After Monday morning’s classes, An Hao carried her books and went with her dormmates to fetch food containers for lunch.
On the way, they could hear students from other grades chattering away.
There were boys and girls alike.
"Have you heard? The school’s got a new female teacher! They say she’s gorgeous and has studied abroad!"
"I saw her! Truly beautiful, with perfectly done-up makeup, wearing a woollen coat, and her long hair curled and draped over her shoulders. Men’s eyes pop out just looking at her."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Hearing you talk like that, I’m tempted to strip off this military uniform! I really chose the wrong school; I shouldn’t have gone for military medicine. Wearing this outfit, you can’t show off any femininity at all."
"Who is this new teacher? Why are the opinions and buzz about her so high?" Lei Linxuan, being curious, couldn’t help but ask after hearing them talk.
"You’re asking us? Who are we supposed to ask? We’ve just heard about it the same as you!" said Zhang Juan.
Gu Shuangshuang, after hearing this description, couldn’t stop picturing the woman’s silhouette: "An Hao, why do I feel like the person they’re describing seems familiar?"
"Are you thinking about the one from the vegetable market?" Her intuition told her that the new teacher was her.
"You know her?" Lei Linxuan leaned in and asked, "I heard them say there’s a chance she’ll teach juniors!"
"I don’t know her. It’s just a feeling."
The conversation abruptly ended there. After all, they were just discussing a female teacher, and what the girls were interested in was nothing more than her appearance; once talked over, it was over.
Back in the dorm, a few of them grabbed aluminum food containers and headed to the cafeteria.
Because it was Monday, it was particularly crowded.
At that moment, Gu Shuangshuang became particularly useful. She carried four containers, calling out to her seniors along the queue, and swiftly, she went from being the last in line to the third.
The cafeteria worker recognized Gu Shuangshuang and smiled upon seeing her. He raised his chubby hand and piled the rice high with a clang of his spoon.
"Thank you, chef! You’re the cutest in the whole cafeteria!" Gu Shuangshuang did not skimp on words of praise for the chef who had taken care of her.
The cafeteria worker couldn’t help but smile widely: "Sweet talker, this young lady."
Gu Shuangshuang, carrying four aluminum containers, squeezed out of the crowd, and An Hao quickly went to help her with two of them.
But as she turned around, someone pushed her out of the way.
An Hao and Gu Shuangshuang were unharmed, but the containers fell to the ground, scattering food everywhere.
"Ah! My braised pork!"
"Ah! My sour shredded potatoes!"
"I’ve got nothing left."
The hot food they had just managed to get after a long queue was all gone.
After lamenting, Gu Shuangshuang grew angry. She was about to curse when she turned and saw a confused woman: "It’s you?"
"Are you the new teacher?" The moment she saw Cheng Yu, she knew.
"Yes!" Cheng Yu said awkwardly, "I didn’t expect our paths to cross again here."
"Indeed!" Gu Shuangshuang looked at the last serving of braised pork pieces scattered on the ground and swallowed sadly, "And that was the last portion."
"I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean it." Cheng Yu hadn’t done it on purpose; the cafeteria was just too crowded, and when people behind her pushed, she was propelled forward, and then...
"No worries. After all, you helped An Hao get her wallet back earlier, and she hadn’t yet had the chance to thank you, so this makes you even..." Gu Shuangshuang said.