1.Your working hours are from 8:13 AM to 9:07 PM.
2.Ensure the students' health and learning quality. If any students misbehave, send them to the Discipline Room.
3.No student may be sent to the Discipline Room more than three times in one day, or it will result in death.
4.No student is allowed to die.
5.If the number of students changes, ignore it.
Zhang Chenyan read the administrator's guidelines again… He had already thought about the content related to the first rule. He had also visited the Discipline Room and, thanks to his previous experience, had a rough idea of what kind of place it was. But the last three rules seemed strange and contradictory.
In fact, when Zhang Chenyan first saw the Discipline Room, he was curious. Since such a place existed, why were the students still afraid of him physically punishing them? The man who had left earlier even instructed him to hit the children but not on visible areas… Now, Zhang Chenyan could understand. Since students couldn't be sent to the Discipline Room more than three times, but there was no way to ensure they wouldn't frequently misbehave, the administrators likely resorted to private punishment instead of sending them all to the Discipline Room.
He understood the third rule, but the fourth and fifth rules were clearly contradictory. The previous rule stated that no student was allowed to die, while the next one said that if the number of students increased or decreased, it should be ignored. Doesn't death lead to a decrease in numbers? What does it mean if the number increases? Are more students supposed to arrive?
While Zhang Chenyan was puzzled, he suddenly thought of Mathilde. Isn't Mathilde just such an existence? He was already dead, but he didn't decrease the number of students—he still existed, and yet he didn't increase the count either. Zhang Chenyan didn't know whether he was the only one who could see Mathilde or if others could see him too.
Recalling the dormitory assignments, if Mathilde was in the six-person dormitory, he would be taking up a spot. Even if others didn't know his true nature, they would know that there was such a person. But if Mathilde was in the partially empty dormitory, it would mean he shared the room with only one other student who might not even be aware of his existence.
Another point that Zhang Chenyan couldn't figure out was why, after seeing Mathilde, Zhao Muyang suddenly appeared in his place.
He had already recognized the students and knew what Zhao Muyang looked like, so he could confirm that the name should correspond to that face. But just a moment ago, he had seen a person with no facial features...
Lying in the administrator's room, Zhang Chenyan tossed and turned, his mind swirling with too much information to process. Even as he fell asleep, he hadn't figured out the connections.
The next morning, Zhang Chenyan was awakened by a student knocking on the door.
He had to admit, he was quite an irresponsible administrator! After all, he was at least half a teacher now, but what teacher lets their students wake them up?
Zhang Chenyan got up at 8:05 AM. After being awakened by Gwendolyn, she quickly ran off, looking like she had other tasks to handle.
Zhang Chenyan quickly got ready and walked out the door, but to his surprise, the children were already in the classroom. Peeking through the window, he saw that a teacher was already giving a lesson.
Zhang Chenyan glanced at the time; it was exactly 8:13 AM.
How precise, he sighed.
There were only a little over twenty children, and now there was a dedicated teacher. Zhang Chenyan couldn't figure out the point of his work hours. He couldn't teach, and there was nothing for him to do. It was incredibly boring.
Was the so-called administrator mostly a figurehead?
Just as Zhang Chenyan was yawning and contemplating whether he could go back to sleep, the teacher in the classroom suddenly shouted, then rushed out, pointing at a student and signaling to Zhang Chenyan.
Zhang Chenyan didn't understand, but the teacher looked furious.
He had been standing outside the window and hadn't seen any student misbehaving, only the teacher suddenly losing control.
Compared to this teacher who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, Zhang Chenyan thought the students were much more likable. Of course, that's excluding the faceless Mathilde.
"Discipline him!" the teacher yelled again at Zhang Chenyan.
Following the teacher's finger, Zhang Chenyan saw that the student being pointed at was the boy named Austin. He didn't have a strong impression of Austin, but he remembered the boy had called him mute and questioned Gwendolyn's trust in him… However, Zhang Chenyan wasn't the type to hold grudges, and he couldn't understand why this teacher had gone berserk.
Zhang Chenyan shrugged and drew a question mark in the air beside his head. He had learned many things, but sign language wasn't one of them, so this was the best he could think of to express himself.
He meant to say, "What's wrong?"
But the teacher seemed to interpret it as, "Are you crazy?"
The situation escalated further as the teacher's anger hit its peak. Zhang Chenyan even suspected that the teacher wanted to hit him but was restraining himself due to some rule.
Then the teacher turned and left, seemingly making a call or connecting to some communication line. Zhang Chenyan reasonably assumed he was reporting him.
Zhang Chenyan thought back to his own teachers, suddenly feeling that the character created by the barrier was absurdly broken. His teachers had been kind, imparting knowledge and guiding him, and they knew a lot. They were gentle, nothing like this person who seemed to cause trouble for no reason, demanding that Zhang Chenyan discipline a child who hadn't done anything wrong.
He watched the teacher stomp off, ranting into the distance, but didn't intend to stop him since he had no intention of siding with him.
"Mr. Administrator," Austin said, tugging at Zhang Chenyan's sleeve, "You can take me to the Discipline Room."
