Extras 8

Gong Xuechang’s words made even the waiter who came by to pour water blush. But he remained calm.

Originally, they were set up by their elders to go out on a blind date. It was normal to go up a level after getting more familiar with each other.

Although he felt a bit apprehensive at first, he soon found the girl to be interesting. She was sloppy but cute. He could even find the beauty of language in the way she spoke. From her busy status to so many days of contact, he also discovered her dedication and enthusiasm for her work. It was enough to make him look at her in a different light.

“Huh?”

Fang Qiuye had just taken a mouthful of rice and put it in her mouth. Hearing this, she suddenly raised her head.

“Um… the heroine?” she mumbled, chewing the white rice, having forgotten the vegetables. She frowned slightly. At the mention of the word, she was now a little distracted.

She hadn’t come up with a heroine for the new book yet. To be honest, she couldn’t think of a character that was good for the plot. In addition to her appearance, she constantly wondered what kind of character and occupation should be given to her.

She was going bald thinking about it!

When she lay down in bed, it was all she could think of recently. During the day, she had to learn English and catch up with her chapter updates. Her brain was already running at full capacity

The heroine was a big problem; Teacher Gong hit her weakest point in just one second.

However, Gong Xuechang understood her tangled and somewhat melancholy expression with another meaning. He thought she was refusing his confession. But since he opened his mouth, there was no reason to back down now.

“Is that okay?” he said.  Instead of giving in, he took the initiative to give her a piece of braised pork.

“What…”

Fang Qiuye nodded. She immediately took the shiny braised pork, put it in her mouth, and chewed a few mouthfuls with satisfaction. She had no time to cook, and she was tired of instant noodles. Eating meat was satisfying!

“Sure. If you have any idea, just say it.,” she said. She blushed for a second when she remembered her identity was revealed, but she calmed down after a while.

In her author’s QQ, she was discussing plots with different authors every day. Even if she hid her identity publicly, her identity would still be revealed to other authors. As long as they were not her relatives and friends, it was not so embarrassing.

Her mind was now full of images of various heroines after her English teacher had mentioned it.

“Teacher, what kind of heroine do you like?” she asked.

Asking for a male’s preferences was indeed very helpful in constructing female characters. This might give her a new way of thinking!

As for the previous sentence where he mentioned he was the male lead, she automatically ignored it. She nervously laughed internally. She had taken him as the prototype for the male protagonist and was caught on the spot. She had thick skin and would pretend not to hear anything!

As she spoke, she took out the small notebook she finally got back and held her pen. She had a studious look on her face, and was even ready to take notes!

Gong Xuechang felt a headache for a moment, and his chest was faintly trembling with dread.

“Come on, teacher. Don’t worry! No matter the type you like, I won’t laugh at you, nor will I reveal it to others,” she seriously said.

After thinking through things as a writer, she finally decided to make the heroine according to his suggestion.

Gong Xuechang understood instantly. He took a deep look at her and found that she was still doing the same gesture without understanding his meaning. The veins on his temples throbbed.

“What do you think…” he began, “What kind of girl am I suitable for?”

Fang Qiuye frowned. Has this turned into a question-and-answer? Fine. Asking each other may help spark inspiration and hit her thinking blind spot. She thought. Then, she tilted her head and said, “First, one with good appearance?”

She looked at teacher Gong. He was handsome. The heroine, of course, must also be the same!

“Okay.”

Gong Xuechang’s dark eyes looked straight at the opposite party as he spoke. “Although she is sloppy and doesn’t like to wear contact lenses, if you look closely, her eyes are beautiful,” he said. “She doesn’t wear makeup. She has a bit of dark circles, but she’s still cute.”

Fang Qiuye bowed her head and started writing fast. But halfway through writing, she raised her small, blushing face. Gong Xuechang’s mouth pursed at the corners and he calmly picked up the water glass on the table. Only his fingers could express his rapid heartbeat.

But—

Fang Qiuye scratched her head with a pen. Her eyes were bright but confused. “Sloppy?” So this character was pretty down-to-earth…?

“Why doesn’t she like wearing contact lenses?” she asked. “But it’s not good to leave dark circles visible… By the way, teacher Gong, are there any famous, foreign books with such characters?

“Ahh, that makes me remember Cinderella. She is quite miserable. She does housework all the time. She lacks sleep, but the fairy tale did not tell whether she had dark circles under her eyes. Anyway, her clothes are tattered and unkempt. All that sloppy image is all for the gorgeous counterattack in the future! Genius! The backstory for the heroine you gave could give the character a lot of room for counterattack!”

Gong Xuechang: “…”

No matter how gentlemanly he was. He felt like scolding someone very much at this moment! He took a deep breath before looking at the girl who continued to write hard in her small notebook.

“I’m not talking about Cinderella,” he said patiently.

“Ah, don’t get me wrong, Teacher Gong! I didn’t mean that you were sharing your idea based on another character!” Fang Qiuye waved her hands quickly. “It’s just something I thought of in a moment.”

The water cup in Mr. Gong’s hand shook for a second. For a while, his chest was so tight that he couldn’t say anything!

“I’m sorry, I interrupted you. Please continue,” Fang Qiuye said earnestly. “You mentioned the heroine didn’t like wearing contact lenses. How did you come up with it?”

As if another thought had occurred to her, she said, “Were you inspired by it from the female college students you meet every day? Let me guess, are the female students who come to your class all dressed up so delicately that you are tired of aesthetics, so… so… you like a heroine who does the opposite!!?”

