[“Not bad, it’s no wonder that Senior Demon King always tells the truth”]
[“How could you say that to us, Senior Ying? We feel hurt”]
[“So, does that mean we start substitute teaching tomorrow? Awesome! I’ll take a rest today and save my energy for studying tomorrow.”]
Director Cui said, “Now please all the teachers move to the office building and coordinate with the senior teachers responsible for one-on-one guidance and fast-track training before going on duty. This afternoon, you need to have a deep understanding of the teaching content for the next five days, complete your lesson preparations, and officially start your teaching experience tomorrow.”
The members moved to the office building to coordinate with their respective guidance teachers. Because each person taught different subjects, they had to go to different teaching groups to study and prepare lessons.
Song Jianchu’s guidance teacher happened to be his former homeroom teacher, Teacher Shang.
Teacher Shang was 38 years old this year but kept herself well-maintained and looked young and beautiful. She now teaches grade 10 and leads the International Class A.
Seeing her former star student, Teacher Shang was deeply moved and said, “It feels like we haven’t seen each other for two years, but it seems like yesterday when I was teaching you. You have made great progress and have become a school principal.”
Song Jianchu still remembered that Teacher Shang had a serious occupational disease and always had a sore throat, so he asked, “Is your throat better now?”
“I had a minor surgery last year, and it’s much better now, no big problem,” Teacher Shang said with a smile. “But you have changed so much in these two years. If I hadn’t been following your videos online, I wouldn’t have recognized you on the street.”
Teacher Shang was friendly, and she and Song Jianchu used to get along naturally like friends, so he didn’t feel awkward. He grinned and said, “Don’t bother watching them, there’s nothing interesting.”
“I can’t help it. I’m addicted,” Teacher Shang joked. “Now I can’t eat without watching your vlogs.”
After catching up, Song Jianchu and Teacher Shang discussed the progress of the math class for grade 10.
Preparing lessons alone was boring, so the members shared their progress in the group chat.
[Pei Shinian: Oh my god, I didn’t know there were so many rules for PE class. I always thought it was just letting the students run a few laps and then dismiss them.]
[Bai Xingyu: I’ve been trapped in Classical Chinese hell for two hours now. I need a cup of [painful mask.jpg]]
[MY: I feel the same…I never realized how complicated it is even though I speak English every day. The more I learn, the more I feel like I don’t know anything…]
[Lu Shen: .]
Song Jianchu was focused on his work and didn’t reply to the group chat.
Perhaps noticing that he was silent, Mu Ye came to talk to him privately.
[MY: Jianchu, how’s your preparation going?]
Song Jianchu was organizing his lesson notes when he saw the private message on his phone and put down his pen to pick up his phone.
[Song Jianchu: Almost done.]
[MY: Do you want some coffee? I brewed a pot and can bring you a cup.]
Song Jianchu stared at the new nickname, feeling his ears heating up and an inexplicable blush creeping up on him.
He had been acting a bit abnormal lately, overreacting to small things that were very common, which was unlike him.
And now too, although the other party only sent three serious words, he didn’t know why he felt like he could hear a voice – a man’s low and slow voice, with a flirtatious and casual tone.
[Song Jianchu: No need to trouble, we’re not on the same floor.]
[MY: There’s an elevator, it’s fast.]
[Song Jianchu: I have coffee powder here, just make it yourself later.]
[MY: Wait for me, two minutes.]
[Song Jianchu: ?]
Why was this person so enthusiastic about bringing coffee? Song Jianchu quickly typed, “Really no need…” before another message from the other side interrupted him.
[MY: Afraid you’re too tired, I’ll bring you a cup of coffee and give you a hug while I’m at it.]
[MY: Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon.]
[MY: [Heart emoji]]
Song Jianchu: .
Two minutes later, someone knocked on the office door. Teacher Shang was out for business, so Song Jianchu put down the materials in his hand and went to open the door.
Mu Ye stood outside with a cup of coffee in his hand and peered into the room. “Just you?”
“Yeah, Teacher Shang went out,” Song Jianchu took the coffee from Mu Ye’s hand. “Thank you, go back and continue preparing your lesson.”
Mu Ye’s smile paused for a moment. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Song Jianchu sighed lightly, knowing what this person was thinking and said tactfully, “Not now.”
Mu Ye nodded. “Can I hug you tonight?”
Seeing the fleeting loneliness on the man’s face, Song Jianchu felt amused. He still couldn’t resist and gave a positive answer. “Let’s talk about it tonight. Go back and prepare your lesson for now.”
“Okay,” Mu Ye didn’t insist anymore and smiled. “Then I’ll make it up to you tonight. You can hug me for as long as you want.”
Song Jianchu: “…Okay, go back now.”
Mu Ye took a few slow steps towards the elevator, turning his head to test the waters a few times, and with a light gaze, he finally asked, “Don’t you really want to hold me for a recharge?”
