SYLM Chapter 6
by VolareHaving endured the hunger pangs of the fifth period, it was finally noon and time for school to end.
Jiang Zhen Zhen was personally picked up and dropped off by her parents for morning, noon, and evening classes. Fu Yi Wen’s family owned a barbecue restaurant, so when the restaurant was busy, she would solve her lunch problem in the school cafeteria.
Chen Lu was even more independent. She almost always ate lunch outside, either in the school cafeteria or at a snack shop outside the school, since she was home alone and there was no one to cook for her.
As soon as the dismissal bell rang, after a simple farewell to Jiang Zhen Zhen, Fu Yi Wen grabbed Chen Lu’s arm, squeezed through the crowd, and rushed out of the classroom, heading straight for the school cafeteria to grab seats.
……
——
School cafeteria.
The two of them rushed into the cafeteria, panting for breath. Chen Lu bought water to reserve seats, and Fu Yi Wen went to order food.
“Boss, two servings of braised chicken and rice! One with extra rice!”
“Okay!”
The two servings of rice were quickly prepared and brought up. Fu Yi Wen took the rice and met up with Chen Lu, who had just finished buying water.
They sat down to prepare for lunch, just as the noon dismissal bell had finished ringing.
Fu Yi Wen was starving after that morning. As soon as she sat down, before she could catch her breath, she began to wolf down the rice, stuffing her cheeks until they were bulging, looking like a squirrel with its mouth full of food for the winter.
“Oh my god, I’m choking to death! Their braised chicken is a bit too salty today!”
Fu Yi Wen unscrewed the bottle cap and gulped down half a bottle of mineral water, finally managing to swallow the large mouthful of rice that had almost choked her to death.
Even eating couldn’t stop Fu Yi Wen’s gossipy mind. As if remembering something, she put down the water bottle and chatted while cleaning up the nearly empty plate:
“Oh, right, Chen Lu, during the break after the fourth period, what did Gu Wan Jun call you to the office to talk about? I saw you had a black notebook in your hand when you came back. Is it the one you write novels in? Did Gu Wan Jun really return it to you?”
“Yeah.” Chen Lu nodded, picking up a piece of potato with her chopsticks and putting it in her mouth.
“So, is that matter resolved? How was it resolved? Did Gu Wan Jun punish you?”
“No, she asked me to promise her that I wouldn’t write novels in math class anymore, and then find some time to apologize to the math teacher. That’s how it was resolved.”
“… Did you promise her?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
As if hearing something unbelievable, Fu Yi Wen opened her mouth wide in shock, almost spitting out the rice she hadn’t finished swallowing!
“No way, you actually promised her!?”
“Yeah.” Chen Lu put down her chopsticks, took out half a pack of tissues from her school uniform pocket, and handed it to Fu Yi Wen.
Fu Yi Wen took the tissue pack, pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, and muttered:
“Chen Lu, is this a delaying tactic? Like you’re agreeing with Gu Wan Jun on the surface, but you’ll still write whenever you want to?”
“What delaying tactic? Of course, I have to do what I promised.” Chen Lu’s tone was calm, with no hint of joking.
As soon as she said that, Fu Yi Wen couldn’t believe her ears even more. If she blinked any faster, she would have fanned Chen Lu into a cold! “So, that means… you really plan not to write novels in math class anymore?”
“Yeah.”
“Seriously, did the sun rise in the west today…?”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s not talk about others, but regarding the issue of writing novels in class, Zheng Wei talked to you about it so many times before, but you never budged and said you wouldn’t write. This new homeroom teacher just arrived this morning, and you promised her? What kind of enchanting drug did Gu Wan Jun give you?”
“…”
Chen Lu paused in the act of picking up food and looked up at her friend sitting directly across from her, whose face was filled with shock.
Their eyes met, and realizing that her words might have been a bit inappropriate, Fu Yi Wen immediately shrank her shoulders, closed her mouth, and chewed her rice. When she spoke again, her voice was several degrees softer:
“No, Chen Lu, I didn’t mean anything by that. It’s just that this new homeroom teacher is really different from other teachers, and you two are even surprisingly compatible. Look at this—”
“Ah, is that you two?”
