Chapter 892: Chapter 526: Did Teacher Write Him a Letter? (Happy National Day!)
“Yes, Teacher.”
Huaijin Yu held his hands together, bowed, and left the stack of papers on the desk behind.
The girl kept a straight face, dressed in a neat student uniform, just like the Zhao Rong had seen before, always impeccably dressed in front of others.
At this moment, she turned and walked off the podium, her eyes calmly sweeping over the rows of students sitting in Shuaixing Hall.
As whispers and discussions were just rising, the hall instantly quieted down under the aura and gaze of Senior Yu.
The evening calligraphy supplementary class had just begun.
This afternoon, the first and longest ritual exam of the monthly major exams had ended, and the students of Shuaixing Hall were finally taking a slight breath of relief.
Originally, they intended to take advantage of the exam break to rest, and when the autumn breeze and dusky night arrived, they would chat enthusiastically about the recent ritual exam and the group of special students brought back by Meng Zhengjun from the exam at the foot of the mountain.
However, Senior Yu seemed to have noticed their ‘enthusiasm’ for the exams and, without a word, considerately invited Mr. Zhu for them.
Huaijin Yu had gathered them in Shuaixing Hall earlier, and after happily announcing the supplementary class, everyone’s expressions were quite spectacular…
At this moment, in Shuaixing Hall, the setting sun slanted through the door. Huaijin Yu, who had walked off the podium, calmly glanced at the ‘upright’ students and nodded lightly.
“Huaijin, are they all here?”
The woman in the Confucian robe, standing with her back to the blackboard, habitually asked while pasting calligraphy posters.
Huaijin Yu stopped for a moment, glancing at a small desk uniquely empty at the back of the classroom.
On the small desk, someone had neatly arranged their books, pens, and inkstone before leaving.
“Reporting to Teacher, one person is missing due to exam requirements and is not at the Academy…”
The woman in the Confucian robe nodded her head slightly, interrupted, “Oh, I know. He should be back in the next couple of days… No worries, Huaijin, go back, let’s start the class. Today I’ll talk to you about…”
“Yes.”
Both Huaijin Yu and many students at the podium couldn’t help but glance at Mr. Zhu’s elegant figure.
How do you know this so clearly…
Huaijin Yu returned to his seat in the front row, and the hall quieted down as the evening calligraphy supplementary class began calmly…
Midway through the supplementary class.
At one point, while the class was halfway through, the woman in the Confucian robe, quiet and intellectual, picked up a pen and wrote a character on the table, asking casually, “After discussing so much, can anyone write this ‘ancient’ character with some originality?”
Other than the very enthusiastic Senior Yu, naturally, everyone else was silent and did not speak up.
Even Huaijin Yu, the model student in the front row, also couldn’t write it at this moment, quietly listening with focus.
Zhu Yourong lightly put down her pen, lowered her head, and whispered, “No one? Then I’ll call someone up…”
It’s a teacher’s classic skill, many of the students ducked their heads.
“Hmm, Ziyu…” The woman in the Confucian robe subconsciously called out two words, intending to look towards the back of the hall with a light laugh, but her action and voice suddenly paused halfway.
All the students who were tense froze, and then all their eyes turned to the woman on the podium whose words had stopped.
The atmosphere in the classroom began to grow quiet.
Their gazes became uneasy.
“… Oh.” Lowering her head, Zhu Yourong paused for a moment, then lightly nodded: “Ziyu… that student beside you, come up and write this character.”
She maintained her usual expression as if not seeing the strange gazes around her, continuing to look towards the empty spot at the back of the hall.
“…… ???”
A student with the surname Fan: Don’t I deserve a name?
Initially sneering with a face full of laughter, his expression froze, a looming ‘danger’ character appearing on his forehead.
Zhu Yourong elegantly nodded towards him.
The student with the surname Fan reluctantly supported himself on the desk, stood up, and before leaving, gave an aggrieved glance at the empty seat beside him.
Then, with all the other students trying to stifle their laughter, Fan Yushu, full of frustration, went up on stage…
In the front row, Huaijin Yu withdrew her gaze from Fan Yushu as he passed by.
She shook her head lightly and then glanced sideways at the woman in the Confucian robe who continued to lower her head and write without any hint of changes.
…
With the familiar sound of the morning bell and evening drum echoing from the distant hills and woods,
the calligraphy supplementary class ended, and the quiet, solemn atmosphere instantly dispersed.
The drowsy students, such as Fan Yushu, immediately revived with energy, bouncing to their feet.
Diligent students like Huaijin Yu silently packed their notes and calligraphy sheets, while eager learners even went on stage to consult the gentle female teacher about their writing questions.
The hall erupted into a chaotic mix of chair shuffling and laughter as the students made plans to leave together.
At this moment, footsteps and lively discussions suddenly echoed from the corridor of the academy outside.
The first few students who had walked out of Shuaixing Hall returned, peeking in with smiles: “Meng Zhengjun is back, bringing Senior Gu from Zhengyi Hall with them; they must have finished the exam at the foot of the mountain…”
The sound in Shuaixing Hall calmed down a bit, with many students glancing towards the empty seat of someone in the back, and others like Huaijin Yu and Li Xueyou couldn’t help but glance at the woman in Confucian robes, who was busy organizing her things on the podium.
The woman in Confucian robes focused on tidying the papers, ink, brushes, and inkstones on the table, her slender hands white as snow, gracefully folding the unfolded calligraphy sheets.
Her movements were as poised and elegant as usual.
She seemed not to hear the sound of someone returning at the door, nor did she notice the gazes of Huaijin Yu and the others, simply attending to her own tasks.
More than half of the students from Shuaixing Hall couldn’t help but crowd towards the door, curious to see the commotion outside.
“Hey, Ziyu is back?”
Fan Yushu paused, then somewhat annoyed, slapped the table and stood up, “Drat, we have to make him treat us to dinner. Mr. Zhu clearly called his name, but it was me who ended up suffering… Last time when Sister Su and Miss Zhao came, it was the same…”
He exchanged a glance with Jia Tengying, then both rose to go outside and hunt for a ‘moving meal ticket’.
Huaijin Yu sat in her seat for a while, glanced at the teacher who was moving slowly but without any change, and then rose to join the crowd watching the excitement.
Thus, the hall became almost empty, leaving behind only the elegant and intellectual female teacher, slowly tidying up the desk.
Zhu Yourong lowered her head to put away a sheet of calligraphy, raised her hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear with her pinky finger.
She did not look towards the door.
But at some point, hearing the commotion outside, the corners of the woman in the Confucian robe’s lips happily curled up slightly.
The noises outside grew louder and the students from various academies poured out to watch the excitement.
Shortly, inside Shuaixing Hall, Zhu Yourong finished tidying up the desk, gently clapped her plain hands, and then waited quietly on the podium for a while, unhurried.
Once the footsteps and lively noises moving along the corridor began to pass by the door of Shuaixing Hall, the composed woman in Confucian robes acted.
She repressed her smiling lips slightly, then casually picked up the thick stack of ungraded homework again, rolled it in her hands, and patted it, as if considering its weighty workload.
It seemed like she was packing up and getting ready to leave class.
With a broad-minded demeanor, Mr. Zhu blinked, gently lifted her chin, and slowly walked out of Shuaixing Hall, still holding that thick roll of assignments.
As if… to find a very suitable and destined person for them…
…
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PS: Nationwide celebrations, with blooming glories!
Thanks to all, all, all the book friends reading!
Ahem, holiday time, dear friends, take a good rest ~