DCTMOAS Chapter 72
by Suxxi“I’ll write it the moment we get back!”
Chu Cheng was so angry he clenched his teeth, full of a if I go down, you’re coming with me attitude.
He was a Chinese teacher, after all. You think he’d back down from a fight with words against a thug like this?
Yu Siting remained unfazed and calmly responded, “Make sure it’s detailed.”
“Time, place, people, events—especially when we started liking each other, who confessed first, the date we held hands or hugged, how we kissed, in what position, how long the first time made someone cry—ah—ugh!”
“Yu Siting, you sanctimonious jerk! You’re a total pervert underneath!”
Crammed together under the hoodie, Chu Cheng reached up from beneath the fabric and pinched his chest hard. Only after letting loose his outrage did he realize something.
“Wait, when did I cry?”
“I misspoke?” Yu Siting corrected himself without missing a beat. “Then write down how long you plan to cry next ti—ow!”
This time, Chu Cheng used full strength until the man beside him wisely shut up.
“Why are you pinching me again? Still not satisfied?”
“Enough. You can shut up now.”
“Tsk.”
One mouthed off, the other retaliated—their brief, mutually-abusive interlude came to an end, and they returned to work mode.
On the computer screen now was a line graph analyzing the test scores of every student in Class 7.
Chu Cheng squinted as he scrolled with the mouse, using the data to compile a list of students needing extra academic attention. The tightly packed lines on the graph made his eyes ache—until one clean, soothing horizontal line made him blink in surprise.
That line belonged to Lu Yan.
Since entering high school, in every single recorded exam, big or small, he had never once relinquished the top spot.
“Such beautiful grades, my precious boy,” Chu Cheng couldn’t help but admire after gazing at the data for a moment. How many good deeds must one have done in a past life to be blessed with a child like this?
Yu Siting, however, glanced down at the screen with the indifference of someone used to seeing those numbers. Calmly, he said, “Getting first place is easy. What’s hard is maintaining that edge under pressure against competitors of the same level. He’s only keeping his rank because no one’s a real threat yet—not much to brag about.”
Although his words sounded a bit too casual, Chu Cheng found himself agreeing. He clicked through a couple more pages to pull up the end-of-term score distribution chart.
At present, Lu Yan was the only one in the 700-point range—virtually no competition.
“So, in your opinion, once final review starts, is there anyone who might surpass him?” Chu Cheng asked curiously, tilting his head with interest. It was his first year teaching senior third year, and he couldn’t help but look forward to the heated, cutthroat academic battles.
“Unlikely,” Yu Siting answered without hesitation. “I can’t speak for other subjects, but just in math—aside from Mu Yiyang, who’s a naturally gifted student—everyone else in the class improves purely through hard work. As for Lu Yan, don’t even mention it—he’s a product of my ‘problem-drill warfare.’ His practice volume is at least five times that of an average pre-senior-three student. Competing with him on equal time alone is nearly impossible.”
Chu Cheng examined the table more carefully. “Then what if we look at total score? The second-place student, Xu Wanwan, has a clear weakness in math. Can’t you give her a little boost?”
Yu Siting replied, “You know that girl—steady personality, independent thinker, completely uninterested in being the top scorer in the city. Her parents just want her to enjoy high school and choose a school she likes. On the other hand, Han Rui’s strengths lie in the sciences—she’s diligent and resilient. Maybe you should go encourage her instead?”
The motivational hot potato was kicked right back to him.
Chu Cheng snorted. “Aren’t we the worst? Watching from the sidelines while stirring up academic anxiety.”
Yu Siting raised a brow, utterly unapologetic.
After all, if not for the drama of top students battling it out, what was even the point of running an honors class?
Because his waist and hips were still sore, Chu Cheng spent most of the day lazily curled up in the hotel room. During that time, they finally settled on a moving plan: the entire second floor would be given to Lu Yan, while Yu Siting would move down to the master bedroom on the first floor.
As for the former room owner who’d just lost his space? He didn’t care. His only request was to have Teacher Chu as his new roommate.
By evening, the two finally checked out and returned to Fentian Garden.
Yu Siting, ever the man of action, began moving things right after dinner. Since Chu Cheng didn’t have much to move, he chose to laze on the couch and play commander.
There were plenty of little scattered trinkets during the move, most of which Yu Siting ignored—except for one: the ruler engraved with the character “Chu.” He took hold of it and refused to let go.