A sudden gentle female voice interrupted Fu Yi Wen’s words. Following the direction of the voice, Chen Lu’s left fingertips, clutching the chopsticks, turned slightly white. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and a hint of imperceptible brightness flashed in her eyes.
Is Gu Wan Jun also eating in the cafeteria at noon?
…
Unlike Chen Lu’s curious inner thoughts, when Fu Yi Wen saw Gu Wan Jun’s smiling face, she was so scared that she almost fell under the table!
What bad luck to run into her here!
Are they close? Why is Gu Wan Jun talking to them?
Could this new homeroom teacher have heard what she just said…?
Although she hadn’t said anything bad about Gu Wan Jun just now, Fu Yi Wen still felt guilty and shivered. At the same time, Gu Wan Jun had already walked to their table.
Out of guilt, Fu Yi Wen was the first to react and say hello: “Hello, Teacher!”
“Hello, Teacher.” Chen Lu suppressed the emotions in her eyes and followed up with a greeting.
“Yes, hello.”
The corners of Gu Wan Jun’s lips turned up slightly, as bright and gentle as the warm sun in winter. After approaching, those warm, watery peach blossom eyes looked at Chen Lu: “You came so fast. You’re almost finished eating.”
“Hey, it’s just that we’re afraid of not being able to get food.” Assuming that Chen Lu might not like talking to others as usual, Fu Yi Wen had to bite the bullet and turn on social mode: “By the way, Teacher Gu, are you also eating in the cafeteria?”
“Yeah, this is my second time here.” Gu Wan Jun glanced at Fu Yi Wen, then turned her gaze back to Chen Lu: “What do you recommend for the cafeteria food?”
“Ah, this…”
Fu Yi Wen originally wanted to answer, but seeing that Gu Wan Jun kept staring at Chen Lu, she really couldn’t keep interrupting.
Chen Lu, little ancestor, this new teacher is asking you, why don’t you say something?
Fu Yi Wen frantically gave Chen Lu a look, while on the other side, Chen Lu also noticed that Gu Wan Jun had been looking at her, as if waiting for her answer.
This situation again.
Even though there are other people around, why is this new teacher always staring at her?
…
Now is not the time to think about these things. After going through all the cafeteria dishes in her mind, Chen Lu gave a serious suggestion:
“The braised chicken and rice at window number 3 is pretty good. That’s what we’re eating. But it seems a bit salty today. If you want noodles, I recommend the sesame chicken noodles at window number 5.”
“I see, that sounds good.” Gu Wan Jun nodded and curved her eyes. “Then I’ll have the sesame chicken noodles in a bit. Thank you for your recommendation.”
“You’re welcome.”
After saying that, considering that the cafeteria was packed at noon and people who came late might not have seats for the time being, just as Chen Lu was hesitating whether to ask Gu Wan Jun if she had a seat, cheerful and expectant voices came from a seat not far away:
“Teacher, over here! Can you see us!”
“We’re here, Teacher Wan Jun! Come quickly!”
“Come on, Teacher Wan Jun, we saved you a seat! Everyone is waiting for you!”
“…”
Gu Wan Jun smiled and nodded in the direction of the shouts, then explained to Chen Lu and Fu Yi Wen, “They are students I taught before. I’ll go over there first. You eat slowly.”
“Okay, goodbye Teacher!” “Goodbye Teacher.”
Fu Yi Wen waved to Gu Wan Jun, while Chen Lu watched Gu Wan Jun’s back disappear into a group of first-year students.
“Hey, it seems ‘Little Smart Aleck’ was right. Gu Wan Jun is really popular with students.”
Fu Yi Wen clicked her tongue twice, withdrew her gossipy gaze, and muttered to herself:
“Well, a gentle and beautiful teacher is popular wherever she goes. Hey, Chen Lu, what do you say— Chen Lu? Classmate Chen Lu?”
“…”
Chen Lu didn’t hear what Fu Yi Wen was saying across the table. Her gaze was fixed on Gu Wan Jun’s table, and her thoughts were surging.
Are there really teachers who can completely blend in with their students?
That smiling and chatting doesn’t seem like acting. But I heard she’s only been teaching for half a semester. Are they already so close?
Chen Lu didn’t understand, but when she thought about everything that happened this morning, although she couldn’t say the specific reason, she had to admit that Gu Wan Jun was indeed a very likable teacher.
