My girlfriend was reborn.

Chapter 149 Monogamy

Once he actually started teaching in the rural area, Zhou Heming didn't have the time or inclination to think about anything else.

A class lasts forty minutes, and he needs to expend more energy to teach than to sit and listen to a lecture.

As teachers often say, when you stand on the podium, you can see everything the students are doing.

When Zhou Heming is teaching, in addition to paying attention to the students, he also has to be mindful of the cameras. Furthermore, the gazes of the other students participating in the variety show also make Zhou Heming a little nervous.

In particular, Lu Bai and Cheng Shuangjiang.

His eyes kept glancing at the two of them without him noticing.

Lu Bai has a little more, Cheng Shuangjiang has a little less.

Every time she looked at Lu Bai, she would have a hopeful smile on her face, as if she wanted to support and cheer for Zhou Heming.

When she looked at Cheng Shuangjiang, she had the same kind of gratified smile as a parent watching their child perform on stage.

With them watching him like that, Zhou Heming had no choice but to work hard.

Each guest speaker had their own unique style of lecturing.

For example, Cheng Shuangjiang. Mathematics is a very "academic" subject. You either know it or you don't. You can't be opportunistic or adapt to circumstances like Zhou Heming. But Cheng Shuangjiang, as a master of child psychology and a genius at coaxing people, combined with her own intelligence, managed to get these students to do the exercises willingly, and even compete with each other.

For example, Lu Bai mainly teaches singing and dancing, and the locals here are naturally good at singing and dancing. When the two sides meet, the art class becomes very interesting and can be considered the simplest subject.

For example, Ji Yanshi's natural science class was easy to teach in this environment. She even made a lot of origami crafts to help students understand. Although Zhou Heming could tell that her grades were not very good, only barely so, which did not quite fit the academic genius persona that the agency had given her, it was more than enough for elementary school teaching.

What's more surprising is the pairing of Xiang Yunlang and Liu Xunzhu.

Their initial views on volunteer teaching were diametrically opposed, but their teaching practices took completely different turns.

Physical education is a very easy subject. Liu Xunzhu even brought his own basketball. After demonstrating his three-point shooting and jump shot skills, he became an idol for the older boys.

Xiang Yunlang's English is not very good.

The content in the textbooks and the vocabulary taught were all very distant from the students' lives, and he himself had not had time to make any specific preparations, so the first two days of teaching were somewhat stumbling.

However, starting from the third day, everyone gradually got into the swing of things and became more at ease.

The fifth day of teaching in the rural area.

Friday.

The production team arranged for them to take turns on duty, and together with Fu Yuqing, they were responsible for the school's food.

Before seven o'clock in the morning, a male and a female student on duty have to get up and go to the kitchen to help make breakfast.

The breakfasts here are more substantial, perhaps because of the filming of the TV show. There is milk tea or yogurt, a type of steamed bun with mutton filling called Pitimanta, naan bread, a pastry called Baursak that is similar to fried dough sticks, and sometimes there is also cold noodles or mutton soup.

Because the pairings are random and rotate weekly, in the first week, Lu Bai was paired with Xiang Yunlang.

Having grown up in the countryside, Xiang Yunlang's cooking style is bold and unrestrained, which complements Fu Yuqing's preparations perfectly.

Lu Bai, being a complete culinary novice, could only help pour milk tea and sprinkle some nuts and raisins from the bag on top.

After my first attempt at cooking resulted in the dough turning into a mushy mess, I was even deprived of the right to roll out the dough.

"So, Teacher Fu is actually quite hard-working, having to take care of so many children's daily needs."

Lu Bai sprinkled raisins on the thick yogurt, secretly ate one, and casually remarked.

"You'll get used to it. It's also easier to cook for a large group of people."

Fu Yuqing is steaming buns.

Many of these students' parents are herders and rarely come back to their hometowns. To them, Fu Yuqing is both a teacher and a parent.

“My elementary school teachers worked very hard. When they visited students’ homes, many parents were unwilling to let them continue their studies.”

Xiang Yunlang felt the same way.

“Speaking of this, there is also something like this here. This Saturday, the production team said they would come with me to film and persuade a family to let their child go to school.”

Fu Yuqing wiped away the sweat that had dripped down his face from being so close to the stove.

Are they herdsmen?

Lu Bai had some understanding of the situation here and asked curiously.

"Yes, his child was very smart and did well in school, but his father was in poor health and the family was in a bad financial situation. They wanted their child to help with herding as soon as possible, so he stopped going to school."

