RAW and Creampie Tales of Mine

[zaktroll]

Unrelated story from my time in China:

After divorcing, I took on work in China, since no reason to stay, right? Crazy exposure overseas... Really thankful to be back in Singapore! I became a "foreign teacher" around Yunnan and Guizhou, running workshops for promising high school students... You can see where that's going.

Most work days start super early and end super late. My workshops run first for teachers, then for students. Most of the schools I handled were quite badly built. Everywhere was just so packed with students and staff, despite facilities obviously needing major upgrades... So the schools were always under renovation. It was nuts.

Anyway, my workshops handled graduating students and teachers for the "real world". Because of the China firewall and govt policies, foreigners like me come in to update the teachers on global trends and technologies. It was seriously fun to show them what GenAI could do, watching their reactions at each output. Once the teachers were trained, then I run a similar workshop (after much censorship...) for students. It was at one of these workshops that I met Chun 春.

Most teachers seriously wayang a lot. At first I thought they were sibei enthu about these ECA, but seeing how NOBODY can recall anything I taught, I just learned to play along and design easier quizzes that anyone can pass. My main focus became the students. Especially since the school gives me one student to be the class monitor (i.e. personal assistant).

It was in Yunnan.

At one of the smaller city schools, very chilly during the autumn to winter transition as I had forgotten my coat that day... I stepped into school out of my DiDi, grateful the driver was exceptionally chatty and kept me going for the entire drive. Past the gate, I saw several older adults and a bunch of students milling around the entrance. I remembered nothing except Chun, who the teachers boasted was their school's flower with the best grades and CCA results. It also helped that she was immensely attractive in a good blend of pretty and cute despite sporting a stereotypical schoolgirl ponytail and straight fringe.

In her school jacket and tie, I felt heady just glancing at her and remembered nothing about those first introductions. She just stood out that much, in an ocean of humans that were regularly putting on airs, faking it, and looked very forgettable. I wasn't even surprised the teachers and principal appointed Chun as my class monitor. Her crisp british twang and soft chinese lilt was very soothing for the semester we worked together. Furthermore, that was also easily the largest cohort I ever handled, as the school was comparatively lax in security; parents and grandparents would mill in during the late afternoons, sitting in to try and understand the workshop sessions. Without Chun, the administrative load of preparing and reviewing workshop materials would have been overwhelming. Just making prints and photocopies alone could take an hour assuming the machines don't break on me!

In the first week, with such a heavy load, I often reminded her to go home early, since she always stayed until it was almost dinner.

But always, her reply was a polite "这是我的责任。老师别担心。” (TL: It's my responsibility. Teacher, don't worry.)

Even when her friends came to look for her, she would still politely ask for my permission to take a break instead of disappearing as most students did with a sheepish excuse.

But gradually, as days passed, I noticed many small things about her... How her smartphone was a much older Huawei. How her socks were always loose and needed her to pull them up frequently. How her schoolbag was patched up at the corners. How her uniform just seemed a little too tight and hid a sewn patch at the napes of her neck. How she always chose the cheapest possible combination of veggie dishes at the canteen. In so many ways, she reminded me of my schoolboy days, when my family had nothing and slept on the floor until we collected enough thrown-away furniture from neighbours. But Chun was thoughtful about her reputation and image, so it was often difficult to give her a treat, which would not invite censure from teachers and classmates.

So I got crafty. I left little things under her table in the musty office we shared.

It started with a bottle of high-protein chocolate milk that I saw most students drinking. When I first heard the gentle crack of the bottle crack opening, I smiled to myself without looking at her.

The next day, I packed a plastic box of popular sichuan snacks, a pack of beef jerky, and a small meal I could order through Meituan app. I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, but Chun that day... wasn't as stoic and quiet. She seemed more cheerful in handling the class with me from morning until early evening. That evening in the office, after I returned from the toilet, I found her plastic box on my table; empty except for a paper note doodle of a cute smiling girl with a ponytail. I closed the box carefully - with an audible crack! - and was sure that Chun was smiling behind me.

I was smiling too, but I did not turn to look at her.

That friday afternoon passed peacefully, with excited students chattering outside and the loud lazy drawl of elderly downstairs as everyone left for home. "Chun ah," I looked up and cleared my throat suddenly, "Do you want to go off now? It is friday. I'm sure you have plans with your friends."

