Chapter 25: The 1990s Teacher Supporting Character Who Despises the Poor and Favors the Rich (2)

A few naughty boys, under Fang Yuwei’s gaze, looked guilty and scared as they walked toward the classroom.

The one leading them was Yang Liyu. He was tall and dark-skinned. He was known in class as a little rascal with a stubborn personality who did not like to be disciplined, especially always going against Fang Yuwei.

She had often punished him by making him stand and had scolded him a lot.

Yang Liyu carried an old backpack. The zipper was broken and was pinned in the middle with a safety pin.

He pretended to be calm but was already prepared to be scolded fiercely by Fang Yuwei. She was too fierce. Her face was always stern as if she was extremely displeased with them.

This Chinese teacher rarely showed up for morning reading. Why did she come today? What bad luck.

“You’re still walking so slowly. Are you out for a stroll?” Fang Yuwei raised her voice.

The boys quickly jogged over. They did not dare to enter through the front door and headed to the back door instead. They hurried to their seats and immediately took out their Chinese textbooks.

Fang Yuwei walked in.

As soon as she entered, the students in class wished they could bury their heads in their books, especially those boys who had just been late. They sat up straight and read louder than usual.

Yang Liyu sat in the corner. He saw Fang Yuwei come in and still acted lazily, looking like he did not want to deal with her.

He just waited for Fang Yuwei to start scolding him. This teacher was very fierce and clearly disliked him. He also hated this teacher very much and had no interest in studying.

If not for being scolded for skipping school, he would not have come.

Fang Yuwei naturally noticed Yang Liyu. She ignored him and walked directly to the podium. “Everyone turn your Chinese textbook to page thirty-five.”

“‘New Year’s Day, Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi. Amidst the sound of firecrackers, a year has passed—”

She read one line and the students followed with one line.

Everyone read aloud. Especially the boys who had been late just now. Seeing that Fang Yuwei did not punish or scold them, they wished they could shout at the top of their lungs to read. “Amidst the sound of firecrackers, a year has passed. The spring breeze brings warmth into the Tusu wine—”

Yang Liyu had been slack, but when he saw everyone earnestly reading, he sat up straighter. As he opened his textbook, he saw the principal walking in.

He immediately sat upright and followed along absentmindedly in reading.

Principal Wang stopped at the door of Class 3(1) and deliberately slowed his steps to observe. Fang Yuwei’s clear pronunciation came from inside the classroom.

She read a line and the students followed.

The voices of the students in their class were louder than those in other classes and their reading was more orderly.

Principal Wang adjusted his glasses and slowly walked past outside the classroom, nodding with satisfaction and showing a pleased expression on his face.

The students followed Fang Yuwei in reading one text after another. Time passed quickly and the bell signaling the end of morning reading rang.

Then came the morning exercise bell. The students had to go to the field for morning exercises.

Fang Yuwei closed the textbook and looked at the students below. “The boys who were late today, stand up.”

The few boys sitting below looked panicked and did not dare to stand up. Their hands under the desks kept tugging at their clothes.

Yang Liyu stood up first, pretending to be calm as he looked at Fang Yuwei, showing a look of not being afraid at all.

He was just short of writing on his face: hit me or scold me, do whatever you want.

Fang Yuwei looked at the boy pretending to be mature and pointed to the podium. “After you finish morning exercises, bring them and clean the podium. If you’re late again, I’ll make you join the duty group to sweep the floor.”

Each corner of the school is assigned to a specific class for cleaning, and within each class, a different group of students takes turns doing the cleaning each day.

The boys originally thought they would be punished by being forced to stand or have their palms hit, but to their surprise, they were only asked to clean the podium. They breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Before they had a chance to react, Fang Yuwei had already walked away.

The voice from the broadcast echoed across the playground, “Now we will begin the seventh set of national youth broadcast exercises, ‘Colorful Sunshine.’ First set, stretching exercises—”

The students exercised on the playground while the teachers stood behind them watching.

Fang Yuwei watched them standing tall, moving their bodies with spirit, the corners of her lips slightly lifted.

The sun slowly rose, its warm light shining down on them.

A gentle breeze blew, and the air was fresh. Fang Yuwei took a deep breath and felt much more relaxed.

It had been a long time since she had seen the morning sun. Every day, she worked endless overtime and came home late at night. She started work at ten in the morning and would wake up at nine twenty to rush out the door, take the underground high-speed rail, then squeeze into an office building.

