Ultimate Teacher

"Innovation means being different from others. And so, in everyone's eyes, you're just a freak. But Fang Yan didn't think of himself as a freak. He was just a—" He thought about it seriously, then softly said to himself, "A dreamer."

The first time he read Xu Zhimo's Farewell to Cambridge Again, he had imagined a scene like this: in the glow of the setting sun, drifting slowly across a crystal-clear river, where fish and algae were visible beneath the surface. Holding a long pole, he would glide peacefully between the green hills and blue waters, searching for the poet's sense of romance and sorrowful farewell—or perhaps, simply enjoying that unique feeling of carefree serenity.

In the past, he hadn't had the chance to experience it. But now, he wanted to make sure his students wouldn't have any regrets.

Some of his students probably never had such fantasies, but as a teacher, it wasn't just his job to impart knowledge. He also needed to open their minds—wasn't that what teachers were supposed to do?

The students were highly sensitive to anything new and exciting. You could tell by the increasing number of students gathering on both sides of the Zhuque River.

"Wow, that's so romantic! Learning poetry this way must make it so much more meaningful, right?"

"Totally! Why couldn't our Chinese teacher come up with an idea like this?"

"It's all just for show. That new Chinese teacher in Class Nine is just trying to grab attention—"

Lu Chaoge listened to the students' chatter while watching the poetry recitations on the river. Her suspicions and worries were growing. She turned to Zheng Jing, who was following closely behind her, and said, "Zheng Jing, I want you to do two things."

"Principal Lu, what do you need?" Zheng Jing asked eagerly. Could it be that she was about to call Fang Yan over and give him a stern reprimand?

"First, write up an application for extracurricular student activities and leave it on my desk." Lu Chaoge gave her instructions directly. "Do it in Fang Yan's name."

"Second, inform Jia Siting, the head of the first-year Chinese department, and have him gather all the teachers to come and observe by the river."

"..." Zheng Jing felt like his ears were playing tricks on him. "Principal Lu, isn't that a bit too risky?"

Lu Chaoge gave a cold smile. "Not doing it would be even riskier."

Lu Chaoge was a very smart woman. Even though she hadn't been back in the country for long, she had already gained a deep understanding of how school operations and office politics worked.

Fang Yan's intentions were clearly for the students, but his actions were putting himself in a dangerous position.

First, he hadn't informed the school. Without proper notification, there was no way the school could assess the risks. If something went wrong, who would be held accountable? People on Zheng Tiancheng's side would likely use this as ammunition to cause trouble for him.

Now, what she needed to do was help him by retroactively submitting the application.

Technically, the application should have gone through the Chinese department, but since he was new, they could use the excuse that he didn't know the rules yet—an excuse that was understandable enough.

Second, Fang Yan's unconventional teaching method hadn't been discussed or approved by the Chinese department, which could easily offend other Chinese teachers and give them an excuse to create problems for him.

However, if she took the initiative and positioned Fang Yan as a role model, making it clear that his approach was correct—everyone else would be forced to learn from him, without the right to question him.

This would save Fang Yan a lot of trouble. Of course, it would also bring countless burdens for him in the future. Envy exists everywhere. A new teacher, after just two days, becoming a school role model—how would that sit with the other teachers?

Not that Lu Chaoge cared about that, and she didn't think Fang Yan would care either. If you're not envied, you're mediocre. From this lesson, she could tell that the somewhat reckless young man was the same type of person as her.

"Principal Lu, what I'm saying is, do we really need to go head-to-head with Director Zheng's group over a teacher like Fang Yan, who keeps causing trouble? Even if we save him this time, what about next time?"

"You'll never understand," Lu Chaoge said, her beautiful eyes locked on Zheng Jing. She spoke slowly but clearly, "I'm not protecting Fang Yan. I'm protecting Suzaku High School, and I'm protecting Suzaku High School's students."

"I don't quite understand."

"You don't need to understand." Lu Chaoge shot him a cold glance. "Just do as I say."

"Yes, Principal Lu." Zheng Jing, full of frustration, glared at where Fang Yan stood before running toward the teaching building.

Fang Yan wasn't thinking about all of this. He was just fully immersed in doing what he wanted to do.

People's words can be hurtful, but if you don't do anything at all, that's what's truly frightening.

What do mediocre people love to do most? They'll do everything they can to pull you down to the same starting line as them. That way, they can feel better about themselves and proudly say: "Look, we're all the same."

More and more students gathered to watch, which put a lot of pressure on the students who were yet to take their turn on the boat.

Some students were bold and thrived in the spotlight, while others had stage fright. By now, the number of students watching on both banks of the river was comparable to a large-scale campus event, and the students from Class Nine were the performers on stage.

