Between Du Kang's questioning and the students' chorus of bitter complaints, Tao Fangzheng couldn't voice a single word. He stared at the plate of huge chicken legs before him, and his vision darkened little by little.

When Du Kang noticed, he immediately realized what the students were saying was true.

"Alright! Very good!" Du Kang patted his thighs and nodded. His icy gaze s.h.i.+fted from Tao Fangzheng's sweaty forehead to the well-dressed, white-faced Li Yurong. Abruptly, he banged on the table. "You said these students are the dregs of society? I think people like you are the true dregs of society!"

"Don't listen to these children's nonsense, Leader!" His evaluation was tantamount to pus.h.i.+ng Li Yurong into the abyss—nothing good could possibly await her. Panic made her forget her fear, and she stood up to defend herself. "I did it for their sake! The children in Cla.s.s 5 are poor learners, have bad grades, and, most importantly, are unruly. I scolded them because I worry about them!"

"Shut up," Du Kang interrupted her coldly. He pointed his finger at Vice-Princ.i.p.al Qu Yuan. "You—speak!"

The vice-princ.i.p.al hesitated. He looked at Tao Fangzheng, then back at Li Yurong, and thought about the consequences of his words, but in the end, he nodded. "What the students say is true."

Tao Fangzheng and Li Yurong stared at him, shocked.

Qu Yuan continued, "Teacher Li had the students start self-study last year. Cla.s.s 5's situation was the worst, but it happened in all cla.s.ses except Cla.s.s 1. Teachers in charge of each cla.s.s complained many times. Princ.i.p.al Tao was also aware of it, but perhaps his heavy workload made him too busy to remedy the situation. Then some time ago, on March 17, if memory doesn't fail me, Cla.s.s 5's students collectively boycotted English cla.s.s. Both the princ.i.p.al and I rushed to the scene to mediate. At the time, Teacher Li said she didn't want to teach them anymore." He paused and heaved a sigh. "Princ.i.p.al Tao agreed, rejecting our suggestion to arrange a teacher from a different grade."

This seemingly mild explanation kindled the anger in Du Kang's heart from a flame into a raging bonfire.

How could he have imagined the school hid such a terrible thing under the idyllic facade? They were talking about third-year students here! Tao Fangzheng canceling their English cla.s.s just because of a single teacher's mood was beyond ridiculous!

Ten minutes ago, he was still proud his alma mater was as excellent as it had been when he attended. Now, sitting in the cafeteria watched by all the students who turned this way because of the commotion, he was almost too ashamed to raise his head!

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down so at least he wouldn't lose his temper in front of the students.

The crisp sound of a spoon touching enamel made him look to the side. He found, despite the stormy atmosphere, Lin Jingzhe still leisurely ate his soup.

"Jingzhe," he began, standing and turning to the young man. "Can you collect Cla.s.s 5's students? Please tell them to follow me to the cla.s.sroom."

Lin Jingzhe slowly set the soup bowl back down on the table. He gave Deng Mai a look, his gaze flickering to Tao Fangzheng and back again. Deng Mai understood right away, and shouted, “I'm not going. I haven't finished yet!”

Was lunch more important than English cla.s.s? Faced with this bunch of simple-minded youths, Du Kang's anger left him. He said, a bit helplessly, "You can eat later, the cafeteria will still be here."

Deng Mai flashed him a grin. "It might be, but the food won't. It's not every day we get to have meat—I'm not leaving until I eat my fill!"

Du Kang was startled. A second later, the expression in his gaze changed.

He stared down at his plate, filled with barely touched red-braised pork belly, then turned to look at Lin Jingzhe. The young man wiped his mouth, folded his napkin, and responded with a slight nod.

Shame rushed through Du Kang, overwhelming him. When he recalled his praise for the cafeteria food earlier, he couldn't sit still any longer. He said to Deng Mai, "It's fine, I'll accompany you to eat later. If there is no meat, they will prepare some fres.h.!.+" Then he glared at Tao Fangzheng. "Right, Princ.i.p.al Tao?"

Facing his glare, Tao Fangzheng felt a layer of ice coat his heart. He never imagined his meticulous arrangements would be ruined by the group of students he despised the most.