In the big city, the lights are dazzling and the buildings are tall, but none of that has anything to do with hardworking laborers. Nothing compares to now—looking up and seeing a clear blue sky with no clouds in sight, bringing a sense of comfort.

After the morning exercise, Fang Yuwei walked toward the teachers’ office.

The office for first to third grade teachers was located on the first floor. It used to have only a few desks because there were hardly any teachers. Back then, there were fewer classes, and one teacher had to handle two grades.

After the village primary schools were merged, several new teachers were transferred in, and the workload became lighter. Fang Yuwei now mainly teaches Chinese to Class 3(1), with two to three classes per day, and she also teaches “Morality and Society” to Grades 5 and 6.

Fang Yuwei walked to her seat and saw stacks of ungraded homework. It was all the work she had piled up out of laziness.

Of course, there were quite a few teachers as lazy as her. Many of the older teachers were assigned to these posts and transferred from rural areas. They did not have much education and perhaps only finished elementary school.

Fang Yuwei graduated from a provincial vocational school, which was considered acceptable here.

Back then, the town’s primary school was hiring, but because of the meager salary and no free meals, no one was willing to come. Let alone requiring a teaching certificate, as long as someone had a vocational school diploma or above, they were accepted.

If a university graduate applied, Principal Wang would hesitate over and over, because not a single one would stay.

Fang Yuwei had followed Lin Yan back here. He was two years older than her. They met in the provincial capital. She had not yet graduated and was charmed by his kindness. She got pregnant before marriage and ended up carrying twins. Since she was told it was risky to abort, she had no choice but to give birth. After getting married, she became a teacher in this small town.

Because of this, Fang Yuwei always felt unbalanced inside, feeling that her talents were wasted here. She believed she had endured hardship following Lin Yan. If she had stayed in the provincial capital, she might have made a fortune and married someone better.

“Ring ring ring—”

The bell for the first period rang just as Fang Yuwei finished grading the essays. She picked up her textbook and walked toward the classroom.

Before she even entered the room, it was already very quiet inside.

The students had their textbooks and supplementary materials ready, sitting quietly, waiting for her.

Fang Yuwei walked into the classroom. The few boys from earlier tensed up, bowed their heads, and dared not look at her, afraid of being scolded.

Yang Liyu leaned on his hand pretending not to care, but in fact, he was secretly watching the podium.

Fang Yuwei placed the textbook on the podium, looked around the room, and said, “The podium is very clean. That’s worth some praise.”

As soon as she said that, the few boys instantly beamed with joy, grinning from ear to ear.

After all, they were just kids who loved being praised by their teacher.

“Yang Liyu.” Fang Yuwei suddenly looked toward a corner and called out a name.

Yang Liyu put down the hand supporting his head and looked toward the podium with a blank face. Sensing the other students turning to look at him, he puffed up with pride, determined not to show weakness.

“You led the task well. I hope you won’t be late again next time.” After speaking, Fang Yuwei did not wait for his reaction and turned to the blackboard with a piece of chalk, beginning the lesson.

Yang Liyu was rarely praised by teachers. Even though the compliment was related to being late and cleaning the podium, it still made him a little dazed. He unconsciously sat up straighter and paid more attention in class.

He used to think this teacher’s lectures were terrible, but today, as he listened carefully, he actually understood.

When Fang Yuwei got to the last part of the lesson—the extracurricular knowledge section—she read the first sentence, “See goodness and follow it. Have faults and correct them. From the Book of Changes. What does this sentence mean?”

“Which student would like to answer?”

She looked down from the podium. No one raised their hand.

Normally, she did not ask questions and did not want to interact with the students. She only wanted to rush through the content, so when she suddenly asked someone to answer, everyone instinctively became nervous.

Fang Yuwei glanced around and finally locked eyes with the little girl in the first row of the first group, recalling her name, “Tian Yuxin, please answer.”

The little girl who was called immediately panicked, looking overwhelmed and not standing up for a while.

Her deskmate grew anxious for her and quickly pushed the supplemental material toward her.

Fang Yuwei did not rush her and quietly waited.

After receiving the material, Tian Yuxin slowly stood up. Her face was red, and her voice was soft, “When a gentleman sees good behavior, he follows and learns it. When he has faults, he immediately corrects them.”

She read it directly from the book and kept her head down the whole time.

