Chapter 73

At No. 16 High School, the green trees provided shade. Li Yi walked along the tree-lined path, circled around the library in front, and went straight to the teaching building in the north.

On the third floor of this teaching building, on the west side, were the classrooms for Class 1 to Class 4 of the first year of high school. On the east side of these four classrooms was the office for the homeroom teachers and main subject teachers of these four classes.

Just as he reached the office door, Li Yi saw a thin, sly-looking boy standing outside the office, looking listless.

"Li Tian, what are you doing standing outside the office? Did you get into trouble again?" Li Yi asked casually.

Li Tian was one of Li Yi's two close friends at school, known for his cunning and frequent minor misdeeds, as well as occasional major ones.

"Damn, boss, you finally show up. You've been absent for a whole week, that's pretty impressive. I thought you got arrested by the police!" Li Tian walked up to Li Yi and punched him lightly.

Since they were standing outside the office, he didn't dare to speak loudly, lowering his voice, "Where were you last week?"

"I went abroad." Li Yi replied casually.

"Sure, keep dreaming!" Li Tian chuckled, then looked around furtively.

Seeing no one around, he immediately took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Li Yi, and said, "Boss, hide it well, don't let Mr. Luo see it!"

Li Yi smiled lightly, and memories from long ago resurfaced.

In high school, Li Tian always used these small things to win his favor, and they would call each other brothers. During those youthful years, he thought this was brotherhood.

Now, he realized that Li Tian just saw him as good at fighting and used underhanded tactics to pull him in. Most of the trouble Li Tian caused was handled by him, after all, he called him "boss."

Taking the cigarette casually, Li Yi asked, "What did you do this time to skip class?"

"Ah, it's all because of the Hyperbola, meddling in other people's business." Li Tian pouted, putting on a righteous look.

Hyperbola was the nickname for Tong Gexiao, the homeroom teacher of Class 4. She was beautiful, with a good figure, and taught math, so the troublemakers called her Hyperbola behind her back.

"Yesterday was Sunday, I invited Jiejie to come to school, planning to do it in the bushes. But Hyperbola saw us. The new pack of Okamoto 003 I just bought, unopened, was confiscated!"

Huang Jiejie was a local delinquent, quite open, and had an improper relationship with Li Tian. She had also tried to seduce Li Yi, but he had no interest in her, with her face full of freckles.

"Doing it in the school bushes in broad daylight, you really are something!" Li Yi gave Li Tian a thumbs up.

"Ah, boss, don't make fun of me. Now Hyperbola has reported it to Mr. Luo, and my parents will definitely be called today!" Li Tian said dejectedly.

"That's a good thing. Your dad, that pervert, would be thrilled to meet Mr. Luo. Didn't you see how he almost drooled last time?" Li Yi teased.

"Boss, have some mercy, that's my dad!" Li Tian was speechless.

As they were talking, a slender figure suddenly appeared in the corridor. Li Tian immediately stopped talking and stood straight, like a spear. The person who appeared was none other than their math teacher, Tong Gexiao, whom Li Tian called "Hyperbola."

Seeing Tong Gexiao, Li Yi waved naturally and said, "Hello, Ms. Tong!"

"Hello!" Two red clouds quickly appeared on Tong Gexiao's pretty face.

In the past, Tong Gexiao would barely nod at a troublemaker like Li Yi, but today was different. Last night, she was almost harmed in the park, and it was Li Yi who saved her, even giving her his clothes to wear and escorting her home.

After warmly greeting Li Yi, Tong Gexiao put on a stern face and said to Li Tian, "Stand properly, straighten up!"

Li Tian thought he was already standing straight, but he didn't dare to say it, so he raised his head, puffed out his chest, and looked straight ahead.

"Hmph!" Tong Gexiao didn't want to look at Li Tian anymore, as this student was too bad, pulling a girl from outside to do such things in the school playground in broad daylight. If it happened in her class, she would at least give him a suspension.

However, since Li Tian wasn't in her class, she couldn't do much and had to report it to Luo Xiayao, letting Luo Xiayao handle it.

"Li Yi, what are you doing here?" Tong Gexiao asked Li Yi.

When speaking to Li Yi, her voice became especially gentle, like a soft whisper between friends, with no trace of authority.

It was no wonder, as Tong Gexiao wasn't an ungrateful person. How could she deliberately put on a teacher's airs with her savior?

Seeing how "stern" Tong Gexiao was with him but so "gentle" with Li Yi, Li Tian's face twisted into a bitter expression. Li Yi wasn't any better, having been absent for a whole week last week. Why the differential treatment?

But then something even more surprising happened. When Tong Gexiao heard that Li Yi was waiting for Luo Xiayao in the office, she immediately smiled and said, "Then don't stand outside, come in and sit down! It's still early, Mr. Luo won't be here for a while."

"Okay." Li Yi didn't hesitate, and followed Tong Gexiao into the office.

High school classes in the morning were tight, and most teachers were in class. Besides Tong Gexiao, there was no one else in the office. Luo Xiayao's desk was right next to Tong Gexiao's, and without much thought, she pulled over Luo Xiayao's chair and invited Li Yi to sit.

Standing at the door, chest out, head high, like a straight pine tree, Li Tian's eyes almost shot fire when he saw Li Yi get a seat.

Why should I stand at the door while Li Yi not only gets to go into the office but also gets a seat?

Is Hyperbola's brain waterlogged today?

"Ms. Tong, Li Yi was absent last week, and Mr. Luo is preparing to punish him!" Li Tian couldn't help but remind her.

"Mind your own business first!" Tong Gexiao coldly snorted. Seeing Li Tian constantly looking into the office, she felt it wasn't good. But she wouldn't let a student like Li Tian come in and sit, so she frowned and said to Li Yi, "Close the door."

"Okay." Li Yi got up and closed the office door, then sat back down.

Li Tian became even more depressed, as closing the door left him outside.

You two, a man and a woman, in the office with the door closed, what are you planning to do?

But no matter how depressed he was, he didn't dare to say much. No. 16 High School was one of the key high schools in the city, with strict management, and he, a troublemaker, was very afraid of teachers.

"You seem to be quite close with him?" After closing the door, with only the two of them in the office, Tong Gexiao felt closer to Li Yi.

"Just a pig friend and a dog friend." Li Yi said.

"Ha ha." Tong Gexiao laughed lightly. As the math teacher for Class 3, she knew that Li Yi, Li Tian, and Nong Taining were close, calling each other brothers, but didn't expect Li Yi to give such an answer.

"But I heard from others that you are close friends."

"That depends on how you define close friends. If you think smoking and drinking together makes you close friends, then we are indeed close friends."

"Seems like you really are pig friends and dog friends." Tong Gexiao laughed again, then put on a serious face and said, "Li Yi, you are still a student. Although you are capable, don't smoke or drink, okay?"

"Actually, I've quit smoking for a long time." Li Yi took out the cigarette Li Tian gave him and threw it in the trash, "Ms. Tong, do you have no classes this morning?"

Tong Gexiao's pretty face turned slightly red, "It's because of last night. The police said my statement didn't match the criminal's, so they asked me to record it again, asking for more details. I had to ask someone to cover my class, and I just got back."

"Oh." Li Yi nodded, suddenly thinking of an interesting coincidence, and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, the pack of Okamoto 003 the criminal wore last night, could it be Li Tian's?"

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