“Why are you so obsessed with that thing?” Chu Cheng asked in mild exasperation, reaching for it.
Yu Siting easily dodged. “Anything related to Teacher Chu, I like.”
Before Chu Cheng could reply, a voice rang out from behind.
“At this rate, I should start calling you Little Aunt, shouldn’t I?” Lu Yan leaned against the doorframe, peeking in at the domestic chaos inside. He’d caught every flirty little back-and-forth between the two.
Caught red-handed by the kid, Chu Cheng flushed with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance and gave Yu Siting a hard shove where he was sitting on the carpet.
Yu Siting looked up at him with a straight face. “Did you even knock?”
Lu Yan glanced down at his own feet, which were still obediently outside the doorway, and carefully replied, “Uncle… I haven’t stepped inside yet.”
Yu Siting shot him a warning look from the corner of his eye and continued coldly, “If you can’t learn to respect other people’s space and privacy, I can file an application with the school and have you live in the student dorms for a year.”
The smile on Lu Yan’s face vanished instantly.
“You want to share a room with Bai Xiaolong and Jiang Zhibo? Or would you prefer Mu Yiyang and Li Sheng?” Of course, Yu Siting knew full well that his pampered nephew would never survive a cramped four-person dorm—he was hitting him right where it hurt.
“Neither,” Lu Yan replied without hesitation.
While the uncle and nephew were busy talking, Chu Cheng took the opportunity to sneak his hand toward the discipline ruler. But Yu Siting’s reflexes were absurdly sharp—even without looking, he pinned Chu Cheng’s wrist down with perfect accuracy, rendering him immobile.
Yu Siting remained perfectly composed as he went on with the conversation. “Then why are you still here? The new semester’s started. You looking to add some extra pressure to your life?”
Lu Yan admitted the lively atmosphere of the house was entertaining, but the growing threats were enough to make him back off. He shook his head again.
Yu Siting tapped the discipline ruler idly against his palm and announced, “You can call me whatever you want, but unless it’s absolutely necessary, don’t come downstairs anymore. We’ll call you when it’s time to eat.”
Know your place—Lu Yan demonstrated the perfect embodiment of that phrase. “Got it. I’ll behave. I’ll go cool off with three practice exams. I won’t come down until I finish them.”
Yu Siting coolly corrected, “Don’t come down even after you finish.”
Lu Yan threw him an exaggerated OK gesture and fled the scene.
Chu Cheng’s wrist had been pinned for a while now—he’d tried several times to pull free without success. He gave Yu Siting a complicated look. “Still trying to discipline me?”
“Wouldn’t dare. Just feels nice in the hand—let me keep it as a back-to-school gift?” Yu Siting let go with a smile, his tone polite as if seeking permission, but his grip on the ruler remained firm, showing zero intent to give it back.
Logic will always lose to shamelessness.
“Fine, take it, take it,” Chu Cheng gave up completely, surrendering his beloved tool to the man who’d clearly been coveting it for ages.
A new week began, and the senior class of No. 10 High School returned to campus.
On the first day of official classes, Lu Yan walked toward his classroom carrying two textbooks. From about ten steps away, he spotted someone sneakily peeking in through the back door.
From the build alone, he couldn’t tell which classmate it might be, so he walked over and gave the person a light kick. “Who is it? What are you doing skulking around like that?”
To his surprise, the face that turned around was a stranger.
It was a strikingly handsome boy—short, fluffy black hair, styled with a cool 3:7 side part, and brows that carried a lively, youthful arrogance.
Lu Yan froze for a moment, then apologized awkwardly.
“No big deal.” The other boy patted the back of his pants leg, sounding a bit distant but still relatively gracious.
Lu Yan gave him another once-over, confirming he looked like a peer, then asked amiably, “Are you new here?”
“Yeah,” the boy replied, then quickly amended, “Well, not exactly.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You here on some kind of class evaluation?” Lu Yan gave him a sideways glance, then returned to his seat and casually greeted a few classmates, joking and chatting like usual.
The boy followed and took a seat in the back row, next to Lu Yan. Seeing how well-liked he seemed, he made small talk: “What subject does your homeroom teacher teach?”
Meng Xin, the class math rep, overheard and glanced over, turning to Lu Yan with a questioning look. “Who’s this guy? A transfer student?”
