Class is starting

Ye Chong grinned, fortunate for his keen eyes that had observed closely during his journey with Miss Liu, yielding fruitful results—like catching a glimpse of the white bra beneath her light blue blouse, or her slender waist that he could almost fully grasp...

Ye Chong grinned, fortunate for his keen eyes that had observed closely during his journey with Miss Liu, yielding fruitful results—like catching a glimpse of the white bra beneath her light blue blouse, or her slender waist that he could almost fully grasp...

Lost in his musings, he found himself already led by the woman to the office for the 12th-grade class.

"This is our new colleague, Mr. Ye Chong," Miss Liu said in a formulaic manner.

Ye Chong scanned the office and found no one but himself. He wondered who she was talking to.

"Where's everyone?" he asked.

"They've gone to class," she replied.

"If no one's here, why bother with introductions?" Ye Chong asked.

"Principal Su instructed me to introduce you, so I did. It doesn't matter if anyone's here or not. That desk there is yours."

Ye Chong followed her finger to a cluttered desk near the entrance, which he hadn't noticed before.

"Miss Liu, am I here to teach or to watch over the place?" he joked.

"What's the difference?" Miss Liu sneered, taking his cigarette away. "No smoking, no loud noises, no disturbances, no snacks in the office. There are many more rules you'll learn. I'm confiscating this pack of cigarettes. Also, as a teacher, you should set a good example. Your hair is too long; it seriously affects the teacher's image. I expect you to have it cut before work tomorrow."

Ye Chong was about to respond when Miss Liu walked straight into her own office and closed the blinds, leaving him alone. He had been looking forward to this new job, but on his first day, he encountered such a stern female boss—a constant poker face as if mourning her dead husband.

Inside the office, desks were neatly arranged in cubicles. Apart from Ye Chong, there were three other teachers, each desk meticulously organized.

He noticed a wooden photo frame and picked it up. Instantly, he was captivated: the girl inside was gorgeous!

He hadn't expected such luck. Although Miss Liu was a bit cold, her high score in looks could excuse anything. Moreover, there was another colleague who was equally dazzling.

Thinking of the smelly old men at the construction site, this place felt like paradise!

Suddenly, a tall girl entered, looking displeased. "Who let you touch my stuff?" she snapped.

Ye Chong turned to see a girl standing at the door—the same one in the photo. Her tall figure made her legs disproportionately long. Her lightly made-up face bore a pair of slender almond-shaped eyes, exuding a seductive charm even when annoyed.

He was taken aback. She mistook him for a student? It seemed he still looked quite young.

Scratching his head, he tried to explain, "You got it wrong, I'm not a student, actually I'm—"

Before he could finish, the girl realized, "Oh, you snuck in from outside. No wonder you have such long hair."

"No, you've misunderstood. Let me explain—"

Just then, another girl entered, her cute baby face slightly chubby. With her round, large eyes and petite figure, she seemed like a doll, inviting one to play with her.

Upon seeing the situation, she sensed something was amiss. "Lu Lu, what's going on? Who's this person?"

Pointing at Ye Chong, the tall girl accused, "He's a thief!"

Ye Chong was dumbfounded. "Miss, you're mistaken. How could you accuse me of theft?"

"I saw you sneaking around and stealing my stuff! Don't try to deny it," she insisted.

The other girl, not to be outdone, rushed over and grabbed Ye Chong's arm. "You look suspicious. How dare you come to the school and steal things? Lu Lu, I've caught him. You'd better call security."

Ye Chong was at a loss. On his first day, he was mistaken for a thief by beautiful girls. "Hey, can you two take a closer look? Do I look like a shady person?"

"Not shady, but quite shady-looking," the petite girl affirmed without hesitation.

"Just now, didn't you say I looked 'quite shady'?" Ye Chong retorted.

The two girls began to argue, blaming each other. Meanwhile, the air seemed to freeze, and both girls turned to Ye Chong. "You're the Mr. Ye recommended by the principal?" they asked in unison.

