There Are Always Teachers Who Want To Ask Out Parents

 Chapter 26: Restless Heart

Lu Wei is going to perform the group dance "Glass Beads"*. An hour before the gala, Lu Zhiqiao followed daughter to the backstage of the auditorium, and saw a lot of parents coming. Some were standing outside chatting, and some were sitting inside watching their children apply their makeup.

*probably GFriend's Glass Beads (<--click link to watch MV)

Qi Yan is also there.

She was sitting next to a little girl in a costume, holding an automatic eyebrow pencil, and was concentrating on drawing the girl's eyebrows.

Due to limited conditions, the school did not hire a professional makeup artist, so teachers who could do it, had to do it. Qi Yan painted very seriously and was very skilled in the technique. She completed the outline and filled in one go. While painting, she whispered to the girl, chatting with a gentle smile on the corners of the eyes and brows.

Lu Zhiqiao looked silently, with an imperceptible smile on the corner of her mouth. She suddenly realized she had been staring and felt that it was inappropriate so she pretended to survey the area and looked away.

But after a while, she turned back again.

"Lu Wei, is she your sister?" A gentle-looking boy leaned over.

The little girl was looking at herself in the mirror, she turned her head when she heard the sound, and said, "My mother."

"Hello, auntie..." He looked at Lu Zhiqiao in surprise, his mouth curled into a circle. Then a few more children came around, and two of them were wearing the same costumes as Lu Wei, with makeup on, and they seemed to want to talk to her.

Lu Zhiqiao smiled at them, and patted her daughter on the shoulder: "Niu Niu, go play with your classmates."

Junior High kids are more self-conscious and would love to have no parents present. When they heard Lu Zhiqiao say that, they were a little embarrassed, and a few of the girls pulled Lu Wei aside and giggled.

"Lu Wei, your mother is so beautiful."

"Prettier than Teacher Qi!"

"Oh, I think Teacher Qi is more beautiful..."

"Gosh, you really can't talk, they are both pretty."

The children crowded around and chattered, and changed the topic after a while. She couldn't hear what they were saying, and they only laughed from time to time. Lu Zhiqiao silently watched her daughter's figure. Seeing her smiling happily, she didn't realize that the corners of her mouth were also curled up.

After a while, she turned her neck, and her eyes fell on Qi Yan involuntarily.

Qi Yan has already finished drawing the eyebrows for the child. They are shaped like willow leaves slightly raised, clean and neat. She picked up the eyeshadow palette, dipped the powder with a brush, and gently swept it on the girl's eyelids. Perhaps she felt that someone was looking at her. She turned her head suddenly, and was caught off guard by a straightforward gaze.

Both of them were startled.

Qi Yan raised her thin lips slightly, and smiled at her, showing a row of neat and white teeth, generous and sincere, void of mischief, completely different from her indecent appearance in private.

Lu Zhiqiao's heart trembled, and she grabbed the strap of her handbag bag with her fingers, feeling a slight heat and dryness behind her ears, and hurriedly moved her eyes away.

She heaved a sigh of relief once she checked through the corner of her eye that Qi Yan already turned back to what she was doing.

Several students were still gathered together, but her daughter was nowhere to be seen. Lu Zhiqiao stretched her neck and looked around, but she didn't see her after searching around, so she got up and went outside.

There was a small door in the back of the auditorium that led to a small rock garden next to the playground, where there was a tree that had lost its leaves and a corridor of equally bare vines, and as soon as she went out, she saw her daughter and the gentle-looking boy hiding by the vine pillar, sneaking around, she wondered what they were doing.

She peered closer and saw them eating.

The boy holds a pack of snacks in his hand, eats one piece for himself, and feeds another piece for her daughter, and wipes her mouth with a tissue from time to time, they looked very intimate.

"Niuniu—" Lu Zhiqiao frowned, feeling something was wrong.

The two children were startled, and turned their heads suddenly. She stepped forward three steps at a time, glanced at the boy, and looked at her daughter: "What are you doing     here?"

Lu Wei looked at the snacks with a guilty conscience, lowered her head and did not speak.

"Auntie," it was the boy who spoke up, tilting his head to look at her, "I can't finish the snacks I bought so we both eat together."

"..."

Needed to be fed for snacks?

Clumsy lies.

Feeding people is an extremely intimate thing, even more so between the opposite sex. Maybe the children don't think so, but in the eyes of adults, such behavior is beyond the scope of friendship, but at this sensitive and restless age, parents have to pay attention all the time.

The boy was generous and calm, without the slightest fear or guilty conscience, but Lu Zhiqiao couldn't say anything, so she smiled and said, "I see."

After speaking, she asked, "What's your name?" "Wang Zheyi: Zhe in philosophy, Yi in Perseverance.* He said calmly.

*telling her the spelling/ what Chinese character used for his name.

