Chapter 3

The principal's office fell silent instantly, with only the ticking of the clock remaining.

Hu Lingling is straightforward and a strong woman. She is decisive and efficient at work, and she is also very capable. She is currently the head of the first-year junior high school chemistry teaching and research group.

She had been looking forward to seeing what her brilliant student apprentice would be like, but now that she saw it, she figured if she had a troublesome apprentice like Lu Dachuan, she'd probably be bald like the principal before she even retired.

"Oh dear, Ms. Hu, calm down. What did Xiao Lu do to upset you?" Lu Meng broke the awkward atmosphere and said kindly.

Hu Lingling recounted her experience, leaving Jiang Wanwan speechless and looking at Lu Dachuan with a hint of sympathy.

On his first day at work, he caused his mentor to fall flat on his backside. As expected of Lu Dachuan, his operations are still so unpredictable.

Even Ren He, who was used to setbacks, couldn't help but feel sorry for Lu Dachuan.

Unexpectedly, Lu Meng's brows relaxed after hearing this. She grabbed Hu Lingling's arm and, like sisters, advised her, "It's good that you're not hurt. This kid deserves to be taught a lesson."

Hearing someone speak up for her made Hu Lingling feel much better, and her anger subsided by half.

But then Lu Meng continued, "This kid just started working and doesn't know anything yet. Just give him a chance to correct his mistakes. We all grew up like this back in the day."

Lu Meng's words reminded Hu Lingling of her own experiences when she was young. Back then, jobs were assigned, unlike now where you have to find them yourself. She had also stumbled and struggled her way up from there.

She glanced at Lu Dachuan, who was staring at her expectantly, and her thin lips pressed into a line.

Seeing that Hu Lingling's attitude had softened, Jiang Wanwan reached out from behind and gently pushed Lu Dachuan.

Lu Dachuan was a quick-witted man, and he immediately stepped forward to sincerely apologize to Hu Lingling.

Seeing that Lu Dachuan's attitude was fairly sincere, Hu Lingling said, "Fine, fine, just be more mature in the future." She waved her hand and reluctantly stood next to Lu Dachuan.

"Good, good, good. From now on you will be teachers at Yanyuan No.1 Middle School. I hope you will stay true to your original aspirations and dedicate your light and heat to the great cause of education."

The principal stepped out from behind his desk and passionately encouraged the four young men.

The apprenticeship ceremony concluded successfully, and everyone returned to their respective jobs.

Tie Shengnan is an art teacher, so her office is in the art building. After leaving the principal's office, she went to the art building with her mentor, Shu Yi.

The remaining three pairs of mentors and students all share the same office, a arrangement made specifically by the principal so that they can encourage each other and grow together.

The teachers' offices are set up according to the principle of proximity, and the teachers in each office cover different subjects and are responsible for teaching classes in the vicinity.

Upon arriving at the office, Jiang Wanwan discovered that there were four other teachers inside, and they all greeted each other.

Jiang Wanwan's desk was opposite Lu Meng's. She glanced at Lu Dachuan and Ren He and found that they were also sitting opposite their respective mentors.

"Master, do you know why Ren He and I were chosen as homeroom teachers?"

She held the class 7 attendance list in one hand and a pen in the other, looking at Lu Meng across from her with a worried expression.

Seeing Jiang Wanwan's nervous expression, Lu Meng smiled calmly, "Of course, it's to train you. You'll all have to be homeroom teachers sooner or later."

"But we're all new teachers. What if we don't do a good job?"

"Who says a new teacher can't be a homeroom teacher? We all started as new teachers. It's okay, take your time."

Lu Meng was a homeroom teacher from the very beginning of his career, and it was only in recent years, after he became the grade director, that he stopped being a homeroom teacher.

Therefore, she clearly knew that having new teachers as homeroom teachers would better train them and help them grow quickly.

Despite Lu Meng's encouragement, Jiang Wanwan still felt uncertain.

She quickly glanced through the names on the attendance list, afraid of encountering unfamiliar characters and embarrassing herself in front of the students.

Nowadays, some parents like to use obscure characters when naming their children. Jiang Wanwan is a Chinese language teacher. If she mispronounces the characters, how can she convince her students?

When the school bell rang, only Jiang Wanwan and Ren He got up in the room.

The task this morning was simple: the homeroom teacher just needed to organize a class meeting and then take the students to the opening ceremony at the appointed time.

"Go for it! Go for it!" As the two passed by Lu Dachuan's desk, Lu Dachuan grinned and cheered them on.

Ren He smiled, while Jiang Wanwan nodded solemnly.

On the first day of school, it wasn't just the new teachers who were nervous; the little ones who had just graduated from elementary school were also filled with trepidation and excitement.

As soon as they heard the door open, they immediately straightened their backs and obediently placed their hands on the table, folding them neatly.

When Jiang Wanwan entered the room, she saw a pair of big, dark eyes staring at her, filled with curiosity and amazement.

Her nervousness vanished instantly, and she gave a smooth self-introduction, just as she had practiced countless times at home.

The white chalk rubbed against the blackboard, leaving behind the three large characters "Jiang Wanwan".

