Rebirth and the Beautiful Soaring

When Yu Fei got home, it was almost nine o'clock.

Fang Yun was watching TV in the living room, bored. When she saw him push the door open and come in, she immediately looked up and asked, "Feifei, why have you been out for so long? Where have you been playing?"

Yu Fei plopped down next to his mother and laughed, "Mom, it was almost eight o'clock when I went out, so it was only a little over an hour. And I didn't go out to play; instead, the new math teacher dragged me out to help her move things."

Since he had run into Lin Yang earlier than expected, Yu Fei felt he should make an impression on his mother as soon as possible.

Fang Yun gave a soft "oh" and said, "Your new math teacher is Lin Yang, right? She's a top student who graduated from Huachen University and was the top scorer in the province's college entrance examination back then. Today is her first day of class. What do you think of her teaching level?"

Yu Fei wasn't surprised that her mother knew about Lin Yang, since she was in charge of that area in the Education Bureau. So she knew a lot about the teachers and the school. Besides, Lin Yang was a specially appointed teacher at No. 1 Middle School and taught their class, so of course she paid special attention to him.

Yu Fei replied in a serious tone, "Let me put it this way, she is the best math teacher I have ever seen, bar none."

This wasn't Yu Fei deliberately praising Lin Yang; she truly does have that ability.

The original teacher, Li Jun, was actually quite good, but people are afraid of comparisons. Compared with Lin Yang, the difference in quality is immediately apparent.

Fang Yun nodded and smiled, "That's good. Actually, I think highly of her too. Someone who can become the top scorer in the college entrance examination and gain recognition and special recommendation from a well-known domestic training company through part-time work in college is definitely not simple."

Yu Fei talked to his mother about some details of Lin Yang's teaching, and then, under his mother's questioning, made up a scene of moving things. Only then did he say goodnight to his mother and return to his bedroom.

As Yu Fei turned on the light, the exquisite carvings on the sandalwood box in his mind came vividly back to life.

Previously, he had said he would record the above scene of Phoenix Seeking Its Mate in the style of pen and ink sketch.

So he took out his pen and sketchbook and began to put his ideas into practice.

After being reborn, he practiced for many days, greatly improved his painting skills, and created a continuous stream of works, which made him more and more insightful about painting.

The image of the phoenix and the dragon soaring through the air in my mind was so graceful and beautiful, as if they had come to life.

This scene was captured entirely on a small piece of sketch paper, making it exceptionally poetic and picturesque.

Yu Fei titled it "The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate" and planned to secretly give it to his classmate Zhou Meihua when the opportunity arose.

Filled with anticipation for a happy future, Yu Fei quickly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the weather turned bad, and a light drizzle began to fall.

However, this gave Yu Fei a good opportunity. Under the cover of an umbrella, he gave his painting "Phoenix Seeking Its Mate" to his classmate Zhou Meihua on the street not far from the school gate.

To avoid attracting the attention of teachers and classmates, the two kept their relationship somewhat secret, which was quite amusing. However, their feelings for each other were conveyed through their loving gazes, and even a simple touch of their fingertips would stir up ripples of youthful passion.

Receiving a painting as a gift filled Zhou Meihua with immense joy, and before opening it, she would inexplicably wonder what the painting depicted.

With such high expectations, Zhou Meihua walked briskly to the classroom, holding an umbrella all the way.

Upon opening the painting, the lifelike image of a phoenix and a dragon chasing and playing in the sky immediately appeared before her eyes, which she found extremely beautiful.

She was a very intelligent young girl, so she naturally understood what "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix" meant.

Therefore, she seemed extremely happy.

"Meihao, why are you smiling so happily? What are you looking at?"

Zhou Meihua's deskmate, Li Hui, is a very gossipy girl. When she saw Zhou Meihua laughing so happily, she leaned over to look when asked what was wrong.

Zhou Meihua was about to put it away when Li Hui, quick as a flash, snatched the painting away and exclaimed as she looked at it, "Wow, who painted this? It's so lifelike, and it looks like it was drawn with a pen."

"Li Hui, give it back to me!" Zhou Meihua was very anxious because Yu Fei had inscribed it, and if she did, her relationship with Yu Fei might be discovered by others in advance.

"Hehe, no, I haven't seen enough yet!" Li Hui was not only gossipy but also quite good at teasing people. Seeing Zhou Meihua's anxious look, she teased her instead.

"Li Hui, how could you do this!" Zhou Meihua stomped her foot and had no choice but to snatch it directly. The two of them fought over it in the limited space, attracting the attention of other students.

During the struggle, the sound of paper tearing was heard, and the painting was torn in two.

Zhou Meihua felt as if her heart had been torn in two. Although she released her hand quickly, it was too late to undo the damage.

Li Hui was also stunned when she saw the painting being torn in two, her hands clenched in shock.

The torn piece of drawing paper fluttered in the air and landed at the feet of Lei Jun, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, who had just entered through the back door.

He picked it up and asked, "Zhou Meihua, Li Hui, what are you playing?"

Although Zhou Meihua was somewhat annoyed by Li Hui's unreasonable behavior, she quickly said, "Teacher Lei, it's alright."

Li Hui quickly replied, "Yes, we're really fine."

Lei Jun put the two halves of the drawing together, glanced at them briefly, and was filled with shock. The Phoenix Seeking Phoenix was painted with such skill that it was truly impressive. However, he remained calm on the surface and asked, "Then what happened? Whose painting is this? Why was it torn up?"

Zhou Meihua had no choice but to say, "Teacher, that was mine. I tore it by accident just now."

"Really? Okay, come to the office to pick up the painting after morning self-study. I'll help you put it back together first."

Zhou Meihua really wanted to say, "Thank you for your kindness, teacher, but it's not necessary," but Teacher Lei was known as "Tiger Lei," and probably no one would dare to refute what he said.

……

After Lei Jun left, Zhou Meihua said angrily, "Li Hui, are you satisfied now!"

Li Hui said apologetically, "Meihao, I was wrong. I just wanted to joke with you. I didn't expect Teacher Lei to come in through the back door."

"Oh well!" Zhou Meihua could only accept her bad luck. She felt a little sorry for the painting, but what she was most worried about was that her homeroom teacher would notice something amiss.

……

While Zhou Meihua was worried, Lei Jun took the painting back to his office.

By this time, almost all the teachers in the office had arrived.

Lei Jun quickly glued the drawing paper with transparent tape. When he saw Yu Fei's name on the inscription, the word "puppy love" immediately popped into his mind.