Lu Zhiqiao nodded with a smile, looked at the backstage door, and said, "It's cold outside, and the performance should start soon, let's all go in." As she spoke, she naturally took her daughter's hand and walked in front.

...

Half an hour before the performance started, Lu Zhiqiao sent Qi Yan a WeChat message.

[I have something to ask you alone, is it convenient right now?]

At that time, Qi Yan was in the classroom, emphasizing the discipline that students should abide by when watching the performance. The mobile phone was placed on the podium, and when the screen turned on, she caught it and suddenly lost her mind. She sped up her speech and finished explaining in a few sentences, letting the class president lead the class into the auditorium.

She stepped out of the classroom and typed as she walked:【Come to the office】

The teacher's office in the school is divided into one for the homeroom teachers and one for those who aren't. Many teachers did not come in the afternoon, and the homeroom teachers were either in their own classes or in the auditorium. There was no one in the office at the moment.

Qi Yan tidied up her desk, moved the spare chair to the table, poured two cups of hot water, and had a serious expression. She guessed that what Lu Zhiqiao wanted to ask was not a personal matter, otherwise there was no need to emphasize that she needs to talk to her now, she could ask at home, and since she was still at school, there should be a rule.

There was a knock on the office door, and then it opened a crack, and a cold wind came in.

"Teacher Qi."

Lu Zhiqiao pushed the door open, and Qi Yan just raised her head, and the two of them met each other's eyes, a reflection of each other seen from both their eyes.

"Have a seat." Qi Yan said with a light smile, pointing to the chair, as if she had never known the person in front of her, so serious and unfamiliar.

The so-called duality is probably on right now.  Lu Zhiqiao was stunned for a moment, looked around the office, but no one else was there, but Qi Yan suddenly seemed to be a different person, she couldn't adapt for a while, she sat down and didn't speak for a long time.

"Don't you have something to ask me?" Qi Yan gently pushed the paper cup in front of her.

When her daughter was in elementary school, Lu Zhiqiao was often invited to the office by the teacher. The reason was that her math performance was too low, and the teacher had to "communicate" with her every day.

She lowered her head, picked up the cup and took a sip of hot water: "Well, it's about Lu Wei."

Sure enough.

Although it was expected, it was inevitable to be a little disappointed.

Qi Yan didn't speak, waiting for her to continue.

"Is there a boy named Wang Zheyi in the class?" Lu Zhiqiao asked carefully.

"Yes, why?"

"Does he usually... play well with Niu Niu?"

Qi Yan was surprised, thought for a moment, and said, "Pretty much, but there is another boy and two girls who hang out with them. "

It's been a semester since the school started, and the newly enrolled children are familiar with each other, and gradually divided into several small cliques. The relationships between groups is usually harmonious, but it is not easy to accept students from other groups in private.

"Did something happen?"

"I saw that boy feeding Niu Niu and wiping her mouth today, I..." Lu Zhiqiao frowned, not knowing how to continue in the middle of the sentence.

Could it be a sign of puppy love?

There is a lot of news about junior high school students' puppy love on the Internet. The plummet of grades is the least serious consequence, and the more serious ones are life-threatening. During a gynecological physical examination in the first half of the year. Many of the girls who had abortions looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. One of them was very small, not as tall as her girl. She was eight weeks pregnant and was brought by her mother, crying all the time.

She still remembered her mother's distressed and self-reproaching expression...

She will never let this kind of thing happen to Niu Niu! She must nip the seeds of evil in the bud. 

There was a look of panic in her eyes, and her lips trembled slightly. Seeing that something was wrong, Qi Yan grabbed her hand and shook it firmly: "It's okay, it's okay, it's normal for good friends to feed each other, it isn't a big deal for children, it's usually the adults who think things seriously."

"But just in case..."

"Nothing will happen" Qi Yan interrupted softly, "I'll help you watch at school, don't worry, it's fine."

The palm on her hands were warm, she wanted to hug her very much, she couldn't help thinking about it for a moment, but this is in the office, someone might push the door and come in at any time, she can't afford that risk.

These words were like reassurance, Lu Zhiqiao looked at Qi Yan in a daze, those shining eyes were as firm as a rock, inexplicably reassuring. She slowed her breathing, calmed down slowly, and finally sighed softly, her lips moved, and she was about to speak when she was interrupted by the woman.

"Don't thank me."

"..."

She paused, pursed her lips, and swallowed the words.

Qi Yan looked at her and smiled, her cold eyebrows melted into a piece of gentle spring water, then she let go of her hand little by little, and returned to the sitting posture leaning against the back of the chair.

The loose strands of hair swayed with her movements, and the ends of the tails lightly brushed the back of Lu Zhiqiao's hands. The delicate skin was itchy, and she subconsciously stretched out her hand to caress it. Qi Yan paused, and tilted her shoulders slightly towards her, allowing the drooping hair to slide over and cover the back of her hands.

