DCTMOAS Chapter 61

The line for the descent cable car took a full two hours.
Crowds packed tightly together, inching forward step by agonizing step, waiting for their turn to board.

Even though Chu Cheng had only joined the line halfway through, he got a full taste of the torturous, inch-by-inch limbo — not knowing when you’d finally get out.

Yu Siting stood beside him, face impassive, exuding the patience of a Zen monk. But Chu Cheng knew — if it weren’t for the “baggage” he was escorting, the man would’ve long since hiked down on foot.

As for the stamina of a fitness maniac like that, Chu Cheng had only one sentiment: I’m wildly jealous, but I refuse to say it out loud.

After catching the shuttle bus out of the scenic area, grabbing dinner, and checking into the hotel, it was already pitch-black outside. Compared to the lively energy earlier in the day, the guest rooms that night were utterly silent.

After reaching the summit of Mount Tai, the core purpose of the trip was complete. Both Lu Yan and Chu Cheng had completely burned through their physical reserves, leaving them with zero energy or desire to keep exploring.

The next day, during daylight hours, the three of them bought some local specialties as souvenirs for family and friends. Then they began their journey home.

Unlike the trip there, Yu Siting — mindful of everyone’s physical state — ditched the idea of self-driving. Instead, he opted for a direct flight, and arranged for a car service to retrieve his vehicle later.

The plane landed in Tingzhou that afternoon.
By the time they made it back to Fantian Scenic Residence, Chu Cheng was utterly drained. The very first thing he did after setting down his luggage was collapse into bed and bury himself under the covers for sleep.

In May, summer begins to creep in, and with rising temperatures came frequent thunderstorms.
A few flashes of lightning cut through the night sky, followed by a torrential downpour.

Tree shadows swayed outside the window. Thunder occasionally boomed — but none of it managed to disturb the slumbering man inside.
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that Chu Cheng finally stirred, waking up parched.

Aching waist, stiff legs, sore knees, shallow breath, even a sharp pain in his ribs — all the aftereffects of the previous day’s climb now hit in full force.

Ever since recovering from his illness, life had been a bit too easy. He’d used his post-op condition as an excuse to avoid rigorous exercise, drifting by in a haze of comfortable excuses.
Well, this trip had served as a harsh wake-up call.

Dragging his sluggish limbs out for water, Chu Cheng pushed open the door and unexpectedly saw Yu Siting sitting in the living room by the balcony.

He was dressed in a set of dark-colored silk pajamas, one leg slightly bent, sitting barefoot on the window seat, reading a book.
The sound of rain that hadn’t yet stopped acted as a natural white noise, wrapping around him like a soft cocoon.

“So you do have trouble sleeping after mountain climbing,” Chu Cheng said with some satisfaction. Seeing the normally disciplined man up this late made him feel a little better about himself.

Yu Siting flipped another page and answered calmly, “The thunder’s too loud.”

“Oh, I thought it was because your whole body aches like mine and you just can’t sleep.” Chu Cheng dragged a cushion over to the bay window, sat down, and tried to cross his legs like Yu Siting — only to abandon the idea because his thighs were just too sore.

“I saw you sleeping like a baby. Lu Yan even knocked on your door and you didn’t budge,” Yu Siting said, looking up from his book. “I told him you wouldn’t wake up before midnight, but he didn’t believe me — waited around and ended up falling asleep himself.”

Neither of them was wearing a watch, and the living room had no visible clock. Chu Cheng, skeptical, called out into the air, “Siri?”

“What time is it?”

“It is now 12:21 a.m.”

“….”

Chu Cheng had to admit — once again — that his sleep habits had been completely exposed. He raised his arms to stretch and sighed dramatically, “Good thing I don’t have work tomorrow, or I’d never get up.”

“Try this.” Yu Siting leaned down and pulled a fully charged massage gun from under the window ledge.

Chu Cheng took it and started thumping his calves and arms, then twisted around to reach his lower back, letting out a groan of relief.

“You’re wiped out from just this? Weaklings like you need more exercise,” Yu Siting remarked. Seeing him struggle to reach the right angle, he reached out to guide the gun to the right spot.

Though Chu Cheng didn’t love being lectured, he still accepted the help. Adjusting his position, he flopped down nearby.

Yu Siting ran the massage head along either side of Chu Cheng’s spine, following the direction of the muscle fibers, all the way down to his glutes.

