The first period for Tang Coco’s class was Academic English. The teacher was new to the university—a very young woman from overseas, pretty as a spring blossom under fresh sun.

She looked twenty-three, twenty-four at most. She’d only been on campus three days, yet crowds rolled in like a rising tide. A class meant for forty now swelled to over ninety every time she taught.

Ten minutes in, the beauty on the podium moved through grammar points in fluent English, her voice clear as a bell on a cool morning. The girls listened, eyes steady; most of the boys just watched, their gazes stuck like moths to a lantern.

Meng Xiaoxiao lay on her desk, helpless, eyes drifting like tired birds toward the stage. This teacher had arrived suddenly last Friday. Before that, half the classroom’s back rows were empty—this hall could hold more than a hundred. Meng used to sit alone at the far back, playing on her phone, quiet as a cat in shade. Now the seats beside and behind her were packed like reeds along a riverbank. Some kids had even slipped her love letters, pink paper like falling petals.

So Meng erupted last Friday, showing her little tigress fangs. Since then, no one dared sit right next to her. The ring around her was crowded, and her side was a small, odd clearing, a circle of fear like a hedge.

Knock, knock—

A sudden thudding came from the door. The teacher paused, head turning, like a crane listening to water.

“Ms. Avril, could you step out?” Zhu Zhide smiled, voice smooth as warm tea.

“Oh, it’s Mr. Zhu.” The teacher’s smile was soft, like light through silk. She wiped her hands and walked to the doorway, steps neat as tapping raindrops.

“What is it, Mr. Zhu?”

“Here’s the thing. A student from this class took a long leave. She’s back, so I brought her over.”

“Oh? Then you didn’t have to come personally. Even students from other classes, I welcome them.” Her tone was easy, like a breeze.

“Well, she’s special. Tang Coco, this is your new English teacher.” Zhu stepped aside, curtain drawn, letting the two face each other like actors meeting under stage lamps.

“What the—!” Tang Coco blurted. Shock hit her like cold water.

“Hey, watch your mouth, kid,” Zhu said, voice a dry cough. But Coco had no time for him; her pulse jumped like a startled sparrow.

Why the shock? Because she knew this “teacher.” No, this woman. She’d saved her life once in America, pulled her back from a cliff’s wind.

“Aiya, aiya—what a pretty little beauty,” the teacher cooed, smile bright as peach blossoms. “Is she mine too? I already adore her.”

“...” Coco’s face went dark, a cloud crossing her brow. Across from her stood Avril Will—the same woman who’d once tried to catch her, the same woman Coco had rescued in America. Avril’s hair was now light brown curls, soft as bread crust. She wore sleek professional attire, lines clean as a skylark’s wing. It fit her, too well to be a disguise. But Coco still hadn’t expected the heiress of the Will family to become an English teacher here.

“Alright, you see it. This kid might stir trouble. Please keep an eye on her,” Zhu told Avril, voice cautious, like someone skirting a deep pond.

“Hm? Why? Isn’t she just a student?” Coco finally sensed the wrong note. Why was Zhu, the homeroom teacher, so deferential to a mere instructor? Why this careful tone, like snow on bamboo?

“I’m being transferred soon. With her high credentials, Ms. Avril will take over as our homeroom teacher.” Zhu turned to Coco, speaking plainly, words dropping like stones.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Coco’s face crumpled like paper in rain. She hadn’t seen that twist coming.

“Please take care of me, Tang Coco,” Avril said, head tilted, smile warm as a candle.

“...” Coco stared, speechless, a drum muted under cloth.

“Alright, Ms. Avril, take her in. I’ll be off.” Zhu’s voice retreated like footsteps down a corridor.

“Okay. Walk safely, Mr. Zhu,” Avril said, tone bright as a bell. When he left, Coco finally snapped, her temper flaring like a match.

“You. Come with me.” Coco grabbed Avril’s sleeve and pulled her down the corridor, distance peeling away like bark.

“What are you trying to do?” Coco’s eyes narrowed, sharp as frost.

“Eh? Nothing. I just want to be a teacher—share knowledge with cute students.” Avril blinked wide, eyes clear as lake water.

“Oh, save it. You’re a pampered heiress. What are you doing teaching? Speak. What’s your real aim?” Coco’s voice cut like a knife.

“Do you really want to know?” Avril’s tone dropped soft as velvet.

“No kidding.”

“I came because of you.” Avril’s words turned gentle, like a warm wind after snow.

“Uh…” Coco’s reply stumbled, her brain skidding like a stone on ice.

“What, didn’t finish you off properly last time? Came here to get beaten?” Coco’s sneer flashed, a thin blade.

“Of course not. I’m curious about you. I want to understand your life.” Avril’s look was intent, like a moon watching a river.

“What’s there to be curious about? I’m warning you. A couple times I’ll swallow. But touch anyone around me, and you won’t leave Ninghai alive.” Coco’s threat landed heavy, a thunderhead over mountains.

“Aiya, don’t be so fierce.” Avril patted her chest, a theatrical little thump.

“Ugh… gross.” Coco’s lip curled, a chill passing.

