Ultimate Teacher

September in Flower City was still hot and dry. Stepping out of the air-conditioned bar, Fang Yan's skin immediately prickled upon contact with the outside air.

Quickly, the heat and sweat mixed together, forming an invisible, intangible film—like a cocoon wrapped in silk threads—that gave him a stifling, suffocating feeling.

Fang Yan preferred to stay at home on nights like this. After a cool shower, he'd either lounge on the bed with a book or stand by the window with a telescope.

"The bright moon adorns your window; you adorn someone else's spring dreams."

See, poets really know a thing or two about life.

Fang Yan and Jiang Qin walked side by side down the street. Jiang Qin didn't speak, and neither did Fang Yan.

With her head down, Jiang Qin kicked a small stone that rolled continuously forward.

Fang Yan couldn't help but laugh—she was just like a child.

Of course, in Fang Yan's mind, she was indeed a child.

"What are you laughing at?" Jiang Qin turned to look at Fang Yan, her bright eyes clear and untainted. Ah, youth—their eyes are so pure, like mirrors.

"Nothing," Fang Yan shook his head.

"Don't you have something to say?" Jiang Qin asked.

"Say what?"

"Don't you want to ask something?"

"Ask what?"

"If you weren't there today, how should we have handled that situation?" Jiang Qin asked, turning her face toward him.

"Leave immediately. No matter how wronged you feel, you should get out of there," Fang Yan said. "Trying to reclaim your dignity will only make you lose more of it. Refusing to accept a loss will only make you lose more."

"Why were you able to handle it so decisively and coolly?" Jiang Qin asked.

"The greater a person's ability, the greater the responsibility they bear."

"I know, that's a line from Spider-Man."

"But this line isn't just about Spider-Man; it also applies to Iron Man, Batman, Superman, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Obama, and Fang Yan..."

"You're shameless," Jiang Qin pouted.

"This is a serious matter; you shouldn't say such unserious things," Fang Yan said. "It ruins the atmosphere of our conversation—it might be that after our talk tonight, you achieve sudden enlightenment, and your life becomes extraordinary from now on. When you succeed in the future and write your memoirs, you'll note that it was a solemn night when even the air seemed to condense..."

"What exactly do you want to say?" Jiang Qin interrupted.

"Girls shouldn't go to bars," Fang Yan said. "I'm talking about girls who are still in school."

"Why didn't you just say so directly?"

"I'm a teacher. If I spoke as unskillfully as you, wouldn't that be an insult to the teaching profession?"

"Fang Yan..."

"Call me Teacher Fang."

"You're so annoying."

"If you're rude to me, I'll tell your mom that you're not studying properly and secretly went to a bar."

"I'll tell my mom that you misbehaved at the bar," Jiang Qin retorted.

Jiang Qin extended her hand toward Fang Yan. "Let me use your phone."

"What do you want to do?" Fang Yan asked warily.

"I want to call Yuan Lin; my phone is out of battery," Jiang Qin said.

Fang Yan handed over his phone. Jiang Qin took it and quickly tapped on the screen.

"What are you doing?" Fang Yan asked.

Jiang Qin tossed the phone back to him, smugly saying, "I helped you delete Yuan Lin's number. Anyway, I know you don't like her."

"She has my number saved. What if she calls me?" Fang Yan said.

"You can just not answer," Jiang Qin replied, thinking to herself that it's unlikely she'd call.

"Shh..." Jiang Qin whispered as she unlocked the door with her key. "Walk softly. Don't let my mom hear us."

"Don't shush me; I already heard you," came Aunt Li's voice from inside.

Jiang Qin and Fang Yan exchanged glances and helplessly opened the courtyard gate.

"Mom, why aren't you asleep yet?" Jiang Qin stood at the doorway, grinning as she greeted Aunt Li.

"How could I sleep?" Aunt Li said irritably. She cast a disapproving glance at Fang Yan and asked Jiang Qin, "Where did you go?"

"It's all Teacher Fang's fault," Jiang Qin suddenly turned on Fang Yan, complaining, "We were halfway through tutoring when his stomach started growling, and he said he had to go out to find something to eat. He's new to Flower City and doesn't know his way around; how could I let him go alone? So I took him out to find some food. Originally, I thought I'd let him eat by himself, but when I saw how tasty the food was, I joined in..."

Jiang Qin patted her flat stomach and said, "I'm stuffed. I must have gained several pounds. I need to hurry and lose weight."

"Teacher Fang didn't have enough to eat tonight?" Aunt Li looked at Fang Yan.