Thanks to Jiang Wanwan's sharing, the students have developed a good impression of this beautiful female teacher, and whispers can be heard from time to time.

"Good students, you already know your teacher, but you don't know each other yet, so let's introduce ourselves now."

The students who were whispering among themselves fell silent the moment they heard that they had to introduce themselves. They all lowered their heads and dared not look Jiang Wanwan in the eye.

Jiang Wanwan found the scene both amusing and frustrating, but she also understood.

When she was in school, the part she hated most was introducing herself.

The atmosphere in the classroom became somewhat tense for a moment. Suddenly, a loud burst of laughter came from the hallway, seemingly from the next classroom.

Hearing the commotion, some students in the class immediately looked up, their eyes involuntarily glancing towards the classroom door.

"Okay, you can be the first to introduce yourself. The teacher noticed you raised your head the fastest."

Jiang Wanwan walked up to a boy with a buzz cut and looked at him with a smile.

The eyes of the entire class followed Jiang Wanwan and eventually focused on the boy.

The boy with the buzz cut looked annoyed, but with so many eyes watching him, he had no choice but to get up, walk to the front of the stage, and begin to introduce himself.

Watching this scene from below the stage, Jiang Wanwan appeared to be full of encouragement, but felt a little guilty inside.

I thought to myself, her current behavior is like someone who's been caught in the rain now tearing someone else's umbrella, after all, she didn't like the self-introduction part of the past either.

After the boy with the buzz cut finished his introduction, Jiang Wanwan was the first to clap her hands, and the class erupted in applause.

Hearing the enthusiastic applause, the boy with the buzz cut blushed and awkwardly returned to his seat, but a smug smile remained on his lips.

With the first person starting, the subsequent self-introductions went much more smoothly.

The next task should logically be to elect class committee members. Traditionally, this step is either directly appointed by the class teacher or through a vote.

Jiang Wanwan had experienced roughly the same two methods, but she was well aware of their flaws—direct appointments were not democratic enough, while voting was not conducive to the performance of introverted, inarticulate but capable students.

So, after weighing the options, she came up with a new method.

She asked everyone to find a small piece of paper and write down whether they wanted to take on a class position, what kind of class committee member they wanted to be, and what they wanted to say to the homeroom teacher...

"Classmates, you've just arrived in this new class and don't know each other very well yet. We'll hold another class committee election in a week. You can observe each other carefully during this week and then decide whether to cast your precious vote."

During that week, she would also get to know each student in the class carefully, combining their wishes on the little notes to select suitable candidates.

When the election comes again, skip the campaigning process and let the students vote directly.

Since the students were unaware of their candidacy beforehand, they did not campaign for votes in advance.

In this way, what is really being examined are their daily behavior, their willingness to serve their classmates, and their more important behavioral qualities such as communication skills.

However, the most tiring part of the process was for Jiang Wanwan, who had to fully understand each student and rationally select candidates.

But in order to better manage the class, she was willing to endure any hardship or fatigue.

Just then, the classroom loudspeaker suddenly announced, "Teachers and students, please go to the playground for the opening ceremony."

On the playground, the lush grass exudes vitality, red banners hang above the platform, and a row of leaders and teachers sit closest to the platform.

Four new teachers, including Jiang Wanwan, stood under the shade of a tree not far from the stage, waiting for the host to announce the new teachers' appearance.

However, even now, when leaders give speeches, they always use the same old platitudes.

Lu Dachuan was the first to get bored and leaned closer to Ren He and whispered, "What happened in your class this morning? The laughter was so loud I could hear it in the office."

Ren He was standing upright, listening attentively to the leader's speech, when Lu Dachuan suddenly spoke up, startling him.

When he realized what Lu Dachuan was asking, his face turned both white and red.

"No...nothing's wrong," Ren He said haltingly, his tongue tied in a knot.

Lu Dachuan didn't believe the kid's words and kept asking him questions.

Finally, Ren He got impatient with the questions and had no choice but to blush and tell everyone about the embarrassing incident he had caused that morning.

It turns out that the first thing Ren He did after entering the class in the morning was to introduce himself.

He was probably too nervous and didn't think before he spoke, blurting out, "Hello everyone, my name is Ren He, you can call me Teacher He from now on."

The students in the class burst into laughter, making him feel embarrassed for a long time.

"Pfft—"

As soon as Ren He finished speaking, a woman's laughter came from the side, followed by Lu Dachuan's loud laughter.

Jiang Wanwan knew, of course, that the female voice wasn't hers, because she was trying very hard to suppress her laughter in order to protect Xiaohe's self-esteem.

So, besides Lu Dachuan, the other person who was laughing was Tie Shengnan.

Tie Shengnan was wearing an extra layer of sun protection clothing compared to when they met in the morning. Because they were closer now, Jiang Wanwan could clearly see that she was wearing a simple black cross earring.

"Hey buddy, you're pretty awesome!" Tie Shengnan punched Ren He on the shoulder, his voice bold and magnetic.

Ren He's small frame was suddenly bumped, and he couldn't help but take a step back before he could stand up straight with his feet apart.

Jiang Wanwan blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected that Tie Shengnan, who seemed aloof and unapproachable, actually had a carefree and easygoing personality.