Chang'an Fang did not know.

Fang Chang'an reached the third floor, turned from the stairs, and instinctively headed toward the classroom. He almost walked into the door, only to realize it was locked tight. Looking around, he saw five or six others waiting there, all familiar faces who had left late the previous night. Two of them were already leaning against the railing, quietly reciting their books.

Fang Chang'an asked, "No one has the key?"

A boy shook his head. Fang Chang'an continued, "Who was the last to leave yesterday?"

A short-haired girl, who was reciting her book, turned and replied softly, "Me."

Seeing everyone looking at her, the girl—her skin dark and her appearance plain—blushed and explained, "When I left, the lock was open. I didn't have the key; I searched for it but couldn't find it, so I locked the door."

Fang Chang'an smiled, "Probably Teacher Cheng forgot about it. Let's wait."

So they waited outside the door. More and more people gathered, but Teacher Cheng Mengfei never appeared. Students from Class Three or from the eastern side—Classes Five and Six—came up the central stairs and, seeing Class Four crowded at the door, glanced over with curiosity.

Morning study began at six twenty, and the preparatory bell rang at six ten, but still no sign of Cheng Mengfei. Some students felt justified in slacking off, while others, whose books were locked in the classroom, grew anxious. The standing crowd began to murmur complaints.

"My legs are sore."

"Why isn't Teacher Cheng here yet?"

"If she doesn't come, we'll just wait. It's not our fault anyway."

"I..."

As students whispered, a boy standing by the railing suddenly spoke with uncertainty, "I think I saw Teacher Cheng parking downstairs earlier, her scooter..."

He was another who had left late last night and arrived early today; his face was ordinary, and Fang Chang'an had no impression of him nor remembered his name. Still, hearing this, Fang Chang'an glanced downstairs, as did everyone else.

"Not now," the boy clarified. "It was a few minutes ago."

"How's that possible?" Wu Di craned his neck to look, saw nothing, and, annoyed by his aching legs, vented his frustration on the honest-looking classmate. "If Teacher Cheng arrived, she'd come up. She must know we don't have the key."

The boy, likely doubting himself, didn't dare argue. Seeing he was easy to bully, other boys joined in the reproach. "Exactly, Li Xiaoyi, if you can't see clearly, don't talk nonsense."

"Right, if Teacher Cheng was here, would she purposely leave us locked out?"

Li Xiaoyi shrank, hugged his English book, and quietly resumed reciting vocabulary, never uttering another word.

Fang Chang'an was about to speak when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a familiar figure ascending the stairs. Turning, he saw Shen Mo with her small backpack.

She wore a white tracksuit today, making her delicate face appear even more fair and luminous. Seeing the corridor crowded with classmates, she seemed unsurprised. Her gaze swept around, searching for something, then met his eyes, quickly darted away, and stole another glance. Finding him still looking at her, she shyly averted her eyes again.

Fang Chang'an looked behind her, not seeing Cheng Mengfei, and found it odd. Shen Mo glanced at him again, so with amusement, he beckoned her over.

Shen Mo paused, her beautiful large eyes questioning. Fang Chang'an stayed silent, beckoned again, and after a moment’s hesitation, the girl walked over.

Wu Di, chatting by the railing, also noticed Shen Mo. His eyes brightened, and he too looked toward the stairs. Standing upright, he prepared to enter the classroom, but saw no sign of Cheng Mengfei and was surprised.

Yesterday, Shen Mo’s self-introduction was brief, but her beauty left a deep impression on most of the class. As she approached, many students watched her, some openly, some covertly.

Shen Mo stood before Fang Chang'an, upright and delicate, looking up at him and asking shyly, "What is it?"

It was only the second day of school, so few students were familiar with each other, most acquainted only with those seated nearby. Waiting in the corridor for the door to open, groups naturally clustered around their friends.

The school’s teaching building was simple in design; aside from the protruding eastern administrative wing, the main structure was a long rectangle. At the central stairs, the corridor had two square pillars. Fang Chang'an, having arrived early, leaned against one, with Wang Hao, Wang Ke, and Zheng Lili nearby.

"The key is with Teacher Cheng. We’ll probably have to wait. Stand beside me."

Shen Mo didn’t mention her connection with Cheng Mengfei, and Fang Chang'an, feigning ignorance, didn’t ask. He pointed to the empty spot next to him for her to wait.

Shen Mo was familiar with him, and after a brief hesitation, softly agreed and stood beside Wang Ke.

Wu Di had discovered Shen Mo was related to the homeroom teacher last night, feeling as if he'd uncovered a big secret. He spent the whole night excited, not for the secret itself, but because he could use it as a pretext to talk to Shen Mo.

Moreover, no one else knew about Shen Mo’s relationship with the homeroom teacher. If he revealed it, everyone would think he was close to her, satisfying his vanity.

Seeing Shen Mo standing next to Fang Chang'an, Wu Di felt a surge of jealousy. He wasn’t truly infatuated with her yet, but certainly liked her, and realized he was feeling possessive.

At the same time, Wu Di saw this as the perfect opportunity to show off his knowledge of Shen Mo's secret. The entire class was waiting in the corridor; if he mentioned it inside the classroom, fewer would hear. But here, everyone would.