Song Jianchu waved the coffee cup. “Come on, Teacher Mu, you can do it.”
Watching Mu Ye enter the elevator, Song Jianchu carried the coffee and returned to the office.
Drinking the coffee brought by his lover, Song Jianchu leisurely flipped through the high school math materials as if he were reading a comic book, occasionally smiling.
As an outstanding student, he had no problem teaching the high school freshman class, and he quickly finished preparing for the class. When Teacher Shang returned to check his lesson plan, she approved it on the first try.
The other members had not finished their preparations, so Song Jianchu asked Teacher Shang about the assessment target for the high school freshman international class A.
“You guys might have to work hard these days,” Teacher Shang said with a worried expression, taking out a stack of student materials. “This year’s international class A is even harder to manage than your year. It’s only the first semester, and they have already replaced three class teachers. I just took over their class last month.”
It was indeed more chaotic than their year, with three teachers quitting in less than a semester. Song Jianchu asked, “What are the reasons for changing teachers?”
“There are many reasons, and it’s hard to explain in a few words. You’ll understand when you experience it firsthand these days,” Teacher Shang said with a sigh. “The first two teachers requested to change classes on their own and couldn’t persist for half a month. The third teacher is Wang, who taught you chemistry in senior year. He persisted for two months.”
Song Jianchu casually looked through the student materials and saw many children from the homes of well-known business tycoons who attended the last gathering of gold sponsors.
He roughly knew why this year’s class was harder to manage – it was a completely internal competition field for the second-generation rich.
“If these kids continue to be so unruly, I won’t be able to hold on for too long either,” Teacher Shang said helplessly. “I plan to apply for a change of class at the end of this semester. Your arrival can help me breathe for a few days, so thank you.”
Song Jianchu had a clear idea of the situation and put back the student materials before standing up and saying, “I understand. Take good care of yourself these few days, and come to me if you have any problems.”
“Good luck, Demon King principal,” Teacher Shang smiled gently. “I look forward to your brilliant performance.”
That evening, all the members met with their respective guidance teachers and gathered in the staff dormitory building.
Because Hongyu International High School was a closed management school, the class teachers not only had to supervise the students’ daytime studies, but also their after-school dormitory life.
To facilitate the management of students, many class teachers would choose to live in the staff dormitory apartment provided by the school.
The conditions of the staff dormitory were even better than those of the student dormitory, but the rooms were limited, with only three rooms available, each of which could accommodate up to two people.
After an urgent training session that afternoon, everyone was tired and went to their own luggage before heading straight to the dormitory floor.
The three rooms were connected together.
Bai Xingyu dragged his luggage and went deep into the leftmost room, where he had been reading classical Chinese for the whole afternoon. He didn’t even bother to say anything else, “We’ll share a room, you guys figure it out for yourselves.”
Pei Shinian looked at the remaining two rooms and thought to himself, “Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?”
“Living and eating together is the fastest way to enhance relationships. If I want to build a good relationship with my boss, now is the critical moment.” Pei Shinian cleared his throat and enthusiastically extended an invitation, “Jianchu, how about you and I share a room? We can also play games together tonight. Last time, I didn’t perform well, but tonight, I’ll show you what I’ve got…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Mu Ye asked softly, “Chu Chu, how about we share a room?”
Song Jianchu didn’t hesitate and said, “Okay.”
Pei Shinian: “?”
Without giving him any time to react, Mu Ye dragged Song Jianchu’s suitcase into the room on the far right. Before closing the door, he turned to look at Pei Shinian and considerately said, “Physical education class consumes a lot of energy. You should rest well alone. No need to thank me.”
After closing the door, Pei Shinian was left bewildered and thought to himself, “Do you want to ask for my opinion first?”
He stood alone in the hallway for a while, dragging his luggage into the middle dormitory.
The only disadvantage of the dormitory was the poor sound insulation. His room was especially quiet since he was the only one in it, and he could clearly hear the sounds from both sides.
From the room on the left came the sound of a table hitting the wall.
“Get lost, you’re not allowed to touch me tonight… Do you think I gave you face these past few days?”
“Hiss, I called you a dog, and you really are a dog?! Do you think I won’t hit you outside?”
From the room on the right came the sound of running water and knocking on the door.
“I had Jiaming bring over some sleepwear for you. When you come out, you can choose which one you want to wear tonight.”
“Thanks, but I’ll just wear my own.”
“I also brought over some slippers. We each have one pair, and I placed yours at the bathroom door.”
“Oh.”
Pei Shinian: “…”
Despite having the largest room, it felt so empty at the moment.
As night fell, the sounds from both sides gradually faded away.
Before going to bed, Pei Shinian opened his suitcase and took out an anime peripheral pillow, then hugged it and fell asleep.