Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 16 Meetings and Leave of Absence

"I am deeply saddened by this."

The speech on stage continued, and the students below the stage, except for the first few rows, began to whisper and chat among themselves. With boys and girls sitting together, there were plenty of topics to discuss.

However, they still know their limits. Now that the principal is speaking, the homeroom teachers come over to check on things from time to time, so they don't make it too obvious.

"Our student Ai Liang played a crucial role in solving this case, advancing the investigation and assisting the police in obtaining key evidence! His character and spirit are worthy of our learning and emulation. We hereby commend him! Please welcome Ai Liang to the stage!"

After the principal finished speaking on the stage, he led the applause, and soon the applause from below was thunderous.

Ai Liang, who was reading a novel, suddenly heard someone on stage call his name. He looked up, somewhat confused.

"Xiao Ai, hurry up and go up." Seeing the homeroom teacher's gaze sweep over him, Ma Yu quickly shoved his phone under his buttocks.

Ai Liang put down her novel and walked towards the podium.

"It is thanks to Ai Liang's efforts that the real culprit was caught so quickly. The police have specially sent this banner to commend him!" The principal happily put his arm around Ai Liang's shoulder and turned him towards the audience.

This was clearly an attempt to exaggerate Ai Liang's contribution. Ai Liang glanced at the principal and then at Yue Qihua in the audience, but didn't say anything more.

The principal finally revealed the true form of the cylinder he had been holding and handed it to Ai Liang in front of the photographer's lens.

Snap, snap, snap, snap.

Another round of applause erupted as they accepted the banner.

Ai Liang forced a smile at the camera. Without a doubt, the banner was sent by Shi Feng. He probably wanted to satisfy the typical teenage student's desire for recognition, so he sent it to the school, which led to the principal's last-minute addition.

Ai Liang returned to her seat amidst the gazes of all the teachers and students, causing the girls who couldn't see her to half-squat and stand up. Even after being reprimanded by their respective homeroom teachers, many people still looked in her direction.

"Sorry."

"It's ok."

The seemingly nonsensical conversation between Yue Qihua and Ai Liang puzzled Yang Xingyue: "Huahua, what are you two talking about? I don't understand."

"Of course, I should apologize to Ai Liang. What else could it be?" Yue Qihua said, biting on her lollipop stick and looking at the principal with a hint of reproach in her eyes.

Why the sudden apology?

“Apologize for my uncle. He clearly used Ai Liang’s credit to bring glory to the school without her permission.” Yue Qihua’s tone was very displeased. “I know he’s been under a lot of pressure lately because of Gao Jiajia’s death, but isn’t it going too far to use Ai Liang without permission and reveal that he assisted the police in the case? He should at least have given us a heads-up!”

Yue Qihua bit the lollipop into pieces and then took out a napkin to wrap it up. "That's just how he is. He doesn't even have the most basic respect for people who are young, which is why my grandfather doesn't like him much as his eldest son."

After Yue Qihua's explanation, Yang Xingyue finally understood. She hurriedly comforted Ai Liang: "We'll have Grandpa teach Uncle Yue a lesson later. Ai Liang, don't take it to heart."

Incidentally, Yang Xingyue's grandfather is Yue Qihua's grandfather. She has lived in Yue Qihua's family since she was a child. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the two families are one family.

The parents of both sides arranged the marriage between their unborn children, but the marriage was called off when both were daughters.

"It's okay, I don't care."

Ai Liang rolled up the banner and put it away, but he had lost interest in reading the novel. He took out his phone and started chatting with netizens.

"But Xiao Ai, did you really go to assist the police with a case over the weekend?" Ma Yu didn't want to get involved in other people's family affairs, so he changed the subject.

"Ah."

"He spent more than ten hours squatting in someone else's residential area?"

"Ah."

"Uh, why did you go to such lengths?"

Ma Yu cautiously probed.

Putting aside others, even he was starting to wonder if Ai Liang liked Gao Jiajia. Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths for a girl who confessed to him?

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," Ma Yu added immediately.

If Ai Liang really accepts Gao Jiajia's confession, wouldn't that be like reopening old wounds?

Compared to Ma Yuyue, Qi Hua was much more direct: "Ai Liang, just tell me straight, do you like Gao Jiajia or not? Did you accept her confession that night?"

"Hey! Hua Hua!" Yang Xingyue's expression changed immediately. On Friday, Fang Xiaoxiao joked at the milk tea shop that Ai Liang liked Gao Jiajia. Ai Liang never answered Fang Xiaoxiao's question directly and always chose to change the subject.

What was said in jest was taken seriously by Yang Xingyue, who had been thinking about it for the past few days and felt very uneasy.

"I don't like her, and I didn't accept her confession."

