The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Time slowly passed.

The office was silent, occupied only by Gu Jiaojiao and the two students staring at each other.

Back then, a single teacher taught several classes, so there was no such thing as a break. Grading papers had to be done during the lunch hour or after school.

The school’s facilities were poor and the principal’s budget was limited. The entire school had nine classes but only eight teachers. Including her, the new teaching assistant, and another teacher who was on leave, there were just ten in total.

Because she was new and another teacher was out, the two first-year classes were combined for instruction.

That’s just how things were in those days.

Five minutes passed. The two boys being punished, who had initially wanted to laugh, now felt awkward.

After another two minutes, they simply grew numb. They felt like they could count every last pimple and pore on the other’s face.

Only when ten minutes had passed did Gu Jiaojiao finally speak softly. ”All right, time’s up.”

The two, who were on the verge of a breakdown, immediately broke apart. The sight of each other’s faces was making them dizzy; they felt like they had to go outside and throw up.

’This teaching assistant is terrifying! We’re never fighting again!’

Gu Jiaojiao ignored their expressions and asked gently, ”Have you realized your mistake?”

The two nodded furiously. ”We have, Teacher. We were wrong. We’ll never fight again, we promise.”

Gu Jiaojiao was satisfied.

”All right, then. I believe you. You’re big kids now, after all. Young men, even. It would be a huge embarrassment if you went back on your word.”

”I won’t punish you for this. Just go back to class and behave. And remember, no more fighting.”

The two of them were terrified.

How could they possibly dare to fight again? For the foreseeable future, they’d probably want to run and hide whenever they saw each other. The sight of the other’s face was enough to make them feel sick.

When the two obediently returned to their classroom, they were quiet as mice, not making the slightest fidgety move. Their homeroom teacher watched, completely baffled.

Aside from Mr. Leng’s class, it was the first time the teacher had ever seen those two troublemakers be so quiet.

’Is this new assistant really that good? She handled two of the biggest troublemakers on her very first day?’

Even though Gu Jiaojiao was a teaching assistant and worked with Leng Yuan, their desks facing each other, she hadn’t seen her husband at all except for a brief moment at lunch.

It wasn’t until school let out for the day that Leng Yuan returned to his desk to pack his things.

Gu Jiaojiao was already packed and ready. Once Leng Yuan finished, the two of them set off for home together.

Previously, Leng Yuan had always walked this route alone, covering the distance as quickly as possible. Today, however, was different.

With Gu Jiaojiao by his side, Leng Yuan wasn’t concerned with speed at all. In fact, he deliberately slowed his pace.

Gu Jiaojiao, for her part, was also enjoying their walk home together.

But just as they stepped out of the school gates, Leng Yuan stopped.

Gu Jiaojiao glanced at him in confusion, just in time to hear a young voice from behind them.

”Mr. Leng! Teacher Gu!”

In no time, a dozen or so children had gathered at the school gate. Seeing that everyone was there, Leng Yuan finally said, ”Let’s go.”

Watching the group of children trail after her husband, Gu Jiaojiao had a sudden realization. ’So much for our time alone. There’s a whole crowd of kids between us.’

All along the way, Gu Jiaojiao couldn’t find an opportunity to explain the teaching assistant situation to Leng Yuan, and he never asked.

Gu Jiaojiao, who had started out feeling perfectly confident, grew more and more nervous as time passed.

As the sun began to set, the group finally entered the Qingshan Team’s area. On a hillside, Leng Yuan and the children parted ways.

At last, Gu Jiaojiao found her chance. She hurried to his side and explained about getting the teaching assistant position.

She explained that she didn’t have any ulterior motives; she just wanted to give her husband a surprise. Plus, she was afraid that if she told everyone beforehand and then failed the exam, it would have been too embarrassing.

Leng Yuan turned to look at his young wife, who was hanging her head, a helpless look on his face. ”Am I really that petty?”

”You silly girl.”

He said comfortingly, ruffling her hair.

”I’m happy for you. You were never cut out for farm work anyway. Being a teaching assistant at the school is a good thing.”