Tao Ruoxiang’s angry voice still seemed to echo down the corridor.
Many students stopped to watch. No one knew what this new student had said to Teacher Tao that had made her so furious.
The boys, on the other hand, subconsciously clenched their fists, as if ready to give Qin Lang a thorough beating the moment Tao Ruoxiang gave the word.
Suddenly the target of everyone’s hostility, Qin Lang showed not the slightest panic. From Tao Ruoxiang’s reaction, he knew he’d hit a sore spot.
The fire in Tao Ruoxiang’s eyes gradually faded. The reason she had been so enraged earlier was because she thought Qin Lang had peeked at her private parts. But she soon realized that Qin Lang had just arrived at the school today, and this was their first meeting—how could he possibly have had the chance to peek at her?
“It’s nothing, go on with what you were doing.”
She motioned for the other students to disperse, then forced herself to calm down. Giving Qin Lang a careful once-over, she lowered her voice and said, “Don’t you know it’s very impolite to talk about someone’s private matters?”
“I do know. From a teacher–student perspective, what I said just now was indeed presumptuous and impolite. However, I was speaking from the perspective of a doctor and patient. In my eyes, Teacher Tao, you are simply a patient in urgent need of treatment. And as a doctor who has identified your condition, discussing it with you shouldn’t be considered rude, right?”
“I didn’t expect you to not only be good at biology, but also so skilled at sophistry.” Tao Ruoxiang gave a cold snort.
“Looks like Teacher Tao has discovered another of my good qualities.” Qin Lang grinned shamelessly, then his tone grew serious. “A boil may be a small ailment, but if treated improperly, it can worsen, causing the affected area to fester and fill with pus, leaving the patient in great pain—and even if cured, it might leave a scar. Teacher Tao, you must already be suffering from it, aren’t you?”
His words really did strike a nerve.
The boil on her hip had appeared three days ago. Because of the awkward location, sitting down made her feel as if she were sitting on needles. She had gone to the dermatology department at the Xiayang City Central Hospital right away. But while waiting for treatment, she noticed the strange looks from the patients around her—and soon realized that many who visited dermatology were actually there for sexually transmitted diseases.
With her mild germaphobia, the moment she found out she was sharing a room with STD patients, she had thrown away her registration slip and fled the hospital as if her life depended on it.
Afterward, she bought a tube of ointment from a pharmacy and applied it to the affected area, but saw no improvement—if anything, it was getting worse.
Now, hearing Qin Lang talk about possible festering, pus, scarring, even “poisoning,” she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Suddenly her condition seemed far more serious in her mind. Almost involuntarily, she asked, “You… can cure it?”
The instant the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
What if Qin Lang agreed to treat her but insisted on examining the affected area? Was she really going to expose her delicate hips to some high school boy? That would be utterly mortifying.
“Of course I can cure it!”
Qin Lang’s tone was utterly confident—but then he added, “However, I have to go to my next class now. Teacher Tao, we’ll discuss your condition when I have more time.”
With that, he turned and strode off toward the teaching building.
“Damn it! Absolutely damn it!” Tao Ruoxiang ground her teeth as she muttered under her breath, glaring at his retreating back.
Normally, she was the picture of poise and elegance in front of her students—but deep down, she was still a young woman.
She was used to being adored and flattered; never before had someone treated her so lightly. At No. 7 High School, whether male students or male teachers, anyone she asked for help would rush to oblige. Was this transfer student blind, unable to see her beauty?
Yet Qin Lang’s excuse was perfectly reasonable, leaving her with no grounds for anger.
As a teacher, she couldn’t very well suggest that he skip class to treat her.
…
The audiovisual room was in the laboratory building, while Class 11 of Grade 3 was on the fifth floor of the teaching building, with nearly a hundred meters between them—so Qin Lang wasting no time in leaving was perfectly understandable.
He hummed a tune as he walked toward the classroom, in high spirits.
On his very first day at No. 7 High School, he had met the most beautiful teacher in Xiayang City—and left her with a deep “bad impression.” For Qin Lang, it was a perfect start.
But joy often leads to trouble.
At the stairwell between the fourth and fifth floors, a tall, muscular student clutching a basketball blocked his way. Pointing a finger at Qin Lang’s nose, the boy threatened, “Hey! Transfer student. Young Master Cai told me to give you a message—stay away from Teacher Tao!”
“Who are you? I don’t even know you. And who exactly is this ‘Young Master Cai’?” Qin Lang’s tone was calm despite the guy being at least 1.9 meters tall.
“Young Master Cai is our No. 7 High—”
Then the big guy remembered Qin Lang was a transfer student and probably had no idea who Young Master Cai was. He snorted coldly. “Anyway, remember what I just said! Otherwise, you’ll be sorry!”
“What was it you just said again?” Qin Lang asked, feigning confusion.
“Young Master Cai told me to—Hey! You mocking me, punk?!” The big guy finally realized he was being played with. Anger flared, and he lunged forward, grabbing for Qin Lang’s clothes to teach him a lesson.
But Qin Lang calmly sidestepped. Moving too fast for anyone else to notice, he hooked the guy’s foot. Off balance and unable to stop himself, the big guy missed his grab and instead crashed face-first into the floor. His 180-pound frame hit so hard it nearly shook the stairwell.
The onlooking students were left speechless.
Ding-ling~!
Just then, the class bell rang. Without sparing the big guy another glance, Qin Lang headed quickly for the classroom.
The next class was math. Qin Lang’s seat was in the last row, next to a chubby boy named Zhao Kan, also a transfer student—but one who had arrived last semester.
Zhao Kan loved to talk, and the two became acquainted quickly. From him, Qin Lang learned quite a bit about No. 7 High.
But before long, Qin Lang had fallen asleep at his desk, not hearing half of what Zhao Kan said.
When he woke, it was already after-school time.
Still groggy, he suddenly realized the classroom was unnervingly quiet—so quiet it drove away all traces of drowsiness. Opening his eyes, he saw Tao Ruoxiang standing beside him, smiling gently as she asked, “Qin Lang, do you have some time later?”
The entire class, boys and girls alike, was stunned.
Even the English teacher, Sun Bo, who had been about to leave, twitched his lips in jealous frustration.
In that moment, Qin Lang realized that, thanks to Tao Ruoxiang’s unintentional instigation, he had somehow become the public enemy of all the boys at No. 7 High.