Ai Liang raised her head, which had been lowered: "I just saw her father crying so sadly and wanted to do something."

"Did you hear that?" Yue Qihua said, glancing at Yang Xingyue. Yang Xingyue had been sighing constantly these past few days, which was driving Yue Qihua crazy.

Yang Xingyue avoided her gaze, feeling embarrassed.

Of the four, only Yue Qihua remained convinced that Ai Liang's actions were not motivated by Gao Jiajia. After all, she was the first person to know Ai Liang and understood her personality much better than Yang Xingyue and Ma Yu.

The conference on stage was still going on, and the morning passed by in this way. As the principal gave a speech to summarize the conference, the students returned to their classrooms one after another, and some of them simply went to the cafeteria for lunch.

There was still more than half an hour before school ended at noon, and this time was specifically set aside for students to ask for leave.

In the final month of exam preparation, many parents are spending money to hire special tutors for their children. At 30,000 yuan per day for 21 days, that averages out to 10,000 yuan per week – this is the basic cost of tutoring for exam preparation.

If you're willing to spend the money, some tutors can even transform a student who hasn't studied in three years into a top student in just one month. Of course, this is on the premise that the student is willing to cooperate.

Ai Liang's method of teaching Yang Xingyue is a common method used in this kind of tutor preparation exam.

The group returned to the teaching building. It wasn't as crowded as when they left because most students had gone directly to the cafeteria or restaurants outside for meals.

Since graduation was approaching, they gradually became bolder. During graduation season, as long as it wasn't a serious violation of discipline, the teachers would turn a blind eye.

Just as Ma Yu was complaining about needing to get a new phone with a larger battery during the summer vacation, a middle-aged woman in her thirties stopped them in front of them: "Ma Yu, where's Xiao Xiao?"

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Ma Yu asked, somewhat surprised.

"I came here to sign your leave slips, but where is Xiaoxiao?" Ma Yu's mother kept asking about Fang Xiaoxiao's whereabouts.

“You need to go to the teacher’s office to get a signature. What are you doing blocking the way here? Let’s go, let’s go.” Ma Yu pushed his mother toward the office with both hands.

"Hey, you still haven't told me where Xiaoxiao ran off to. The student has to be present to sign anything." Ma Yu's mother looked around as Ma Yu pushed her along.

"I'm here!"

Fang Xiaoxiao's voice came from the stairwell.

"Hey!" Fang Xiaoxiao buried her head in Ma Yu's mother's arms. Anyone who didn't know better would think this was her biological mother. Ma Yu himself was left to the side, watching Fang Xiaoxiao act cute with his mother.

"Ugh"

Ma Yu sighed and said, "I suspect I was adopted by them."

Yue Qihua looked at Fang Xiaoxiao, who was acting coquettishly, and said, "Isn't it great? At least you won't have to worry about the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the future."

"That's what I'm worried about! Both Xiaoxiao's dad and my parents spoil her. If I make her angry in the future, I'm afraid I'll be kicked out of the house."

Ma Yu's words were filled with despair for the future.

Ai Liang glanced at him but didn't say anything. In his opinion, this was a happy trouble, because he had never experienced what family affection was in his life.

According to Ai Liang, Ma Yu's relationship with Fang Xiaoxiao is similar to that of Yue Qihua and Yang Xingyue. The two families have been neighbors for decades and know each other very well. Both sets of parents support their relationship.

"Come on, Mom will take you to the office to ask for leave."

Ma Yu's mother chuckled, pinched Fang Xiaoxiao's cheek, then turned and pulled Fang Xiaoxiao away.

"Mom! Don't forget about me!" Upon seeing this, Ma Yu hurriedly chased after her, forgetting his casual conversation with Ai Liang and the others.

"Don't you have legs? Can't you keep up by yourself?" Ma Yu's mother's tone was full of disdain, but when she turned to Fang Xiaoxiao, her face turned into a smile: "Remember to tell me which one is your homeroom teacher."

"Yes! My homeroom teacher wears gold-rimmed glasses."

For some reason, watching Ma Yu's retreating figure, Ai Liang suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, like a mother and daughter leaving their dog at home on a spring outing.

Seeing Ma Yu's disheveled appearance, Yang Xingyue chuckled and then asked Ai Liang, "Ai Liang, aren't you going to ask for leave?"

Ai Liang, busy replying to messages on her phone, asked without looking up, "I already invited you, what about you?"

"Huahua and I don't need the homeroom teacher's signature. We can just tell Huahua's uncle."

Seeing Ai Liang chatting with netizens on his phone again, Yang Xingyue poked his arm and said, "Ai Liang, there are two girls next to you. Can you stop staring at your phone all the time? It's making us feel awkward."

