Nobody said that teachers at elite academies have to be heartthrobs.

Yu Fuli was slightly taken aback by his sudden movement, then lowered her eyes with a hint of helplessness. The boy in her arms had actually grown quite a bit in stature.

When I first brought him home, he was incredibly thin, but after a month of feeding and caring for him, he quietly grew taller and his shoulders broadened.

Only now, with him holding her tightly, did Yu Fuli truly notice this change. The young man's arms were already quite strong, and his chest revealed a solid outline between immaturity and maturity. He was like a tree that had suddenly grown taller, gaining a firm weight.

But he was completely oblivious, burying his face in Lin Xun's chest like he did when they were kids, causing tiny wrinkles to appear on Lin Xun's shirt. Yu Fuli raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally gently placed it on Lin Xun's slightly hunched back.

It's like comforting a young dog that doesn't yet realize how big it is, but still habitually snuggles into its owner's arms and whines affectionately.

Yu Fuli chuckled and gently patted the boy's tense shoulders and back: "Alright, relax. We're in the hallway."

He lowered his voice, offering a reminder tinged with helplessness.

Although there was no one around, it wasn't a place where they could be so unrestrained. If a passerby were to see the teacher and student embracing, who knows what kind of gossip would spread.

"……Um."

Lin Xun responded softly, his arm hesitantly loosening its grip little by little. He straightened up, took a small step back, his eyelashes drooping, not looking directly at Yu Fuli, but his ears were slightly flushed.

"Teacher, you don't need to go to such lengths for me. I will be more careful in the future."

Yu Fuli straightened the wrinkled front of her shirt, looked up at him, her gaze gentle and calm, yet exceptionally serious.

"Of course, it's not entirely for you." He spoke frankly, as if stating something perfectly natural. "There are many more students in this college who are in difficult circumstances. If the student council can be established and put into operation, it will at least provide more people with a sense of security so they no longer have to suffer in silence."

Lin Xun was stunned.

He stood there, as if he hadn't quite processed what he'd just said.

All those burning emotions, mixed with dependence, worry, and even a hint of possessiveness, seemed to have been burned away by that one sentence.

He stood frozen in place.

The phrase "It's not all for you" is like an extremely fine needle, piercing my heart unexpectedly.

original……

It's not just for him alone.

This clear realization brought not comfort, but a sharp, chilling sense of loss that quickly spread through my chest.

Why?

Why can't it just be for him?

Yu Fuli's gaze, Yu Fuli's protection, Yu Fuli's seemingly casual yet meticulously planned schemes... those special treatments he carefully accepted and secretly treasured were not, in fact, unique.

Isn't it better to just look at me?

Is it not okay to do these things just for me?

Once this thought took root, it spread like wildfire, burning his internal organs until they shrank back.

A strange, bittersweet, and burning emotion suddenly gripped my heart, tightening ever more.

It's jealousy.

Intense and ferocious jealousy!

Just then—

"Boom—!"

A blinding white flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky outside the window, tearing it apart and instantly illuminating the corridor in a blinding white light.

The sudden, blinding light clearly illuminated Lin Xun's face.

Pale, without a trace of blood.

His delicate features were like solidified porcelain, devoid of any expression. Only his dark, unfathomable eyes reflected the lingering light from the window, as if something was silently shattering deep within.

"...Lin Xun?"

Yu Fuli's voice came through, sounding puzzled, as if she had noticed his unusual silence.

Lin Xun blinked very, very slowly.

Her long eyelashes drooped, and when she raised them again, a thin layer of moisture hastily concealed the cold emptiness in her eyes. He didn't answer, but suddenly moved, taking a step forward, but not rushing into her arms again.

He moved around to Yu Fuli's back in a very natural, even somewhat dependent manner.

Then, he stretched out his arms and gently wrapped them around Yu Fuli from behind, drawing her into his embrace with his breath and body heat.

This is a more intimate and harder-to-break-out posture than before, subtly trapping the person in one's embrace.

"teacher……"

He gently rested his chin on Yu Fuli's shoulder, his voice muffled, with a slight tremor, sounding utterly pitiful.

"I'm so scared..."

However, beyond Yu Fuli's shoulder line, behind his back where the other's line of sight could not reach, Lin Xun's face showed no fear whatsoever.

Those eyes were calmly open, gazing at the still-flickering, flickering light outside the window, their depths like a bottomless pool.

Yu Fuli was taken aback by the hug that came from behind.

The fleeting pallor and emptiness on the boy's face still lingered, but now it clung to him like a frightened fledgling.

He felt a mix of helplessness and amusement, relaxing his body and letting the boy hug him, his tone carrying a hint of indulgent teasing:

"How old are you? Are you still afraid of thunder and lightning?"

Yu Fuli's voice carried a helpless indulgence, and she even raised her hand to gently pat the arm wrapped around her waist, as if comforting a truly frightened little animal.

He completely trusted the seemingly fragile and dependent boy behind him and did not see Lin Xun's expression at that moment.

The rumble of thunder outside the window drowned out Lin Xun's suddenly heavy breathing.

"I'm just scared." Lin Xun buried her face even deeper into the fabric of Yu Fuli's neck, her voice muffled and indistinct, sounding more like a coquettish plea.

The arms that were wrapped around him tightened unconsciously, and his fingertips even dug slightly into the other person's shirt at the waist, leaving a few wrinkles.

Only he knew that his heart was beating fast and hard in his chest not because of fear, but because of another, more secretive and turbulent emotion.

When the teacher said he was "cowardly" in such a gentle yet slightly teasing tone, the urge to completely imprison him almost broke through the cage of reason.

afraid?

What he feared was never the thunder and lightning outside the window.

What he feared was the same gentle gaze the teacher would give to others, and that the protection would be casually shared with others as it was today.

This terrified him more than any thunderbolt.

The white light of lightning briefly illuminated the corridor again, and also the thick, impenetrable shadow beneath Lin Xun's lowered eyelashes.

His lips twitched down almost imperceptibly, a curve bordering on obsessive.

"Alright, the thunder has subsided," Yu Fuli said gently, trying to move slightly to indicate that he could relax. "You can't always be so timid."

Lin Xun's arm stiffened for a moment before slowly and reluctantly letting go.

He took a half step back, and when he raised his face, his expression had returned to its usual calm. He even pursed his lips somewhat shyly, and there seemed to be a trace of moisture left on his eyelashes. His acting was so realistic that even he himself had to believe it.

"I'm sorry, teacher, I lost my composure," he said softly, his tone full of regret and unease.

Yu Fuli turned around, looked at him like this, shook her head, and ultimately didn't say anything more, only gently saying, "It's alright. Go back quickly, it's going to rain heavily."

"Okay." Lin Xun nodded obediently and turned to walk towards the stairs at the other end.

The moment he turned his back to Yu Fuli, all the feigned vulnerability and shyness on his face receded like the tide, leaving only a deep, calm pool.

The fingertips curled slightly at the sides, still retaining the warmth and touch of the embrace.

not enough.

It's not enough.

Thunder rumbled deep within the clouds, as if echoing the silent, dark longing growing in his heart.