pertwk Chapter 8 A Snake in a Cup
Chapter 8 A Snake in a Cup
Chu Kong quickly hid behind the shelf, but his startled movements caused him to bump into a row of drinks on the shelf, and several drinks rolled to the ground, which in turn attracted the other party's attention.
"Tsk, what bad luck! I went all this way to buy a pack of cigarettes, and I still have to run into students?"
Long Mengmeng spoke to herself in a voice only she could hear.
"Haha, what a coincidence, Teacher Long." Chu Kong gave an awkward smile, walked out from behind the shelf, and greeted Long Mengmeng.
"Chu Kong, why didn't you go to eat?" Long Mengmeng forced a smile.
But Chu Kong always felt that Long Mengmeng's expression actually meant she was ready to throw a punch.
"I was playing around with Li Lingchuang this morning and accidentally broke a cup, so I came to buy a new one." Chu Kong said, waving the cup in his hand.
"It seems you're fitting in well." Long Mengmeng nodded with satisfaction, but then she noticed Chu Kong's hands behind his back.
A corner of the bread peeked out from the side of his thin body.
After a moment's thought, she asked, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? I haven't either. What would you like to eat? It's on me."
Chu Kong also realized that Teacher Long had noticed the bread behind him.
He decided to stop hiding it and held the bread in front of him: "No need, Teacher Long, a classmate asked me to take the bread back for him."
Long Mengmeng's gaze lingered on the bag of cheap bread for a second.
In that instant, Chu Kong saw an extremely complex expression flash across her eyes.
She had bought and tasted that bread before, but the difference was that she bought it to dry and feed the birds.
She didn't expose him, nor did she say anything else.
Any words of comfort or charity, under the lens of a live broadcast, could become an even more cruel blow to the teenager's self-esteem.
"Get in the car." She simply turned her head, pointed to the door, and said in a calm tone that left no room for argument, "I'll give you a ride home. It's on my way."
Following the direction Long Mengmeng pointed, Chu Kong saw a luxury sports car parked outside the store.
Chu Kong didn't understand car brands and models, but the value of the car was undeniable.
Seeing Long Mengmeng's determined expression, Chu Kong nodded helplessly.
The car smelled wonderful, but the interior was completely different from what Chu Kong had imagined. A row of small figurines caught his eye: a space soldier covered in blood, wielding a giant gun; a figure entangled in a pool of black slime on a red bodysuit; a giant robot painted in white, blue, and red, holding a massive lightsaber...
The only one who fits the image of a girl is a magical girl holding a star wand and wearing a black and purple bodysuit adorned with stars. However, unlike the other magical girls, she has thick dark circles under her eyes, an excited expression, and a face that can be described as drooling.
Realizing that Chu Kong was staring at her collection, Long Mengmeng's unhealthy face suddenly turned red, and even her dark circles became red.
"Cough cough cough cough." A series of rapid coughs quickly suppressed the panic and awkwardness.
"Teacher Long, are you alright?"
"It's okay, it's okay, um, well, what was I going to say again? Oh right, well, ah, I remember now, are you getting used to it?" The flustered Long Mengmeng finally found the right words.
"Um, what I mean is, are you getting used to it here?" Long Mengmeng finally calmed down a bit.
"It's a habit, Teacher Long." Chu Kong understood that his actions had made Teacher Long a little embarrassed, and replied earnestly.
The ten-minute walk wasn't too far, and before long, the sports car had come to a smooth stop in the school's parking lot.
"That's good." Long Mengmeng nodded, her face finally regaining its composure.
"Then I'll head back to class now. Thank you, Teacher Long, for giving me a ride." Chu Kong said gratefully, opening the car door and getting out.
Just as he was about to leave, Teacher Long called out to him from behind, his voice slightly hesitant.
"Chu Kong, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask your teacher for help."
Chu Kong turned around and met Long Mengmeng's gaze.
Hesitation and indecisiveness were the underlying tone of that look in his eyes.
But why do these emotions arise?
Chu Kong didn't understand.
What role does she play?
After expressing his gratitude and agreeing, Chu Kong walked slowly towards the classroom, lost in thought.
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Chu Kong made himself a small notebook, only the size of a palm.
As he pondered, he wrote down one keyword after another on it.
This made him almost forget how awful the bread he was chewing was.
He was completely unaware of the figure creeping closer behind him.
"Chu Kong, what are you writing?" A melodious voice rang in Chu Kong's ears, like the most intimate call from his pillow in the early morning.
Chu Kong subconsciously turned his head, only to find Ning Wantang's face incredibly close. He could even feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek, and he could clearly see the fine downy hairs on her face.
Ning Wantang seemed to realize the inappropriateness of her actions and quickly took half a step back, but her face was already flushed.
"I haven't written anything, I'm just brainstorming ideas for a novel, and I quite like novels."
Chu Kong handed the note in his palm to Ning Wantang.
"Heroes, comrades, treasure..."
Each noun refers to a component of the story, leaving endless room for imagination.
This was a solution that Chu Kong had carefully considered.
Every move you make is exposed on the live stream, and you are constantly being watched by countless eyes.
Since it was impossible to carry out every plan in the toilet, he adopted this method based on simple cryptography and recorded it on paper.
"Chu Kong is really amazing!" Ning Wantang exclaimed as she took a bag of nutritional milk from her pocket and placed it in Chu Kong's hand.
"I was a little worried about your health, so I bought this for you as a gift." Ning Wantang blinked her beautiful eyes.
Chu Kong felt the temperature emanating from the bag of milk, unsure whether it was the original temperature or the heat emanating from Ning Wantang.
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Chu Kong smiled and said, "Thank you, Tangtang, but I still can't let you buy things for me for nothing. I'll pay you back."
As he spoke, Chu Kong reached into his wallet.
"No way." Ning Wantang pretended to be angry and held down Chu Kong's hand.
Their hands touched.
Chu Kong couldn't tell if his hands were too cold or Ning Wantang's hands were too hot.
For a moment, he was even a little afraid that the other person would withdraw their hand.
"It's just a bag of milk. Consider it an apology for what Li Ling did, okay?" Ning Wantang puffed out one cheek and advised in a gentle, watery voice.
Seeing that Chu Kong was no longer resisting, Ning Wantang withdrew her hand.
As her fingertips withdrew, they brushed lightly across the back of Chu Kong's hand, leaving a fleeting, intense touch.
Ning Wantang only then belatedly realized the inappropriateness of her actions.
Her face flushed again, like the spreading sunset.
Chu Kong held the warm bag of milk in his hand, the warmth from his palm almost making him lose his senses for a moment.
"Well, thank you, Tangtang," Chu Kong said sincerely.
"It's nothing." Ning Wantang waved his hand, and Chu Kong once again involuntarily looked at the location where he had once seen the familiar emblem in the waving of those fingers.