Chapter 57: Her Boyfriend Could Crush a Spoiled Brat with a Single Slap (20)

At that moment, Teacher Wu also stepped out of the classroom. He greeted Bai Yao first, then turned to the three children with a stern expression and said, "I've told you time and again: you must have rules when you do things! One is one, two is two—do you understand what rules are? If everyone just did as they pleased, the town would have fallen into chaos long ago. Who would want to visit our town then?"

Bai Yao chimed in, "Your teacher Wu is right. All of you are the future of our Arctic Town. If you can't handle even the smallest matters properly and ruin the reputation of our town, then no one will want to come. If that happens, your parents will earn less money, and if they earn less, there won't be any treats for you."

No food! The children stared in panic.

Seeing that they were finally scared, Teacher Wu felt content. He pointed at the three children and said gruffly, "To my office—now!"

The three children hung their heads in fear.

Bai Yao whispered to them, "Finish your homework properly, apologize to Teacher Wu, and you'll get cookies at lunch."

Instantly, the three children beamed with joy and ran after Teacher Wu.

Tiao Tiao grumbled, "Teacher Bai, you're spoiling them!"

Bai Yao smiled with her eyes, "Of course, you're included too."

Tiao Tiao brightened at once and grabbed Bai Yao's hand. "Our cookies aren't leftovers from Madam, are they?"

Bai Yao patted her on the head. "Don't worry, I bought these especially for you."

Tiao Tiao dashed into the classroom, delighted, to share the good news with the only other student, Xiao Lei.

There was still half a day left before Bai Yao's shift ended.

Xue Yan crouched quietly by the school gate, hoping for a glimpse of Bai Yao passing by. He had done this stalker-like thing so many times that the townsfolk were already used to it.

A Dong, a fine young man, walked by carrying the flower seedlings he'd just bought. No matter how often he saw Xue Yan like this, he still found it odd. "If you want to see Teacher Bai, why don't you just go inside?"

Xue Yan crouched in the shadow of the rose bushes, dressed all in black and with his hood pulled low over half his face, looking as gloomy and twisted as something that might crawl out of the darkness. "You didn't see me here. Don't talk to me."

A Dong was speechless for a moment. "I'm not going to tell Teacher Bai you skipped your shift at the neighborhood office."

In truth, no one in this town dared complain to Bai Yao about Xue Yan.

A Dong asked, "Isn't it uncomfortable squatting there?"

Xue Yan replied, "I can feel that Yao Yao is thinking about me."

So, he wasn't uncomfortable.

A Dong laughed. "Teacher Bai is working hard. Where would she find the time to think about you?"

Xue Yan gave a cold laugh. "Has anyone ever bought you candy? Bought you clothes? Given you pocket money? Kept your salary for you? Married you? Had babies with you?"

A Dong fell silent.

Xue Yan raised his face, full of mockery. "You have nothing. What do you know?"

He was acting like a petty man basking in his own success—truly infuriating.

A Dong still remembered getting sick from eating expired meat not long ago. After finally recovering at the hospital, he now felt a twinge in his stomach again. Xue Yan's smugness really made his teeth itch with frustration, but he couldn't beat him, so confrontation was out of the question.

A Dong's eyes flickered. He picked a rose from nearby. "Do you know how to tell fortunes with flowers?"

Xue Yan glanced at him.

No, he didn't.

A Dong began plucking the petals. "Teacher Bai is thinking of you, Teacher Bai isn't thinking of you, is thinking, isn't thinking, is thinking..."

When the last petal fell, A Dong declared in an exaggerated tone, "Oh dear, the last petal says Teacher Bai isn't thinking of you! That can't be! She buys you candy, buys you clothes, gives you pocket money and keeps your salary—she even married you and had children. How could she not be thinking of you?"

Xue Yan looked disdainfully at the petals on the ground. "Is this flower divination? What a childish thing. Do you take me for a three-year-old?"

Sensing danger, A Dong quickly blurted out, "Goodbye," and ran for his life.

Xue Yan turned away.

He remained motionless in the shadows. After a long pause, a hand darted out and picked another flower. His movement was so swift it was almost illusory—if not for the now-bald stem in the bushes, one might have thought it a trick of the eyes.

The afternoon sun was gentler now, and the weather had cooled a bit. Guests at the inn began to stir. Originally, they had planned to start sightseeing today, but after a death and with Tian Susu in poor spirits, plans changed. Jiang Xun decided to take Tian Susu out for some fresh air.

