Take My Breath Away

Like the other girls in the classroom, Debbie was so deep in thought that she hadn't been paying attention while Carlos was giving a lesson. 'Wow! He is so handsome. His voice is so sexy and charming. He's got a perfect body. He looks like a prince...'

"Well, I'd like to have a student sum up what I've just said," Carlos stated.

Most of the girls couldn't contain their excitement. They raised their hands and waved at him to draw his attention.

Everyone but Debbie was hoping that they would be the lucky one.

"The first from the left in the 8th row. Please stand up and tell us what you've learned so far." His attractive voice had hardly faded when the girls whipped their heads to look at the area he was pointing at. To most, the girl whose name got called was favored by fortune.

When they saw who the lucky dog was, they started gossiping amongst themselves.

"Isn't she the girl who was guarding the door before the class started?"

"Exactly. She is Debbie Nian from Class 22."

"What? She is Tomboy? She is so pretty. No wonder she is so popular."

Meanwhile, the girl everybody was talking about was still lost in her own thoughts.

She thought of the night when she slept in the same bed as Carlos, and she blushed red like a spring rose with an awkward smile on her face. After a few seconds had passed and there was still no response from Debbie, Kasie, who was sitting next to her, nudged her back to her senses.

"Um? What's up?" asked Debbie. 'Why is everyone looking at me like that?' she wondered in confusion.

Kristina, who was sitting next to Kasie, said in a light voice, "Tomboy, Mr. Huo wants you to answer his question. You need to sum up what he has just said."

Debbie's heart leapt into her throat. 'What he has said? But I wasn't following anything...'

Embarrassed, she stood up slowly and flipped open the book in front of her on the desk. But she was unable to utter a single word.

"Since you've failed to answer my question, come here and stand on the platform," Carlos demanded in a calm voice.

'What? Stand on the platform?'

Despite the confusion in her mind, Debbie left her seat and stepped on the platform.

Carlos, with a straight face, pointed to a corner and said, "You need to stand there and listen to my lecture until the class ends."

Debbie's eyes flew open as rows of heads turned to face her.

The spot Carlos was pointing to was only three meters away from the screen. If Carlos stood on the left of the platform, they would be standing very close to each other -- she would be within half a meter away from him.

Debbie was mortified, frozen to the spot. Feeling embarrassed, she couldn't believe what had happened. It wasn't the first time she had been punished by a teacher. In truth, nine out of ten teachers would not dare to punish her even if she had done something wrong in class. And if the remaining one did dare to ask her to stand on the platform, she would just turn a deaf ear to it.

Several minutes had passed, and Debbie was still standing there frozen like a statue. However, an icy glance from Carlos' eyes gave her chills.

'Hmph! You jerk! How dare you look at me like that! Did you forget what you did to me last night? What a two-faced buffoon!' she cursed inwardly.

Soon, the horrifying memories of the time he had left her alone in the cemetery crept into her mind and gripped her with fear. Shuddering in horror, she bit her lower lip and reluctantly walked to the corner specified by her damn husband.

'This must be his revenge! He must be enjoying this a lot! Wow! What a petty man!'

Once Debbie stood in the corner, Carlos asked another student to answer his question. A short giggle escaped Debbie's mouth when she saw that his next target was her friend.

"The second from the left in the 8th row. Stand up and tell us what you've learned so far." The unfortunate soul was Kasie.

'If she can answer the question, I'll walk backwards the whole day, ' Debbie swore to herself.

Fortunately for Debbie, she didn't need to do that. Kasie was far from being considered an exemplary student. In fact, she was one of those students who had been enrolled through the backdoor. Having failed in answering Carlos' question, she was asked to stand next to Debbie.

Debbie felt much better now as she had her good friend's company.

Much to their surprise, soon their another close friend, Kristina, also joined them on the platform.

Contrary to her two friends before her, Kristina actually answered the question, but since she failed to stress the essentials, she failed to please Carlos.

The three girls were embarrassed to find themselves being put up as an example for the rest of the class. But when they saw each other in the same awkward situation, they couldn't help giggling.

As for the remainder of the class, most of the girls pretended to be inattentive, in hopes of being questioned by Carlos, so that they could stand on the platform as well. They thought that Debbie and her two friends were lucky to be standing so close to him.

Unfortunately, Carlos didn't ask anyone to answer his questions after that.

He was giving lectures with the help of slides he had prepared at home, which he displayed on the big screen for everyone to see. During his lecture, he stood in front of Debbie with his back to her.

They were so close to each other that she could practically count his hair.

"An idle mind was the devil's workshop" was an old saying befitting Debbie's current state. Bored to tears, she grabbed Kasie's hand while counting Carlos' hair.

"Debbie Nian, could you please repeat what I've just said?" His cold voice successfully brought her back to her senses.

'What? Not again!' she cursed in her mind. "Uh... You said... I..." she stammered, not knowing what to say, and regretting not having listened to him when she had the chance.

Kasie, who had been attracted by Carlos' handsome face, failed to answer the question like Debbie had. Kristina, however, gave the correct answer this time. Carlos was indeed a good teacher who knew how to explain complicated theories in a more simple manner. As long as Kristina paid attention to what he was saying, she immediately understood what he was teaching.

Carlos put his book down on the desk and said, "Good job, Kristina Lin. You may go back to your seat now. Kasie Zheng and Debbie Nian, I want to see the both of you in my office after the class. This is a very important topic for your final exams. I'll try and discuss it with you two alone until you can full grasp the concepts."

The rest of the students were shocked by what Carlos had said.b

'Mr. Huo will teach them alone?!' How they wished they could have the opportunity to spend some time with him alone!

90% of the girls were envious of Debbie and Kasie because they also wanted to spend time alone with Carlos. As for the rest, they were straight-A students and wanted to be instructed by him, because he was a really good teacher.

What happened next was beyond Kasie's imagination. Excited, she held Debbie's arm and entered Carlos' office, but was dismissed by him immediately.

"Kasie Zheng, you've listened to me carefully. So there's no need for you to stay here. You may take your leave now," Carlos said with a friendly smile.

Still in a trance, Kasie nodded and said, "Okay."

She turned around and left the office obediently, as if she were hypnotized by him. Soon after, the sound of the closing door coming from behind her brought her back to her senses.

'But I didn't listen to a single thing he said in class! What's more, Debbie's still in there...'

At this moment, Tristen, Carlos' assistant, walked up to Kasie. Pushing up his glasses, he smiled. "If you don't have anything else to report, you may go back to class now."

"But Debbie is still in there," she answered anxiously.

"I believe it will be good for your friend to be taught by Mr. Huo alone." Tristan was simply implying that Carlos wouldn't be too happy if Kasie knocked on his office door now.

Kasie was not witless and she understood his point immediately. Despite her fear of Carlos, her concern for her friend prevailed. Thinking about the conflicts between Debbie and Carlos, she asked, "Will Mr. Huo do something to Debbie?"