Chapter 34: With Ten Coins in Pocket, One Must Rustle Their Robes

(Page 1 of 3)

When Zhang Yadong, with his fair, baby-soft complexion, walked into the office, he politely greeted everyone.

“Hello, teachers. Is Teacher Chen Yan here?”

At that moment, Chen Yan was leaning against his desk, talking on the phone with a parent.

As it happened, Zhou Luoyao was sitting in Chen Yan’s chair, sorting homework.

And as if that were not coincidental enough, her father and Secretary Zheng Qun had taken her to attend an international forum on biochemistry. She had gone along as an escort, dressed in a thoroughly professional, establishment-style outfit, and had only left after the luncheon reception.

Zhou Luoyao wore a beige trench coat, her long hair draped over her shoulders, as she seriously worked her way through the assignments.

As class monitor of an elite students’ class, she often helped the teachers grade papers and mark homework.

Besides, Zhou Luoyao was perfectly at ease wherever she went, and there was nothing unusual about her being in the office.

…

Some teachers in the office were drinking water, while others were marking assignments.

One of them pointed toward Chen Yan.

Zhang Yadong glanced at Chen Yan, who was still on the phone, then looked at Zhou Luoyao.

He walked over to her with great familiarity and said, “Hello, Teacher Chen. I’m Zhang Yadong, Du Wei’s cousin. My cousin told you about me…”

Whether Zhou Luoyao was genuinely busy or simply in one of her difficult moods, she raised her head, glanced at him, and said coolly, “Have a seat.”

She was not particularly friendly toward Zhang Yadong.

She knew there was an intern teacher coming and had already made preparations.

That fellow had postponed his arrival once, twice, three times, and she was thoroughly irritated.

Chen Yan might also have complained about him.

On top of that, she may have had some prejudice against pretty-faced young men.

But the moment Zhang Yadong saw Zhou Luoyao’s proud and lovely face, he could not conceal the flash of astonishment in his eyes.

He sat down, grinning broadly, and said to himself, “My cousin said Teacher Chen was his friend, so I assumed you were a man. I never imagined you’d be such a beauty.”

Zhou Luoyao had been immune to that sort of flattery since childhood. She did not even bother answering him.

Seeing that she was not responding, Zhang Yadong continued, “Teacher Chen, you look so young. How old are you this year?”

A few teachers in the office snickered, but as though they had agreed beforehand, no one exposed what was really going on.

“Teacher Chen is twenty-eight,” one of the teachers beside them said with a laugh.

“Twenty-eight?” Zhang Yadong looked astonished and immediately showered her with praise. “You really don’t look it at all. You look just like an eighteen-year-old girl. Teacher Chen, how do you take such good care of yourself? If no one had told me, I would have thought you were a student.”

“The secret is to spend more time playing games in Internet cafés and shooting hoops,” another teacher added, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

“Basketball? I’m pretty good myself. Teacher Chen, we could play together sometime. I’ll teach you.”

(Page 2 of 3)

Zhang Yadong was shamelessly shooting his mouth off.

Zhou Luoyao maintained her icy composure and continued to ignore him.

A young lady—or a beautiful girl—could have many sides. When Zhou Luoyao was being ladylike, she was as still and graceful as a maiden; at other times, she could be as lively as a crazed rabbit.

“All right, then. Teacher Chen, are you finished with your call? Why don’t you play with this young man for a while?” one of the teachers asked Chen Yan.

“I’m finished.” Chen Yan set down the phone and looked at Zhang Yadong, who had been enthusiastically trying to flirt with Zhou Luoyao.

“Ah?” Zhang Yadong stared at Chen Yan in utter confusion.

“Hahaha…” The teachers in the office all burst into laughter.

“You’re Zhang Yadong, right? I’m Chen Yan. Du Wei told me about you. You can start your internship today.”

Zhang Yadong froze. He looked around at the teachers, all of whom were smiling knowingly, and finally understood what had happened. He quickly replied, “Oh, yes, yes, of course.”

