Mistaken Canary Chapter 38 (Part 1)
Chapter 38.1
Freshmen Class Two were seated across from the rostrum, squeezed into a corner along with Class 1 due to their assigned seating arrangement.
The student events had already concluded, and now everyone was eagerly watching the teachers’ race.
Students from both classes were passionately cheering for their homeroom teachers—though their enthusiastic support sounded more like a chorus of pig squeals.
Class 1: "Zhinan! Zhinan! First place, no debate!"
Class 2: "Tongchen! Tongchen! Crush Zhinan!"
Class 1: "That doesn’t even rhyme!"
Class 2: "thbptttttttt!!"
On the track, the two homeroom teachers were still having a friendly conversation, helping each other attach their number tags. Meanwhile, in the bleachers, their students were already at each other’s throats, on the verge of an all-out brawl.
Just as the tension between the two classes hit its peak, a tall masculine figure appeared behind Class 2—carrying none other than the newly crowned school flower (belle) on his back.
"Zhuo Zi, how’s your leg?" Xiang Fangjia asked with concern.
"A'Zi, forget your leg—first, tell me who this handsome guy is!" Her deskmate immediately rushed over.
"This is my gege," Zhuo Zi introduced him to her classmates.
Zhuo Shu gave a slight nod to the students, instantly causing a small commotion.
For the moment, the rivalry between Class 1 and Class 2 was set aside as everyone’s attention shifted to the tall, strikingly handsome newcomer.
A few students quickly cleared off an empty seat, helping Zhuo Zi sit down. One of them, clearly moved, said, "You truly live up to your title as our class rep—persevering through an injury just to cheer for Mr. Ying."
"Exactly, exactly!" Zhuo Zi nodded with a big smile before casting a meaningful glance at Zhuo Shu. "And it's not just me—my ge also wanted to come and cheer for our teacher."
The students turned their gazes back to Zhuo Shu. At last, someone picked up on the clue.
"Huh?! Aren't you the guy who was just chasing after Mr. Ying and even stole first place from him?!"
"..." Zhuo Shu stuck to his excuse. "It wasn’t on purpose. I just found his wallet and was trying to return it."
The group burst into laughter, unable to resist admiring his long legs. "Man, having long legs is such an advantage—you can run so fast."
"Too bad you can’t run on behalf of the teacher. What a shame!"
Zhuo Zi chimed in, "But he can run alongside him!"
"?" Zhuo Shu looked at her like she had just told a ridiculous joke. "You really think I’d do something as dumb as running alongside him for no reason?"
"Fine, forget it then." Zhuo Zi casually pulled out an event staff badge from her pocket and hung it around her neck. "I am a student union member, so I can go in and out of the track area freely to assist with the competition."
Just then, the announcement came over the speakers, calling for the long-distance race to begin. There was quite a crowd of participants—around twenty men and women, all lined up at the starting line.
The distance was too far to see anything clearly. Zhuo Shu immediately turned and snatched the binoculars from Zhuo Zi’s hands. Adjusting the focus, he spotted Ying Tongchen standing on the outermost lane, stretching his wrists and ankles while casually chatting with someone nearby.
He shifted his gaze slightly to the side—sure enough, it was that tall, broad-shouldered guy with glasses again.
"Heh."
"What did you see, ge?" Zhuo Zi leaned in curiously.
Zhuo Shu dodged, clearly displeased. "Who’s that guy with glasses? The race is about to start, and he’s still chatting away."
Zhuo Zi propped her elbow, resting her chin on her hand, and smirked mischievously. "It’s a long-distance race, not a sprint. Those first few seconds don’t matter. Besides, that’s our class’s math teacher. He and Mr. Ying are really close outside of class. Let me tell you a secret—people on the school forum even ship them together~"
Zhuo Shu’s eyes sharpened instantly.
Just then, the starting gun fired, and a wave of cheers erupted from the stands.
As Ying Tongchen ran past Class 2’s section, his students yelled his name at maximum volume. In response, he waved at them and, under the golden sunlight, flashed them a bright smile.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
"Boohoo, I wanna transfer to Class 2 so bad! If he tutored me personally, I’d have no problem getting into Tsinghua Uni!"
"I'm done for. I wish every day was Sports Day!"
"Tsk." Zhuo Shu put down the binoculars in disdain, clearly displeased with Ying Tongchen’s behavior.
As a teacher, how could he be so friendly and playful with his students? What if it gave some of them ideas?
And more importantly—Ying Tongchen had never smiled at him like that.
What, was his smile worth millions or something?!
Just as he was simmering in silent resentment, Class 1 suddenly erupted in new cheers:
"Zhinan, hurry up! Catch up to Tongchen! If you catch him, you can hehehe!"
Zhuo Zi played the role of commentator. "See? Their ship has a huge following."
Zhuo Shu: "..." So this is what they’re thinking? How dirty-minded!
By the third lap, when Ying Tongchen passed by again, Zheng Zhinan had already caught up to him. The cheers from Class 1 were now clearly louder than those from Class 2.
Zhuo Zi, unwilling to be outdone, scanned the area and signaled for the sports committee member to pass her the student union’s megaphone. She grabbed it and, without hesitation, powered it on.
