Free Web NovelChapter 96: Chapter 96: Phantom-like
Su Li’s eyes widened. "You... How did you suddenly appear here?"
She looked at Wu Sheng, who had seemingly appeared out of thin air, and couldn’t help but glance around.
’That’s right, this is the same hill where I always watch the cow. It’s really far from where I ran into Wu Sheng and his men before!’
"Surprised?" Wu Sheng raised an eyebrow and sat down beside Su Li.
"Very surprised," Su Li replied, putting her book away and inching to the side.
"What’s so surprising about it?" Wu Sheng’s gaze landed on her book. "You’re certainly diligent with your studies."
"Huh?" Su Li asked, confused.
"I’ve been watching you for half an hour. I was waiting for you to notice me, but alas..."
Wu Sheng clicked his tongue and shook his head. His expression was the same as always, but his words carried a hint of playful rogueishness.
"Half an hour?" Su Li was dumbfounded. "Where were you watching from?"
"Right in front of you," Wu Sheng said, jutting his chin forward before sighing. "Your name shouldn’t be Su Li. It should be... Bookworm."
Su Li: "...."
’Shouldn’t a person concentrate on what they’re doing? Is it my fault for being focused on my studies?’
"It’s your fault, isn’t it? You didn’t make a single sound. If you’d made any noise, I would’ve spotted you ages ago."
Su Li recalled how stealthy Wu Sheng and his men had been before and shook her head.
Wu Sheng rubbed his nose, unable to argue.
’Well... it really does seem to be my fault. I’m just used to it. I move like the wind and really don’t make any noise.’
’Even my colleagues can’t detect me when I’m in stealth mode, so it’s perfectly normal that Su Li didn’t see me either.’
"Okay, my bad," Wu Sheng conceded.
’I rarely try to tease someone with a little scare, and I ended up bungling it myself.’
Su Li nodded, not pressing the issue. Instead, she asked, "What brings you here?"
Wu Sheng: "...Patrolling."
"Oh." Since Su Li didn’t understand, she didn’t say anything more.
"Do you always bring the cow here?" Wu Sheng asked.
"Pretty much. The cow is better behaved here," Su Li replied with a nod.
"That’s good, then," Wu Sheng said, nodding.
"Were you looking for me?" Su Li ventured.
"Yeah, possibly. We don’t have a translator with us, so we might need your help," Wu Sheng confirmed.
"Oh." Su Li understood. "I hope I can help."
Just as Wu Sheng was about to speak, a muffled BANG echoed from the distant mountains.
Wu Sheng immediately sat bolt upright. "I have to go, Su Li."
"Oh, okay," Su Li replied, nodding.
Wu Sheng stood up, pulled a slip of paper from his breast pocket, and pressed it into Su Li’s hand.
"This is my address. Keep it safe. Goodbye," Wu Sheng said in a rush, then turned and left.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from her sight.
Here one moment, gone the next. Wu Sheng’s arrival had been sudden, but his departure was even more abrupt.
Su Li stared blankly for a moment before looking down at the note Wu Sheng had left. It had his name, an address, and a phone number on it.
The address was in the Imperial City.
Su Li tilted her head. ’Last time, I mentioned I wanted to get into a university in the Imperial City... Is he telling me to contact him?’
Since Wu Sheng had said he might need her help later, Su Li didn’t overthink it. She carefully put the note away and went back to solving her practice problems.
Meanwhile, when Wu Sheng returned to their hidden campsite in the forest, Wa Wa Lian quickly jogged over to meet him.
"Boss, did you find Su Li?"
Wu Sheng’s brow furrowed. "Who said I went looking for Su Li?"
Wa Wa Lian blinked and pointed back the way he came. "Er... weren’t you going to find Su Li? Ever since yesterday..."
’Since yesterday, the boss—who usually sleeps all day when he’s not on stealth duty—has been constantly running off in the direction of Xinghua Village. If he wasn’t looking for Su Li, who else would he be looking for?’
’I was all ready to accept Su Li as our sister-in-law!’
’Our boss is so capable, and a formidable wife like Su Li would be a perfect match for him!’
Wu Sheng cut off Wa Wa Lian’s daydream. "I was on patrol."
