A Lifetime of Peace and Care - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: In the Midst of Rain

Every summer, the city became hot and difficult. By the afternoon, the high temperature in the past few days was finally relieved by heavy rain and gusts of wind, turning the day cool and refreshing.

The parents picking up their children from Habingguo International School were holding umbrellas. Compared to other schools in more difficult positions, the school seemed to become vacant in an instant.

It had only been two months since Yi Ran left her old position and began working here. As a result, she was still unfamiliar with many places within the school. However, she had already somewhat understood the skills of some of her students.

After turning on the faucet and washing her hands, she lowered her head to look at the watercolor stain on her chest that, once diluted with water, had turned into something akin to an art pattern. She sighed and said to herself in the mirror, “Awful little fat kid! One day, I’ll find a way to deal with you.”

At that time, the little fat man was arrogant in class, affecting other children’s reading. She as a language teacher politely warned him and did not expect to be targeted by the other party.

Yi Ran was so angry that, just a moment ago, she spoke with the little fat mother about the incident. But, the other party merely scratched the surface with false suppositions and excuses. She unexpectedly encountered such a spirit, ah.

Although this was a private school, there was bound to be students from wealthy background, but wealth was not a necessary requirement for enrollment. As a result, there will be differences in the quality of students.

Today, she really wanted to wear a beautiful dress to go on a date. Holding her mobile phone over the stain, she saw that it was too light to wash. She looked at the time and wondered if she should go home to change or just go directly to the restaurant for her blind date.

She had just entered the corridor to go to the office to pack up when she saw that there was still a student in her class who had not been picked up by his parents.

The boy sat in his school uniform. His white shirt and black trousers were neat and unwrinkled, giving him a very extravagant appearance. Although he was still young, his eyebrows were already handsome, and his academic performance was excellent. He was well-behaved and was already a handsome little boy who was a favorite of many female students.

As she walked over, she still had some doubts. She knew that he was not much different from many of the children here. Every day, there were luxury cars to pick him up and to take him to school.

She glanced at the movements of his hands on the straps of the bag. Smiling softly, she asked, “Gu Tai, what’s wrong? There’s no car to pick you up today?”

The boy only raised his eyebrows faintly, and it not only looked particularly distinctive but even the demeanor also made her feel a sense of familiarity.

“Today my uncle will come to pick me up. He’s just late.”

Yi Ran’s heart softened and she said, “With such a big rain, the road must be blocked. Don’t worry. Your uncle will arrive soon.”

“There’s no worry,” he said and turned his head slightly to look at her.

Yi Ran: “…”

Nowadays, primary school students are like this, can’t just chat happily.

She looked at his little school bag and empty hands. If she remembered correctly, when he came this morning, he should have a long umbrella with a superhero pattern.

“Gu Tai, have you forgotten your umbrella?”

The child’s expression paused, and he said, “I didn’t bring an umbrella. You remember it wrong.”

Yi Ran suddenly felt confused, but decided it wouldn’t be good to say anything more. She glanced at the empty classroom behind her, “Would you like to sit down and wait?”

Gu Tai had a clear voice, and it sounded particularly nice as he said, “I want to stand here and watch the rain for a while. Don’t be noisy.”

Yi Ran: “…”

Well, the teacher was nosy.

But she still couldn’t let him wait alone in the corridor. Thinking about it, better to just rely on the wall of the classroom to accompany him and wait for his family.

The rain was still going on, but it was not as heavy as it had been earlier. The dark clouds in the distance were slowly spreading out, displaying a a column of light from the sky to the ground.

Soon after, there was the sound of footsteps coming toward them. The shoes of the coming person sidestepped a puddle and the pace was calm and steady.

When she looked up, she saw Gu Tai’s uncle holding a black umbrella. She squinted at the cold figure, and it seemed that she had pressed the static button.

When the man walked closer, Yi Ran saw the look on his face. She saw that the man’s lips were unsmiling. The eyebrows were smooth, but the dress was obviously quite random, and the wrist cuffs were folded outwards. Very relaxed. From the appearance to the temperament, it was not uninteresting.

He leaned forward slightly, and there were drops of water on the umbrella surface. From the distance, his figure looked particularly gentle underneath the overcast sky.

Yiran didn’t realize how the temperature had gotten so hot, or if just simply looking at Director Gu was too heart-stirring.

Gu Tingchuan stood in front of the eaves that dripped with a curtain of rain and slowly said, “Gu Tai, let’s go.”

The boy did not say anything but only grabbed his bag and silently followed. When the person was preparing to go back, Gu Tingchuan stopped. Suddenly, he lowered his head and said to the child next to him, “Say goodbye to the teacher.”

Gu Tai sighed, and the proud posture was suddenly gone.

He lifted his chin to Yi Ran and said, “Teacher Yi, then I’m going home. See you tomorrow.”