“Zhou Luoyao, you can go ahead first.”

“All right.” Zhou Luoyao stretched, picked up a stack of test papers, and walked out of the office. “I’ll take these over for you.”

“Fine.”

As Zhang Yadong watched her leave, admiring her light, graceful figure as though a breeze had brushed past, he asked, “Is she Teacher Zhou?”

“That’s a student,” Chen Yan said sternly.

People who became frivolous the moment they saw a beautiful woman deserved to be dealt with harshly.

In fact, Zhang Yadong had made a bad impression the moment he appeared. Most of the teachers in the office probably felt the same way.

Zhou Luoyao was truly beautiful, with an aura that naturally drew attention.

It was just that Zhang Yadong had shown his interest far too eagerly, and in a vulgar manner at that.

He was the sort of man who, with ten coins at his waist, would make a show of shaking his clothes so they jingled; whenever he encountered a beauty, he would immediately rush to get her into bed.

That approach might work on some girls, but with Zhou Luoyao, it was unbearably tacky.

“You should go to the classroom first. It’s almost time for class.”

“All right!” Zhang Yadong stood up and was about to leave.

“Du Wei told you which class you’d be assigned to, didn’t he?” Chen Yan called after him.

“Ah, I didn’t ask. Which class?” Zhang Yadong stopped and turned to ask.

“Senior Class Three, Class Five.”

“Got it.”

Zhang Yadong immediately left the office without even closing the door behind him.

“Teacher Chen, is that the intern teacher? He doesn’t look like a teacher at all!” one of the teachers said, clearly displeased.

(Page 3 of 3)

“Your class is probably going to have trouble.”

“You’d better keep an eye on him. Don’t let him cause any problems.”

The teachers offered their advice one after another.

It was not as though they did not know that the principal had approved him. After all, Wu Zhou High School was not a place just anyone could enter.

In theory, their dissatisfaction with Zhang Yadong should have been expressed more tactfully. Unfortunately, none of them made the slightest effort to hide it.

It was simply the honest reaction of people who had worked in education for many years.

When Chen Yan entered the classroom, the students were already seated.

Zhou Luoyao was an excellent student, but she also loved to have fun. She had requested a seat in the back row herself: it gave her more freedom while ensuring that she would not cause Chen Yan any trouble.

Chen Yan spotted Zhang Yadong at once. Holding a notebook, he was sitting beside Zhou Luoyao with an air of exaggerated seriousness.

“Class, this is Teacher Zhang. He’ll be joining our class for the month to gain some practical experience. Please welcome him.”

Chen Yan went through the formalities politely.

The students applauded, occasionally sneaking glances at the intern teacher.

Then the lesson on the test paper began.

During the first period, Zhang Yadong still listened fairly attentively. By the second, he had become distracted, hiding a magazine inside his textbook and reading it.

After finishing, he leaned over and whispered to Zhou Luoyao.

When she ignored him, he wrote a note and passed it to her.

Damn it, that was the beautiful darling and big sister of the class!

Chen Yan found himself distracted as well.

How could someone like this become a teacher? Damn it, he was practically driving Chen Yan mad. Yet Chen Yan could hardly criticize him outright.

On his very first day, Zhang Yadong had behaved so restlessly that he looked as though he was only a cigarette away from complete delinquency.

Sure enough, Chen Yan later heard that he had handed cigarettes out to students in the restroom.

Although Chen Yan had told Zhang Yadong that he did not need to attend evening self-study, he showed up anyway.

What was worse, he kept finding excuses to bother Zhou Luoyao. One moment he would cover her test paper; the next he would rummage through her pencil case; then he would reach out and touch her hair. He simply sat beside her and refused to leave.

After two days, the students had figured out what kind of person this teacher was and kept well away from him.

As dismissal time approached, Zhang Yadong became visibly excited. He chatted and laughed beside Zhou Luoyao, and even wanted to escort her home.