Still busy organizing his desk, Lu Yan mimicked the boy’s tone and casually replied, “Not exactly sure yet.”
The transfer student gave Lu Yan a quick look—he didn’t say much, but his expression hinted at some mild annoyance from being mocked.
Li Sheng, who had nothing better to do, leaned in to join the conversation. “You don’t even know who the boss is, and you think you can join his class?”
“I don’t know him, so it makes sense that I wouldn’t,” the transfer replied curtly.
Just from the students’ tone, he could already guess that the homeroom teacher of Class 7, Senior Year 3, must be a well-known, strong personality.
“He teaches math. First period, actually,” Li Sheng said nonchalantly, glancing at the schedule in the upper right corner of the blackboard. “He should be in the office right now. He’ll be here soon.”
The mention of the homeroom teacher showing up made the boy visibly uneasy. He shoved both hands into the pockets of his light utility pants, ducked his head into his collar, and stood up, seemingly ready to leave as quietly as he came.
Lu Yan suddenly felt like this scene was very familiar.
The last time someone secretly tried to scope out the homeroom teacher on the first day of school… wasn’t that Mr. Chu?
Frowning, Lu Yan looked at the stranger with a knowing expression and asked pointedly, “Come on, what subject do you teach?”
“…Huh?” The transfer student froze at the question, squinting in confusion.
——
Before the first class of the new semester began, all the teachers had been gathered for the usual morning meeting.
Once the meeting ended, Chu Cheng signed his name on the assistant homeroom teacher application for the new year and passed it to the person next to him.
“Here’s to a smooth collaboration this semester.”
Yu Siting was still holding the soy milk his boyfriend hadn’t finished that morning. He took a sip and replied, “Looking forward to your guidance, Mr. Chu.”
They exchanged smiles, as if completing some sort of secret ceremony, and stood up together to head back to class.
“Mr. Yu, wait a moment.” A voice called from behind. Director Yang caught up with them, asking, “Do you have a minute to come by the Academic Affairs Office?”
The last time Yu was called in right after the start-of-semester meeting, it had been because of that issue with Senior Zhou. Chu Cheng still felt uneasy about it, and his heart skipped a beat. “Is something wrong again?”
“No, no.” Sensing their concern, Director Yang quickly waved it off. “The admissions office just sent over a few transfer students. The school wants to place one of them in your class, Mr. Yu. The student and their parent are in the Academic Affairs Office now and would like to meet you.”
It isn’t unusual for a new student to transfer in at the start of senior year. Yu Siting had shepherded many graduating classes before and knew the school’s routine: if the kid were ordinary, the administration would simply slot him into a class without all this ceremony.
So he cut straight to the point. “What kind of student is he? Give me a heads-up.”
“Mm… a bit tricky,” Director Yang admitted with a strained smile. “Mid-term last year he got sick, took a leave, and afterward flat-out refused to come back. He’s definitely rebellious—won’t take orders—and no one at home can keep him in line. But…”
“The kid has connections, so the school can’t just tell him to go elsewhere, right?” With no outsiders around, Yu Siting dropped the pretense.
Director Yang merely smiled politely. No confirmation, no denial.
Frankly, Yu Siting’s zero-tolerance style made him the worst possible match for a problem child—but he was also the only teacher who could keep such a class under control. For the school it was a hard call; for Yu Siting personally, it felt a bit like institutional sabotage…
He weighed the pros and cons, maintained his usual indifferent air, and said nothing more.
“I’ll head back to class, then,” Chu Cheng said, excusing himself. He parted from the two at the stairwell—this wasn’t his problem, at least for now.
The bell had already rung, yet Class 3-7 was still buzzing.
“What’s all the noise this early?” Chu Cheng stepped in, cleared his throat, glanced at the timetable—first period was math—and announced, “Big Bro has some business to handle. Class rep, hand out a worksheet set; ten minutes of practice questions.”
“Got it,” Meng Xin answered, jogging to the file rack for test papers.
The small gossip circles scattered, and every student’s attention swung to Mr. Chu, curiosity written all over their faces.
“Mr. Chu, did Big Bro get summoned to the office?”
“The transfer kid in Class 6 just sat right down in his seat—why does ours need a special talk?”
“I heard this guy’s the real deal—some district chief at bureau level opens car doors for his dad!”
Chu Cheng blinked in disbelief.
