48 Hours a Day

Bai Qing subconsciously hid the phone behind her and saw the male teacher she had run into earlier.

The latter smiled. “Great. I was thinking about whether you would come here,” he said. “I thought about it again, and I believe that it’s only right to pay you more. Your phone has been severely damaged, and I’m afraid the three hundred yuan I gave you just wouldn’t cover it.” Looking at the shop owner beside him, he took out his wallet from his pocket. “How much does it cost to fix?”

“Eight hundred yuan,” the boss replied with a candid undertone.

To which, the teacher frowned. “That much?!”

“That is the official price of a screen replacement,” the owner stated with confidence.

“Would that be the original and official screen?”

“Of course it is.” The shop owner quickly pointed to the Apple-authorized repair point signboard.

The male teacher snorted, “Are you really using that pointless signboard to scam us? Every single mobile repair shop has that signboard hanging outside their shops. Whenever I look at the Gaode Map, I see these fake ‘Apple-authorized’ repair shops everywhere. I can’t even find the official stores anymore.”

The shop owner merely sneered.

“The screen that you are about to sell to his lady is definitely not an original product,” the teacher went on. “Four hundred yuan. Take it, or we leave.”

“Brother, you pushing me to the edge here. I only run a small business, and I don’t make as much profit as you think. At that price, I can’t make anything at all…”

It was impossible that the shop wouldn’t make a profit, but slashing prices from eight hundred yuan to four hundred was too large a gap. Undoubtedly, the owner wasn’t too happy and blamed the teacher for being too nosy. Disgruntled, he grumbled, “Fine! I’ll take the deal. Pay me the four hundred yuan later.”

After dealing with the overcharge, the teacher looked at Bai Qing again and found she showed no gratitude on her face. Instead, it displayed one that was of nervousness.

“I haven’t seen you before. Is this your first time here?” asked the teacher, attempting to break the awkward atmosphere. “There should be classes in school today.”

“I… took leave.” Bai Qing took two steps back until she backed into a glass cabinet.

“Really?” The teacher blinked repeatedly. “What is your relationship with director Gao?”

“How did you know I met director Gao?” Bai Qing asked, caution evident in her tone.

“Don’t be so nervous. I’m just trying to make conversation with you,” the teacher shrugged. “Uncle Zheng, the security guard, told me about you.”

“Does this matter have anything to do with you?”

“No, just like I said, I’m just trying to chat with you.” A touch of helplessness flashed across the teacher’s face. “You don’t seem to have a good temper.”

“That’s because I don’t like chatting with strangers,” retorted Bai Qing almost instantaneously.

“Okay,” the teacher nodded. “Initially, I wanted to wait until your mobile phone got fixed, then escort you home.”

“Thank you, but I have a pair of legs, and I can go home myself,” Bai Qing replied, her tone plain and straightforward.

At that time, even the shop owner had noticed the argument. He popped out his head to check on them, yet still couldn’t figure out how the two were connected.

Taking a step backward, the teacher raised his hand, signaling Bai Qing to calm down. “Okay. Fine. I won’t ask you any more questions.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“How rude! How did your parents educate you? You didn’t even thank me for your repair bills. How could you say something like that to me?! Suit yourself. I will leave now.” The teacher turned around and walked out of the shop.

Bai Qing let out a sigh of relief the moment she saw he was gone. In desperation, she urged the shop owner to fix her mobile phone as soon as possible. She had wanted to call Zhang Heng earlier, but the teacher unexpectedly interrupted her. The second class should have already started by now, so Bai Qing had to wait again.

Another twenty minutes passed, and the shop owner failed to fix her mobile phone within the promised time.

Bai Qing, meanwhile, was only becoming more and more anxious. After she discovered director Gao might have actually been replaced by an alien, she now felt suspicious about everyone. With Children’s Palace only 200 meters away, Bai Qing was unsure if her acting managed to fool Director Gao.

She thought she did quite well in the storeroom, though she dared not admit it flawless. In retrospect, it was too much of a coincidence that her phone broke the moment she arrived at Children’s Palace. It prevented her from contacting Zhang Heng, and at the same time, the repair shop owner who was taking unusually long to fix her phone had become increasingly suspicious of her.

Bai Qing had been urging the owner non-stop to hurry up with the repairs.

The shop owner was sweating profusely. Perhaps it was the constant pestering. Her phone should have been fixed some time ago, but it kept getting delayed. Bai Qing could not remember how many times she urged him to speed-up. When she looked back, she spotted a suspicious Mini parked opposite the street.

She could not see the driver’s face but a hunch told her he had looks of the teacher who had just left.

When Bai Qing asked the owner the same question again, the man became a little annoyed. “What’s the hurry? Anyway, I’ll fix it for you before the afternoon. Perhaps you might want to pay the nearby mall a visit in the meantime.”

Upon his reply, Bai Qing was finally determined to do something. She snatched her mobile phone from the owner and dashed out of the shop.

The boss was left in shock for half a second. After a while, he reacted and shouted from behind, “Hey, where are you going? It hasn’t been fixed yet! Aren’t you going to pay me?”

By then, Bai Qing was already long gone. As she hurried out of the shop, she glanced at the Mini. The person inside the car was staring back at her as well. The two of them looked at each other for a short while, and almost instantly, Bai Qing started running. It was then that she heard the sound of the engine.

Bai Qing was already in a state of extreme panic, unsure if the engine’s sound was from the Mini. With no hesitation, she dashed into the adjacent neighborhood, trying to get rid of her pursuer. After running into two different junctions, she started to lose her sense of direction. At which time, she spotted an exit. When she ran towards it, however, she was befuddled to find herself back at the planetarium’s front entrance.

Director Gao happened to be standing in front of the door, talking to the guard, and she looked like she was heading out. Bai Qing quickly turned and walked away, but the Mini turned into the path at the end of the road she was walking on.

The fear in Bai Qing’s heart rose to its climax.

Right at the critical moment, an arm pulled her close to the newspaper stand. Bai Qing almost screamed until she saw the person who pulled her. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school? Why are you here?”

“I sent you a WeChat message, but you didn’t reply. I was worried something might’ve happened to you.”

“Don’t worry. I have come up with a perfect excuse for myself to leave the school.”

After that, he fixed up Bai Qing’s messy hair, and gently, he said, “It’s okay. I’m here now.”

However, when Zhang Heng touched Bai Qing’s forehead, she unconsciously stepped back.