SATURATION CHAPTER 8

 

Chapter 8: Hot pot

Translator: Abo Dammen

After class ended and the students had scattered, the trio of troublemakers apologized to Sui Cannong again and again as they left the lab, heads hanging low. Yet, Sui Cannong remained in a daze.

It was a chilling sensation, as if his heart had sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Ji Ling had always given off an air of calm and quiet. This was the first time Sui Cannong realized that Ji Ling could wear such a beautiful smile.

It was a stunning smile that melted glaciers and snow. It was a smile that made his entire face come to life. Sui Cannong was utterly shaken.

Why was he smiling? What was there to smile about?

It was a wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding. What could possibly be beautiful about that? Was there anything worth being happy about?

That smile… it was as if he had found some kind of pleasure in the pain.

Sui Cannong didn’t know why Ji Ling acted this way, nor what he had been through. All he knew was that Ji Ling was definitely, absolutely, living in a very negative state of mind.

A wild thought crossed Sui Cannong’s mind.

---

It wasn’t until the two Japanese sisters, clutching their notebooks, peeked into the biology classroom that Sui Cannong snapped out of his thoughts and realized it was almost time for school to end.

"Come in," Sui Cannong said to them.

Sui Cannong’s biology classroom was like a mini ecosystem. At first, he had just planted some random flowers and plants, thinking that a biology classroom should have some greenery. It would also make experiments like chromatography easier.

Later, at the students’ suggestion, Sui Cannong started growing vegetables.

For the past two years, visitors and parents had flocked to Sui Cannong’s classroom because it was so impressive—basically an indoor greenhouse.

If it weren’t for the fact that the classroom was almost too crowded, Sui Cannong wouldn’t have minded adding more plants.

But the classroom was meant for teaching, and eventually, Sui Cannong couldn’t handle the plants anymore. He started giving away a few potted plants to other classrooms, finally freeing up some space.

---

Perhaps because the colorful peppers had died so suddenly, the two girls didn’t dare take any chances. They came every day after school to water the cherry tomatoes they had planted.

Sui Cannong finally managed to tell them apart: the girl with twin tails was Sherry, and the one with a single ponytail was Cindy.

He glanced at their notebooks and saw a bunch of Japanese writing, accompanied by well-drawn illustrations.

"Not bad," Sui Cannong teased them. "Do you two even put this much effort into your homework?"

The two girls giggled and exchanged a look.

"Actually, we’re mainly studying art," Sherry said. "But our dad thinks it wouldn’t hurt to learn some math and science, so we’re also taking math and physics. We’re definitely better at drawing than studying."

Sui Cannong shook his head. "Sigh, you’re drawing my little radishes and peppers, but you’re not taking my biology class. I’m such a failure…"

Sherry said, "Because biology terms are too hard to memorize."

Cindy added, "And if you study biology, you have to study chemistry too. That’s just adding difficulty on top of difficulty."

Sui Cannong almost couldn’t hold back his laughter. "Alright, you two, stop right there."

The girls covered their mouths and giggled for a while. Then Sherry said, "Actually, none of the sciences are easy. Physics is hard too, but luckily, we have Teacher Ji."

Sui Cannong was taken aback.

"How so?" he asked casually. "Is it because Teacher Ji teaches well?"

The two girls exchanged another look.

"He does teach really well," Cindy said with a grin. "But we still don’t understand some things because our brains just can’t keep up."

"At first, we were both a little scared of Teacher Ji because he doesn’t talk much outside of class and doesn’t smile often," Sherry said. "Even though he’s really handsome, his British accent is nice, and—"

Seeing Sherry’s topic heading in the wrong direction, Cindy quickly intervened, "But he’s actually a very responsible teacher."

If these two girls had been talking about any other teacher, Sui Cannong would have stopped the conversation right there.

But Sui Cannong was too engrossed to interrupt, so the two sisters continued chattering away.

"Actually, by next year, we’ll probably focus entirely on applying to art schools, so we won’t take the final exams for math and physics," Sherry said. "So in class, like in math, the teacher basically lets us do our own thing."

"But Teacher Ji is different. He noticed we weren’t saying much in class and asked if there was something we didn’t understand," Cindy said. "So I made up a question on the spot, and Teacher Ji explained it to us so thoroughly that I almost felt bad."

