Chapter 334 - 145: "Wising Up

Chapter 334: Chapter 145: "Wising Up

Teacher Xu’s angry voice pierced his eardrums:

"If you two don’t give me a proper explanation today, I’m calling both of your families!"

Zhang Shutong’s temples throbbed. For a moment, he had no idea what kind of "proper explanation" he could possibly give.

’Teacher, we just found a hidden basement? It was super awesome?’

Then tomorrow, he could make an even *more* awesome trip to the podium for a public apology.

Actually, Zhang Shutong really wanted to tell the truth. ’We saw someone jump off the roof, so we rushed over without a second’s thought. We might not deserve a silk banner for it, but Xiaolu and I are definitely model students...’

But the ambulance hadn’t found anyone, and this Teacher Xu was the stubborn type. If she actually went to the hospital to confirm his story, they might get a complaint filed against them in return. They’d be lucky if they didn’t get into even more trouble.

’Should I ask Song to help explain?’

’Say we were helping Song get something?’

That wouldn’t work either.

They hadn’t asked for a leave of absence.

Based on his understanding of the new teacher, she was probably more concerned about whether her authority as the homeroom teacher had been challenged.

Luckily, teachers this age loved to drone on, even when they were scolding someone. While she continued her lecture, Zhang Shutong moved the phone away from his ear and mouthed a question to Lu Qinglian:

"She’s calling our families. What do we do?"

Lu Qinglian shot him a glance, then turned her face away.

It was as if she were saying:

"Doesn’t matter. My family won’t come anyway."

Her grandmother lived on a mountain year-round. Zhang Shutong didn’t believe their new homeroom teacher would actually go to a temple for a home visit. So, it turned out he was the only one whose family was getting called.

He wasn’t afraid of Teacher Xu, but he was terrified of his own mother.

Zhang Shutong had just promised he would spend the week resting and recovering, and that he absolutely wouldn’t go running around again. If his mom found out he had secretly skipped class on the very first day of school...

His scalp tingled with dread. ’Teacher Xu? She’s nothing compared to my mom.’

The homeroom teacher noticed it had been quiet on the other end for too long.

"Zhang Shutong, did you just toss your phone aside? Are you even listening to me?!"

Zhang Shutong quickly replied. He apologized first, then explained, "I wasn’t holding the thermos steady when I was getting water at noon, and I spilled hot water on my bandage. My classmate Lu Qinglian happened to be right there, so she came with me to the hospital."

Zhang Shutong added:

"Some other students probably saw us when we were heading downstairs. And think about it, if we were really trying to skip school, we wouldn’t have come back after the lunch break. Of course, it was still my fault for not asking you for leave."

It was a plausible story.

But a veteran teacher wasn’t so easily fooled. She sneered:

"The hospital? Fine. Put a doctor on the phone to vouch for you."

"We’re on our way."

"On your way? What a coincidence," Teacher Xu said angrily. "It’s just now dawning on me, Zhang Shutong. Even if you two really did go to the hospital, it isn’t far from the school. It’s only a ten-minute bike ride. How could it take you this long to get back?"

"We didn’t ride a bike, Teacher," Zhang Shutong reminded her kindly. "You forgot, my hand is injured, and my classmate Lu Qinglian doesn’t have a bike."

"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point!"

"If we were to ride a bike, there’s only one way it would work—"

Zhang Shutong had heard from Xu Zhiruo that her aunt was extremely strict about cracking down on puppy love. He paused, then said something shocking:

"Unless Lu Qinglian gave me a ride, with me holding onto her from behind."

The homeroom teacher fell silent.

Zhang Shutong pressed his advantage:

"I’ll bring you the hospital receipt later."

After a moment, the homeroom teacher asked:

"How’s your hand now?"

"It’s nothing serious."

Her voice softened a little.

"Put Lu Qinglian on."

Zhang Shutong handed over the phone, shooting several frantic looks at Lu Qinglian, praying his classmate Xiaolu wouldn’t expose his lie.

Lu Qinglian calmly took the phone. It was unclear what the homeroom teacher said, but she stood under the eaves, her eyes gazing into the distance. Her expression remained neutral as her red lips parted slightly:

"Mmm..."

"Yes."

"Okay."

Lu Qinglian’s replies were always just a single word.

She quickly hung up. Seeing this, Zhang Shutong breathed a sigh of relief.

"All settled?"

"All settled," Lu Qinglian confirmed with a nod. "Classmate Zhang Shutong, you can call your parents now and have them come to the school."

The air caught in Zhang Shutong’s chest. ’So when you said "all settled," you meant you settled *me*,’ he thought.

"You..."

"But didn’t you get burned by hot water?" She blinked her peach-blossom eyes, feigning confusion. "You should notify your family immediately about something like that."

Zhang Shutong stared at her, speechless.

Still, seeing her reaction, he relaxed. He didn’t know the teacher’s attitude, but he figured it probably wasn’t a big deal anymore.

"Find this funny?" Zhang Shutong asked, exasperated.

"You can think of it that way for now." The corners of her lips curved into a slight smile.

"Let’s go." Then, Lu Qinglian’s smile vanished, and she started walking.

"So what’s the deal?" Zhang Shutong asked, trailing behind her.

"I’m going with you to the hospital. Isn’t that what you wanted?" Lu Qinglian reverted to her usual indifferent expression. "You told another lie. How does it feel?"

"What’s there to feel? It just saved us some trouble," Zhang Shutong explained. "Besides, I didn’t lie to you. Don’t worry."

"Is that so."

Lu Qinglian said no more.

They walked on without stopping. Zhang Shutong glanced at the sky. It really looked like it was about to rain; the weather hadn’t been good lately.

He stuffed the dorm key into his pocket, planning to come back and check things out when he had time. Of course, the immediate priority was to go to the hospital and get a doctor’s note.

If you’re going to put on a show, you might as well go all the way.

The bicycle rolled out of the overgrown, weedy patch of land.

"Don’t touch my waist." Lu Qinglian’s cool voice sounded. "I believe I’ve told you that before."

"Oh..." Zhang Shutong snapped out of it. He had been thinking about the clay figure. He then realized that he hadn’t even been holding her waist—he had just unconsciously grabbed her shirt—and he was already getting a preemptive warning.