According to the grade report, Shi Li was the first to be called out.
The homeroom teacher didn't have much to say to Shi Li, as her grades were top-notch.
He simply chatted about life and aspirations, and would inevitably hear Shi Li's criticisms of him.
After their conversation ended, Shi Li returned to the classroom to call the second-ranked student to the office.
Shortly after the second-ranked Gu Yuqing sat down, there was a knock on the office door, and a young, handsome male teacher entered after knocking.
"Teacher, Principal Lu is asking for you," he said.
Principal Lu's full title was Vice Principal Lu, in charge of the school's personnel matters.
Normally, when a leader summons you, most people would rush over eagerly, to build rapport and gain favor for future promotions and raises. After all, with so many teachers in the school, why would the leadership promote you otherwise?
The homeroom teacher detested this game. He considered whether there was any real need to report to Principal Lu.
There shouldn't have been any interaction between him and Principal Lu, but since he joined Qianpu Middle School, Principal Lu seemed fond of calling him over for chats.
If the talks were useful, that would be fine, but after summoning him, Principal Lu would only discuss useless and unproductive topics.
The homeroom teacher had no ambitious desire for promotion, so he saw no need to curry favor with leadership. Naturally, he viewed Principal Lu's summons as a burden.
Whenever possible, he would try to avoid going.
Now he had a legitimate excuse not to deal with Principal Lu, and the homeroom teacher had to use it.
So he smiled and said, "Is Principal Lu in a hurry? I'm in the middle of talking with a student, and it wouldn't be right to leave them hanging."
Students were their meal ticket, and even more so for the principals. Choosing students over the principal was an unassailable choice.
The fair-skinned male teacher smiled genially and said, "Alright, I'll relay that to the principal for you."
When the male teacher went to Principal Lu's office, he not only conveyed the homeroom teacher's words but also implied their hidden meaning.
"Teacher is busy at the moment and says he doesn't have time to see you."
Rejected again by the homeroom teacher, Principal Lu adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. "He's busy?"
The male teacher across from him nodded, "Yes, when I went, he was chatting with a student. I guess that's why he doesn't have time to see you."
"Chatting" with students and therefore declining his invitation - Principal Lu's expression darkened for a moment.
Seeing this expression, the male teacher dared not continue to add fuel to the fire and simply stood silently.
Moreover, he was well-versed in the art of sowing discord, speaking ill of others with half-truths so that the veracity of his words wouldn't be doubted.
He only said one or two negative things, then seemingly defended the other party, but the effect of adding oil to the fire was potent, making Principal Lu feel even more displeased as he listened.
At this time, the homeroom teacher was still unaware that he had been undermined. He was still talking with his class students.
Shi Li was a well-rounded student with hardly any weak subjects, so when chatting with her, he could only discuss ideals and future career plans.
With other students, he could discuss which areas of study they should improve, how to address subject imbalances, and the fastest ways to raise their rankings.
At the beginning of the school year, the school had surveyed students' family situations. The homeroom teacher had recently received this family situation report, and for children with particularly special family circumstances, he would inquire a bit, acting as a life mentor.
In the files he had received, Gu Yuqing's family situation was very complicated. Her sister had been abducted, and her mother's mental state was concerning.
Even though both her parents were present, the complexity of her family far exceeded that of single-parent or blended families.
Due to the complexity of her family, Gu Yuqing was a focus of the homeroom teacher's attention.
Learning from the class monitor that Gu Yuqing's sister had been found and returned home, her level of attention was quickly downgraded.
After discussing her studies, the homeroom teacher inquired about how her sister was doing after being found.
They chatted about various topics for a long time. Finally, getting to the point, he asked, "Your sister was missing for seven or eight years. What ultimately allowed your family to find her?"
Gu Yuqing had been indifferent throughout, but hearing the homeroom teacher ask this, she finally raised her eyes. Instead of directly answering his question, she asked, "Did you hear this from the class monitor?"
