Chapter 96: The Smell of Gunpowder
A few early orioles were fighting for a warm tree, and a new swallow was pecking at the spring mud.
Spring came early this year. At the end of the month, the day and night were equal, and a warmth was born. The heavy clothes could be changed. Everyone could finally see their beloved Teacher Tong in her proper yet seductive little suit, hip-hugging skirt, and black stockings again. It was clearly very modest and didn’t show anything, but everyone just liked this kind of restrained beauty.
Tong Yao opened a drawer in the office and was surprised to find an envelope with a line of small words written on it, “For Teacher Tong.”
…No way?
“Dear Teacher Tong, from the first moment I saw you, I was deeply attracted to you. I have never seen the goddess Muse, but I now believe that Teacher Tong is her form on earth. You are so beautiful, kind, gentle, and knowledgeable…”
A thousand words, signed by a boy with a low presence. Her heart was unmoved. This was the third one since she started teaching. The final result was nothing more than adding another person to talk to.
That afternoon.
“You need to focus on your studies right now. Your admiration for your teacher is actually just an illusion brought about by the sense of distance and the difference in status. The teacher is actually not as good as you think…”
Before she could finish, the boy in front of her’s eyes were red.
“Teacher Tong, I will wait until after graduation to pursue you again.”
“Don’t be like this… the teacher will be in a difficult position.” Tong Yao was sweating. This was the third one. How many students’ hearts had she unintentionally stolen?
“Teacher Tong, do you already have someone you like?” the boy asked with a trembling voice.
Why am I being treated like an idol… Tong Yao paused, and with a reserved and perfunctory turn of her head, she said, “…Mhm.”
The boy was as if struck by lightning.
“Oh, I see…” Finally, he lowered his head and left in disappointment.
Tong Yao let out a long sigh, not knowing if it would get out. Actually, it would be good if it did, to make these children give up on the thoughts they shouldn’t have.
What, then are the thoughts between her and Ruan Ruan the ones she should have?
That’s an uncontrollable emotion…
“Tsk, tsk, look at how sad that young man is.”
A familiar voice entered her ears. Tong Yao looked up and was stunned.
“Lu Bingjie?”
Lu Bingjie had an unfathomable look on her face. She took out her phone and played a video.
It was the video of Tong Yao and the vice principal arguing at the meeting that day.
“You recorded it?” Tong Yao was surprised.
“Not bad, right?” Lu Bingjie said with a grin. “You were so cool that day. I’m so annoyed with her. As soon as she came, she found the choir I was leading and made us practice the songs she had chosen. Next week, the higher-ups are coming for an inspection, and she wants the choir to sing loudly at the window so the leaders outside can hear and ‘think’ that we are practicing seriously.”
“So you’re going to post the video online?” Tong Yao looked at her. “Don’t. The impact will be bad.”
This was a matter of No. 1 High’s reputation. If it were to be exposed online, many people would probably criticize the vice principal’s style, but the vice principal could just leave, and the negative impact on No. 1 High would remain for a long time. Others would say that with such a leader, the school would definitely go downhill.
Her feelings for No. 1 High were quite deep. She had attended high school here before.
“How could I be so stupid?” Lu Bingjie pouted. “The surveillance will show that I recorded it. At least I’ll wait until a month later when the surveillance is deleted.”
“That’s also… but I don’t want to become the focus of netizens’ discussion,” Tong Yao rolled her eyes. “But not posting it, and just using it to annoy Lou Yu is not bad.”
“Lou Yu… she hasn’t given you a hard time these past two days, has she?” Lu Bingjie asked with concern.
“I have to be a homeroom teacher for another week. They said the teacher from the branch campus can’t come for now. I don’t know if it has anything to do with Lou Yu,” she said grumpily. “But to be honest, regardless of all this crap from above, teaching Class 1 is quite simple. Just two words, worry-free.”
“Then you’re teaching so many classes a day. Your throat must be uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay, I drink a lot of water,” Tong Yao smiled. “Maybe I’m just gifted. Besides, Teacher Fan also teaches three classes. She can handle it even at her age.”
The two classes that Teacher Yang had originally been in charge of, one was given to Tong Yao, and the other was given to Teacher Fan from the grade group.
“She’s been teaching for a lifetime…” Lu Bingjie said. “Never mind, let’s not talk about this. Did you know that the school has hired new teachers for the spring semester? There’s an English teacher, a returnee, fashionable and fresh. Hey, do you think English teachers are all quite fashionable?”
“It seems so…” Tong Yao thought for a moment. “After all, the culture they learn is different.”
She, who taught math, was a scholar, and in the future, she would be an old scholar. But English teachers were different. Most of the English teachers at No. 1 High were young women who liked to adopt Western ways. They were not allowed to speak Chinese in class, and the students would call them “Miss Zhang” and the like. The thinking of the teachers and students was also more in sync. They could catch the jokes, and the main thing was a happy classroom.
And the new Principal Lou was very inclined towards quality education reform, intending to let the students “develop comprehensively,” and even intended to reduce make-up classes. This might work in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, but in Hunan, which was about to reform to the national exam… they were just waiting to die.
She didn’t want the college entrance exam results to be bad, and then the higher-ups would blame the principal, and the principal would blame the teachers.
After chatting with Lu Bingjie for a few more words, she went back to preparing her lessons.
The results of the entrance quiz were already out. She took a quick look. The first in the grade was still Xu Yin, with a perfect score in math. The average score of Class 1 was the first. And Ruan Ruan, this time, was one hundred and sixtieth.
