Lin Heyu’s voice accompanied by warm breath sounded beside Ji Huai’s fragile ear, making him tremble involuntarily and close his eyes even tighter.

This vulnerable, easily bullied appearance made Lin Heyu pause momentarily, somewhat at a loss.

The usually sharp-tongued Teacher who could trick him into complete disorientation now had his eyes closed, completely at another’s mercy… it was somewhat captivating.

“Are… aren’t we going yet?” After waiting for a long time without Lin Heyu leading him forward, the continuous warmth transmitted through their hands felt comforting, yet the lack of movement made him wary and suspicious. The ever-dramatic Ji Huai inevitably thought of more ghost stories, his slender body trembling more intensely, like the last leaf swaying in the wind, with nothing to rely on except the hand holding his.

Ji Huai tightened his grip on that hand, and Lin Heyu felt the pressure. He suddenly snapped back to reality, coughing awkwardly while rubbing his nose, “We’re going, we’re going right now.”

Yuan Yuan, unafraid, had long taken the lead. Under the faint moonlight, Lin Heyu walked ahead, holding Ji Huai’s hand, slowly guiding the ghost-fearing Teacher step by step out of the graveyard.

Though Lin Heyu was still one year short of coming of age, his stature had already grown into that of an adult man. His hands were broad and strong, full of vitality and warm comfort. His steps were steady, carefully avoiding dry grass and small stones on the ground. His usual hurried walking pace had become steady and measured, slow and leisurely.

Ji Huai, being led by him, followed obediently. Those fox-like eyes adept at bewitching others were tightly closed, concealing all their charm. His cool, elegant face glowed softly under the moonlight. The longer Lin Heyu looked, the more distracted he became, feeling waves of palpitations rising from deep within.

But as a youth not yet fully grown, he didn’t understand where these palpitations came from, or why they appeared.

Unaware of this, Ji Huai pursed his lips. The faint scent of soap emanating from Lin Heyu dispelled some of his fear, but without hearing Lin Heyu’s instruction, he didn’t dare open his eyes blindly. Knowing this kid Lin Heyu, he might deliberately play tricks and scare him the moment he opened his eyes. To avoid losing face in front of his student, he’d better keep his eyes honestly closed.

Yet being in darkness, completely controlled by another person made Ji Huai uncomfortable and somewhat ill at ease. He tentatively asked, “Heyu, have we passed this section of the road?”

Heyu, he called me Heyu.

Lin Heyu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, feeling somewhat tingly.

“Ahem, well, almost there.” Lin Heyu coughed, feeling somewhat guilty. Those grave mounds and tombstones had long been left behind them, disappearing into the thick night.

He squeezed Ji Huai’s hand. Though Ji Huai’s mouth was so sharp and stubborn, his hands were surprisingly soft and boneless, with skin like congealed cream.

Just as Lin Heyu was feeling distracted, Yuan Yuan who had been walking ahead suddenly doubled back, unexpectedly coming close to Lin Heyu’s face and slowly opening his mouth to ask doubtfully, “But, we passed the graveyard area long ago. Little Bird, why are you lying?”
A look of innocent ignorance was plastered on that chubby, round face. If Lin Heyu didn’t know the child was genuinely simple-minded, he would have thought Yuan Yuan was deliberately exposing his secrets to frame him.

Upon hearing this, Ji Huai’s eyes snapped open. Indeed, the view before him was now clear, with even a dim lantern glow visible in the distance. Its silhouette somewhat resembled the village where he lived.

“I knew you wouldn’t miss this chance to mess with me,” Ji Huai said, slanting a glance at Lin Heyu filled with distrust and an I-knew-it expression.

“I’m not, I didn’t, listen to me,” Lin Heyu flusteredly explained. The distrust in Ji Huai’s eyes somewhat wounded him he truly hadn’t meant to tease Ji Huai.

Ignoring him, Ji Huai bent down to pinch Yuan Yuan’s chubby cheek, praising with a smile, “Our Yuan Yuan is so sensible, knowing that lying doesn’t make a good child.”

Yuan Yuan giggled foolishly and nodded, adding cheerfully, “Teacher, I don’t lie. It’s Lin Xiaoniao who lies.”

Hearing this, Lin Heyu immediately protested, pouncing to pinch Yuan Yuan’s cheeks. The soft, plump flesh reddened quickly under his grip.

Unable to break free, Yuan Yuan looked at Ji Huai with watery, pleading eyes.

Ji Huai narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly. “Students should be kind to each other,” he said, yet made no move to intervene. Instead, he quickened his pace toward the illuminated village.

Seeing Ji Huai walking away, Lin Heyu stopped teasing Yuan Yuan and hurried after him, trying to explain.

No matter what he said, Ji Huai responded perfunctorily with a few absent-minded “mm-hmms,” his indifferent attitude frustrating Lin Heyu to no end. It felt like punching cotton utterly ineffective. After stewing in place for a moment, Lin Heyu’s young master temper flared up again. With a cold snort, he abandoned both of them and dashed toward the eastern end of the village.

Ji Huai considered following, worried the boy might run into trouble, but then remembered Lin Heyu was strong and sturdy if he encountered trouble, it was hard to say who would end up worse off. Reassured, he still asked Yuan Yuan, “Is that the direction to his home?”

