Teaching

Yu Mao didn’t hesitate. She opened the door.

Standing outside was a face she had never expected to see here. Yu Mao’s lips parted slightly; her pupils quivered for a moment.

Nan Changgeng.

So close. So close that Yu Mao could clearly smell the faint citrus scent drifting off the woman in front of her.

So close that she had to tip her head up just to see her face.

She wore a pearl-white silk blouse with a standing collar, buttoned all the way to the top. Below it were ordinary dark gray straight-leg jeans. She didn’t seem to be wearing makeup; her skin was white as snow over an ice field, and the faint darkness beneath her deep-set eyes only made her look colder. Her brows always carried a certain aloof chill, but her gaze was gentle.

Yu Mao felt herself on the verge of losing control and sinking into those gray-blue eyes.

Like a beached fish craving the sea again; like someone suffocating and suddenly drawing in too much air.

She was so absorbed, so drunk on the moment, that a faint blush rose to her cheeks. She stood there in a daze, frozen in the same posture she’d had while opening the door.

Seeing the young face before her staring blankly, Nan Changgeng raised a brow and couldn’t help smiling.

She had to lower her gaze to look at Yu Mao.

Compared with her, the girl was far too small; short and slight, with delicate, doll-like features, but her lips were bloodless and pale, looking unnaturally sickly.

She was rather like that seriously ill fan Nan Changgeng had visited in the hospital many years ago; equally gaunt and pale, all skin and bones.

That fan hadn’t beaten the illness and had passed away not long after Nan Changgeng’s visit...

Thinking of it made an inexplicable unease rise in her chest.

Lin Baiyu suddenly popped her head in and waved a hand in front of Yu Mao’s face.

“Hey! Earth to Yu Mao. There are two living, breathing people standing right here too.” She pouted. “You didn’t even look at us. After I did you such a huge favor, too.”

Yuan Li stood off to the side, arms folded, smiling without speaking; she had expected this all along.

“With Sister Nan here, how could she see anyone else?”

If anyone else had been teased like this, they would have been embarrassed for ages.

But after Yu Mao came back to herself and heard that, she only nodded in confirmation, then stepped back two paces to make room for them to come in.

“...”

Lin Baiyu choked. Her mouth twitched. “What do you mean, you nodded?”

Yu Mao still didn’t look at her, and she ignored the question completely. “Did you need something?”

Lin Baiyu paused for a few seconds, eyes widening. She didn’t even know why they had come? Had everything she said to Yu Mao yesterday been treated like wind in one ear and out the other?!

Countless indignant questions surged through her mind, but in the end not a single one made it out. Too exhausted to keep arguing, she gave up and went inside, saying weakly, “Didn’t I say yesterday that I’d find someone to help you solve the singing problem? Well, here she is.”

Yesterday she had even said they’d keep it a secret and give Yu Mao a surprise. As it turned out...

Yu Mao didn’t look surprised at all. If anything, she and Yuan Li were the ones who looked unnecessary.

The two by the door also followed them in.

Yu Mao opened her lips, and even frowned.

Emotions like this were hard for her to sort through. She couldn’t tell whether she should be happy first that Nan Changgeng had come, or upset and ashamed that she had disturbed her.

In the end, the joy of having Nan Changgeng right beside her won out.

Her brows relaxed, her eyes brightened, and a hot light burned in them.

Yuan Li had never seen Yu Mao’s eyes look this alive before.

She closed the door casually and looked at her with a complicated expression.

She really couldn’t figure out what kind of bond could make a person treat Nan Changgeng so specially.

The change in Yu Mao’s expression and state of mind was so dramatic it was almost like a damaged, dusty porcelain piece had instantly been restored to brand-new condition.

“You... never mind. We’ll teach in the dorm. It’s quieter here with fewer people.”

Besides, the practice rooms were still occupied by the teachers at this hour.

Yuan Li had skipped class to come out; although she didn’t really need basic vocal lessons, she was only listening in to fill the gaps.

There were fewer people asking Nan Changgeng for guidance today, which was why she had time to come over in the morning.

“Then let’s begin.” Nan Changgeng smiled lightly. After the past two days teaching the contestants, she had gained some experience and went straight into the routine. “Sing me a short section first.”

Yu Mao nodded solemnly, her burning gaze never leaving Nan Changgeng for even a moment.

The distracted, drifting state she had often fallen into before was completely gone.

Not only Yuan Li, who spent more time with Yu Mao, but even Lin Baiyu felt strangely complicated watching this.

Even if she was an idol... there was no need to show such obvious favoritism, was there?

If Nan Changgeng was a shining immortal, then in Yu Mao’s eyes they probably didn’t even count as extras; they were just a bunch of talking turnips!

Unfortunately, Yu Mao had no idea what was going through their minds.

She didn’t start singing right away. Instead, she turned to pull out the chair beside the desk, then looked at Nan Changgeng with eyes like two bright black beads. “Sit here.”

She was a living, breathing person, and there was even a trace of innocent childlike softness to her.

Nan Changgeng didn’t refuse. She felt no one could say no under that gaze; it would seem far too cruel.

An old memory rose unbidden. She wondered whether, on the day of team selection, Yu Mao had looked at her like this too.

Like a cat.

The thought stopped her from going any further down that path; she didn’t want to imagine what kind of disappointed expression the little cat would wear after being turned down.