“Very good. You may sit down.” Fang Yuwei said, then turned to write on the blackboard. While writing, she teased, “If you make a mistake, correct it. Learn from excellent classmates. For example, those students who were late this morning—don’t be late next time. That’s also progress.”

“Just like studying, keep improving and growing, and you’ll become excellent. Take it step by step.”

Listening to her words, Yang Liyu did not feel irritated like before. Instead, the tips of his ears slowly turned red with embarrassment, and he became even more focused on the lesson.

The first class ended quickly. The second period was also Chinese.

Fang Yuwei made sure the students understood the content, then increased her pace. At this time, there were no multimedia teaching aids. Everything depended on handwritten notes by the teacher and the few illustrations in the textbook. Worried the students would find the lesson dull and boring, she occasionally inserted some interesting stories.

When talking about the panda in the composition, Fang Yuwei briefly mentioned some interesting behaviors and habits of pandas. She also talked about which countries our pandas had been “sent out to work,” where they went, the kind of life they led there, and how much foreigners loved our pandas.

Most of the children here were from rural areas in the town. They had never been to a zoo, and very few families even had a TV. They listened with great interest.

When they heard that the giant pandas went out to “work and earn money,” and that they could live well, with some countries even spending a lot of money to build special panda pavilions, they all laughed, feeling proud inside.

The bell rang again signaling the end of class. They were reluctant to stop, it was the first time they felt the Chinese class went by very quickly.

Fang Yuwei took down the composition books and asked the group leaders to hand them out. Then she said, “This week’s composition is about the giant panda.”

Everyone gladly accepted.

Fang Yuwei left the classroom, went to the office to get the “Morality and Law” textbook, and went upstairs to teach the fifth grade for the next class.

After the third class ended, Fang Yuwei had no class in the fourth period, so she went straight back to the teachers’ dormitory. After entering, she turned on the desk lamp and sat down to start grading homework.

Outside, the occasional sound of students reading aloud could be heard, full of vigor. Fang Yuwei enjoyed it all, thinking this kind of life was not bad. Though busy, it was fulfilling and free.

During the college entrance exam, her homeroom teacher had suggested Fang Yuwei apply as a publicly funded normal student, which would assign her a teaching job afterward. She did not want to take the exam only to return to teaching and live a life with no surprises. She yearned for the excitement of the big city and resolutely chose the seemingly prestigious major of animation design and production.

The result was becoming a corporate drone, working overtime until dizzy, living worse than a dog. Thinking back on it made her cry.

Fang Yuwei was grading homework when Lin Yan returned. He was carrying food and noticed her seriously correcting assignments, he glanced at her twice.

Lin Yan’s presence made Fang Yuwei feel a bit uneasy.

She could handle their twin sons easily enough. After all, they were just two little kids with nothing to fight over.

But this grown-up version was different, especially since he was her husband.

According to what Fang Yuwei’s mind registered, although this was a novel, she was also the original owner. In her previous life, she had died suddenly from overworking, but because she always did good deeds, she was given a chance to live again.

Fang Yuwei said nothing, Lin Yan said nothing either. He carried the food inside, then hesitated and asked at the door, “I bought mangoes, do you want some?”

“No.” Fang Yuwei shook her head.

Lin Yan said nothing more and turned back to the kitchen.

They had not talked for a long time. When Fang Yuwei was upset, she could give Lin Yan and the kids the cold shoulder for days.

Cooking and taking care of the children was Lin Yan’s responsibility. Fang Yuwei just ate, taught classes, and when she had time, went to the city to have fun, sometimes returning very late at night without a care for him or the children.

The Lin family had a large empty plot of land diagonally opposite the school. At this time, land was worthless. That piece of land had come from Father Lin working for someone. The boss had no money, so he gave him a piece of land instead of wages. Even if Father Lin wanted to sell it, no one would buy.

Before returning from the provincial capital, Lin Yan had hoped they could open a shop together and run a business.

Later, after Fang Yuwei got hired as a teacher, Lin Yan set up a breakfast stall on that land so they could live closer. At first, he could still keep an eye on things, but after she got pregnant and gave birth, he had to take care of the kids and only had time to check in occasionally.

Lin Yan would get up early to look after the stall, bring breakfast home, wake the children, take them to kindergarten, and then return to the stall.

Around ten o’clock, he would come back to cook meals and stew soup before picking up the kids.

