Become a Knight Across the World

Chapter 340 New Teacher

Spring comes quickly in Z City, and it goes quickly too.

After a few drizzles, the temperature soared, and the air in the classroom became sticky and restless.

Mr. Li, the homeroom teacher, was a serious and earnest middle-aged man. However, during an ordinary self-study class, he was rushed to the hospital.

It is said that his old illness had relapsed. Due to the sudden situation, a substitute teacher entered the classroom of Class 3, Grade 11 the next day.

When that figure appeared at the door, the previously noisy classroom instantly quieted down, and all eyes were involuntarily drawn to it.

The person who came was very young, looking no more than twenty-three or twenty-four years old. He was wearing a soft light blue shirt with the cuffs casually rolled up to his forearms, revealing his smooth wrists and a simple watch.

He was tall and straight, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist—the kind of person who was born to hang clothes. His features were handsome and clear, with clean-cut eyebrows and eyes, a high nose bridge, and naturally curved lips, as if he was always ready to give people a friendly smile.

What's most striking is his thick, black hair, neatly styled and fluffy, with a few unruly strands falling across his forehead, adding a touch of casualness and vitality.

"Hello, students." He walked to the center of the podium, put down his lesson plan, and spoke in a clear and pleasant voice, like spring water flowing over pebbles. "Your teacher needs to take a break due to illness, so I will temporarily serve as your homeroom teacher and be responsible for teaching Chinese. My surname is Ye, Ye Wenxiu."

He turned around and wrote his name on the whiteboard, his handwriting flowing and powerful.

"You can call me Teacher Ye." After he finished writing, he turned around and gently swept his gaze across the whole class. His eyes were clear and honest, without the slightest hint of lecturing or condescension.

"I just passed my teacher qualification exam this year, and I'm not much older than you all, so I probably understand your thoughts and worries at this stage better. I hope we can get along well during this time. I'm your teacher in academic matters, but in life and other aspects, you can also treat me as a friend you can talk to."

Without deliberately emphasizing discipline or giving a stern lecture, his opening remarks were natural and friendly, instantly bridging the gap between him and the students.

Whispers filled the classroom, especially among the girls, whose eyes lit up as they exchanged excited glances.

Even Lin Yue had to admit that, from an objective aesthetic point of view, this Teacher Ye was indeed very good-looking. He had a refreshing, clean, and non-aggressive kind of handsomeness that made people feel very comfortable looking at him.

In the following days, the teacher became increasingly popular.

Ye Wenxiu's classes were also excellent. Unlike Teacher Li, who quoted extensively from classical texts and was rigorous and rigid, he focused more on guidance and inspiration. His language was vivid and humorous, and he would occasionally intersperse anecdotes and internet memes that were close to the lives of young people, making the classroom atmosphere much more lively.

Even some boys who usually have little interest in Chinese language and literature surprisingly refrained from sleeping in his class or secretly playing games on their phones under the desk. Although the new teacher noticed, he only gave them a warning and didn't confiscate their phones.

More importantly, he seemed to have a unique charisma. He could chat with the boys about basketball and the latest games, and Ye Wenxiu could always join in the conversation, speaking meaningfully and with an attitude of equality and respect. He quickly became friends with the boys in the class, and scenes of them putting their arms around each other and calling each other brothers were common.

He maintained a perfectly gentlemanly demeanor towards the girls. He patiently answered their questions, spoke gently, and once, Lin Yue could even smell a very faint, clean scent on him as she walked past him—like sun-dried grass mixed with some kind of refreshing soapberry—it smelled wonderful.

"This teacher is great." Even Li Yuetian, who is usually quite critical of his teachers, privately remarked to Lin Yue, "He's handsome, has a good personality, and isn't pretentious."

Lin Yue nodded in agreement. At least on the surface, Ye Wenxiu was indeed an impeccable temporary homeroom teacher.

However, someone doesn't think that way these days.

Wei Shiyu, a student in my class, has been acting strangely lately. She's usually outgoing, has above-average grades, and is quite talkative, but she's been sitting quietly in her seat lately.

Not only that, she became increasingly silent, her eyes darting around, and during breaks she would often lie alone on her desk or hide in a toilet stall for a long time before coming out.

Attentive classmates might notice that her eyes are often red, as if she has been secretly crying.

Lin Yue soon discovered that the cause of all this was some filthy rumors about her that had circulated in her class a few days earlier.

