After Transmigrating for the Third Time, the Real Young Master Decides to Slouch - Chapter 5

Jiang Zao pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. He was still a little unused to them.

The glasses had been prepared by Rong Jingcheng. After cutting Jiang Zao’s bangs, Rong Jingcheng had studied him for a long time, then taken out a pair of black-framed glasses without prescription lenses and put them on him. Smiling, he said that this way, no one would covet Xiao Zao’s beauty.

Although Jiang Zao found his words disgusting, when he looked at himself in the mirror with his entire face revealed, he thought that without any cover, there would indeed be foreseeable trouble. So he did not refuse the glasses.

Today was the first day of school. The bell for morning reading had just rung, and the few students who had not yet entered the classroom quickened their steps and rushed inside. Jiang Zao stood outside the classroom of Grade 11 Class 19, pushed his glasses up again, and walked in.

Standing on the podium, he swept his gaze across the room. Because this class had been formed by splitting students off from existing classes, there were very few people in it. Even with the newly added Jiang Tong and Lu She, there were only twenty-four students, and only two girls.

Jiang Zao raised a brow. At the moment, even counting himself, the number of people in the classroom had not reached double digits. Most of them were either chatting and laughing or playing on their phones.

Looking again, Jiang Tong was sitting in the only occupied seat in the first row. In the last row sat a delicate, handsome boy who wore his white shirt very well. He was propping up his chin and staring at Jiang Tong’s back. When Jiang Tong turned around, his gaze happened to collide with the boy’s. Jiang Tong froze, then quickly lowered his head and turned back again, his mouth pouting extremely high.

Jiang Zao secretly sighed. What kind of youth campus drama was this?

He knocked twice on the podium to signal for everyone to pay attention, then opened his mouth and introduced himself. “I am your new homeroom teacher, and I will also be teaching you Chinese. My name is Jiang Zao.”

He wrote his name on the whiteboard, then picked up the roster. “Next, I’ll take attendance. When I call your name, raise your hand to indicate you’re here—Dai Chu.”

The girl sitting by the window reading raised her hand without even lifting her head.

“Fang Han.”

No one answered. Jiang Zao made a mark on the roster, then read the next name. “Guan Junjie.”

Still no one responded. Jiang Zao made another mark.

He continued reading down the list. There were more names with no response than there were people answering. Jiang Zao remained unhurried and calm, slowly reading until the final two names. “Jiang Tong.”

Jiang Tong raised his hand high and shouted full of energy, “Here!”

Jiang Zao looked at him with a hint of amusement, then read the last name. “Lu She.”

“Here.” The white-shirted boy in the last row raised his hand.

Jiang Zao put down the roster, unscrewed the lid of his thermos, and took a sip of water before saying, “The class absentee rate is very high. I hope students who can contact the absent people will—”

A jingling sound rang out. A girl dressed fashionably and beautifully, though without the slightest appearance of a student, stood outside the door. She froze when she saw Jiang Zao on the podium, then revealed a flowerlike smile. “Could it be that you’re our new homeroom teacher?”

“Yes.” Jiang Zao glanced at the roster. “Song Jintong?”

The girl raised her hand and made a V sign. “That’s right, I’m Song Jintong. Hello, Teacher!”

The girl’s lively and cheerful voice could easily brighten other people’s moods along with it. Jiang Zao merely said in an even tone, “You’re late. Pay attention next time. Come in.”

Song Jintong’s smile cooled for an instant, then became even brighter. She walked inside and looked around at the seats before saying to Jiang Zao, “Teacher, where should I sit? My original seat has been taken.”

She reached out and pointed at Dai Chu. Dai Chu looked up at her once, did not move, and lowered her head to continue reading.

Song Jintong smiled at Jiang Zao, her meaning clear: Teacher, you have to solve this for me.

Jiang Tong watched nervously. Was this a show of force already? Could Brother handle it? Should he do something? But what should he do?

The others also put down what they were doing one after another, watching with mischievous expressions. Although they did not know much about this new homeroom teacher, when he spoke, his tone was neither too light nor too heavy, his pace neither too fast nor too slow. On top of that, his clothes and appearance leaned conservative. The impression he gave was introverted and good-tempered—in other words, he had no deterrent power.

So how would he deal with this? He wouldn’t cry, would he?

Jiang Zao’s response was very simple. “School has just started, and I haven’t arranged seats yet. Find any seat for now. Later, I’ll arrange seating according to the situation.”

Song Jintong curled her lips and let out a soft tsk. Immediately afterward, she revealed an obedient smile. “Okay. Then let me see where I should sit…”

A boy raised his hand high and shouted, “Sister Tong, sit over here. We’re short one person for cards.”

Song Jintong looked disgusted. “No way. You’re a bunch of boys. You stink.”

She looked around, then saw Lu She in the last row. Her eyes lit up, and she jingled as she ran over. “Ah, isn’t this Top Student Lu? Why did you come to our class? No one’s sitting here, right? Can I sit beside you?”

Lu She capped his pen, pushed the exercise book on his desk to the empty half, and said in a tone that was neither cold nor warm, “No.”

“Haha, Sister Tong got rejected!” The boy who had just invited her started jeering with the person beside him.

Song Jintong turned around and threw him a sharp glare. “Zhou Yuan, do you want to die?”

Zhou Yuan lazily rested both hands behind his head and smiled fearlessly. “Sister Tong, I’m not the one who rejected you. It’s no use taking your anger out on me.”

“I think you’ve gone a whole summer without being beaten by me and now your skin’s itching.” Song Jintong jingled as she rushed over and gave him a thorough beating.

The others were either doing their own things or laughing as they watched this farce.

If one word were used to describe what was happening in this classroom, it would be “out of control.”

