DCTMOAS Chapter 6
by SuxxiEver since Chu Cheng found out about the relationship between Yu Siting and Lu Yan, he’d been wanting to take back that suggestion letter he sent.
Previously, Yu Siting would often keep Lu Yan after school until very late. Chu Cheng thought a little suggestion wouldn’t hurt. But judging from the current situation, any interference from an outsider like him seemed completely unnecessary now.
In the past two days, Yu Siting had acted like nothing had happened. Chu Cheng guessed that he probably hadn’t seen the letter yet, which made him even more eager to find an excuse to visit the math department.
Every weekend, the school organized open tutoring sessions for physics and chemistry. With students coming to solve all kinds of problems, the fifth-floor office was packed to the brim. In the crowd, Chu Cheng’s presence normally went unnoticed.
But for some reason, Yu Siting’s eyes seemed to be glued to him. The moment Chu Cheng stepped into his “territory,” he’d get politely ushered out.
“Mr. Chu, do you still need something?” This time, Yu Siting even paused his one-on-one tutoring to look at him rather seriously.
“No, carry on.” Chu Cheng had to rack his brain for a reasonable excuse. “I was just looking for a student.”
“Your class rep hasn’t come here,” Yu Siting reminded him with a perfectly straight face.
Chu Cheng gave him a flawless smile. “I know. I’m not looking for her.”
Yu Siting finally stopped pressing and gave a curt, “Suit yourself,” before turning back to guide the student through the problem.
Seizing the opportunity, Chu Cheng circled around Yu Siting’s desk twice, scanning every inch carefully. Finally, he spotted the sealed envelope hidden under a thick pile of assignments and worksheets.
When Yu Siting wasn’t paying attention, he stealthily pulled the envelope out and slipped it away as silently as he had delivered it.
Back in his own office, Chu Cheng sat down like a thief who had just made a clean getaway. He let out a silent sigh of relief, twirling the plain envelope between his slender fingers. It felt like a ticking fuse that had been snuffed out just in time.
He opened it to confirm it was the same handwritten letter. Just as he was about to tear it up, he noticed two words in a different handwriting at the bottom of the page: Read.
Read?
What the hell? Did you think this was some imperial report to be stamped and filed?
A surge of frustration welled up in Chu Cheng’s chest. Not only had Yu Siting read the letter, he had even resealed the envelope. He had probably known all along that Chu Cheng would try to retrieve it, which meant everything that happened in the math office earlier was just him toying with him.
Thinking about that smug mindset, and all the future moments they’d have to work together, Chu Cheng collapsed onto his desk in frustration.
Do I really have to teach this damn Class?
Ding—
A notification popped up on his phone.
Chu Cheng lazily opened one eye.
[Today’s Task Reminder: New teacher evaluation session in 30 minutes.]
He didn’t have time to dwell on this “humiliation” right now. Pushing it temporarily to the back of his mind, Chu Cheng took a deep breath, got up, and opened his lesson prep notes to review his teaching presentation.
Today’s evaluation event was being held in the school’s lecture hall.
By the time Chu Cheng arrived, many teachers were already seated. Looking at the sea of black heads, it seemed to be a full gathering of the entire year group.
“Hello, please sign in here.”
A staff member at the door handed over a stack of forms. According to the list, this year, the school had hired 11 new teachers: 2 in math, 2 in English, 3 in politics and history, and 3 in science.
The Chinese department had only one newcomer.
“All done,” Chu Cheng said after signing his name in the corresponding spot.
“Mr. Chu, right? You’re one of the first to go up. Please wait in the empty seats in the front row. If you have any presentation materials, you can go upload them now.”
Chu Cheng nodded. “Got it, thank you.”
More and more teachers gathered in the auditorium. As the start time approached, the constant buzz of conversations around Chu Cheng made him a bit uneasy.
After all, teaching students was one kind of pressure; teaching in front of seasoned educators was a whole other level.
While waiting for the courseware to finish copying, he stepped into the restroom next door, standing at the sink to give himself a mental pep talk.
Creak—
The restroom door creaked open.
Chu Cheng instinctively looked up and saw, reflected in the mirror, a tall figure with an exceptionally handsome face.
He had run into Yu Siting again—what a coincidence.
Chu Cheng felt a bit conflicted at that moment and didn’t feel like talking. He simply nodded out of politeness.
Yu Siting, with his usual cool and stern expression, looked at Chu Cheng’s hands under the cold running water and suddenly asked, “Nervous?”
