“Teacher Gu? Teacher Gu?”
A male teacher called out, “You just entered the wrong office!”
“Ah?”
Gu Xiuxun turned her head and discovered that she had entered the office next door instead. However, she absolutely mustn’t admit to it. “Oh, I’m looking for Teacher Li because I’ve something I want to ask him.”
Gu Xiuxun casually weaved an excuse. She would speak a few sentences with Teacher Li and return. After that, she casually placed her lesson plans on a desk and continued reading (Journey to the West).
Heading to the Fangcun Mountain to learn magical arts, mastering the seventy-two transformations!
Getting a treasure from the Sea Dragon Palace, a golden cudgel dominating the heavens!
What a legendary journey!
Seeing Monkey Sun barging into the underworld, forcefully changing the contents of the book of life and death, Gu Xiuxun simply loved such tyrannical freedom. Only true men would break rules so blatantly.
“Teacher Gu, do you want to have a taste of my new tea leaves?”
The ugly male teacher, who was speaking to her earlier, took up a satchel of tea leaves and waved it before Gu Xiuxun. A fawning smile appeared on his face. He even exuded the smell of a lackey that could be smelled from far away.
“Oh!”
Gu Xiuxun was currently immersed in the story of the (Journey to the West). She basically didn’t hear what the male teacher was saying and simply agreed.
He grew agitated. (Could it be that my sincerity has moved Gu Xiuxun? Is my spring about to arrive?)
Before this, whenever he spoke to Gu Xiuxun, she would always reject him no matter how he tried to show his good will. But now, did she just say ok to drink the tea that he brewed?
“I’ll go and brew the tea now!”
He chose the best tea leaves, and after boiling the water, he left it to cool down for ten minutes. The water mustn’t be too hot or cold. This current temperature was the best result after he experimented with it over 100 times.
“Sigh, what a pity that I don’t have mountain spring water. If I use it to brew the tea, Teacher Gu might really fall in love with my skill in the art of tea.”
He meticulously brewed the tea with a solemn expression. His attitude was as though he was about to make a pilgrimage to a holy place.
“Very good. There’s no mistake in my steps up until now. Haha, Teacher Gu would surely be stunned by my dazzling skill today, right? I have not wasted my time and effort in assiduously practicing every day. My skill can finally be put to good use now.”
He really wanted to turn his head to admire Gu Xiuxun’s expression. He wanted to see if she was intoxicated by his skill. However, he didn’t do so because he might lose a few style points.
“I have to focus and stop thinking about random thoughts!”
He warned himself, discarding his distracting thoughts to continue to brew the tea.
15 minutes later, the fragrance of tea leaves permeated the office.
“Teacher He, your tea isn’t bad!”
Zhao Lei, who was at the side, sniffed the air and involuntarily praised. He was a tea-lover.
“Hehe!”
Ugly smiled complacently. (That’s only natural. These tea leaves cost me three months worth of my salary. It’s too vulgar to give her a gift, and she might also not accept it. So, sampling tea together is the best. We can also improve our relationship through this.)
(In any case, what should we name our child as? Should our child each carry a character from me and her name? I think the word ‘Xun’ is pretty nice.)
“Teacher Gu, drink!”
He pushed the teacup to Gu Xiuxun. This teacup was something specially chosen by him, and it should be able to display his aesthetic sense.
For this, he had even prepared a few sentences to display his inner character and talent.
“Hmph, when chasing a woman, one must consider all aspects and not miss out on any detail.”
He smiled. His face inclined slightly toward the window as he pulled his chin back slightly. This was the most suitable angle for him to look at Gu Xiuxun from a height.
He had practiced this movement for a few months.
Sadly, the timing wasn’t right. No rays of sunlight had streamed in, or the effect would have been even more wondrous.
“Perfect.”
He felt that his performance was flawless.
“Oh, thank you, Teacher He!”
Gu Xiuxun took the cup and placed it on the desk. Her eyes had never left the book from the start until the end.