…
Chen Lu hadn’t realized that her mind had followed Gu Wan Jun to another table until a small, chubby hand waved back and forth in front of her eyes. Chen Lu came back to her senses:
“What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’? Did you hear what I just said to you?” Fu Yi Wen looked helpless. Her hand was almost broken from shaking, and only then did this person react a little.
“What did you just say?”
“…”
Meeting Chen Lu’s lively and clear crescent-shaped eyes, Fu Yi Wen was really helpless with this person. She curled her lips and said with a bit of a wry smile:
“Seriously, what’s going on? Your eyes were glazed over just now. Who were you looking at? It wasn’t our new teacher, was it?”
“Yeah.” Chen Lu didn’t deny it and told the truth: “I was wondering why she’s so popular.”
“…”
Chen Lu’s answer was a bit unexpected for Fu Yi Wen. After all, in Fu Yi Wen’s impression, Chen Lu had always been the kind of unattainable beauty who didn’t care about anything other than novels and studying. But since this new teacher came, the unattainable beauty had turned into a curious baby. This contrast was really surprising.
As if smelling some gossip, Fu Yi Wen touched her nose and asked in a playful and quiet voice:
“Chen Lu, do you like our new teacher a lot?”
“…”
“Tsk, what kind of look is that? I’m telling you, don’t scare me. I’m telling the absolute truth!”
Fu Yi Wen shrank her shoulders, but her lips didn’t stop:
“Just tell me, when have you ever paid so much attention to a teacher? Even with Zheng Wei, besides doing what a class representative should do, when have you ever cared about whether she gets along well with the students? You have to admit that my analysis is right!”
Fu Yi Wen tapped the table, her expression as if she had discovered something amazing. She leaned forward and lowered her voice:
“And from what I’ve observed, our new teacher seems to be paying a lot of attention to you too. Just now, she was staring at you as soon as she came over—”
“Fu Yi Wen.” Chen Lu put down her chopsticks, interrupting her friend’s words.
“What?”
“Teacher Sun.” Chen Lu’s gaze was directed towards the cafeteria entrance, her tone calm.
“… Teacher Sun!?”
Mentioning Sun Li Xia, Fu Yi Wen’s pupils instantly shook: “Teacher Sun also came to the cafeteria? Where is she? Where is Teacher Sun?!”
Fu Yi Wen turned her head like a rattle drum, looking around anxiously for her Teacher Sun, completely forgetting about the topic related to Gu Wan Jun!
However, after looking around, there was no sign of Sun Li Xia in the cafeteria.
…
“Chen Lu, where did you see Teacher Sun—”
Fu Yi Wen turned her head back to ask for clarification, but Chen Lu was nowhere to be seen across the table. Chen Lu had already taken her finished plate to prepare to send it to the dishwashing area.
“Good heavens, diverting the topic with a feint, huh! Hey, wait for me!”
Fu Yi Wen shoveled the last mouthful of rice into her mouth, then picked up her plate and got up to chase Chen Lu.
…
Before leaving the cafeteria, Chen Lu paid attention to the direction where Gu Wan Jun was sitting. Several female students were sitting around Gu Wan Jun, everyone chatting and laughing, it was extremely lively.
From beginning to end, Gu Wan Jun’s naturally affectionate peach blossom eyes always held a gentle and inclusive smile. It was obvious that she really got along well with the students.
Remembering that Fu Yi Wen said Gu Wan Jun seemed to pay a lot of attention to her, looking at it this way, this teacher probably paid equal attention to many students.
Chen Lu withdrew her gaze, no longer looking in Gu Wan Jun’s direction.
…
——
After leaving the cafeteria, Fu Yi Wen caught up with Chen Lu and insisted on dragging her friend to the small store next to the cafeteria.
Sun Li Xia was giving Class 1 a political evening class today. When Class 12 had a political evening class before, Fu Yi Wen would specifically come to the store to buy a bottle of milk for Sun Li Xia. Now, even if Sun Li Xia no longer taught Class 12, Fu Yi Wen still wanted to maintain the habit of giving her milk.
