Don't die, Teacher Zhan
Chapter Nine

A fresh morning blazed through the teacher's life but still he was waging war with himself to either live or ink an end to his everlasting sufferings. He groaned because he didn't know what to do anymore, his body felt tired all the time and his mind constantly running to that indistinguishable route in order to reach that nonexistent finish line nobody could win. It's so hard to pretend that you are appreciating your existence when you knew every cell in your body was masticating itself and wishes to die. Just thinking about the students, principal, books, formulas, numbers, school activities, Yibo...Wang Yibo...that tricky kid in his class; he remembered what happened yesterday; he sighed. Sipping his coffee, he assembled his bed sheets and pillows that were flawlessly untouched on its position the night before. Well, sleep hadn't been his close friend all these years. Last night, he stayed up cracking ancient arithmetic calculations, drank at least twelve cups of espresso and watched the night sky changed at his balcony. He didn't waste any second to look at the mirror after applying a liquid concealer to hide the imperishable dark marks under his eyes with his pointing fingers. He left his house and started to ride a cab without a pinch of enthusiasm.

The day slothfully went by and as usual his classes ran according to his plan. The world of learning wasn't fair, there were low learners, average and fast but he preferred to permanently make everything simple for his students so that everyone with unlike IQ level in Mathematics understood and be able to get high marks in his assessments. The laoshi was always willing to give remedial tests for those who must take it. In late afternoon, he called the attention of ten students in his homeroom class to answer a short quiz before sending them home. Those were the ones with incomplete scores in their grades. It was not his expertise to flunk a pupil. If you can't understand or practically sinking in muddy waters, ask Teacher Zhan and you'll acquire your answer. Simple as that. No other complicate route or discouraging probabilities, he'll show you the way out of that obscure tunnel which was a part of wisdom. If only he can do that to himself and wisdom's the only barrier that stopped him from getting what he really want, a peaceful present life and an acceptable past to remember from time to time.

From lunch until class dismissals, he heard people talked about the approaching event in the academy which reminded him of that mischief-maker who gave him a bunny keychain. Yibo's unexpected transformation of attitude towards him was startling and kind of treacherous. Zhan wondered why that boy treated him well but with the others? Debatable. Maybe like all of the students here in school, he just felt comfortable to be true with his Teacher Zhan...That's all. No hidden intentions whatsoever.

Xiao Zhan, stop thinking about him...please, he reprimanded himself and lurched to his paper works. If he was busy, he doubled it at the moment to dust off whatever thoughts about a certain person who gradually wormed his path to his torpid heart. [A/N: Torpid means unfeeling.]

A faint bashed of fist on the door in his classroom stole his firm concentration to the presentation he was working on, he glanced at the time on the screen of his pc, seven twelve in the evening. He's expecting for the janitor or his fellow lecturers. "Good evening, may I help-"

His breath hitched on his throat when his sight connected to a guy standing before him with a guitar. He didn't even have the reason why he felt his cheeks burned red at the sight of Wang Yibo who was clad with casual clothing, an actual manly man to say the least, not clothed with his messy school uniform, dyed hair and piercings. With a natural color of his hair now and no studs or earrings, he looked like he was cut off from a teen Vogue magazine. He was the whole description of WOW.

Yibo seated himself on the desk that adjacent to where he was. "Teach, I have a favor to ask you...Will you say YES?"

After a little throat-clearing, he then spoke, "What? Let me hear your request first and I'll decide..."

"No, you have to say YES before hearing it so that you won't have the nerve to say no to me."

"What a scheming kid!" He chuckled unintentionally.

"Come on, Teach. You gotta help me on this one...You are my homeroom teacher, you are my teacher!" The lad grinned. There was the magic spell again; 'homeroom teacher' or 'you are my teacher'.

Zhan overlooked the grin, slightly irritated at Yibo's proposal, "Yes."

"Really?! So you have to sleep at my house tonight!"

Xiao Zhan had to blinked his eyes, not convinced he heard the high-schooler correct, "SLEEP?! IN YOUR HOUSE? WHY?"

"I am not confident about the performance I'll do for everyone to see tomorrow...I need your comments and suggestions...You already said yes...and it's a promise right? Don't break it." He childishly pointed a finger at his laoshi's face.

"I am an educator, a Math teacher. How can I tell if what you are doing is right or wrong? I mean, I am not a professional dancer or singer or magician. Talk to your friends and don't disturb me. If your talent is playing Chess or answering a Sudoku book, I think I can help you with that. What will you show them anyway?"

"You'll know when we get home."

"Alright." Xiao Zhan saved his file to the folder with a name 'Important' on the desktop for his own sake to easily spot it later if he have a spare minute to edit it, shut his laptop down, gathered all his notes and fed it all inside his messenger bag. Is this even real?

They hurriedly made their way to the corridor and to the gate of the school.

Sitting together in a bus, he replayed the significant question on his head that came in with him to the vehicle, 'How in the world Yibo lured me to do these kind of things in a snap again?' The butterflies, no the entire zoo was in his stomach when Yibo carelessly moved to his seat and their arms brushed. It didn't comfort him but spooked him in an exciting disposition...

Xiao Zhan, what is wrong with you? He asked himself unintelligently. Lightly knocking on the part where his heart was placed.

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TO BE CONTINUED.