She didn't say how her family found her sister, yet it seemed as if she had said everything.
The homeroom teacher didn't know how to respond for a moment. The accusatory tone in his voice immediately turned to discomfort, his suspicions suddenly laid bare.
Attempting to maintain his dignity as a teacher, he said, "Alright, it's getting late. Go back to the classroom and call the next student."
Gu Yuqing chuckled lightly, "Okay, as you say."
Shi Li and Gu Yuqing didn't take too long, but the other students' conversations with the homeroom teacher grew increasingly lengthy.
This was because their learning problems and other minor issues reported by subject teachers were becoming more numerous.
The self-study period ended at dismissal time, but students who hadn't talked with the homeroom teacher couldn't go home.
Only a third of the class could leave; the other two-thirds had to wait until their conversations with the homeroom teacher were over.
Gao Yun sighed inwardly. Even though she had been studying like crazy, her foundation was weak. Like Nüwa mending the sky or Jingwei filling the sea, it would take a long time.
She had only been studying intensively for a short while, and results weren't yet visible.
As one of the lowest-ranked in the class, she would be among the last to leave school with the homeroom teacher.
Just before the dismissal bell rang, her phone screen lit up with a message notification from Shi Li.
She thought her good friend was either coming to comfort her or planning to stand in solidarity with her.
[You probably won't be able to make it on time tonight. I've asked Teacher Huang to excuse you.]
Gao Yun's mother was always busy and wanted to care about her daughter's studies but lacked the ability.
In terms of studies, Shi Li was like half a mother to Gao Yun.
She contacted tutors for Gao Yun, followed up with them about her learning progress, and based on her situation, discussed with tutors how to arrange her classes.
If Gao Yun asked for leave herself, the tutors wouldn't approve, but if Shi Li asked, it was effective. (This was something Shi Li had arranged with the tutors in advance, fearing that Gao Yun might stubbornly skip classes to go on dates)
If this wasn't parenting, what was?
It was because she didn't dare ask Shi Li to excuse her that Gao Yun had missed out on some major gossip events in class.
Although it wasn't what Gao Yun had imagined - staying with her until the end - not having class today was still something to celebrate.
However, her happiness lasted less than three seconds before Shi Li's next message arrived.
[Don't worry about falling behind. We'll make up this lesson on Sunday night.]
Gao Yun: I wasn't worried TVT
Gao Yun mechanically worked through practice problems.
After the bell rang, Shi Li packed her bag to go home.
Since more than half the class still couldn't leave and had to continue self-study, the few who could go home packed their bags quietly, afraid of disturbing the others.
Just as Shi Li walked out of the classroom, Gu Yuqing called out to her.
"Shi Li, do you have plans tonight?"
"Does going home to do homework and practice papers count?"
That meant she had no other commitments. So Gu Yuqing said, "You'll be doing homework anyway, why not come to the study room with me to work on problems?"
She knew Shi Li had a soft heart, so she played the sympathy card, "My little sister used to live in the village and has never been to a study room before. I was thinking of taking her to that famous study room near our school to experience it. Would you like to join us?"
"My little sister really likes you. If you could come along, she'd be thrilled."
"The study atmosphere is better in the study room. You can order milk tea to drink while you study, and we can go to the nearby food street for dinner."
Hearing the temptation of good food, Shi Li shamefully felt her resolve weaken.
Last time she wanted to go to the food street, she encountered some hooligans. That night when she got home, the housekeeper made her noodles.
Not getting to eat what she wanted, Shi Li had been thinking about it ever since.
The encounter with the hooligans had left her with some psychological shadows. Even though she wanted to go to the food street to eat, she hadn't gone.
This time, going with Gu Yuqing and her sister should ensure safety.
So Shi Li nodded, "Sure, let's go to the study room together."
She thought she had disguised her love for studying well, not realizing her true thoughts had long been exposed.
[Little Lin's Boiled Little Lin, Hehe, I'm Here]