One was a newcomer about to present on stage; the other, a renowned lecturer who would be sitting among the evaluators. In this kind of situation, Chu Cheng naturally thought the other was about to offer some kindly advice.
But instead, the next words out of the man’s mouth were: “Keep yourself in check and focus on teaching. Maybe if you prepare well next time, you won’t be suffering like this.”
This guy really holds a grudge, huh?
Chu Cheng opened his mouth, then swallowed back whatever he was about to say. After a two-second pause, he responded, “Thank you for the advice, Teacher Yu, but I’m not nervous.”
With that, he swiftly turned off the water and left the restroom.
Fueled by a petty determination to prove that devil wrong, Chu Cheng actually found his nerves had eased a little. As the first one to take the stage, he delivered his prepared lesson with impressive poise and clarity.
Under the spotlight, Chu Cheng watched closely as Teacher Yang consulted with the other evaluators, each jotting down notes about strengths and weaknesses on their evaluation forms.
Finally, his mentor adjusted her microphone and smiled as she delivered her comments: “They say it’s like seeing the future star of our school’s Chinese Language Department.”
Chu Cheng let out a quiet sigh of relief, bowed deeply with humility, and sincerely expressed his thanks, followed by thunderous applause from the audience.
At noon, Zhou Jin came by as usual to have lunch with him. They had missed the lunch rush, so the cafeteria was unusually quiet. Without the usual crowd, the whole dining experience felt slower and more relaxed.
Chu Cheng ate while fiddling with his phone in one hand. His fingers scrolled through his recent transaction history, one payment after another, and suddenly, the chicken leg on his plate didn’t seem so appetizing anymore.
“My salary hasn’t even come in yet, and I’m already barely able to pay off my Huabei (credit line).”
Zhou Jin looked up and said, “You only have one class, so your base teaching hours are low. Back when I first started, I could barely afford to eat.”
Chu Cheng couldn’t help but silently recite the Vice Principal’s speech from the graduation party: “Choosing education is choosing a life of poverty~”
“Regretting it already?”
“Nope~ I was just thinking about whether there’s any way to increase my income. I’ve already cut back on spending as much as I can, but I’m still struggling. And I’m too embarrassed to keep asking my family for help,” Chu Cheng said, propping his arm on the table, looking thoughtful.
Zhou Jin suddenly lit up with an idea. “Hey? I actually have an opportunity for a promotion and a raise. Want to give it a shot?”
“What is it?” Chu Cheng lazily lifted his eyes.
“Our school always uses the co-teaching model, and for classroom management, we also have a co-homeroom teacher system. The subject teacher who takes on this role gets an extra stipend and is paid for supervising morning and evening self-study sessions. It adds up to about 800 yuan a month.”
“Generally speaking, teachers of elective subjects like Geography, Politics, Biology, and Chemistry don’t take extra class responsibilities. So the options are limited to Chinese, Math, English, and Physics. You know the situation in Class 7—Math is already handled by the homeroom teacher, and the Physics teacher is older, needs to rest, and can’t manage early mornings or late nights. That leaves Nan Nan. She and I are getting ready for our wedding and are swamped with things to do. So she mentioned before that maybe you could take over this role.”
Chu Cheng had been listening attentively up to this point, but his interest noticeably waned the moment Class 7 was mentioned.
Thinking of that devilish homeroom teacher’s snide remarks earlier that morning, Chu Cheng scoffed with pride, “Me? Chu Cheng? I’d rather starve, jump off this building, than be Yu Siting’s assistant.”
The declaration—almost as dramatic as “I’ll die before I submit”—left Zhou Jin stunned. “Seriously? What did he do to you?”
Chu Cheng didn’t want to rehash that grudge. He just sighed and said, “Don’t worry about it.”
Zhou Jin teased him for acting like a sulky kid and mock-sternly lectured, “Don’t forget, the workplace isn’t a place for sharp edges.”
But Chu Cheng didn’t respond.
Zhou Jin smiled and sweetened the deal. “Just think of it as helping me and my wife out, okay? I’ll pay a bit more for the rent.”
From across the table, Chu Cheng still didn’t look up—he was casually blowing at his bangs, seemingly uninterested.
Zhou Jin gave in and added, “And I’ll clean the place twice more each week. That’s my final offer.”
Chu Cheng sipped the last of his icy drink, set the cup down, and quietly said, “Deal.”
Life is more than just the daily grind, but even a hero must bow to 800 yuan.