"Oh, sorry."

"You two must be quite close, right? What do you usually talk about?"

Yang Xingyue leaned closer to see Ai Liang's chat interface. The two were very close, and Yang Xingyue's hair was hanging down to Ai Liang's neck. Her hair was cool and refreshing, a little itchy but also very comfortable.

Ai Liang reacted quickly, turning off her phone just as Yang Xingyue leaned in. Yang Xingyue only had time to see one name.

"Ugh, so stingy." Yang Xingyue lightly patted his shoulder, feigning displeasure. It was more of a coquettish gesture than a venting of frustration.

Yue Qihua rested her chin on her hand and asked, "Speaking of which, Ai Liang, you've known that online friend for a while now, right? I remember when we first met, you were always on your phone chatting with him. Have you ever met in person?"

"Huh? We've known each other for so long?" Yang Xingyue was a little surprised.

Online friends are usually those who start off chatting enthusiastically about a certain topic. But as time goes by and people meet new people, old online friends gradually lose contact and become a thing of the past. It's extremely rare to find someone like Ai Liang who has known someone for several years and can still chat with them.

“She’s not from Nevada, we’ve never met, and we don’t plan to meet. Let’s just keep things as they are.” Ai Liang reopened her phone and explained without looking up.

Yue Qihua was slightly curious: "I'm a little curious about who could possibly be able to chat with someone as taciturn as you."

“It’s mostly her talking and me listening,” Ai Liang replied.

Yang Xingyue smiled and said, "Is the other person male or female? It should be a male."

Ai Liang glanced at her: "She said she was a woman, but I don't really know the truth. She usually talks to me about trivial things in life, like firewood and rice, or about her work experience. I guess she is around twenty-five to thirty years old."

'She occasionally checks in on my life.' Ai Liang didn't say this aloud, but repeated it in her heart.

In Ai Liang's heart, she always regarded this online friend as a close friend. Although they usually talked about trivial things, these trivial things were full of life, which was something she could not feel in the apartment.

Moreover, there are some things that are inconvenient to say in front of acquaintances, but can be said freely on the Internet. Ai Liang has also poured out her grievances and complained about her family to others. Anyway, everyone is a stranger and they don't know each other, so it doesn't matter if they know some things.

Ai Liang chose to keep it a secret from Yang Xingyue and the others, as he did not want to mix other feelings into their simple classmate relationship.

Ai Liang looked up and glanced around the classroom. Including them, there were fewer than ten people, and they were all busy with their own things. He put away his phone, stood up, and said, "It's getting late, I'm going to eat now."

Yang Xingyue glanced at the classroom clock and said, "It's already this late. The lower grades are about to finish class. Ai Liang, why don't we go together?"

"No, thank you." Ai Liang politely declined Yang Xingyue's invitation and left the classroom alone, heading towards the cafeteria.

They left swiftly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

Yang Xingyue frowned and looked at Yue Qihua with a wronged expression.

Yue Qihua innocently peeled off a piece of chewing gum and threw it into her mouth: "Why are you looking at me? You know Ai Liang's personality. How could he possibly sit with us in a place like the cafeteria? It's fine in the classroom, but if we eat together in the cafeteria, it's just too conspicuous."

Yang Xingyue said somewhat unwillingly, "He even went to the bookstore with me on the weekend."

"Let's keep things separate. Going to the bookstore with you on the weekend is to help you choose study guides. But what's the point of going to the cafeteria together? To tell you about the chemical reactions that happen to the food on your plate?"

Yue Qihua said bluntly, "Think carefully, besides tutoring you, has Ai Liang ever had any other interactions with you?"

"Forehead"

After Yue Qihua said that, Yang Xingyue realized that it seemed to be true.

"So when you're alone with Ai Liang, try to talk about other things. Don't always bury yourself in studying and ask him to explain. Otherwise, you two won't have any common ground except for studying."

"But what should we talk about?"

Yang Xingyue pondered for a while but couldn't come up with a solution, so she had to ask her Huahua for help again.

“Doesn’t Ai Liang usually like reading novels? Let’s talk about novels, what else can we talk about? You buy two novels, give him one as a thank you gift, and keep the other for yourself. Then find an opportunity to discuss the plot together.” Yue Qihua immediately proposed a solution, an idea that made Yang Xingyue’s eyes light up.

"That's right, Huahua is so smart!" Yang Xingyue hugged Yue Qihua tightly, rubbing against her chest with a bright smile.

"Alright, get up quickly. The younger students will be dismissed soon, or we'll be late for the cafeteria."

Yue Qihua patted Yang Xingyue's head helplessly. She was really worried sick about this half-sister.

(End of this chapter)