The next moment, the beautiful girl on the bleachers let out a fierce, determined shout. "MR. YING!"
The voice echoed through the megaphone and across the field, causing a brief silence to fall over the crowd.
Ying Tongchen reflexively turned his head.
Zhuo Zi quickly brought the megaphone to Zhuo Shu’s lips, and he blurted out without thinking, "You can do it —"
Ying Tongchen: "..."
Although Zhuo Shu’s response was more of a stunned reaction and not as strong as Zhuo Zi’s, it was still loud enough to be heard by the students, sparking a wave of teasing laughter from the crowd.
"Ooo~~~~~~~"
Ying Tongchen continued running forward, and after a long pause, he let out a soft chuckle. He turned his head, and by chance, his gaze landed on Class 2's section.
"Holy shit, our homeroom teacher just smiled so sweetly! I think I’m falling in love!"
"Shh, be careful, the Director of Discipline might come for you! But seriously, do you think something nice happened to Mr. Ying?"
"I have this strange, unrealistic feeling that our homeroom teacher looks like a teenager in love today!"
Zhuo Shu, sitting at the top, couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat at hearing these conversations. He pressed his hand against his chest and, trying to act cool, eavesdropped on the gossiping girls in front of him.
"I think something must have happened. Mr. Ying hardly ever smiles at us. Why now?"
Zhuo Shu silently thought: Maybe it’s because I’m here (*^▽^*)
Another girl nodded, "I think you’re right. And did you notice? Mr. Zheng was right there running beside him just now."
Zhuo Shu: "?"
"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. It’s definitely them secretly chatting and showing off their affection. Every time during flag-raising or meetings, they’re always whispering to each other, thinking we don’t notice."
"So cute, I’m shipping them so hard!"
Zhuo Shu turned to Zhuo Zi and asked, "What are you students even thinking about these days?"
"Thinking about how to make society stronger, more freedom and equality for the people, and CPs more harmonious and loving," Zhuo Zi answered decisively.
"..."
As the saying goes, ‘There’s a generation gap every three years.’ Zhuo Shu suddenly felt like the 12-year gap between him and Zhuo Zi was more like a generational chasm.
He turned back to watch the race, still in a state of dumbfounded befuddlement. The whole afternoon had been so overwhelming that he hadn’t even had the chance to properly look at Ying Tongchen.
The casual outfit really made him look a lot younger. Sitting in the crowd, Zhuo Shu couldn’t help but notice the sea of orange around him. It was as if he had accidentally stumbled into an ‘orange army’.
Every time the general of the oranges passed by while running, the assembly of large and tiny oranges would surged in unison.
Though the scene was a far cry from the glamorous celebrity fan meet-and-greet he had imagined, it was clear that Ying Tongchen was still very popular.
Zhuo Shu couldn’t help but reflect on the little details of their time together. The more he thought about it, the stiffer his expression became.
We’re toast.
When he had thought Ying Tongchen was just a starlet looking for a sponsor, was his condescending attitude a bit too blatant? Were his unreasonable demands a bit too excessive? And was flaunting his ‘bankroller’ status a bit too shameful?
What’s it like when a kept relationship crashes and burns?
—Thanks for the ping.* Currently at the sports field, I just stepped out of the car. My vision’s blurry, and my knees feel like they've shattered. Hoping the researchers can hurry up and invent a time machine. Don't ask, just hoping to die.
(TLN: reference to Baidu Knows, it’s similar to Quora. Registered users can ask a question and ping other members to supply answers using credits as an award.)
However, what would Ying Tongchen think of him? How would he handle this relationship?
Lost in his tangled emotions, Zhuo Shu suddenly heard a loud burst of approving screams. Looking up toward the center of the field, he saw a beautiful young teacher taking advantage of the empty track to dart onto the grass, running toward Zheng Zhinan.
The girl sitting in front of him said, "Uh-oh, the official couple… Teacher Sheng is going to hijack Mr. Zheng and run with him now."
Another girl replied, "It’s a battlefield. Do you think Mr. Ying can still keep Mr. Zheng? Stay tuned."
Moments later, everyone noticed that Ying Tongchen had surged ahead, pulling over 100 meters away from Zheng Zhinan and Sheng Wu.
"Alas, Mr. Ying is soft-hearted after all. He's actively giving them a chance."
"Do you believe it? With Mr. Zheng’s straight-laced mentality, he probably thinks Mr. Ying is trying to overtake him for first place."
…
At the same time, on the track, Zheng Zhinan sped up, relentlessly chasing after Ying Tongchen ahead of him. "What?! Trying to take my first place? How vicious!"
Sheng Wu, who was now left behind: "......"
Class 1: "..."
The girl in the front row continued to broadcast the live situation: "Sheng Wu's returned, she can't win."
"How tragic, the remains of a woman after falling for a ruthless man."
Zhuo Shu couldn’t shake the feeling of being a spectator in the front row, but when Ying Tongchen passed by again, he suddenly lost all interest in the live drama.
The competitors were clearly running out of energy. Several older teachers at the end had already started walking or casually doing some stretches, and if you gave them a fan, they could probably perform a Tai Chi routine right there.
As they passed by, he could hear them discussing how to handle the students involved in early relationships.
Students: "......"