It’s not appropriate, not appropriate at all. She is a Teacher from the Academy, and I am a student. This is far too against the norms.
Zhao Rong chuckled to himself, shaking his head to dispel these fluttering thoughts, choosing not to ponder them further.
He scanned his surroundings; there weren’t many pedestrians on the road, and most of them seemed to be fellow scholars and older classmates from the Academy, as the majority of students from the Mochi Academy were still in class.
The weather was clear today; the morning sun spread its warmth over him.
Underneath the sun, Zhao Rong squinted slightly, hands clasped behind his back, humming a tune, when suddenly, a figure appeared at the corner ahead and caught his eye.
This was a graceful silhouette clad in a Confucian robe, walking towards Zhao Rong along with the sunlight, carrying the delicate scent of orchids and stepping with quiet grace.
Zhao Rong’s eyes snapped open, and he only had time to get a glimpse of the newcomer’s shape, which overlapped with the memory of another figure, like an orchid, from his past.
A thump sounded in his heart.
But almost instantly, Zhao Rong narrowed his eyelids, pursed his lips, and regained his composure, continuing forward with a normal expression on his face.
Without an outward sign, his steps remained steady as he stealthily glanced at the Confucian-robed woman approaching from the right.
Her backdrop was the rising sun, the light beaming from behind her, making the woman’s face difficult to discern, but Zhao Rong could confirm that it was indeed her beyond a doubt.
He turned his head slightly, noticing the edge of his vision where a few other pedestrians walked, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
In the brief time it took for these thoughts to whirl through Zhao Rong’s mind, he and the woman in the Confucian robe drew closer.
Closer and closer, closer and closer.
And with this proximity, the delicate scent of orchids grew stronger.
Zhao Rong had planned to keep looking straight ahead, yet in the next second, he found himself turning his head ever so slightly, "stealthily" glancing at her. After all, such an outstanding woman, even in a man’s Confucian robe, was extremely captivating, and passing pedestrians almost couldn’t help but look; only someone truly virtuous or with ulterior motives wouldn’t take a glance, and either would draw her attention...
Zhao Rong’s heart leapt to his throat.
They brushed past one another once again.
Zhao Rong caught sight from the corner of his eye as the woman in the Confucian robe passed by without turning her head and vanished from his view, leaving him slightly relieved. Why did it feel like that sensation of running into a teacher after skipping class?
Almost before Zhao Rong could dwell on it, he noticed several men heading the same way as him, slowing their pace and turning back to look at the Confucian-robed woman they had just passed.
Zhao Rong found this quite understandable.
To make his act more convincing, he too came to a halt, leisurely looking back, but in an instant his breath hitched, for there she was, stopped not too far away, poised sideways, her head turned looking at them!
Zhao Rong and the few passersby: "......"
Zhu Weirui stood still.
At that moment, the atmosphere at this fork in the forest pathway was somewhat awkward and bizarre.
Only the rustling of leaves could be heard.
Zhu Weirui suddenly spoke up, her voice clear, "Excuse me..."
Zhao Rong’s right eyelid twitched.
She extended a slender finger, pointing in the direction they were heading, her tone perplexed, "Is Lanzhou Crossing this way?"
Zhao Rong hesitated for a moment, then it dawned on him what might be happening.
He discreetly surveyed their environment; this forest path was twisty and full of forks. Had it not been for the familiar Jia Teng Ying and Fan Yushu guiding him through here once before, he would have been utterly lost.
And based on Zhao Rong’s extensive past experiences with certain novels, the beautiful women the protagonists encountered often had small quirks that led to their meeting and falling in love—like...
Ahem, that’s not important. What’s important is could the talented and beautiful Teacher Zhu actually be directionally challenged?
Zhao Rong blinked, but he was still somewhat skeptical.
At that moment, after Zhu Weirui finished speaking, Zhao Rong and the men beside him exchanged glances, then unanimously shook their heads.
"No, that’s not right,
"Lanzhou Crossing is in the direction you were originally heading."
"You are on the correct path, but there are a few more complex turns to navigate further on..."
Zhu Weirui nodded slightly, her gaze lingering on them, silent for the moment as if... she was hesitating about something.
Seeing this, Zhao Rong was finally able to relax a bit more, and then he slightly raised an eyebrow.
His mind took a turn.
At this moment, among the men by Zhao Rong’s side, one or two also realized what was happening, their eyes lighting up with a bit of surprise. They, too, seemed to have grasped the endearing trait of the intellectually elegant Orchid Teacher who was adorably clueless about directions, and perhaps Teacher Zhu now was... too embarrassed to ask for help?
However, although they were quite thrilled by the thought, their faces hesitated, and for the moment, none dared to step forward.
But in the very next moment, someone made their move for them.
Zhao Rong glanced left and right, seeing the eagerness on the faces around him, he focused his gaze, decided not to slip away, and without further hesitation, he took a step forward, approaching Zhu Weirui.
The men behind him, who had been indecisive, hurried their expressions, but Zhao Rong had already walked up to Zhu Weirui and spoken. The other passersby, witnessing this, could only give up and leave with sighs, some still looking back from time to time...
Zhao Rong offered a salute, and with a smile, he said:
"Might I inquire, is your honor the new Teacher at our Academy, Zhu Weirui, Teacher Zhu?"