Fu Yuqing said with a sigh.

“There are many children like this in our village and the next village. If we can build a new school and find new teachers, we can definitely persuade them all to come to school.”

"Are those children who don't go to school just going to herd sheep for the rest of their lives?"

Xiang Yunlang thought of his parents and his childhood classmates.

If I don't work hard, I might end up like them, staying in my hometown and farming for the rest of my life.

But maybe that would be a happy way to be?
“Many people here have been nomadic for generations and cannot accept the loss of their heritage in a short time. So even if they don’t have many cattle and sheep and earn very little money throughout the year, they will still choose to herd livestock because it is their way of life since birth.”

Fu Yuqing sighed.

"Don't you have any tourism revenue from performances or other activities? I see that tourism here is very popular online."

Lu Bai made a cup of yogurt with plenty of toppings and quietly placed it at the very bottom, intending to give it to Zhou Heming later.

I thought about it.

She added a little more nuts to the other cup.

“This place is so big, but there aren’t many places that can become tourist attractions. Although many places look beautiful, they are not developed, have no supporting facilities, and are not promoted, so tourists will not come here specifically.”

Fu Yuqing glanced at the steamed buns to confirm.

“We don’t even have a hotel here, so no tourists come here.”

"I heard the production crew has been filming a lot of scenery here these past few days, which should attract many tourists?"

Xiang Yunlang helped take out the plates and other items, preparing to put the hot buns in later.

"I hope so. I just hope to raise money to repair the classrooms and dormitories for the children and to buy some teaching equipment."

Fu Yuqing opened the steamer.

"The steamed buns are ready. Let them get up and have breakfast."

*
Zhou Heming scratched his somewhat messy hair and sat down at the table.

The students sat at another table, with the six of them and Fu Yuqing on this side.

As for the production team, they should handle that themselves; they don't deserve to be on the table.

Zhou Heming glanced at Cheng Shuangjiang, who had just entered the cafeteria. She looked a little sleepy, her hair was casually tied up, and she looked tired.

On the one hand, it was the relatively unfamiliar environment; on the other hand, it was her period a few days ago; and on the other hand, she was really tired. Even Lu Bai, who often stayed up late, went to bed early and got up early, so Cheng Shuangjiang naturally felt tired as well.

Moreover, perhaps only Zhou Heming knows that she is essentially a lazybones who loves to stay in bed and doesn't want to get out of bed in winter.

Yawning, Cheng Shuangjiang glanced at Zhou Heming, who was looking in her direction, and smiled slightly.

Good morning! Have a happy day today!

She sat down one seat away from Zhou Heming and greeted the people at the table.

In the center of the table was a pile of steamed buns, and Lu Bai was distributing yogurt with nuts and raisins to everyone.

"Ah, Lu Bai, you added too much stuff to Zhou Heming's food."

With sharp eyes, Ji Yanshi immediately pointed to Zhou Heming's bowl of yogurt and said jokingly.

Because Zhou Heming and Lu Bai are the show's designated couple, Ji Yanshi would intentionally or unintentionally poke at their interactions, playing the role of a qualified "shipping expert."

Of course, Zhou Heming suspected that she was genuinely into it.

"Okay, I'll put in more for you next time."

Lu Bai responded with a grin, took the last two bowls of yogurt, and placed them in front of himself and Cheng Shuangjiang.

"Thank you, Ah Bai~"

Cheng Shuangjiang glanced at her yogurt.

It seems like I have more nuts than others.

"This can replenish your qi and blood, you should eat more of it."

Lu Bai whispered something in her ear.

Seeing this, Cheng Shuangjiang used a spoon to scoop half of the extra nuts from her bowl and put them into Lu Bai's bowl.

"Then let's split it evenly!"

She smiled sweetly.

"Well, I was originally planning to eat Crane's Cry."

Lu Bai, looking like he couldn't do anything about it, stirred his yogurt.

Then, Zhou Heming scooped a spoonful of his own nuts into her bowl.

"I'll just eat one more steamed bun."

Zhou Heming doesn't actually eat breakfast much. When he's with Lu Bai, he usually just grabs a little bit while buying breakfast for her.

"Thank you~"

Watching the interaction between the three of them.

The other three had different expressions.

Ji Yanshi looked at Zhou Heming, then at Cheng Shuangjiang, and finally at Lu Bai.

This likely established Lu Bai's monogamous system.

Xiang Yunlang scratched his head, not understanding how these city students dated; they seemed to know how to have fun.

Liu Xunzhu glanced at Lu Bai's bowl, then looked at her duty partner for the week.

