Chapter 37: The Dream School

"What on earth are you doing!" Chen Yan shouted.

The students did not stop at all. Chen Yan rushed forward to pull them apart, and the other teachers hurried over as well... It took the intervention of the security guards to finally restrain the hot-blooded teenagers.

In the corner lay the disheveled youth, Zhang Yadong, his clothes and trousers covered in footprints. His fair, tender face was swollen...

Chen Yan took Zhang Yadong to the infirmary and then rushed him to the hospital, where he underwent a full battery of CT scans, ultrasounds, and MRIs. Fortunately, they were all superficial injuries.

"Phew—" Chen Yan leaned his head against the bench and let out a long sigh of relief.

...

Chen Yan brought Zhang Yadong back to the classroom, walked slowly up to the podium, and asked in a cold voice, "Come on, someone tell me, what is going on here?"

This was no small matter; this was a national key high school! The principal and the dean of students had already called Chen Yan several times, but he insisted on speaking with the students first.

Although Chen Yan didn't care for Zhang Yadong, he knew the intern would be gone in a month at most, so he had intended to just endure it; he hadn't expected the students to reach their breaking point.

Silence. A terrifying silence.

The students were called upon one by one. As they stood up, they all seemed to channel the spirit of Liu Hulan, facing the intimidating questioning without uttering a single word. The only difference from the martyr was that everyone kept their heads bowed.

"If you won't speak, you can just keep standing!"

Chen Yan was in a bind. Zhang Yadong was the cousin of a senior colleague and even knew the principal; him being beaten in class was impossible to justify. How could he explain this if the senior, Du Wei, asked? How could he report it to the principal?

Just then, Dong Dapeng finally stood up and said, "It was Teacher Zhang who started it by badmouthing Zhou Luoyao! He said that Lin Cheng from Class 3 got her... uh... pregnant. He even said things about you and her... We couldn't stand it, so we beat him up!"

"You really are my good students, standing up for your classmates and even standing up for your teacher!?"

In truth, Chen Yan was quite touched. For the entire class to stick up for their teacher—that was a massive show of loyalty.

"He said she was involved with Lin Cheng and also had a thing with you. He claimed he saw it with his own eyes."

These words startled Chen Yan, and his face changed. He did indulge Zhou Luoyao, not just because she was a good student, pretty, and came from a mysterious background, but because she helped manage the class—all the boys and girls respected her!

When she entered the tenth grade, she had shaved her head into a buzzcut to protest the school's hair length regulations. Half the boys in the class shaved their heads to support her! That was true solidarity. It made Class 5 famous throughout the entire school; even the older boys admired her.

"You're lying. I didn't!" Zhang Yadong retorted arrogantly.

In the three days he had been interning, he hadn't learned how to teach, but he was quite skilled at bullying and suppressing students. Unfortunately, these teenagers were seventeen years old, and they dared to take responsibility for their actions. They only respected teachers who possessed true integrity.

"Then which dog said it?"

"The bastard said it!"

...

The students were filled with righteous indignation; the atmosphere became tense again instantly. If things went south, Zhang Yadong might get another beating.

"That's enough!" Chen Yan felt a surge of frustration. The students quieted down. Chen Yan took a break, then took out his phone and called his senior.

"Hello, Du Wei."

"Hey, Chen Yan, what's up? My cousin hasn't caused you any trouble, has he?"

It seemed the "good senior" Du Wei had a clear understanding of his cousin; he even knew he was capable of causing trouble.

"Well, nothing major, except he was shooting his mouth off and got beaten up by the whole class."

Chen Yan emphasized the word "whole class"—he wanted Du Wei to know that his cousin had offended a whole group of people.

"What?! Is... is he okay?" Du Wei was shocked.

"He's fine. He went through the whole routine of ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs. It's just superficial bruising."

"Oh, that's good." Du Wei seemed to relax.

"...Our temple is too small to house this great Buddha. You'd better find another temple for him."

"Uh... let's talk about this in person." Du Wei tried to explain.

"No more talking. That's it!" Chen Yan hung up the phone without ceremony. Knowing what kind of person his cousin was and still sending him to cause trouble for me—what a jerk!

Chen Yan kept a cold face and, without showing any further courtesy, said, "Zhang Yadong, you can go back now."

Zhang Yadong stormed out angrily. Chen Yan looked down at the young boys and girls standing like scallions before the podium. "You can all sit down."

With a rustle, the "scallions" sat down one after another, looking at Chen Yan, wondering what he would say next.

This was a major incident. The school leadership would demand an explanation, and for Chen Yan himself, it could have very serious consequences. Chen Yan looked at the young faces staring intently at him and said aloud:

"Well done. What a piece of trash. When you come across someone like that, you have to deal with him."

Chen Yan didn't usually use profanity. When these words came out, the students were stunned!

For 0.5 seconds...

"Hahahahaha..."

At that moment, the classroom couldn't have been happier.

"Quiet! Don't make a scene." Chen Yan put on a straight face, becoming serious again. The students immediately fell silent.

"Earlier, I didn't understand the situation and spoke harshly to you. That wasn't the right thing for a teacher to do." Chen Yan scratched his head, feeling too guilty to look them in the eye. He had never apologized to his students before. Even when he was wrong, he never said "I'm sorry," always brushing it off with "you little rascals..." and so on.

Saying the words "I'm sorry" in front of so many teenagers was difficult; his pride wouldn't allow it. So, he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "So... the teacher just wanted to say..."

"Teacher, you don't mean to say you're sorry, do you?" Zhou Luoyao said, resting her chin on her hand with a calm expression.

The students were all taken aback, their eyes burning as they looked at Chen Yan.

"Hahaha, Teacher, we accept your apology!" some students laughed teasingly.

"It's okay, we forgive you!"

"When are you going to treat us to a meal? Then we'll forgive you!"

The students chattered away, erupting into laughter once more. Chen Yan looked at everyone with gratitude. In the eyes of these young boys and girls, there was something that didn't need to be said—everyone understood.

"Pfft, as if I would apologize to you. I'm the teacher, after all," Chen Yan said with feigned disdain. "Wait for me, I'll go buy you some candy!"

"No, we want to eat the wedding candy from you and Teacher Yang!"

"Then you can forget about that."

"Aaaaaah! We don't forgive you anymore!"

This class turned into a heart-to-heart session. Chen Yan shared many lessons: "If you don't study hard, society will help educate you later..." and much more.

But Chen Yan knew he might soon have to face leaving them—leaving this beautiful campus.

Wuzhou High School was a national demonstration high school, having been selected four times as one of the "Top 100 National High Schools." He still remembered the excitement he felt the first time he stepped through that ancient, academy-style gate.

Wuzhou High School was built on the original site of the school established by the venerable Fan Zhongyan. The school had a long history of famous figures; even the first president of Peking University, Mr. Cai Yuanpei, had deep ties to this institution. A thousand years ago, Fan Zhongyan first combined the Confucian Temple with the state school. Now, the "Academy" covered over 90,000 square meters, featuring Dao Mountain, Bixia Pond, and Chunyu Pond. There were over 30,000 square meters of green space! The scenery was no less beautiful than the gardens of Suzhou, and perhaps even more vibrant and magnificent!

It housed the East White Building, the West White Building, the East Red Building, the West Red Building, the Zunjing Pavilion, the experimental buildings, and the technology information center... This was the dream school for every student in Wuzhou—a place most of the tens of millions of high school students across the country couldn't even dream of attending.

It was home to the best teachers in Wuzhou and the most outstanding young boys and girls...