Chapter 98: A Peaceful Life
The warblers were flying, and the grass was growing in the third month of the year.
It was the mating season for animals again, and the students were also getting restless. After the evening self-study session, the number of young boys and girls walking on the dark sports field had clearly increased. Most of them were alert enough, always paying attention to their surroundings. A small number of them were so engrossed in their affection that they would be caught by Director Zhang from the Student Affairs Office. A flashlight would shine on them, like cracking down on vice, making the hugging boys and girls quickly separate.
Unfortunately, a student from Class 1 was caught.
Tong Yao was first surprised, and then annoyed about how to deal with it. The two students who were caught usually looked quite well-behaved. The boy was thin and tall, with some acne on his face. The girl wore glasses and was quiet. The two of them entered the office, both looking flustered.
Tong Yao sighed. They’re high school students, after all. No self-control. They don’t rest after school, but go on a date instead.
Actually, if it were adults, how much better would they be if they were in a relationship? It’s just that no one would be in charge of them.
“You two are quite bold,” she sized up the two students. “Director Zhang said you were kissing in the center of the sports field. Do you think it’s very romantic?”
The two kids were too scared to speak.
“When did you start dating?” Tong Yao asked calmly.
The two students looked at each other. The boy swallowed and looked up. “Last… last semester.”
“Before the mid-terms?”
“After…”
“Alright,” Tong Yao opened the report card for Class 1 on her computer. “Wang Zijian, in the last three exams, you were 57th, 60th, and 55th in the grade. Okay, quite stable. Yang Liu, you were 39th, 47th, and 68th. A little bit of a regression. Do you think it’s because of the relationship?”
The girl named Yang Liu immediately cried.
“Teacher Tong… please don’t tell my mom. Her thinking is very feudal. She’ll scold me to death…”
“Teacher Tong,” Wang Zijian was also tough, clenching his fists and saying, “I was the one who pursued her. Don’t blame her.”
“Alright, you two star-crossed lovers,” Tong Yao had a headache from listening. “Wang Zijian, can you use your brain a little more on your studies? Your mom told me you played games all winter break. Your grades haven’t dropped, so I won’t say anything, but if you work a little harder, your grades won’t just be like this. You have a talent for studying, but what about Yang Liu? She’s been affected by you. What will happen in the college entrance exam in the future?”
Wang Zijian fell silent. Yang Liu said with a sob, “I-I’ll adjust…”
—Sigh.
Tong Yao couldn’t bear it and didn’t know how to handle it for a moment.
Force them to break up? Who could be stopped in this information age, not to mention that they saw each other every day? She wasn’t the Queen Mother of the West.
Tell their parents? This was probably the right choice. But the parents’ reaction was unknown. Would it cause harm to the children’s physical and mental health? Would it have the opposite effect? What should an excellent teacher do?
Tong Yao was confused.
This wasn’t a pure love where they would blush just from holding hands, but a puppy love where they had already kissed.
“Do you know what’s most important for you at this stage? It’s studying. You have more than a year left. Even if you’re together every moment, it can’t compare to two identical admission notices,” she sighed. “I won’t be your homeroom teacher for much longer. How about this, I won’t tell your parents for now, but I’ll be watching your monthly exam results. If there’s a significant drop, I’ll tell the next homeroom teacher and have your parents come. Do you agree?”
“Yes, yes!” Yang Liu was overwhelmed with gratitude. “Thank you, teacher!”
Wang Zijian lowered his head and also said, “Thank you, teacher.”
“Go back,” she rubbed her temples. “Get your grades up first, and don’t get caught again.”
The two children opened the door and revealed a young woman standing at the entrance. The children were startled, tucked their tails between their legs, and slipped away. The woman smiled teasingly and walked towards Tong Yao.
“Teacher Tong.”
Tong Yao rubbed her eyes and looked up. “Ah, it’s you.”
Lou Huan.
This person had performed very well in the second chance the school had given her. Now she was starting her internship, sitting at the back of the Class 7 classroom every day, listening to the old teachers’ lectures and taking notes. When there was a vacancy one day, she could start teaching a class.
These days, Lou Huan would always come to find her and ask about some things to pay attention to when entering the profession. She would tell her everything she knew. It was the first time in her life she had been a senior, and she had a strange sense of satisfaction.
“Teacher Tong, you’re not going to tell their parents? About them dating,” Lou Huan held her lesson plan and tilted her head.
“You heard?” Tong Yao opened her mouth, then said helplessly, “I have no choice. It’s my first time being a homeroom teacher, and I have no experience.”
“I think it’s better to tell their parents,” Lou Huan said seriously. “What if something happens to them because of their relationship? The parents might blame you.”
“What could happen from a relationship…”
“They could get pregnant,” Lou Huan smiled slyly.
Tong Yao was stunned and turned her slightly red face away.
“No way… they should have that much sense. And, I’ve already promised them I won’t tell their parents for now. Let’s wait until after the monthly exams.”
Tong Yao never went back on her word and rarely made promises, except to Ruan Xi. When she was with the young girl, her restrained heart seemed to have been unshackled. She wanted to warm that child with her embrace, but when she held her, she… was also very warm and reluctant to let go.
