Chen Qiao was carrying a tape recorder in one hand and supporting it with the other, being very careful.
He obediently followed behind the English teacher.
The teachers’ office is now all on the third floor.
When the classroom was noisy in the third grade, the teacher next door would come over to scold them.
He rarely came to the office.
He was neither the study committee member nor the class representative.
His academic performance was also among the top, ranking third in the class.
He didn’t attend the teacher’s private tutoring class, so the teacher had nothing much to guide him in his studies.
Although Chen Qiao often went to the black internet cafe to surf the Internet outside school, he was a very well-behaved and good student at school, not causing trouble or making a fuss, and he was even a member of the guidance team.
There were not many teachers in the office.
Only a few teachers were sitting by the window chatting idly.
Wang Yilin greeted everyone politely, and Chen Qiao also nodded and said, “Hello, teacher.”
The teachers who had no classes in the morning had already gone back to the dormitory.
It was now the time for eye exercises.
Teachers of the lower grades usually supervised the students to do the eye exercises well, especially the head teachers.
The teachers’ office was converted from the old classroom.
There were blackboards at the front and back, and only a few fans on the ceiling.
Each desk was covered with a thick piece of transparent glass, under which were pressed student lists, timetables, and so on.
On the desks were exercise books, textbooks, and the old cadres’ tea cups.
Wang Yilin’s desk was in the farthest corner at the top left.
She occupied two desks by herself.
Although it was always said that there was a shortage of teachers, what was lacking was excellent teaching staff.
People in the countryside couldn’t be retained.
What reason did she have to stay?
The small mountain village in Northern Guangdong had a climate and diet that she, a native of Guangzhou, could fully adapt to.
She hadn’t left the province.
The only problem was the salary.
She still wanted to be a music teacher, preferably teaching junior high school students.
High school students had too heavy a burden of study, and primary school students were too lively, always asking why, why, which could really drive a person crazy.
Junior high school students were just right.
She had always longed for the recorder class.
Chen Qiao gently placed the tape recorder on the desk.
Wang Yilin sat on a wooden chair, leaning back, and began to read Chen Qiao’s notebook carefully.
It was directly the second chapter.
She flipped back but didn’t see the first chapter.
However, it didn’t affect the reading much.
For a primary school student’s level, the language was too ornate, the wording was mature, and there were no logical errors or fatal flaws.
It was a whole page.
It was about the story of a hitman and his sister.
The text was not separated into paragraphs at all, which made the eyes sore.
“Is this a novel?”
Wang Yilin asked, rubbing her temples.
She had also bought and read magazines like Huahuo and The Novel.
Although it was not the type she liked, she felt that the writing was not bad.
At least she couldn’t write like that.
For a sixth-grader, it was nothing short of a prodigy.
“Yes, I want to be a novelist,” Chen Qiao said firmly.
There was no need to lie.
It was like saying he wanted to be an astronaut.
The teacher would just smile and not slap him.
“Does Teacher Yang know that you write novels?”
“No, she definitely wouldn’t allow me to write.”
“You also know that you are now in the graduating class. If you do well in the primary school graduation exam, you can go to the junior high school in the county town. Didn’t a private school just open last year? Outstanding students can be exempt from tuition fees and even receive bonuses.”
Chen Qiao had no interest in these.
He was definitely going to study in the town’s middle school because his sister was there.
It was also a year for them to be together in junior high school, and he would also take the same high school as his sister.
For university, he would try to be in the same city, buy a big villa outside, continue to live together, and be a family.
This sounded a bit strange.
They had always been siblings and always a family.
“Writing so much must have taken a lot of time, right?”
Wang Yilin felt exhausted writing reports and materials, not knowing how many brain cells had died.
If the teacher only had to teach and manage students, it wouldn’t be so nerve-wracking.
But there were too many tasks beyond teaching, and she didn’t know about these twists and turns before becoming a teacher.
“You should study well now. Wait until you grow up… Wait until you graduate to write this. It’s good to have special skills and hobbies, but you can’t neglect the basics. If you don’t study well, how can you write good articles, right?”
“Okay, Teacher Wang is right,” Chen Qiao nodded obediently.
Wang Yilin knew from Chen Qiao’s perfunctory attitude that he hadn’t taken it in.
She had also been like this when being scolded by leaders, mentors, and parents.
Talking back would only make the scolding worse.
“Writing novels in my class, do you think my teaching method is boring?”
When it came to music class, Wang Yilin could come up with many ideas, but for English class, it was just reading from the book.
First, the words, then the text, and then explaining the key points, such as the two tenses, present perfect and simple past, common sentence structures, and basic grammar rules.
That’s all for the exam.
As for teaching the whole class in English, she didn’t have that ability.
The students wouldn’t understand at all, which would only make them hate English more.
“Of course not, because I already know the content of the teacher’s class.”
“Really?”
If it were Wu Xinyu saying this, it would be more appropriate.
Chen Qiao’s English grades had never been perfect.
