It's the students' fault if they are too popular.

"……Hey?"

The voice on the phone was soft.

"Teacher Tong," Ruan Qian hid in the stairwell, occasionally poking her head out to prevent other teachers from coming over, "Where are you?"

"Ruanruan?" The person on the phone was startled. "I... am outside."

"I want to come see you." Ruan Qian said.

"But... aren't you going to class?"

There was a commotion at the other end, and a faint roar of "pass the ball".

Ruan Qian stood in the corridor, where she could see the teenagers running on the white football field. The ice and snow made the grass slippery, but they still played football. She held her phone and smiled:

"Teacher Tong, I'll be there right away."

The bell for class rang.

On the playground, Tong Yao sat on a chair beside the track, holding her phone blankly. Ruan Ruan was coming to see her? Why?

Before she could figure it out, she saw the little girl. The little girl ran over from a distance and almost slipped. Tong Yao was so scared that she hurried over and scolded:

"Why are you coming here instead of attending class?"

The little girl stuck out her tongue, trying to get away with it, panting:

"They said...Teacher Tong, you cried."

Tong Yao said nothing, blinked, took off her scarf and tied it on the little girl.

"Teacher Tong, are you...crying?"

"No."

Tong Yao lowered her head, then quickly raised it again and smiled gently.

Ruan Qian suddenly held Tong Yao's hand that was tying her scarf, and held it in both hands, warming it in her palms:

"Teacher Tong, I want to change my wish. I won't touch your stockings anymore."

She said seriously:

"If you have anything that makes you unhappy, please tell me."

She wanted to be closer to Teacher Tong, to share his joys and sorrows and to be open-hearted.

She wanted to gradually become a reliable person in the eyes of Teacher Tong.

Tong Yao was stunned for a moment. In her heart, the little girl in front of her looked less and less like a child who needed care. Her eyes softened and she suddenly smiled:

"You really don't want to touch me anymore?"

The little girl nodded:

"But you have to tell me your troubles. Did that thief He Zeyu make you angry?"

Tong Yao was amazed at Ruan Ruan's sharpness. Under such a sincere gaze, she pursed her lips slightly and retracted her hand, as if she was telling an unspeakable secret:

"Ruanruan...are there many people in my grade who hate me?"

Her mind is very delicate, like fine noodles, like falling dead leaves, soft and fragile. Miss Tong has a glass heart, and her overly smooth second life has made her so fragile. Confidence is like the equipment enhancement in the game. Some people have accomplished nothing and their equipment will not be downgraded or damaged even if they fail repeatedly, while some people succeed in enhancing all the way, but fail in the last enhancement, and then it breaks.

Ruan Qian's eyes widened, as if she had heard something incredible:

"How is that possible! Everyone likes Teacher Tong very much!"

"Don't you think I..." Tong Yao said gloomily, "like to meddle in other people's business?"

"No way!" The little girl gritted her teeth, "That guy said that about you? He's just jealous!"

"Jealous of whom?"

"Jealous..." The little girl choked and whispered, "Jealous of me..."

“Pfft,” Tong Yao couldn’t help laughing, “It seems that I am too partial to you. I am jealous of you.”

"No way!"

Ruan Qian blushed, "Teacher Tong...shouldn't you be a little more partial to me?"

Tong Yao's smile froze. Was this... a hint that she should be responsible?

I still remember that kiss. It was just a touch, but it was deeply rooted in my heart.

After all, it was her first kiss in so many years.

"Yes, yes, yes..." She turned her head away shyly, "I will continue to be partial to you in the future... ok?"

Ruan Qian didn't reply. She pinched the scarf around her neck and said silently in her heart -

She doesn't want Teacher Tong's favoritism.

What she wanted was Teacher Tong’s wholehearted devotion.

Chapter 74: The Clouds Clear and the Sun Shines

Few people know that Ruan Qian won a prize of 70,000 yuan, but it is not a secret.

With so many people in the school, it's not uncommon for some people to read Aikanmanhua.com. When you click on the homepage, you'll see the comic "Dream Walk" in the recommendation column, and it's also marked as the silver medal in the competition. Clicking further, there's also a photo of the author - a girl wearing a white shirt, looking very fresh and next door. People who know her will naturally recognize her as Ruan Qian.

