The Favor of the French Goddess

When Hou Rui arrived at the French classroom on another floor of the teaching building, Li Lei and Ma Siyuan had already blended themselves into a group of girls and were talking animatedly, causing bursts of laughter from the surrounding girls. However, as soon as Hou Rui walked in, the girls began to ignore Li Lei and Ma Siyuan’s performance, clearly finding this class-skipping student far more interesting.

“Who’s that? Did he walk into the wrong classroom?”

“That’s Hou Rui from Photography Class Two. I saw the award-winning photo he took—it was in the school newspaper and on the forum.”

“Is he in our class? I’ve never seen him attend a single lesson.”

“No idea. Maybe he’s here looking for someone.”

While the girls whispered among themselves, Hou Rui had already quietly taken a seat in the back, looking as though he wanted to attract as little attention as possible.

Just then, a bespectacled girl finally summoned her courage and approached him. “Excuse me, this classroom is reserved for the French class. If you want to study on your own, you should find another place.”

“I’m here for French class too. My name is Hou Rui.”

“Hou Rui? But I’ve never seen you. This French class started last semester. Have you been skipping for a whole term?” The girl looked at him, incredulous.

“I had some things to take care of before, so I couldn’t make it,” Hou Rui replied, a little embarrassed by her astonishment, forcing a sheepish laugh.

As they spoke, another person entered the classroom. Immediately, Li Lei shouted, “Cheng Lin, over here! I saved you a seat!”

With at least 560 empty seats in the room, one had to wonder how Li Lei managed to say that with a straight face. Hou Rui, curious, glanced toward the door and instantly recognized the familiar waves of hair—it was the same seductive girl who had laughed at him on the street.

“No need, thank you,” Cheng Lin replied, already seating herself among a group of girls, responding to Li Lei only out of courtesy.

“No problem at all,” Li Lei replied with a sly grin, glancing smugly at Ma Siyuan, who was clearly frustrated at having missed his chance to speak first.

Soon, the French teacher arrived and began covering grammar and vocabulary on the blackboard. Lacking even the basics, Hou Rui was utterly lost, gritting his teeth and enduring forty minutes before deciding to give up on French and slip away during the break. At that moment, the teacher unexpectedly began calling on students—and the first name she called was Hou Rui’s.

“Number 35, Hou Rui, translate this passage.”

The classroom fell silent. Instinctively, Hou Rui raised his book to shield his face, praying, Don’t see me, don’t see me.

“Is 35 absent again? I haven’t seen this one since the class began. Someone notify the administration to strike his name; I won’t have someone taking up a spot and never showing up,” the thirty-something teacher said, marking her register.

“Teacher, Hou Rui is here today,” a student called out gleefully.

“Well, that’s a surprise! Stand up and let everyone get to know you,” the teacher said, her gaze quickly finding the unfamiliar Hou Rui. She set down her textbook, crossing her arms and eyeing him curiously.

The entire classroom turned to look at him, dozens of eyes silently fixed on Hou Rui, forcing him to stand up. “Hello, teacher. I’m Number 35, Hou Rui.”

“If you’re not interested in French, you shouldn’t have signed up. Since you did, you ought to attend class. This is your first time showing up, isn’t it?” the teacher scolded him bluntly.

“Actually, teacher, this is my second time,” Hou Rui corrected her, his voice barely audible.

“Oh? I don’t recall seeing you before.”

“The first time was just to sign up and register.”

“You—” The teacher pushed her glasses up, momentarily at a loss for words. After a few seconds, she continued, “You should value this learning opportunity. The other students can already manage daily conversation in French. You’ll have to ask them for help. I can’t slow the class down just for you. Sit down.”

Hou Rui collapsed into his seat as though granted a royal pardon. He silently vowed never to return to this wretched French class, but just then the bell for the break rang.

In an instant, Li Lei and Ma Siyuan, who had just been pretending not to know Hou Rui, swarmed over, their faces full of suspicion, eyes locked on him.

“Out with it! What’s your motive for suddenly attending class?”

“Are you here to compete for the girls? You already have a little police flower. Leave these branches and leaves for us!”

“That’s right! We’ll carry on your legacy and take good care of them.”

Hou Rui had no answer for these two. While stuffing his textbook into his satchel, he admitted defeat. “Fine, fine, you can have them all. I’ll leave, all right?”

