Chapter 6

Yanyuan No.1 Middle School is located in the suburbs, but its reputation extends far beyond this area. Many parents in the city try every means to send their children to study here, and the school also provides accommodation for students.

Simply put, Yanyuan No.1 Middle School is a boarding school where students can go home every Friday afternoon to spend the weekend.

Although commuting is optional, most students choose to stay at the dormitory.

Of course, its annual middle school entrance examination results are also among the best in the city, cultivating a lot of talents for the country.

After half a month, not only Jiang Wanwan, but also the other three new teachers felt a lot of pressure.

Besides seeking advice from experienced teachers, the group often gathered to discuss teaching issues, which gradually led to a closer relationship between them.

The rental application was approved long ago, and they have now moved into the public rental housing, which consists of three households per floor.

Surprisingly, the three apartments they rented happened to be on the same floor, so they always went to and from get off work together and had company on the way.

Over the weekend, a few people discussed having a meal together in their rented apartment as a housewarming celebration.

So the four of them prepared the ingredients together and planned to have hot pot in Jiang Wanwan's house.

The steaming hot pot, with its vibrant colors, was filled with beef rolls, various meatballs, and green vegetables, making up the entire table.

"Cheers!" Tie Shengnan shouted happily, holding up a glass of draft beer.

White foam floated on the beer, and the clinking of glasses produced a crisp and pleasant sound.

Without the strict rules of having elders around, the group enjoyed their meal immensely and freely.

The dreams of youth, the hardships of hard work, the high expectations of parents... all were poured out at this small dining table. After a few rounds of drinks, everyone's face was slightly flushed with alcohol.

The elders always say that times have changed, life is getting better and better, and children nowadays are growing up in a sweet environment.

The hardships endured by generation after generation, and although the era of not being able to afford food is over, the pressure of buying a house, the difficulty of getting promoted, and the spiritual crisis still permeate every corner of modern society.

Young people today have it tough, especially only children like Jiang Wanwan. They want to relax, but they can't and dare not relax.

She was the only child in her family, and she carried all of her parents' hopes and expectations.

This heavy yet loving responsibility made her like a female warrior, overcoming obstacles and peeling away layers of difficulties.

Apart from Ren He, everyone else present was an only child and deeply empathized with Jiang Wanwan's feelings.

Even Ren He, after hearing this, began to feel fortunate to have younger siblings, even though they still depend on him for their schooling.

The warm yellow light created a cozy atmosphere as several young people, filled with dreams and imagining a bright future, drank and chatted happily.

Just as everyone had finished eating, a phone rang.

Several people instinctively took out their phones, worried that it was something related to the school.

"Ugh, this isn't my ringtone, why am I even bothering to find it?" Lu Dachuan glanced at his phone and tossed it onto the table.

Ren He paused, because his phone didn't ring that either.

The group exchanged knowing smiles, and finally realized that it was Jiang Wanwan's phone that had rung.

The person making the call was actually the dormitory supervisor. At this time, the students should all be asleep.

Although it's the weekend, many students who live far away choose to return to school on Sunday evening so they won't be too rushed for classes the next day.

Jiang Wanwan was a little confused. She quickly went to the balcony and answered the phone.

"Teacher Jiang, I have something to tell you."

"Yes, please tell me."

Hearing the dormitory supervisor's stern tone, Jiang Wanwan tightened her grip on her phone.

Upon receiving a response, the dormitory supervisor seemed to have unlocked her full potential and launched into a rapid-fire speech.

“Zhou Yuhe from your class has been going to different dorms to play cards at night several times now. I didn’t want to bother Teacher Jiang… but he wouldn’t listen to me and even went against me…”

Simply put, it's about a boy in Jiang Wanwan's class who doesn't sleep at night and keeps going to other students' dormitories to play cards.

Upon learning what it was, Jiang Wanwan was relieved. She had thought it was something life-threatening, like a student falling off a bed.

She was terrified!

She calmed the dormitory supervisor down and then said sincerely, "Don't worry, I will definitely teach him a lesson tomorrow and make him apologize to you."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Wanwan sighed, opened the window, and looked out at the night view while enjoying the breeze.

"What happened?" Lu Dachuan walked up from behind, looking somewhat worried.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanwan turned her head and smiled at him, "It's nothing, it's just that some kids in the class don't sleep at night and play cards, and the dormitory supervisor complained to me."

"I thought something terrible had happened. Back in the day, I used to play cards with my buddies a lot in the dorm..."

"You still have the nerve to say that! You haven't forgotten how many times Aunt Zhou has been called to the school, have you?"

Back then, Lu Dachuan's parents were called in quite a few times. Aunt Zhou became a regular at the school, and even teachers who didn't teach Lu Dachuan recognized his mother.

Seeing that Jiang Wanwan had regained her usual energy, Lu Dachuan chuckled and made a few more jokes.

When Jiang Wanwan returned from the balcony, she found that Ren He and Tie Shengnan had already cleaned up the dining table, and Ren He was now sweeping the living room floor.

