After saying goodbye to Lin downstairs, Yue sighed and returned to her apartment. It looked like Lin had a lot on her mind, and even though she did not mention a word, Yue noticed it through the way her eyebrows were furrowed. The ex’s younger brother was such a capable guy—he could even make a girl like Lin feel troublesome.
But she was also angry at herself. Why had she been so nervous when she heard her asking about Shao Xun? Though she knew he wanted to get closer to her, how could she accept it? He was her teacher, and she was still missing the old brother. His adoration, his careful commands, everything about him was so fresh in her bitter heart.
Taking a deep breath, she smelled the flowers in spring. This was a season of sowing. If she buried her broken heart, could she recover it in autumn? She soon gave up this sentimental thought. Though she was not as strong as Lin, she was not a person who could not live without love. Anyway, she had so many tasks to accomplish. Maybe she could live better without romance.
She calmed herself down. Before she pushed the button of the elevator, a red rose stopped her steps. In a moment, she realized that she misunderstood that the brother was back. But when she saw the face of the boy, she was very disappointed. It was a classmate from the holiday training course who was smiling at her.
“Yue, you are back. I have been waiting for you for a long time.”
“Why?” Yue was surprised, but she did not take the flower. He was in charge of the Arts at the training class, and was handsome and talented, but also proud and a womanizer. She had a bad impression about this guy.
“A rose for you.” He raised the flower to her.
“Would you please not stand in my way?” she asked, finding some officious eyes turning toward them from the stairs.
“Yue, you know me; I don’t buy girls roses just on a whim.”
“Your flower has thorns, which I could not bear.” Yue became even angrier when he mentioned his attitude about girls. The girl sitting beside her in the training course, one of her good friends, had been seduced by this guy and finally dropped out from Sakura Academy.
“Oh, I didn’t notice that. But the flower is so beautiful, only you are worthy of it.” Yue had heard the same flattery from her friend’s mouth during the holiday.
The door of the elevator opened in time, and Yue took this opportunity to enter. But the guy spread his arms and stepped in front of her. “Yue, why are you treating me this way? I try to give you a flower, you don’t want it, okay . . . but you should at least give me a moment of your attention.”
“Why should I give you anything? We are not friends, and you are bothering me. I did not call security at the apartment. Isn’t that enough?”
“You are looking down on me because of Liang’er?” He became angry when he heard her cold reply, snapping, “I have told her the one I fancy is you, but she still wants to be with me. Must I pay for her own foolishness?”
Yue stared at him with contempt. She was not willing to quarrel with such garbage. It was he who’d pursued Liang'er first. Now Liang’er had left school and he pretended he was the one who’d been injured. She tried to push him away, but the guy kept on blocking her from the elevator.
“Yue, would you give me a try?” He asked with waning anger, “Or is the rumor true? There’s something between you and the teacher, Shao Xun?”
“I . . . I don’t like anyone.” She felt her heart thud when he mentioned the name, but she denied it to herself.
“You are lying.” The boy, Sun Yi, noted her avoidance of the name, and yelled, “Look me in the eyes and repeat that!”
“I don’t like anyone. Are you satisfied?” Yue burst out at him, glaring. She had been constraining all her feelings for a long time. In this foreign country, she had only a few friends. Lin was the most important one, and Liang’er the other. And because of this bastard, Liang’er had left the campus with hatred. It was in the cold winter, and Yue could not bear her cold eyes of disappointment before leaving. And he had the courage to appear before her now? How she wanted to beat him; if only she had the strength!
“Great!” He clenched his fist tightly, and the beautiful flower was crushed by his strength, the petals falling. “You are the first girl who dares to reject me. I won’t give up easily.”
Yue found more and more students were standing around to watch their drama. She was quite worried that if he did more, the teachers might find out and she’d be in trouble.
“Yue, here you are.” Suddenly she heard the voice of Shao Xun.
“Teacher Shao?” Sun Yi was surprised by his appearance.
But the next moment, Shao Xun surprised all of them. He took her hands and said to her, “Yue, I still have something to talk about with you; why are you going away by yourself?”
So the rumor was true? All the onlookers were gasping at the dramatic turn. Sun Yi’s face reddened with embarrassment. Though Yue was surprised, she said a thank you in her heart to him. Anyway, he helped her to handle this issue.
“Teacher Shao. . . ”
“No need to explain to me. I know what you thought.” Shao Xun gave her a sweet smile of understanding, and took her to the elevator. When its door closed, all the audience was in an uproar. So the rumor was verified. Sun Yi threw the flower on the ground and stomped on it several times, then left moodily.
The two in the elevator were not in any better of a situation. He was her teacher, and she cared about his position very much. This country had a tradition of respecting teachers and would not cheer for the affection between teacher and student under normal circumstances.
“Yue, I have one thing to tell you, seriously.” He was looking into her eyes, keeping close, his cunning smile having disappeared.
“Teacher Shao. . . ” Yue’s heart was beating heavily.
“Yue, you should not continue that relationship anymore. Right now you’re young, and games like this seem fun. But when you grow up, you will find this is not good. Besides, how would your family accept this choice? Now I understand why you wanted to commit suicide. But giving up life settles nothing. If you want a good way to let this issue go, I can offer you many suggestions.”
What? She was totally confused by him, and did not know how to react. But his serious face looked graver than usual. Was he still worrying about her committing suicide? What did he mean that she was young and “games” that seemed “fun”? What issue? And her family acceptance?
“Teacher Shao. . . ”
“Yue, can’t you treat me as a teacher?” He was begging, with a low voice of affection. “I don’t want to see you hurting yourself anymore. You are so young and I just want to help.”
“I know, but, Teacher Shao . . . ” She felt two of his fingers on her lips to stop her from saying more. She was surprised and wanted to flee, but he came closer, so close that she could felt his breath on her face. What did he want? She was flustered. They were still in the elevator, after all.
“Yue, don’t continue that relationship anymore. If you feel lonely, I will be with you. If you want someone to adore you, it would be my pleasure.”
“Get away from me!” She was bewildered and hurried to push him away. She was trying to keep her heart on the brother, but so many nonsensical boys had been bothering her lately. Obviously he had misunderstood her for some reason, but she didn’t understand what he was trying to do, either. He was acting like she had committed some big mistake, which would not be tolerated by the public and her family. Why did he always keep weird thoughts in his mind? Always?
The elevator door saved her again. Not caring about which level they were on, she rushed out, leaving him alone in the elevator. What happened to him? And what was wrong with her life? She took a look at the number on the wall and began to run upstairs.
Shao Xun finally gave up chasing on her. He had already stepped out of the elevator, and was looking at the disappearing figure. He was so hurt by her, and the smile she’d showed before the girl. What a beautiful smile it had been!