Chapter 34: I Have My Own Pace

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: I Have My Own Pace

"I’m so hungry, Teacher. I didn’t eat lunch."

"Wouldn’t you be hungry if you didn’t eat?"

"I am hungry."

"Then don’t be."

"Stop! No bots allowed. Transfer me to a human agent!"

"The subscriber you dialed is out of the service area."

"..."

That’s right, the person currently chatting with Li Beixing was none other than Chen Qiyun. Because this crafty little rascal didn’t get to eat the lunch Chen Jingle cooked today, her heart was full of resentment, so she came to torment Li Beixing.

Well, it wasn’t exactly torment. She was just rambling about this and that, spouting mostly nonsensical fluff. She seemed to have an ulterior motive.

Since Li Beixing had some free time today, she humored her and chatted a bit longer. Come to think of it, Little Douding had gotten quite bold lately. She actually dared to initiate a conversation with her! In the past, whenever she saw a teacher, she would wish she could pretend she hadn’t seen them at all. Li Beixing clicked her tongue in marvel.

"I have no idea where my brother went today. I originally wanted to go to his place at noon to help you scout out the situation," Chen Qiyun said. She had wised up; no matter the time or place, she never forgot to claim credit in front of Li Beixing. Of course, in front of Chen Jingle, she would wear a completely different face.

Li Beixing’s heart immediately skipped a beat. "Scout out what?"

"To see what his impression of you is, of course," Chen Qiyun replied self-righteously.

"Cut it out. Your brother doesn’t even know me."

"That’s fine. With me around, he’ll know you soon enough. I’ll put in a lot of good words for you and pique his interest," Chen Qiyun said smoothly.

She grimaced. Li Beixing’s expression turned odd. She thought, "How does a little kid like you know so much? Stay out of adult matters."

However, a second later, Chen Qiyun added, "But I suspect he went out on a date today. You have to understand that unless it’s something incredibly important, he rarely leaves the house, let alone eats out. Teacher Li, what do you think we should do if my brother falls for another girl? Of course, I don’t mean anything by it. I’ll always be on your side, Teacher Li."

Li Beixing raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you say he doesn’t have a girlfriend?"

"He didn’t before, but what if he gets one later? That’s why you have to hurry up, Teacher! You can’t let someone else beat you to the punch. The order of appearance is very important, and I don’t want anyone else to be my sister-in-law."

"How am I supposed to hurry up? Like I said, your brother doesn’t even know me yet. If someone else really beats me to it, it just means we weren’t meant to be."

"Teacher Li, how can you think like that? You need to step up! You have to exert your subjective initiative!" Chen Qiyun was deeply grieved, furious at her lack of fighting spirit.

"..."

Li Beixing nearly died laughing. "Subjective initiative"? Was this kid trying to give her a lecture?

Chen Qiyun continued, "How about this? I’ll push his WeChat contact directly to you. You can take the initiative to add him and say you want to ask him about how I’m doing at home. What do you think?"

"I don’t think that’s very appropriate," Li Beixing replied, her subconscious reserve kicking in.

"Never mind then. Pretend I didn’t say anything," Chen Qiyun said.

"..." Li Beixing was speechless. She thought, "Why aren’t you insisting a bit more? Now I just look stupid!"

Unexpectedly, Chen Qiyun changed her tune. "Then next time, I’ll trick him into coming to the school so you can see him in person."

Tricking him into coming to the school actually sounded plausible. Li Beixing’s eyes brimmed with amusement. "Even if I do become your sister-in-law, the amount of homework I assign you won’t decrease."

"Suddenly, I feel like having someone else as my sister-in-law wouldn’t be so bad."

Wow. Chen Qiyun was so pragmatic! Li Beixing laughed heartily out loud.

Meanwhile, on Chen Jingle’s side.

The friend request had been approved, but the other party hadn’t replied. Only his own introductory message sat there in lonely isolation. Chen Jingle didn’t pay it much mind. He had encountered similar situations before with so-called blind dates introduced by others. It was perfectly normal for them to have a cold attitude. If you took it too seriously, you’d already lost.