"I know you're nervous," Fang Yan said loudly to the dozen or so students who hadn't yet taken the boat. "To be honest, I'm just as nervous as you are. Originally, I only had to teach the forty students in Class Nine. Now, I have to teach the entire school's teachers and students—"

Everyone laughed, though some did so awkwardly.

"There are plenty of ways to solve this. We could wait until the bell rings and continue afterward, or I could just say we're done and take you back to class—but I don't want to do that."

"Why should I? Just because there are more students watching, I should become timid? Because there are people staring, I should give up? I'm not a soldier who charges into battle, but I'm certainly not a coward who runs away just because there are a few more people watching."

"If we give up today, then the next time we face a situation like this—or an even bigger one—will we choose to give up again? Sometimes, giving up once is the same as giving up on your whole life."

"Right now, you're all still young, with countless opportunities to back down. I'm young too, and I still have many chances to change my path. But once we leave Suzaku High, once we enter university or society and become cynical and exhausted, we'll regret having given up today."

Fang Yan raised his voice and asked loudly, "So, tell me now—are you going to fight like warriors, or run away like cowards?"

"I'm going!" shouted a tall boy. His name was Zhao Lei, the student who had earlier delivered the fake leave slips for Zheng Guodong, Chen Tao, and Li Yang. Fang Yan remembered him well. His face was flushed, his blood pumping from Fang Yan's speech, and he looked ready to charge into battle like a heroic soldier.

"I'm going! I'm not scared of the crowd."

"Why do you get to go? We've been taking turns based on our student numbers—now it's my turn!" an indignant girl with glasses shouted.

Fang Yan chuckled. His students had made the right choice.

Of course, it was under his wise leadership.

From a distance, Lu Chaoge watched the scene unfold, a sense of joy and satisfaction welling up inside her.

"Maybe, breaking the cycle starting with this guy isn't a bad idea," she murmured.

Zheng Guodong, Li Yang, and Chen Tao had also arrived. To garner some sympathy, Zheng Guodong had wrapped his eye with a bandage, while Li Yang and Chen Tao had their faces slathered in red medicinal ointment. The uneven application made it clear that whoever had applied it had no professional experience.

When the three of them arrived, they didn't greet Fang Yan but stood at a distance, glaring at him with malice.

They had originally planned to hide out in the infirmary for a couple more days, but when they texted Zhao Lei to ask him to request another day off, they quickly received a response: "Leave request denied. Either come to class, or it'll count as skipping."

They had considered standing their ground and refusing to show up, but Chen Tao's remark brought them back to their senses: "If we don't go, won't that jerk have the perfect excuse to expel us?"

So, they hurriedly got dressed and rushed to school.

When they arrived at the classroom, they found it empty.

After asking the students in the next class, they learned that the fiery new teacher had taken the whole class to the Zhuque River for their lesson. They had no idea why, but had no choice but to run over and join the group.

They didn't acknowledge Fang Yan, and Fang Yan had no intention of talking to them either. He simply turned to Huang Haoran, who was standing next to him, and quietly instructed, "Mark Zheng Guodong, Li Yang, and Chen Tao as absent without leave for one class period."

"Got it," Huang Haoran replied obediently.

The lesson continued, and so did the recitations.

The remaining students, far from being intimidated by the crowd, were energized and gave their best performances.

Their recitations became more heartfelt, and their performances more refined. The tall boy, Zhao Lei, gave such a vivid and expressive reading that even Fang Yan stood up and was the first to applaud him.

When the bell rang, most of the students dispersed, though a few lingered by the riverbank to continue watching.

Lu Chaoge, Li Mingqiang, Chen Dahai, and a large group of both familiar and unfamiliar Suzaku High School teachers and administrators stood nearby, keeping a close eye on the situation, causing Fang Yan to smile bitterly.

I knew this would cause a stir.

The last student to board the boat was a girl. Fang Yan patted her on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Finish it off with a perfect finale."

The girl adjusted her red glasses and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Fang. I'll do my best not to let you down—"

"I'm counting on you."

The girl boarded the boat, and Baldy rowed toward the center of the river.

"Quietly I leave, just as quietly I came. I wave my hand—"

Splash!

In her excitement to recite, she hadn't noticed that the deck beneath her feet was slippery. Without any warning, she toppled headfirst into the Zhuque River.

"Mr. Fang, a student fell in!" Baldy shouted toward the shore.

"Someone help!" Fang Yan yelled urgently, before jumping into the river with a loud splash, frantically swimming toward the center of the Zhuque River. 

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𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 shoutouts 𝘁𝗼:

•Leroy

• Jonathan Bailey

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 50+ chapters 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

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