"Oh, don't bother, I'll do it." Jiang Wanwan felt a little embarrassed. After all, they were guests, and it wasn't proper to let guests do the work.

Tie Shengnan packed up a garbage bag and said with a smile, "Wanwan, don't be so polite. We came here to cause trouble, so it's only right that we clean it up for you. Otherwise, we would feel bad."

Ren He, who was standing to the side, nodded, seemingly agreeing with Tie Shengnan's words.

Looking at their sincere faces, Jiang Wanwan felt a warmth in her heart and joined them in tidying up.

The four of them joked and played around for a while longer before returning to their respective rented rooms.

Before leaving, Lu Dachuan even took all the trash with him.

After throwing out the trash downstairs, he returned to his room and found Ren He sitting on the sofa looking at his phone.

What are you playing?

Upon hearing Lu Dachuan's voice, Ren He's face turned panicked, and he quickly turned off his phone. "N-nothing..."

Seeing this, Lu Dachuan chuckled lewdly, "What good stuff is it? Can't we even see it?"

"Don't...don't be silly!" Ren He blushed, realizing that Lu Dachuan had misunderstood.

Lu Dachuan raised an eyebrow and smiled meaningfully, "Alright, you should get some rest too, don't stay up too late—"

After saying that, he waved his hand and went back to his room.

Ren He, who remained in the living room, smiled and shook his head, then looked down at his phone, preparing to continue chatting with his father.

The chat box contained a new message from Ren's father: "How are you doing in the capital? Don't be hard on yourself, your parents have enough money."

When Ren He saw this sentence, his eyes reddened, and he felt a pang of sadness.

His parents were farmers with meager incomes. Their idea of ​​"enough to live on" meant that they had to be frugal so that their children could have enough to eat.

If Ren He hadn't successfully passed the teacher recruitment exam this year, his sister probably wouldn't have had the money to go to university.

"Dad, I'm doing great. I live in a high-rise now, and the cafeteria food has meat with every meal." He typed the good news and pressed send.

Two seconds later, he added, "My colleagues are all very nice and especially friendly to me."

As he sent those words, the faces of Lu Dachuan, Jiang Wanwan, and Tie Shengnan appeared in his mind, and his eyes softened.

The next day, Jiang Wanwan arrived at the office and had just put her bag in the locker when she heard Lu Meng say, "Wanwan, let me tell you, teachers can't be too gentle, especially new teachers, otherwise they won't have any authority in front of the students."

Through his observations over this period, Lu Meng discovered that Jiang Wanwan was very popular with the students, but sometimes she was too easy to talk to, which made it impossible for her to control the students.

Upon hearing Lu Meng's suggestion, Jiang Wanwan bit her lip and humbly asked, "Master, what should I do specifically?"

She also wanted to become a respected teacher as soon as possible, but compared to the strict teacher of the past, she wanted to build a relationship with her students that was both teacher and friend.

However, she also realized that she seemed to have gone astray. Now she was more like a friend to her students, and they were not afraid of her at all.

This is detrimental to class order management, and if this continues, it may cause even more serious consequences.

Lu Meng adjusted his glasses, his eyes revealing a seasoned composure, and slowly said, "Of course, we should punish them to teach them a lesson."

The first class this morning was Chinese, and Jiang Wanwan walked into the classroom carrying her textbook.

Since she was also the homeroom teacher, she talked about some things in the class during the first few minutes of class.

"There's one more thing, Zhou Yuhe, stand up!"

Jiang Wanwan stared intently at a boy in the back row of the classroom with a stern face and sharp eyes.

Do you know why I called you that?

Zhou Yuhe stood up reluctantly and said in a nonchalant tone, "You want me to ask you? How would anyone know?"

Why do you stay up all night playing cards in other dorms?

"I like it."

Zhou Yuhe chuckled, shrugged, and looked completely indifferent.

Seeing the boy's unrepentant attitude, even the good-tempered Jiang Wanwan was furious.

She slammed the book on the podium and shouted angrily, "Go outside and write a self-criticism! Come back in when you're done."

The loud noise echoed in the classroom. The students were all stunned, seeing Jiang Wanwan so angry for the first time.

Zhou Yuhe was clearly startled as well. He stared stubbornly at Jiang Wanwan for a few seconds, then said fiercely, "Fine, I'll leave!"

He walked towards the classroom door, but halfway there he turned back, grabbed some paper and a pen, and left the classroom without looking back.

Jiang Wanwan took a deep breath, tried her best to adjust her state, and went to class as usual.

"Okay students, now please read the whole text silently and find the sentences that describe the environment."

After arranging a study task, she prepared to go outside to see Zhou Yuhe.

Although she punished him, he was still her student, and she couldn't really ignore him.

Jiang Wanwan walked out of the classroom and found that the boy was actually obediently writing a self-criticism outside the door.

Seeing this, Jiang Wanwan felt a little gratified, "To know one's mistakes and correct them..."

Unexpectedly, when Zhou Yuhe saw Jiang Wanwan, a strange expression suddenly appeared on his face, which also carried a hint of madness and determination.