After sitting and drinking tea for a little while longer, Chen Jingle said his goodbyes to Liang City and his family, preparing to head out. Naturally, Liang City’s family earnestly urged him to stay, but Chen Jingle chose to take his leave anyway. He needed to rest at noon, and they needed their rest as well. At most, he would just come back and bother them another time.

Seeing this, everyone stopped insisting.

Liang City walked Chen Jingle downstairs. "What’s wrong? My sister-in-law still hasn’t replied to you? That shouldn’t be the case."

Chen Jingle shook his head. "I’ll leave it to fate. I won’t force it."

Liang City pointed a finger at him. "Teacher Zhong and I will both help you out. Just make sure you don’t slack off."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m taking off."

Chen Jingle straddled his little electric scooter, put on his helmet, waved his hand, and leisurely rode out onto the main road.

It was not even half past twelve by the time he got home. Since they had eaten quite early at Liang City’s place, he was able to return early as well.

Chen Jingle parked his electric scooter, went inside, and changed his shoes. Only then did he notice that the person he had just added as a friend had finally replied to his message.

"Hello, I’m Zhong Qing. My sister and brother-in-law already told me about you. It’s very nice to meet you."

Earlier, while at Liang City’s house, he had noticed that Zhong Qing’s WeChat nickname was "Maruko," and her profile picture was of Chibi Maruko-chan. According to Liang City, she was quite a quiet and gentle girl.

Chen Jingle didn’t try to be a smartass by replying with something like, "Exactly how nice?"

After thinking it over, he replied, "Your brother-in-law is more anxious about this than either of us. If his rash matchmaking has made you uncomfortable, I’m truly sorry."

Zhong Qing answered, "Not at all. I have a lot of faith in my sister and brother-in-law’s judgment, so I’m not opposed to it. I actually find it quite novel, since I’ve never experienced anything like this before."

"By ’experience,’ do you mean a blind date?"

"Yeah. What we’re doing right now counts as a blind date, right?"

"It does."

"That’s why I said it feels so novel."

"..."

Li Yuting couldn’t stand watching this anymore. "Isn’t this conversation a little too awkward?"

Ye Zixing couldn’t help but laugh. "It’s alright. At least it’s better than asking someone if they’ve eaten and what they had."

"Qingqing, bring out the momentum you use in your debate competitions!" Yang Qiuyun cheered her on from the side.

"..."

Zhong Qing rolled her eyes at them and muttered softly, "We’ve only just started interacting. How much progress do you expect us to make?" She decided she would stick to her own pace.

"I heard from my sister that your cooking skills are incredible?" she typed.

"Just average. I wouldn’t call it incredible. Teacher Zhong flatters me."

"You’re being too modest. Anyone who can replicate a state banquet pastry is definitely not an ordinary person. My sister rarely speaks so highly of anyone."

"I’m flattered."

"I’m serious, it’s not an exaggeration at all. I saw the post my sister made on her Friends Circle, and a lot of our friends and relatives were shocked. She must be feeling extremely smug inside."

"As long as everyone liked it, that’s what matters. The production process is just a little complicated, but other than that, it’s nothing special. Any ordinary person could make it if they put in a little extra time."

"..."

Right at that moment, a system notification suddenly popped up.

[Nap time has arrived. Sufficient sleep is beneficial to a child’s physical growth. Little Chen Jingle, please take your afternoon nap. The time limit is set to one and a half hours. Baby, you can definitely do it, right?]

Chen Jingle scratched his head. Alright then.

So, he sent a message to Zhong Qing. "I’m sorry, but my nap time has arrived. Can we chat again this afternoon when you’re free?"

Huh?!

Zhong Qing froze for a moment. She had wanted to follow his topic and chat for a little while longer. The feeling of the conversation coming to such an abrupt halt left her slightly at a loss. She quickly replied, "Okay, then go ahead and get some rest."

"Wow, this guy is really... that’s a bit much! Our Qingqing takes the initiative to chat with him, and he actually dares to play hard to get!" Li Yuting was completely outraged, no longer able to simply watch from the sidelines.