Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Chapter 236: Chapter 206: Uncomfortable Chapter 236: Chapter 206: Uncomfortable The bell rang for the end of class, and Teacher Guo Ran finished her lecture on time.

The students were very satisfied; among all the teachers, the chemistry teacher Guo Ran never dragged out her lessons, unlike the bald English teacher Chen Haiyang, who seemed to enjoy extending his classes as long as possible.

After announcing the end of the class, Guo Ran, holding her textbook, walked down from the podium and called out to Jiang Ning:

“Jiang Ning, come to the office for a moment.”

This caused the classmates to laugh. Jiang Ning was the chemistry class representative, and Teacher Guo Ran had called him out like this several times before. Each time he returned, Jiang Ning would be carrying a bag, and he had not tried to hide this fact.

So, after a few such occasions, the classmates knew that Jiang Ning had a special relationship with the chemistry teacher, and the bag he brought back contained a bounty of snacks.

Everyone envied him, though they might be envious they wouldn’t harbor any other feelings—after all, getting hit by Jiang Ning really hurt.

Sitting in the back, Ma Shicheng put down his phone, looked up, and mimicked in a falsetto:

“Ma Shicheng, come to the office for a moment.”

Hearing this, Teacher Guo Ran lowered the textbook, and with a bit of resignation in her voice, said:

“Ma Shicheng, in the last chemistry exam, you scored last in the entire grade. How did you manage that?”

The students in the front row burst into laughter: “Hahaha.”

Several of the girls looked towards Ma Shicheng.

Facing the gaze of his classmates, which felt like watching a monkey at the zoo, Ma Shicheng felt a sense of shame. They were laughing at him, he thought. How had he, Brother Ma, ever fallen so low?

Was he someone that just anyone could humiliate?

With this thought in mind, a surge of lofty ambition suddenly rose in his heart:

“Chemistry, what’s that? Wait until next year’s eleventh grade, I’ll start to work hard, and I’ll turn this chemistry into divinity!”

…

Jiang Ning followed Teacher Guo Ran to the office, which was empty at the time. She set the textbook on the table and pulled up a chair for Jiang Ning:

“Take a seat.”

With that, she grabbed a cup of hot water to moisten her throat.

She’d been lecturing for an entire class, and in order to be heard by those in the back, she couldn’t speak too softly. But speaking loudly for a long time inevitably made her throat uncomfortable.

Just like the old teachers in their office, some of them had been teaching for so long their throats would ‘smoke’, leaving them hoarse.

During class, they often wore microphones and amplifiers.

Some teachers suggested she wear an amplifier.

This time, Teacher Guo Ran had called Jiang Ning over to get his opinion on the matter.

“Help me test this out.” After saying this, she put on the amplifier right there in front of Jiang Ning and stepped back a few steps.

She donned the microphone, looking like a charming commentator.

As Teacher Guo Ran began to speak, her voice transmitted through the amplifier:

“Jiang Ning, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Does my voice sound harsh? Tell me the truth,” Teacher Guo Ran asked.

Previously, during her internship, when she sat in on other teachers’ classes, she felt the amplified voice from the microphone was very uncomfortable to listen to, somewhat piercing to the ears, and she was concerned it would bother the students during her lessons.

Jiang Ning gave her an honest answer: “It does sound harsh.”

He could understand why some teachers with throat discomfort from lecturing might need an amplifier, but indeed, it was quite noisy, especially for those sitting up front, who would find their ears in pain.

Hearing Jiang Ning’s response, Teacher Guo Ran said:

“If you don’t like it, then I won’t wear it.”

Besides, she too felt uncomfortable wearing the microphone, always feeling there was a barrier between her and Jiang Ning.

She put down the amplifier, and as the hot water had cooled down a bit, she held the cup, leaned on the edge of the office desk, and took a sip before letting out a sigh.

Jiang Ning reclined in his chair and looked up with a smile, asking:

“Tell me, what’s the trouble this time?”

After helping Teacher Guo Ran last time, their relationship had quickly warmed, and every now and then, she would call Jiang Ning to the office to chat about life.

Having had interactions across two lifetimes, Jiang Ning was very familiar with Teacher Guo Ran and could easily figure out what was on her mind.

“There’s a bit of a bother,” Teacher Guo Ran didn’t keep it from Jiang Ning. Though he was just a student of hers, after talking to him for a while, she was very confident in his inner qualities, and she could discuss certain things she couldn’t mention to others.

Teacher Guo Ran started with the first matter: “My relative is setting me up with someone again, wants me to give it a try this Saturday.”

“Is it the same relative as before?” Jiang Ning asked. The Yan Bo who had privately started a factory and discharged wastewater was someone Teacher Guo Ran’s relative had introduced.

He had seemed alright on the outside, but he turned out to be scum.

Teacher Guo Ran didn’t deny it: “Yes.”

“I suggest you stop contacting this relative from now on,” Jiang Ning joked.

“That won’t do, he’s my only relative in Yuzhou,” replied Teacher Guo Ran, not taking Jiang Ning’s bad suggestion seriously. She wasn’t a native of Yuzhou, but had just been assigned there after passing the civil service exam.

Having moved to Yuzhou City, an unfamiliar place, she was quite taken care of by her only relative there. He had previously asked her to move in with them, but Teacher Guo Ran, considering the inconvenience, chose to live in the dormitory of Fourth Middle School.

