Mistaken Canary Chapter 5 (Part 2)
Chapter 5.2
By 3 PM, the new high school students had returned to their respective classrooms, a mixture of anticipation and nervous excitement filling the air. The official start of their high school journey was about to begin.
The classroom buzzed with excited whispers and chatter. Zhuo Zi and her roommate, naturally becoming desk partners, took their places in the front row.
As several teachers walked by in the hallway, heading to other classrooms, her deskmate leaned over and whispered, "I wonder if any of our teachers will be good-looking. It would certainly make going to class a lot more appealing."
"Don't get your hopes up,” Zhuo Zi said, her eyes glued to her phone. “If you want to see hotties, you might as well go chase celebrities." She quickly typed a message to Zhuo Shu: {In class now, so don’t worry! I promise I won’t stay up late voting for my idols!}
As if! No one could stop her from chasing stars!
At that moment, her deskmate gasped, and an immediate silence fell over the classroom. Curious, Zhuo Zi lifted her head and saw a man walking up to the podium. He was dressed in simple attire, with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, revealing his lean and muscular forearms.
He placed a roster on the podium and smiled. "Hello everyone, I’m your homeroom teacher, Ying Tongchen."
He picked up a piece of chalk and turned to write his name on the blackboard. Each stroke was sharp and fluid, the chalk dust settling on his fingers, highlighting the distinct knuckles and the prominent veins—a treat for anyone who appreciated hands.
The class erupted in applause. Zhuo Zi rose conspicuously from her seat.
Her family couldn’t stop her from chasing stars, but her homeroom teacher could!
"Although it’s not yet time for class officer elections,” Ying Tongchen said, turning to face Zhuo Zi, "are you planning to skip the procedure and come straight to the point?"
"Yes, yes!" Zhuo Zi beamed from ear to ear, "Teacher, what subject do you teach? I volunteer to be that subject's representative!"
"I want to volunteer as well!" Another girl stood up.
"Me too!"
In no time, over ten girls were on their feet, vying for attention. After a brief hesitation, even a boy in the very back of the room stood up and declared, "Teacher, I'd like to volunteer as well."
"Very good." Ying Tongchen smiled slightly. "For those interested in running for a class position, please come forward, introduce yourselves, state which position you're seeking, and explain why you believe you're the best candidate. The class will then vote."
In the end, Zhuo Zi bribed the class with various idol merchandise and narrowly won the position of English class representative with a slight edge.
The remaining positions were quickly filled, and after class, Zhuo Zi excitedly grabbed her phone. Her screen was still open to her conversation with Zhuo Shu, and she couldn’t resist sending a string of {Ahhhhhhhhhhh!}
[A'Zi is waiting for her Qiao Feng*]: OMG, our homeroom teacher is just so hot, I’m in love! I’ve found my new life idol, I’ll definitely study hard now!
(TLN: Lololol her name!! Qiao Feng is one of the protagonists of the wuxia novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. There’s a brief in this drama involving a love story between Qiao Feng and A'Zhu (Zhuo Zi used her name in her username), which I will explain further in footnote 1 because this inserted tln is getting too long lol)
Zhuo Shu slowly replied with a single, quizzical: ?
Zhuo Zi, ignoring his confusion, ran off to gush about her new obsession with her classmates.
However, Zhuo Shu sensed something amiss. A simp like Zhuo Zi—who shamelessly calls out "Start coming directly at me!*" at any remotely attractive man in the entertainment industry—if her homeroom teacher turned out to be a looker, there was no telling what kind of forbidden crush she might develop.
(TLN: Another meme, read the coming as c.u.ming. Will explain further in footnote #2.)
"Mi Shu*." He called out to his secretary, who was busy sorting through documents.
(TLN: Like the straight male teacher name, the secretary’s name is a homophone to her job position.)
The secretary immediately walked over.
"Zhuo Zi mentioned her new homeroom teacher is quite handsome."
Mi Shu raised an eyebrow, her eyes sharply focused on him from behind her black-framed glasses: "Chairman Zhuo, you just 'kept' your first person, didn’t you?"
Zhuo Shu was momentarily stunned. "What does that have to do with her homeroom teacher... uh, do you think I’m the kind of nouveau riche who just takes people in on a whim?"
Mi Shu didn’t answer, but her expression clearly said—You are!
"I’m worried Zhuo Zi might fall for her homeroom teacher."
Mi Shu: "......" Typical of someone from the Zhuo family.
That evening, Zhuo Shu saw a message from his sister in the family group chat. It said they needed someone to represent the family in the class parent group chat. In the past, their mother had always taken on this responsibility..
But this year, things were different.
[Zhuo Shu]: Let me. Send me the group number.
[A'Zi is waiting for her Qiao Feng]: ???
