AN: From now on I'll try to use AI for editing because some words are incorrect spelling or grammar is not good but its definitely not an AI. I'll assure you.
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Another day, another school. But for Mu Xiaoxiao, this particular day was special. It only happened once a month—or, if the situation was right, once a week. Today, the stars had aligned in his favor, and he found himself standing in the corner of the gymnasium, posture straight, eyes forward, ears wide open. The afternoon sun streamed through the high windows, casting long shadows across the polished wooden floor. The smell of rubber mats, disinfectant spray, and old sweat lingered in the air. And in front of him, with arms crossed firmly beneath an impressive chest that strained against her navy blue track jacket, stood Ootani Kaho—his busty, green-haired P.E. teacher.
This was his training ground. Not for physical endurance, not for speed or strength, but for something far more challenging to his sanity: the relentless, hour-long reprimand. He had been developing this skill for months now—the ability to withstand constant scolding without flinching, without talking back, without his eye twitching even once. It was a martial art of the mind, and Ootani Kaho was his unwilling master.
"Are you really listening to me right now?" Ootani Kaho couldn't help but ask Mu Xiaoxiao, her emerald ponytail swaying behind her as she tilted her head in frustration. Her hazel eyes narrowed with that familiar mixture of exasperation and genuine concern that he had come to recognize over the past semester.
"I'm listening," he replied, maintaining perfect eye contact and a pleasant smile. In through the right ear, out through the left. Let nothing settle. Let nothing stick.
She sighed heavily, the sound carrying the weight of a teacher who genuinely cared about her students—even the frustratingly impossible ones. Her gym uniform stretched taut across her generous curves, but her expression was all business: furrowed brows, pursed lips, and a glint of maternal disappointment in her eyes that could make even the most rebellious student feel guilty.
"It's for your own good," she continued, pacing slowly in front of him like a general inspecting a soldier. Her sneakers squeaked against the gym floor with each step. "You can still be like this in school—skipping warm-ups, talking back, sleeping during health lectures—but what are you going to do when you enter society? You think your boss will tolerate that attitude? You think your coworkers will appreciate your constant joking?"
Mu Xiaoxiao nodded along, his expression unchanged. Right ear, left ear. Out, out, out.
"Youth memories are good," Ootani Kaho said, her voice softening just slightly as she stopped pacing and faced him directly. "But you shouldn't waste your potential like that. You're a scholarship student, Mu Xiaoxiao. Do you understand what that means? It means someone believed in you. Someone thought you were worth investing in. Don't prove them wrong."
Even though she knew—she absolutely knew—that her words would go inside Mu Xiaoxiao's right ear and out through his left, she still patiently advised him. That was the kind of teacher Ootani Kaho was. Responsible. Dedicated. Genuinely invested in her students' futures. Even if she was just a P.E. teacher, she took her role seriously.
Thirty minutes down. Thirty to go. Mu Xiaoxiao's auditory endurance had improved significantly since he'd started this unconventional training regimen. At first, ten minutes of scolding had made his eye twitch uncontrollably. Fifteen minutes had him checking his phone. Twenty had him mentally composing grocery lists. But now, after months of practice, he could weather a full hour with nothing but a pleasant smile and an occasional nod.
"Kaho-chan, I'm already a rich guy," Mu Xiaoxiao said, breaking his silence with practiced nonchalance. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hands in his pockets. "Even if I don't work a single day in my life, I'm not going to starve. So you don't have to worry about my future. It's already secured."
She stopped pacing. Her right eye twitched—the same twitch he used to have before his training.
"You cannot call me Kaho-chan!" Her voice rose an octave as a crimson blush crept across her cheeks like wildfire. She pointed a finger at him accusingly. "It's Ootani-sensei. Sensei! Understood? We've been over this a hundred times!" She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, then added, "And stop lying! You're an international student on a full academic scholarship—a complete free ride! I've seen your student file, Mu Xiaoxiao. I know exactly how much money you don't have."
He grinned, and something in his expression made her blush deepen. Ah, there were two big reasons he kept coming back to these monthly meetings. No, correction—four big reasons. Two on her soft heart, two in her firm back that won't yield. But he would never admit that out loud. Not yet.
"But I'm telling the truth," he insisted, leaning against the wall behind him with effortless confidence. The wooden panels creaked slightly under his weight. "As a matter of fact, I could easily cover your daily expenses. Your rent, your groceries, that fancy protein powder you buy from the specialty health store, those expensive running shoes you've been eyeing online—"
"Nonsense!" Her face had now turned the color of a ripe tomato, red and glowing. She planted her hands on her hips, a pose that only accentuated her figure further and made Mu Xiaoxiao's gaze dip for just a fraction of a second before returning to her eyes. "And stop teasing your teacher! It's rude, you know? Extremely rude! And it's completely forbidden for a teacher and student to have any kind of relationship beyond the professional. Do you understand how much trouble you could cause me?"
"I'm an adult." He pushed off from the wall, taking a slow step closer. The distance between them shrank from ten feet to eight. "You're an adult." Another step. Six feet. "That's called freedom. Two consenting adults can do whatever they want."
She retreated half a step backward, her sneakers squeaking again. "That's—that's not how it works in education! There are rules! Professional ethics! A code of conduct! I could lose my teaching license if anyone even suspected—"
"Ethics don't keep you warm at night, Kaho-chan."
"Ootani-sensei!"
"Kaho-chan."
She growled in frustration, a sound that was somehow both threatening and adorable. Her green ponytail whipped around as she turned away from him, then immediately turned back, unable to commit to retreat. He took another step forward. The gap between them shrank to four feet. Her breathing quickened visibly, her chest rising and falling beneath the track jacket, and she suddenly found the wooden floor extremely interesting.
"Why do you even come to these lectures?" she asked quietly, finally looking up at him through her lashes. Her voice had lost its sharp edge. "You never listen. You just stand there smiling like an idiot for an hour and then leave. What's the point?"
"Because you're worth listening to," he said softly. "Even if the words don't stick in my memory, the person saying them does. Your voice, your expressions, the way you care even when you're angry—that stays with me."
Her lips parted slightly. No words came out.
"And because," he added, his voice dropping to a warm murmur, "I like watching you get flustered. It's cute. The way your ears turn red first, then your cheeks, then your neck. Like a thermometer of embarrassment."
"I am NOT cute!" She stomped her foot like an angry rabbit, the sound echoing through the empty gymnasium. "I am a professional educator! I am thirty-two years old! I have a mortgage and a car payment and I yell at children for a living! Nothing about me is cute!"
"Who's blushing."
"I have a medical condition!"
"Right now?"
"Shut up!"