The town’s kindergarten had limited educational conditions. Two teachers looked after fifty or sixty children with no afternoon care, so parents had to pick them up.

Fang Yuwei watched Lin Yan rush about, hurriedly cooking and stewing before going to get the kids.

She looked at his departing back with some thoughtfulness.

Over the years, their relationship had rapidly declined with almost no communication. She only cared about herself. Even if the kids were sick, she could still sleep soundly.

Lin Yan indeed did what he said: she gave birth, he took care of the kids.

No matter how hard it was, he never complained or argued. He always had a gentle, patient demeanor.

Perhaps Lin Yan’s indulgence had encouraged Fang Yuwei’s arrogance, making her resolutely quit her job and abandon him and the children without regret, thinking he would accept it when she returned.

The kindergarten was not far away. Lin Yan rode his old secondhand motorcycle and was back soon.

Fang Yuwei sat by the window, just able to see them return. Xiao Chaochao was sitting on the back seat holding Lin Yan, and Xiao Yangyang sat in front.

Both had backpacks, with a small red flower sticker on their foreheads. The weather was very hot and the sun was strong, making their small faces red and their hair damp with sweat.

“Did you remember to drink water today?” Lin Yan parked the bike, carried both kids down, and took out tissues to wipe their sweat, worried they might catch a cold.

“I drank.” Xiao Chaochao nodded.

Xiao Yangyang smiled cheekily: “Dad, I didn’t drink.”

Lin Yan wiped his sweat and took the water bottles out of their backpacks, which were nearly empty. He opened one and handed it to them saying, “Drink more.”

Holding their water cups, Xiao Yangyang drank while bargaining, “Dad, when will you buy Ultraman?”

Lin Yan replied softly, “Isn’t it only on weekends?”

Xiao Chaochao took a big sip, held up five fingers, and said in a baby voice, “Wang Xiaoshuai’s dad bought him so many, and a really big one too.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Xiao Yangyang echoed, “We want some too.”

Before Lin Yan could answer, both kids hugged one leg each, pouting and whining,

“We want Ultraman, we want Ultraman—”

“And racing cars.”

“Dawei’s dad even bought him a mechanical bear.”

……

In the end, Lin Yan gave in and told them to think carefully, each person could only choose one thing to buy.

In front of the teacher dormitory, there was an activity area with a few big trees providing shade. When Lin Yan went to cook, the two kids didn’t go inside but played outside.

They held a few cards and could play for half a day. Their soft, childish voices kept reaching Fang Yuwei’s ears. She paused her pen and looked out the window at the two of them.

“Like this, hit it out—” Xiao Yangyang directed his older brother, stamping his feet anxiously, gesturing wildly, then said, “No, it’s like this.”

Lin Yan carried a bowl out and walked toward them to feed them.

The two little ones played while eating absentmindedly, still needing Lin Yan to follow behind them. Fang Yuwei frowned slightly.

“Give it to me.” Xiao Yangyang’s card was snatched by his brother.

Xiao Chaochao grabbed the card and ran, Xiao Yangyang chased after him.

Fang Yuwei finished correcting the last homework, stood up, looked at the two constantly chasing each other, and stood at the door saying, “No running while eating.”

It is bad for the stomach.

As soon as she spoke, the two little kids immediately stopped and looked at her timidly, moving closer to Lin Yan.

Lin Yan took the opportunity to feed them each a big mouthful.

They obediently ate and were very well-behaved.

One bite from one, one bite from the other, a bowl of rice was quickly finished. Lin Yan went back inside and served a bowl of soup. The two rushed eagerly, each drinking big mouthfuls as if competing to perform well in front of Fang Yuwei.

After eating, Lin Yan let them play a bit more and peeled a small mango for each of them. Then he set up a small table, brought out the dishes, and served a bowl of rice for both himself and Fang Yuwei.

Lin Yan made three dishes: lotus root pork rib soup, minced meat tofu, and stir-fried vegetable hearts. The steamed egg was leftover from the kids.

The two ate silently without saying a word. During this time, after the kids finished eating mangoes, they wanted to wash their hands. Lin Yan got up to wash their hands and put them to bed.

The little ones would not listen properly. Xiao Yangyang ran to the small table and said, “Dad, I want to eat tofu.”

Lin Yan picked a piece for him, then Xiao Chaochao came over and Lin Yan fed him too.