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

Du Kang threw a small blackboard onto the floor. On it was written the menu for the previous day: boiled cabbage, steamed eggplant, and stir-fried sauerkraut with chili peppers.

This was what the students ate?!

He originally thought Deng Mai meant the food was usually a bit worse. But look at the names of these dishes—"slightly worse"? They weren't even in the same realm!

Since he'd already begun to speak, Vice-Princ.i.p.al Qu Yuan no longer had any reservations. He calmly explained, "This menu generally stays the same. Sometimes cabbage is replaced with Chinese cabbage and so on. The students have eaten like this for over two years."

Du Kang slammed his fist on the table yet again: "What the h.e.l.l are you in the school administration doing?!"

Qu Yuan felt deeply wronged. "The school has a lot of complaints about the cafeteria, from both students and teachers. I've mentioned it to Princ.i.p.al Tao many times in private, and the senior teachers of all grades have come to ask him to do something about it, but it was of no use! The financial matters have always been the responsibility of the princ.i.p.al and his direct subordinates. If he doesn't allocate funds, there's really nothing we can do!"

Du Kang was so angry he couldn't speak, and the other members of the inspection team were no better. They hurriedly changed locations to Cla.s.s 5's cla.s.sroom. Du Kang stood at the dais, hands behind his back, looking around. It was the middle of a sunny day, yet the room was so dim the lights had to be turned on. The desks, chairs, and benches were old and almost dilapidated. There was no comparison with the furniture in Cla.s.s 1's cla.s.sroom.

Lin Jingzhe found him a wooden stool, "Please sit."

The man sat. Smelling the restroom with every breath, he let out a tired sigh. "Is it the same for Cla.s.s 5 on the other two floors?"

"This floor is slightly better."

This floor is f.u.c.king 'slightly better'!

Lin Jingzhe suddenly called out, "Teacher Hu!"

Hu Yu had been preparing for cla.s.s in her tiny office. When she heard the unusual bustle, she'd walked to the cla.s.sroom's door and peered in. At Lin Jingzhe's shout, she cautiously stepped inside.

She was anxious, thinking her kids were in trouble again, but summoned the courage to grab Lin Jingzhe's arm and pull him away from Du Kang. s.h.i.+elded him behind herself, she asked, "Is something wrong? What happened?"

Lin Jingzhe gently took her thin shoulder and smiled soothingly. "Everything is fine."

Then he said to Du Kang, "This is my current cla.s.s teacher, Mrs. Hu Yu."

Du Kang saw every detail of her actions. Although he found funny he was labeled a bad guy she had to protect her students from, he inevitably formed a favorable opinion on this thin, pet.i.te woman—all the more after having met "the outstanding teacher," Li Yurong. At Lin Jingzhe's solemn introduction, he stood up and shook hands with Hu Yu. "h.e.l.lo, Teacher Hu."

It took a long explanation to make Hu Yu believe Lin Jingzhe and others didn't cause any problems. Then, due to Du Kang's kind and friendly att.i.tude, her heart finally returned to her chest from her throat, and she quickly dropped her defense.

When Du Kang expressed his sympathy at her circ.u.mstances, she smiled cautiously. "It's not bad. The students in my cla.s.s are a little unruly, but they are actually good children, very considerate to me—every morning, they even prepare tea for me. They are in their third year and work very hard: every day, they have to solve so many questions and take so many tests…"

She didn't know who exactly Du Kang was, only that he was leading the school inspection team. Anxiously leaning forward, she said, "Leader, it's not my intention to bother you, but my students' English cla.s.s…"

Du Kang thought of Li Yurong's "dregs of society," and remembered the actions of Cla.s.s 5's students, how they eagerly brought a stool for Hu Yu so she wouldn't have to stand. He patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Teacher Hu, rest a.s.sured—we are here to help you solve this problem."

"But Teacher Li…."

"Teacher Li? What about Teacher Li?" Du Kang sneered. "After tomorrow, there will not be a Teacher Li at this school!"

Hu Yu looked at him, confused. Du Kang, afraid of scaring her, put on a gentler expression and changed the topic. "How many years have you taught, Teacher Hu?"

Hu Yu's attention was diverted immediately. "First, I taught in the secondary school run by the textile factory for the children of the workers. Then I was transferred here five or six years ago. Altogether, I've been teaching for almost ten years."