With the homeroom teacher present, the students were still allowed to lose control. One could not say he was not neglecting his duty. But Jiang Zao simply stood quietly on the podium and watched, showing no intention of stopping them at all. He even lazily yawned.

Song Jintong’s process of violently beating Zhou Yuan lasted for three minutes. She could not keep going. This act of theirs was meant to show the new teacher who was boss, and also to test his bottom line. But after testing for so long, the other party was still standing there perfectly fine, unaffected, as if he were watching a circus performance.

Song Jintong felt that she really did look like a clown right now.

She slapped Zhou Yuan on the head. “Your skin is so rough and thick. Beating you made my hand hurt.”

“You’re the one who wanted to hit me,” Zhou Yuan said innocently. His gaze also drifted toward Jiang Zao. After so long without any reaction, was this teacher too good-tempered, or did he simply not care at all?

Song Jintong snorted coldly and turned around to sit in the empty seat beside him.

Aside from Jiang Zao, everyone had taken a seat.

Jiang Zao opened his mouth. “Everyone seated? Then I’ll continue.”

“I hope all students will contact the people who haven’t come and notify them to report as soon as possible,” Jiang Zao said.

No one reacted to this. If they had not wanted to see whether the new homeroom teacher was human or ghost, who would be willing to come to the classroom so early in the morning? They had not even slept enough.

Jiang Zao continued, “After the opening ceremony later, I will take attendance again. Anyone who still has not come won’t need to come in the future either.”

“Oh?” Song Jintong raised her hand and asked innocently, “Teacher Jiang, what does that mean?”

“It means expulsion,” Jiang Zao explained.

A wave of booing rose in the room. Expel them just because he said so? Who did he think he was? Did he think they were raised on fear?

Jiang Zao smiled and said while holding the roster, “Aside from the two newly transferred students, every person in this class is carrying a full set of disciplinary records. You have all reached the standard for expulsion. So, do not question my words. I am serious.”

The classroom fell silent.

“Everyone, self-study,” Jiang Zao said, then looked at Jiang Tong. “Jiang Tong, Lu She, come with me to collect the new textbooks.”

“Ah—okay!” Jiang Tong immediately stood up. Lu She also slowly rose.

After they left the classroom and saw no one around, Jiang Tong finally had the chance to say the words he had been holding in his stomach. “Brother—”

Jiang Zao corrected him. “Call me Teacher at school.”

“Oh.” Jiang Tong obediently changed his words. “Teacher Jiang, are you really going to expel the people who don’t come?”

“It’s fake.”

“Huh?” Jiang Tong widened his eyes. He had really believed it.

Jiang Zao smiled. “You kids look like you’re not afraid of heaven or earth, but once I use expulsion to scare you a little, you behave.”

“Then what if…” Jiang Tong asked worriedly, “What if someone really doesn’t come? What will you do?”

Jiang Zao thought for a moment. “I’ll suggest to the school that they be expelled. As for whether they actually get expelled, that’s not something I can decide.”

“How can you do that!” Jiang Tong became anxious and grabbed Jiang Zao’s arm. “Brother, haven’t you considered the consequences? If you go back on your word this time, they’ll know you’re a paper tiger. They won’t fear you, and your situation will become even harder in the future!”

The boy’s urgency and concern were both conveyed to Jiang Zao through the strength in his hand. Jiang Zao patted his younger brother’s hand and comforted him. “It’s fine. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten. We’ll take things one step at a time.”

“But—”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Zao rubbed his hair.

Jiang Tong stomped his foot in frustration.

Jiang Zao turned his head and looked at the tall boy silently following behind them. “You’re Lu She, right? I’m Jiang Tong’s older brother. I heard you’ve always taken care of him. I thank you on his behalf.”

Lu She shook his head and said faintly, “It’s what I should do.”

Jiang Tong’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them. He opened his mouth as if wanting to speak, but in the end, he said nothing.

Jiang Zao acted as if he had not noticed his little movements. Smiling, he asked Lu She, “I heard your grades are very good. First in the grade, right? Not bad. From now on, our class average will depend on you.”

Lu She nodded once, accepting it.

Jiang Zao asked again, “Say, are you confident you can become the top scorer for this teacher of yours and make me look good?”

Lu She fell silent.

“No?” Jiang Zao was somewhat disappointed. “Looks like you’re still lacking a bit of seasoning.”

Jiang Tong finally could not endure it anymore and said, “Brother—Teacher Jiang, we’re only in Grade 11 right now. Isn’t it too early to talk about the college entrance exam? And a top scorer or whatever, don’t pressure him, okay?”

Jiang Zao stretched, his tone calm. “It’s not early. Goals should be set as soon as possible. Goals set at the last minute are usually hard to achieve. I’m doing this for his own good.”

“What do you mean for his own good?” Jiang Tong very much disagreed and still wanted to speak, but another voice sounded first.

“I can.” Lu She’s expression was calm, but his tone was full of ambition. “I can become the top scorer.”

“Very good.” Jiang Zao smiled and patted his back. “You’ve got spirit. I’ll pay special attention to you.”

Seeing how the two of them seemed to get along quite well, Jiang Tong became even more dispirited. His brother was a top student, and Lu She was also a top student. He did not understand the world of top students.

“All right, all right.” Jiang Zao patted Jiang Tong’s shoulder. “I’ll pay special attention to you too. Don’t be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” Jiang Tong muttered.

“Since you’re not jealous,” Jiang Zao said, taking both their hands and placing them together, “then get along well. You should cherish rare friendships.”

Jiang Tong froze and looked at Lu She. The other boy was watching him with a deep, heavy gaze. Jiang Tong lowered his head and softly answered, “Okay.”

Jiang Zao secretly laughed and shook his head. How overly youthful.