At 7:30 in the morning, the weather was cool and pleasant. Birds perched in the ancient trees, with the attitude of "If I'm awake, you can't sleep either," flew to the windowsill and chirped incessantly, disturbing the peaceful sleep.
Yan Chi, half-asleep, seemed to hear a devil's whisper.
"Teacher Chi, don't stay in bed! You'll be late for class."
Yan Chi abruptly opened his eyes, meeting Shen Mingsu's smiling gaze. He pushed away Shen Mingsu's face, which was practically begging for a kiss, and hurriedly ran to the bathroom to wash up and change.
Knowing he needed to be in class by 8:00, a fifteen-minute walk, he only had fifteen minutes to make and eat breakfast. Yan Chi was so anxious he almost pulled his hair out.
Seeing Shen Mingsu leisurely leaning against the bed, Yan Chi glanced at the alarm on his phone. Sure enough, it was off. Angrily, Yan Chi grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "Why did you turn off my alarm? Why didn't you wake me up?"
Shen Mingsu chuckled and flopped onto the bed, hugging his pillow. "I've already made dinner. I'll take you to class later."
Yan Chi asked suspiciously, "What mischief are you up to now?"
"It's a misunderstanding, Teacher Chi." Shen Mingsu looked genuinely disappointed. "How can you say I'm being mischievous? I just want to be a good stay-at-home husband. I'll take you to work, then go home to do the housework, prepare the meal, and wait at the door two hours early for you to come home..."
Yan Chi couldn't bear to look at him: "...Stop pretending. You're the one who pays my salary."
Shen Mingsu decisively handed over all his bank cards. "It's all yours. From now on, this school will be our husband-and-wife workshop. I'll give you the director's name too. If you don't want to go to class, just ask him."
The director really is a brick; no wonder he never gives Shen Mingsu a friendly look.
“Working people should unite…” Yan Chi muttered to himself, putting all the cards the unscrupulous capitalist had handed over into a wallet and locking it in the cabinet.
Shen Mingsu had prepared a very lavish breakfast: freshly squeezed corn juice, crab roe buns, potstickers, freshly cut fruit… Yan Chi was amazed at how much he could whip up in just one morning.
He couldn't help but admire Shen Mingsu's domestic skills.
Yan Chi tiptoed and gently kissed Shen Mingsu's cheek. “Thank you.”
He would never call him a heartless capitalist again.
While eating, Yan Chi suddenly remembered Shen Chang Le, who hadn't come home yet, and asked Shen Mingsu, “By the way, hasn't Chang Le come home?”
Classes officially started today, and he thought Chang Le would have come home yesterday, but he hadn't seen her yet.
Shen Mingsu poured him a glass of corn juice. "He came back around six this morning, grabbed two steamed buns, and went to class already."
"So early?"
Yan Chi was still dreaming at six; no wonder he hadn't heard Chang Le come home.
After Yan Chi finished breakfast, Shen Mingsu insisted on taking him to class. Under Yan Chi's shocked gaze, he pushed out a bicycle, straddled it, and patted the back seat. "Get on, I'll take you to work."
Yan Chi was speechless. He sat on the back seat, clutching Shen Mingsu's clothes.
While other students and teachers were walking, the sudden appearance of a bicycle instantly attracted everyone's attention. Shen Mingsu even showed off his one-handed riding skills, greeting the teachers and students around him.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"Good morning, Principal. It's Teacher Xiao Chi! Good morning, Teacher Xiao Chi!"
Yan Chi tightly gripped Shen Mingsu's clothes, smiling as they nodded. "Good morning."
As the bicycle slowly passed by, he shyly pressed his face against Shen Mingsu's back. With each repetition of this, his skin thickened without him realizing it.
A gentle breeze brushed his cheek. Yan Chi relaxed against Shen Mingsu's back, observing the seemingly peaceful campus.
Two students chased each other playfully. Student A accidentally punched Student B in the chest. Student B, expressionless, tore off his hand and threw it to the ground. Student A hurriedly picked up his hand, reattached it, and chased after him apologizing.
