A deep black professional outfit wrapped around the woman's curvaceous, supple figure. Emily Morgan crossed her arms over her chest, habitually tapping her upper arm with her index finger in a rhythmic manner. "My name is Emily Morgan. Starting today, I will be your Chinese teacher and homeroom teacher for Class One. Now, please put down what you're doing and follow me to the fourth floor for a physical examination."

Brian Harper secretly nudged Eric Bennett, smacking his lips. "Our homeroom teacher is way too pretty, huh? Ah, these next three years are going to be sweet." The other students reacted much the same as Brian Harper, their gazes not quite right.

Eric Bennett let out a soft sigh, a deep sense of melancholy sweeping over him, unable to calm down for a long time.

Just like Brian Harper, he too had fallen in love at first sight.

On this very day in the past, Eric Bennett fell for someone he shouldn't have—his teacher, Emily Morgan!

The vast difference in family background, the gap in status, the constraints of morality and ethics—all of it made the self-abasing Eric Bennett unable to confess to her. And so, nine whole years passed like this, until the moment he died in a car accident, he never got the chance to say "I like you" to Emily Morgan.

This regret was an eternal pain in his heart!

After everyone followed Emily Morgan up to the fourth floor, Eric Bennett paused for a moment, glanced around, then stuffed a love letter he had written the night before into the folder Emily Morgan had brought for the lesson plans. Only then did he let out a heavy sigh of relief and quickly caught up with the others without looking back.

Making this decision had taken Eric Bennett quite a bit of inner struggle!

He knew he wasn't worthy of her, but Eric Bennett didn't want to have any more regrets!

"Boys, go to the classroom on the left. Girls, go to the right. Line up and don't make a mess." After giving her instructions, Emily Morgan stood there patiently waiting, not saying another word.

Eric Bennett stole glances at her, his heart pounding wildly, imagining how she would react when she saw the love letter. A wave of inexplicable fear surged up, making him extremely nervous.

The best outcome would be that Emily Morgan was attracted by his literary talent, happily accepted his feelings, and after he turned twenty-two, they would get married and have children. Uh, cough cough, admittedly, this possibility did exist in theory.

Next best, Emily Morgan would sternly reject him and never speak to him again.

The worst-case scenario: she would hand the love letter over to the school, and then things like calling his parents or disciplinary action would follow, maybe even expulsion. After all, in the traditional social atmosphere of 2001, a student writing a love letter to a teacher was a serious transgression.

Heaven or hell?

Actually, at the moment he sent out the love letter, all of this... didn't seem so important anymore.

Eric Bennett had to take this step, or else he might only ever live in those past memories, never... able to move forward.

Chapter 7: Chinese Class Representative

After measuring their sizes, Emily Morgan led the students back to Class One's classroom without saying a word. Once she had everyone's attention by clapping her hands, Emily Morgan smoothed a lock of hair by her temple and tucked it behind her ear. "Let's put off the seating arrangements for now. Everyone, please introduce yourselves so we can get to know each other." She placed both hands on the lectern, pressing down right on the folder where Eric Bennett had put the love letter, making Eric Bennett break out in a cold sweat.

"I'll start." A gentle female voice spoke up first. "My name is Emma Carter, I graduated from No. 15 Middle School, my best subject is Chinese, and I like reading novels and listening to music. I hope we can all become good friends."

Eric Bennett was taken aback, quickly sizing up Emma Carter. At first, he thought his memory was failing him, or maybe Emma Carter was just unremarkable and hadn't left an impression on him. But now, it was clear that was impossible.

This girl named Emma Carter had a SONY headset clipped to her front, and she was quietly beautiful. Maybe because of poor health, her complexion was a sickly pale, but the corners of her mouth held a reserved, faint smile, giving off a serene vibe.

Very pretty, and with a lot of character.

A girl like this... would never go unnoticed anywhere.

Eric Bennett fell into deep thought...

Next, eager to show off in front of Grace Cooper, Brian Harper quickly introduced himself, rambling on for quite a while with little logic to his words.

The rest, Eric Bennett already knew: the outgoing Lily Grant, the aloof Grace Cooper, the gossip girl Bella Ford, the homebody Ryan Hudson...

Finally, it was Eric Bennett's turn. He avoided Emily Morgan's scrutinizing gaze and slowly stood up. "I'm Eric Bennett. I have a lot of hobbies, but my grades aren't that great, so I hope everyone can help me out." In truth, when it came to literary skills, after working as a publishing editor for several years, Eric Bennett was no worse than Emily Morgan, the Chinese teacher. But he was never one to show off, nor did he like to boast.

He always felt that if he acted too capable, others would inevitably have expectations of him, and to Eric Bennett, those expectations were nothing but a burden and pressure.

Low-key, humble, polite.

That was Eric Bennett.

Emily Morgan nodded in satisfaction, her expression serious as she opened the folder. "Now let's arrange the seating. We'll go by student number. When I call your name, come up and sign, then take a seat starting from the seats by the wall, one by one..." Before she could finish, Emily Morgan's voice suddenly paused, her slightly suspicious gaze falling on the folder.