"Yanshi, if you want nuts, I can go to the kitchen and get you some."

"No need, thank you."

Ji Yanshi was taken aback. He realized he was being dragged into this mess and quickly refused.

She's not here to film a dating reality show.

If the other person is in the entertainment industry, it's okay; creating a romantic pairing can generate buzz. But if they're not in the industry, or are students, dating them will only jeopardize your acting career.

Moreover, her family wouldn't agree.

She was paired with Liu Xunzhu by lottery, and she didn't have any particular thoughts about it.

I consider you my partner, so don't you dare ruin my life!
Xiang Yunlang glanced at the two people on this side.

Students in the city have such a rich extracurricular life!

That was all he could say, and he casually handed a steamed bun to the cameraman who was filming.

"No need, we've already had cookies and coffee."

The cameraman declined Xiang Yunlang's offer.

After breakfast was almost finished, assistant director He Youwu came over. The director said that he would be in charge of overall coordination in Ningjiang, and he would be responsible for the celebrity guests in the studio. The hard and tiring work would be left to the assistant director.

"Everyone, let me tell you about our plans for this weekend."

He Youwu sat down, picked up a half-eaten bun, and took a bite.

“We assigned daily duties by drawing lots, so Saturday will be a separate activity based on that draw. On Sunday, we'll be shooting some advertisements for our sponsors.”

"One group went with Teacher Fu to visit a child's home, who was unable to attend school due to family difficulties."

"One of the groups came with me to shoot a promotional video here, which might require us to be out all day."

"The last group hitched a ride to the town's market to buy some daily necessities, because there are only two buses, one in the morning and one in the evening, so they also have to be out all day."

Hear the words.

Zhou Heming subconsciously looked at Lu Bai.

Because Lu Bai is in a group with Xiang Yunlang this week, he can't act with Zhou Heming.

The production team probably initially planned to randomly pair men and women into teams to see how they would interact.

"Then Xiang Yunlang and I will go with Teacher Fu."

Lu Bai gently squeezed Zhou Heming's hand and then spoke first.

"Teacher Fu just told me about that child today, and I want to help out in a little way."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yunlang nodded.

He did indeed want to help children who had dropped out of school because of their family circumstances.

After all, he almost became that kind of child back then.

"Then I'll go shoot the promotional video; that'll count as doing my job?"

Upon seeing another actor, Lu Bai, making a home visit, Ji Yanshi spoke up.

"I'm OK."

Liu Xunzhu nodded quickly.

He wasn't interested in home visits or shopping, but shooting promotional videos was probably similar to sightseeing, right?
He pondered.

"Then, Zhou Heming and Cheng Shuangjiang, you two go to town?"

He Youwu looked at the two of them.

"Ok."

Zhou Heming glanced at Cheng Shuangjiang and nodded.

"Yes, no problem. I'd also like to browse the market here."

Cheng Shuangjiang smiled.

*
Saturday.

Early in the morning, Zhou Heming and Cheng Shuangjiang got up and packed their things.

Today's duty is done by Liu Xunzhu and Ji Yanshi.

But Zhou Heming and the others didn't bother to have breakfast with everyone; they just grabbed a naan bread and ate it on the way.

They needed to catch the morning bus to town.

This bus only runs twice a day, departing from Hanhai Township to the town around 7 a.m. and returning from the town to here around 7 p.m.

If you miss it, you'll have to wait until the next day.

For people without a car, this is the cheapest and most convenient way.

Since the area is sparsely populated, there's no need to worry about the seats being full.

Due to manpower issues, only one cameraman was assigned to the two of them. He told Zhou Heming and the others to just call him Brother Yang. He was a strong man who, despite being in his thirties, looked like he was in his fifties and was somewhat balding.

The weather was much warmer today. Cheng Shuangjiang wore a light blue sweatshirt with a sponsor's logo, slightly loose jeans, sneakers, and her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail.

After boarding the bus, seeing that there were only two seats, Zhou Heming let Cheng Shuangjiang sit in the window seat and sat next to her.

Yang Ge was sitting to the side and in front, so he could take a picture of the two of them from the front.

"Teacher Fu said that this bus connects several surrounding villages and is a public service route that has been running for more than ten years."

Looking at the withered yellow grassland outside the window, Cheng Shuangjiang murmured.

How long does it take to get to town from here?

Zhou Heming glanced at his phone. The signal was very poor along this stretch of road; almost everything was just spinning and not showing up.

"Two and a half hours."