"And after school, he actually remembered it," Cindy continued. "He sent me a bunch of videos related to that topic, and they were all really fun—the kind you can actually watch. You could tell he put a lot of thought into picking them!"

"Teacher Ji makes me feel like I’m being taken seriously," Cindy said shyly. "He’s kind and responsible, so I really like…"

Sherry chimed in again, "Mainly because he’s really good-looking—"

Cindy, her face red, reached out to cover Sherry’s mouth, and the two girls started playfully wrestling.

It took Sui Cannong a while to snap out of it.

"Alright, alright, get back to your drawing," Sui Cannong said, standing up. "I’m going to print something."

Sui Cannong realized that he knew even less about Ji Ling than these two girls did.

Why would someone so caring and responsible toward his students be so… Sui Cannong couldn’t understand it at all.

Sui Cannong had been feeling uneasy all day, and that wild thought in his mind still lingered, though he didn’t dare to fully acknowledge it.

The printer on the second floor was out of A3 paper, so he had to go up to the third floor to print. Standing at the stairwell with the printed materials in hand, Sui Cannong’s steps faltered. He turned and took a slightly longer route.

He felt he needed to confirm that the wound on Ji Ling’s arm was okay.

When he reached the physics classroom, he saw Ji Ling had already changed into his coat and was slowly erasing formulas from the whiteboard, apparently getting ready to leave.

Hearing footsteps at the door, Ji Ling turned slightly and met Sui Cannong’s gaze.

Sui Cannong noticed Ji Ling blink lightly.

"Is your hand okay?" Sui Cannong asked.

Ji Ling nodded.

"Let me see," Sui Cannong said.

Ji Ling hesitated for a moment but then rolled up his sleeve, revealing his bandaged forearm.

"I ran out of band-aids," Ji Ling explained seriously. "So I went to the infirmary to get it treated. The bandage looks big, but it’s really just a minor injury."

However, the more calm and composed Ji Ling acted, the more Sui Cannong felt something was off.

Sui Cannong didn’t speak for a while, and Ji Ling looked puzzled. "What’s wrong, Teacher Sui?"

"Nothing, just wanted to check on your hand," Sui Cannong said, taking a deep breath. He felt like he was fumbling for words. "Tonight… what time can you get online?"

"I might be a bit late," Ji Ling said, looking at Sui Cannong hesitantly. "I’m going out for hot pot later. I should be home by 8:30. Is that okay?"

Sui Cannong was taken aback.

"Which place are you going to?" Sui Cannong was quite the foodie. He thought for a moment and guessed, "Is it the new Haidilao at Leyue Mall?"

Ji Ling was surprised that Sui Cannong had guessed correctly. He nodded. "Yes, that’s the one."

"Good choice. They just added salted egg yolk shrimp paste," Sui Cannong said with a smile. "If you like salted egg yolk, you should try it. I had it once, and it was pretty good."

Ji Ling nodded.

"But with hot pot…" Sui Cannong glanced at Ji Ling’s wrist and added, "Just be careful with your hand. If it’s too much, ask your friends to help you with the cooking. Try not to let the steam get to it."

Ji Ling paused, then softly said, "Mhm."

The air grew quiet again. Sui Cannong realized that Ji Ling had been about to leave, and he had been lingering in the classroom for too long.

"Well… I’ll head out now," Sui Cannong said, coughing lightly. He took a few steps back and turned toward the door. "You—"

"Teacher Sui," Ji Ling suddenly called out.

Sui Cannong turned around and saw Ji Ling take a couple of steps toward him, stopping in front of him.

Ji Ling’s coat was a bit oversized, and the sleeves were slightly long. Sui Cannong noticed that Ji Ling had tucked his fingers into the sleeves, like a small animal trying to keep warm.

Ji Ling hesitated, then said, "I’m not going with friends."

Sui Cannong didn’t understand. "What?"

Ji Ling pursed his lips.

"I mean," he said, looking up at Sui Cannong, "I was planning to go eat hot pot alone."

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Author's Feed:

Xiao Ji (longingly): He’ll understand what I mean, right?

Sui Meili (on high alert): Who would go eat hot pot alone?! He’s definitely—