“Gross? Alright then.” Avril lifted her chin, closed her eyes, breathed in once, like steadying before a dive. Then she spoke with a teacher’s clean edge, clipped like chalk lines. “Tang Coco, talking like this to your future homeroom teacher isn’t great, is it?”

“...” A black line seemed to cross Coco’s face again. Could this woman be normal for one minute?

“You’ve missed a lot of classes. I’ll find time to make them up with you. For now, get back inside and listen.” Avril pointed to the classroom, gesture straight as an arrow.

“I—” Coco hesitated, pride and fatigue tangled like vines.

“Hm? No matter the country, students don’t backtalk teachers.” Avril’s tone was crisp, traditional, a temple bell.

“...” Coco bit down on the retort, jaw tight.

“Tch. Lead the way.” She tossed the words like a pebble.

“Hmph.” Avril let out a small snort and headed in, steps neat as beads.

“Class, a student who’s been away for a while is back. Let’s give Tang Coco a warm welcome to our class.” Avril stood at the podium, voice ringing like sunlight on glass.

“What!? Tang Coco—the goddess is back!” someone yelped, excitement burst like fireworks.

“Oh my god, the goddess returns!” Another voice rose, wave after wave.

Clap-clap-clap-clap! Applause swelled, a sudden rain on tin. In that noise, a figure stepped through the door like a silhouette slipping into light.

Tang Coco walked in slowly, her outline sharpening like a painting revealed.

“Woooaaaah!” The room erupted. Classmates and auditors alike surged with noise. Boys cheered, girls gasped, a kettle boiling over.

Four didn’t follow the tide. Avril smiled on the podium, calm as a swan. Meng Xiaoxiao already knew, her grin crooked like a cat’s. Xu Ling, who’d clashed with Coco before, stared, shock tight as a fist; her knuckles clenched white, like salt on stone. And Ouyang Lingxue, quiet as winter bamboo, looked up. Surprise flickered in her eyes like a spark. A faint red brushed her pale cheeks, a dawn light, then she masked it swiftly, calm returning like clouds smoothing.

“Tang Coco sure is popular. You haven’t come for a while. Say hi to everyone.” Avril’s smile was warm, like tea steam.

Coco shot her a white-eyed look, glare flat as sheet metal. Avril kept smiling, unbothered.

“Hi, everyone. Long time no see.” Coco smiled, practiced as a stage pose.

“Hello, goddess!” The boys shouted in unison, thunder rolling down the corridor.

“Uh…” Coco’s face twitched, a string pulled too tight.

“Alright, settle down. We’ll continue. Talk after class.” Avril’s voice floated over them, a net settling on water. The room calmed, ripples smoothing.

Coco glanced back. Meng Xiaoxiao was waving like a reed in wind. But around her, bodies packed like trees in a grove.

Coco moved down the aisle, steps clean as a blade through grass. “Excuse me. Can I get through?” She addressed a boy blocking the path, voice level as shade.

“Uh… y-yeah.” He sprang up, scrambled aside, embarrassment flaring like a blush. Coco slipped past a couple empty seats, slid in beside Meng.

“You’re slow, Coco-jie,” Meng whispered, grin sly as a fox.

“Can’t help it.” Coco sighed, weight like rain.

“Why so many people all of a sudden?” Coco asked, eyes sweeping the rows like a calm tide.

“Because of her.” Meng pointed at Avril on the podium, helpless as a leaf in current.

“Uh…” Coco noticed Meng hadn’t recognized Avril. On that amusement island, they’d only met once. The kid’s memory was soft as dough. Maybe that was better—forget the sour parts.

“Waaah—” A male voice breathed behind them, awe like wind over glass. Coco turned. In that instant, every boy behind her pretended to watch the board, backs stiff as fences.

“Strange. What are they ‘waaah’-ing about?” Coco lowered her voice, a feather’s drop.

“Ah… my silly sister, just listen.” Meng’s sigh was small, like smoke.

Coco feigned attention to the lecture, while her ears sifted the whispers behind her like nets in shallows.

“So fragrant—” one boy murmured, eyes dreamy as mist.

“Seriously, I think I’ve fallen in love with this spot.” Another sighed, drunk on air like bees.

“...” Coco’s face darkened again, a storm cloud rising.

“Pff—Coco-jie, you have no idea how good you smell. It’s really nice,” Meng giggled, laughter clinking like beads.

“Get lost, you brat.” Coco snapped, but her voice had a tired curl, like smoke.

She folded over her desk, hands pressing to her ears, trying to shut the world out like a closed fan. But—

“Tang Coco, you don’t cover your ears in class. You’ve missed a lot. Be serious.” Avril’s voice carried from the podium, clear as a bell rope.

“...” Coco froze, still as stone under moss.

“I’m leaving. I’m done with school!” She shot up, ready to bolt like a deer.

“Eh!? Coco-jie, you can’t. Sister Gu told me to watch you and make you study.” Meng clung to her arm, grip tight as ivy.

“...” Life suddenly felt hard, heavy as a mountain on Coco’s shoulders.