“Then I’ll test you. Let’s start with dictating the new words of today.”
Wang Yilin took a piece of paper and a pen and placed them in front of Chen Qiao, then began to read the Chinese meanings of the words: “Study…””Translate this part of the text.”
“Indeed, it’s correct… Did you do your preview?”
“Yes.”
The teacher had already found an excuse for Chen Qiao, so he naturally took the opportunity to get out of the situation.
Wang Yilin felt complicated.
She couldn’t prevent students from previewing their lessons, could she?
Wang Yilin coughed awkwardly and said, “Previewing is necessary, but you also have to listen carefully in class. The teacher will explain knowledge points beyond the textbook, understand?”
It seemed that she couldn’t just read from the book anymore.
She didn’t want to be looked down upon by the students.
Even if there was only a little over a month left, Wang Yilin wanted to take it seriously and didn’t want the students to have a bad impression of her as a teacher.
“Understood.”
“I’ll return your notebook to you first.”
“Thank you, Teacher Wang.”
Chen Qiao solemnly extended both hands, intending to take back the notebook, but Wang Yilin pulled it back halfway, held it in her arms, and pressed it against her chest.
“Uh.”
Chen Qiao was teased a little and didn’t manage to retract his hand in time.
His fingers, holding the notebook, carefully touched Wang Yilin’s chest.
Although it wasn’t big, it felt a bit soft through the shirt and bra.
Chen Qiao awkwardly pulled his hand back and placed it behind his back, lowering his head obediently.
Wang Yilin hadn’t expected such an accident, nor did she think that Chen Qiao had done it on purpose.
After all, he was a primary school student whose height didn’t even reach her chest.
It was all because she was impulsive, thinking that she couldn’t just easily return the notebook to Chen Qiao.
Wang Yilin was, after all, an adult.
She wasn’t so shy that she would overreact.
She continued, “But there is a condition. In my class from now on, I hope you can pay attention and not daydream about writing this…novel.”
Wang Yilin raised her voice as if to intimidate, “Otherwise, if I catch you again, I won’t return it to you until after the graduation exam. And you can’t write it in other teachers’ classes either, or I won’t be able to help you. I won’t tell Teacher Yang for now.”
“Thank you, Teacher Wang.”
Chen Qiao was much more sincere this time.
It would indeed be troublesome if the headteacher found out.
She had just given birth, was older, and was nearing menopause, with a very bad temper.
She was not easy to deal with like a female college student.
There were only two English classes and one music class per week, so it wouldn’t affect much.
Chen Qiao was more engaged in English class than in Chinese or math class.
He would write a few strokes, think for a moment, and then look up as if to glance at the blackboard.
Wang Yilin truly placed the notebook in Chen Qiao’s palm.
She had never intended to confiscate it. It was better to guide than to block.
If she really confiscated it, he would definitely hate her as a teacher.
She would never play the role of the bad guy.
Seeing the English exercise book on the table, Wang Yilin said, “Because of your matter, I just forgot to assign homework. Copy the new words three times and memorize them. I will have a dictation in my class tomorrow. For any word you can’t write from memory, copy it ten times. You go back and inform the classmates in your class. These are the English books for the class, and you take them back and distribute them to the students.”
“Um, I haven’t set an English class representative. From now on, you will be in charge,” she said.
It wasn’t that Wang Yilin didn’t want to set this position.
It was just that Wu Xinyu was already holding multiple roles, being both the study committee member and the math class representative, and she also had to find time during the breaks to copy math application problems on the back blackboard.
Usually, she also helped collect English homework.
It was really not appropriate to trouble her further.
Other students with poor English grades couldn’t handle this position, so it had been vacant.
The only inconvenience was that when Wang Yilin was in class, she had to carry the tape recorder and couldn’t hold the students’ English homework books.
After class, she would have to make another trip, or if she happened to meet a student from her class coming to the office to submit homework, she would ask them to take it back for her.
But if Chen Qiao had time to write novels, he definitely had time to be an English class representative, right?
“In the future, you will be responsible for collecting the English homework for the class. Do you know how to use the tape recorder?”
“Yes.”
Wang Yilin clasped her hands and said, “That makes things easier. In the future, during music class and self-study time, spend a bit of time reading English words. I will discuss this with Teacher Yang. The tape recorder will be kept in the classroom. You must take good care of it and not let everyone play with it and break it. After school at noon, put it in the office. If you need to read English in the afternoon, bring it back to the classroom. After school, take it back to the office. No, better yet, take it to my dormitory in the evening. Do you know where my dormitory is?”
Wang Yilin listened to music in the evening, otherwise she couldn’t fall asleep.
“No, I don’t know.”
Chen Qiao shook his head.
He had been to the headteacher’s dormitory once for a composition experience class.
“It’s the room on the far left on the second floor. I’ll take you there after school this afternoon. Do you think it’s too much trouble? If you don’t want to, it’s okay. I’ll just make a few more trips.”
