You're my wife, don't doubt it!

Director Lin took the teacup, shook his head, and blew on it: "You're not young anymore, are you seventeen this year?"

"sixteen."

"Oh, sixteen, you've grown so tall already. In two more years you'll be an adult." Director Lin said, "Adults should know that they should be sensible."

Xiao Yao: "Mr. Que, you are absolutely right."

“I’ve been at this school for almost ten years. Alright, alright, sit down,” Director Lin said. “To be honest, I rarely meet with students to discuss their relationship issues.”

So it really was just because of this? Optimistic Xiao Yao thought, thank goodness.

"Mm," Xiao Yao said.

"As you know, our school hasn't really been involved in this kind of thing," Director Lin said.

"Enlightened." Xiao Yao gave a thumbs up.

"Personally, I'm even less willing to get involved," Director Lin said. "Even if I were to get involved, it would be in a positive sense, providing guidance, uh, counseling."

"Hello, Yaqi." Xiao Yao didn't lower his thumb.

“But with three people outside… even the principal would have a hard time protecting you in this situation,” Director Lin told Xiao Yao. “But I believe in you, and I’ve covered it up for you.”

Why did he bring this up again? Xiao Yao wondered.

"Teacher Lin," Xiao Yao could only say in response to his teacher's attempt to take credit, "I will always remember this."

"While Teacher Song may be somewhat biased and extreme, and I don't entirely agree with that," Director Lin continued, "it's a fact that your final exams and Yu Luying's are highly similar, don't you admit that?"

"..." Xiao Yao responded with respectful silence, neither admitting nor denying.

"You know it was me," Director Lin emphasized the word "me," "It was me who argued with your teacher Song and finally suppressed the matter, protecting you. Do you admit that?"

"That bastard is talking as if all the credit is his," Xiao Yao thought with slight displeasure.

A person's destiny requires both... and...

"I admit it, I admit it," Xiao Yao had no choice but to say.

"Xu Qingwei's situation of studying on a temporary basis is also irregular in a strict sense," Director Lin continued, moving on to the next question: "If you don't believe me, go and ask around the whole school. Besides her, is there a second student studying on a temporary basis in our school?"

“Yes, yes,” Xiao Yao nodded vigorously, “It’s all thanks to Director Lin for making things convenient.”

"To be honest, I shouldn't be the one saying this," Director Lin lowered his voice even further, "Do you think I can't tell whether you and Xu Qingwei are... just friends?"

Xiao Yao had no choice but to remain respectfully silent.

"But I don't want to interfere too much in your private affairs. So, I'll still agree to let Yu Luying come in, right?"

"Yes." Xiao Yao was slightly impatient.

He tried hard not to show it.

"After the start of the semester, you came to me and asked me to put you two together," Director Lin's "bitter memories and sweet memories" session finally seemed to be coming to an end: "Although I don't agree with your high-profile approach, did I still put you two together?"

"Yes, thank you, Teacher Lin." Actually, Xiao Yao already had some regrets about this matter.

"But there should be a limit to being high-profile, right?" After going around in circles, Director Lin finally got back to the point: "You should know your place. Look at all the students in the school who are dating. Which couple is like you two? Take your class monitor Chen Lu and Zhang Jialong for example. They are too high-profile, and I have already talked to them about it once. But they don't go to the toilet together every break, do they?"

“Teacher Lin, Yu Luying and I don’t go to the toilet together during every single break,” Xiao Yao reminded Director Lin.

"You dare talk back!" Director Lin slammed his hand on the table. "They never go to the bathroom together, okay? From first grade onwards, boys go with boys, girls go with girls, boys and girls go together. What kind of talk is that? Do you know what people say about you behind your backs?"

"I don't know, what do you mean by 'us'?" Xiao Yao was both curious and reluctant to know.

“Don’t tell me you’re just high school students,” Director Lin didn’t answer the question directly, but instead began to educate you earnestly: “Even if you are college students, even if you enter society in the future, people will still gossip about you and laugh at you for this.”

Xiao Yao silently listened attentively.

What can we do? We're desperate too!

“Me too, I was young once, I was impulsive once too,” Director Lin scratched his thinning hair. “When I was in my first relationship, I wanted to be like Siamese twins, sticking together 24 hours a day.”

But I don't want to! Xiao Yao roared inwardly.

"But everything in excess is as bad as deficiency. Humans are social animals. No matter what you do, you have to consider the social impact and how others will view you," Director Lin said. "Do you two have to be inseparable during work hours when you go to the same company for your internship? Follow each other everywhere? Even if your colleagues don't laugh at you, do you think you can get a permanent position?"

"I think he was fired around the second week because his left foot stepped into the company door first." Xiao Yao tilted his head and thought for a moment, seriously simulating this scenario.

Although he had never worked a job.

“Now the whole class, no, the whole grade, has a lot of complaints about you,” Director Lin exaggerated.

"Just because we went to the bathroom together during break?" Xiao Yao asked.