The source of the rumor seems to be a group of boys led by Wang Rui. Wang Rui comes from a well-off family and is a well-known "active member" in the class, or more accurately, the kind who is somewhat unruly and self-centered.

He had publicly expressed his feelings for Wei Shiyu and even wrote her a love letter, but Wei Shiyu clearly and politely rejected him.

"Stop pretending to be high and mighty!" Wang Rui said this with a grim expression after being rejected.

And now, those vicious rumors are coming from him and his cronies.

"Hey, did you guys know? I saw it with my own eyes last time. Wei Shiyu came out of Teacher Ye's office after school with her hair all messed up and her clothes disheveled, and her face was all red!"

Wang Rui stood by the basketball court, dribbling the ball while winking at the boys who had gathered around him.

"Really? Rui, you saw it?" a boy exclaimed in surprise.

"How could it be fake? I saw it with my own eyes!" Wang Rui said confidently, gesturing with his hands. "The shirt buttons look like they're all buttoned up wrong! Tsk tsk, I never noticed before, are they really that carefree?"

"Holy crap! No wonder Teacher Ye seemed to take good care of her; he even kept her behind to explain a problem last time!"

"Yes, she never asked so many questions when Ms. Li was here!"

"Hehe, it takes two to tango, who knows if she took the initiative or not..."

These words initially circulated only within a small circle of boys, but they quickly spread quietly.

The versions became increasingly outrageous, evolving from "disheveled" to "describes certain unspeakable details," with some even claiming with certainty that "strange noises were heard in the office."

The rumors also reached the girls. Some girls scoffed at them, thinking that Wang Rui and the others were too mean; while others were skeptical and looked at Wei Shiyu and Ye Wenxiu with strange eyes, and had already started cursing her behind her back; still others did not believe it, but dared not easily stand up for Wei Shiyu, for fear of getting burned.

Wei Shiyu had clearly heard these rumors. She tried to explain, but her voice sounded so weak and powerless in the face of those vivid descriptions of "first-hand witnessing."

She went to see the boys who spread the rumors, but all she got in return was more unrestrained laughter and even more vulgar teasing.

In desperation, she mustered the greatest courage of her life and knocked on Ye Wenxiu's office door after school one day.

“Teacher Ye…” Wei Shiyu’s voice was choked with sobs as she stood in front of the desk, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes tightly. “Wang Rui and the others… they’re spreading rumors outside… saying that you and I… have that kind of relationship… they’re saying really nasty things…”

She recounted her story haltingly, and finally, tears streamed down her face.

Ye Wenxiu was grading homework when he heard this. He looked up, a hint of surprise flashing across his face, before he resumed his usual smile.

He put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and spoke in a relaxed, even somewhat dismissive tone:

"Wei Shiyu, don't take it too seriously." He waved his hand. "People can say whatever they want, we can't control them."

Wei Shiyu was stunned, seemingly not expecting her teacher to react this way.

"But... what they said was so awful... a lot of classmates believed it... I..." she said incoherently in her anxiety.

“The innocent are innocent.” Ye Wenxiu interrupted her, his smile unchanged. “We are innocent, what’s there to be afraid of? The more anxious and agitated you are to explain and refute, the more others will think you are guilty and that there is something between us. Stay calm, and after a while, when they get bored, they will naturally stop.”

He paused, picked up the drink on the table and took a sip: "Isn't your current overreaction, insisting on an explanation, just making things more complicated? Don't make yourself uncomfortable, and don't cause trouble for the teacher, okay?"

Wei Shiyu stared blankly at Ye Wenxiu's still handsome face, at his nonchalant smile, and at his theory of "keeping the peace." A chill, even deeper than when she was being slandered, instantly ran from the soles of her feet throughout her entire body.

Her last hope collapsed completely at this moment.

.........

Wei Shiyu didn't know how she walked out of the office; she just felt that the whole world had turned gray.

Even the teacher doesn't care, and even has a feeling that she's "making trouble," so what can she do?

For the next few days, Wei Shiyu was like a walking corpse. The rumors spread even more rampantly because of her silence and the teacher's "inaction."

Wang Rui and his friends even started making veiled remarks in front of her, eliciting lewd laughter. "Have you heard?" "Have you heard?" Wang Rui deliberately raised his voice, "Some people will do anything to take shortcuts, without even considering whether they deserve it." The surrounding boys laughed, and Wei Shiyu lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

She felt like she was suffocating. Walking on campus, she always felt that everyone was looking at her strangely and pointing and whispering behind her back.