Teacher Gong immediately experienced a sense of suffocation at how the conversation spiraled out of control.  However, the girl in front of him was obviously getting more and more excited, and even the black-rimmed glasses couldn’t hide the excitement in her eyes.

“…I don’t pay attention to the female students in class,” he said. He denied her random guesses in one sentence.

“Oh, I understand.” Fang Qiuye nodded and took note of it. “She’s so sloppy that it grabs your attention.”

“…”

“Teacher, what other characteristics does she have? We just talked about her appearance. What about her personality and habits? What about her preferences?”

Fang Qiuye raised her head again with a smile. Gong Xuechang adjusted his turbulent breathing before regaining his original voice.

“She stays up all night. Maybe it was to rush for her update,” he said. “In addition… Although it has nothing to do with her own job, she is still studying English hard, and she loves and strives to pursue the beauty of different languages.”

After speaking in one breath, he put the water glass on the table. There was also a kind of deep and restrained light in his dark eyes as he looked at the girl in front of him. Fang Qiuye jotted down two words. Sure enough, she raised her face again in shock.

“Huh?” she looked at him in surprise. “Teacher Gong, you actually referenced me!”

Gong Xuechang’s eyes were looking straight at her. “Yes, it’s you.”

“…Ah! Did you make changes to the heroine?” Fang Qiuye immediately clenched her fist and knocked on her forehead. “I’m so stupid! Why didn’t I think of this idea!? Right, I can totally write about a heroine who is a writer by profession! My God, teacher Gong, you solved my big problem!”

Gong Xuechang had difficulty breathing for a moment again. He always felt that something was not right.

“Teacher Gong, the new book that I’ve been stuck on has finally come to light! Thank you! I’ll pay for this meal. You’re welcome!” she exclaimed. “I’ll go back now and write this down, so I don’t forget! Bye, teacher!”

Fang Qiuye put the small notebook in her bag and quickly stood up.

Gong Xuechang: “…See you again…?”

How difficult it was to chase a girl.

Teacher Gong, who had an excellent family environment, first-class academic performance and excellent appearance, had never felt any difficulty since he was a child. He got enlightened late in this regard and never liked any girl, but since elementary school, he had received all kinds of love letters without a pause.

But now, he found out how difficult it was! Especially for some girls, the difficulty of chasing was comparable to translating a masterpiece.

After being told to watch the live broadcast, he even discovered the truth. This girl only treated him like a teacher… with respect. Not only did she invite him to meals, but after the live broadcast ended successfully, she would even invite him out to give him a big gift bag.

“I’m sorry, teacher Gong, I wasted a lot of your time because of my personal affairs,” she said. “Except for when I sleep, I really don’t have much time…

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I don’t know how to compensate you. Every time we eat, you would rush to pay, so I can only use my meager income to buy you some gifts.”

Gong Xuechang did not expect that he would receive an exquisite gift box.

“It’s not a very precious thing, but I think you might be able to use it,” she said.

Gong Xuechang opened it and saw a neatly placed keyboard.

“Last time you said that you often have to write papers and do translation,” she said. “It’s more tiring to type in English than in Chinese, right? So, I bought my favorite, most comfortable keyboard for you.”

Gong Xuechang listened to the last sentence and couldn’t help but feel a little enchanted.

“What about you? Are the royalties enough to live on?”

For someone who would wear their shoes until they turned yellowish, and someone who was lazy, she was probably on a tight budget.

Fang Qiuye laughed. “Don’t worry, my monthly fee has gone up!” she beamed.

“Congratulations. That means learning English is also useful,” he replied.

“Huh?”

“Although the sources of words and grammar are different, the language is the same. Learning the English word choice and sentence construction would also promote your Chinese proficiency.”

“Ah, it does? Then, I have to thank you even more.”

“No worries. It’s more important to keep learning and not to slack off.”

“Yes…” Fang Qiuye responded, blushing a little too. “Actually, I also have a request, teacher Gong… Can you continue to teach me? You know, Yaoyao wants to study further.”

Gong Xuechang was stunned for a moment. The corners of his mouth were slightly curved, but he quickly nodded seriously. “Yes. But how about changing to tutoring at home? We can save each other’s time. It will be 100% serious and more efficient.”

“Home tutoring…?”

“Yup, I’ve taken a look at it. Your home is very close to the school. I can come directly and bring takeaway on the way. This will save time the most,” he said. Gong Xuechang looked at the girl’s small notebook. “For now, you and I have to go to a restaurant. After the meal, I have to send you home and go home myself.”

Fang Qiuye blinked. “It makes sense. If we change it to home tutoring, only you have to come to my house, you don’t have to send me home, and it also saves you the time to go to the restaurant… Eh, but aren’t I taking advantage of you too much, teacher?”

“You pay for the takeaway.” Gong Xuechang spoke without hesitation.

Fang Qiuye smiled and said, “That works! By the way, let’s not get takeout. I’ve been less stressed recently. I can go grocery shopping in the morning, and I’ll cook at noon. I can’t let my teacher eat takeout every day. Would you like fatty liver? I can also cook a larger portion, and you can pack your dinner as well.”

Gong Xuechang squinted his eyes. “Sure,” he said. “When you cook, you can practice listening, and I’ll explain some grammar points to you.”

Fang Qiuye’s eyes widened. “Huh? That makes sense! Then I’ll go grocery shopping tomorrow!”

“Okay.”

Teacher Gong had a mysterious smile on his face. At the very least, their relationship had transitioned to him entering her home, eating three meals together, working together in the kitchen, and having a bento prepared for him…