Chapter 17: Lin Jinrui’s Home

Chapter 17: Lin Jinrui's Home

Cheng Miao smiled at the teacher, cleared his throat loudly, and the students' eyes immediately turned to him.

He began slowly, "First, I want to thank the teacher for appointing me as the Discipline Commissioner, and for trusting me completely."

Pausing for effect, he looked meaningfully at those two girls and added, "To avoid anyone tattling or making false accusations, let me make it clear—whether it's being late or talking in class, the bell is the cutoff. Once the bell stops ringing, you're late, and no talking. Anyone who can't follow this, I'll write it down."

With that, his sharp gaze swept across the whole class. After exchanging a glance with Lu Yu, he caught sight of Lin Jinrui looking at him with pure admiration, and he smirked.

"Starting next class, I'll be keeping track. Please make sure you follow the rules." Finishing his summary, Cheng Miao nodded to the teacher and made a point of stepping off the podium from the left side, circling the classroom like a wolf patrolling its turf. Every student he passed automatically sat up straighter.

Cheng Miao was secretly thrilled—this feeling of power was awesome. When he reached Lu Yu, he nudged him and mouthed, "Pretty cool, right?"

Lu Yu couldn't help but smile a little and nodded.

Satisfied, Cheng Miao sat down.

The moment class ended, Cheng Miao whipped around excitedly. "See that? I'm hanging out with a bunch of elementary school kids—no pressure at all."

"Yeah, elementary school crowd." Lu Yu nodded, playing along.

"Ha." Cheng Miao huffed, "You—" He stopped mid-sentence as he looked up and saw Lin Jinrui walking over.

Lin Jinrui was holding a snack in her hand, half-hidden behind a book—the kind commonly sold at the corner store, with two slices and a thick layer of cream in the middle. She handed it to Cheng Miao timidly. "You said you were hungry, right? Here, have this."

Cheng Miao was about to refuse, but thinking of Lin Jinrui's shy personality, he took it instead and asked, "If I eat your bread, what are you going to eat?"

Seeing that he accepted it, Lin Jinrui breathed a small sigh of relief. "I have more at home. If you want, I can bring you one tomorrow." She hurried back to her seat.

Cheng Miao found it a bit odd. Lin Jinrui didn't seem like someone with money, yet this was pretty pricey—this bread cost fifty cents each, something he couldn't even afford as a kid.

As he thought about it, he pulled the two slices apart, revealing the thick, evenly spread cream in the middle. He handed half to Lu Yu. "Try it, it's pretty good."

Lu Yu looked cold and said flatly, "No thanks."

Cheng Miao was confused—why was this guy being so cold again? He shoved the bread toward Lu Yu's mouth, getting a bit of cream on the corner of his lips, and pushed it into his mouth with mild exasperation. "You already licked it, so it's yours. Eat it."

Lu Yu had no choice but to open his mouth and slowly eat it. It was indeed sweet. As he ate, he muttered quietly, "You should still keep your distance around girls."

Cheng Miao was just musing that the bread didn't taste as good as he remembered—memory really does make things seem better than they were.

Hearing Lu Yu's words, he was a little surprised, then nodded as if a light bulb went off, and said sincerely, "Yeah, I'll be careful. After all, someone as amazing as me is bound to be easily liked by others." He gave Lu Yu a wink.

Lu Yu rolled his eyes and pushed his head away. "Alright, Discipline Commissioner, class is starting!"

So Cheng Miao quickly whipped out his little notebook and officially started his job.

All morning, Cheng Miao's gaze darted around like a little motor. He scanned his surroundings, pulling out his notebook when it was noisy and tucking it away when the room fell silent.

On the way home from school, he was still telling Lu Yu how awesome it was to be in charge! He urged Lu Yu to become a study representative too—then the two of them could handle both studying and discipline, covering all bases.

When they reached the small road in the southern part of town, the students gradually dwindled until only a few remained. Lu Yu spotted Lin Jinrui walking alone ahead and tugged Cheng Miao's sleeve to get his attention.

So the two of them followed quietly after Lin Jinrui, and finally figured out where she lived—just two streets away from Cheng Miao's house.

They stood at the gate, peering through the crack in the door to observe the courtyard, but the gap was too narrow to see much.

"What are you two doing?" A hoarse voice suddenly barked. Cheng Miao was about to bolt, but Lu Yu grabbed him quickly.

The man's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Yu. "Lu Yu? Why are you at my place? What, finally decided to be my son?"

Lu Yu shot him a glance. This was the middle-aged man who had walked him to school on his first day here. Lu Yu shook his head. "My dad's not dead yet."

The man clicked his tongue. "Not dead, but might as well be." He moved to push the door open.

Cheng Miao quickly asked, "Uncle, are you Lin Jinrui's dad? We wanted to ask her about homework."

Lin Shun's triangular eyes narrowed, finally noticing the other little kid beside him. This one had a likable face, all smiles, even more endearing than Lu Yu. "Kid, are you from this town?" He reached out to pinch Cheng Miao's cheek, but Lu Yu stepped in front warily.

Cheng Miao acted as if nothing had happened, still answering obediently, "Yeah, yeah, I live right nearby. My dad is Cheng Jianguo."

Lin Shun's brow furrowed. "Then your mom must be Ma Lianhua, right?"

Cheng Miao nodded.

Lin Shun pushed the door open impatiently. "Fine, go on in then."

He had thought this was another unwanted kid, but it turned out he was Ma Lianhua's—that fiery woman's—son. That softie Cheng Jianguo could produce a son, but he couldn't. Lin Shun felt another surge of frustration.

Cheng Miao pulled Lu Yu and slipped into the courtyard, just as Lin Jinrui came out to gather firewood. He spoke up quickly, "Um, we wanted to ask what the homework for this afternoon is."

Lin Jinrui answered instinctively, "There's... no homework, is there?"

Cheng Miao paused. "There's something that needs a signature!"

"Is there?" Lin Jinrui looked genuinely puzzled. Then suddenly, as if remembering, she said, "Oh, is it the nap form that needs a parent's signature?"

Cheng Miao breathed a sigh of relief—he had no idea if there was homework at all. He hesitated and then added, "Um, Lu Yu has a problem he can't solve. He wanted to ask you."

Lin Jinrui was startled and looked up at Lu Yu. He looked very serious, and she was a bit afraid of him, so she quickly declined, "I'm not that great at studying either. I probably wouldn't know."

Cheng Miao frantically signaled Lu Yu with his eyes. Lu Yu glanced at him and said flatly, "Let me take a look first. Do you have a pen and paper? I'll write it down."

Lin Jinrui hurriedly said, "I do! I'll go get them!"

But before she could move, a sharp, scolding voice came from inside the house: "You useless girl! Where's the firewood?! The fire's about to go out!"

Lin Jinrui quickly responded, "Coming!"

She turned to them and said, "Wait for me a moment—I need to get the firewood first." She tugged at the hem of her clothes awkwardly, looking embarrassed.

Just then, Lin Shun walked over and said impatiently, "Enough. Go inside with them. I'll bring the firewood to your mother."