However, unfortunately, the brand of milk that Fu Yi Wen often bought was sold out today. After hesitating for a moment, she took the most expensive one on the shelf, then took a bottle of the cheapest mineral water, and finally paid for them together.
After coming out, perhaps the meal was really salty, Fu Yi Wen unscrewed the mineral water bottle cap and chugged down half the bottle again.
Seeing Fu Yi Wen hugging the seven-yuan bottle of milk like a treasure, Chen Lu felt that she needed to remind her friend.
“When you went to the office today, did you see our class’s new politics teacher?” Chen Lu took the initiative to bring up the topic.
“No, I heard Teacher Sun say that she’s coming tomorrow.” Fu Yi Wen curled her lips. Mentioning the new teacher, it was difficult for her to be happy.
“After the new politics teacher comes, are you still going to look for Teacher Sun every day?”
“Of course, I’m looking for Teacher Sun, what does that have to do with her?”
“But they’re in the same office. It’s not very good.”
“What’s not good about it? I’m the politics class representative. Isn’t it normal to go to the liberal arts office to find the politics teacher?”
“But Teacher Sun no longer teaches our class. You—”
Halfway through her sentence, meeting Fu Yi Wen’s teary eyes, Chen Lu couldn’t bring herself to say the second half of the sentence, “You’re no longer Teacher Sun’s politics class representative.” She sighed and didn’t bring up the topic again.
…
——
Second period break in the afternoon.
3rd floor, secretary’s office.
According to the agreement with Gu Wan Jun, Chen Lu took the self-criticism to the secretary’s office to apologize to math teacher Wang Zhen De.
In the office, several teachers came to hand in party materials to Wang Zhen De. Wang Zhen De asked Chen Lu to wait aside for a while. It wasn’t until the teachers had all left and only the two of them were left in the office that Wang Zhen De asked Chen Lu what was the matter.
Whether it was because Gu Wan Jun had told him in advance, Wang Zhen De didn’t have a big reaction when he saw the self-criticism Chen Lu handed over.
“Your Teacher Gu helped you explain it to me. She said that your attitude this time was very good. You not only actively promised to never write novels in math class again, but you also wanted to write a self-criticism to apologize to me. At first, I didn’t believe it. After all, you’re a repeat offender with me. But now it seems, your homeroom teacher really wasn’t fooling me.”
“…”
Wang Zhen De’s words surprised Chen Lu again and again, but the rare kind attitude of the person in front of her still made Chen Lu subconsciously loosen her grip on the sleeve of her school uniform.
No wonder the math teacher didn’t scold her again. It turned out that Gu Wan Jun had said all the good words for her.
…
Wang Zhen De patted the self-criticism on the table, his expression as serious as ever: “There’s still a year until the college entrance examination. It’s not too late to correct your mistakes at this time. If you promised, you have to do it, understand?”
“Yeah, I understand.” Chen Lu nodded.
“You wrote this self-criticism quite deeply. You’ve probably practiced by writing those messy things.”
“…”
Mentioning writing novels, Chen Lu thought Wang Zhen De was going to scold her again because he couldn’t get over it. She pursed her lips and silently tightened her grip on her sleeves.
But contrary to Chen Lu’s expectations, Wang Zhen De didn’t scold her, nor did he mock her sarcastically. Instead, he told her in a very calm and serious tone:
“In this self-criticism, you wrote that you’re sorry to me. You’re wrong. You’re not sorry to me, and you’re not sorry to anyone else. You’re sorry to yourself.”
“…”
Hearing these words, Chen Lu’s eyes were filled with confusion and shock. She had heard Zheng Wei say these words before, but it was the first time she had heard them from Wang Zhen De.
“There are many students who don’t understand this issue. As teachers, we manage you and scold you not for anything else, but because we don’t want to see you waste your own precious time. Time waits for no one. These three years of high school are the most critical time in your life. Studying hard for three years, enduring hardship for three years, is all for the sake of getting good results in the college entrance examination and going out of this small county to make a good living in a big city. If you were stupid and couldn’t understand math, that would be one thing. But you’re a smart kid. If you were willing to study math, you definitely wouldn’t have this grade. I’m just disappointed that you’re not living up to your potential.”
“…”
Afterward, Wang Zhen De said a lot more, all words of hoping that Chen Lu could seriously take responsibility for her own life.
