YMI Chapter 7

Sun Bo’s face darkened, almost to the point of exploding, but he knew he had to appear gentlemanly in front of Tao Ruoxiang. So, he pretended to be unbothered and said, “So what you mean is—you’re inviting Teacher Tao to dinner?”

“No! It’s Teacher Tao who’s inviting me to dinner!” Qin Lang corrected him, then looked at Tao Ruoxiang. “Right, Teacher Tao?”

“That’s right,” Tao Ruoxiang said with a smile. “Teacher Sun, you might not know—Qin Lang is my nephew. His mother asked me to look after him. Since he’s just arrived today, I was planning to take him out for a meal.”

“So, Teacher Tao, that means my plan to invite you to dinner is ruined?” Sun Bo said bitterly. He hadn’t expected the date he’d carefully planned to be ruined by some student kid.

Qin Lang thought to himself, If your plan isn’t ruined, what are you gonna do—go pickle cabbage? If you want to chase Teacher Tao, you’ll have to wait until your next life… or the one after that.

“How about this—tonight I’ll take Qin Lang out to eat off campus. Teacher Sun, if you don’t mind, you can come too—as thanks for your invitation.” Just as Qin Lang was feeling pleased with himself, Tao Ruoxiang gave him a little reality check.

But Qin Lang quickly understood why. As a female teacher, having dinner alone with a student might give others gossip material. Bringing Sun Bo along would naturally avoid that. Also, Qin Lang was sure Tao Ruoxiang wanted to use the dinner to make Sun Bo give up once and for all. Even if she didn’t intend that, Qin Lang was determined to help her achieve it.

What Qin Lang didn’t know was that Tao Ruoxiang’s idea was actually to knock both of them down a peg. She had no particular liking for Sun Bo, but she also didn’t want Qin Lang developing feelings beyond a teacher-student relationship.

“If Teacher Tao is inviting me to dinner, I’d be delighted,” Sun Bo said with a broad smile. “But I’ll pay for the meal!”

“Oh, Teacher Sun, why bring up paying so soon? Don’t worry, I won’t fight you for the bill.” Qin Lang said, giving the bouquet of flowers in his hand a light shake. “Let’s go, or the flowers will wilt while we wait.”

Tao Ruoxiang smiled and got up to leave. Sun Bo quickly followed. Once they were out of the office building, Sun Bo said to her, “Ruoxiang, wait here, I’ll bring the car around.”

Sun Bo had bought a Honda Accord on a loan. Among the teachers at No. 7 High, owning a mid-range private car was already impressive, so of course he wanted to show it off in front of Tao Ruoxiang—to prove he was a capable man.

Who knew Qin Lang was such a troublemaker? The moment he heard Sun Bo was going to get the car, he said, “Teacher Sun, I don’t think we need to drive—it’s not far off campus, no need.”

Sun Bo thought, I’m driving to give Tao Ruoxiang a ride, not you, you punk. Who do you think you are? I bought this car to impress women—if Tao Ruoxiang rides in it often, that alone makes it worth it.

So, he said, slightly irritated, “Xiao Qin, what are you talking about? It’s hot today—do you really want Teacher Tao to work up a sweat… well, a fragrant sweat? Anyway, if you want to walk, walk by yourself!”

“Don’t be upset, Teacher Sun,” Qin Lang said with a grin. “I’m just thinking of Teacher Tao’s safety.”

“My driving skills are top-notch—you don’t need to worry!” Sun Bo snorted.

“It’s not about your driving skills—fine, I’ll just say it. Teacher Sun, you bought a Honda Accord, right?”

“Yes. How did you know?” Sun Bo asked.

Qin Lang thought, How could I not know? Zhao Kan gave you the nickname ‘Accord Brother’ after you used ‘I have a Honda Accord’ as an example sentence in English class twice, so now everyone at No. 7 knows. But he didn’t bother explaining—he just said, “Teacher Sun, you’re a teacher, you should pay more attention to world affairs than I do. Right now, every Chinese person is boycotting Japanese goods. You not only don’t boycott them, you went and bought a Japanese car. If it gets smashed, fine—but don’t scare Teacher Tao.”

“What did you say? Smashed? Only hotheaded nationalists like you would talk like that! There are many things about Japan worth learning—like the performance of an A… Accord…”

Sun Bo almost slipped and said “AV” instead.

But to his surprise, Tao Ruoxiang sided with this hotheaded student: “Teacher Sun, if you don’t mind, let’s just walk—it’s really not far.”

The muscles in Sun Bo’s cheeks twitched. He suppressed the urge to strangle Qin Lang and forced a nod. “Alright, a little walk before dinner—helps the appetite.”

The walk didn’t help Sun Bo’s appetite—it just made his stomach ache from anger.

He had underestimated Qin Lang’s ability to mess things up. Now the three of them strolled across campus together—Qin Lang holding flowers, walking on Tao Ruoxiang’s left, radiant and chatting with every student they passed, looking like the star of the evening.

Meanwhile, Sun Bo—despite his sharp suit—looked unlucky, out of sorts, and far from the main event.

He had planned this dinner as a date, carefully dressing the part, picking a restaurant, deciding on the table, even preparing jokes to close the distance between them. But Qin Lang’s sudden appearance had ruined all of it—and filled him with frustration.

If it weren’t for maintaining a teacher’s image, Sun Bo would have loved to wring Qin Lang’s neck.

Qin Lang, meanwhile, was enjoying himself: Flowers in hand, beauty at my side, no need to pay for dinner—what a life!

“Hmm? Teacher Sun, you don’t look happy. Why haven’t you said a word this whole time?”

Just as they left the school gates, Qin Lang’s question felt like salt on Sun Bo’s wounds.

Sun Bo’s lips twitched. You’ve been talking nonstop—when have I had a chance? But he forced a smile: “I was just thinking about where we should eat.”

“It’s simple,” Qin Lang said. “Where we eat doesn’t matter—it’s who we eat with. Having dinner with Teacher Tao—even a street food stall would be delicious.”

“Alright, Qin Lang, your mouth is sweet as honey,” Tao Ruoxiang laughed, pointing ahead. “Let’s go to that ‘Love Spicy House’—I hear the food’s good and the spice has real kick.”

Since she suggested it, neither man objected.

Sun Bo stepped in first and told the young woman at the front counter, “Get us a nice private room.”

“Private room?” she said, chewing gum and giving him a look. “Sir, this is a small restaurant near a school, not a star-rated hotel. If you really want a private room, I can set up a folding screen for you.”

Out loud she said that, but in her heart, she was scoffing: What a poser! If you want to act high-class, go to a hotel in the city.

“Forget it, it’s just a meal, no need to arrange a private room.” Tao Ruoxiang also felt there was no need for that — since they were eating at a restaurant outside of school, of course they couldn’t be too particular.

“That’s right, Teacher Sun, don’t be so fussy. Just be like Teacher Tao and experience the ‘joy of being among the people.’” Qin Lang said with a smile.

When she heard the words “so fussy,” Tao Ruoxiang shot Qin Lang a sideways glance, because she realized he was secretly mocking Sun Bo — this year, one of the top ten trending internet catchphrases was “A cheap person is just being fussy”!

Seeing Tao Ruoxiang’s look, Qin Lang knew she had seen right through him. He quickly let out a hearty laugh and said, “I think that spot over there looks good — I’d better go grab it!”