“Bye-bye!” The two of them waved in sync, dismissing him.

“What are you all doing?” Suddenly, a clear female voice rang out. Without anyone noticing, Cheng Lin had appeared behind the three of them.

“Nothing, we’re just helping Hou Rui catch up on the lessons he’s missed,” Li Lei and Ma Siyuan instantly composed themselves, replying with righteous expressions.

Hou Rui wanted nothing to do with this farce, but before he could leave, Cheng Lin spoke to him as well. “What a coincidence—I’m here for the same reason. I’m Cheng Lin, the class representative for French. If you need help catching up, you can come to me anytime.” With that, she placed a slip of paper with her phone number on his desk.

“Oh, thank you,” Hou Rui replied, accepting the gesture since she had offered it so naturally.

“No need to be so formal—we’re classmates, after all! By the way, my WeChat ID is the same as my phone number.” With that, Cheng Lin turned and floated away, leaving behind a trail of jasmine-scented perfume stirred by her waves of hair.

The two onlookers were stunned. Li Lei and Ma Siyuan's eyes were wide as saucers, their jaws practically on the table.

“Wait, was that really School Belle Cheng Lin? Doesn’t she never talk to any guys?”

“This must be a dream—a nightmare! If I just sleep a bit more, it’ll all go away. Cheng Lin actually offered to tutor Monkey? Has the world gone mad? Heaven, are you blind?”

“Oh, come on, do you guys have to be so dramatic?” Hou Rui said, fanning himself with the slip of paper, unimpressed.

“What did you say? You dead monkey! You’re the enemy of all the male students at the Communication University! You’re a toad sullying the swan’s side! You’re a reincarnated womanizer!” Ma Siyuan’s face turned red as he launched into a tirade, his spittle only held back by Hou Rui’s textbook.

“Cheng Lin is the undisputed goddess of our university! That’s it, I’m cutting ties with you. From now on, our dorm 338 is off-limits to you. On behalf of all the boys in the class, I declare that we won’t speak to you again until graduation,” Li Lei lamented, watching Cheng Lin’s retreating figure, delivering his verdict with utmost sorrow.

“Whatever. I’m not dealing with you lunatics,” Hou Rui said, tucking the slip into his pocket. But as he tried to leave, Li Lei and Ma Siyuan pounced, clutching his sleeves tightly.

“Monkey, I'll do your dirty laundry for the whole term—let me see Cheng Lin’s number.”

“Out of my way! That’s not enough—call me Brother Monkey! Brother Monkey, I’ll wash your underwear too, just let me see that slip.”

“Brother Monkey, I’ll buy you lunch for a week.”

“Monkey Boss, two weeks of lunch and dinner, plus shoulder massages!”

“Monkey Grandpa, my—” Before the shameless Ma Siyuan could finish his outrageous offer, the bell rang. Break was over; Hou Rui’s escape plan was ruined, and he had to obediently return to his seat under the teacher’s special scrutiny.

This class was torture for Hou Rui. The news that Cheng Lin had volunteered to be his tutor spread like wildfire. Almost everyone kept shooting glances his way, curious to see what made him so special that Cheng Lin would set aside her aloofness for him.

Li Lei and Ma Siyuan, desperate for Cheng Lin’s number, stuck to Hou Rui like glue, fawning over him in class as if they’d had a sudden change of heart and now adored him.

Finally, the heavenly sound of the dismissal bell rang. Without waiting for Li Lei and Ma Siyuan to close in again, Hou Rui bolted from the classroom in a flash.

A few hours later, Hou Rui was back on the street handing out flyers as usual. But when he turned around once more, his expression instantly hardened—a familiar car had appeared at the corner of the street again.

Remembering Xiao Zhao’s advice: when a person or a car appears repeatedly, danger is near. Hou Rui didn’t know who was in the car, whether he was being paranoid or if something had changed on the organization’s end. Of course, there was an even greater risk—that a government agency had set their sights on him.

“Uncle Yang’s Locksmith, Uncle Yang’s Locksmith.” Hou Rui handed out two more flyers, then leaned against a lamppost to rest. Casually, he took out his phone, snapped a photo of the car as if by accident, and sent the picture to Old Xiao.