Chapter 4
After being relieved of his homeroom teacher duties, Shao Sui had a lot more free time during the day.
Having finished his lesson preparations, Shao Sui put on his black-framed glasses—an ugly pair, the frames a gift from the head teacher, the lenses he’d gotten himself.
However, Shao Sui’s bone structure was so superior that even though his features weren’t top-tier, they looked striking on his frame. The black-framed glasses didn’t make him ugly, they just changed his style.
He sat at his workstation, aloof and restrained, constantly typing, ignoring the wind rustling his hair through the open window, exceptionally focused.
Anyone unaware would think Shao Sui was handling some serious official business. Only Shu Yi, passing by, glanced at his screen and saw an Excel spreadsheet.
It was filled with various cute names, such as Jelly, Dot, Sweet, Cake, Naughty…
Over a hundred of them.
As a married woman, Shu Yi’s first reaction was to open the small group chat and share with a few teachers of similar age: “I know why Teacher Shao doesn’t care about Teacher Cheng!”
Teacher Zhang: Why? Isn’t Teacher Cheng good enough?
Teacher Fan: Why?
Teacher Wen: Tell us!
Shu Yi: Teacher Shao might be married! And his wife is probably pregnant. I just saw him choosing baby names! Seems like it’s a girl!
Teacher Zhang: !?!
Teacher Fan: Wow. Isn’t checking the gender illegal?
Teacher Wen: He hid it so well?
Several gazes simultaneously turned towards Shao Sui, then just as quickly retreated.
Shao Sui looked up, pushing his glasses up his nose: “Is there something else I’m unaware of?”
He asked this because the last time a student’s parent caused a scene at school, something had happened at his home, and he was on leave, his phone switched off.
So when he returned to school, all the teachers knew about a student in Class 2 who filled his diary with fantasies about him, except him.
“No, no,” everyone said in unison, “Nothing.”
The group chat buzzed again.
Teacher Fan: Teacher Shao doesn’t seem married, I’ve never seen him wear a wedding ring.
Teacher Zhang: Unmarried with a child?
Teacher Cao: Enough already! Could he be choosing names for a relative’s child? Gossiping all day, can’t you focus on work?
Teacher Shu: If he’s single, it doesn’t make sense that he doesn’t have feelings for Teacher Cheng, who is so excellent. Men, don’t they want every woman?
Teacher Cheng: Has everyone forgotten I’m also in this group?
Teacher Shu: Haha, aren’t you teaching a class?
Teacher Cao: Playing with your phone during class?
Shu Yi couldn’t resist asking from her workstation, “Which Teacher Cao is this? Is there a teacher with the surname Cao in our school?”
Shao Sui continued entering names into the Excel spreadsheet, without looking up: “The head teacher’s surname is Cao.”
“…” Silence.
Several teachers exclaimed, “When did he infiltrate our group!?”
The next second, Shao Sui received a WeChat message from the head teacher: You have a kid???
See, that’s how rumors spread.
After a couple of seconds of thought, Shao Sui deduced what had happened. He replied: Yes.
Director Cao, clearly up-to-date with young people’s lingo, sent seven or eight shocked emojis: I just told you this morning not to date within six months, and within a few hours, you’ve produced a child?
Director Cao: [Wiping tears], well, if you have one, you have one. I can’t make your wife stuff it back in, but keep it low-key, don’t show off your child in the office, okay? What if that student finds out?
Shao Sui replied: Can’t stuff it back in, don’t even know who the mother is.
In another office, Director Cao abruptly stood up: “Preposterous!”
He’d only ever heard women say they didn’t know who the father was. This was the first time he’d heard a man say he didn’t know who the mother was.
Shao Sui walked to the water dispenser and poured himself a glass of water: “If you want to gossip, you can just ask me directly.”
Everyone laughed awkwardly, but couldn’t suppress their curiosity: “We just saw you choosing names, do you have a child?”
“Yes, I just had one yesterday.” Shao Sui leaned against the window, calmly testing the water temperature. “I didn’t tell everyone because I didn’t want you to spend money.”
“Teacher Shao, don’t be so polite!”
Shao Sui had worked there for over two years and had always been well-liked. Hearing this, everyone took out their phones and started transferring money: “We won’t have the celebratory dinner, but remember to bring wedding candies!”
“Boy or girl? When did you get married?”
“Not married, a boy.”