Gu Tingchuan had only spared her a glance before, but at this moment, she did not know why he suddenly looked up at her again.

Yi Ran sighed in her heart. She hadn’t expected for them to meet here.

She didn’t know enough about Gu Tai’s matter. She only knew that he was not a small one, as the Gu name was also renowned. But, she hadn’t realized that his uncle was actually the famous director.

“Gu Tai, this is…”

She still had to ask one more question because of her teacher’s duties.

Gu Tai introduced him at a glance, “This is my uncle, Director Gu Tingchuan.”

Yi Ran made a sound as if she understood and smiled. Gu Tai’s voice just fell, when she suddenly heard Gu Tingchuan’s stern and calm voice. He raised the umbrella up, exposing in the clear twilight the handsome silhouette of his face that was relaxed.

“Gu Tai’s parents are not here these days. He will live in his grandfather’s house or with me.”

She nodded, looking at the handsome man in front of her eyes, and saw the rain that had not stopped behind them. After a moment, she smiled and waved at him, saying, “It’s raining outside. When driving, pay attention to safety.”

Gu Tingchuan took in these plain words, and as he became familiar with the sounds, his brain flashed back to a memory. He seemed to be thinking for a moment so that, for a few seconds, he was silent.

She saw the silver cuff-links on his sleeves flashed and then realized that the other person’s line of sight seemed to notice the stained parts of her chest. She felt a little embarrassed.

Gu Tingchuan suddenly said, “We’ve met before?”

“…” Yiran was completely stunned in place.

She didn’t expect that this famous man would still remember that episode, but she was too embarrassed to mention it to the other party. She said, “No, you’re right… I went to the red carpet for the White Birch Award. You were there…”

“Oh, I remembered.” Gu Tingchuan suddenly interrupted her words, his voice was deep and his eyes were unreadable.

Simultaneously, the two people’s brains flashed to the incident that had occurred at the health club that day, especially when he was naked and she saw…most of his body.

Realizing that this incident was a bit funny, the man frowned and concealed his emotions. It seemed that he and the girl were really there.

On the way back, Schubert’s piano music was playing in the car. The notes were particularly melodious. Gu Tai listened to this boring sound for a while. He looked at the rain on the window and said, “Teacher Yi was also very unlucky today. She wore new clothes to go on a date, and the result was that it was stained by a classmate.”

Gu Tingchuan held the steering wheel and felt that Gu Tai’s sudden desire to talk about Teacher Yi was funny. The corners of his mouth lifted lightly, “How do you know that the teacher is going on a date?”

“We all know.” Gu Tai climbed from the spacious back seat and handed him the new mobile phone in his pocket. “Can you put on my song? I’m going to be hypnotized to sleep by your music.”

Gu Tingchuan was rarely so accommodating, but he was willing to listen to the music on Gu Tai’s mobile phone. He placed it on the loudspeaker and, as a result, the car was immediately filled with pop music.

The man frowned and looked at the red light in front. He stepped on the brakes and looked back. His eyes disagreed. “…What song is this? Where did you get it?”

“I asked Yi teacher to recommend. According to her, it’s the theme song in a Japanese cartoon.”

Gu Tingchuan raised his eyebrows. In his mind, it seemed unimaginable that an adult will see an animated cartoon at this age. In fact, it had not been important since childhood. But, for those who come into contact with these things, it was true that the two themselves were totally unrelated. However, he knew a little of Japanese.

“Do you know what the song is saying?”

Gu Tai denied it. “I don’t know, I just think it’s much better than your piano music.”

Gu Tingchuan smiled slightly, but it seemed that he was in a good mood today. He translated the lyrics. “If you lose the vital thing, you will realize that it is true love.”

After that, he squinted and said deliberately, “It seems that you like the new teacher.”

He was a director, often interviewing those big-name actors, and had always been good at observing. Therefore, he was well aware of Gu Tai’s psychological activities.

The little guy avoided looking at his face and muttered in a low voice: “Heh. I don’t.”

The rain weakened, but the sky had already turned dark. The school was covered up by the night, and Yi Ran put on her coat, deciding to eat in the urban area. Otherwise, she will have to run back and forth, and the other party will be impatient.

As she walked out of the campus, she passed the trash can at the corner and suddenly found an umbrella that was not fully inserted. The exposed handle had a superhero charm.

Yi Ran approached and looked at it carefully. She realized that it was very similar to the one brought by Gu Tai today. She grabbed the handle and pulled it out of the trash can.

She then lowered her head and realized that the front end of the umbrella had been broken.

Yi Ran’s heart was jerked, and there was a feeling of incomprehensibility in her heart. Her first reaction was… Why did Gu Tai lie to her?

Regarding the umbrella, why did you say that you didn’t bring it?