Students with umbrellas, their toes barely touching the ground, deliberately walked in the shade; students squatting under the trees used their long, forked tongues to pick fruit from the branches.
Yan Chi: "..."
How come I never noticed how chaotic this school was before?
Soon, Shen Mingsu dropped Yan Chi off in front of the first teaching building. There were still five minutes before class, but the director was already waiting at the building entrance, his sharp eyes scanning each student.
Yan Chi felt a strange pang of guilt when he saw him.
"I'm leaving," Yan Chi said to Shen Mingsu, quickening his pace into the building. As he passed the director, he stopped and said good morning.
The director glanced at him, then turned to Shen Mingsu, who was not far away. "Okay, go to class."
Shen Mingsu watched Yan Chi disappear from sight, pretending not to see the director, and pushed his bike to run.
The director rushed to his side, grabbed his bike, and gritted his teeth, pulling on the back seat. "You're already here, and you're still trying to run away? Who's going to deal with the mountains of documents in the office?! Don't you have any idea how long it's been since you started dating Yan Chi?!"
"Isn't there you? My going to the office isn't very useful." Shen Mingsu slapped his hand off the back seat. "Let go, this is our Teacher Yan Chi's special seat."
The director's face flushed with anger. "Teacher Yan Chi, Teacher Yan Chi, can't you think of anything else?"
"Who says I don't have anything else on my mind?" Shen Mingsu seemed utterly wronged. "I have to make breakfast for Teacher Xiaochi and Chang Le this morning, take them to class, and then go grocery shopping for lunch,"
"I also need to mop the floor, and wash the clothes, right? Aren't these things I think about doing?!"
Shen Mingsu's virtuous pronouncements stunned the director for a few seconds. The director was deeply shocked. "I've known you for so many years, and I never imagined you were such a love-struck fool!"
"Don't flatter me, let go, I'm going to buy groceries." Shen Mingsu's resolve was firm, rejecting all sweet talk.
Director: ...Who the hell flattered you?!
Shen Mingsu leisurely rode away on his bicycle, leaving the director with a heavy sigh.
He didn't expect Shen Mingsu to actually go to work. If Shen Mingsu really abandoned his carefree attitude and became serious, the school was probably not far from collapse.
In the classroom, all ten students were present.
Lian Deng lay on the table, a strip of meat in his hand, watching the three little monsters in the cardboard box hopping and jumping around, snatching the meat. He happily smiled, then took out two more strips and gave them to the three of them.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lian Deng noticed that his deskmate, who usually never looked up, was sitting unusually upright, though his expression wasn't good.
"Ning Zhu, why is your face so red?" Lian Deng noticed that one side of Ning Zhu's face was particularly red, a very distinct shade of red.
Lian Deng felt it looked familiar. He slowly raised his hand, compared it, and suddenly realized, "Oh, so you got slapped."
Ning Zhu crossed his arms, growing angrier the more he thought about it: "...Yeah, I got hit by a madman."
Lian Deng nodded, indicating he understood, then continued watching his cubs eat, offering a casual "Oh."
Ning Zhu was annoyed by his perfunctory attitude. "...Don't you have any other questions?"
Like, who was the madman who hit him, and why did he hit him?
Lian Deng thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "Yes, I do."
Ning Zhu finally felt relieved, already mentally preparing how to accuse Xie Tao of his unreasonable behavior. "Go ahead."
"It wasn't my cubs who hit you, was it?" Lian Deng hugged the small cardboard box to his chest, as if afraid Ning Zhu would hit his cubs.
Ning Zhu: "..."
His silence alarmed Lian Deng.
Lian Deng quickly lowered his head, pointing at the three creatures. "Didn't I tell you not to hit or eat people? Why didn't you listen? Who hit them? Raise your hands!"
The three little monsters were all dressed in pretty new clothes. The skeleton had a pink tutu, the red water baby wore a top hat, and each of the stick insects had little shoes on its feet.
Faced with Lian Deng's questioning, they all innocently shook their bodies.