“Oh.” Shu Yi slightly regretted starting this topic, asking cautiously, “Then the child’s mother is…”
Shao Sui didn’t mind, thinking for a moment before saying, “Probably living the high life at someone else’s house, or maybe wandering in some unknown corner. Hmm… the possibility of her being dead isn’t small either.”
“…” The entire office became quieter than when they discovered Director Cao was lurking in their group chat.
It sounded like there was a story there, but they didn’t dare to ask.
“Talking about his mother isn’t interesting; we have no feelings.” Shao Sui said gently, “Don’t you want to see a picture of the child? He’s over a year old, quite ugly.”
By now, some people sensed something was off. He’d just said the child was born yesterday, now he was saying it was over a year old. But their minds hadn’t caught up, their mouths instinctively offering polite words: “How could Teacher Shao’s child be ugly? You’re being modest!”
Shu Yi said: “Quickly show us the little handsome boy! He must have double eyelids like you!”
Shao Sui slowly took out his phone. The first unread message on WeChat was from the distraught Director Cao, a series of emojis expressing his despair.
Director Cao: Xiao Shao, thank you for your trust, not hiding anything at all.
Director Cao: But even though our profession doesn’t have strict restrictions on private life, we should still maintain some moral conduct. A child without a proper name is one thing, but not even being able to find the mother? This will give people something to talk about!
Director Cao: Say something, Xiao Shao!
Director Cao: Where are you?
Shao Sui swiped to his photo album, opened the recent photos, placed his phone on the table, and gestured for his colleagues to look: “See, I told you he was ugly, right? His voice is also unpleasant, he can’t speak human language, only knows how to ‘ah.'”
A group of teachers excitedly gathered around, then instantly fell silent.
Shu Yi stammered after a moment: “Th-this kind of child… not ugly, just a bit hairy.”
Teacher Fan sighed: “I never knew Teacher Shao was such a humorous person.”
The math teacher from the next class said calmly: “Refund! I transferred my entire month’s allowance to you!”
Just then, Director Cao, unable to wait for Shao Sui’s reply, rushed over: “Where’s Teacher Shao?”
Shao Sui held his water cup and said calmly: “Director Cao is here too? Perfect, come see if my child meets your expectations.”
“You, you really are!”
Director Cao squeezed into the crowd with a disgruntled expression, and his mind went blank the moment he saw the picture.
There was no child in the phone, only pictures of a cat, swipe left or right.
A calico, a beauty of the cat world.
Director Cao took two deep breaths, waved his hand wearily, and turned to leave: “Don’t be so mischievous next time.”
Then, just as he walked out of the office, he realized he had been kicked out of the teachers’ group chat.
“…”
It’s okay, he had an alternate account. He’d find a mole to get him back in when the opportunity arose.
The small incident at school dispelled the gloom that had been hanging over Shao Sui recently, and he returned to his former gentle and refined model teacher state.
He could even go to another class, encounter the student who harbored all sorts of fantasies about him, and as usual, call on him to answer questions when he raised his hand.
However, Shao Sui was exceptionally fair. He never called on the same student twice in one class, and only called on each student once per day.
Simply because that male student wrote in his diary: Teacher Shao called on me to answer questions twice today. Other students were only called on once. My heart is beating so fast, maybe I’m special in his eyes.
Shao Sui really wanted to change his WeChat signature to “My sexual orientation is quite mainstream.” Besides, if a teacher could develop feelings for a student, wouldn’t that make him no better than an animal?
Shao Sui didn’t think he looked like an animal.
But the head teacher wouldn’t let him change his signature, fearing it would stimulate the student.
Director Cao’s original words were that stimulating him was fine; at most, he’d have a heart attack and stay in the hospital for a few days, but the student might actually jump off a building.
In a good mood, Shao Sui opened two more cans of cat food for the cat over the next two days.
The calico ate heartily, its mind full of thoughts like, “Did he win the lottery recently? Why is he suddenly so generous?” and “It’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. Should I save some?”
Unaware of what was going on in the cat’s little head, Shao Sui continued working on the Excel spreadsheet, eventually printing out seven or eight pages of categorized names.
He stayed put, swiveling his chair to face the cat.
The calico wasn’t as wary as it was initially and would occasionally leave the bookshelf compartment to stare at the birds outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Like now.
Shao Sui picked up the feather teaser—given to him by Cheng Ke, who said it could effectively bridge the distance between him and the cat, wouldn’t get him covered in fur, and made it harder for him to be bitten.
The calico, with its back to Shao Sui, was completely oblivious to the approaching danger.