By Sunday afternoon, Chu Cheng had already picked up the co-homeroom teacher application form from the Academic Affairs Office. But he waited until just before the last evening self-study session to finally hand it in to Yu Siting.
That man was seated at the back of the classroom, grading weekly exams. With a red pen in hand, he casually slashed a student’s densely written solution with a single flourish—a big fat zero.
He glanced over at Chu Cheng and gave the application form a quick look. “Volunteering?”
Yu Siting’s speech was clear and articulate, about seventy percent serious, the rest tinged with a Beijing accent and an effortless magnetism. If not for the poison-tongued content of his words, his voice would’ve been very pleasant to listen to.
Chu Cheng nodded, then, remembering how he was once dragged by students to snatch a class, added, “Wasn’t coerced.”
“Morning self-study starts at 6:20.” Since the Chinese and Math classrooms were close together, Yu Siting had often seen Chu Cheng working late into the night over the past week, but never once showing up early in the morning. So he made a point to mention it.
But the way he said it sounded more like a challenge to Chu Cheng—Let’s see if you can actually get up that early.
Under those circumstances, even the most hopeless night owl would have no choice but to grit their teeth and rise to the occasion. Chu Cheng braced himself and replied that he understood.
This bit of reluctance couldn’t escape the sharp eyes of an excellent homeroom teacher. But Yu Siting didn’t make things difficult—he simply signed the application form without hesitation.
While signing, he calmly said, “I’m being called over to the senior year side tonight to work on new question types for the mock exam. If it’s convenient, could you help watch over the class before dismissal?”
“Huh?” Chu Cheng hadn’t expected to start the job so soon.
But every word from Yu Siting felt like a kind of reverse psychology: “Can you handle it?”
Chu Cheng nodded again. Whether he could or not, he had no choice but to handle it.
“Thanks for your hard work.” Yu Siting’s expression shifted slightly, a subtle, unreadable smile playing in his eyes. But his words didn’t discourage the new teacher in the slightest—they simply suggested he was looking forward to seeing how he’d do.
The bell for the second self-study period rang. The students of Class 7 returned to their seats one after another, not a single person even glancing toward where Yu Siting sat. In the entire classroom, even the unavoidable noise of chairs and desks shifting was incredibly quiet.
As someone who had been a student for over ten years, Chu Cheng was amazed at how they managed to be so orderly and quiet.
Yu Siting didn’t need to say much. He grabbed a few books from an empty desk compartment, gave Lu Yan a couple of casual taps on the shoulder, then walked out the back door.
Right in front of Chu Cheng, it seemed like an unspoken understanding had been reached between this uncle and nephew pair.
Five seconds. Ten seconds…
At a certain moment, a soft voice rose in the classroom: “Has the big boss left?”
“He went downstairs,” a student near the door replied precisely.
“Woohoo—” The next second, soft murmurs and buzzing broke out across the classroom.
Chu Cheng couldn’t help but smile and stepped in to maintain order. “Alright, a little celebration is fine, but what about my dignity?”
The students laughed at that and then cooperatively returned to their studies.
Chu Cheng sat in Yu Siting’s seat for a while but felt like he could still hear whispering in the classroom. He looked around, unable to find the source, so he stood up and walked around.
His patrol wasn’t particularly effective—the students didn’t even try to hide their whispers and continued talking quietly with their seatmates. That was until Chu Cheng tapped his knuckles lightly on the edge of one student’s desk.
The student looked up in confusion. “Mr. Chu, the big boss allows us to discuss questions with each other during the last self-study period.”
Chu Cheng lowered his head, eyes sharp and cold as he said, “Even so, keep your voices down. Don’t disturb others.”
“Alright, I’ll try.” The student shrugged and switched to scribbling on a piece of scratch paper instead.
Chu Cheng crossed his arms and continued walking around.
“Brother Chu—” a boy in the back row, watching him pace back and forth, called out familiarly, “Are your shoes a limited edition? How much did they cost?”
“Just bought them casually.” Chu Cheng gently pressed down on his head with one hand. “Do your homework.”
The thick-skinned student wasn’t discouraged by being brushed off and propped up his chin again to continue asking, “Since the big boss isn’t around, why are you the one watching over us? Are you our new assistant homeroom teacher this term? Hey, don’t walk away—”
One question after another made Chu Cheng suddenly realize—the students in this class weren’t afraid of him at all. On the contrary, they were more curious than anything else.
So, Chu Cheng only gave him a warning glance and walked past without responding.