The photos were requested by the editor on behalf of the website. Ruan Qian understood that they wanted to use the gimmick of "beautiful high school cartoonist". After weighing the pros and cons, she agreed. The popularity of the comics rose rapidly, and the fan base expanded again and again, but the number of people who came to harass her also began to increase.

Some people start with malicious speculations, while others are blatant harassment or blatant temptations.

"Haha, a high school student? He doesn't go to school and draws comics. I don't know how many people this kind of girl has slept with."

"Identification completed, still a babe. Let me analyze it for you, first look at the legs..."

She just silently deleted the comments and private messages that made her feel sick, and sometimes she would sit alone on the balcony of her dormitory in a daze.

She knew this would happen when she started using herself to run her business. She didn't want these dirty things to be seen by Teacher Tong, so she kept them in her heart and refused to tell anyone. The pure world was like the puppy that died at home. She dug a small hole in the mountain and buried it with her own hands. Life seemed to be unchanged, but something in her heart had changed.

By the way, her cell phone and money were all recovered. The two thousand yuan that He Zeyu got was found in her bag, and her accomplice's cell phone that had not been dealt with was also found in it. The police returned it to her the next day after they caught her, but not everyone is as lucky as her - Xu Yin's class fee was not recovered at all. He Zeyu stole the second-year class, and the thief insisted that He Zeyu only gave him 2000 yuan, and the money was spent. Xu Yin was so anxious that she cried on the spot.

"He clearly took it all," Xu Yin cried, "I didn't touch the money..."

The surveillance video was blurry, and no one could prove how much was in Xu Yin's wallet at the time, nor did anyone know how much He Zeyu took. If He Zeyu hadn't admitted that the money he found in the boys' dormitory belonged to Ruan Qian, the money would probably never have been returned.

"It's okay, no one will doubt you." Tong Yao comforted her, "The teacher will help you find someone to sentence him to a longer term, and he will have to sell his property to compensate you."

Xu Yin's eyes were moist and she was worried:

"Sister Yaoyao, they won't retaliate against you, right?"

Tong Yao smiled and rubbed her hair: "Why are you so cute? Don't worry, they dare not."

No matter how harshly you threaten someone verbally, after a few years in prison, his vengeful nature will be worn down.

She said: "I will ask the school about the handling of the matter for you. Don't look so sad and just focus on your studies."

Xu Yin hugged her and said lovingly:

"Thank you, Sister Yaoyao."

At the entrance of Class 7, Ruan Qian looked at the two people coming out of the grade group office from afar with a jealous look on her face.

——How annoying.

Relying on the fact that he lost six thousand yuan, he asked Teacher Tong for comfort every day.

The little girl thought how nice it would be if the six thousand yuan she found in the boys' dormitory was Xu Yin's.

She thought sourly that there was nothing to envy or be jealous of, as she and Teacher Tong had already kissed, and it was not something other girls could interfere.

But when she told Yan Zhi about this idea, Yan Zhi directly poured cold water on her:

"Huh? No tongue sticking out? Is that called kissing? Some best friends stick out their tongues when they kiss, right? Are you sure Teacher Tong didn't touch you with her hand?"

Ruan Qian was silent.

Her junior high school was in a remote and poor city, the school spirit was very bad, and students were proud of being "social", which gave rise to many bizarre phenomena. Compared with smoking and having sex, the girls in her dormitory kissing each other and touching breasts seemed to be nothing.

Some people say that the way girls treat friendship is similar to the way they treat love.

But when we arrived at No. 1 Middle School, everyone seemed to be a reserved child, and the intimacy between them suddenly decreased a lot.

"Have you ever kissed your best friend?" she asked Yan Zhi in a low voice.

Yan Zhi looked at the cup, staring at the water waves inside, and said softly:

"Ah."

"how do you feel?"

"... Well," Yan Zhi propped up her face and looked away, "I was just playing around at the time, wanting to see how it felt. Actually... I was very soft and nervous. Then I bent, but she didn't."

After she finished speaking, she took a sip of water. Ruan Qian suddenly felt like a fellow wanderer in the world and looked at her with pity and empathy.