They hadn't bullied anyone; they were very well-behaved.
"It wasn't them." Ning Zhu slumped wearily onto the table, too exhausted to even speak, but still harboring resentment.
Since Xie Tao would definitely come to find Teacher Xiao Chi, he didn't need to worry about not getting revenge. He had to get his revenge! He had never suffered such humiliation in his life!
Soon, the school bell rang. Yan Chi walked into the classroom with his textbooks. He looked around the classroom, seeing all those familiar faces, but his feelings were quite different.
—What should he do when his students are older than him, and all of them are his peers?
Yan Chi composed himself. "Now that the holiday is over, everyone should quickly refocus on their studies. Alright, everyone, open your books. Today we'll be discussing the text..."
The class passed slowly. The students were exceptionally well-behaved today; even Ning Zhu wasn't sleeping. Yan Chi was very pleased.
At the end of the class, Yan Chi announced the practical assessment. "Five students participated in the assessment a few days ago, and the final scores are in. So, the students participating this time are Mingcai, Sethia, Tan Mo, Lian Deng, and Ning Zhu."
The five students who heard their names exchanged glances.
Mingcai raised her hand: "Teacher Xiaochi, what's the assessment about?"
"The content is still undecided. We need to discuss it further. We'll let you know once it's officially decided," Yan Chi gave them a heads-up. "It's very likely related to the players, but don't get any ideas."
He left it at that, picked up his books, and left the classroom, telling Ning Zhu to come to his office. Before he even returned to his office, he heard the lively discussion in the class.
Mingcai plopped down next to Ahui, shaking her shoulder. "Why did you go to the exam first? Tell me, what was the exam about?"
Ahui pushed her away. "Nothing much, just writing a summary report about the players."
"Are there any requirements?"
"Yes, two thousand words, with both viewpoints and evidence."
Sethia had been gloomy ever since he heard about the exam. Hearing about writing so much, he groaned and slumped onto the table. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do…"
"I have an idea." Xingluo suddenly appeared, patting Sycia on the shoulder. "Want to know?"
Tan Mo glanced at him, sensing his ill intentions. Mingcai also looked at Xingluo suspiciously. Only Sethia, as if grasping at a lifeline, immediately nodded, "Yes, yes! I think so."
"Think about it," Xingluo coaxed, "since the topic is related to players, why not have a player write it for you?" "Like the topic of our assessment—the quality of players—players definitely know themselves better, right?"
Sethia seemed to have a sudden realization, "Yes!"
Tan Mo and Mingcai exchanged a glance. They had to admit, Xingluo's words made a lot of sense, but something still felt off. Was Xingluo really that kind?
Xingluo chuckled, then exchanged a look with Ahui.
Mingcai shook her head, "I don't trust you, Ahui, you tell me."
Ahui: "Well, we found a player to write it for us."
Ahui then looked away, avoiding Mingcai's gaze.
Mingcai knew she wouldn't lie, and of course, she had no idea there was more to the story. After hearing it, she looked at Xingluo in shock, "So you haven't done all the bad things after all."
"We're all classmates, don't be prejudiced against me," Xingluo said innocently. "I like helping others; maybe I can get the 'Good Student' award this semester."
With that, Xingluo returned to his seat with a grin.
In the next office, Yan Chi asked Ning Zhu if he had any news about Xie Tao.
“Yes, I found him.” Ning Zhu slumped, briefly recounting the events. “He was too angry then; I’m not sure if he listened to me.”
Upon hearing that he had been hit by Xie Tao, Yan Chi immediately pressed him into a chair, took out some anti-inflammatory ointment from a drawer, and applied it to his face with a cotton swab. “I’m sorry, Ning Zhu, Xie Tao must have misunderstood you, that’s why he acted rashly. I’ll make him apologize to you when he gets here.”
Ning Zhu reluctantly nodded. “He has to apologize sincerely, otherwise I won’t accept it.”
Yan Chi chuckled. “Okay, I’ll definitely make him apologize sincerely.”