"So you're a veteran!" Du Kang praised, "I can tell you are very patient with your kids and care about them. I heard that Lin Jingzhe from your cla.s.s placed first in school in the second mock exam!"

Hu Yu hurriedly waved her hand, "This is not my merit, not at all."

As she talked about this, she couldn't help but boast: "Lin Jingzhe is a brilliant child, clever and sensible. Not only is he good at studying, but he's also willing to help his cla.s.smates too. Ever since English cla.s.s was canceled, it was Lin Jingzhe who taught everybody. The other students depend on his help and guidance. He really is a good child, very hard to come by."

Hu Yu thought about it, but she really could not hold back: "Leader, I don't demand anything from the school, but Lin Jingzhe has both excellent character and good grades, which is quite rare. I really want him to get Qunnan University's admission spot—not because I'm biased, but because I believe he has the qualifications!"

Du Kang nodded. "Indeed, he took first place in the second mock exam. If he's not qualified for the admission spot, then who is?"

Hu Yu said urgently, "But Princ.i.p.al Tao said the candidate had been decided, and it was not Lin Jingzhe!"

Du Kang was shocked. The second mock exam had just pa.s.sed, yet the candidate had already been decided? He turned to Vice-Princ.i.p.al Qu Yuan, who, after a moment of silence, said, "Princ.i.p.al Tao personally selected the candidate. We have no right to question it." 

"Who is the candidate?"

Qu Yuan glanced at Lin Jingzhe, who sat at his desk, idly leafing through the English textbook. "The candidate is a student from Cla.s.s 1… Jiang Run."

"Pfff!!!"

All the students in cla.s.s snorted as one. Confused, Du Kang looked at them. "Is there a problem with this person?"

Deng Mai's voice was loudest. "A problem? There's more than a problem! Holy s.h.i.+t! Is it really him? If it was Yu Zhiliang, I would've at least accepted it, but Jiang Run?"

The academic director, silent until now, couldn't hold back anymore. He stepped forward and exclaimed, "Leader, both the vice-princ.i.p.al and I are very dissatisfied with this candidate. Indeed, he has excellent grades—though by no means the best—but his conduct is problematic. First of all, he is very unfriendly to his cla.s.smates. I have caught him bullying them more than once."

"Bullying cla.s.smates? This is nothing," Zhou Haitang interrupted. "He has connections with gangsters in the town. He even took a bunch of them to find Jingzhe one time, but Jingzhe…"

Gao Sheng grabbed him and pulled him back, continuing smoothly, "Thankfully, Jingzhe managed to run away."

Deng Mai added casually, "I remembered he has a record at the police station!"

There was such a thing?! Du Kang gave Lin Jingzhe a glance, both astonished and inquisitive. Lin Jingzhe sighed, set down his book, and whispered, "Because of the antiques."

The surprise on Du Kang's face immediately turned into seriousness. He recalled the case dossier and immediately remembered that name!

Wasn't Jiang Run the only son of Lin Jingzhe's aunt, Jiang Xiaoyun? She was deeply involved in the antiques' robbery case! It turned out the son schemed along with his mother!

Yet such a student, with no outstanding academic record and poor character, even mixing up with criminals, had overcome countless others and won the Qunnan University's admission spot.

This day, Du Kang heard so many shocking things that he'd even lost the energy to get angry. Now, he wouldn't be surprised even if someone told him Tao Fangzheng murdered people and set fires.

He asked, voice sinking, "Has the school already sent the admission application?"

"Yes, Princ.i.p.al Tao submitted it."

"Withdraw it."

The vice-princ.i.p.al hesitated. "But, Princ.i.p.al Tao…"

"What about him?!" Du Kang's lips curled, revealing teeth. It was more of a snarl than a smile. "If he continues to be the princ.i.p.al here, I'll write my name backward from now on!"

A familiar 'thud' sounded, making everyone turn their heads.

Li Yurong's face, tearful and horrified, was visible in the window next to the door. Beside her was Tao Fangzheng, who secretly followed the inspection team but didn't dare enter the cla.s.sroom. Just now, he fainted, falling to the ground again.

Translator's Notes:

Translator: Teo

Editor: Eques, Bet

Eques:

This chapter was guest-translated by Teo, our resident turtle. I love her. ?