“Eh!”
Ugly was stunned. If Gu Xiuxun kept reading the book, how should he open the conversation? “Wait a minute, I mustn’t be anxious in chasing girls, or it would show that I have no patience.”
He went back to his seat and waited quietly. But a few minutes later, he realized that Gu Xiuxun didn’t even glance at that cup of tea.
“Teacher Gu, the tea is about to turn cold!”
Ugly chortled and spoke in a soft and gentle voice, “You should drink it while it’s hot. It’s good for your stomach.”
“Right!”
Gu Xiuxun responded but she still didn’t move. Her eyes were fixed on her book; she was unwilling to miss even a single word.
Sun Wukong had proclaimed himself to be the ‘great sage equal to heavens’ and led an army of demons to clash with 100,000 celestial troops. He fought against all the celestial generals and wasn’t inferior to them. In the end, he wreaked havoc through the heavens. He was simply too cool!
Even though Gu Xiuxun was a woman, she could feel hot blood coursing through her veins as she read.
“Teacher Gu? Teacher Gu?”
Ugly called out lightly.
“Ah?”
Gu Xiuxun felt a little unhappy now. (Why do you keep interrupting me? Can you stop?) “Teacher Gu, the tea is about to be cold and it would weaken the taste. Why don’t I change a cup of tea for you?”
The teacher smiled.
“Oh? Thank you, but there’s no need. I won’t be drinking it.”
Gu Xiuxun glanced at the teacup that had a pattern of drizzling rain and bamboo on it. (Che, what aesthetic sense is this? It’s too mainstream, can’t you have your own unique taste?)
(Also, is this cup his?) (Was I in a dazed state from reading the novel earlier? Why would I take his offered cup?)
“Teacher Gu, drinking tea is good for the body!”
Ugly’s heart sank, but he still maintained a smile.
“I apologize, I still have work to do and I’m very busy!”
Gu Xiuxun smiled at him. After that, she took her lesson plans up from the desk and left. Actually, she didn’t feel like talking to him; it was a waste of time.
The next plot was extremely exciting. Sun Wukong was about to duel with the Buddha Lord! Gu Xiuxun was truly burning with impatience, and she quickly flipped the book open again.
IIII
Zhao Lei involuntarily shook his head after seeing this scene. Sigh, a simp would always get nothing in the end.
Ugly felt disappointed. (Did I do something wrong? No, this should be Teacher Gu’s test for me. I must not give up.)
An hour later, a female teacher carried over ten books as she entered the office. She then threw the books onto a desk, venting her frustrations.
“Recently, the students are growing increasingly brazen. All of them are reading novels in class.”
The female teacher was very unhappy.
“Hehe, they were reading (Journey to the West), correct?”
“That’s for sure. Recently, this novel has become extremely popular. I could confiscate three or four books per class!”
“There are even students saying that they want to quit school. They want to head to the southern seas and look for Fangcun Mountain to learn the seventy-two transformations.”
Because of Journey to the West, the teachers had a discussion.
Gu Xiuxun’s ears moved.
“Actually, I feel that this book was written very well. I’ll give it 9 points.”
Zhao Lei praised.
“The writing style is very straightforward, there’s no sense of beauty!”
Gu Xiuxun involuntarily added. Honestly speaking, such a good story being written in such an elementary style felt like a waste.
“Teacher Gu, if the writing style isn’t simple enough, many people would not be able to understand it. This is a novel and not a book of classical teachings after all!”
Zhao Lei had his own opinion. For such a novel, it was written for the sake of ordinary people being able to enjoy it. What was the point of literariness?
“That’s true!”
Gu Xiuxun nodded. She gingerly touched the book’s cover. She was really fond of this monkey.
That female teacher who had been blowing her top no longer spoke. She took up a book and was reading in a daze. The writing style was simple, but it easily filled her mind with scenes from the novel. The book could cause readers to instantly immerse themselves inside the wondrous and magical world of gods and demons.
