She approached him with small, quick steps. "Thank you for what you did today," she said earnestly. "I'll return your jacket tomorrow. I washed it at lunch." She couldn't stand the thought of it carrying that smell.

"No rush," Chen Yu said, his eyes lingering on her. "What was your name again?" He genuinely hadn't paid attention.

"Feng Yiman."

"Oh~ So it's Manman." He chuckled.

The affectionate nickname made her blush. "Um, I should go."

She'd only taken a few steps when she heard a girl call Chen Yu's name from behind. "Who were you talking to just now?"

Glancing back, she saw the same girl Chen Yu had been cozying up to in class. Then she heard his reply, "My deskmate, Old Feng."

A wave of mortification washed over her. He'd just called her Manman so sweetly, and now it was Old Feng? Could he be any more embarrassing? And the speed of his transformation was truly astounding.

"I'm home," she mumbled, listless, as her mother greeted her from the kitchen.

"Welcome back!"

The morning had been…unforgettable, to say the least.

In her room, she untied the jacket from around her waist and tossed it aside. Pulling off her pants, she saw a large stain. She quickly changed into clean clothes.

Taking the soiled clothes to the bathroom, she started to soak them, only to discover a fist-sized, rust-colored stain on Chen Yu's white T-shirt.

Panic set in. What was she going to do?

Her mother, knowing it was her daughter's time of the month, called from the doorway, "Did you stain your pants? Just soak them. I'll wash them later."

"It's fine, I can do it myself."

She was old enough to handle this herself.

She used a lot of detergent, but the bloodstain on the T-shirt wouldn't budge. She hung it up to dry, hoping for a miracle.

At dinner, her mother asked about her first day. Feng Yiman replied that it was unremarkable, much like her previous school. Except, at her old school, she'd always had a prime seat. Here, she was stuck by the door. 

She didn't mention this, though. The homeroom teacher had promised to change her seat in the afternoon. Even if it wasn't a prime spot, it couldn't be worse than guarding the door.

But the afternoon passed without a sign of their homeroom teacher. The math teacher informed them that their teacher had gone into labor and was at the hospital. He would be taking over temporarily.

So much for a new seat. The math teacher was just a temporary substitute; he'd only handle directives from the administration. Something like changing seats wasn't his concern.

Their homeroom teacher looked about seven or eight months pregnant. If she had to stay on bed rest until the birth, plus maternity leave, it would be at least six months.

She sighed.

Chen Yu, sensing her despair, leaned over his desk with a grin. "Looks like we're stuck together for a while, deskmate."