Ning Zhu, with ointment on half his face, swaggered back to class. Not long after he left, another student came to Yan Chi’s office.
"Hello, Teacher Xiaochi, I'm Wei Wanbai from second grade." The handsome boy smiled at Yan Chi, holding several sheets of paper in his hand. "The school sports meet will be held at the end of next month, and every class will participate. These are some of the competition and performance events. Teacher, please take a look and see which events your class wants to participate in."
Yan Chi took the documents from him and looked at them. These competition events were similar to those in ordinary schools: high jump, long jump, relay races, 8...8000 meters?
Yan Chi was shocked. "Isn't there an extra zero? Shouldn't it be 800 meters?"
"It's correct, Teacher Chi." Wei Wanbai peeked at the number. "It's 8000 meters. 800 meters is too easy, no challenge at all."
Yan Chi told himself that the students at his school weren't ordinary people; running 8000 meters was probably as easy for them as drinking water or eating. But he still couldn't help worrying: "Will there be a doctor nearby during the competition?"
Wei Wanbai was puzzled. "What do we need a doctor for?"
"What if something happens to a student?"
"Then they'd just die."
Yan Chi: "..."
Such a beautiful mental state.
Yan Chi fell silent and continued reading the documents. Each class needed to prepare a performance for the opening ceremony of the sports meet, and the school offered many options. "Can I give it to you tomorrow? I need to discuss it with my classmates."
Wei Wanbai hesitated. "The competition events can wait, but the performance needs to be done as soon as possible; the school needs to order equipment and costumes."
"Wait a moment, I'll go ask them."
Without further ado, Yan Chi took the program list to the next classroom, tapped the blackboard to attract everyone's attention, and announced, "The school is holding a sports meet and needs everyone to put together a performance. The school has provided many options; let's vote."
No one objected.
Then Yan Chi began reading: "The first performance, suspended...suspended iron chains?"
What is this? Yan Chi looked at it repeatedly, and the only performance that matched this phrase in his mind was—high-wire walking?
"There must be a printing error..." Yan Chi cleared his throat and began reading the next one, "Jumping through a ring of fire...?"
"Beasts and Hunters?"
"Seven Little Heads Thump-Cha-Cha?"
"..."
Yan Chi's vision blurred. These acts were either completely unfamiliar to him, or some high-difficulty acrobatic performances. Had the school started collaborating with a circus, sending students to perform them?
Not only was Yan Chi confused, but the students listened with equally complicated expressions. After Yan Chi read out the waltz, the entire class immediately raised their hands.
Yan Chi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, circling the waltz. At least there was a normal act.
When he handed the performance list to Wei Wanbai, she was surprised. "Your class chose Waltz? It's a boy-and-girl combination. There seem to be only two girls in your class. Do you have any students who can swap skins?"
"Swap skins?" Yan Chi exclaimed in shock. Was it the skin-swapping he was thinking of?
Wei Wanbai nodded. "The boys can just change their skins to something more feminine and wear skirts. No one should notice. When your class is getting their skins done, can I come and watch?"
Wei Wanbai had long heard that this year's first-year students were all children of super-S-level world-class figures. He had wanted to see them for a long time, but he was worried about their tempers.
His skin had taken him a long time to complete; he couldn't afford to ruin it.
Yan Chi took a step back. "...I doubt anyone in our class wants to do 'Painted Skin'."
Wei Wanbai said regretfully, "Okay then, you can call me if you need anything. I specialize in art, and I'm amazing at drawing faces."
Yan Chi: "Haha, thank you."
It has to be said, art students have so many job opportunities.
Yan Chi told Wei Wanbai to wait a little longer. He went next door to tell them the news and suggested, "How about we change the program?"
The students fell silent. Thinking of those acrobatic performances, the boys exchanged glances for a while, then, as if having made up their minds, said in unison, "No, we want the waltz."
Yan Chi hesitated: "But we don't have enough girls in our class. How about we ask other classes if any girls want to join us?"
Xingluo said gravely, "...It's alright, teacher, we'll find some."
Yan Chi: ?
A bad feeling crept over him.
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