A mature person was good at quickly gathering her thoughts. Nan Changgeng walked over and sat beside the chair, then turned back to look at the person standing behind it, smiling softly. “Are you just going to stand there? Are we having a conversation in this posture?”

Yu Mao was standing now, and for once she was taller than Nan Changgeng; she had to look down to speak to her.

Yu Mao lowered her head. The hair at the side of her face blocked the sunlight from the window, making the darkness in her eyes even deeper, dense and profound.

At this moment, the distance between them was closer than ever before.

She had never looked at Nan Changgeng from this angle. Perhaps because the posture of looking up made her seem less imposing, the sharpness of her features was greatly softened. Whether it was her smile or her brows, she looked gentler than usual.

The gray-blue eyes reflected the sunlight, shimmering with a watery sheen. Her lip balm left her lips pink and moist, like a piece of ice turned translucent by the sun—beautiful, and impossible to make feel cold.

Yu Mao felt hot.

It was as if the organs inside her body were about to catch fire; her blood vessels spasmed and trembled, and even her stomach tightened. She had to use all her willpower not to reach out and touch her.

If Nan Changgeng were a statue right now, that would be perfect. She could touch her face as much as she wanted, feel the real coldness and hardness in her palm, then gently kiss every ridge and hollow.

Desire boiled and shouted without sound. Yu Mao swallowed, a little unsteady.

She lifted a finger and quickly brushed under her nose, confirming it was still dry.

Then she forced herself to step away, walked around to stand in front of Nan Changgeng, and straightened obediently.

Before Nan Changgeng could say anything else, she recalled the lyrics a little and began singing the opening section of the song.

Lin Baiyu and Yuan Li sat on the bed, resting their chins in their hands in matching poses as they watched. Seeing Yu Mao so tense and well-behaved, they somehow felt relieved.

Just like last time, Yu Mao hit every note accurately, but it was wooden and emotionless, and she even slipped slightly on one transition.

“Your throat’s a little tight. Are you nervous?”

Nan Changgeng asked with a smile, but kindly didn’t wait for an answer before entering teaching mode. “This song actually isn’t that easy to sing. It has both lower notes and high notes. How about this: I’ll sing it through once so you can get a feel for it. Emotion can also come through technique and the handling of details.”

Yu Mao nodded, thought for a moment, then reached up and took out the remaining earbud.

“..."

Nan Changgeng’s words paused. Her expression turned odd, and after a long hesitation over what face she should make, she couldn’t help reminding her again, “Wearing earbuds for long periods can damage your hearing. I’m happy that you like my songs, but it really isn’t good for your body. Try to hold back a little.”

“I use speakers at home,” Yu Mao said as she tucked the earbud into her pocket with the other one, her expression serious. “It’s fine; it won’t be for very long.”

Nan Changgeng really couldn’t understand why she was so stubborn.

She still had a lot of questions, but she didn’t press further. Since Yu Mao seemed to have her own ideas, she didn’t have the standing to keep persuading her.

“I don’t remember the lyrics to this one. Do you have a lyric sheet?”

Yu Mao fished around in her pocket and took out a paper crumpled into a ball. Her brows immediately knotted; her eyes rolled around once before she finally looked at Yuan Li.

Wordlessly, she held the paper out, indicating a trade.

“..."

Yuan Li forced out a fake smile.

She felt like the words written across her face were: sucker!

The livestream viewers burst into laughter in unison.

[Hahahahahahaha oh my god I can’t take it anymore, this is too cute]

[Changgeng teaching the little cat to sing, Changgeng is so good.

The little cat wants to give Changgeng a neat lyric sheet, the little cat is good too]

[In short, the scene where only Yuan Li is the victim has been achieved!]

[It’s fine, Li Zi got the little cat’s trust and asked for help; she’s probably happy these past two days weren’t spent doting on her for nothing]

[I’m dying laughing, Yuan Li: forced to be happy.JPG]

After watching for the past few days, the audience could no longer treat Yu Mao as a normal person with a functioning sense of right and wrong. Their tolerance had grown without limit; even behavior like this, which would have been easy to nitpick, drew no serious objections. Everyone just found her adorable to the extreme.

Of course, Yuan Li didn’t actually mind something this small. She took out her neatly folded lyric sheet, stuffed it into Yu Mao’s hand, and plucked the paper ball away.

She tossed it in her palm twice with obvious disgust.

Lin Baiyu covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, but her eyes curved into crescents and gave her away completely.

Ignoring the expressions on the two of them, Yu Mao flattened the paper out, then lifted it with both hands like she was offering up a treasure and handed it to Nan Changgeng just below her eyes.

She even tried to hold it up for her as a lyric stand, but the other woman didn’t understand what she meant.

Nan Changgeng was sitting with her legs crossed, one elbow resting on the desk, one hand half-covering her mouth; her bearing was more elegant than imposing.

She withdrew her gaze from Yuan Li’s side, reached out with a smile she was trying to suppress, and took the paper.

Her eyes slid over Yu Mao’s fingers, then suddenly tightened.

“What happened to your hand?”

Her brows drew together, and the smile from before vanished.

That wound was clearly a bite mark, and it definitely hadn’t been done by anyone else; otherwise it would have become common knowledge long ago. So why had Yu Mao bitten herself that hard?

At that, Yuan Li also stretched her neck to look over, startled. “Wasn’t it bandaged by Yuan Qian? Where’s the gauze?”