"Actually, I don't like people touching my hair."

Lu Zhiqiao quickly let go.

"But you are an exception." Qi Yan smiled, leaning on her side and lightly flicking her hair onto her hands, actively seducing her.

The ends of the hair swept back and forth on the skin, like countless tiny fluffs scratching her heart, and the dense itching spread along the back of her hands, making her heart itch from the scratching. She was about to move, but she had to restrain herself.

Lu Zhiqiao suddenly blushed, her peach blossoms were gorgeous and coquettish, she pulled her hand away, and looked elsewhere in a daze, trying to find something to say, but she didn't see anything interesting, so she asked casually, "What is that?"

"Lesson Plan"

She didn't see the three big square characters on it, and she was only thinking about finding something to say. Qi Yan couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips, picked up the textbook and opened it to her.

Two-thirds of the book has been used, and almost every page is full of writing. The handwriting is slightly scribbled, but it has a spirit and form, with iron and silver hooks, and the style is bold and hearty. They say the handwriting reflects the writer's personality, and Qi Yan's words are just like her, seemingly shameless and dishonest, but in fact her character is trustworthy and reliable. It fit her just right

"Does it look good?"

"It looks good."

She was reading the lesson plan, and Qi Yan was looking at her.

The party started on time at two o'clock, and the auditorium was full of seats. The officials sat in the first row, the teachers sat in the second row, and the students and parents of each class took their turn after the third row started. The vacant seat that Qi Yan mentioned was in the first row on the far right, next to a certain leader.

In the end, Lu Zhiqiao took that seat, and she felt a little awkward at first, but after the performance started, she focused on expecting her daughter to come out, and didn't think about anything else.

The program order of each class is random, and Class 1-2 is ninth.

The six girls came out in Korean school uniforms. Lu Zhiqiao saw her daughter with the glass beads at a glance, grinned tightly, and couldn't help waving her hand slightly. Lu Wei glanced her way and proudly looked up Lifting her chin, she quickly stood up.

When the music played, her eyes suddenly became a little wet.

When her child grew up to such an age, the years seemed to flow through her fingers in vain, without leaving too many traces in her memory. Looking back on these years, her eyes were at a loss. It was obvious that the mother and daughter were dependent on each other, but they lived as if they were alone.

The lithe ball-headed elf on the stage is her baby whom she has raised for twelve years.

The stage lights gradually blurred, Lu Zhiqiao lowered her head to flip through the tissue, tears fell down, she quickly wiped it away with her hands, took out the tissue and wiped it again, took a deep breath on her back, and raised her phone to record the video.

At the same time, Qi Yan stood behind the curtain on the side of the stage, seeing Lu Zhiqiao's every move clearly...

....

At about 4:30, the performance ended, and Lu Zhiqiao went backstage to pick up her daughter. She wanted to ask Qi Yan if she wanted to go with her, but she didn't see her, so she sent a WeChat message to her and took her daughter home first.

"Mom~" The little girl was excited all the way, and jumped up when she entered the house, "Show me the video you took~"

Lu Zhiqiao smiled and pinched her little face: "Wait a minute, mom will help you remove your makeup first." After finishing speaking, she entered the bedroom, brought makeup remover cream and cotton pads, "Sit on the sofa." 

Just as she finished speaking, her phone rang.

At that moment, she thought it was Qi Yan's call, so she immediately put the things on the coffee table, took out the phone, and saw that it belonged to a friend.

"Hello?"

"Well, I just got home."

"Why don't I go down and get it before you run up."

"Okay, I'll open the door for you."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Zhiqiao pressed the floor button next to the door, and smoothly opened the door. After a while, the elevator sounded, and there were steady and powerful footsteps in the corridor. A tall and thin man came in with a big bag and a small bag, with a gentle and elegant smile on his face.

"Hello, Uncle Wen!" Lu Wei stood up and called out.

"Hey." The man responded, with deep eyebrows, "Niu Niu~"

Lu Zhiqiao took the things in his hand, weighed them, and put them on the ground, angrily said: "Why did you make a special trip?" just let me pick them up next time."

"I happened to be on your way, so I decided to drop by."

"Come in and sit down." Lu Zhiqiao smiled casually, and closed the door, "Have dinner with us tonight, I'm planning to take Niuniu out."

He shook his head helplessly: "I'll owe you the meal first. I'm going to pick up my friend at the airport now. Another day."

The doorbell rang.

Lu Zhiqiao choked when she spoke, and leaned forward to open the door, but the man was one step ahead of her, and opened it for her. Seeing the person outside, he subconsciously asked, "Who are you?"

Qi Yan stood outside the door, the smile on her lips froze instantly ...