Chapter 28 This is definitely differential treatment!
After a two-hour car ride, the subway arrived at its destination amidst the midday sun.
During the journey, Yuhui Bai and I didn’t have much to talk about. After exchanging names and a few pleasantries about other things, our conversation stopped. I guess I hadn’t prepared for this. However, being able to meet Yuhui Bai again is something to be happy about. Or rather, it’s enough to see her again and know she’s doing well.
As I pulled my luggage out of the subway, I saw Yuhui Bai struggling with not only her suitcase but also two large bags. “Girls have so much luggage,” I thought, barely filling one suitcase myself. I touched my nose, considered for a moment, and then walked over to help her carry the largest bag. “Let me help you carry this. We’re going to the same university, and it’s normal for classmates to help each other, right?”
“Thank you.”
Oh? I thought she would refuse. I didn’t expect her to agree so readily. Was it because I found a good reason? Although I’m a local, I rarely come to District Six. Song City is an international metropolis, ranking among the top three in the country, and it’s too far to District Two. People and area are large. It’s too far from District Two, so I wouldn’t normally come here unless there was a specific reason. The surging crowds were mostly young people like us. District Six is a famous school district with many universities besides Shanshui University. The registration dates were all at the same time, which is why there were so many people.
Not long after leaving the subway station, we reached a square. Shanshui University’s welcome booth for new students had a good location and occupied a relatively large area. Coupled with the prestigious name of Shanshui University, it was easy to find. Yuhui Bai and I carried our luggage towards the welcome station. As we approached, several students dressed in navy blue uniforms, about a dozen or so, eagerly rushed over to help carry our luggage.
Are they senior students? They’re really enthusiastic. No one is helping me carry my luggage. Yuhui Bai, on the other hand, had several senior students surrounding her. After all, Yuhui Bai is a beautiful girl of extremely high appearance, so she naturally received more attention. It turns out these senior students weren’t genuinely kind; they just wanted to get close to her as soon as possible. This is a bit troublesome, though. I’m still carrying her luggage. If she gets taken away, where will I find her? We haven’t exchanged contact information yet.
Then, I saw Yuhui Bai politely decline the enthusiastic senior students and walk towards me. The senior students who failed to approach her looked at me with disgusted eyes. I looked at the handsome guys who looked like jilted wives with a strange expression, and then at Yuhui Bai. She was calmly confirming the registration process. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing. It seems we need to take a bus to the campus.”
“Mm.”
She refused others, but not me? I felt a little happy. When we got on the bus, I found there were no seats left. I gave Yuhui Bai a wry smile and was about to suggest we wait for the next bus when an enthusiastic senior student stood up and offered his seat to Yuhui Bai. Oh, the ‘enthusiastic’ senior student didn’t offer me a seat. It seems I’ll have to wait for the next bus. Just as I was about to get off, Yuhui Bai grabbed my sleeve and said, “Wait, I’ll go with you.”
“Eh? But that senior student gave you his seat.”
Yuhui Bai just shook her head and picked up her bag. The senior student who offered her the seat looked embarrassed, and the boy next to him patted his shoulder. At this moment, a familiar voice came from behind. “Are you all ready? Senior students, don’t just chat with the new students; do your jobs properly.”
I turned my head at the sound and, after confirming who it was, I couldn’t snap back to reality for a moment. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen her in a suit. In fact, this familiar attire was how I’d always seen her before coming to this world. Because my contact with her was limited, and we never met at school, seeing her like this felt very familiar. Although she was wearing a professional suit, her appearance and figure were too outstanding, and she looked particularly young, not like a teacher, but rather like a university student about to enter society.
“Teacher Yang, we’re helping purely out of enthusiasm. How can you say we’re trying to get close to them? We’re just building rapport in advance.”
“Yes, yes, Teacher Yang, we’re all inherently good kids.”
“Teacher Yang, this guy just said the new student is even prettier than you!”
“Nonsense! Teacher Yang is the most beautiful. Look, even that boy is staring blankly.” Once this was said, all eyes turned to me. Lily also looked at me, then frowned. Why that expression? Are you still suspecting me of having some unspeakable relationship with your mother? Although Nana is casual at home and doesn’t mind physical contact, and I sometimes give her massages, there’s no further relationship. “My dear fellow student, you…” I said with a helpless expression.
“There are no more seats.”
“I see. I happen to be going back to school too. You can ride with me, and this student here too…” Huh? Doesn’t Lily hate me? Did Nana put in a word beforehand, so she’s helping me? Anyway, I won’t have to wait for the next bus. How lucky. The carriage was in an uproar. Both new and old students stared at me with widened eyes, their envy and jealousy evident. Groans of despair filled the bus. I touched my cheek and exchanged a glance with Yuhui Bai, pointing at Lily, who had already gotten off the bus. “Then let’s go. It’s a free ride.”
“Then what about us?” Yuhui Bai nodded and followed me off the bus. We put our luggage in Lily’s car’s trunk, and I got into the back seat with my bag. Then Yuhui Bai also sat next to me.
“Hm? Why aren’t you sitting in the front passenger seat?”