"Oh," she said from her table in the corner, "Teacher, I am quite comfortable being in school. Don't worry." (OG:啊，老师，我习惯在学校。别担心。)

My thoughts raced furiously for several seconds. I thought about how her parents never seemed to be around. How other teachers avoided mentioning her family at all costs.

"Then, how about this," I pretended to sound lost, "Teacher is new to your city. I heard that after turning 18, students like to find a part-time job, right? If you be my guide for dinner and show me around your city, this can be your part-time job."
(那么，这样吧。。。老师刚来你的城市。我听说成年18后，同学们都喜欢找个兼职工，对吗？如果你做我的导 游去个好吃的地方，又带我参观夜景，这可以是你的兼职工。”

I heard her shift in her plastic chair for a second.

"Ah," she seemed uncertain, "But it is against the rules to go out in our school uniform."

"Then, that is no problem," I said with the confidence of an adult, "Buy any clothes that you like on my phone and have it delivered here."

"Ah, this sounds good, but..." She sounded a lot more enthusiastic now that the school rules weren't an issue...

"Don't be like that!" I pretended to groan piteously, "Your teacher will starve to death. Take my phone and buy your clothes now!"

She pounced up quickly and snatched my phone with a squeak.

An hour later, a confused delivery rider later, and the sun was already setting as Chun and I stepped out of school calmly and bid our goodbyes to the security uncle. Chun was dressed in stylish loose jeans and a cute pastel yellow blouse.

"As always, you worked late again," the security uncle waved at us while smoking like a chimney.

"Of course, because students are always studying hard, adults must do the same!" I replied cheerfully.

"You're bringing class monitor out?" Uncle remarked.

"Of course," I said insistently, "Whoever studied and worked so hard? I should at least buy her a meal."

The uncle looked thoughtful for some seconds. Chun pretended not to hear anything while looking at the sunset. I pretended not to notice anything.

Security uncle waved again, "That one... Take her to have a good meal!"

At that, we both walked out to wait for our DiDi taxi. Although we were both silent, I felt comfortable. I took a step back to lean against the fencing, discreetly admiring Chun from behind. Again, I felt heady just looking at the side of her face, cast aglow by the sunset over the mountains. Clouds streaked far towards us from the horizon, a scenery that could not be put into words. Her long hair was silken from this angle, but in reality, I had noticed it was sometimes greasy and frizzled as if she could not afford conditioner or shampoo. Despite all of that, I shared in that long moment of silence with this graceful beauty.

"Are you thinking about dinner?" I asked.

"Yes, I am worried it might be too far. Teacher might starve to death."

This girl... She's finally learned to joke? I scoffed and took out something from my backpack, "It's ok if I starve a little. But seeing you starve, my heart aches."

She turned around at last to look at what I was handing her.

Something very familiar to her after this past week.

A bottle of milk.

She looked up at me, our eyes meeting for the first time since we met after a whole week. I didn't dare to move as she almost flinched from my quiet gaze. Backlit by the sun's rays, Chun's brown eyes were in shadow, seemingly filled with a lifetime of emotions. The mountain winds gusted past her hair briskly as I stoutly held my unspoken concern.

With shaking hands, Chun received the bottle of milk. “。。。谢谢。” She murmured politely as always, a familiar audible crack in the air as she opened the bottle.

"Ah," I said suddenly, "The car is coming."

With sudden zeal, Chun chugged the small bottle of milk and chucked it into the nearby bin with more force than I had seen her exert.

I opened the car door for her and smiled to myself. Thankfully, the DiDi driver caught onto the mood with a glance in the mirror and didn't say much. We reached the restaurant that Chun had chosen rather quickly (my stomach growled embarassingly loudly twice), which turned out to be a rather posh place. I raised my eyebrows. Chun seemed flustered at my reaction, "Ah, teacher, if this place isn't good, there is another one."

"No, no, this is a good choice. It's quiet and so we can chat properly," I reassured her quickly, "How did you find it?"

"I saw it some time ago and saved the place in Little Red Book 小红书 (XHS)," she said with a relieved smile.

Chun was finally smiling.

She dazzled.

I palpitated as I grinned unconsciously like a foolish boy, finally out of a stressful work environment. I made up my mind there and then to get her the best damn dinner that night. An older waiter brought us to our seat, where I ordered off the QR menu without further thought. It's for Chun after all.

Chun, who was always considerate of others.

Chun, who thoughtfully prepared footnotes on several pages to help explain my presentation to a foreign audience.