Jiang Qin's tactic was effective; it immediately diverted the topic.

Before Fang Yan could respond, Jiang Qin continued, "Mom, are you pretending to be silly? Teacher Fang just moved into our house; how could he feel comfortable eating so much here? When we were having a late-night snack, he even said he usually eats three bowls per meal."

"But he already ate three bowls," Aunt Li said.

"Ah, no, it's four bowls—yes, Teacher Fang said he starts with three bowls and usually eats four or five. He's afraid you'll laugh at him, so he was too embarrassed to eat more."

Aunt Li looked apologetically at Fang Yan and said, "Teacher Fang, you're being too polite. Didn't I tell you? We're all one family; no need to be formal in our house. Next time, don't hold back. I'll make more food in the future to make sure you eat your fill."

"Alright, alright," Fang Yan wished he could find a hole to crawl into. This Jiang Qin—does she think I'm a pig?

"Make more meat dishes; Teacher Fang said he likes meat," Jiang Qin added.

"No problem," Aunt Li laughed heartily. "What's so hard about that? Have you forgotten what your father does for a living?"

Jiang Qin yawned and said, "I'm so sleepy after eating; I'm going to bed."

"Alright, go to sleep. You have classes tomorrow," Aunt Li said.

"Goodnight, Teacher Fang," Jiang Qin blinked playfully at Fang Yan as she said goodbye.

"Goodnight," Fang Yan waved.

Jiang Qin smiled and headed into the house.

"Wait," Aunt Li called out loudly.

Jiang Qin was startled and complained, "Mom, what are you doing? You nearly scared me to death."

"Sweetie, your clothes—weren't you wearing something else earlier?"

"I was wearing this," Jiang Qin said firmly. "I went upstairs to shower and changed."

"This outfit?"

"This outfit."

Aunt Li patted her forehead and sighed, "Menopause—my memory is getting worse and worse."

Jiang Qin walked over and hugged her mother's arm, saying, "Your memory isn't bad at all. How come you never forget to make me breakfast in the morning?"

"Silly child..." Aunt Li affectionately embraced her daughter, looking pleased.

Jiang Qin secretly stuck out her tongue at Fang Yan and went inside with her mother.

"This feels like palace intrigue," Fang Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered.

When Huang Haoran returned home, his father, Huang Wenqiang, was working in the study.

As the chief reporter for Huaxia Metropolitan Daily, Huang Wenqiang rarely went to the office; he spent most of his time out gathering news or at home organizing and writing articles.

"Dad," Haoran stood at the study door and gently knocked.

Seeing his son, Wenqiang adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Haoran, you're back."

"Dad, I want to talk to you," Haoran said.

Wenqiang hesitated slightly but closed the manuscript in his hand. "Alright, let's talk."

He understood his son and knew that Haoran was very steady. If there wasn't something important, he wouldn't interrupt his work. Even though the manuscript was urgently needed by the paper, he was still willing to give his son some time.

Haoran sat down in the chair opposite his father and said, "Dad, I want to ask you to pay attention to an incident."

"Oh? What incident?"

"One of our teachers at Suzaku High School was expelled..." Haoran said.

Wenqiang couldn't help but laugh. "Haoran, don't be ridiculous. You know which newspaper I work for. If it's just a teacher being expelled by a school, it's impossible for it to make it into the Huaxia Metropolitan Daily. Don't waste your time; go wash up, and I'll take you out for something good to eat."

"Dad..." Haoran looked at his father with a stubborn gaze. "He's different from other teachers."

"How is he different?" Wenqiang changed his posture and asked.

"He was wronged. He was expelled because of us," Haoran said emotionally. Thinking about what Zheng Guodong and the others had said made him furious.

What kind of era is this? Why do bad people always get away with things?

After listening to his son's account, Wenqiang's expression became serious.

"What do you want me to do to help him?" Wenqiang asked.

"Publish it," Haoran said through gritted teeth. "You should seek justice for him in the newspaper. If we don't put some pressure on the school, they won't take Teacher Fang back. I heard the school leadership has already held a meeting and agreed on it."

"If I do this..." Wenqiang looked at his son and said, "Do you know what it will bring you? The school leaders will look at you differently, and other teachers, influenced by the higher-ups, might marginalize you. Are you sure you want to do this? You're still young; there's no need to get involved in such struggles. Too much mental pressure could affect your academic performance."

Haoran was silent.

"Think it over carefully," Wenqiang said.

"Dad, I've thought it through," Haoran said earnestly, his eyes firm. "Teacher Fang is a good teacher. Good people shouldn't be treated this way." 

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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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