Will teacher give me a reward?
The room was very quiet, with only the sound of flipping paper filling the air.
Qiao Yu stared eagerly at Lin Qing, who was examining her answer sheet, her back straight and exuding a sense of tension reminiscent of when she was in elementary school and the teacher checked homework in front of the class – Well, Lin Qing was now her teacher.
“Not bad.”
After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, Lin Qing finally put down the pen she had been using to mark the test paper, offering a succinct evaluation that made Qiao Yu heave a sigh of relief. However, the next sentence left her speechless.
“But to attend my school, it’s not good enough.”
Lin Qing handed the test paper to Qiao Yu, raising an eyebrow provocatively.
“…Starting from your current level to catch up might be quite challenging. So, what do you say? Do you want to reconsider your choices?”
There was a sense of double meaning in her words, but regardless of the metaphor used, it wouldn’t affect Qiao Yu’s response. Without hesitation, Qiao Yu shook her head.
“I will do my best.” She smiled and added, “I won’t let Teacher Lin Qing down.”
“I see. To prevent me from losing face, shouldn’t a student at least aim to achieve a ranking close to the teacher’s?”
“…No, what kind of ranking close to yours is considered ‘at least’? Have you ever been in the top five?”
“I have in previous years.”
“Teacher’s standards are just too high…quite dazzling.”
Seeing Qiao Yu frowning in distress, Lin Qing couldn’t help but laugh for a moment before remembering to compose herself, quickly adopting a serious expression.
“Well then, I won’t hold back from now on. If you can’t keep up, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“Oh, are you trying to encourage me beyond my abilities?”
Qiao Yu nodded earnestly in response to Lin Qing’s feigned concern. After a moment of contemplation, Lin Qing casually remarked, “Let’s not worry about your grade ranking anymore – aiming for the top five in the class shouldn’t be considered too unreasonable, right?”
“…”
If forced to define, it was probably a notch above “quite unreasonable,” but still below the threshold of “too unreasonable.” Clever move, Teacher Lin.
It was evident from Lin Qing’s expression that she was expecting Qiao Yu to push back against such a high goal deliberately set, with a mischievous glint in her eyes and a seemingly innocent demeanor as she tilted her head in apparent confusion when Qiao Yu looked at her. She appeared genuinely interested, awaiting her response.
“…Well, then.”
“Huh?”
An unexpected response – though her expression seemed serious, Qiao Yu did indeed agree to take on this challenge.
“Really?” Lin Qing, quite surprised by this turn of events, carefully observed her before saying slowly, “I actually intended for this to be considered as the ultimate goal—”
“It’s okay.”
It was rare for Lin Qing at this stage to take a step back, but Qiao Yu shook her head, meeting Lin Qing’s gaze with determination, a hint of mischief in her smile.
“So, if I manage to achieve this grade later on, will Teacher give me a reward?”
“…”
Even though she wasn’t sure what Qiao Yu was up to, upon hearing the word “reward,” alarms were already ringing in her mind.
Various conjectures and images rapidly flashed through her mind, each frame making Lin Qing feel her face flushing with heat. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to banish those ambiguous scenes from her mind. She thought of something she would never verbalize, then glanced warily at Qiao Yu.
“…Earlier downstairs, you mentioned that I was just here as a tutor—”
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“It is tutoring, and it’s normal for teachers to reward hardworking students, isn’t it?”
“Is it really normal? In high school, teachers never gave me any individual rewards.”
“It’s quite normal. If those high school teachers only taught one student like you, I’m sure you’d be receiving rewards every day.”
Qiao Yu spoke with conviction, then remembered something and slightly embarrassed, she touched her nose and muttered softly.
“…And, didn’t the class teacher give us candies before?”
Reflecting on the past brought a moment of silence between them, Qiao Yu sighed inwardly, avoiding looking at Lin Qing’s expression, she quickly changed the subject.
“In any case—teachers giving students rewards is a common and reasonable thing to do.”
She spoke with a sense of righteousness, earning several incredulous looks from Lin Qing.
“Is something wrong? Did the teacher just now think of… using another identity to reward me?”
“Qiao Yu!”
Lin Qing suddenly felt embarrassed, about to react when she noticed that Qiao Yu couldn’t handle the situation at all. After Qiao Yu’s words, her face turned as red as a tomato, coughing awkwardly to brush off the topic.
“…I was just talking nonsense. I won’t do anything strange to you.”
As she spoke, Lin Qing involuntarily touched her collarbone, and Qiao Yu, feeling guilty, quickly turned her head as if avoiding something.
…Could it be that Lin Qing chose to wear a turtleneck today as a precaution against her?
Although it was likely just her overthinking, a sense of guilt suddenly washed over Qiao Yu. She felt a bit insecure about asking for a reward from herself. Just as she was considering retracting her statement, Lin Qing, who had been contemplating for a while, hesitantly nodded.
“Okay, then.”
The flush on her face hadn’t completely disappeared, and her usually composed eyes turned tender like autumn waters as she softly continued.
“If you can do it, I’ll reward you.”
Seeing Qiao Yu’s genuine surprise, Lin Qing quickly added before she could speak, “…As for the specifics, we’ll discuss it once you reach the top five in the class.”
“…”
Qiao Yu’s breath caught for a moment, then she took a deep breath, looking serious as she rolled up her sleeves and picked up a pen.
“What are you doing?”
Her eagerness was too obvious, making Lin Qing couldn’t help but chuckle, rolling the paper into a tube to lightly tap her head. Qiao Yu met her taps without avoiding them, a hint of shyness mingling with her smile.
“Having a goal gives you motivation.”