[Dad]: ???
[Mom]: ???
Instead of replying, Zhuo Shu simply asked for the class group's WeChat number. Using an alternate account, he joined the group and quickly located the teacher identified as Homeroom Teacher. He promptly sent a friend request.
A moment later, it was accepted.
Zhuo Shu then navigated to the teacher’s Moments (WeChat feed). He scrolled past shared study tips and inspirational quotes until he found a photo. As he enlarged the image for closer inspection, his eyes widened in surprise.
The photo showed a handsome old man standing before a blackboard, carefully writing out a famous English quote.
It was a handsome old man? Could it be? Had Zhuo Zi, known for her celebrity crushes, suddenly developed a respect for her teachers and the elderly?
Zhuo Shu felt a surge of relief.
Now that he'd added the teacher, he figured he should say hello.
[.]: Hello, teacher [rose]
On the other end, Ying Tongchen was immersed in a flurry of WeChat messages, chatting animatedly with numerous parents. Many had added him to his work account, and he responded to each one with the practiced efficiency of a seasoned customer service representative. He had clearly perfected the art of conversing with parents.
[Homeroom Teacher]: Hello, you must be Zhuo Zi’s guardian [smile]
Zhuo Shu glanced at the smiling emoji and suddenly lost interest in continuing the conversation. He simply replied: "I’ll leave our child in your care from now on. I’m going to take a shower. Good night, teacher."
[Homeroom Teacher]: Understood [lotus good night]
After ending the chat, Zhuo Shu realized he was still unsure of how to address the teacher, so he sent a quick message to Zhuo Zi: {What’s your homeroom teacher’s last name?}
[A'Zi is waiting for her Mr. Qiao*]: Ying.
[Zhuo Shu]: Instant reply. Playing on the phone, reported.
[A'Zi is waiting for her Mr. Qiao9*]: Heartless!
(TLN: Idk why her names’ are different. It’s not meee)
Zhuo Shu saved the homeroom teacher’s contact as [Teacher Ying], and for some reason, he suddenly thought of Ying Tongchen. It felt like it had been a while since they last met!
Ying Tongchen, currently engaged in a flurry of WeChat messages with parents, suddenly received a call from Zhuo Shu. A moment of silence hung in the air before they both spoke simultaneously—
"Meet me at the Wimbledon Hotel tomorrow evening."
"No time."
Zhuo Shu: "... Am I being stood up again? I suggest you choose your next words carefully."
Ying Tongchen chuckled. "Things are absolutely hectic at work right now. I'm swamped."
"So, when are you free?"
"New Year’s?"
Zhuo Shu's brow furrowed. He sensed that this conversation was about to take an interesting turn. "Do you still remember your dream?"
Ying Tongchen: "Huh?"
"Don’t you want to work toward your goal?" Zhuo Shu asked. The career isn’t successful yet; there’s still a long way to go. But one must keep pushing forward, never giving up until the Best Actor award is in hand. "If you refuse me again, I’ll... Heh."
Ying Tongchen felt like he was listening to a stand-up comedy routine and almost wanted to heckle the performer with a few rotten eggs.
"Friday night, then," he conceded.
After ending the call, Zhuo Shu's expression turned serious as he sent a message to Mi Shu: {Don't arrange anything for Friday night.}
But as he sent it, he suddenly realised—
Why does it feel like he’s the one waiting to get laid? Wtf is happening?
.
.
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Footnotes:
[1] A'Zi is waiting for her Qiao Feng - Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils weaves several intertwining storylines set in the Northern Song Dynasty, focusing on three male characters: Qiao Feng, the Beggars' Sect Chief; Duan Yu, the Prince of Daili; and Xu Zhu, a Shaolin monk. A'Zhu, the illegitimate daughter of Duan Zhengchun, disguises herself as a monk to infiltrate Shaolin and steal martial arts manuals. She is injured in a fight and Qiao Feng cares for her wounds, that’s when he discovers she’s a woman. Yatta yatta stuff, A'Zhu falls in love.
Sources:
[2] Start coming directly at me (正面上我啊) - Comes from the translation of Misaka Mikoto's lines in a certain subtitle in the twelve episode of the anime ‘A Certain Scientific Railgun’. The original phrase "真っ直ぐ私に向かって来なさい" is meant to lure the monster away from the nuclear power plant and provoke it to come. A more accurate translation would be "Come at me head-on if you can! (有本事就正面衝著我來呀!)" or "Bring it on! (放馬過來!)". But in this case, the subtitle team translated it into "正面上我啊!", which, in Chinese, can be taken as "I’m wide open for a missionary giggity giggity!" So yeah, it became a meme.
Source: https://home.gamer.com.tw/creationDetail.php?sn=2648274