One evening self-study session lasted a long hour and twenty minutes. Chu Cheng hadn’t prepared ahead of time and got a little bored, so he passed the time flipping through the students’ textbooks.
He had stayed up late the night before memorizing his lecture script, so now, staring at the dense formulas made him feel even sleepier. While the class was still relatively orderly, he quietly slipped out the back door and went to the washroom to splash cold water on his face and wake up.
By the time Chu Cheng returned, Class 7 had turned into a whole new world.
Though the small space—just a few dozen square meters—wasn’t filled with loud noise, it seemed like conversations were happening in every corner, making the overall atmosphere unusually noisy.
Chu Cheng didn’t want to openly break Yu Siting’s classroom rules, so he could only go around reminding students one by one. But each time he restored order, the effect only lasted a few minutes. The places he had just walked past would quickly erupt in uninhibited laughter again.
After saying the same things too many times, Chu Cheng felt his throat drying out.
Lu Yan, who sat near the back door, had finished two sets of English practice sheets. Hearing the endless noise that had been going on for quite a while, he put down his pen, stealthily took out his phone from under the desk, and opened WeChat to send a message.
[Hey, Hands-Off Leader, are you there?]
A few minutes later, a reply popped up in the chat box.
[Did I give you permission to use your phone during study hall? Hand it over yourself when you get home.]
Lu Yan was speechless.
[Didn’t you signal me to keep an eye on things before you left? When are you coming back? Mr. Chu’s about to lose control.]
Yu Siting replied concisely with just three characters and a question:
[Can’t come back.]
[What kind of class monitor are you?]
[Lu Yan: I can’t manage them.]
Both he and Yu Siting knew very well what level of rebelliousness Class 7’s top students had. If even one of them had been easy to manage, they wouldn’t have collectively petitioned in their first year of high school to change their Chinese teacher.
During self-study sessions like this, it might actually be quieter if there were no teacher at all—students would rely on their own motivation. But when given the chance to be alone with a new assistant homeroom teacher, the students couldn’t help but deliberately test his temper and patience.
Standing up to help now would mean playing the role of the enemy of the people—Lu Yan had no intention of being that.
But seeing Chu Cheng, who was being relentlessly tested and visibly worn out, he couldn’t help but feel some sympathy. He typed another message.
[He’s about to go hoarse…]
Yu Siting was obviously busy and didn’t respond again.
As dismissal time approached, Chu Cheng was physically and mentally exhausted. He had managed to maintain basic order and prevent the noise from escalating, but small pockets of disruption had persisted throughout.
“Ahem ahem—”
A familiar cough suddenly echoed in the hallway. Inside the classroom, someone immediately leaned in to listen.
“Having an academic seminar, are we?” came a sarcastic remark, as Yu Siting casually walked through the front door into the classroom.
Before any student could react, he continued, “Same rules as always. Everyone keep your heads down and do questions in silence for twenty minutes. Starting now—every time someone makes eye contact with me, dismissal will be delayed by one minute.”
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…”
The students who were still staring blankly up at him were all counted one by one. As the cold numbers rolled off Yu Siting’s tongue, the rest of the class quickly bowed their heads. Even the troublemakers in the back, who couldn’t focus at all, had to glue their eyes to their papers.
In an instant, the entire classroom fell completely silent.
Chu Cheng quietly took in the almost miraculous transformation, his feelings complicated.
Before long, the bell signaling the end of school rang. The front and back doors of the classroom were wide open. The hallway was filled with the sounds of other classes chatting and running around, and a few bold students even peeked in to see the commotion. But not a single person in Class 7 looked up.
Yu Siting leisurely flipped through a teaching guide.
Time passed second by second. Outside the classroom, the noise gradually faded, and the once-crowded courtyard slowly emptied.
Finally, Yu Siting looked up at the clock and said blandly, “You can leave.”
Then, with two books tucked under his arm, he was the first to step out the door.
Lu Yan quickly stuffed his test papers into his folder, grabbed his schoolbag, and chased after him. When he passed by Chu Cheng, he flashed a bright grin. “Chu-ge, keep that new teacher energy going! You’ve got this. See you tomorrow!”
“……” Chu Cheng gave a tired wave.
Too exhausted. Don’t @ me.
Author’s Note:
Before work, self-pep talk in the mirror: “Today I will treat everyone gently~”
After work, venting in a video game: “Watch me annihilate you all.”
Yu Siting: Don’t forget you’re on duty at 6:20 tomorrow morning.
Chu Cheng: I’m tired. I was faking it.