“Tsshh, ease up — it hurts,” Chu Cheng whined softly.

Yu Siting glanced at where the massage gun was and raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me your butt hurts from hiking? Reflect on that for a moment.”

“I am not — ah~” The massage gun hit a sore spot, and his voice quivered.

“Stop moaning,” Yu Siting cleared his throat. His lips twitched slightly as he mumbled those two words, eyes drifting back to his book — not that he could focus on any line now.

Strangely, that low buzzing from the massage gun felt more distracting than the thunder rumbling outside.

A bolt of lightning suddenly lit up the room, silver light slicing through the curtain of rain and clouds, illuminating both of their faces at once.

While enjoying the massage, Chu Cheng propped up his chin and spread his fingers across the clear glass of the window, watching the raindrops streak down outside.

“Ohhh~”

“What now?”

Chu Cheng turned his head with a grin. “Look, it’s like Sikong Zhen^[1] just used his ult.”

“Childish.” Yu Siting let out a soft chuckle. He couldn’t concentrate on reading anymore, so he gave up on the book and focused on massaging Chu Cheng’s waist instead.

—

After two full days of being flat-out at home, the holiday balance hit zero, and the tired office worker had to return to school.

Honestly, that May Day break had worn him out even more than his regular workdays.

During the Golden Week, it seemed like everyone had traveled somewhere — all sorts of stories and experiences waiting to be shared. On the first day back, the teachers’ office was filled with little clusters of chitchat.

During the first class after lunch, Chu Cheng had just finished observing his mentor’s Chinese lesson. As he headed upstairs with his teaching materials, he happened to run into Mr. Yu in the hallway, and the two returned to the office together.

The Chinese and Math departments were only a few meters apart, and before they even got close, the sound of cheerful laughter could already be heard, though it was unclear which room it was coming from.

Yu Siting asked, “Your department?”

Chu Cheng listened closely to the mingling voices and picked out the distinct tone of a colleague. “Sounds like Ms. Xu from the desk next to mine.”

They continued chatting and approached the door. Sure enough, it was the Chinese department having a little “tea party.” At the center of the crowd was a new face that Chu Cheng had never seen before.

She was a woman who looked lively and witty just from her expression — somewhere between thirty-five and forty years old, hair tied in a short ponytail, a bit on the thin side, but with bright, expressive eyes behind her glasses.

She turned toward the door that had just opened and was about to wave enthusiastically, but paused awkwardly when she realized it was a stranger.

Then she spotted Yu Siting standing beside the door. Her smile returned as she greeted him warmly, “Mr. Yu, long time no see.”

“So it’s Ms. You back again.” Out of politeness, Yu Siting stepped forward. As he reached Chu Cheng’s side, he added, “This is Mr. Chu, our new Chinese teacher.”

“Oh, so you’re the new teacher for Class 7. You look so young — I wasn’t sure if it was really you.” She smiled as if she’d already heard of him and greeted him warmly.

Chu Cheng returned the greeting with a polite, “Nice to meet you.”

Immediately, the rest of the teachers in the room chimed in to help make introductions.

From their conversation, Chu Cheng learned that this was Ms. You, the teacher who had been on maternity leave.

She had taught at No 10 High School for over ten years. Due to poor health and a high-risk pregnancy at her age, she’d taken an extended medical leave from work.

Now that her health had recovered and her baby had been born safely, she was inviting colleagues to a baby celebration banquet.

Even with just a brief chat, Chu Cheng could tell she was a warm and easygoing person — no wonder she’d gotten along well with Yu Siting in the past.

During the break, Han Rui came over from another class to ask Chu Cheng about homework, only to be surprised by Ms. You’s presence. She lit up with familiarity and chatted with her for quite a while.

When she heard Ms. You was healthy enough to return to teaching, she was clearly delighted. But then, she seemed to realize something else…

If Ms. You was coming back, then… what about Mr. Chu?

Word among students always traveled fast. By the afternoon, the news that Ms. You would soon be returning to her post had already spread through Class 7.

“So next semester, is Ms. You going to replace Mr. Chu?”

“I love Ms. You too, but I really don’t want Mr. Chu to leave. Ugh, what do we do? This is so stressful!”

“Will the academic office really change our Chinese teacher every semester?”