Children are impulsive, especially when focused on something they want, often ignoring possible consequences. Wu Di was exactly like this. He had noticed Shen Mo upon arriving at the class yesterday afternoon, and since her seat had been unassigned, he wanted to sit next to her but didn’t dare.

When seats were being arranged, he deliberately stood near where Shen Mo would be, hoping to be paired with her. The anticipation nearly overwhelmed him.

But just as he was about to enter the classroom, someone unexpectedly snatched Shen Mo away!

Though only separated by one student, the difference between desk mates and mere classmates was significant. Otherwise, when he tried to talk to Shen Mo during break last night, she wouldn’t have been so indifferent.

Thinking of this, Wu Di was about to speak, but, seeing Fang Chang'an say something to Shen Mo and her gentle reply, he swallowed his words.

Suddenly, he realized something: Fang Chang'an surely didn’t know Shen Mo and Teacher Cheng were relatives, and kept bothering her. If Teacher Cheng found out, would she move Fang Chang'an away from Shen Mo?

If Wu Di revealed the truth, Fang Chang'an would know and avoid her, which meant Wu Di could sit with Shen Mo forever.

With this thought, Wu Di wrestled with himself for a couple of seconds before giving up the vanity of exposing their relationship, deciding to keep quiet and let Fang Chang'an blunder on.

Fang Chang'an, unaware of Wu Di’s scheming, would surely want to spit at him if he knew: I’m deliberately getting close to her because she’s related to Teacher Cheng—otherwise, after one semester, I’d transfer away. How could I hope for a school romance?

"Do you live far from here?"

"Not really."

"Then why are you so late?"

Shen Mo opened her mouth but didn’t answer. Fang Chang'an waited, and she relented, "I had a late breakfast."

"Try to come a bit earlier next time. Don’t always aim to arrive just on time; walk by the river often enough, and you’re bound to get your shoes wet, right?"

His tone was casual. "You look like a good kid. If you ever do arrive late, Teacher Cheng may feel awkward scolding you, but she has to. If she says a few words, and you cry, she’ll be put in a tough spot, isn’t that so? Teacher Cheng is a good person. As students, let’s not make her worry too much."

Shen Mo glanced at him, a little displeased, then lowered her head, quietly suppressing a smile. She found it amusing that he didn’t know about her relationship with her aunt, yet urged her to spare her aunt trouble.

Wang Ke checked her digital watch and muttered, "It’s almost twenty past. Teacher Cheng still isn’t here?"

Shen Mo’s expression turned a little odd; she lowered her head and surreptitiously glanced at her own watch—it was already six eighteen.

"What time is it?" Fang Chang'an also looked at her wrist. The girl wore a pink dual-display quartz watch, stylish and refined even by his future standards, likely expensive. Still, what drew his attention more was the exquisite whiteness of her wrist.

"Six eighteen," Shen Mo raised her wrist for him to see, and softly replied.

Fang Chang'an nodded, almost bumping his chin against her wrist, quickly looked up, and Shen Mo pulled her hand back. Just then, a commotion sounded nearby. Instinctively, she looked up and saw her aunt coming up the stairs.

Cheng Mengfei saw her students waiting in the corridor and, showing no sign of oversight, calmly unlocked the door and headed to the podium. The students flooded in.

Fang Chang'an noticed Cheng Mengfei’s unhurried demeanor and felt puzzled; she didn’t seem like this type of person.

The bell rang.

Students settled into their seats as the morning study bell sounded. Cheng Mengfei spoke: "Don’t start reciting yet. I have two classroom keys. Who comes early and is willing to open the door? One for the boys, one for the girls."

The classroom quieted; no one volunteered.

Cheng Mengfei wasn’t in a hurry. She scanned the students. After a while, a girl in the front row raised her hand—it was the one who left last the night before.

"Good, then Zhang Lu will hold the girls’ key."

Cheng Mengfei handed the key to her, "What about the boys?"

Fang Chang'an looked at the handful of early-arriving boys; none spoke up. He raised his hand, "Teacher Cheng, I’ll do it."

Cheng Mengfei came over and placed the key in his hand before returning to the podium.

"This morning, the teacher was late, as you all saw. I hope those with the keys will try to avoid such situations. If you ever feel tired, let me know and I’ll give the key to someone else."

With these words, many students realized, recalling last night’s lack of keys and Li Xiaoyi’s claim about seeing her arrive early, that today’s late opening was intentional—a lesson from Teacher Cheng!

Zhang Lu, holding her key, felt the weight of responsibility and silently reminded herself never to oversleep, and to open the door early.

As for Fang Chang'an, he initially thought Cheng Mengfei’s late arrival was deliberate, but then considered another possibility: perhaps she was genuinely late, and used the opportunity to turn a mistake into a lesson.

Whatever the truth, he had neither the courage nor the interest to press the matter. He had the key now; from now on, he’d arrive early to open the door—not earlier than Zhang Lu, but definitely not later than Teacher Cheng!

He set this as his guiding principle. Cheng Mengfei finished speaking and told everyone to begin reciting. Fang Chang'an pulled out his English book and began memorizing vocabulary.