268 Teacher Han
The school ended soon and she dragged him to the library with her. In just two months, their junior year was ending and soon they would be entering their senior year. He couldn’t help but think where the time went by so quickly. Has it really been around two years since he met her?
“Why are you staring at me?” An Xiulan asked him.
Han Zixin just shrugged.
“No music class on weekends?” An Xiulan asked him. “How is your new music teacher?”
“She is fine, ” Han Zixin bitterly said. He hated that Yang Zi had to come to his small music classes just to teach him. He tried changing music schools but he couldn’t get rid of that woman. In the end, he resigned himself to fate. He would just see her as a teacher and be done with her. She was preparing him to pass the difficult entrance test of the national music school that he had every intention of failing. Was he being unreasonable? Yes. Did he care? No!
“If you want to talk, I’m here, ” An Xiulan said as she held his hand.
“I know, ” Han Zixin smiled. “Some people are just not worth our time and energy. Do you want something to drink?”
“Anything will do, ” An Xiulan replied and he went to get something to drink for them, leaving his bag with her. When he was away, she felt his vibrating phone in his bag. He must have switched it on after school ended. She took his phone out of the bag and looked at a missed call he had gotten.
After a while, a text came on his phone. She didn’t mean to see the texts but her finger unintentionally touched on the message notification and suddenly she saw a number of messages sent to his number that he hadn’t replied to. The number was saved by the name of Yang Zi.
For a moment, An Xiulan didn’t know what to feel. She couldn’t say that those texts were harassing but the way none of it was replied to, it was as if Han Zixin was deliberately ignoring them. Also, the tone of the texts was weird.
Suddenly, the phone began vibrating in her hand and she saw a foreign number flashing on his screen. It must be those foreign scammers harassing people in the broad daylight. She picked up the phone to give them a piece of mind. However, as she placed the phone against her ear, she blinked her eyes when she heard a familiar tone.
“Teacher Han?” An Xiulan murmured in disbelief.
A hearty laugh was heard. “Am I still your teacher?”
An Xiulan retorted. “Haven’t you heard that a teacher for a day is like a teacher for life? You helped me when I was a dumb student and now I’m a bright star of the school.”
“You really know how to talk now, ” Han Nanxian mused. “How are you doing these days?”
“I’m quite well these days, ” An Xiulan replied.
“How is Han?” Han Nanxian asked softly.
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” An Xiulan rebutted.
“You know he is not a fan of words when it comes to me, ” Han Nanxian answered.
“Teacher Han, ” An Xiulan asked softly. “Do you know someone with the name Yang Zi?”
Han Nanxian fell silent all of a sudden. “What happened?”
“Zixin is not doing well these days, ” An Xiulan replied in a worried tone. “He loves his music classes but these days he has been avoiding them. He tries to keep himself busy with studies and stuff. Do you know he scored 72% on this monthly test? He should be happy and celebrating but he looks tired and sad. I don’t like seeing him like this.” Taking a small pause, she added, “I’m not supposed to tell you this but once Yeye said you are the magic person of his life. You can turn Zixin’s sadness into happiness with the snap of your fingers. Can you make him happy again?”
“An Xiulan, my brother got a good best friend, ” Han Nanxian admitted. “Don’t leave him alone, okay?”
“I will never and you don’t need to say this, ” An Xiulan replied.
“You are right, ” Han Nanxian said with a sigh. “Now hang up the call. Delete my number from call logs. Don’t let him know you picked up the call. As for this ghost of the past, Yeye will deal with her. She has no right to come back and make him miserable once again.”
An Xiulan agreed. Han Zixin would be very hurt if she told him that she took help from Han Nanxian. However, she knew her boundaries. She was too weak to help her best friend. Han Nanxian knew the past and he knew what to do while she didn’t even know who this Yang Zi was.
Soon, Han Zixin came with water and juice. He found her deep in thought and tapped on her shoulder to get her attention.
“What’s up?” He asked her.
“I am hiding something from you and I can’t tell you about this, “An Xiulan informed him.
“It’s alright, ” Han Zixin smiled. Actually, he was hiding something from her too. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her about this. He just couldn’t. So, as long as he knew that she was hiding something from him too, he would feel less guilty.
“Do you know the school is organising a trip just two weeks before final exams?” An Xiulan asked him.
“Are they crazy? Who will go on the trip when the exams are just two weeks away?” Han Zixin asked her.
An Xiulan shrugged. “I heard it to relax the panicking student. If we are relaxed, our exams will go well.”
“So, are you going?” Han Zixin questioned her.
“Only if you are, ” An Xiulan’s reply was clear.
“Where are they going?” Han Zixin asked her.
An Xiulan replied, “A coastal village in the south.”
“I have never seen a beach, ” Han Zixin smiled.
“You haven’t?” She looked at him and asked.
Han Zixin shook his head.
“Isn’t there a beach in the neighbouring city? I went to one once but I’m scared of water bodies. I just saw it from afar, ” An Xiulan sighed. “If we are going on a picnic, I can’t go near the water body.”
“You are scared of ice and water bodies. I wonder why?” Han Zixin wondered out loud.
“Because it’s scary, “An Xiulan said with a scared look.