Kai nearly forgot about his weekly quest.
He quickly shut his mouth and focused his gaze outside the window to prevent himself from saying anything else that would cause suspicion.
Just then, the door slammed open, causing him to shift his gaze to the front. The chattering turned silent as the feeble-looking teacher with a terror-filled aura entered the room.
Kai cursed inside his mind. It was the teacher who scolded him on the basketball court.
The old teacher, who seemed to have a permanent frown on his face, entered the room with a heavy sigh. His gaze swept over the class, and an even louder sigh escaped his lips as soon as his eyes fell on Kai.
"Ah, as expected," the teacher muttered, rubbing his temples. "The last section always has the dullest students."
Hao, the acting class president, cleared his throat and decided to take charge.
"Stand in attention," he announced. "Good morning, teacher."
The class followed suit, their heads dipping in unison.
The teacher, however, seemed unimpressed. He gestured impatiently for everyone to sit down, his stern eyes fixing on Kai for a moment longer than necessary.
"Good morning, class," he finally greeted. "My name is Dao Su Ming. You will address me as Sir Dao and only Sir Dao. If you get it wrong, I'll deduct points from your class participation."
Dao Su Ming?
That name sounded familiar—like he had heard it before in a drama.
The students fell silent, already sensing the hostility of the old teacher.
"Before we begin, let me make three things abundantly clear," Sir Dao declared, his gaze piercing through the room like a hawk assessing its prey. "I detest three things in this world– disrespectful students, troublemakers, and dumb people. Don't be any of those, and we'll get along just fine. If you belong in those three categories, then I suggest you drop out of the school."
The class exchanged nervous glances as Sir Dao wrote some facts about him on the board.
"The lesson I will be teaching is English," he said, surprising most of the students.
Kai was also perplexed. A teacher who had a long stick, a whistle around his neck, and sporting a full tracksuit was going to teach English? He would have never expected it!
"I finished my degree in Miami all while being a basketball varsity player," he boasted. "So don't make excuses about being busy during deadlines or whatnot. I'm the type of person who doesn't give second chances. As long as you're alive, you should be able to accomplish all your tasks. Got it?"
A hesitant murmur was heard in the room, so Sir Dao tapped his stick on the table.
"I said—do you get it?"
A resounding "Yes, sir" was heard in the room, causing Sir Dao to smile in satisfaction.
"Good. Now, bring out your textbooks."
The students were about to complain since they didn't want to study on their first day, but with one death glare from Sir Dao, they quickly took out their textbooks.
Kai, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject, found himself without any reading material.
He looked down at his belongings—a single black pen, a crumpled piece of paper, and his duck-shaped lunch box.
Then, Grandma Bingbing's voice echoed in his mind.
"I'm still in the process of buying your textbooks from my friend. She decided to give it for free, but she's currently out of town. Share with your friends in the meantime."
He glanced around and scooted closer to Bao, hoping no one would notice his lack of material.
Sir Dao, however, had a keen eye for such details. His gaze settled on Kai, who was trying to blend into the background. A disapproving frown drew across Sir Dao's face as he raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a problem, Mr…?"
Sir Dao trailed off, emphasizing the 'Mr.' as if he had already forgotten Kai's name.
Kai pursed his lips before responding.
"I don't have my textbook with me," he honestly said.
Sir Dao's eyes narrowed, and the corners of his mouth twitched with displeasure.
"Forgetting your textbook on the first day, Mr...?" Sir Dao prompted again, his tone laced with sarcasm.
"Kai, Sir Dao. Just Kai."
Sir Dao's expression remained stern. "Mr. Kai, I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt after all the rumors I've heard, but I guess all the rumors are correct."
"It won't happen again," Kai simply said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Mr. Bao," Sir Dao barked, addressing Kai's unfortunate seatmate, "give your textbook to Mr. Kai. He seems to be in dire need of some educational assistance. And since he's so forgetful, let's give him a challenge."
Bao reluctantly handed over his textbook to Kai, who accepted it with a nod.
"Turn to page 47, Mr. Kai. There's an English poem there with three stanzas. You have one minute to memorize it," Sir Dao declared, a sinister glint in his eyes.
His classmates began to murmur as Kai was caught in the spotlight.
"Oh, he's done."
"Was he good at studying when you guys were classmates?"
"He's good at fighting and…that's basically it."
"I don't think he had ever raised his hand in class."
"The teachers were afraid of him then, so they didn't pick on him. It seems like he has finally met his match, though."
"Your time starts now," Sir Dao announced, his gaze focused on the wall clock.