Chun, who made thoughtful questions in class to guide me and everyone else together.

"Oh, right," I said in mock seriousness as food quickly arrived, "I hope you have a big appetite. Teacher almost starved to death, so I might have ordered too much."

"What?!" She tried to play off her hunger when a whole cut of steak arrived with a whole steamed grouper, "Well, I'll try my best, but teacher should know that most girls don't eat much you know." A waiter magically appeared to skillfully slice up the portions. Hell, China has been amazing in so many ways... But its service is OUTSTANDING when it counts. Barely a minute later, Chun was staring down a MASSIVE cut of steamed fish with lightly cooked vegetables proffered before her.

She looked at me, almost like a goldfish, all table manners forgotten.

I grinned and nodded at her. I tucked into my own plate seconds behind her. We didn't speak until many long minutes later, except when I chuckled at her gasp once the lotus leaf covered treasures arrived in a sizeable basket. Oh, except there was also the moment when she dropped her chopsticks and bumped her elbow trying to pick them up. Ah, and also that instance when she sloshed up her second bowl of pork knuckle soup onto her rice enthusiastically.

I felt like a giddy schoolboy again. I kept trying to restrain myself, trying to remind myself of my adulthood, trying to stay calm, but I was plunging off a cliff for this girl who had a lifetime and a world ahead of her. Trying. Trying. Trying. Heaven's sake, she was barely 19 at this point. Or 18? I wasn't sure. But I was pulled to her, the same way her fellow schoolmates and other teachers just seemed to gravitate around her presence. It was a game of who blinks first... loses.

[zaktroll]

I blinked.

Then, we were on a discreet alfresco rooftop bar, seated by a corner as if we were dating, while she was awkwardly holding a drink far too close to me.

"Wait! Are you of age to drink??"

"... Teacher, actually... I don't know how to say this... I am 20 years old."

"Oh, that's really good... What a relief. But if you don't want to drink because you are worried it will affect your studies, it is ok, I'll get something else."

She looked at me, her soulful brown eyes puzzled, "Teacher, you don't mind? I already 20..."

"Oh... Well, it is very young..."

She looked at me as if I was out of my mind. Then, she suddenly giggled - a startlingly girlish gesture that seemed so unlike her.

"Teacher ah... Actually, you are the first to say that. Everyone else has only told me that I started my schooling too old..." Her eyes again carried a lifetime of emotions, uncertainty, and weariness.

Right at that moment, it clicked for me. This was the same kind of pressure I had seen in my teenage days from sec sch and JC. We must finished 'O' Levels at 16. We must do 'A' levels at 18. We must graduate from uni in 3 years. All of those societal expectations from my youth came rushing back at Chun's expression. It was like looking into a mirror of myself, worn down by carrying the burdens of society and family upon myself in stoic silence.

Stoic like Chun always was... Because to hope for something better was to risk being crushed.

I held up my own drink to clink against hers... "Chun ah, you are the brightest and most earnest student I've met after traveling around the world for so many years. You are also the most attractive girl that I've observed. Everyone in your school wants to be near you and cares about you... But it is just that the way they show their concern is too clumsy and crude. Like caring for a newborn bird, they are holding too tightly... You feel suffocated... Right?"

Chun was quiet for many long moments, the mountain breeze toying with strands of her hair. She was a still painting, serene waters with deep emotions.

I felt too unsure.

But then she suddenly broke the stillness by gently sipping from her glass, frowned, and then took a bigger gulp. I sat up anxiously, but she murmured, "Oh, very sweet!"

"Slowly," I reached out... And her hand reached for mine.

"Teacher..." Her voice wavered in the breeze, "Thank you for taking care of little Chun... Little Chun sees everything you do for the students, and feels sorry our teachers are doing so little with you. Don't hold it against them. I promise I will be the top in the exams soon, so you won't be disappointed."

"Chun ah..." I curled my fingers around hers, uncertain what to say.

"If little Chun does well, take me with you??" she blurted out fiercely. I sat very still and held her gaze.

"Chun ah..." I saw her obvious desperation, fear, anxiety... "It is time you tell me about your family... Won't your parents be worried about you being with such an old man?"

"No, you're definitely fitter than all the men and and boys in school!"

"Chun ah..."

She looked afraid, but I held onto her hand firmly... kindly. "Little Chun..." I said affectionately, "Do you trust Teacher?"