“Someone’s already there.” At this moment, I noticed that the front passenger seat was already occupied. Through the rearview mirror, I saw a face that clearly showed unhappiness. Oh, no wonder Li Nai didn’t come to pick me up. She’s here after all. “Yo, Li Nai, so you did come to pick me up.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come specifically to pick you up. I’m just here with Teacher Yang to handle some matters.” Lily also entered the car, started the engine, and asked with a strange look. “Hm? Haven’t you been waiting for him all morning?” Teacher Yang! “Ahem, right, this is…”
“No, her name is Bai Yuhui. We met on the subway. Seeing she had a lot of luggage, I helped her move it.”
“Hello, my name is Bai Yuhui. Bai from white, Yu from rain, and Hui from Samsara with three radicals for water. I’m a first-year student in the Law School.” After Yuhui finished her self-introduction, both of them showed subtle expressions. Lily rolled her eyes with a look of “I knew it,” while Li Nai sighed in exasperation. What’s with this reaction?
“You really are something else.”
“Being able to pick up a beautiful girl like this is also a kind of talent.” I could easily strike up a conversation with her because it was Yuhui, but I couldn’t say that. Ah, forget it, forget it. Call me a playboy, I don’t care! “You’re Bai Yuhui, right? I’m Yang Lili, a teacher at the Faculty of Education. Next to me is Li Nai from the Department of Bioengineering. She’s already a sophomore. We all have some connection with this guy.”
“Some connection.” After hearing this, Yuhui nodded politely. “Hello, Teacher Yang, Senior Li Nai.”
“Oh, oh~” x2 Lily and Li Nai turned back together and looked at Yuhui in disbelief, exclaiming in unison. “Well, just call me by my name. This kid calls me by my name anyway.”
“Hm? If you prefer, I can call you teacher too, Teacher Yang~ Teacher Lily~” Hearing me call her teacher, Lily almost instinctively shivered all over, clenched her legs, and protested loudly. “No need! Shut up!” I stuck out my tongue and said no more. Although there’s no contract between Lily and me, for some reason, her ‘body’ still has an instinctive conditioned reflex to me calling her teacher. While it might not be to the extent of a flood, I can still feel something.
“Ahem, Yuhui, just call me Teacher Lily.”
“Okay, I understand, Teacher Lily.”
“Oh~” x2 So what were they marveling at just now? “I feel nostalgic hearing you call me teacher, Yuhui. And it comes out so naturally. We must be fated, classmate Yuhui.”
“Me too. The name Senior Li Nai seems familiar, like I’ve heard it often. But we probably weren’t in the same high school, White Sister.”
I fell silent, not daring to say anything more. This phenomenon isn’t the first time. Back then, Keling was like this. Because she was “swallowed by memories that didn’t belong to her,” she did such out-of-line things. Did I cause this influence? “Yes, due to my physical condition, I didn’t attend high school. My parents hired a tutor for me to study at home.”
“Is it that serious? What kind of illness? Is it better now?”
“It was narcolepsy and somnambulism. It suddenly got cured at the end of the second semester of my sophomore year, so I can attend university like this now.”
“That’s really remarkable.”
“Then enjoy your university life. Make up for all the lost youth!”
“Yes, thank you.”
“But remember to stay away from this guy. Don’t let his serious appearance fool you; he’s actually a super playboy. Be careful not to be taken advantage of.”
“That’s right. He’s actually living with many women? And from mature women to young girls, from onee-sans to lolis, he has them all at any age. He’s practically the embodiment of lust.”
“A pervert.” Yuhui turned to look at me, sizing me up for a while, and said, “I understand.”
Hey, hey, hey, what do you guys think I am! A human weapon who gets anyone pregnant just by glaring at them? The three women left me aside and started chatting enthusiastically. In my original world, Li Nai was the class monitor, and Lily was the homeroom teacher, so they got along quite well. Yuhui, on the other hand, could get along with anyone. Although she was initially resistant to Lan and Bing, she gradually accepted them. “Alright, this is the registration point for the Faculty of Engineering. That scumbag over there, you can get out of the car now…”
“I’ll take junior Bai to the registration point first. Are you going to be okay by yourself, you pervert?” I don’t have any human rights. If I say I have a problem, neither of you will help me. “No problem, you two go help Yuhui.” I got out of the car, took my suitcase from the trunk, waved goodbye, and was about to leave when Yuhui called out to me.
“Um, classmate Jun, thank you today.”
“Ah? Ah, it’s nothing, just a small matter. Besides, I didn’t help much. You should thank Li Nai and Lily.” Why should I thank you? Does this question even need an answer? I gave her a thumbs-up and said, “No reason. It’s only natural to help you.” Just like you helped me without any ulterior motives, I’m helping you because you are Bai Yuhui, and that’s all. I waved goodbye nonchalantly as I got into the car.
“Goodbye.” I turned back in surprise, only to find Lily’s car had already driven away. No way?
“Hm? Yuhui, why did you call him ‘master’? Did I mishear that?”
“I’m not too sure. Maybe the Chuunibyou acted up again.”
“Eh~ You had such a dark history?”
“Yes, during middle school, my narcolepsy was very severe. In a semi-conscious state, I often fantasized about various things… Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten most of it, and I didn’t leave any notes.”
“Shouldn’t you want to forget your Chuunibyou history?”
“But I always feel…” “It feels very nostalgic. I blurted it out just now.”
“That’s strange. I also feel like I’ve seen you before. Calling you ‘junior’ came out naturally. Although I think calling you ‘Yuhui’ would be more affectionate, it doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily.”
“Hmm… Maybe it’s fate from a past life.”
“Past life’s fate, perhaps, yes.”
