As she leaned forward over the desk, the sweater clung close to her back, and her beautiful shoulder blades were visible.

Jiang Yan felt like some kind of pervert.

He quickly looked away and lowered his head to stare at his phone. The skin behind his ear and along his neck had taken on a suspicious shade of red.

Lin Tao hadn’t noticed any of this. She got stuck halfway through the problem, set down her pen, picked up the test paper, and moved it toward him. “Help me look at this question.”

She said it, then glanced at him and frowned slightly. “Are you hot? Even your ears are red.”

“……” Jiang Yan controlled the urge to touch his ear, turned and opened the window, and said, swallowing quietly, “It is a bit warm.”

Lin Tao didn’t think too much of it. She tapped the question on the test paper with her pen. “How do you do this one?”

“Let me see.” Jiang Yan moved the test paper in front of himself, and as he did so, quietly increased the distance between himself and the girl.

But it was absolutely useless.

The gap between their seats was only so wide. No matter how far he retreated, his every breath was still filled with her familiar, sweet girlish scent.

He had no way to concentrate his thoughts at all.

At this point there were only the last two students on duty left in the classroom, mopping the floor. But very soon those two tidied up and left the classroom as well.

Before leaving, one of them called out to Lin Tao, “Remember to turn off the lights when you guys go, okay.”

Lin Tao smiled. “Sure, got it.”

The two left the classroom quickly.

Lin Tao twirled her pen and turned to look at the silent Jiang Yan. “Have you figured it out?”

Jiang Yan raised his eyes and looked at her. “Yes.”

His words had barely fallen when he suddenly reached out and gripped her arm. Before she could react, he pulled her toward him. The cool, crisp scent of mint and her light, sweet fruity fragrance mingled together pleasantly. His warm palm covered the back of her head, and without any hesitation, he kissed her.

He had made up his mind.

He chose to not act like a human being.

Author’s note: Old Yu: “What scene haven’t I seen.”