The instant the feather teaser touched it, the calico launched itself into the air, performing a backflip on the spot. It landed still startled, letting out a soft, threatening hiss at Shao Sui.
Shao Sui hadn’t expected such a dramatic reaction and apologized insincerely.
“Looks like your fracture is almost healed.”
“…”
“But your owner is still nowhere to be found.” Shao Sui rested his chin on his hand, badmouthing the cat’s owner. “What an irresponsible person. Should I find you a new owner?”
“…”
“No, that won’t do.” Shao Sui talked to himself. “Only by finding the original owner can I get the medical expenses back… so we’ll wait a bit longer.”
The calico turned its head, presenting its backside to him again.
“Okra?”
“Nian Gao.”
“Ding Dong.”
“Biscuit.”
“…”
The calico, unmoved, continued to look at the scenery, unsure what this human was up to.
Reciting a menu?
It didn’t like any of those.
“Milk?”
The calico’s ears twitched. A long time ago, when it was still free, a kind cat goddess had fed it milk, although it seemed to be goat’s milk.
Seeing that the cat wouldn’t even turn around, Shao Sui removed the sheet of food-related names, picked up the next one, and continued calling out names, determined to find this cat’s real name.
“Mimi” did sound a bit cloying, and Shao Sui didn’t intend to give it a new name. Firstly, the cat had such a temper and barely acknowledged him, and secondly, what was the point of giving someone else’s cat a new name?
Naming was a serious matter. Once a name was given, responsibility followed, and Shao Sui wasn’t ready to take on that responsibility.
“Luca?”
“Tu Tu?”
“Duo Rou?”
“…”
The calico finally realized that this human wanted to give it a name. It didn’t have a proper name in the past and wasn’t particularly keen on having one now.
This human was too poor, living in such a small place, complaining about expensive canned food. Staying with him might be worse than wandering and scavenging for food.
So Shao Sui saw the cat lift its uninjured paw to cover its ears, lowering its head and ignoring him.
“Still don’t want to listen? Don’t tell me your name is really Mimi.” Shao Sui commented, “Your owner has no taste.”
Covered in bandages, the calico’s back still looked resolute and aloof.
Since 99% of the people who saw it called it Mimi, to some extent, that really was its name.
But no one could be its owner!
This cat was the Great Meow King, completely different from other foolishly cute cats who only knew how to act spoiled and roll around. It was looking for servants, not owners.
Hmph.
Stupid and poor human.
“Really called Mimi? It’s a bit embarrassing to say…” Shao Sui didn’t know how much longer this cat would be staying at his place. “How about changing the tone and the character, mi… how about Mimi?”
The calico let out a perfunctory meow, still hoarse.
“Xún xún mì mì, fourth tone, not bad.” Shao Sui was quite satisfied. “I hope your owner finds you soon. If they don’t, I hope you can successfully forage for food in the wild.”
He didn’t know which sentence struck a nerve with the Great Meow King, but it turned and hissed at Shao Sui.
Shao Sui exclaimed, “Getting angry now?”
Truthfully, Shao Sui had a mischievous streak, but it was suppressed by his role as a teacher.
Mimi didn’t want to deal with this annoying fellow, turned around, and lifted its leg to lick its paws.
Having nothing better to do, Shao Sui commented, “Looks like a chicken drumstick, just too little meat, wouldn’t fetch a good price… do you have athlete’s foot? Lick less, you’ll infect your mouth and I’ll have to spend more money.”
“…”
Mimi froze for a second, looked at its pink paw pads, then at Shao Sui’s glasses. It understood one thing—this human not only had poor eyesight but also a faulty sense of smell.
Don’t get angry at disabled people.
Shao Sui pondered, “Why are you only wearing socks on your hind legs, not your front paws?”
Mimi’s markings were actually quite even. Its hind legs had fluffy, two-toned “socks,” while the fur on its front legs connected to its bib, white as snow.
Shao Sui calmly remarked, “Never changed your socks since you were a kitten, have you? Little dirty cat.”
Mimi stared at Shao Sui for a moment, then lowered its head to continue licking its fur. A cat destined for greatness must learn to endure.
Shao Sui used the feather teaser to ruffle the fur the cat had just smoothed down: “Do you understand licking? Licking your perfectly good fur coat into a mess, you—”
Mimi finally snapped, giving Shao Sui a swipe: “Woof!!”
Shao Sui laughed and stood up, dodging the cat’s attack: “Now you’re even imitating a dog?”