As long as she’s stable.
In the top two hundred of No. 1 High, you don’t have to worry about not getting into a good university.
Evening self-study.
As a homeroom teacher, she had an extra job. She had to patrol the class from time to time, looking through the small window at the back to see which brat was not being serious, or quietly entering from the back, and she could often confiscate a novel or a comic.
But today, when she looked at the podium, she found that there was no teacher sitting there.
She frowned, opened her phone to look at the schedule. It was the evening self-study of the biology teacher, Luo Xiang.
Where did he go?
She asked a student in the back row and confirmed that no teacher had come for more than ten minutes. She thought maybe he had a stomachache, so she waited for another five minutes. She couldn’t wait any longer and asked on WeChat.
No reply.
She was a little annoyed. How could a teacher be absent without asking for leave or explaining the reason? What did he think of the students?
She directly called him. It didn’t go through, so she kept calling. After three calls, it finally went through. She could smell the drunken smell even through the electromagnetic waves.
“Teacher Tong, I’m drinking with the director.”
“Drinking? Teacher Luo, you have an evening self-study session this class. Don’t you remember? So many directors, which one are you talking about?”
“Hello?”
She realized that the call had already been hung up.
What kind of person is this!
She was furious. She had long heard that some teachers would skip evening self-study for various reasons, especially drinking. But it was only after becoming a homeroom teacher that she knew how serious it was. And some old teachers liked to show off their seniority in front of new teachers. Compared to this, a teacher occasionally coming to class with the smell of alcohol was not as bad.
She had no choice but to sit at the front herself and supervise this evening self-study session.
Her face was not good, and even the students who came to ask questions were very careful. Realizing that she had brought her emotions into the classroom, she quickly adjusted and forced a smile.
Tong Yao finally realized why being a homeroom teacher was a trial.
**
“Teacher Luo.”
There was no one else in the office. Tong Yao had specifically chosen this time. “Yesterday’s evening self-study…”
“Ah, that matter,” Luo Xiang suddenly touched his head and smiled. “Sorry, the director insisted on drinking with me yesterday. I couldn’t help it…”
“Then I hope you can find a time to make up for the evening self-study,” Tong Yao said. “I have an evening self-study session tonight. I’ll just consider it a switch with your class from yesterday.”
“This… tonight, it might not be possible,” Teacher Luo seemed to be in a difficult position. “You know, the biology competition these past few days, the director has been looking for me. The school values this competition. We were surpassed by Changya last year. How can that be? So…”
“Then when are you free?”
“This… it’s hard to say, hard to say. Teacher Tong, I’m sorry.”
A smiling person is much harder to deal with than a person who has torn off their face.
Tong Yao looked at him for a while and suddenly said, “I’ve checked. Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, you have evening self-study sessions. I hope you won’t miss a single one.”
“Haha, definitely, definitely,” the man smiled indifferently, thinking to himself, go ahead and snitch. I’m drinking with the director. Let’s see how the school can punish me.
“It’s best if you’re definite,” Tong Yao also smiled. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to explain to the parents.”
Luo Xiang’s expression changed instantly.
Tong Yao’s hand left the desk, and she left briskly.
Other homeroom teachers might have swallowed their anger in this situation, but she was not afraid of offending people. She would no longer simply rely on her superiors, on the school’s management system. She had already realized that as long as she was liked by the students and her teaching results were excellent, she would be recognized by the parents. Then, the parents would be her sharpest weapon. An angry parent could even overturn the school.
No matter if this was Lou Yu’s show of force, she had taken it.
**
On Saturday, there was a commotion in front of the school’s main gate. At the usually low-profile bulletin board, a group of students had gathered.
“Holy crap, who is this? He looks so stupid mopping the floor.”
“Haha, monkey, there’s a picture of you washing the dishes.”
Many students were watching the show. Ruan Xi also found her own in the many photos. In the photo, she was cooking. It was taken the first time she learned to cook. She didn’t know when her mother had given it to the school.
The students knew nothing about this activity, but seeing these exhibited photos, they all had only one thought in their minds—
So stupid.
Only elementary school does this, right?
At the same time, a piece of gossip was circulating among the students of Class 7—Teacher Tong had offended a leader.
The first to say it was Xu Hao. The little fatty’s mother was a Chinese teacher in the grade and could always get first-hand information. He had told Jiang Yiming first and had even said, “Don’t tell anyone else.” But when Jiang Yiming saw that Ruan Xi was unhappy because Teacher Tong was unhappy, he was also unhappy and sold the news in the blink of an eye.
Who did Teacher Tong offend?
Why did she offend a leader?
The students had their own guesses. Their thinking was simple and exaggerated. They were afraid that Teacher Tong would be taken advantage of by some fat old man.
“Is the news accurate?” Ruan Xi immediately found Xu Hao and asked.
Being questioned about his reliability, Xu Hao was not happy. This was his only advantage in the class. He patted his chest and said, “It’s absolutely true. She directly argued with the leader!”
Seeing that Ruan Xi was not speaking, he asked in a small voice, “Do you want to help Teacher Tong?”
I do.
Ruan Xi pursed her lips and lowered her head. She had been dreaming of helping Teacher Tong for once.
Even if Teacher Tong didn’t need it.
How to help?
They were just ordinary students. How could they fight against a leader who was like a great demon king?
She suddenly let out a breath and asked, “Can I tell others? Let more people know about this.”