After coming out of the secretary’s office, Chen Lu walked down the stairs, clinging to the railing.
For Chen Lu, it was the first time she had such a calm and equal communication with the math teacher like today. Without even thinking about it, Gu Wan Jun’s role in this was indispensable.
Gu Wan Jun. Gu Wan Jun.
This teacher really seems to have an indescribable magic.
Those gentle and inclusive peach blossom eyes appeared before her eyes. Chen Lu suddenly felt that if this morning’s bus ride was her first meeting with this new homeroom teacher, then being stepped on didn’t seem so bad.
…
Winter afternoon classes, almost every class is in a sleepy state.
Whether it was the school principal’s random inspection or the new homeroom teacher Gu Wan Jun getting familiar with the monitoring performance, Class 12’s monitoring turned creakily all afternoon, so many students were so sleepy that they didn’t dare to close their eyes at all.
…
——
At seven o’clock in the evening, homeroom teacher Gu Wan Jun entered the classroom to supervise the evening self-study.
According to convention, the first half of the evening self-study is math problem-solving time, with math class representative Jiang Zhen Zhen and other students with good math grades taking turns to explain problems, set problems, discuss in groups, ask questions about definitions, and finally find students to solve problems on the blackboard. All liberal arts classes have almost implemented this method, and the effect is significant.
During group discussions, for fear of being called to the stage to show the problem-solving process later, everyone chased after the students with good math grades and asked a lot of questions.
Chen Lu also unusually asked Fu Yi Wen about the problem-solving steps of some math problems, and seriously asked how each step came about during the explanation, which almost made Fu Yi Wen’s jaw drop.
Is the person in front of her still Chen Lu? How does it seem like she suddenly changed her core?
…
Gu Wan Jun went down to inspect and saw Fu Yi Wen explaining a math problem to Chen Lu when she walked to the aisle by the window.
Fu Yi Wen’s math grades are not bad, almost always maintaining between 80 and 90 points on every exam, but she doesn’t like to do math homework and is often called to the office to stand as punishment for copying homework. Without considering this point, her level is good enough to explain problems to Chen Lu.
However, at this moment, it was probably because she encountered a problem that she clearly knew how to do but couldn’t explain clearly to others, coupled with Chen Lu suddenly asking a lot of questions as if enlightened, Fu Yi Wen kept talking, and her hands were frantically writing steps on the scratch paper, but Chen Lu still shook her head with a blank expression.
…
“Still don’t understand? Tsk, hey, wait a minute, I’ll think about whether there’s another easier-to-understand method. This problem is—”
“Did you encounter a difficult problem?”
Gu Wan Jun’s sudden interjection surprised the two people who were discussing the problem, especially Chen Lu.
The familiar white tea scent lingered in her nose, Chen Lu’s eyelashes trembled, and the pads of her fingers holding the math book unconsciously rubbed against the corner of the page. She silently stood back a bit in the chair, widening the distance between herself and Gu Wan Jun, who was standing in the aisle.
Immersed in the problem-solving steps, Fu Yi Wen didn’t notice Chen Lu’s emotional changes. She responded truthfully:
“Yeah, Teacher, there’s a problem that I can’t explain clearly no matter what. The steps are too cumbersome.”
“Which problem? Let me see. Is it this one?”
After glancing at the question, Gu Wan Jun reached out to Chen Lu for the math book. Chen Lu was stunned for a moment, then handed over the math book in her hand.
Opening to a certain page in the math book and finding the definition formula corresponding to this problem, Gu Wan Jun took the pen from Fu Yi Wen and began to draw the formula definition for Chen Lu, and then began to explain the problem.
Fu Yi Wen listened along from the side, and after listening for a while, she had a feeling of ‘so this problem can be solved this way’.
However, what shocked Fu Yi Wen later was that their new homeroom teacher wasn’t a language teacher? Can she explain this kind of difficult math problem?
…
After all the steps were explained, Gu Wan Jun tilted her head to look into Chen Lu’s eyes and softly asked, “Did I explain it clearly? Is there anything you don’t understand?”
“Um…” Chen Lu carefully looked at the problem-solving process and thought for a moment. She circled a formula on the scratch paper with a pen and seriously asked, “How is this formula derived?”