Ye Chong smiled faintly. "You're flattering me. I'm Ye Chong. And how should I address you two beautiful ladies?"

The petite girl shook his hand first. "I'm Guo Shi, the biology teacher for Grade 12. You can also call me Guo Guo."

The tall girl cast a glance at her, then pushed her aside with her body, saying sweetly, "Hey handsome, I'm Gan Lu, the English teacher for the 12th grade. Welcome aboard. From now on, we're all colleagues here. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

The two girls, one before and one behind, left Ye Chong puzzled. "You're both professional teachers, while I'm just an intern teacher with no formal training. I'll need both of you beautiful ladies to look after me in the future."

Just as Gan Lu was about to speak, she was nudged aside by Guo Shi's ample chest. "No problem. Don't hesitate to ask for help. As you can see, I'm always eager to assist…"

Ye Chong felt a tingling sensation from their words and smiled awkwardly. "It's work time now, I won't disturb you two. I'll tidy up my desk first."

"You're new here. How can we let you do such things? Let me do it," said Gan Lu.

In the midst of their conversation, the two girls began to compete with each other, rushing to tidy up Ye Chong's desk.

Watching their busy figures, Ye Chong seemed to figure it out. It was probably because they heard that he was personally recommended by the principal that they were being so attentive.

Regardless, having two more beautiful friends was better than having enemies. Since they wanted to show kindness, he was happy to accept it.

At that moment, another person entered—a male teacher dressed in a shirt and trousers, clean and neat, but with drooping shoulders and a weary demeanor, as if he had never won a lottery in his life.

He glanced briefly at Ye Chong, then sat down heavily at his desk, either wiping his sweat or sighing deeply.

Guo Shi frowned and asked, "Mr. Song, are you worrying about the students again?"

Slamming his teaching materials onto the desk, he exclaimed, "Being a teacher these days is so difficult. I can't even teach my class properly. The students in Class 8 of the 12th grade are simply unreasonable!"

Ye Chong's heart skipped a beat. Class 8 of the 12th grade was the privilege class he was supposed to lead. "What's the problem with the students in Class 8?" he asked.

"The students? They're like a bunch of bandits! Not only do they talk, sleep, and play with their phones during class, but today, when I was teaching them about Qu Yuan and his famous work 'Li Sao,' they insisted I teach them 'Jin Ping Mei' instead. Qu Yuan was such a stalwart poet, and yet they dared to blaspheme such a sage."

"Are students really this arrogant nowadays?"

"It's not just arrogance, it's lawlessness. Especially the students in Class 8 of the 12th grade. I really don't know how to describe them."

"Since they're already this arrogant, why don't you get tough with them?"

"Tough? How can I? After all, I've been brought up reading the classics. I believe in reasoning with students. But nowadays, they don't listen to reason at all. You talk about discipline; they talk about freedom of speech. You talk about freedom of speech; they talk about the law. You talk about the law; they talk about morality. You talk about morality; they talk about that person, what's his name, Mr. Cang? Who is he?"

Ye Chong couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at the sight of this young but seemingly old-fashioned teacher. So he improvised, "Oh, I heard he's a people's artist who came from Japan to China, thousands of miles away, a man of both virtue and art."

Song Jinguo nodded and raised his head to notice Ye Chong. "Oh, who are you?"

"I'm Ye Chong, the new homeroom teacher for Class 8 of the 12th grade. And you?"

"I'm Song Jinguo, the Chinese teacher for the 12th grade…" He pushed his glasses up and sized up Ye Chong. "I don't mean to be rude, but Class 8 of the 12th grade has changed six homeroom teachers already. They either resigned or retired due to injuries. Looking at you, you seem quite... precarious."

Ye Chong smiled calmly. "You won't know until you try."

Song Jinguo sighed. "Ah, the road ahead is long, wishing you good luck."

With that, he left with a bundle of teaching materials, shaking his head.

Imitating his mannerisms, Guo Shi said, "Ah, the road ahead is long, wishing you good luck. Hahaha…"

Before she could finish, Ye Chong and Gan Lu burst into laughter.