The bald man grew restless in the inn. During the day, the town was relatively safe, so he decided to find a shop and buy a pack of cigarettes. The man with glasses accompanied him.

The bald man grumbled, "That Jiang Xun is just a pretty boy, fooling naive girls like Tian Susu. What's so great about him, huh, pfft..."

He was about to spit when the man with glasses reminded him, "The rules say this is a civilized town—no spitting!"

Remembering, the bald man hurriedly swallowed his saliva. He was close—one more mistake and it could've cost him his life!

Suddenly, the man with glasses stopped, trembling. "Is... is that a sanitation worker?"

Ahead, a man was sweeping the street in a red vest, looking perfectly normal.

Both men hastily checked their phones.

[If you encounter a sanitation worker, please pick a rose and present it to them.]

Luckily, this one wore a red vest, not yellow—they only needed to pick a rose. Roses were everywhere in this town, so they just needed to...

Wait.

Where were the roses?

Both sides of the street were stripped bare, only green leaves and stems remained—there wasn't a single flower in sight.

The sanitation worker was already approaching with a smile. "You must be tourists. Welcome to Arctic Town! Would you like me to show you around?"

The two men tensed. The bald man said, "No, thank you."

But the worker ignored him, his smile growing ever wider and more enthusiastic. "Would you like me to show you around Arctic Town?"

That smile became more and more sinister, as if heralding their doom.

Under the shadow of the trees, the sanitation worker began to change. His body swelled, limbs twisted and contorted into something unnatural. No longer human, he dropped to all fours, a mass of flesh dragging along the ground—a monster.

The huge creature smiled again. "Let me show you around Arctic Town."

The two men screamed and turned to flee.

Roses!

Where were the roses?

They ran in terror, the monster gaining on them, despair growing as they found not a single flower.

Who on earth had picked all the flowers along the road?

They're insane!

They could feel an icy chill creeping up their backs—the monster was very close now.

Suddenly, the bald man shouted, "A white rose!"

Not far ahead, a single rose bloomed—a white one—at a fork in the road.

The bald man cried, "If you see a white rose, take the left path!"

Summoning all his strength, he lunged for the left fork, but someone shoved him hard from the side. He fell to the ground. "What are you doing?!"

The man with glasses stood at the junction, panicked. "The rules said: At a fork, you must walk the left path alone."

If it had to be alone, then two couldn't go together.

The bald man tried to get up, but sharp claws reached out from behind, seizing him and lifting him high. The man with glasses watched in horror as the monster devoured him in a single bite. Stumbling back in terror, he could think of nothing else—he dashed headlong into the left path, not daring to look back.

The monster stopped at the fork, slowly regaining human form. Smacking his lips, his honest face twisted with regret. "What a pity."

In the nearby shrubs sat a man dressed all in black. He paid no heed to the commotion, utterly indifferent to the chaos around him. Fixated on the red rose in his hand, he ruthlessly plucked petal after petal, muttering under his breath:

"Yao Yao likes me."

"Yao Yao really likes me."

"Yao Yao likes me most."

"Yao Yao likes only me."

He repeated these phrases over and over, never tiring of them. As soon as he finished, he would start again, "Yao Yao likes me, really likes me..."

The sanitation worker in the red vest couldn't take it anymore. "At this rate, you'll strip the whole town of its flowers. Can't you find something else to ruin?"

Xue Yan glanced up. "Do you have a problem with that?"

The worker fell silent, deciding to go back and sweep all the petals off the roadside. Honestly, he'd been sweeping petals all afternoon—today's workload was monstrous!

All thanks to that lunatic!

"Yao Yao likes me most," Xue Yan said, as the last petal fell from the flower in his hand. He pressed his lips together, still unsatisfied with the result. Tossing aside the bare stem, he reached for the last white rose.

At that moment, a girl's soft voice sounded, "Could I... have that flower?"

Xue Yan turned to look.

Tian Susu stood there, shy and delicate, her fair skin blushing from just a few moments in the sun. She was clearly afraid of Xue Yan. When he looked her way, she instinctively took a step back, yet forced herself to stand her ground, mustering all her fragile courage. The stubbornness of this frail girl made her look as endearing as a kitten.

Anyone who saw her would be unable to resist the urge to spoil her.