Yuan Yuan nodded, mumbling, “Yeah, his house is the fenced courtyard at the very east end of the village.”

Ji Huai nodded and said offhandedly, “Alright, then I’ll walk you home.”

“No need, Teacher. I live right next to you,” Yuan Yuan said, tugging Ji Huai’s sleeve and leading him back instead. Ji Huai watched as Yuan Yuan entered Granny Li’s house.

He couldn’t help but marvel how did such a sharp and decisive woman raise such a simple-minded child?

Yet, the child was utterly endearing.

After musing briefly, Ji Huai dismissed the thought and finally returned to the dilapidated house that belonged to his current body. After a simple wash, he lay down on the hard bed.

The day’s events replayed in his mind like a revolving lantern, Lin Heyu’s face alternating between clear and blurred. Since arriving in this strange world, the person he had interacted with most and formed the deepest connection with was ironically the most unruly student in his class.

This gave Ji Huai quite a headache.

As he pondered, Ji Huai gradually drifted to sleep. On his second night in Qing Country, he fell into a deep slumber, exhausted from the day’s ordeals.

Even his cold and fever seemed to have miraculously cured amid the day’s chaos.

The next day, Ji Huai, as the homeroom teacher, opened his eyes promptly at five o’clock, driven by his long-established biological clock. But in this era without alarm clocks, he could only rely on an hourglass to gauge the time.

He hurried through his morning routine. The harsh conditions left no room for complaint he had to strive to adapt to habits centuries behind his own. No electric toothbrush, no toothpaste, no facial cleanser. He had to make do, even force himself to forget the conveniences of 21st-century life.

By the time Ji Huai stepped into the schoolhouse, it was exactly Chen hour.

Just as expected, like the day before, only a handful of students were present. Li Yuanyuan was there, but she was drowsily slumped over her desk, on the verge of falling asleep.

Chen hour seven in the morning by modern reckoning. Back in his time, his students would have already finished an early self-study session. Yet here, these lax students hadn’t even shown up in full force.

“Yuan Yuan, what time do you usually start class?” Ji Huai asked sternly, his teacher’s authority jolting the groggy girl awake. But her mind was slow to react, and she failed to notice that classes had always begun at Si hour before.

“Teacher, we’ve always started at Si hour.”

Before Ji Huai could express his surprise, Yuan Yuan continued, “A long, long time ago, everyone came at Chen hour. But ever since Lin Xiaoniao arrived, he couldn’t get up on time, and he dragged everyone else into coming late too. And you never scolded him, Teacher, so everyone started arriving later and later.”

Hearing this, Ji Huai sighed. Just as he suspected even the most ambitious teacher could be undermined by a single troublemaker in class.

Still, there were a few obedient children who, like Yuan Yuan, had taken their seats by Chen hour.

Ji Huai settled calmly into his armchair, observing the young faces before him. Come to think of it, Lin Heyu’s registered age was indeed a bit older than the others. The original teacher hadn’t known the specifics he’d simply accepted the payment and enrolled him. As for what Lin Heyu studied or did, the former Ji Huai hadn’t cared in the slightest, treating him almost like a classroom mascot.

“The few of you here, introduce yourselves your names, your studies, and your family situations,” Ji Huai instructed.

He was an outstanding teacher, and outstanding teachers didn’t sit around waiting for students to show up, wasting precious time.

So, one by one, the students stood and gave their names, allowing Ji Huai to quickly match faces to identities while gaining insight into their academic progress and family backgrounds.

“Hello, Teacher. I’m Li Yuanyuan. I live next door to you. It’s just my mother and me she found me and took me in. As for my studies… I’ve studied…”

Here, Yuan Yuan faltered, mumbling over the words for a long moment before finally managing, “I’ve memorized the first two passages of the Three Character Classic.”

Ji Huai was somewhat taken aback. So the child really was named Li Yuanyuan no formal name, just a little foundling.

“Alright, then recite it for me.”

“Um…” Li Yuanyuan scrunched up her little face, furrowing her brow in thought before she began, “Men at their birth / are naturally good…”

She lingered on “good” for what felt like ages, unable to produce the next line.

Ji Huai propped his forehead in his hand, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips together before finally gritting out in exasperation, “Yuan Yuan, knowing two lines doesn’t count as two passages.”

Li Yuanyuan looked a bit embarrassed. She squinted, offering a simple, guileless smile. “Oh, I see, Teacher. I don’t know the rest.”

Ji Huai slumped rather wearily in his chair, showing none of the stern demeanor expected of a teacher. He waved at Li Yuanyuan and said, “Sit down quickly.”

After a minor commotion, several more students trickled in. Ji Huai had them introduce themselves as usual. To his surprise, these students were quite studious they recited the Three Character Classic with remarkable fluency.

This improved Ji Huai’s mood somewhat, sparing him further frustration.

However, as he waited and waited, the hour approached Si Shi (9-11 AM), yet there was still no sign of Lin Heyu.

Ji Huai’s patience finally ran out. He rose leisurely, holding a glossy black disciplinary ruler in his hand, and smiled with a sinister gleam.

“Children, would you like to join Teacher in catching a few lazy monkeys who love sleeping in?”