DCHHLT Chapter 6

Faced with Chu Junshan suddenly appearing at the doorway, Liang Xingyuan looked completely unfazed on the surface, though in truth he was merely so stunned that he had forgotten how to make any expression at all. His colleagues, on the other hand, who had been lingering nearby and watching his entire chat unfold, reacted far more dramatically.

“Teacher Xiao Liang, is this your…” “How come we’ve never seen him before? Is he family?”

Only Teacher Xu, who had played matchmaker between the two, knew the truth of the matter.

Taking off her glasses, she raised an eyebrow with a suggestive grin: “Aiyoh, calling him family isn’t wrong. A spouse counts as family, too, after all. Teacher Xiao Liang, that’s pretty sneaky of you! Starting a relationship without even breathing a word to us, making me worry for nothing.”

“…It’s not like that.” Snapped back to reality by her teasing, Liang Xingyuan hastily gathered his things, grabbed his jacket off the coat stand, and turned to wave at his colleagues, whose faces were a mix of amusement and curiosity. “Sorry. I’ll explain to you guys later, okay?”

Chu Junshan was still waiting for him outside!

All day today, Liang Xingyuan had worried that his request was unreasonable and might make Chu Junshan uncomfortable. Yet not only had he received a message from a seemingly unbothered Chu Junshan, but Chu Junshan had actually come to see him.

He had come in person.

And what’s more… as a family visit at work…

The thought seemed infused with a life of its own, thumping against Liang Xingyuan’s ribs as if it might leap right out of his chest at any moment. As he hurried down two short corridors, Liang Xingyuan kept trying to soothe his wildly racing heart.

He had to mask his frantic heartbeat—

Otherwise, Chu Junshan would notice his abnormality.

Harboring this thought, Liang Xingyuan tried hard to steady his racing heart. Taking a deep breath of the damp, cool air, he rounded two corners and caught sight of him standing by the ivy-draped gated entrance.

It was still afternoon tea time. It would be another half hour before the kids were dismissed.

Consequently, the front gate of Xinghai Kindergarten was practically deserted. No one had noticed Chu Junshan’s arrival.

The security guard was already very familiar with Liang Xingyuan. Having seen him greet Chu Junshan earlier, the guard was treating Chu Junshan quite warmly.

By the time Liang Xingyuan walked over, the guard was already chatting away with Chu Junshan: “…Yeah, you really shouldn’t get into the stock market right now. It ruins lives just like mutual funds… Ah, Xiao Liang is here! I’ll open the gate and let you in.”

Chu Junshan had actually arrived early.

He didn’t decline. Offering an apologetic smile, a faint glint of warmth in his clear, bright eyes: “Thank you.”

“Mr. Chu…” Although it wasn’t a long path, taking only a minute or two to walk from the office to the gate, Liang Xingyuan had run the whole way, as if terrified that being even a second late would cause Chu Junshan to turn around and leave on the spot. Thus, when Liang Xingyuan arrived, his voice wavered slightly with his uneven breathing: “What brought you here?”

“I didn’t have any work this afternoon,” Chu Junshan stated matter-of-factly. Lifting his eyes slightly, his gaze locked onto Liang Xingyuan’s face. Catching the utterly earnest look in the other’s eyes, a sudden spark of amusement flickered within him for reasons he couldn’t quite name. “So, I wanted to come see you.”

Three, two, one.

Chu Junshan counted down silently in his head.

The moment the final count landed in his head, Chu Junshan keenly noticed the man before him suddenly blush.

A curious feeling spread through his heart. Chu Junshan’s eyes curved slightly, a genuine smile glinting in those clear, bright eyes—

How amusing.

Liang Xingyuan’s ears were already red enough to bleed. He still wasn’t quite used to being around Chu Junshan. Right on cue, the security guard beside them poked his head out curiously, peering over at the two of them.

Liang Xingyuan cleared his throat with feigned composure, turned to Chu Junshan, and asked, “Would you like to come inside and wait for me for a bit? I clock off in twenty minutes.”

Chu Junshan raised an eyebrow, casting a side glance that landed on those astonishingly red earlobes. Suppressing the smile in his eyes, he agreed, “Alright.”

In truth, Liang Xingyuan still hadn’t figured out how to bring up that matter with Chu Junshan.