“嗯。” She affirmed and wiped silent childish tears, "I... don't have parents. They made me work a lot, often beat me, and I ran away because they won't let me go to school. I only have my grandma here, but she is very old... But she let me go to school and takes care of me very well. You know my results in school... If I don't study hard, then I won't have anything left."

I took a deep breath, nodding, and reflected on how I had pieced the puzzle together through daily observations. "Then, Chun ah..." I smiled gently in the night, "I want little Chun to be by my side too, but only if you can stand on your own two feet proudly. Because I don't want anyone to look down on my little Chun, saying that she ran away with a rich man."

Chun nodded firmly, and I observed her cute precious face keenly.

"So... Chun ah... You can come with me if you are the top in your school. I will teach you how to obtain the best scholarships," I paused for a moment, thinking several steps ahead... "But this journey is also a difficult one, even if you are by my side. Little Chun, I'm sure you know you are a very cute and pretty girl. I'm sure you know by now that many boys and men want you too. You might regret choosing me, since a wealthy second generation boy can also give you and your grandma a good life. What do you think?"

"...But then, I will be their prisoner. I won't dare to live. I will always be afraid of offending them and losing everything," She said firmly, "I had been treated like this once before. And the boy I liked easily threw me aside for other girls because I spoke my mind too freely about his behavior. I won't do it again, Teacher. So I want to be my own person, with someone who is kind and thoughtful. Am I not a person too? (OG:我不是人吗？）"

I entwined our fingers together and leaned against her within our booth, looking deep into those brown eyes, her lifetime of emotions finally laid bare to me. My heart felt so full to bursting, and my eyes were moistened with unshed tears. I held onto hope for the first time after divorce, glad to be with someone that just wasn't chasing condos, HDBs, and fast cars. But now deeply moved to have met someone who cared about life and shared the same desires as I do.

I turned my face to Chun, conscious of my scratchy beard, my gruff voice from a lack of sleep, and feeling so inadequate for her.

Little Chun beamed at me, and leaned up to plant a kiss on my lips, the sort of kiss that you could only do because you had never ever had a kiss in your life. Lips pursed close, naively pushing up and forwards too much, almost as if to headbutt. Our noses bumped up HARD, and then she giggled nervously as she fell back. I sat up astonished, and DEFINITELY blushed hard in the dim light over that distant mountain scenery.

"Ah, you silly girl... Like this," I chided her softly and then pressed our bodies closely, my arms fully embracing her for the first time in a long while. Fully embracing our souls, I felt her shivering in my hot embrace, turning her reddened face away from me, so I held her for many long seconds while she clutched onto my shirt desperately.

The music was almost faint compared to the wind, but the singer sung of a lost soft love from the springtime of youth.

From Spring. From 春。

I nudged her chin up gently with a curled finger. And then met her tightly pursed lips with my own. Finally, I felt her melt against me as my lips parted against hers, almost kneading, almost a murmur, almost a prayer. Our lips spoke what we could not. That our love was still in its springtime, yet to thaw and find a gentler warmth in the wintry harsh reality of life. That we wished for something different that would last beyond the seasons of life.

Chun moaned messily into my mouth. I met her moan with tongue, pressing into her tentatively. We lost ourselves in that eternity.

Almost a lifetime later, I came to my senses and pried myself away from Chun, honestly very glad to have paid for this corner of the bar outside.

"Chun ah, it's late."

"Teacher... Can't I stay with you tonight? I..." She met my eyes with a sense of shame...

"Hm... Did you make any promises with friends over the weekend?"

Chun nodded almost as if sulking about those promises.

"Chun ah, you can't be like this. We can still meet, but you have to live up to your words. A person is only as good as their words, right? And have you discussed matters with your grandma, who had been taking care of you all these years?"

She looked down, deeply ashamed. I stopped then. She's the top in her school, and has learned a lot through my workshops over many days. Saying any more would just be cruel.

"But... Teacher will wait for you. So do your things properly. Okay?"

Chun nodded and buried her face into my open arms. I held her and kissed the top of her head. When she finally recollected herself, we made our way down to leave. I made sure to send her home first, since it wasn't too far from the school, before heading back to my apartment and collapsing into bed.

Out of all the friday nights I had in China, this has had to be the only one that was genuinely life changing.

[iHairyAss]

Welcome back TS, thanks for continuing the story.

[CrazyKriss]

Welcome back.. keep up the nice story....

[funfox]

We nice share. Thanks TS 👍🏼