Gu Xiuxun looked at the pen name and was stunned after that. (What the hell is ‘Gandalf’? I’ve only heard of ‘White Tofu’ before!)
“Do any of you have the second part of this book?”
Gu Xiuxun asked.
Ugly pricked his ears. (Should I go and buy it now?)
“It isn’t out yet!”
“Oh, has this author written any other books then?” Gu Xiuxun wanted to find other books written by this author.
“Nope.”
Zhao Lei shrugged. He went to look for it after he had finished reading Journey to the West. After that, he discovered that this author was a newbie.
“Oh!”
Gu Xiuxun was very disappointed. She then began re-reading the book.
“I wonder when the second part will be out?”
After Zhao Lei spoke, many teachers nodded. They had read this book a few days ago. Hence, all of them felt an itch in their hearts during these few days. It felt as though they were lacking something.
(What novel is this that it can cause so many people to be mesmerized? I can also write one!)
When Ugly saw Gu Xiuxun become a fan of this author, he felt extremely unhappy in his heart. He instantly decided that he would begin to write his own novel once school ended today. (Since you like novels, I shall use my talent to subdue you.)
“Oh, do you guys know that Sun Mo has become the department head of the logistics department?”
Zhao Lei exposed.
“It’s vice-department head.”
Ugly had always pursued accuracy in the news. At the same time, as a man, he didn’t want to let Sun Mo be in the limelight before An Xinhui.
“The department head was transferred away. Doesn’t that mean that Sun Mo would have the sole authority?”
Zhao Lei was a 1-star great teacher and was also a veteran. He naturally understood Ugly’s thoughts.
“Sun Mo is so young, did he have any management experience?”.
“Maybe Headmaster An has no one she can use? In addition, Sun Mo’s performance during this time is considered extremely good. Maybe, she’s trying everything in a desperate situation.”
“Teaching and management are two different things. Would Sun Mo’s God Hands allow him to resolve the problem of management?”
Speaking of the school, the mood of the teachers became gloomy.
Everyone was aware of the current situation of the Central Province Academy. Some teachers who were capable but did not have deep relationships with the school had already resigned.
The remaining teachers were either not that capable and were afraid to walk out of their comfort zone, or they had been here for many years and truly loved the school due to the old headmaster’s kindness. They naturally wouldn’t leave at such a time.
No matter what the situation was, seeing that the Central Province Academy had no improvements, everyone was anxious.
“Zhou Yuanzhi stopped his donation. I wonder if Headmaster An would be able to pay out our salaries next month?”
Ugly grew worried. Two months later, it was said that a famed courtesan named Lady Dujiu would be coming to Jinling, and he was preparing to go over for a look. If he couldn’t get his salary in time, he could only choose to give up then.
After all, such famed courtesans were simply too famous. Hence, the entry threshold was set very high. It was said that the ticket to enter the Moonseek Building had already been pushed up to 5,000 taels for one.
Even so, it was truly hard to get a ticket.
“Everyone, don’t worry. Maybe, Sun Mo is the ‘Gandalf’ that wrote (Journey to the West). This novel is so popular; it must have brought the author a huge amount of profit. At that time, after he passed the money made from sales to Headmaster An, the problem of everyone’s salaries would be solved.”
Zhao Lei teased.
Everyone smiled in response, but they were still worried in their hearts.
“Teacher Zhao, you must not make a joke about such matters. Let alone the fact that it’s impossible for Sun Mo to write a story, even if he did, his story wouldn’t be able to generate sales of more than 100 taels of silver!”
Ugly sighed. (Where’s my Lady Dujiu? If I lose this chance, I don’t know when it will be before I can see you again.) (What? You say that if I’m clearly in love with Gu Xiuxun, why should I meet with Lady Dujiu? I practice the concept of universal love, okay?!)
…
When these teachers were chatting idly, Gandalf, which was also Sun Mo, was paid a visit by Zheng Qingfang.