Receiving the message had felt sudden enough, but Chu Junshan’s appearance was even more unexpected. Now that his initial wave of excitement and passion was gradually ebbing away, Liang Xingyuan suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Honestly… it didn’t feel like they were all that familiar with each other yet…

While Liang Xingyuan remained unruffled on the outside, a stormy sea raged within. Ten million terrible small-talk jokes accumulated over time flooded his mind. Yet as he sifted through them, not a single topic felt suitable for them right now.

Back in the office, his colleagues had not left yet. Seeing Liang Xingyuan leading someone in from a distance, they pulled back their gossiping heads, discreetly casting curious eyes toward the handsome young man Teacher Xiao Liang had brought along.

“Would you like some water?”

Liang Xingyuan hadn’t expected his relationship with Chu Junshan to be exposed to his colleagues so quickly. Unavoidably feeling at a loss, he tried his best to keep busy to ward off the awkward silence.

Chu Junshan watched as Liang Xingyuan filled a disposable paper cup at the water dispenser outside and walked back in with a stiff, robotic gait, only to trip over a puddle on the floor, spilling every drop of the water he had just poured…

It was hard to tell what he was even bustling around for.

Pretending not to notice what Liang Xingyuan was doing, Chu Junshan turned back around. Sitting at the desk directly opposite Liang Xingyuan was a female teacher in her thirties, smiling at him. “Hello there, are you Xiao Chu? I was the one who introduced Xiao Liang to your father back then.”

“Hello, my name is Chu Junshan. Nice to meet you.”

Teacher Xu asked, somewhat curious, “Are you two dating now?”

“Sort of.” “Not yet.”

Both spoke at the same time, but their answers couldn’t have been more different.

In an instant, every pair of eyes in the office focused on the two of them.

So, he doesn’t even feel like we’re dating yet.

This realization left Liang Xingyuan with a complex mix of emotions. Just as he was about to say something, a gentle, pleasant female voice called out from outside the door: “Teacher Liang, do you have a moment to come over? Cai Guoguo from your class is crying in the tea room, and no one knows why. She said she wants to see you.”

The explanation that had been on the tip of his tongue got stuck in his throat. Liang Xingyuan looked at Chu Junshan, hesitating as if wanting to speak. But in the end, he merely said, “Please wait a moment for me, I’ll be back soon.”

His figure quickly vanished beyond the doorway. A female colleague chimed in to explain, “Oh, don’t mind it. That’s just how it is being a kindergarten teacher. We have to look after every tiny detail. But Xiao Liang has always been so responsible, and the kids adore him. Before you came into his life, Xiao Liang practically spent all his time around the clock with the children. We never understood where he got so much energy…”

Though spoken carelessly, the words took on a deeper meaning for the listener.

Chu Junshan slightly narrowed his long, slender eyes, pitch-black emotion swirling within his pale tea-colored irises like a thick fog.

A monster naturally possessed energy that ordinary people did not.

From the descriptions given by Liang Xingyuan’s colleagues, he seemed to really enjoy being with children…

The scene he had witnessed outside the coffee shop that day floated into Chu Junshan’s mind.

Why was Liang Xingyuan so interested in children?

Even if it were just a genuine fondness for kids, Chu Junshan would find it hard to believe an ordinary person would go to such lengths—

…Let alone the fact that Liang Xingyuan was a monster.

What was he trying to get from the children?

Chu Junshan frowned slightly in disapproval, but he didn’t interrupt as the colleague continued, “…Teacher Liang is genuinely so caring. I wonder if he ever mentioned to you how he joined our workplace?”

Chu Junshan turned his head to look at the smiling colleagues. “No. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, let me tell you!” That colleague clearly held Liang Xingyuan in high regard, practically singing his praises. Her demeanor right now was almost like someone trying to pitch a prized product to Chu Junshan. “When we first met him, Teacher Xiao Liang was out on the road right in front of our kindergarten, directing traffic.

“The weather was terrible back then, and our area happens to be a high-accident zone. That day, three car crashes happened right outside our gate during morning drop-off time. The kids were terrified. Teacher Xiao Liang must have just been passing by, but he rescued those panicked children right out of the chaotic traffic and ended up getting hit by a car himself. The shirt he was wearing was ripped to shreds from the crash, soaked in blood… It was terrifying.