"Huh?" The earnest Wa Wa Lian looked completely baffled. "You’re not planning to go find Su Li?"
Wu Sheng just frowned at him, saying nothing.
Wa Wa Lian’s shoulders hunched. "Er... you’re not going to... take responsibility? Or do you not care for her?"
Wu Sheng’s expression turned stern. "Is that any of your business?"
He gave Wa Wa Lian a light kick. "Get back to training. I won’t be joining you starting tomorrow."
Wa Wa Lian instantly lost all interest in gossiping. He let out a pained yelp and scurried off.
Only when he was alone in the shelter did Wu Sheng breathe a sigh of relief.
"Was I that obvious?" he mumbled, his ears turning slightly red.
After pacing for a bit and taking a drink of water, the word "Bookworm" escaped his lips again.
His tone was casual, yet it held a hint of a smile and a trace of fond indulgence.
*******
"Little Mo, you’re so smart!"
Early in the morning, Su Li’s delighted praise could be heard coming from the Tang Family’s house.
Su Li had officially begun teaching Little Tang Mo how to read, and living up to his reputation as a little genius, he learned with incredible speed and skill.
Su Li couldn’t hide her pride and her admiration for his talent.
Sitting across from Su Li, Little Tang Mo’s little face was flushed, his eyes sparkling. "Mama..."
Su Li’s smile vanished. "You forgot again."
Little Tang Mo scratched his head and corrected himself, "Teacher."
Su Li smiled and answered, "Yes, that’s a good boy."
This was the solution Su Li had devised over the past two days: having Little Tang Mo call her "Teacher."
’If Little Tang Mo gets used to calling me Teacher now,’ Su Li thought, ’he won’t have to change it later.’
’We can’t be mother and son, but we can be teacher and student. How great is that!’
Since Little Tang Mo had seen other children in the village use the title "Teacher," he wasn’t opposed to it at all; in fact, he found it novel.
Aside from his habit of calling her "Mama," he was also happy to call her "Teacher."
"Come on, let’s continue." Little Tang Mo was so smart that he learned everything quickly, filling Su Li with a sense of accomplishment and fueling her enthusiasm.
"Okay!" Little Tang Mo was also enjoying himself. He loved that Su Li would praise him as she taught.
Another half hour later, the lesson was over.
"Little Mo, you’re so wonderful and smart." Su Li looked at Little Tang Mo, who was sitting ramrod straight with his little hands behind his back, and she was utterly charmed.
"All right, class is dismissed," Su Li announced. Little Tang Mo immediately stood up and gave a little bow, just as she’d taught him. "Goodbye, Teacher."
The moment he finished speaking, he lunged at Su Li, who caught him in an embrace. The more she looked at him, the cuter he seemed.
"Oh, my." His little hands, little feet, little face—everything about him was adorable. She wanted to just nibble on his chubby little hands.
Su Li resisted the urge to nibble, ruffling his hair instead and planting an uncontrollable kiss on his little cheek.
"Teacher," Little Tang Mo said, covering his face shyly. Then, he couldn’t resist pecking Su Li back on the cheek and asked,
"Mama, how about I call you Teacher during class, and Mama after class?"
Su Li’s eyes darted thoughtfully. "I quite like being called Teacher. Little Mo, you can call me Teacher more often."
"Teacher Mama, Mama Teacher," Little Tang Mo cleverly compromised.
Su Li let out a laugh and didn’t press the matter.
’In any case, Little Tang Mo is getting used to calling me Teacher, so that’s good enough.’
After lunch, Su Li went to herd the cow again.
Three days had passed since Wu Sheng’s sudden appearance, but he hadn’t sought her out for help as he’d mentioned he might.
"Their training exercise probably ended, so they’ve gone back..." Su Li mumbled to herself on the path. "And here I was, constantly looking to see if he’d shown up."
Not wanting to be called a bookworm again, Su Li had been taking breaks from her studies over the past two days to scan her surroundings, checking if Wu Sheng was suddenly crouching somewhere watching her.
For three days, there was nothing. freёwebnovel.com
Su Li figured Wu Sheng and his men must have left, so she didn’t bother specifically looking for him that day.
Who would have thought that Wu Sheng... would appear before her yet again.
And his method of appearing was just as phantom-like as ever.