“Teacher Tong, you’re just too responsible,” Lou Huan smiled. “No wonder they like you so much.”
“Who?”
“The students,” Lou Huan bent down and said in a small voice. “I heard you offended my aunt.”
Lou Huan didn’t hide anything from Tong Yao and had laid her cards on the table after a few days of getting along. Tong Yao didn’t really care. She wouldn’t take her anger out on others because of Lou Yu.
“Which teacher told you?” Tong Yao asked.
“Not a teacher, a student,” Lou Huan said. “I listen to the class at the back every day and I’m quite familiar with them. Some people said that the vice principal wanted to take advantage of you and you slapped her. They actually don’t know which vice principal it is. My aunt was so angry when she heard it.”
“How did it spread like that… it’s too ridiculous.” Tong Yao silently felt sorry for the other male vice principals who had been implicated.
“Some people know my aunt. Last time I gave a review class, as soon as my aunt entered the back door, someone said, ‘The old virgin is here.’ Her face changed.”
She couldn’t get angry even if she heard it, otherwise, it would be admitting it.
And she couldn’t target Tong Yao, otherwise, it would be confirmed.
Tong Yao was speechless. She didn’t even know what these students had done behind her back. To say she was relieved, she was a little, but it also made her seem like a big villain.
“Your aunt… is she okay?” she asked with mixed feelings.
Please don’t let her get sick from anger.
“Her anger had already subsided when I went to see her,” Lou Huan said. “I know, you two argued at the meeting. My aunt… she’s a bit formal. Her work has always been like that. She’s also going through menopause, and sometimes her temper is a bit big. If she did something wrong, can I…”
“Alright,” Tong Yao waved her hand. “It’s not a big deal… The conflict between her and me was over after the meeting. Now it’s just that she doesn’t bother me, and I don’t bother her.”
Actually, with a leader like Lou Yu, who was not very deep and had a lot of pride, she was quite at ease. If she was unhappy, she would just argue directly. Lou Yu’s mood was written all over her face. Tong Yao was more afraid of people like Tong Jiansheng, who were always smiling. When she talked to him, she would be led by the nose and could only say “yes.” She couldn’t play him. If a teacher offended Tong Jiansheng, he might “promote” them to a purely administrative position, specializing in miscellaneous tasks, not allowing them to teach, so that the person who offended him would never be able to get a promotion until they gave in.
She, Tong Yao, 18 years old, just wanted to live a peaceful life.
**
After being quiet for so many days since late February, the vice principal started to stir things up again.
This time, it was to have the whole school, divided by grade, take turns to visit revolutionary holy sites and appreciate the style of the older generation of revolutionaries and the weight of history. Although it was all formalism, Lou Yu had learned her lesson this time and had attached an educational meaning to it. And, it was equivalent to a holiday. As long as they didn’t have to study or go to class, both students and teachers were happy.
In this place of Hunan, besides Mango TV, the only famous thing seemed to be the revolutionaries. “Only Chu has talent, and it flourishes here.” This couplet was still at the entrance of Yuelu Academy. The land was not spiritual, but the people were outstanding. The great leader was born here, and there were also various monuments to revolutionary events.
But unlike the autumn outing, Tong Yao’s identity this time was first as the homeroom teacher of Class 1, and then as a math teacher.
She had to take the same bus as the students of Class 1.
In the morning, the students were in high spirits. She held a list and counted the number of people at the bus door. Suddenly, she felt a burning gaze. As if by telepathy, she turned her head and saw in the line for Class 7, the young girl was reluctant to get on the bus, looking at her with expectant eyes. In the end, under Labor Reform’s urging, she reluctantly entered the bus door.
Silly child… so clingy.
Fortunately, the students should have all been given their phones today. She opened WeChat, avoided the students, and sent a message to the young girl:
“Be good, play with your classmates.”
The other party replied, “Teacher Tong, you don’t want me anymore.”
It was clearly a spoiled act, wanting her to coax her.
A sweetness arose in her heart. She suddenly found that this thing called feelings, even with distance, was so intoxicating with just words.
“How could I not want you.”
Soon, a picture came from the other side. It was an iPad. On the iPad was a drawing. In the back seat of a car, a girl was lying on another girl’s lap.
“Beautiful!”
Tong Yao thought, are people who can draw all so romantic?
If she had to choose between a painter and a programmer with the same income to marry, she felt she would definitely choose the painter. Because of the young girl, she had a soft spot for the profession of a painter.
Also, she, who had just been talking about students’ puppy love, had now let Ruan Ruan have a puppy love. It was really… shameful.
“Ruan Ruan, did you get a new phone?” Yin Jiali asked in surprise, seeing Ruan Xi’s new iPhone and iPad. She knew that Ruan Xi’s family was not well-off, so she was worried and afraid that she had been deceived. “Did you win the lottery?”
“No,” Ruan Xi explained. “It’s just… I earned a little money from drawing.”
“Manga? Oh, oh, I think I’ve heard them talk about your manga. You even posted a photo, and they seem to call you…”
—Beautiful girl manga artist.