"The impact is extremely bad, do you understand? What if everyone follows suit? What will become of the school's atmosphere at St. Francis Secondary School?" Director Lin said with feigned distress. "Moreover, there are rumors circulating throughout the grade that are very detrimental to you, especially to Yu Luying."

"What nonsense are they talking about?" Xiao Yao asked anxiously.

“I can’t repeat those words; just hearing them would offend the ears of any decent person,” Director Lin shook his head. “You just need to remember that even if you’re a boy and can be carefree and not care about these things, Yu Luying is a girl, and she’s sensitive about her reputation—as her boyfriend, shouldn’t you consider her reputation?”

Reputation...

So, the problem is more serious than I thought.

We need to think of a solution; we can't keep burying our heads in the sand.

But what should we do?

"Besides," Director Lin lowered his voice again, "don't you even consider Xu Qingwei's feelings?"

“No, Teacher Lin,” Xiao Yao instinctively made a safety statement this time, “Xu Qingwei and I are really just friends—”

"Yu Luying, come in! Let's talk all at once!" Director Lin craned his neck, looking towards his office door. "Don't eavesdrop at the door, I know you're there!"

Xiao Yao subconsciously turned his face and followed Director Lin's gaze toward the office door.

Several seconds passed, but there was still no movement.

Chapter 371 They say you've had children

2023-11-04

"And then what happened?" Shen Jie listened with great interest.

On Friday evening, September 10, 2004, Shen Tianyun went out to have fun, while the three children, as usual, sat around the dinner table doing their homework.

"What happened next?" Xiao Yao asked.

“Later, he suddenly called me into his office,” Yu Luying recalled. “I was so scared that I wished the ground would split open and swallow me up.”

"She was still pretending to be dead outside, and then that guy surnamed Lin just ran out and dragged her in," Xiao Yao continued.

"Haha," Shen Jie laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Xiao Yao said.

"Later, Teacher Lin used a carrot-and-stick approach, arguing with us for almost an entire class period," Yu Luying told Shen Jie.

"Huh? It's such a trivial matter, why does it take so long to talk about it?" Shen Jie said, "Our Director Lin is still not fully occupied with his work."

“That’s right,” Xiao Yao said, “I even caught him playing Legend of Mir in his office last time. Cheers!”

"Really? What profession does he play?" Shen Jie asked curiously. "Ahem, stop with the nonsense. Tell me what Teacher Lin said to you two at the end? The carrot and stick approach."

"It's nothing, just a long and earnest lecture, and then a warning," Xiao Yao said casually. "Each of us filled out a disciplinary form, and they said that if we collected three, we would be punished. It was Teacher Yao's old routine, probably trained by the principal. Then we said we wished Teacher Lin a happy Teacher's Day, and that was it."

"Huh?" Shen Jie drawled out her words in disbelief.

“Thanks to Xiao Yao,” Yu Luying replied coldly, “I, Yu Luying, have been a model student since I was a child. Finally, in my second year of high school, I received my first disciplinary notice, which added a bright color to my life and made my whole life complete.”

"Oh dear, it's not even in your file, it's just a formality to scare you, I know this stuff," Xiao Yao said.

Xiao Yao's intention was merely to comfort Yu Luying, but the latter misinterpreted it as disapproval: "You!"

“No,” Shen Jie said, “what reason did you have to be punished, oh no, what disciplinary notice did you receive?”

"Provoking trouble," Xiao Yao and Yu Luying answered in unison.

Shen Jie: "?"

Xiao Yao shrugged.

Shen Jie: "Then what does he want you to do?"

“The exact words were,” Xiao Yao recalled, “Be a normal person.”

"Huh?" Shen Jie said, "So vague?"

“The specifics include,” Yu Luying told Shen Jie, “attending physical education class properly, otherwise it will be marked as an absence and you will be disciplined directly.”

"What should we do then?" Shen Jie sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“I’ve already thought it through on my way back,” Xiao Yao said confidently. “I’ll have my grandma and Yu Lihua ask Lao Lin to exempt us from PE class. I’ll find a doctor I know to pull some strings and get a report. That will solve this damn PE class problem once and for all.”

Shen Jie thought about it carefully: "From a procedural and legal point of view, there is indeed nothing wrong with doing this, but have you considered that the students are already very unhappy with Teacher Lin, Teacher Yuan, and Teacher Gong? Playing this trick will only make everyone, especially the teachers, feel that you are deliberately showing defiance..."

“I’ve thought about it,” Yu Luying replied calmly. “Teacher Lin used to be my mother’s student, so I’ll have my mother talk to him in person. Besides, my grandfather and Uncle Paul…”

“Even Uncle Paul called him Yigang,” Xiao Yao said, “They’re so affectionate.”

“By the way,” Yu Luying turned her head slightly angrily, “when did you start calling my mother by her first name?”

“It’s always easier to get things done if you have connections in high places,” Shen Jie said, tapping her notebook with the cap of her pen. “You two shouldn’t have been so high-profile in the first place.”

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying stared at each other.