Seeing Xu Guangming's grim expression, Jiang Han knew he was done for.
It was definitely that damn snitch Lu Xing who had gone running to snitch again.
"Teacher, An Yangning and I are not dating. The reason I've been close to her is because she is my mom's goddaughter," Jiang Han lied without a blush or a skip in his heartbeat.
Xu Guangming continued, "However, some classmates told me that the way the two of you interact has already crossed the boundary of normal male and female classmates."
He phrased it very tactfully.
He couldn't very well say: *Jiang Han, you brat, who gave you permission to put your arm around our top scorer in the college entrance examination?*
Jiang Han laid his cards right on the table.
"Teacher, Lu Xing told you about this, didn't he?"
Xu Guangming's expression stiffened; he neither admitted nor denied it. "Jiang Han, don't change the subject. The issue right now is whether the two of you are dating or not."
Jiang Han shook his head in denial. "We're not. Anyway, she's my mom's goddaughter. You can call my mom and ask."
As he spoke, he took out his phone and handed it to Xu Guangming.
The other man didn't take it, shifting his gaze instead to An Yangning.
"An Yangning, tell the teacher the truth: is Jiang Han giving you a hard time behind the scenes, which is why you're dating him?"
Jiang Han protested loudly, "Teacher, you're looking at people through colored glasses. Am I that kind of person?"
An Yangning's mind was a bit blank, but she finally snapped back to reality.
"Teacher, you've misunderstood. Jiang Han and I really aren't dating."
After saying that, she lowered her head with a guilty conscience.
Xu Guangming's probing gaze lingered back and forth between the two of them.
After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said solemnly, "The third year of high school is the most important watershed in life. If things are truly as the two of you say, and you aren't dating, that is for the best."
"Starting today, I will be keeping an eye on both of you. There are only a few months left until graduation; after that, who's going to care what you do? Date however you want!"
Jiang Han promised loudly, "Got it, Teacher. I promise I won't date."
Embarrassed, An Yangning followed up with, "I also promise I won't date."
Reluctantly, Xu Guangming let the two of them off.
"All right, go back to class."
An Yangning had been dying of embarrassment for a while; hearing this, she hurried straight back to the classroom.
Jiang Han didn't move, just stared at Xu Guangming with a grin.
"Teacher, don't you think it's a bit cold in class?"
Xu Guangming looked completely vigilant. "What are you trying to pull? The school doesn't allow space heaters; they're a bit unsafe."
Jiang Han said, "How about an air conditioner? I'll pay for two of them out of my own pocket and have them installed, and I'll cover the electricity bill."
"You'll pay for it? Is an eighteen-year-old guy really that afraid of the cold?" Xu Guangming asked doubtfully.
Jiang Han said helplessly, "Teacher, us guys aren't afraid of the cold, but the girls are. Why don't you go take a look at how frozen the girls in our class are?"
Hearing this, Xu Guangming poked his head out to look into the classroom.
His line of sight landed right on An Yangning's seat.
He saw the girl rubbing her hands together while working on math problems.
It instantly reminded him of the harsh study conditions from his own childhood, and he couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy.
He thought for a moment and said to Jiang Han, "There's no way the school would shell out money just to buy air conditioning for one classroom. The finance department would definitely worry that if they buy it for one class, they'll have to buy it for the whole school."
"We'll definitely have to pay for it ourselves. How about this: I'll chip in with you guys to buy it."
Jiang Han quickly stopped him.
"No, no, no, Teacher Xu, it's not easy for you to make a living. I'll pay for it."
Yesterday he had received another remittance from the coffee shop, which, added to the living allowance his mom gave him, meant he currently had over three hundred thousand yuan on hand.
He didn't think much of Xu Guangming's petty cash.
However, Xu Guangming missed the subtext in Jiang Han's words, innocently thinking that Jiang Han was just being considerate of his finances.