Just now, when chasing them to feed, they were not active. Now they were eager. After eating tofu, they wanted vegetables. After vegetables, Xiao Yangyang saw Fang Yuwei eating ribs, his big round eyes looked at her but said nothing.

Fang Yuwei looked at those clear, bright adorable eyes, hesitated for a second, then handed him a rib, saying, “Do you want to eat?”

Xiao Yangyang quickly walked toward her, stretched his little head forward, mouth wide open, took a bite of the rib.

Lin Yan was feeding Xiao Chaochao vegetables, but his gaze had already been attracted by his younger brother, staring intently at Fang Yuwei’s rib.

Fang Yuwei took the remaining rib meat and fed it into the older son’s mouth. Xiao Chaochao opened his mouth and was stuffed full, his little mouth puffed up.

She chuckled softly, her eyebrows curved like a crescent moon.

Lin Yan looked at her like this, his expression a bit dazed. Xiao Yangyang mustered courage and whispered, “I want to eat more.”

Fang Yuwei fed him another rib.

Xiao Chaochao said, “I want to eat too.”

They took turns eating, three ribs in a row. When they were about to ask again, Lin Yan said, “You have already eaten a lot. If you are too full, your stomach will be uncomfortable.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Yuwei stopped feeding them.

The two little kids looked at Lin Yan and both frowned and pouted in complaint.

Mom finally fed them.

Children naturally favor their mother. Lin Yan knew what they were thinking, softened his tone, “It’s time to sleep. You still have to go to kindergarten in the afternoon.”

They stood still without moving. Fang Yuwei sipped her soup and said casually, “Go to sleep quickly.”

The two of them turned around obediently, slowly climbed onto the small bed, and covered themselves with the quilt.

After finishing the meal, Fang Yuwei looked at the children in bed and then at Lin Yan, asking, “Why do you still have to feed them now? Can’t they eat by themselves?”

They were two and a half years old but still had to be chased to be fed?

Lin Yan paused while cleaning the dishes, “They refuse to eat by themselves.”

“Why don’t they listen?” Fang Yuwei was confused.

Lin Yan didn’t respond.

Fang Yuwei wanted to ask more but saw a trace of helplessness on his face, which stopped her.

Why?

Could it be… related to her stubborn temper?

Fang Yuwei suddenly recalled that when she was little, she refused to eat properly, and her grandmother chased her to feed her until first grade!

Fang Yuwei looked at the two little ones who looked very much like Lin Yan in bed, then at Lin Yan patiently cleaning up, and felt inexplicably guilty.

The two kids were really naughty.

*

On Friday afternoon, Fang Yuwei had only one class.

When Lin Yan went to pick up the kids, he took them to buy toys. Both bought remote-controlled cars and played outside as soon as they returned.

They played from sunset until dark, with a “nanny dad” following behind them to feed them. Fang Yuwei was a little hungry and ate early. She carried a bowl of rice, served herself a bowl of rib soup, and sat at her desk, watching the father and sons outside through the window.

“Don’t hold food in your mouth.” Lin Yan reminded gently.

No one disobeyed.

“Why haven’t you finished eating yet?” he said again, without any impatience.

The two little ones chased the cars laughing happily.

Fang Yuwei’s mind flashed to the image of her grandmother feeding her when she was little. The old lady was always very kind, smiling and coaxing her.

Others said it would spoil her temper, but her grandmother always smiled and said she was still a child.

Fang Yuwei bit her red lips in frustration. Now she suddenly understood why her eldest aunt always disliked her and said she had a bad temper and would never grow up well.

But she grew up studying well, was helpful, and even took her grandmother traveling across the country.

The two children were playing when they saw Fang Yuwei drinking soup. They ran towards her, stood in front of her, and looked at her with faces that looked like Lin Yan.

“One piece each.” Fang Yuwei picked up a carrot from the soup and fed one piece to each of them.

Seeing them obediently open their mouths, she smiled with satisfaction and looked up to see Lin Yan, who had instinctively followed her.

A larger version of the face appeared in front of her.

Fang Yuwei: “!”

Just as she felt awkward, the phone on the table rang. She quickly answered, and Chen Man’s voice came through: “At eight, Haohao and I will pick you up. Don’t go home tonight.”The voice from the phone echoed in the room. Fang Yuwei looked at the father and sons staring at her in unison. The two smaller versions clearly understood and pouted with sad, disappointed faces.