Some people only feel the excitement of kissing, but some people fall in love with it right away. Just like falling into the water, some people fall into a small pond one meter deep, and when they stand up, they roll up their trousers and go ashore, while some people fall directly into the bottomless sea, and after struggling and surfacing, they may not be able to find a boat to accept them.

Teacher Tong is probably like a luxury cruise ship, coveted by everyone in the water and on the shore, and one may not be able to catch up with her even if one spends his entire life on her.

A voice in my heart asked, do you really want to try it?

Ruan Qian thought, of course.

There was no one who could stop her.

-

-

It was Friday afternoon, just after class, the winter sun was hiding in the clouds, the weather was getting colder, and the students didn't want to go out, but there was a commotion in the corridor. Zhang Zhenhua, director of the student affairs office, and Ye Wei, head of the grade group, were standing at the door of their office, blocking an old man with an embarrassed look on their faces.

This is an old lady, she looks withered and skinny, like a tree in winter, but the difference is that the tree will flourish next year, while she is so old that she seems to be unable to stand. Her wind-dried arm is held by Zhang Zhenhua, and her sleeves are covered with dull yellow sleeves. She is wearing a dark red cotton coat that is a bit tattered, and a cotton hat that she knitted herself. Her gray hair sticks out from inside. She is an old scavenger that can be seen everywhere on the street.

"...We are in class, please don't disturb our students." Zhang Zhenhua looked reluctant, but still firmly supported and stopped them.

The old man almost wanted to kneel down, tears streaming down his face: "I beg you, don't expel Zeyu... Zeyu has been obedient since he was a child. He has always been the top student in junior high school and even said that he wants to enter Tsinghua University in the future... If you expel him, how can he have a bright future..."

"This... it's difficult for us to handle this, but your grandson is a criminal! He will go to jail!" Ye Wei couldn't help but say, "He stole his classmates' money, which hurt others!"

The corridor is the only way to get water after class, and this farce started at the right time. Students, like sharks smelling blood, ran out of the classroom, watched from a distance, and pointed.

Tong Yao was leaving class 4. The road ahead was blocked. She looked around and heard the students next to her say:

"It's He Zeyu's grandmother."

"He hasn't been here for a few days. Is he really in jail?"

Another said: "This person is such a jerk, he made his grandmother lose her dignity like this."

Xu Yin was holding a cup of water and was also stuck in traffic. She looked quietly at the old man and teacher in front of her and pursed her lips slightly.

"I know Zeyu made a mistake... I apologize to you on his behalf..." The old man hunched over, wiped his tears, looked at the teacher pleadingly, and spoke incoherently, "Can you please not expel him..."

The situation remained at a stalemate. The teacher didn't want to be the bad guy, but it was even more impossible for him to give in. He said reluctantly, "You go back first," but the old man refused.

"He hasn't even returned the money he stole, and all our class fees are gone..." someone said in a neither-too-loud nor soft voice.

The air suddenly became quiet. The old man looked over and then walked slowly, like a clumsy penguin, his chin seemed to be trembling:

"Child, Zeyu...how much money did I steal from you..."

The man who had just spoken suddenly fell silent. He took a step back, unable to bear looking at the old man in difficulty. Xu Yin hesitated for a moment, and as the squad leader, stepped forward and said:

"Grandma, he stole our class funds, but...he should bear the consequences himself. He broke the law, and the school can't help him."

Then, the old woman nodded tremblingly, reached into the small cloth bag at her waist, and tremblingly took out a stack of money, which contained scattered five-yuan bills stuck together with adhesive tape. Tears slid down her wrinkled face:

"I... I sold all my coffins... I got more than 3,000 yuan, is that enough... Baby, can you please forgive him... Don't let Zeyu go to jail... I beg you..."

Most students have not seen the cruelty of life.

Some girls turned their heads to wipe their tears. Xu Yin froze. How could she dare to accept the money? Such a poor old man... Why did He Zeyu steal things?

"I can't accept it, grandma..."

Xu Yin covered her face, tears suddenly flowed down, and she ran back to the classroom crying.

The farce finally ended when the school bell rang.

The students had to go back to class and couldn't help looking back at the staggering old woman, who was still begging Zhang Zhenhua and Ye Wei. The students who witnessed all this felt that life had taught them the most vivid lesson.

——Don't let your family be so humble.