“Our principal called the police, and the kindergarten closed for the day. A few of us went to the hospital with the principal. That’s when the principal realized Teacher Xiao Liang seemed to have just arrived in our city. He had no place to stay, no food to eat, and no job. To make matters worse, his money and ID had probably been stolen, so our principal made an exception and hired him as a contract worker.”

A flicker of surprise surged in the depths of Chu Junshan’s eyes—

He had envisioned many possibilities for how Liang Xingyuan had first arrived in this world, but this was the one scenario he had never imagined.

But…

An even bigger question surfaced.

Why was Liang Xingyuan going through such calculated lengths to stay in this world? Had he truly done nothing all these years?

Or… was he like a wild beast lurking in the dark? Before finally pulling in his net, Liang Xingyuan would remain utterly vigilant and patient until he was certain he could capture his target in one fell swoop.

The darkness underlying this hypothesis was vast and unfathomable. Chu Junshan knit his brows slightly, remaining entirely silent.

The colleague clearly sensed the shift in Chu Junshan’s mood, though she had no idea what was actually going through his head. Single-mindedly determined to build up goodwill for Liang Xingyuan, she gushed, “Teacher Xiao Liang works so hard! He’s genuinely the most driven young man I’ve ever met. He worked while taking adult education classes. After studying for a few years, he passed the civil service exams and got hired straight into our unit. I really wonder how he even managed to study like that!”

“…”

Chu Junshan silently turned his head away. Imagining the scene if the elated teacher before him ever discovered that Liang Xingyuan was actually a monster sprouting multiple brains, he kindly decided to spare her.

He lowered his gaze as a new plan took shape in his mind.

“Excuse me,” Chu Junshan said, his voice gentle and polite, leaving a pleasant impression. “Where is the restroom?”

Interrupted, the colleague predictably stopped talking and enthusiastically pointed him in the right direction.

Chu Junshan thanked her, stepped out the door under the warm, watchful gazes of the colleagues, and walked in the exact opposite direction of the restroom.

When he had walked in earlier, he had caught sight of the floor plan for Xinghai Kindergarten hanging in the hallway.

The tea room was actually a small annex off the cafeteria, serving as a space for the children to enjoy afternoon snacks, chat, and play.

He wanted to see with his own eyes… just how Liang Xingyuan treated those kids.

After rounding two long corridors, Chu Junshan soon saw the tea room right ahead.

He took two steps forward before coming to a sudden halt. As if sensing something, he turned his head toward a certain direction—

A familiar figure with his back turned to him was leaning slightly downward, his shadow completely casting over a weeping child.

Compared to Liang Xingyuan’s 186 cm frame, the young human child appeared exceedingly frail and delicate, as if at any moment, she might be swallowed whole by some mysterious force.

Chu Junshan’s brows knitted together uncontrollably, a complex dark glint flashing across his bright eyes.

Was Liang Xingyuan… finally making his move?

No wonder he had always given everyone the impression of being helpful, warm, and attentive. Turns out he only struck when he was alone…

Hesitating no longer, Chu Junshan called out his name in a cool, detached voice: “Liang Xingyuan.”

Called by name, Liang Xingyuan subconsciously turned around. Upon catching sight of Chu Junshan, he looked surprisingly caught off guard. “What are you doing here?”

Still putting on an act, Chu Junshan thought coldly.

Without giving anything away, he asked calmly, “What are you doing?”

“I didn’t do anything…”

As Liang Xingyuan turned, the little girl who had been completely hidden behind him came into view. She took one look at Chu Junshan and suddenly burst into tears.

Liang Xingyuan instinctively reached out to pat her back, but Chu Junshan grabbed his wrist, forcibly dragging him back a short distance. “Then why is she crying?”

The fading twilight of the setting sun illuminated Chu Junshan’s stern, pale profile. He opened his mouth, but before he could utter what he wanted to say, Liang Xingyuan effortlessly slipped his wrist out of Chu Junshan’s grip—

“…Mr. Chu.” In the second that Chu Junshan froze in astonishment, Liang Xingyuan placed his hand back on the little girl’s shoulder. With a faint tinge of helplessness in his voice, he explained softly, “Because… it seems you scared her.”

If you enjoy my works and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-fi. Thank you for your support.