Chapter 42

On Sunday, Liu Ming, Xiaoming's cousin, found himself out of saved chapters again. Tong Yan had been busy with short stories these days and hadn't had time to write "The Little Soldier's History." If he didn't write today, the updates would be interrupted.

As the commercialization of online literature became more sophisticated, readers' demands for online novels became increasingly strict. The tolerant readers who used to be fine with casual writing and sporadic updates were becoming fewer and fewer. Now, readers admired fast writers like Tang Jia San Shao, who had never stopped updating since entering the industry.

To avoid being despised by readers, Tong Yan hurriedly ate lunch and came up to prepare for writing. To write, he first needed to turn on the computer, and to turn on the computer, he first needed to find Song Rao. This had become a must-do for Tong Yan these days.

Before going up to find Song Rao, Tong Yan first glanced at the office area to see if there were any difficult teachers.

He didn't know what he would find, but what he saw startled him. Old Song, who was usually not around at noon, was actually in the office today. Inside, there was also Song Rao, who had been his partner these days. The two were talking in low voices, and Tong Yan couldn't hear clearly from outside.

In this situation, Tong Yan could only slip away. He wouldn't be able to write at noon, so he would have to see if there was a chance in the evening.

In the office, Song Xiancheng pretended to be calm and said, "I heard that you've been getting closer to Tong Yan lately and often come to my office. You two didn't seem to be close before, right?"

One teacher might not say anything, and two might not say anything either, but there were too many teachers who had seen them together. Tong Yan had been caught by Song Rao's subject teachers several times, not to mention the other teachers who came and went in the office area. With so many teachers and so many mouths, a few of them were quite talkative, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, this sensitive matter had already reached Song Xiancheng's ears.

Usually, a daughter would defend herself when faced with such a problem. Even if her father didn't believe her, she would still explain, as it concerned a girl's dignity. But Song Rao didn't.

"Dad, don't you like Tong Yan? Are you unhappy that I'm getting closer to him?" Song Rao looked innocent.

"That's a different matter. I like him because I value his talent, but you don't need to get so close to him," Song Xiancheng said, acting like most fathers of teenage girls, being more cautious with boys than with rivers.

"Dad, I didn't expect you to be so vulgar. Do you mean to say that if someone has no talent, you won't even look at them?" Song Rao didn't wait for her father to object and continued, "Anyway, I think Tong Yan is pretty good. He's talented, good-looking, and tall."

Song Xiancheng's face turned red, "You even call him 'Little Tong Yan.' He's two years younger than you. What are you thinking, child!"

"I'm not thinking anything, Dad. Are you overthinking it?" Song Rao played the game of feigning innocence.

"Then tell me what you two have been doing lately. Many teachers have reported that he often comes to your classroom to find you and even comes to my office together," Song Xiancheng didn't have the patience to play games with this girl and directly addressed the topic of their conversation.

Song Rao refused to answer, "Dad, we have our own privacy, right? Why should we tell you? Besides, in your office, what do you have to worry about? We're not going to the woods to feed mosquitoes."

Song Xiancheng was speechless, usually not putting effort into studies but being quite skilled at talking.

Song Xiancheng was also afraid that if he said too much, he might push his rebellious child to the other side. Twenty years of teaching experience had given him a lot of experience in dealing with early romance. Many male and female students might have just a vague liking for each other, and they might not have planned to confess during high school. But if teachers and parents kept nagging and scaring them, they might end up in an early romance.

"I trust you, but how can you not trust me? You don't share your secrets with your dad, which is not very nice," Song Xiancheng said.

"Can secrets that can be shared still be called secrets?" Song Rao retorted, "Anyway, we haven't done anything wrong."

Even though Song Rao said this, Song Xiancheng still couldn't be completely at ease. In their class, he knew that besides Tian Zini, who had already left, there were quite a few girls who liked Tong Yan, and even girls from other classes had long admired him.

This boy indeed had a lot of personal charm. Although he came from a poor family, he was good at studies, good-looking, and had no major flaws in his character. He was self-respecting, self-reliant, and self-loving, which was exactly what young girls in love liked.

Although his daughter had always been picky and had never been deceived by boys' sweet talk due to his careful prevention, as a father, his protective instinct for his daughter was innate. Even if Tong Yan was his favorite student in his teaching career, Song Xiancheng wouldn't relax his supervision of him.

"Dad, aren't you leaving? It's been so long since school ended," Song Rao urged when her father didn't speak.

"Do you really not want to see your dad? You ungrateful child," Song Xiancheng said angrily.

Song Rao laughed, "Of course not. I just don't want to delay you if you have something urgent."

"What urgent thing could I have? I'll go first," Song Xiancheng was puzzled by his daughter's behavior. He really didn't have anything urgent; his urgent matters were all scheduled for the evening.

"Are you leaving? Are you staying here?" Song Xiancheng asked as he saw Song Rao not getting up.

Song Rao lazily lay on the table, "I'll sleep here. I love your chair; it's so soft. I always fall asleep sitting in it."

"Go to sleep, and I'll lock you in so you can't get out," Song Xiancheng joked as he closed the door.

Song Rao closed her eyes and murmured, "I'm not afraid. Someone will come to save me."

After her father left, Song Rao straightened up, turned on the computer, and opened a seemingly ordinary folder. After peeling through five or six layers, she found a document called "miao." This was the complete version of "Fated Enemies: Cat People vs. Dog People" by Tong Yan. After finishing it, he had hidden it here for Song Rao to enjoy, as he had promised.

Song Rao read for a while and then closed the document. It wasn't that it wasn't good, but she was reluctant to finish it. There were only about 20,000 words, and once she finished, there would be nothing left. She had to be frugal. Moreover, without Tong Yan by her side, the pleasure of reading seemed to be diminished. Song Rao looked expectantly at the door, wondering why he hadn't come yet.

Tong Yan, who seemed to be resting with his eyes closed on his desk, was actually thinking about the plot of "The Little Soldier's History." This intermittent writing required him to spend time recalling the previous context each time he wrote. He also had to constantly be on guard against being caught writing novels on the computer, which was both physically and mentally exhausting. If it weren't for the infinite anticipation of the manuscript fees, he would have been exhausted long ago.

Cheng Xianru, one of the two class leaders in Class 2, was working on a math problem and seemed to be having some difficulty. Just as she was about to muster the courage to ask Tong Yan for help, she saw Song Rao pacing outside the classroom. She naturally recognized the daughter of the homeroom teacher and had heard the recent rumors. Seeing the smiling girl staring at Tong Yan through the glass window, Cheng Xianru, who had stood up, silently sat back down...