Chapter 107

Back in the office, Han Wei was extremely disheartened, feeling a blow to his confidence like never before.

Shi Tingyu said, “The children mean no harm. Once they get to know you better, they’ll gradually adapt.”

Han Wei thought to himself that now that he had started working, he couldn’t rely on his parents or elders as he used to. He needed to win the children’s favor on his own.

While Shi Tingyu prepared her lessons, Han Wei pondered how to gain the children’s favor. After consulting Shi Tingyu, he decided to spend one class session teaching the children to make clay sculptures, something younger children generally enjoyed.

After school that day, he went and gathered plenty of yellow clay. According to Teacher Shi, this type of clay had good adhesion. When diluted with water to form a paste and dried under the sun until a certain degree of moisture evaporates, the fine layer of clay on top would be excellent for basic sculpting.

Previously, when he made clay sculptures on his own, he had no idea about these details and simply used any sticky soil he found.

His purpose in making clay sculptures was mainly to better understand spatial and structural aspects, so the requirements for the clay were not very high.

It was only at this point that he realized how beneficial it was to have a good teacher in the field of art.

Captain Han finished his work at the camp and hurried back to the family compound.

He didn’t know yet whether his son had been accepted as a teacher.

Before he even entered the house, his voice echoed from afar.

“Wife, is Xiao Wei back?”

Once inside the courtyard gate, Han’s wife replied, “Yes, he’s back. Can’t you keep your voice down? The neighbors can hear you.”

Captain Han didn’t mind and smiled, “Can’t I be anxious? How did it go for our boy? Did he pass?”

Upon hearing this, Han’s wife smiled and said, “He passed. Today was his first day teaching at school. He’ll be handling classes for grades one and two initially, with Mrs. Lu guiding him for the first few days. Once he gets familiar, he’ll teach independently.”

Captain Han breathed a sigh of relief and quickly headed towards Han Wei’s room. “Let me go see the boy.”

Once Captain Han entered the room, he found his son still playing with clay.

Captain Han: …

“Since you’ve become a teacher, why are you still playing with clay?” Captain Han couldn’t help but ask.

This time, Han Wei didn’t seem as indifferent as before. He explained earnestly to Captain Han why he was working with clay.

Upon hearing that it was for a legitimate reason, Captain Han didn’t say anything harsh. However, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself, wondering if his son would mislead the students. After all, school was a place for teaching, not for turning students into clay enthusiasts. What if the parents came complaining later?

But seeing his son’s serious expression, he thought, “Forget it, let’s see how it goes first. It’s rare that he found something positive to do. I shouldn’t discourage his enthusiasm.”

Meanwhile, after dinner, Lu Weiguo took Shi Tingyu to the military camp.

On this December night in Jinling, it was cold and dreary, with temperatures around two or three degrees Celsius. The biting wind seemed to pierce through bones, making people wish they were wrapped up in blankets.

Northern people would find it hard to imagine the cold in these parts.

Lu Weiguo draped his military coat over Shi Tingyu and naturally pulled her into his embrace.

His tall figure almost completely enveloped her, providing her with considerable warmth.

There were no streetlights here, only the flashlight’s flickering beam guiding their way ahead.

In winter, the residents of the family compound rarely ventured out at night, so the two of them walked without encountering anyone.

Today was Shi Tingyu’s first day teaching the soldiers.

They were all selected in advance by Lu Weiguo.

Upon entering the arranged classroom in the military camp, Shi Tingyu saw more than fifty soldiers sitting in perfect alignment.

They sat upright, their eyes bright and focused. On the wooden desks in front of them, pens and notebooks were neatly arranged.

Seeing this scene, Shi Tingyu, who was used to teaching elementary school students, felt a bit awkward for a moment.

Lu Weiguo closed the classroom door, cutting off the wind. Shi Tingyu felt her body warming up again.

She attempted to take off her military coat, but Lu Weiguo stopped her. “Keep it on, don’t catch a cold.”

Shi Tingyu acquiesced and left it on.

While the soldiers sat at their desks in a disciplined manner, their eyes kept darting back and forth between Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo, unable to conceal their excitement.

Even though Shi Tingyu had studied some forensic techniques and microexpressions when she was applying for her portrait artist certification, even if she hadn’t, she could still tell what these young people were thinking.

She cleared her throat and did her best to treat this group of soldiers, sitting so neatly, as school students. Thinking of the way she was teaching students on the first day, she said, “Introduce yourself. I am named Shi, my name is Shi Tingyu, and in the future, I will be teaching you crime psychology and microexpressions.”

“Of course, I’m not a professional in this field. All I can do is share some of my own summarized experiences with you, hoping they will be useful.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the soldiers below started applauding.

The uniform and synchronized applause made Shi Tingyu almost feel embarrassed.

She pressed her hands down and coughed lightly, saying, “Let’s focus on the lesson.”

Without further ado, Shi Tingyu went straight to the point.

“I understand that many of you may not have a systematic concept of microexpressions and some psychological knowledge. I will now ask someone to come up and assist me with a little experiment.”

The soldiers below eagerly looked at Shi Tingyu, their meaning clear: Pick me, pick me!

Seeing this, Lu Weiguo was the first to raise his hand. “Teacher Shi, I can assist you.”

Shi Tingyu glanced at him and finally pointed to a young soldier sitting towards the middle and outer side.

Upon being called, the young soldier looked excited, briskly walking up to the platform and saluting Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu nodded, then turned to face the students in the classroom. “Now, I will shake hands with him and then ask a few questions to guess what he is thinking.”

The audience seemed somewhat skeptical, but being disciplined, they didn’t exchange whispers.

At this moment, the young soldier’s eyes were filled with curiosity.

Shi Tingyu shook hands with him.

At this point, the young soldier’s face turned slightly red, and his palms began to sweat slightly.

Shi Tingyu smiled and asked the first question, “Are you nervous?”

The young soldier nodded.

Shi Tingyu gently moved their hands and felt the involuntary tension in his grip. She asked, “Are you looking forward to today’s class content?”

“Yes,” the young soldier replied confidently, his gaze firmly fixed on Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu smiled, maintaining eye contact with him. “No need to ask further. I already know what you’re thinking.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the young soldier released her hand, smiling and looking at Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu continued, “You were thinking just now, how can I believe that you can figure out what I’m thinking just by shaking hands and asking a few questions.”

The young soldier’s mouth slightly opened, his face showing surprise, clearly caught off guard.

Shi Tingyu explained to everyone, “When I shook hands with him, his palms were slightly sweaty, a sign of nervousness.”

“When I moved his hand, he didn’t follow my movement but rather resisted, indicating a strong-willed personality. People like this are not easily influenced by others’ words.”

“When I asked if he was looking forward to today’s class content, he said yes, which was true, but he answered while looking directly at me, a subconscious action to gauge my reaction to his answer.”

“Why would he be concerned about whether I believe his answer? There’s only one answer: he is looking forward to the class content, but deep down, he doesn’t think I can figure out what he’s really thinking just by shaking hands and asking a few questions.”

“And one more thing, as soon as I said I knew what he was thinking, he immediately let go of my hand. This was a defensive action; he was afraid I would see through his thoughts. What kind of thoughts would he fear being exposed? His distrust towards me.”