Once the news got out, the students started speculating. Whenever Chu Cheng walked into class, he’d occasionally catch snippets of such discussions. But truth be told, he didn’t have any answers himself.

Because up to this point, he hadn’t received any instructions from the school leadership. But the fact remained — Class 7 would be moving up to their final year next semester. As a newcomer temporarily filling in, his lack of experience compared to Ms. You made it unlikely the school would assign him to teach a graduating class.

All those guesses and worries sat heavy in his chest, making him feel a little anxious.

To be honest, he didn’t really mind if he was reassigned to a different class. What he minded — selfishly — was not wanting to leave this class.

At dinnertime, Chu Cheng was too distracted and forgot to order food in advance, so he had to wait until the student rush died down to squeeze into the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Yu Siting had been pulled into an impromptu meeting by Director Yang and also missed dinner. So the two ended up eating together.

While they ate, Yu Siting noticed the dazed look on the man across from him and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.” Chu Cheng didn’t reveal the truth. “Just that I’ve fallen behind on my lesson planning. I was thinking of catching up during evening study hall.”

“Oh, so it’s that. Not what I thought.” Yu Siting said it lightly. Then, after a brief pause and catching him off guard, he casually added, “First-year students are easier to teach, you know.”

Chu Cheng absentmindedly hummed in response, idly counting rice grains on his plate. Then he paused, realizing what had just been said. He looked up. “Hm?”

Yu Siting found him cute and couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t you even want to ask why the leadership pulled me aside just now? We’re literally having dinner together — not going to take the chance to ask?”

“I can already guess. Why bother asking?” Chu Cheng sighed, leaving the rest unsaid.

As far as hiring decisions went, the homeroom teacher definitely had some say. Chu Cheng wasn’t lacking confidence in earning Mr. Yu’s recommendation — he just didn’t want to put him in a difficult position, given all the competing considerations from the school.

Seeing the slight gloom in Chu Cheng’s expression, and the way his eyelashes trembled faintly, Yu Siting asked seriously, “Is it me you’ll miss… or Class 7?”

“……” Chu Cheng paused for a second, then answered softly, “Both.”

Moved by his honesty, Yu Siting decided to share what he had just learned. “Director Yang said Ms. You’s baby is still very young, and her own health is still fragile, so she’s officially requested to be moved to a first-year class.”

Chu Cheng’s head shot up. “Then what about Class 7?”

Yu Siting said, “Leadership didn’t want to deal with the mess — said it’s my class, so I should recommend someone myself.”

Chu Cheng asked, “And who did you recommend?”

Yu Siting chuckled. The usual sternness in his gaze was now laced with something softer. “Don’t ask questions you already know the answers to.”

He didn’t say it, and yet — he said it.

That unspoken understanding alone was enough to smooth the worry from Chu Cheng’s brow. He grinned down at his food. “But would the school really let a rookie like me take on such a big responsibility?”

“Do I not exist anymore?” Yu Siting raised an eyebrow.

“Mm,” Chu Cheng poked at the scrambled eggs on his plate, “You can’t exactly teach Chinese in my place.”

Yu Siting took his last bite and wiped his mouth, his tone suddenly serious. “As a senior colleague, let me offer a word of advice to the newbie. Third-year students aren’t easy — you need to be mentally prepared. But remember, the biggest academic pressure isn’t on your subject. So keep your work sharp, but stay relaxed in spirit.”

“You’re already starting my training?” Chu Cheng muttered under his breath.

Yu Siting put on a mock authoritative tone, “I wasn’t finished. Don’t interrupt your homeroom teacher.”

Chu Cheng raised both hands in surrender, an expression that said, “Go on, I’m all ears.”

Yu Siting covered a smile with his fist and continued, “One more thing — don’t try to shoulder everything alone. If anything comes up, you should come to me right away. That’s how it should be.”

Chu Cheng blinked, looking up at him. “That last bit of advice… what position are you saying that from?”

“As someone…” Yu Siting paused for a moment, “who really likes you, and is actively pursuing you.”

Even though the cafeteria was mostly empty by now, Chu Cheng still nervously glanced around. His ears, usually pale, instantly turned bright red.

---

Author’s note:

Chu Cheng: Damn, that was a straight-up confession.

Big Brother’s Kink: Watching Mr. Chu blush.

Step One: Make him blush from anger
Step Two: Flirt until he blushes
Step Three: @c&%/…… (censored chaos ensues)