Cheng Shuangjiang glanced at Zhou Heming, who was staring at his phone scrolling through messages.

"The signal is really bad here. It will probably be better when we pass through the village ahead."

"Oh."

Zhou Heming closed the WeChat chat window with Lu Bai.

The two were silent.

Yang Ge took some photos for a while, then scratched his head.

"Aren't you two going to chat?"

Are we just going to sit here for two and a half hours?

So what does he film?

Although it's great not having to work, if you go back and find you have no material, the whole day will be ruined.

"Alright then, what shall we talk about?"

Cheng Shuangjiang smiled and turned her head slightly to look at Zhou Heming.

"Shall we talk about 'Love in the Time of Cholera'?"

Zhou Heming thought of love with the scent of bitter almonds, of lovers separated for a long time after being hindered but finally reunited, and of the two hundred yuan tucked between the pages of the book and the long-planned birthday wishes.

".OK."

Cheng Shuangjiang hesitated for a moment, then smiled even more brightly.

The two quickly started talking about novels.

The conversation started with Márquez, then moved on to Neruda, then back to Camus and Duras, before venturing into the realm of film.

"Speaking of which, when did you learn German and French?"

Zhou Heming was talking about a movie starring Sophie Marceau when he suddenly asked out of curiosity.

In his memory, neither this timeline nor the previous timeline, Frostfall, seemed to have time to learn these foreign languages.

"I learned it while watching a movie~"

Cheng Shuangjiang smiled.

"Because you, Ah He, well, you like to watch all sorts of movies, many of which are in French and German. After watching so many, you naturally became curious about what the lines would sound like without translation, so you went and learned them. Anyway, you have plenty of time."

Zhou Heming immediately understood that she was referring to the events of the previous timeline.

At that time, Cheng Shuangjiang worked part-time in the library's coffee shop, spending her free time watching movies and reading books, immersing herself in another world that was more beautiful than reality.

With her talent and learning ability, she is indeed capable of becoming self-taught.

"That way, we won't need a translator when we travel to Europe in the future."

Cheng Shuangjiang said with considerable pride.

".really."

Zhou Heming had no idea how many surprises Cheng Shuangjiang held for him, or how much effort the girl had made to be with him that he could not see.

He had no idea how many difficulties Cheng Shuangjiang had gone through to get to where she was.

"What's wrong, Ah He?"

Cheng Shuangjiang noticed Zhou Heming's silence and looked at him.

"The wind and sand are quite strong, and they're blowing into my eyes."

Zhou Heming rubbed his eyes.

"Then I'll close all the windows."

Cheng Shuangjiang immediately closed the window, then turned to the side, looked at Zhou Heming with concern, gently took his hand that was rubbing his eyes, then leaned close to him, stared into his eyes, and gently blew on them.

Is there any sand left?

He looked at the girl who was so close to him, watching him with concern.

Zhou Heming felt his heart racing, like a wild horse galloping across the grasslands, searching for an outlet for his soul.

His phone vibrated, interrupting his thoughts.

"No, thank you."

Zhou Heming blinked hard and looked away.

Cheng Shuangjiang also sat back down.

She saw Zhou Heming hurriedly take out his phone to confirm the information.

It was a message from Lu Bai after he woke up.

She rattled off a long string of words, accompanied by photos, which essentially meant she had reported her entire itinerary to Zhou Heming.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Heming replied to a few messages and then typed.

[Zhou Heming]: I'll bring you a gift back.

[Lu Bai]: Yay!
[Lu Bai]: You need to take good care of Cheng Shuangjiang and not let her carry too much stuff!

[Zhou Heming]: Yes, I know.

As the bus drove away from the village, the signal weakened again, so he put away his phone.

aside.

The cameraman, Yang Ge, was filming while wondering what was going on.

Wait a minute, wasn't it said that the couple was Zhou Heming and Lu Bai?

Why do Zhou Heming and Cheng Shuangjiang seem to have such great chemistry?
Moreover, the two don't have the sweet, passionate feeling of a couple in the honeymoon phase; they have more of the feel of an old married couple.

Although director He Youwu had previously said that he wanted Cheng Shuangjiang to play Lu Bai's love rival, was the interaction between the two really just acting?
Cheng Shuangjiang's acting skills are just too amazing!

After much deliberation, Yang Ge decided to be like a potted plant, neither reminding nor interfering, faithfully photographing what he saw.

The long, bumpy two-and-a-half-hour drive is finally over.

Zhou Heming and Cheng Shuangjiang arrived at the bustling town.

*
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(End of this chapter)