After cracking the joke, Jiang Ning looked into Teacher Guo Ran’s eyes:

“You plan to keep the appointment?”

This experience was one Guo Ran had never had before. At this time in her previous life, an accident had occurred, and she had already left Fourth Middle School.

She was unclear about what happened afterward.

“Let’s go have a look,” Guo Ran couldn’t dismiss the kindness, after all, when she first came to this city, her relatives helped her a lot. Moreover, it was their good intention to want her to get married soon, so she wouldn’t have to struggle alone in this city.

“Mm, just be careful, don’t get deceived by someone again.”

Jiang Ning reminded her, knowing Guo Ran’s depth.

Guo Ran once talked to him about her past, opening up about her feelings. He learned that Teacher Guo Ran’s family was strict, and throughout her student life, she abided by her family’s teachings and never had a relationship.

Now, soon after graduation, her family immediately started urging her to find a partner.

On one hand, it was the pressure from her parents, on the other hand, the good intentions of her relatives, and yet another aspect was the isolation of being in a strange place that tore at her heart.

On this point, Jiang Ning felt quite emotional. Just having graduated and entering society, being far from home, carrying only a small amount of savings, looking for a job, renting a house, it was indeed a very baffling matter.

If, when renting a house, you were also scammed by a ruthless agent, it would likely break your spirit.

“I am your teacher, you know,” Guo Ran signaled for him to show some respect.

Jiang Ning didn’t mind; he had a special feeling towards Guo Ran — not affection, but probably the friendship between a teacher and a student, yet a bit different from the usual ones, more like friends as well as mentors.

It was one of the few times when Jiang Ning spoke without having to weigh his words too much.

“It’s not about you being a teacher or not. You’ve never been in a relationship, going straight to matchmaking often leads to being easily deceived,” Jiang Ning said.

Guo Ran was a bit annoyed, she looked at Jiang Ning with an air of maturity, suddenly leaning in and knocking on his head with her hand.

“You think you’re like everyone else, just in your first year of high school, and hanging out with a bunch of girls all day.”

She noticed that Jiang Ning’s hair was exceptionally clean, not greasy at all, with that distinctive freshness of youth.

Jiang Ning felt differently; he was sitting in the chair, and because of Guo Ran’s actions, her body came closer, her clothes brushed against him, carrying a hint of freshness.

After the knock, Guo Ran straightened up her body.

She felt that Jiang Ning was quite similar to her; she came to Yuzhou City alone to teach, while Jiang Ning moved from a small town to the urban area to study alone.

What’s more, they both had a relative in Yuzhou and they both refused to stay at their relative’s place — too similar, wasn’t it?

Many young girls, and women just entering society, tend to value this inexplicable ‘fate’ a lot.

Jiang Ning said, “Just a reminder, it’s not a bunch of girls; I only hang out with Xue Yuantong.”

“Oh, pretty loyal,” praised Guo Ran.

Jiang Ning didn’t dwell on that topic and asked instead,

“Is there anything else?”

Guo Ran heard this, opened the cabinet, took out a large bag of snacks, and placed it on the table:

“Here, share these with Xue Yuantong.”

Guo Ran also liked Xue Yuantong; the girl was clever and cute, had perfect scores in chemistry, and had a voracious appetite — if only her ping pong skills were a bit worse.

“The amount isn’t right,” Jiang Ning’s Divine Sense scanned the snacks; there were a lot more than before.

“If there’s something, say it quickly; I still have class,” Jiang Ning urged.

Guo Ran hesitated, then said, “I have an appointment on Saturday, wait for me outside the restaurant.”

“This…”

Seeing Jiang Ning considering it, Guo Ran pleaded, “Just this once; if it’s not reliable again, I won’t trust my relatives in the future.”

Ever since the incident with Yan Bo happened, she felt a shadow over the thought of love and marriage, almost developing a psychological barrier and was almost unable to face it again. What could alleviate her feelings was, funnily enough, her student in front of her.

Last time, she was a step away from having her face slashed by that crazed woman with a knife; it was exactly at that dangerous moment that Jiang Ning stepped forward and shouted to stop her.

For a beautiful woman, this was no less than a lifesaving grace.

Seeing her say this, Jiang Ning then said, “Fine, I’ll accompany you.”

“My student is really the best.”

“I’ll find you on Saturday then!” Guo Ran was in a good mood.

Jiang Ning picked up the snacks: “Okay, I’m taking these now.”

Guo Ran felt a little bit reluctant, not towards Jiang Ning, but towards her snacks.

She was a new teacher with a modest salary; the snacks she bought were all the tasty kind and not cheap; the package she just gave to Jiang Ning had cost her nearly two hundred yuan.

He carried the large bag out to the office door, leaving a remark:

“I’ll give you a gift tomorrow; you can try looking forward to it.”

Guo Ran blurted out: “What gift?”

No sooner had she spoken than Jiang Ning’s figure had vanished.

Guo Ran looked at the empty doorway: “So young, and already keeping people in suspense!”

She felt a slight anticipation for what gift Jiang Ning would bring her tomorrow — snacks? A small trinket?

Or perhaps something else.

Guo Ran didn’t hold out much hope; Jiang Ning was just a student, and having the intention to show this respect for his teacher was already wonderful.