“…”
Seeing that Chen Lu was referring to a certain must-memorize formula, Fu Yi Wen secretly thought it was not good, fearing that the atmosphere would become awkward. She was about to open her mouth to smooth things over for her friend, but Gu Wan Jun lowered her head to turn the book on her own, her tone still gentle and peaceful, without the slightest impatience:
“This is another formula.”
After turning to the designated page number, Gu Wan Jun pointed it out to Chen Lu: “It’s this formula. You have to memorize it and use it next time you encounter this kind of problem.”
“Okay.” Chen Lu nodded, silently drawing a highlight mark next to the formula.
“Is there anything else you don’t understand?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, continue your discussion then.”
Gu Wan Jun put down her pen and continued to inspect the other groups. Before leaving, she patted Chen Lu and Fu Yi Wen on the shoulders.
It wasn’t until Gu Wan Jun had walked far away that Fu Yi Wen breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned her head over and quietly asked Chen Lu, “Hey, Chen Lu, did you really understand?”
“Yeah.” Chen Lu buried her head in the scratch paper, seriously sorting out the problem-solving steps that Gu Wan Jun had just explained.
“That’s good. Teacher Gu’s problem-solving method was really simple.”
Fu Yi Wen clicked her tongue twice, and in the end couldn’t help but sigh that she deserved to be a Peking University graduate, truly a polymath.
The speaker spoke without thinking, but the listener took it to heart. As soon as she said that, as if thinking of something, Chen Lu stopped the pen in her hand and looked around.
At this moment, Gu Wan Jun was inspecting the aisle next door and stopped, seemingly explaining problems to that group.
…
Discussion ended, blackboard display of problem-solving section.
Math class representative Jiang Zhen Zhen stood on the stage to guide the process, find students to explain problems on the blackboard, correct and improve the students’ explanations, while homeroom teacher Gu Wan Jun sat on the chair in the corner to maintain order.
When it came to the link of going on stage to show the problem-solving process, students generally avoided it, let alone actively raising their hands.
When looking for someone to display the problem that Fu Yi Wen and she had just discussed, perhaps the problem was too difficult, or perhaps they didn’t have the confidence to explain it well, the classroom was silent, and no one raised their hand.
In the past, in this kind of situation where no one in the whole class raised their hand, homeroom teacher Zheng Wei would randomly pick a student with poor math grades to go up and display.
However, for the new homeroom teacher Gu Wan Jun, everyone didn’t know what she would do.
…
Looking around the class, Gu Wan Jun’s gaze lingered for a few more seconds in the third row by the window.
Their eyes met, Gu Wan Jun didn’t speak, just raised her eyebrows slightly at Chen Lu.
Want to try it on the blackboard?
Chen Lu roughly understood what Gu Wan Jun meant.
The other party didn’t directly call her up to display, but was asking for her opinion.
The smooth and flowing problem-solving steps on the scratch paper flashed quickly in her brain. Chen Lu, who had never thought about displaying on the blackboard, pursed her lips and hesitated.
…
“Does anyone want to come up and try to solve this problem?”
These words were asked by math class representative Jiang Zhen Zhen. Because no one had raised their hand, she had to ask repeatedly.
Jiang Zhen Zhen’s voice was very soft, but when the words landed, the classroom was still silent.
“It’s okay to try.” Gu Wan Jun added an encouraging sentence in a gentle tone: “You can solve it to whatever point you can, and it doesn’t matter if you can’t solve it. We’ll analyze it together. Are there any students who are brave enough to try it?”
“…”
The students below seemed to be moved by Gu Wan Jun’s encouragement. Several eager female students looked up at the blackboard and then looked down at the scratch paper. But for some reason, after repeating this several times, no one raised their hand.
Seeing that Chen Lu didn’t raise her hand either, Gu Wan Jun felt a bit disappointed in her heart, but this result was also within her expectations.
For a person who has never studied math before, taking the first step really requires considerable courage. It’s understandable that Chen Lu wasn’t ready to go on stage to display.
It wasn’t a solution to continue to be silent. Just as Gu Wan Jun was thinking about whether to call a student up to ask what they thought was the difficulty of this problem, under the shocked gazes that were more telling than sound, in the third row by the window, Chen Lu silently raised her hand.