"Teacher Xu, please have a word with the school's logistics department. I'll have people come install the air conditioners this afternoon, and I'll cover the electricity bills, too."
Xu Guangming nodded and patted him on the shoulder.
"You're a generous, good kid. Teacher misunderstood you earlier; I didn't expect you to be so helpful."
Jiang Han feigned confusion. "Teacher, what else did you misunderstand about me? How come I didn't know?"
Realizing he had almost let something slip, Xu Guangming brushed it off with a chuckle.
"It's nothing. Hurry back to class."
"Oh, and business is business—Teacher's still going to keep an eye on you and An Yangning."
Jiang Han turned around nonchalantly.
Let him keep an eye on them, then.
If they wouldn't let him date at school, he'd just date at home.
At this moment, Xu Guangming could never have imagined that An Yangning and Jiang Han shared another secret layer.
He glanced at Lu Xing's seat, his gaze darkening.
For the third time.
That damn brat had made him lose face because of Jiang Han for the third time.
If Lu Xing came to snitch again next time, he was going to kick him straight out.
Inside the classroom.
As Jiang Han walked past An Yangning's desk, he smiled and said to her, "Classmate An, you won't have to freeze this afternoon."
An Yangning completely failed to grasp the meaning behind Jiang Han's words.
Her mind was stuck entirely on those three words: "Classmate An."
Hadn't he been calling her "baby" just this morning? How had she suddenly become "Classmate An"?
An insecure sense of a young girl experiencing the ups and downs of first love welled up in An Yangning's heart.
Could it be that Jiang Han wanted to break up with her?
The more An Yangning thought about it, the more tangled her thoughts became, and she sent a message to Chen Jiaojiao.
*"Sister Jiaojiao, if your boyfriend suddenly stops calling you 'baby', does it mean he doesn't love you anymore?"*
Chen Jiaojiao was right in the middle of a breakup herself, and receiving a message like this made her instantly think of her scumbag ex.
*"All men are heartless bastards, little Ningning. He just doesn't like you anymore."*
*"When he likes you, you're his baby; when he doesn't like you anymore, you're a nobody."*
Seeing these messages, An Yangning went from merely feeling down to instantly heartbroken.
Did Jiang Han really not like her anymore?
An Yangning raised her head to look at Jiang Han, the calm in her eyes long since disrupted.
She tapped open her chat window with Jiang Han, wanting to send him a message and ask:
Why did he call her "Classmate An"?
She typed out a few characters, only to delete them again. After repeating this several times, she finally worked herself into a fit of anger and tossed her phone directly into her desk drawer.
...
When lunchtime arrived, the air conditioning installation technician showed up.
"Master, install the first air conditioner right here."
Jiang Han directed the technician in person, having the unit installed at the very back row, about two desks away from An Yangning.
That distance was the most comfortable for the airflow.
An Yangning was eating her lunch in slow motion when she finally figured out what Jiang Han had meant that morning about her not having to freeze.
She felt a blush of embarrassment.
So the reason Jiang Han had specifically sent someone to install air conditioning was because of her.
Did that mean she had overthought things...
Jiang Han sat down beside An Yangning and said with a smile, "That way you won't feel cold during class anymore."
He spoke very quietly, and none of the other classmates heard him.
They all assumed Jiang Han was the one who was cold, which was why he had taken the initiative to pay for the air conditioning.
"Jiang Han, thank you! From now on, we are all your most loyal die-hard followers!!"
"Yeah, yeah... From now on, Jiang Han is our godfather!"
The classmates thanked Jiang Han amid much giggling and bantering.
High school kids were relatively simple; aside from a few scheming individuals, everyone liked a harmonious classroom atmosphere.
Right at that moment, Lu Xing, one of those scheming individuals, was waiting for the second air conditioner, hoping it would end up installed right next to his desk.
"Mister, put the next one over by us," Lu Xing said loudly.
The technician was just about to head over when Jiang Han stopped him.
"Not there. Go install one by the podium."