Where did these kids pick up their intel? They were better informed than he was!
As the rumors grew wilder, he cut in: “Enough. I don’t even know the details yet. Stop speculating and get to work.”
The room quieted—mostly. A few whispers lingered. He had to shush them two more times before the chatter finally died.
Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. Half the period. After Meng Xin handed out a second mini-quiz, Yu Siting still hadn’t returned.
It seemed the first meeting hadn’t gone well. Remembering what the students had said earlier, Chu Cheng couldn’t help feeling curious.
He glanced at the classroom, now returned to its usual self-study quiet, and finally couldn’t resist quietly slipping out through the back door. As he went downstairs, he kept brainwashing himself with justification:
As the co-homeroom teacher, it’s only reasonable to check in on the situation.
He wasn’t the only one eager to eavesdrop outside the Academic Affairs Office. Even a teacher from the adjacent printing room had paused to listen.
“That kid’s personality is really something else. Mr. Yu’s self-control is impressive—if it were me, I’d have exploded already,” the print room teacher said with a click of the tongue when they spotted Chu Cheng approaching.
The office door was slightly ajar. From Chu Cheng’s angle, he could only see half of Yu Siting’s figure. But even just that sharp, stern profile was enough to tell he was already running out of patience.
If this really is a hot potato, maybe I can find an excuse to get him out and defuse things a little. With that thought, Chu Cheng raised his hand and knocked on the door.
“I don’t want to be in his class.”
“And I don’t allow anyone in my class to slack off and coast through.”
Two voices came through the door—first the student, then Yu Siting. The tension between them was clear, and the sudden knock sounded like a godsend.
“Come in,” Director Yang called quickly.
Chu Cheng pushed open the half-closed door, mind full of one question:
Who’s bullying my Mr. Yu?
But the moment the door opened, he froze—because the student standing opposite Yu Siting had a face he recognized all too well.
Wasn’t that his old hospital roommate?
“Ying He…” Compared to the arrogant student, the adult who accompanied him—“guardian,” supposedly—seemed far more passive. He tugged at the student’s sleeve a few times, trying to ease the situation.
But the “former patient buddy” didn’t respond. His eyes locked directly on Chu Cheng as he entered, and a scoff of recognition left his lips.
Now in close proximity, he lowered his voice and accused, “So this is your so-called ‘easy job’? Teaching LEGO and public speaking at a top high school? Should I report you for being a teacher who talks big and doesn’t lead by example?”
Chu Cheng was momentarily speechless. But when he remembered this little punk had been messing with Yu Siting’s morning and had made him upset, he threw caution to the wind and fired back without hesitation.
“You’re not even my student—what are you gonna report? Besides, you’re not the only one who can bring up old dirt. I haven’t even mentioned how you were whining on your hospital bed after getting your hemorrhoids removed, butt up and moaning like a baby.”
Ying He’s expression twisted into a deep scowl.
This guy…
The “guardian” tried again to mediate. “Come on, be reasonable now.”
Ying He shot him a cold glance. “What?”
“You promised. Finish school, take the college entrance exam like a normal person, then you can do whatever you want. Now what? You’re backing out at the last minute? How am I supposed to explain this to your dad?”
“I never said I was dropping out,” the student retorted, stepping back to lean against the desk. His brows furrowed in suppressed frustration as he stated his demand: “I just don’t want to be in Class 7. Find me another one.”
The accompanying adult didn’t dare provoke this young master and could only go along with him. “Then where exactly do you want to go? You want to pick yourself? Fine.”
At this point, Yu Siting’s patience had completely run out. He turned to the school leader and said coldly, “Director Yang, if there’s nothing more important, I’m going back to class.”
Before Yang could respond, Ying He looked over and asked, “Does this Mr. Chu have his own class? I want to be in his.”
“……” Director Yang was momentarily speechless, unsure how to even react. He looked at Chu Cheng, then at Yu Siting, and tentatively asked, “Does he?”
Yu Siting raised the vice homeroom teacher application form still in his hand and waved it lightly. “What do you think?”
Chu Cheng cleared his throat and looked at the transfer student, who clearly had no idea what the reality was. Holding onto a noble sense of humanitarian transparency, he asked again, “Are you sure you want to be in the class I help manage?”
Author’s Note:
Mr. Chu: Mr. Yu, may I keep him?
Little Sick Room Buddy: Let me say, thank you…