She swallowed the second half of the sentence and smiled at Lin Qing, muttering to herself that she seemed to be a bit at a disadvantage, while unfolding the paper to correct the mistakes for her. There was a sense of pride swirling in her heart that wouldn’t dissipate.
If she said something like ‘Teacher, you are my goal,’ I might get a serious scolding from Lin Qing with a red face.
“No, this isn’t just about being at a slight disadvantage anymore. Isn’t this a sure loss rather than a gain?”
Mi Yi said in a serious tone, swallowing her bubble tea, pointing at Lin Qing with a small spoon, clicking her tongue twice.
“I think you might as well just tell Qiao Yu, ‘I want to reward you’? As long as you let go of a little face, you can attain happiness. This trade-off seems quite profitable.”
“…It’s not about having face.”
Lin Qing turned her head in frustration, refusing to meet the gaze of her friend who came out with guns blazing from the moment they met.
It was a weekday, and the advantage of being a university student was the ease of scheduling free time, allowing for breaks whenever needed.
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Just last weekend, after finishing the first class with Qiao Yu and making a promise, Lin Qing had coincidentally arranged to meet Mi Yi this week. Under Mi Yi’s probing questions, Lin Qing reluctantly revealed the situation, only to be met with mockery.
“Isn’t it?” Mi Yi ruthlessly retorted, sounding completely unconvinced. “I mean, your promise to Qiao Yu of a reward for making it into the top five of the class—does it have a time limit? Or any consequences for failing? None! Essentially, you’re just holding onto a reward, waiting for the right moment to give it to her, right?”
“The time limit is the college entrance exam—okay, okay.”
Realizing halfway through that her defense was weak, Lin Qing simply gave up trying to justify herself and lowered her head, swaying the straw in her cup and letting out a long sigh.
“…Fine, let’s say you’re right about this matter.”
“What do you mean, ‘let’s say I’m right’? Why are you still not owning up even now?”
Mi Yi, becoming more razor-sharp with her words since entering college, chose to press on, approaching the topic with the best intentions for her friend.
“I mean, how do you really feel about Qiao Yu?”
“What do I think—”
“Your eyes are wandering. You clearly know what I’m implying.”
With her retreat cut off once again, Lin Qing pretended to grab the cola and took a sip, lightly biting the straw, leaving behind scattered tooth marks of hesitation.
“If you won’t say it, then I will. Honestly, Qiao Yu didn’t handle the situation well before. I, as an outsider, was quite angry watching it unfold—but I’m just an outsider. I don’t intend to offer any opinions on your personal matters, as only the two of you truly understand your situation.”
Mi Yi furrowed her brow, rubbing her forehead wearily.
“I’ve watched you for these past two years, I know how hard it’s been for you. If you feel resentment towards Qiao Yu now, I won’t hesitate to stand by your side and scold her.”
“But Lin Qing—how things actually are, do I need to spell it out for you?”
She looked at the silent Lin Qing across from her. Lin Qing kept her head slightly lowered, not meeting Mi Yi’s gaze, her features shadowed and hard to decipher beneath her bangs. All Mi Yi could see were Lin Qing’s delicate fingers tightly gripping the cola cup, a trace of awkwardness in the hold.
“I understand you may have reservations, but as a friend to both of you, I can’t help but say this.”
“If you’ve already made up your mind about her… then go on, start dating. It’s frustrating.”
As the conversation reached its climax, the atmosphere suddenly shifted. Startled, Lin Qing raised her head to see Mi Yi angrily cramming a big piece of chocolate into her mouth, a pained expression on her face from brain freeze.
“If you still don’t feel relieved, then be even harsher towards her! What a mess this is now! It’s driving me crazy!”
“…”
Speechless, Lin Qing listened to Mi Yi complaining non-stop about how both of them made others anxious, unable to help but chuckle and shake her head.
After a while of light-hearted banter, the two finally quieted down. Lin Qing let out a breath, picked up her drink, slowly swirled the straw, and then quietly spoke up.
“…Rather than focusing on whether I feel relieved or not, I choose to maintain this current situation with her, and the biggest reason actually lies within myself.”
“You?”
Facing Mi Yi’s puzzled question, Lin Qing’s eyes shimmered slightly, took a sip of cola, and answered in a cryptic manner.
“I do want to give her… a reward.”
“No need for any restrictions, anything at all, as long as it’s something I can provide.”
“…As long as she doesn’t leave again, anything will do.”
After several shakes, the cola had lost its carbonation, becoming a simply sweet liquid.
It’s hard to say whether flat cola can still be considered cola, but Lin Qing drank it happily, chuckling softly.
In the early morning, one o’clock.
“…Host, aren’t you going to rest yet?”
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Concerned not only about emotional issues but also the well-being of its host, the system glanced at the time and advised gently.
“Just a little longer, I’ll go through this again real quick, almost there.”
“Host, you said the same thing half an hour ago!”
The same trick won’t fool the system twice! The system sternly rejected Qiao Yu’s plea, its tone very serious.
“Really, this week the host hasn’t slept before midnight at all! Your body won’t be able to handle it!”
“The host is studying so diligently, it must be… cough, for the reward from Lin Qing, right?”
“…Although you could say that is true, can you please change your tone a bit?”
“Does it really matter? I just want to ask, what kind of reward does the host want? Oh, of course, if it’s something you can’t tell me, then forget it. Haha, hehe.”
“…”
Instead of changing, it escalated, making Qiao speechless. Without asking, she could guess what this guy was thinking一all things that are better left unsaid during the day.
She sighed, turned over, and decided to ignore the unscrupulous system and attempt to get some sleep. Before closing her eyes, she decisively cut off its fantasies.
“The reward I want is certainly not what you think.”