Zhang Chenyan was completely caught off guard by this statement. He remembered how terrified Austin had been when he called him mute and feared being beaten. But now, this timid boy was voluntarily asking to be taken to the Discipline Room?
Having experienced it himself, Zhang Chenyan knew how terrifying that was. He shook his head, indicating he wouldn't do it.
After a while, the teacher returned, glaring at Zhang Chenyan with undisguised glee. Zhang Chenyan didn't care. In his mind, the worst that could happen was being sent to the Discipline Room, and after going through it once, he was immune and didn't fear it anymore.
"You're in trouble," the teacher emphasized again when he didn't see the expected fear on Zhang Chenyan's face. "I've reported you. You'll regret your actions!"
Zhang Chenyan still didn't care, and it showed.
Obeying an NPC that seemed crazy wasn't smart either.
No one could make Zhang Chenyan a tool—not even the craziest NPC.
The teacher stormed back into the classroom, and Austin nervously followed, leaving Zhang Chenyan alone outside to await his punishment. But no punishment came.
Standing by the window, he watched the teacher rant while lecturing, looking quite deranged.
Zhang Chenyan found it all rather dull. He yawned and, out of boredom, decided to see what the teacher was writing on the blackboard and assess his teaching ability.
It was an algorithm-related problem... Zhang Chenyan could understand that.
But it seemed his understanding stopped there.
Zhang Chenyan's eyes widened in disbelief. Why was the material these students were learning so difficult?
It was like knowing the language was English but having no idea what any of it meant—he didn't even understand the words or sentences.
To be honest, Zhang Chenyan initially had a sense of superiority regarding age and intelligence. He subconsciously thought that aside from creating some bizarre things, this world couldn't possibly present anything beyond his understanding.
At that moment, he felt his pride shatter.
Back in school, Zhang Chenyan had always been at the top of his class. Teachers and classmates alike praised his intelligence, but now, he felt like a fool.
The blackboard looked like gibberish to him, while the teacher he had just dismissed as crazy was explaining it all fluently. And the students were listening attentively.
Zhang Chenyan was sure these students weren't older than him; in fact, he saw them as just kids.
Teaching such advanced content to children—could they really understand it?
Zhang Chenyan looked into the classroom through the window, trying to see if the kids were genuinely paying attention or just pretending out of fear of the crazy teacher. But after seeing one student's notes, Zhang Chenyan had to accept the truth—they were genuinely learning, and he couldn't even understand their notes!
As for why the crazy teacher had gotten so mad earlier, Zhang Chenyan figured it out—Austin hadn't answered his question satisfactorily.
How did Zhang Chenyan figure this out? Simply put, Austin was called on again to answer a question, and he clearly struggled to keep up, stumbling over his words. Even though Zhang Chenyan didn't understand the material, the teacher's deepening frown made it clear that Austin's answer wasn't satisfactory.
Seeing the teacher about to storm out and confront him again, Zhang Chenyan instinctively reached out and stopped him at the door.
Yes, he actually grabbed the teacher!
Zhang Chenyan hadn't expected to do that; it was as if his body acted on its own before his brain could process it.
Not only was Zhang Chenyan surprised, but the teacher was also stunned. The teacher's anger vanished, replaced by confusion and disbelief, as if to say, "Human, how dare you touch me!"
Though it sounded childish, Zhang Chenyan really did feel that was the sentiment.
He hadn't felt this way before, but now he resented not being able to speak. He wanted to retort, "Do you think I wanted to touch you?" But all he could produce was a hoarse, strained "Ah… Ah…" sound.
While he wasn't truly mute, Zhang Chenyan could now empathize with those who are. He realized that not being able to argue back must be an incredibly frustrating and painful experience.
"What do you want?" the crazy teacher asked.
Zhang Chenyan wanted to say, "I don't know either," but he couldn't. All he could do was give the teacher a frustrated look, hoping he would understand.
But clearly, the crazy teacher didn't have the ability to "read faces."
At this point, Zhang Chenyan decided to block the door completely, preventing the teacher from getting out. He had expected the teacher to retaliate physically, but to his surprise, the teacher seemed almost repulsed by the idea of touching him, avoiding any physical contact as if Zhang Chenyan were something dirty.
Feeling so blatantly scorned was not something Zhang Chenyan was willing to tolerate, but he had no choice. He could only swallow his frustration.
Zhang Chenyan wasn't afraid to waste time, but it was clear the teacher had lost his patience.
In the end, it was the crazy teacher who gave in first: "I won't report you again. Time's up, this class is over, and I'm leaving."
Zhang Chenyan was skeptical, so he gave the teacher a look expressing his doubt.
"I promise!" the teacher repeated, this time with absolute sincerity.
Finally, Zhang Chenyan decided to trust him. As soon as he moved aside, the teacher slipped past him and quickly left.
The teacher wasn't restricted by the fence, so he soon disappeared from Zhang Chenyan's sight. Watching the teacher get into his car and speed away, Zhang Chenyan wished he could have asked for a ride out of here, but he knew that after what had just happened, the teacher would probably consider himself lucky not to be stuck with him, let alone help him.
After such a commotion, Zhang Chenyan had expected the students to be crowding the windows to watch the drama unfold, but to his surprise, when he turned around, he saw they were already starting a new lesson.