Wang Yilin suddenly realized that she was being too willful, not at all like a teacher, but more like a child.
“No, it’s not.”
Going home after school was on the way anyway, and helping to carry things was in line with Chen Qiao’s idea of exercising.
Although he didn’t actively want to get along well with the young volunteer teacher, there was no reason to refuse.
By chance, it was a bit like what Chen Qiao had boasted about in the live broadcast.
The volunteer teacher was giving him extra tutoring in the dormitory.
Of course, the exaggerated content that Chen Qiao added was provided by an online friend from an early book group.
He sent an old photo from about eight or nine years ago, a revealing photo sent by the volunteer teacher.
He asked the teacher for a reward for making progress in his studies.
It was then that Chen Qiao realized that his novel content was still too lacking in imagination.
The real situation was even more exciting.
“That’s good. Class is about to start. You go back to the classroom. Don’t get caught writing novels in class again,” Wang Yilin reminded.
“Okay, thank you, Teacher Wang.”
Chen Qiao picked up the English books and went back to the classroom to distribute them, also taking the ones for Class One.
Chen Qiao gave the English books to Tian Zhen and the others, letting the class officers distribute them themselves.
It was nice to have acquaintances.
He took the ones for his own class, his own, Lin Na’s, and Wu Xinyu’s, and distributed them group by group, letting the group leaders hand them out.
He was still the group leader after all. When the teacher corrected the homework, the order wasn’t messed up.
“Wu Xinyu, today’s English homework is…………”Chen Qiao told Wu Xinyu, letting her, as the study committee member, inform the whole class, which was more authoritative.
“Really?”
Wu Xinyu asked doubtfully.
“Why would I lie? If you don’t believe me, you can ask Teacher Wang. I’m the English class representative now. I’ll collect the English homework from now on.”
“Weren’t you called in by Teacher Wang for a scolding?”
This didn’t sound like a scolding at all. It sounded like a promotion!
In the eyes of a good student like Wu Xinyu, holding positions like class representative required good behavior, and if grades slipped, the position could be revoked.
How could this happen?
It must be that Chen Qiao had used some means to ingratiate himself and bribe the young Teacher Wang.
Wu Xinyu was the child of a middle school teacher, having grown up in the teacher’s circle.
In her eyes, Teacher Wang was far from qualified, but she didn’t say much, considering her young age.
“I was scolded, but in order for me to study well, she gave me an important task.”
“You inform them yourself. I’m the English class representative, not you. Hmph!”
Wu Xinyu snatched the English book from Chen Qiao’s hand, sat back on the stool, opened the book, and picked up her pen to start copying the words for the day, completely ignoring Chen Qiao.
Didn’t she believe what he said about the English homework?
It was a waste that Chen Qiao had even brought her the English book.
Talented people really were hard to get along with.
The last class in the morning was the labor and technology class.
In primary school, this class was just for show.
A thin textbook was issued, and the teacher hadn’t come to teach many classes.
When they did come, they just let the students study on their own.
Near the end of the term, they would bring a test paper with only multiple-choice and true/false questions and let everyone take an open-book exam.
The labor and technology teacher didn’t come today either.
Chen Qiao picked up the chalk and wrote today’s English homework on the blackboard, then reminded the whole class again.
When Chen Qiao returned to his seat, he rubbed against Lin Na’s back once more.
He vaguely felt that his body was showing signs of awakening.
“Chen Qiao, are you okay?”
Lin Na asked worriedly.
“I’m fine. Teacher Wang is very nice. She returned the notebook to me and asked me to be the English class representative.”
“Ah!”
Lin Na’s eyes widened.
She clearly couldn’t understand either.
“Did you manage to do the three new problems I gave you?”
“I only did the first one.”
“It’s okay. Take your time. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes. I have plenty of problems here,” Chen Qiao said, pointing to his head.
After Wu Xinyu finished today’s math and English
“Great, great.”
“Hehe………………”Lin Na smiled foolishly, squinting her eyes, and gradually lost herself in the praises from Chen Qiao.
Did she really seem that silly?
From childhood to now, neither teachers nor her parents had ever praised her for being smart.
Her parents only thought she was hardworking and much less clever than her younger sister.
Her sister’s health was worse than hers, and she was younger, so she was made to do more work, and she didn’t think there was anything wrong with that.
Still in a relationship, whether it was the awareness of being a guidance team member or some other emotion, Wu Xinyu felt anger rising in her heart. Before she knew it, she had thrown a small piece of chalk in her hand at Chen Qiao.
“Ah?”
Chen Qiao, who was completely unprepared, got hit right on the back of his head. It didn’t hurt, and he turned around bewildered to see Wu Xinyu with her arms crossed, looking at him triumphantly, as if to make sure he knew who had thrown the chalk.
Yesterday it was a basketball, today it’s a piece of chalk, what’s going on here?
What will it be tomorrow?
Chen Qiao also began to reflect on where he had offended this “white swan” and made her unhappy. He hadn’t even taken away the position of the top student in the class yet.